This happened a few years ago when my son had just finished his graduation and had just started working. We thought of going to Hawaii for the vacation and tried booking a week. My son informed that the only time he would be able to take a week's off would be during the first week of June. Luckily, we got the week we wanted (first week of June), and obviously we were happy.
However, few weeks later, one day my son informed me that he would not be able to make it on the first week of June, as suddenly his organization was planning to conduct a training camp during that week. He also said it would be possible to take a week's time off only during the last week of May. My wife and I were really disappointed, not knowing what to do.
Canceling our week was the only option left, but I was not very sure if I would be able to get the week we wanted. I had quite a few doubts in my mind. First, I had a doubt that if I canceled our week, it would become a flexchange week, wherein I will not be able to exchange it, but only can use it within the time window. Second, even if I were to exchange it, I was not sure if I would get the week I wanted. We wanted to salvage the vacation somehow, as spending time with our son was really, really rare. (He was simply crazy busy with his new job)
Then I thought of consulting some of my friends who had been timesharing for a lot of time. Surprisingly, I had options. First of all, the reserved week would become a flexchange week only if you cancel it under 60 days. This was a great relief to me. Then, my friends also reassured that since I had time in my hands (around five months), I should be able to exchange it for a nice deal. The only downside was that I had to pay another exchange fee, which was not that big a deal.
Like they said, I got a nice exchange and got the week I wanted. We spent a week's time in Hawaii and had the time of our life. Since my son was working way too hard, that vacation was really relaxing to him. On the whole, the whole experience turned out to be really wonderful.
But the reason why I'm telling this is that whenever you have a problem with your timeshare, don't think you have run out of options. More often than not, you will always have some options, provided you inquire the right people. I was about to do a mistake by simply canceling the week. But with just a little inquiry, I was able to salvage my vacation and I did so with little effort. So, happy timesharing and keep your mind open.
