What did I pay $13K for again?

[Musashisei]

New (6 months ago) Vistana owner here. I got suckered into purchasing a timeshare after being "invited" to stay at the Vistana Villages in Orlando June 2025. I still don't really understand all the details (bad on me), but apparently "ownership" provides me with 25800 Home/Star Options per year. It was sold to me as being a 7 night stay in a two bedroom villa every two years. The "privilege" of ownership only cost me nearly $13K. Now that I've had a chance to dig into it as well as pay my "maintenance fees" and "dues (whatever that's for)," which comes out to well over $850 total for me per year, I am seeing that I essentially pay $1700 for my "free" week every other year - and of course that's assuming I book at the right time and for the right dates to actually get 7 days worth for the points that I have. Now, if I go on Marriott's website and simply opt to pay cash for the same week at Vistana Villages in Orlando, I can pay that same $1700 without being obligated to do so each year and without having paid $13K. So, my question - can someone explain to me what I am missing or don't understand about "ownership" and what I paid $13K for? I will be asking this same question next week at my "New Owner Experience," when I am sure they will try to sell me more useless nonsense. At least this time I'll be going into it knowing that it's all a scam.

 

[travelhacker]

Unfortunately, buying from the developer has dubious value at best and it's also unfortunate that you get so few Options -- there's not a whole lot that you can do with that. However, there are some ways that you can make a little bit of lemonade out of this lemon of a purchase.

I believe you probably have Sheraton Flex Options (or HomeOptions). You should have access to Abound. I believe you'll get around 750 abound points if you convert.

Here are a few ideas for where you could get decent value from your maintenance fees:

Year 1: Bank Your Points
Year 2: Book a week at Marriott Crystal Shores in Marco Island during the offseason.

You can get a standard view unit for 1375 points. The rack rate is probably 400-500+ per night. It's a very nice resort.

If you have some travel flexibility, you can get some very cheap weeks during the offseason. Some weeks are less than 1000 points (and some are less than 500).

We live in CO and take advantage of the offseason, but if you have some flexibility there are some decent options.

 

[Musashisei]

Unfortunately, buying from the developer has dubious value at best and it's also unfortunate that you get so few Options -- there's not a whole lot that you can do with that. However, there are some ways that you can make a little bit of lemonade out of this lemon of a purchase.

I believe you probably have Sheraton Flex Options (or HomeOptions). You should have access to Abound. I believe you'll get around 750 abound points if you convert.

Here are a few ideas for where you could get decent value from your maintenance fees:

Year 1: Bank Your Points
Year 2: Book a week at Marriott Crystal Shores in Marco Island during the offseason.

You can get a standard view unit for 1375 points. The rack rate is probably 400-500+ per night. It's a very nice resort.

If you have some travel flexibility, you can get some very cheap weeks during the offseason. Some weeks are less than 1000 points (and some are less than 500).

We live in CO and take advantage of the offseason, but if you have some flexibility there are some decent options.

Thanks much for the info. Looking for any way I can to maximize my points, so this helps.

 

[Hindsite]

Rest assured that when you bring up your concerns at your "New owner Experience" meeting you will be in a sales meeting where they will explain to you that all the problems you have will be solved if you'd only drop them another $15-20k. Its standard practice to lure people in with a relatively inexpensive initial purchase and then milk more out of them when they find out that it isn't enough to do anything useful with. Its a technique that works so they have no problem doing it, but its just another lie and the issues don't go away, they just get more expensive.

Learn how to use what you have well and where to focus it to get the best value for your vacation lodging needs and then do that, even if its just a few good days and then you pay $$ for longer stays. If you financed it, pay it off as soon as you can as that kills any value you might get.

Now you're in the system, you can rent Club points (not Home/Star Options) from other owners for less than the cost of the maint fees so you never need to buy more. Should you find that buying more works for you then there are plenty of resale choices for you to explore that will be 90-100% cheaper than they can sell to you for.

Skip the New owner experience meeting and enjoy your vacation without risking getting duped again or grumpy that you've not got the deal you had hoped for.

 

[cubigbird]

Since you don’t have many options and it doesn’t convert to many club points, your best value might be to use Interval International to get at least a 7 night stay somewhere.

As previously stated, you can bank the options and travel less than annually but even then, 51,600 options (25,800 banked options + 25,800 use year) still wont get you much.

Others are correct that any sales meeting attendance at this point will just result in them selling you to buy again. The “new owner experience” is nothing more than you experiencing pulling out your wallet and handing over more money. Be careful throwing good money after bad. If you find yourself wanting to buy more, consider buying a mandatory resort off the secondary resale market such as Westin Kierland Platinum Plus that comes with 148,100 options. The total cost would be substantially less than what you just purchased. 148,100 options on top of your existing 25,800 is likely more than what you need to timeshare well.

 

[Musashisei]

Thanks all! Really good info and advice.

 

[montygz]

With an Interval International membership you can book getaways, which are cash reservations, but you can get some substantial savings. If you like to visit Orlando, you can get some good Marriott resorts at a discount.

 

[travelhacker]

With an Interval International membership you can book getaways, which are cash reservations, but you can get some substantial savings. If you like to visit Orlando, you can get some good Marriott resorts at a discount.

This is really good advice. I'll give you an example:

We got annual passes to Universal Studios Florida for our family for Christmas. We wanted to go over MLK JR Holiday. We could book a week at Sheraton Vistana Villages for about $400 or so after taxes during a getaway sale.

We have never been to Marriott Grande Vista and wanted to try that out and we were able to book that using a a free Accommodation Certificate. We had to pay a shade more than $400, but we got a 2 bedroom at a great resort in Orlando for the week.

We're planning on going back for a long weekend in late April or early May and based on history should be able to pay a similar rate. There are a lot of options available as Getaways:
Orlando
Branson
Palm Springs
Las Vegas
Colorado
etc

Really anyplace where there are a lot of timeshare resorts and demand exceeds supply -- you can often get great rates.

I can't remember the exact details, but my brother in law spent 14-16 weeks in Orlando during the fall at an average rate of about $350 per week. This was a couple of years ago, so to do the same thing would probably cost about $400.

 

[Musashisei]

This is really good advice. I'll give you an example:

We got annual passes to Universal Studios Florida for our family for Christmas. We wanted to go over MLK JR Holiday. We could book a week at Sheraton Vistana Villages for about $400 or so after taxes during a getaway sale.

We have never been to Marriott Grande Vista and wanted to try that out and we were able to book that using a a free Accommodation Certificate. We had to pay a shade more than $400, but we got a 2 bedroom at a great resort in Orlando for the week.

We're planning on going back for a long weekend in late April or early May and based on history should be able to pay a similar rate. There are a lot of options available as Getaways:
Orlando
Branson
Palm Springs
Las Vegas
Colorado
etc

Really anyplace where there are a lot of timeshare resorts and demand exceeds supply -- you can often get great rates.

I can't remember the exact details, but my brother in law spent 14-16 weeks in Orlando during the fall at an average rate of about $350 per week. This was a couple of years ago, so to do the same thing would probably cost about $400.

Good to know! I hadn’t really explored the Interval International options, so I’ll take a look.

 

[ScoopKona]

Good to know! I hadn’t really explored the Interval International options, so I’ll take a look.

Interval is worth joining.

In addition to being able to exchange for something you want, those accommodation certificates can be a great value. Basically, you're paying cash for a week that would otherwise go unused. So these certs are going to usually be in either very out of the way, hard to get to places; or places with lots and lots of timeshares.

Hopefully you've realized that sales presentations aren't worth your time. If you want a better timeshare, you can pick one up here, free.

 

[Musashisei]

Interval is worth joining.

In addition to being able to exchange for something you want, those accommodation certificates can be a great value. Basically, you're paying cash for a week that would otherwise go unused. So these certs are going to usually be in either very out of the way, hard to get to places; or places with lots and lots of timeshares.

Hopefully you've realized that sales presentations aren't worth your time. If you want a better timeshare, you can pick one up here, free.

I see that I have an Interval International membership #. Looks like that was part of what I purchased with the VOI?

 

[travelhacker]

I see that I have an Interval International membership #. Looks like that was part of what I purchased with the VOI?

That's correct. If you have an account number, you should be able to set up your login and account there. Since your membership dues cover an Interval Account, I believe you can set up your Account Profile and you'll have access immediately.

I believe this is the link:
intervalworld.com/web/my/account/lookupMember

 

[zentraveler]

This is really good advice. I'll give you an example:

We got annual passes to Universal Studios Florida for our family for Christmas. We wanted to go over MLK JR Holiday. We could book a week at Sheraton Vistana Villages for about $400 or so after taxes during a getaway sale.

We have never been to Marriott Grande Vista and wanted to try that out and we were able to book that using a a free Accommodation Certificate. We had to pay a shade more than $400, but we got a 2 bedroom at a great resort in Orlando for the week.

We're planning on going back for a long weekend in late April or early May and based on history should be able to pay a similar rate. There are a lot of options available as Getaways:
Orlando
Branson
Palm Springs
Las Vegas
Colorado
etc

Really anyplace where there are a lot of timeshare resorts and demand exceeds supply -- you can often get great rates.

I can't remember the exact details, but my brother in law spent 14-16 weeks in Orlando during the fall at an average rate of about $350 per week. This was a couple of years ago, so to do the same thing would probably cost about $400.

I would add Lake Tahoe in the non- ski season. Two nice Hyatts and two large Marriotts. And Palm Desert is more widely available than Palm Springs

Agree completely about AC’s. We got two weeks this fall - Hyatt North Star (2 bedrooms, three televisions, a patio and four fireplaces) And a week at Marriott Timber Lodge in Southlake Tahoe..

 

[WorldT]

I see that I have an Interval International membership #. Looks like that was part of what I purchased with the VOI?

Your interval membership should already be covered. Create an account, log in and look for the certificates tab. If you already have one, it will be there.
I can see studios, one, and two bedrooms at Marriott resorts in Orlando this January using the AC. Good deals.

 

[Musashisei]

Your interval membership should already be covered. Create an account, log in and look for the certificates tab. If you already have one, it will be there.
I can see studios, one, and two bedrooms at Marriott resorts in Orlando this January using the AC. Good deals.

I’ll take a look.

 

[dioxide45]

You paid for an entry level package that doesn't get you very much time in timeshares with the goal of them selling you more later when you learn you don't have enough.

 

[Musashisei]

That's correct. If you have an account number, you should be able to set up your login and account there. Since your membership dues cover an Interval Account, I believe you can set up your Account Profile and you'll have access immediately.

I believe this is the link:
intervalworld.com/web/my/account/lookupMember

I was able to set up my log in and get access. However, I don’t see anything about Accommodation Certificates? Perhaps it’s because it’s a basic membership?

 

[dioxide45]

I was able to set up my log in and get access. However, I don’t see anything about Accommodation Certificates? Perhaps it’s because it’s a basic membership?

If you have any, you would find these on the My Units page.

 

[Musashisei]

Since you don’t have many options and it doesn’t convert to many club points, your best value might be to use Interval International to get at least a 7 night stay somewhere.

As previously stated, you can bank the options and travel less than annually but even then, 51,600 options (25,800 banked options + 25,800 use year) still wont get you much.

Others are correct that any sales meeting attendance at this point will just result in them selling you to buy again. The “new owner experience” is nothing more than you experiencing pulling out your wallet and handing over more money. Be careful throwing good money after bad. If you find yourself wanting to buy more, consider buying a mandatory resort off the secondary resale market such as Westin Kierland Platinum Plus that comes with 148,100 options. The total cost would be substantially less than what you just purchased. 148,100 options on top of your existing 25,800 is likely more than what you need to timeshare well.

I’ll plan to attend the “new owner experience” since it’s a condition apparently for the three night stay, but I also plan to have a bit of fun !

 

[WorldT]

If you bought a 3 night special, then the sales tour is required. Just don't sign anything when you get there. Set an alarm on your phone for the promised duration. When it rings, stand up and tell them it is time.

 

[travelhacker]

I was able to set up my log in and get access. However, I don’t see anything about Accommodation Certificates? Perhaps it’s because it’s a basic membership?

Go to "Exchange" > "My Units":

Then if you have any, they will be on the right:

You get certificates for various reasons, but basically everyone gets a certificate deposited about twice a year (they expire anywhere from 6-8 months later).

The getaways section on the top right is how you can view inventory that you can book with cash.

Good luck!

 

[Hindsite]

I’ll plan to attend the “new owner experience” since it’s a condition apparently for the three night stay, but I also plan to have a bit of fun !

The are more than used to people thinking they can "have a bit of fun" and are more than capable of giving the fun back and getting you to buy more, even when you think you won't. You already demonstrated to them that your could be manipulated into buying without having sufficient understanding and you still don't have much, so are vulnerable to being lied to without knowing it.

The best way (IMO) to get through these is go and don't engage or get drawn in by the baits and get back quickly to your vacation.

 

[Musashisei]

The are more than used to people thinking they can "have a bit of fun" and are more than capable of giving the fun back and getting you to buy more, even when you think you won't. You already demonstrated to them that your could be manipulated into buying without having sufficient understanding and you still don't have much, so are vulnerable to being lied to without knowing it.

The best way (IMO) to get through these is go and don't engage or get drawn in by the baits and get back quickly to your vacation.

Good point!

 

[Musashisei]

If you bought a 3 night special, then the sales tour is required. Just don't sign anything when you get there. Set an alarm on your phone for the promised duration. When it rings, stand up and tell them it is time.

I’ll plan to do just that. 75 min and I’m out.

 

[Musashisei]

Go to "Exchange" > "My Units":

Then if you have any, they will be on the right:

View attachment 120133

You get certificates for various reasons, but basically everyone gets a certificate deposited about twice a year (they expire anywhere from 6-8 months later).

The getaways section on the top right is how you can view inventory that you can book with cash.

Good luck!

Looks like I don’t have any yet, but perhaps they’ll get deposited later in the year?
This is all it shows under “units.”