• The TUGBBS forums are completely free and open to the public and exist as the absolute best place for owners to get help and advice about their timeshares for more than 30 years!

    Join Tens of Thousands of other Owners just like you here to get any and all Timeshare questions answered 24 hours a day!
  • TUG started 30 years ago in October 1993 as a group of regular Timeshare owners just like you!

    Read about our 30th anniversary: Happy 30th Birthday TUG!
  • TUG has a YouTube Channel to produce weekly short informative videos on popular Timeshare topics!

    Free memberships for every 50 subscribers!

    Visit TUG on Youtube!
  • TUG has now saved timeshare owners more than $21,000,000 dollars just by finding us in time to rescind a new Timeshare purchase! A truly incredible milestone!

    Read more here: TUG saves owners more than $21 Million dollars
  • Sign up to get the TUG Newsletter for free!

    60,000+ subscribing owners! A weekly recap of the best Timeshare resort reviews and the most popular topics discussed by owners!
  • Our official "end my sales presentation early" T-shirts are available again! Also come with the option for a free membership extension with purchase to offset the cost!

    All T-shirt options here!
  • A few of the most common links here on the forums for newbies and guests!

Newbie Survey - Intrigued but is it for me?

Hobokie

TUG Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2018
Messages
610
Reaction score
319
Points
174
Location
San Jose, CA
Resorts Owned
Elara (HGVC) + Worldmark
TUG Community:

Thanks in advance for reading this and taking the time to respond! This is actually not my first post (whoops!) and I've already gotten quite a bit of help from you guys and gals in the short time I've been a member (shoutout to @Jan M. who's even taken the time to help me 1:1 with specific questions!) This is truly a community, I can already tell!

I recently (2.5 weeks ago) attended my first timeshare presentation (Hilton Elara) and am very intrigued (don't worry, I didn't buy developer!). I have since poured HOURS (at least 20!) into studying info on this site (mostly HGVC, but have now expanded into the II and RCI systems to better understand trading). Below is my survey...

1) Is there a vacation destination you wish to visit most of the time or on a regular basis? if so where?
For background, I moved to northern California 1.5 years ago, but am an East Coast gal and my entire family is on the East Coast which means I may move back in the next 5 years... To answer the question, as of today, Napa (I know this is tough), Vegas and Hawaii (probably in that order). HOWEVER, because I am far from family and they are mostly in South Florida, I could conceivably see myself taking a yearly vacation in Florida for a week in a multiple bedroom scenario and inviting them...

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?
I can't imagine we (I'm married) would do home resort more than 20-30% of the time... We like to switch things up. But again, if we stay out here in California, I could conceivably do an Orlando or South Florida vacation at the same spot annually...

3) What are your 5 top trade destinations?
In the US:
Hawaii
Vegas (love it but never more than 3 nights, who spends a week in Vegas???)
Napa
Tahoe (probably summer or winter/ski season)
Denver or CO (during ski season)
I feel like I need to add Orlando as 6th, but only in the context of booking a large unit and inviting family to join us...

OUS:
We'd love to explore the world!

4) How many people do you usually travel with?
Just 1 (hubby) but see above, I think this could work for me to have yearly vacations with family! Would like to have the flexibility of a system that allows me to do both studio/1 bd and 3 bedroom+

5) Can you travel any time, or are you locked into the school schedule?
Anytime, husband and I both work from home now. No children yet!

6) Can you make firm plans 12 or more mos. in advance?
Sure, but I honestly prefer not to. We are more spontaneous than 12 months of planning. Usually we see a good flight deal (i.e. just booked Tahiti on Delta for $630 in January) and then we start planning.

7) Can you vacation for a full week at a time?
Yes, but we like shorter trips more (unless going far). 1 week is probably the maximum amount of time we would vacation (we did do 2 weeks in South Africa 2 years ago and we wouldn't do less than 12 days if we are so far from home).

8) What level of accommodations do you prefer on a scale of 1 to 5 stars?
I am less picky, husband is definitely more of a 4 kind of guy.

9) How much can you afford to spend upfront, without financing?
If I feel like it is worth it, I would say up to $6-7k.

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 I feel like I am getting good value, I would say $1400 (plus other fees like annual fees, exchange fee, reservation fee, cancel fee, save points fee etc etc another $500-$700. So let's call it $1900-$2100 all in.

11) Are you a detail oriented planner?
Eh. Not really. We are more spontaneous, but as I mentioned above, he is pickier than I am with accommodations.

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?
Yup, we've discussed the possibility of needing to "pay" to get out of a timeshare in the form of incentives for the buyer such as paying for the transfer fees, closing costs, etc. We have budgeted around $1,500 to get out of our timeshare when we feel it is time.

Thoughts on what TS could work for me/if any?
 

bbodb1

TUG Review Crew: Expert
TUG Member
Joined
Apr 9, 2016
Messages
4,305
Reaction score
3,824
Points
348
Location
High radiation belt of the Northern Hemisphere
Resorts Owned
RCI Weeks: LaCosta Beach Club, RCI Points: Oakmont Resort, Vacation Village at Parkway. Wyndham: CWA and La Belle Maison, and WorldMark.
There are many others who who can make better recommendations than I but given your comments above, have you considered WorldMark? They have a considerable presence in the western U.S. so if spontaneity is your thing (as you suggest above), you would be close enough to take advantage of what Worldmark offers.
 

Hobokie

TUG Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2018
Messages
610
Reaction score
319
Points
174
Location
San Jose, CA
Resorts Owned
Elara (HGVC) + Worldmark
have you considered WorldMark?

@bbodb1, I have not (yet!). Most of my research has been HGVC because that's the TS presentation I attended. Noted, I will look into Worldmark! Thanks for the reply and suggestion!
 

geist1223

TUG Member
Joined
May 20, 2015
Messages
5,974
Reaction score
5,728
Points
499
Location
Salem Oregon
Resorts Owned
Worldmark 97,000 Credits
DRI Cabo Azul 50,500
Royal Solaris San Jose del Cabo
It sounds like you would do well with a pure Point System. Short stays, long stays, different sized Units, etc. Worldmark is primarily West half of the USA but has been expanding South and East. I assume you would buy resell. With out doing trades through RCI, II, etc that would limit you to the 80 to 90 Worldmark Resorts in Fiji, Hawaii, British Columbia, Texas, Colorado, Utah, Mexico, Poconos, Florida, Texas, California (from Windsor to San Diego also Tahoe), Arizona, Idaho, Yellowstone, New Mexico, South Carolina, Neveda, Oregon, Washington, etc.

Worldmark also has several avenues for short in advance Cash Bookings - Bonus Time, Monday Madness, Inventory Specials.

The big detractor for people that are not into pre-planning is that many of the high demand locations can go within minutes or seconds of the Booking Window opening at 6am West Coast Time online 13 months in advance. So one can have a problem Booking Hawaii for Spring Break or summer. Worldmark does have an effective Wait List that is free. I believe the statistics show about 30 to 40% of the Reservations are cancelled. If you can travel the shoulder seasons it is easier.

If you want more than 1 - 1 week per year or occasionally want a 3 bedroom Unit I would suggest 20K Points. This also gives you 2 House Keeping Credits per year. House Keepimg is included wirh the cash options.
 

Passepartout

TUG Review Crew: Veteran
TUG Member
Joined
Feb 10, 2007
Messages
28,463
Reaction score
17,214
Points
1,299
Location
Twin Falls, Eye-Duh-Hoe
I second the WorldMark suggestion. I dontd own there, but if I had it to do over, thats the direction I should've gone. And as a plus, those memberships actually maintain some value. Yes, you do have to pay some on the front end (you won't find them for buck on eBay), you won't have to pay someone to take it on the back end when you want out.

The only real downside is their relative strength in the West, and fewer resorts in the East.

Look at www.wmowners.com

Happy hunting!

Jim
 

Hobokie

TUG Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2018
Messages
610
Reaction score
319
Points
174
Location
San Jose, CA
Resorts Owned
Elara (HGVC) + Worldmark
If you want more than 1 - 1 week per year or occasionally want a 3 bedroom Unit I would suggest 20K Points. This also gives you 2 House Keeping Credits per year. House Keepimg is included wirh the cash options.

@geist1223 & @bbodb1 First 2 replies and both mention Worldmark... officially VERY intrigued!

"house keeping credits" "cash options"... :shrug: alright so tell me where to invest my next 20 hours to learn about Worldmark, please! I feel like I am now pretty knowledgeable on HGVC but not necessarily convinced on value of HGVC (even going resale vs developer) given all of their crazy fees which feel like would add up substantially. I know we have a HGVC, Marriott, DVC etc forums, Worldmark looks like it would fall under "All Other"? Or would I be looking at Wyndham since it looks like they are now together? Can you point me in the right direction of where to start my investigation?

A few more specific questions:
1) Does my initial investment (question 9) and MF budget (question 10) fit within the 20k points you potentially suggest or would I be needing to make a compromise for Worldmark?
2) On average, how many star ratings would you say a typical Worldmark resort is? 3? 4? And how would you compare that to, let's say, MVC or HGVC?

Thanks so much for your insight!
 

Hobokie

TUG Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2018
Messages
610
Reaction score
319
Points
174
Location
San Jose, CA
Resorts Owned
Elara (HGVC) + Worldmark
I dontd own there, but if I had it to do over, thats the direction I should've gone.

@Passepartout Jim, if you don't mind me asking, where do you own? (tried to click on your profile to see, but can't see it on there)? And also, what do you believe Worldmark would give you that your current ownership doesn't or isn't as easy?

Thanks for the reply and recommendation!
 

JohnPaul

TUG Review Crew: Elite
TUG Member
Joined
Apr 28, 2011
Messages
1,649
Reaction score
845
Points
323
Location
Sacramento, CA
Resorts Owned
Vacation Internationale, HGVC - NYC, Worldmark, Shell Vacations, Sedona Pines, RCI Points, Starwood (Avon, CO)
I own WM (and a lot of others) with 25,000 points. I believe my MF are around $1700 a year. The only extra fees are possible housekeeping fees. No fees for borrowing or saving points. No fees for reservations. Some locations charge taxes but that doesn't go to WM and should apply to any timeshare in that location.

Per above your MF budget is fine. However, you might have to spend a bit more to buy 20,000 credits but if you keep your eyes out for a good deal I doubt it will be much more.

Worldmark is not as fancy as HGVC (or MVC I presume but don't know). More likely to have formica counters than granite and white appliances than stainless. However, WM does frequent updates and I find the units to typically be very nice. I suggest you go to their website and look at pictures of various resorts.

I love the flexibility of WM. Waitlist does indeed work well. Also, the cash options (which include housekeeping) are terrific.
 

DeniseM

Moderator
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
57,671
Reaction score
9,091
Points
1,849
Resorts Owned
WKORV, WKV, 2-SDO, 4-Kauai Beach Villas, Island Park Village (Yellowstone), Hyatt High Sierra, Dolphin's Cove (Anaheim)
6) Can you make firm plans 12 or more mos. in advance? Sure, but I honestly prefer not to.

11) Are you a detail oriented planner?
Eh. Not really. We are more spontaneous, but as I mentioned above, he is pickier than I am with accommodations.

I don't think you are a good candidate to own a timeshare. Remember, you are competing with all other owners for the most desirable locations and dates. If you cannot commit well in advance, then other owners will beat you to the best reservations, and you will be stuck with the leftovers.

I think you are a good candidate to rent timeshares from owners, at discounted prices.

Have you seen our Last Minute Rentals Forum? $100 per night or less: https://tugbbs.com/forums/index.php?forums/timeshare-rentals-offered.45/

Also - TUG Marketplace: https://tug2.com/timeshare-classifieds/
 

Hobokie

TUG Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2018
Messages
610
Reaction score
319
Points
174
Location
San Jose, CA
Resorts Owned
Elara (HGVC) + Worldmark
If you cannot commit well in advance, then other owners will beat you to the best reservations, and you will be stuck with the leftovers.

I think you are a good candidate to rent timeshares from owners, at discounted prices.

Have you seen our Last Minute Rentals Forum?

@DeniseM, thanks for the reply, I appreciate it! I'm not sold on whether timeshares are for me, but I'm committed to looking into it in detail so that I know what I am or am not getting into. I am for some reason super intrigued, my husband is surprised at how excited and interested I've been about researching TS.

Regarding "committing well in advance" and the last minute rentals forum, I don't think I'm THAT spontaneous to only plan 30-45 days ahead... In fact, my latest trip we booked this week (August) for travel in late Jan/early Feb (1/30-2/5). I guess I should say I don't mind planning ahead, but I don't want to ALWAYS plan 12 months in advance. Additionally, I don't know that I would mind shoulder/off season per se. For example, I would NEVER go to Orlando in the summer haha! I was raised in Miami and I despite Orlando in the summertime with all of the outrageous lines at Disney... But your point on popular weeks is well taken, it sounds IF I decide to buy a TS, I should be ready to use it during non-prime season considering my planning timeline and/or I should be ready to make exceptions and plan 12-13 months in advance (I can do this, I just prefer not to all of the time).

Regarding marketplace, I have looked but not in super detail. I will look more closely!
 

Hobokie

TUG Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2018
Messages
610
Reaction score
319
Points
174
Location
San Jose, CA
Resorts Owned
Elara (HGVC) + Worldmark
I suggest you go to their website and look at pictures of various resorts.

I love the flexibility of WM. Waitlist does indeed work well. Also, the cash options (which include housekeeping) are terrific.

Thanks @JohnPaul! Y'all have officially convinced me to at least look into Worldmark and find out details.

Follow up questions for you (if you have a few more minutes):
"Waitlist works well" = can you tell me if you've had success booking during high season with waitlist? If so, about what % of the time would you say you are successful (30%?) and how many months in advance are you putting yourself on waitlist?

Regarding cash options: I don't know anything about this (yet!) because I haven't learned about it, but I'm curious if you could give me 1 or 2 examples of cash options you personally have been able to take advantage of.

Finally, it sounds like you own a few TSs. Can you tell me what your absolute favorite is for your specific situation? And maybe why it's the fav?

Thanks again!
 

DeniseM

Moderator
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
57,671
Reaction score
9,091
Points
1,849
Resorts Owned
WKORV, WKV, 2-SDO, 4-Kauai Beach Villas, Island Park Village (Yellowstone), Hyatt High Sierra, Dolphin's Cove (Anaheim)
Hi Hobokie - For the top destinations, 5-6 months ahead is likely to be too late to make a reservation. There is a lot of competition for the top resorts and dates, and knowledgeable owners often book 12 months in advance, or as soon as the reservation window opens for their resort.

Some people cannot book that far in advance because of work or school scheduling problems, but sometimes it's just a matter of getting used to planning in advance. However, it's not everyone's cup of tea.

If you are OK with traveling during the off-season, then rentals may be even better for you, because rental prices fall during the off-season as well. In places where there is more supply than demand (Orlando) off-season rentals can often be less expensive than the yearly maintenance fee to own the week.
 
Last edited:

Hobokie

TUG Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2018
Messages
610
Reaction score
319
Points
174
Location
San Jose, CA
Resorts Owned
Elara (HGVC) + Worldmark
If you are OK with traveling during the off-season, then rentals may be even better for you, because rental prices fall during the off-season as well. In places where there is more supply than demand (Orlando) off-season rentals can often be less expensive than the yearly maintenance fee to own the week.

Wohoo! Sounds like this renting thing could be in fact my thing then! If I don't find the approximate week I would like, do you believe I could probably get it via posting in the Rent-Wish section of Marketplace?

Also, curious... I know HGVC doesn't let you use your membership for commercial use, only for personal use... which vacation clubs "allow" owners to rent? And is it much harder to find short stays for rent vs full weeks?

Thanks again!
 

DeniseM

Moderator
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
57,671
Reaction score
9,091
Points
1,849
Resorts Owned
WKORV, WKV, 2-SDO, 4-Kauai Beach Villas, Island Park Village (Yellowstone), Hyatt High Sierra, Dolphin's Cove (Anaheim)
Wohoo! Sounds like this renting thing could be in fact my thing then! If I don't find the approximate week I would like, do you believe I could probably get it via posting in the Rent-Wish section of Marketplace?

The last minute Rentals Forum is only for $100 per night or less - which is a bargain price, so you won't see the top resorts there, in most cases. For more expensive resorts and locations, websites like the TUG Marketplace, and www.redweek.com, are safer places to rent. They are "safer," because to post Ads there, you have to register and pay a membership fee. This filters out most would-be scammers.

Also, curious... I know HGVC doesn't let you use your membership for commercial use, only for personal use... which vacation clubs "allow" owners to rent? And is it much harder to find short stays for rent vs full weeks?

Just about all of the resort systems allow owners to rent their own timeshares. RCI and Interval (exchange companies) prohibit renting EXCHANGES.

How to verify that a rental is Legit: https://www.tugbbs.com/forums/index...ntal-is-legit-when-you-are-the-renter.109479/
 

CalGalTraveler

TUG Review Crew: Veteran
TUG Member
Joined
Dec 21, 2014
Messages
9,749
Reaction score
8,274
Points
498
Location
California
Resorts Owned
HGVC, MVC Vistana
HGVC allows owners to rent their home week but you cannot rent out points reservations at other HGVC resorts you don't own or via RCI trades. All of the hotel-branded systems say "non-commercial" because they don't want large real estate investers buying up blocks of units to rent en masse, making peak season units unavailable for owners in the system to exchange and creating dissatisfaction.
 

Hobokie

TUG Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2018
Messages
610
Reaction score
319
Points
174
Location
San Jose, CA
Resorts Owned
Elara (HGVC) + Worldmark
HGVC allows owners to rent their home week but you cannot rent out points reservations at other HGVC resorts you don't own or via RCI trades.

Thanks for clarifying @CalGalTraveler! I'm still learning. What do you think of my survey...? Since you seem to know HGVC which is what I know most about right now, do you think I might be a good TS candidate for HGVC, Worldmark (as others suggest above), other, or NOT REALLY like Denise suggests?
 

bbodb1

TUG Review Crew: Expert
TUG Member
Joined
Apr 9, 2016
Messages
4,305
Reaction score
3,824
Points
348
Location
High radiation belt of the Northern Hemisphere
Resorts Owned
RCI Weeks: LaCosta Beach Club, RCI Points: Oakmont Resort, Vacation Village at Parkway. Wyndham: CWA and La Belle Maison, and WorldMark.
Hobokie,

I will certainly defer to Denise in matters like this given her knowledge and her willingness to share as she frequently does around these parts but one aspect you mentioned above suggests your travel times are NOT tied to (or restricted by) school schedules - which is when many locations are at their highest demand.

Hi Hobokie - For the top destinations, 5-6 months ahead is likely to be too late to make a reservation. There is a lot of competition for the top resorts and dates, and knowledgeable owners often book 12 months in advance, or as soon as the reservation window opens for their resort.

Some people cannot book that far in advance because of work or school scheduling problems, but sometimes it's just a matter of getting used to planning in advance. However, it's not everyone's cup of tea.

If you are OK with traveling during the off-season, then rentals may be even better for you, because rental prices fall during the off-season as well. In places where there is more supply than demand (Orlando) off-season rentals can often be less expensive than the yearly maintenance fee to own the week.

You mentioned both you and your husband work from home, so is it correct to infer that your vacations could be during times when most folks are back in school? If so, planning toward the last minute is more possible although never guaranteed of course.

If your family is like mine, one reason I did not ever consider rentals was because they lacked a 'pushing' factor. That is to say the idea of selecting a vacation destination, then looking into rental costs would likely have made me weigh the financial aspects far too much and NOT consider the benefits of vacationing. The financial outlay would likely have meant we would have taken far fewer vacations than we have.

One of the benefits of timeshare ownership is that it 'forces' a person (a family) to take a vacation so that the outlay of the initial purchase and any maintenance fee is then justified. In most cases, owning is cheaper than renting in the long term if you are going to vacation each year. For us, that push factor has made us travel - much more so than we would have had we had pursued the rental option.

This is NOT to say that using the rental approach is wrong - indeed it is a fantastic way to test the water (so to speak). But over the long term, carefully chosen purchase(s) of time share will mean a lower vacation cost and hopefully more vacation memories.

Best of luck in your research on this!
 

geist1223

TUG Member
Joined
May 20, 2015
Messages
5,974
Reaction score
5,728
Points
499
Location
Salem Oregon
Resorts Owned
Worldmark 97,000 Credits
DRI Cabo Azul 50,500
Royal Solaris San Jose del Cabo
Check out www.wmowners.com/forum. No fee to join. People there happy to answer questions. Lots of good information to include Accounts for sale. There are also accounts on EBAY.

Bonus Time is 14 days before check in. So it is really the left overs. Every Monday on the web site www.worldmarktheclub.com they publish a list of Resorts for Monday Madness. Sometimes it is 3 to 5 Resorts. Sometimes it is the whole Inventory I believe these can be Booked out 10 months. Inventory Specials are normally low demand resorts and mid-week. Sometimes they include weekends. This list is maintained on the official Web Site and changes whenever Wyndham the Manager decides to change it.

I do not use the Wait List much because we are always planning 13 to 18 months out. Right now we are Booked through next summer with plans for October and November 2019. We are also planning 2020 - Tasmania in our winter Ireland or London or Barcelona for our fall.

A few years ago we received only 8 weeks notice for an October wedding on Maui. I was able to grab 3 days right away and then filled in week a day at a time until we had the full week by using the Wait List.

The current maintenance fees on a 20K Worldmark Account are $1456.80 per year. These do go up each year.
 

geist1223

TUG Member
Joined
May 20, 2015
Messages
5,974
Reaction score
5,728
Points
499
Location
Salem Oregon
Resorts Owned
Worldmark 97,000 Credits
DRI Cabo Azul 50,500
Royal Solaris San Jose del Cabo
Also with Worldmark you do not have to pay fees to save your Points from year to year. This is automatic. Points are awarded on the 1st day of the account's anniversary month and then are good for Booking for about 25 months. But that Booking can be out 13 months. So let's say the annivery month is June. On June 1, 2019 you would get your new set of Points. These have to be placed into a Booking by June 30, 2021. But because you can Book out 13 months that stay may not start until July 30, 2022. You can also borrow 1 year in advance for no fee. So if you planned it right you could have 3 years in Points to make one long booking in Fiji.

On the Secondary Market you should expect to pay 20 cents to 35 cents per Point. Watch out for Accounts that have Zero Current Points. You are starting out having to wait or to borrow Points from the get go. But you would be paying Maintenance Fees on those Current Points you do have in your Account.
 

bizaro86

TUG Review Crew: Veteran
TUG Member
Joined
Mar 5, 2008
Messages
3,664
Reaction score
2,489
Points
598
Location
Calgary, AB, Canada
I think the best options for you are likely Worldmark or HGVC based on your location preferences.

One dark horse that might be worth investigating for you is Shell Points. They are pure points, so short stays aren't generally an issue. I have found I can book on shorter notice in Shell than Worldmark (I own both) which might fit you a bit better.

Shell is cheap to free to acquire, but the MF are higher than worldmark for comparable length stays. They have the best Napa timeshare, good options in Hawaii and Vegas. There are also SF, Anaheim, and San Diego locations in CA. No Colorado or Tahoe, but they do have Whistler.

I think Worldmark or HGVC would be fine. Worldmark isnt 4* like HGVC, I'd rate them worldmark 3*, shell 3.5*, hgvc 4*.
 

dayooper

TUG Review Crew
TUG Member
Joined
Apr 14, 2018
Messages
3,945
Reaction score
3,401
Points
349
Location
The Land of Ice and Snow
Resorts Owned
HGVC: The Flamingo, The Boulevard
HGVC would work great for you. You can purchase 7000 Vegas Platinum points for a little around a 1$ per point. The MF’s there are some of the lowest in the system (my Flamingo MF’s are a little over $1000 and the Boulevard MF’s are even lower than that! Orlando has fairly low MF’s as well. Some one had mentioned the booking fees for HGVC, but you can control them to a certain extent. You wouldn’t be able to get Napa or Tahoe through the HGVC, but your other locations HGVC has locations at.

The other HGVC option would be a ski season at Valdoro in Breckenridge Colorado. The MF’s are a little higher, but you would be assured a ski week every year. They are fixed weeks until you book somewhere else. The MF’s are considerably higher than the Vegas and Orlando resorts.

You book club reservations (non home season and unit at your deeded resort) starting at 9 months out do it would give you some more time to plan a little closer to that 5- 6 month time you like.

Renting is always a great option too.
 

Panina

TUG Review Crew: Elite
TUG Member
Joined
Jul 13, 2015
Messages
6,781
Reaction score
9,968
Points
499
Location
Florida
Resorts Owned
Hgvc Anderson, Blue Ride Village Resort
Since your significant other is a 4 kind of guy I agree with dayooper and would consider the hgvc system. All hgvc properties have beautiful units. Whether you live on the west coast or east coast lots of flexibility and options.
 

JohnPaul

TUG Review Crew: Elite
TUG Member
Joined
Apr 28, 2011
Messages
1,649
Reaction score
845
Points
323
Location
Sacramento, CA
Resorts Owned
Vacation Internationale, HGVC - NYC, Worldmark, Shell Vacations, Sedona Pines, RCI Points, Starwood (Avon, CO)
Thanks @JohnPaul! Y'all have officially convinced me to at least look into Worldmark and find out details.

Follow up questions for you (if you have a few more minutes):
"Waitlist works well" = can you tell me if you've had success booking during high season with waitlist? If so, about what % of the time would you say you are successful (30%?) and how many months in advance are you putting yourself on waitlist?

Regarding cash options: I don't know anything about this (yet!) because I haven't learned about it, but I'm curious if you could give me 1 or 2 examples of cash options you personally have been able to take advantage of.

Finally, it sounds like you own a few TSs. Can you tell me what your absolute favorite is for your specific situation? And maybe why it's the fav?

Thanks again!

I just had a waitlist come through for an additional day in Park City in February 2019 to add to our stay. WM only has 10 rooms in Park City and you typically need to book right at 13 months for ski season. I've also gotten a weekend in Seattle at the Camlin on waitlist (only took a few weeks).

There are some tricks to waitlist. If you just say I want a certain week at a popular resort, you are unlikely to get it. You can have up to 4 waitlist requests at a time. Typically to get a longer stretch, you piece it together. You say, I'll take 1 to 7 days in a one bedroom at xxx resort checking in between March 1 and March 5, 2019. Once you get a couple days you adjust your requests to build around that. Also, waitlist ends when bonus time kicks in (so if you haven't gotten it by two weeks before check in you have to start watching yourself.)

Lots of people complain that they can't get into Hawaii even at 13 months, but lots more say they are successful through wait list.

I don't do Hawaii (where a lot of the complaints are about) but I've booked Christmas in a penthouse at Seaside (another chronic complaint location).

Cash options. Bonus time is available within 14 days of today (for yourself - shorter time if for a guest). It costs 6.6 cents per point and includes the housekeeping fee. You can only have one bonus time reservation at a time.

Monday Madness can be booked up to 11 months out (following normal booking rules) and costs 8 cents per credit. Each Monday, specific resorts are mad available on Monday Madness. Typically a couple of times a year they make all resorts available for a few weeks. You can have up to 6 Monday Madness reservations at a time. Again, housekeeping is included.

Bonus time and Monday Madness have a $65 per night minimum even if the points x rate is less than that for a given night.

Lastly is FAX time. It is also 8 cents a point. You can book as much FAX time during blue and white seasons as you want. However, you can only book once every 5 years in red season at the 8 cent rate. Again, housekeeping is included. There is no minimum nightly rate on FAX time so sometime this is a winner on low point value reservations.

People are pushing HGVC which might fit well with your desired locations. They have tons of resorts in Hawaii and Las Vegas (and Florida) We own HGVC in NYC and only use it there.

I'll do a separate post about our other systems.
 

JohnPaul

TUG Review Crew: Elite
TUG Member
Joined
Apr 28, 2011
Messages
1,649
Reaction score
845
Points
323
Location
Sacramento, CA
Resorts Owned
Vacation Internationale, HGVC - NYC, Worldmark, Shell Vacations, Sedona Pines, RCI Points, Starwood (Avon, CO)
I just double checked and see you are in San Jose so WM could be very good for you. Let me add a few more thoughts.

Because WM has so many "drive to" resorts, last minute options are more realistic. Also, there are no charges for making or cancelling reservations. Thus, if something looks like a good possibility - grab it and cancel later if needed. Obviously if you are using points, that can be a limitation on speculative reservations. With any reservation (including the cash options) you get everything back if you cancel within guidelines.

WM cancelation rules depend on how far ahead you made the reservation (the closer to check in the more liberal the rules). As such, there are more last minute cancellations to pick up than in most programs.

If your reservation was made 91 or more days before check in, then you must cancel 30 days before check in to get everything back. If your reservations was made 15 to 90 days before check in, then you must cancel 10 days before check in. If you book between 48 hours to 14 days you can cancel up to 2 days before check in. Reservations made within 48 hours of check in cannot be cancelled.

The general rule of timesharing is that the farther ahead you book, the more likely you are to get what you want. That's doubly true of popular resorts and popular times. But, if you don't have to have a 3 bedroom ocean front unit over Christmas, for example, it isn't really just "leftovers", especially with WM due to some of the above reasons - cancelation policy and wait list.

Bigger and fancier units typically go earlier as do prime times such as holidays and school vacations.

Keep checking it out. If you invest in something like Worldmark, buying resale, even if you find it doesn't work for you - you shouldn't lose much if you need to sell out. There might be some time and dollar costs but not massive.

The main thing to bear in mind is that you need to USE your ownership to make it worthwhile.
 

JohnPaul

TUG Review Crew: Elite
TUG Member
Joined
Apr 28, 2011
Messages
1,649
Reaction score
845
Points
323
Location
Sacramento, CA
Resorts Owned
Vacation Internationale, HGVC - NYC, Worldmark, Shell Vacations, Sedona Pines, RCI Points, Starwood (Avon, CO)
Here is a cut and paste of something I wrote earlier about the various systems we own and why we like them.

We own a ton of timeshares in a variety of systems because each one offers something unique for us. I don't think a single system could give us what we have.

Vacation Internationale - Primarily West Coast. This was our first timeshare. We now have 451 points (a lot). Combination of developer and resale purchases. Through a quirky situation we ended up with Prestige Platinum which gives us ridiculous benefits including - 10% additional Prestige Credits with no maintenance fee (so 45.1 points every year - just like regular points), bonus time at 40 days at 50% of the very reasonable rate and other benefits. We use all over but especially Lake Tahoe and Sun River, Oregon. $20 reservation fee but no housekeeping fees.

Hilton - West 57th St - We love New York City and love having our home away from home there. Two weeks - 12,450 By Hilton Club points.

Shell Vacations Club (West) - mostly San Francisco (we live 90 miles away), Napa and San Diego. We can get mid week Dash Away Deals (bonus time) for $30 per night for a hotel room at Inn at the Opera plus the $17.50 booking fee. And you get breakfast there!! We have also been taking advantage of their BlueGreen partnership to stay in Chicago. We have 15,500 points.

Worldmark - Love bonus time and Monday Madness (pay cash). We stay all over with them and their MF are reasonable. Unique cancellation policy that produces last minute cancellations to grab as bonus time. West oriented as are we. Favorites include Park City, Seattle Camlin, Angels Camp and Depoe Bay. We own 25,000 points.

Vistana - We bought a summer EOY at Sheraton Mountain Vista in Colorado with Staroptions (yes Developer). With the yearly club fee our MF were out of whack for what we got. Just bought another EOY mandatory resort with the same Staroptions for much lower MF giving us a much better number of Staroptions at a much better cost. Mostly to use in Colorado. 88,000 Staroptions EOY.

Two Independent Resorts for RCI Points at low MF - Oakmont in Pigeon Forge, TN (never been there) and Sedona Pines (been there twice in 15 years of ownership). We get 144,500 RCI points a year. Mostly use them for Colorado skiing.

We bought our first TS in 1988 (minimum EOY VI points) and have only bought more. Never sold anything. We use every minute of every one. We are now 63 and 70. We are on the road (primarily in TS) at least 6 months of the year (but not a continuous 6 months).
 
Top