My Survey

[c2kid69]

1) Where do you want your home resort to be?
Unsure at the moment but likely AZ. Currently own in VA but looking to add

2) Do you want to visit your home resort at least half the time, or do you want to trade more than half the time?
Trade

3) What are your 5 top trade destinations?
AZ, FL, HI, CO, England

4) How many people do you usually travel with?
2-4

5) Can you travel any time, or are you locked into the school schedule?
Anytime

6) Can you make firm plans 12 or more mos. in advance?
Less likely

7) Can you vacation for a full week at a time?
Yes but future we may need to look at <7 days

8) What level of accommodations do you prefer on a scale of 1 to 5 stars?
4 or 5

9) How much can you afford to spend upfront, without financing?
Not sure what is reasonable. 5K or more

10) How much can you afford to spend every year for a maintenance fee that will come due right after Christmas, and increase each year?
If planned for easily $2k

11) Are you a detail oriented planner?
Yes definitely

12) Do you understand that once you buy a timeshare, it may be very difficult to sell or give away, and you are responsible for all fees, until you do?
Yes, having owned for 17 yrs I believe we are familiar with this idea

 

[DeniseM]

8) What level of accommodations do you prefer on a scale of 1 to 5 stars?
4 or 5

Only the Hotel affiliated resort systems are consistently 4-5 star across the board, so I would start by looking at the following systems, in AZ:

Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, Vistana (Westin/Sheraton.)

An easy way to get started is by looking at the AZ reviews on the TUG Resort and Review pages, so you know what resorts are in AZ.

The reviews are a benefit of TUG membership, so to access them, you will need to join TUG ($15.)

 

[c2kid69]

Only the Hotel affiliated resort systems are consistently 4-5 star across the board, so I would start by looking at the following systems, in AZ:

Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, Vistana (Westin/Sheraton.)

An easy way to get started is by looking at the AZ reviews on the TUG Resort and Review pages, so you know what resorts are in AZ.

The reviews are a benefit of TUG membership, so to access them, you will need to join TUG ($15.)

In under 30 seconds we have narrowed down our search Loving this forum already

 

[Sandy VDH]

Worldmark and Wyndham could also be an option. they have a variety of properties in AZ and in other locations you have mentioned.

England is going to be a tough trade for all systems. Hilton has Scotland NOT England.

 

[DeniseM]

Don't get me wrong, I LIKE Wyndham and own 8 weeks, but it isn't 4-5 Star across the board.

 

[c2kid69]

Thanks Denise, and we haven't completely ruled out Wyndham mainly because we like 4 or 5 stars but know it may not always be our best option depending on our flexibility of traveling. Although we have stayed at a Marriott in southern Spain we do know that resorts in Europe including England and Ireland do not always meet those expectations but yet offer comfortable and clean accomadations.

One of the things to consider is Wyndham and the enormous amount of choices it may offer. I haven't gotten into the #'s yet but if they offer say 30 (4 or 5) star resorts in their inventory which is similar to say a Marriott ownership but Wyndham carries another 100 in their entire inventory are we better off.

Time will tell of course but I appreciate all the comments/suggestions and will definitely help in future plans/purchases

 

[c2kid69]

England is going to be a tough trade for all systems. Hilton has Scotland NOT England.

I would agree we tried to exchange for numerous years while living in England so likely we will purchase a 2nd home there in the future and stick with TS options for the USA and other parts of the world