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Do you gift timeshare stays for family/friends?

DaveNV

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I have a coworker who is a good, solid man. Hardworking, dedicated to his work. He's been under a great deal of stress at work, and can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. His wife and I are also good friends. She also works for the company, in a different area, and has had a string of serious health issues over the last several months, including a major surgery. She has been through some major life changes this year, her Mother passed away a few months ago, her adult daughter has had issues, and I know it's all put a lot of stress on their already stressful lives.

Today Alan told me they had both requested and received approval for a week's time off at the end of this coming month, so he and his wife can just unplug and decompress for awhile. I asked if they had plans to go out of town, and he said they didn't, because it all was happening as kind of a last minute thing. They couldn't afford to spend a lot on a trip right now.

I got on the WorldMark website, and started exploring nearby locations that might have availability. There are four resorts in the Pacific Northwest that are on Monday Madness this week. One of those happens to be the WorldMark in Victoria, BC. They've visited Victoria before, and have very nice things to say about it. I knew they might want to go back for a visit, especially in late August, which should be a great time of year. They could have a nice drive and a ferry ride (or two) to get there, and have a nice weekend away.

As incredible luck would have it, I found a Saturday and Sunday available at that resort for a weekend that dovetails with their time off. I paid for it in cash, (the beauty of Monday Madness), and I used my last Guest Certificate for the year, (but my anniversary with WorldMark is August, so I'll get a new allotment of GCs next week.) It was all set up in a matter of minutes.

I sent the email confirmation to them, and said it was my gift to them, for being such good friends and having survived so much this year. Alan protested, as I expected he would, but I told him it was already paid for, and that was that. He shook my hand and thanked me deeply. That was payment enough.

It was nice being able to do something for someone else, just because. Do you ever gift timeshare stays for your family or friends?

Dave
 
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dmbrand

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Kudos to you, gifting a vacation is very generous. We find it to be very rewarding doing the same. We could be using our week right now in Maine, but do not go every year, so we gifted it to a our pastor and wife. Others have been generous to us throughout our life, so this is a pay-it-forward opportunity.
 

slip

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I have done that a few times myself. My latest one is my friend and his wife are going to the Pono Kai next May. We just had dinner on Wednesday since I’m leaving and we were telling them places to go to and see. They said they never would have thought of going without this and they Thanked me profusely. That made us feel great.

Now I maybe able to sneak over there while they are there. :thumbup:
 

Patri

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That was a wonderful thing to do, Dave. Did you tell them ahead of time you were planning to do that? Just in case they really DID want to stay home.
 

hjsweet2002

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We feel we have been blessed to own our Timeshares. We love sharing them with friends and family once in a while. We never expect anything in return. We let them use them alone sometime but mostly we travel with them as we love spending time with friends and family. We want to share our blessing with friends and family
 

Icc5

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We've gifted weeks before as wedding gifts a few different times. We have done this both to family and friends. In the 3 times we have done this twice was easy and one time more of a problem. The problem time was when we let my son's best friend and his new wife pick the location and timeshare through RCI. We let them choose then tell us which one. After explaining everything ( the husband had stayed with us several times before) they picked a few different places. The problem was they picked all inclusive. We explained how that worked and had them pick another,non inclusive.
The wife seemed disappointed though after they went they were very happy.
 

geist1223

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We give each kid 1 Reservation per year. They are slowly learning to plan 13 months in advance. Two years ago we gave my nephew and his wife a week in Kihe'i. It was for their 5th wedding anniversary. They married on Mau'i. We have given friends Hawaii for special occasions. When we were working we gave a recently divorced coworker (very short on money) and her 3 kids Seaside for a Summer vacation in our Residence Club Unit. For another coworker we gave her parents a week in Hawaii after they had gone through a six month bad experience of grandmother dying. We also invite friends to go with us. These trips have included Fiji, New Zealand, Australia, Mexico, Hawaii, Canada, etc. One of our House/Pet Sitters and favorite bartenders was getting married. Her husband had a minimum wage job. So we offered them Kihe'i for their Honeymoon. Once they told their family about the offer a family member used air miles for their tickets, and a grandmother gave them $2,000 spending money. So a group of us came together to give this couple a Honeymoon they never would have had. We also regularly donate a Residence Club Week in Seaside to charity auctions.

We have been doing this type of thing within a couple years of joining WMTC. We are not all heart. If we take in the shorts because someone changes their mind they do not get a second chance.
 

DaveNV

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That was a wonderful thing to do, Dave. Did you tell them ahead of time you were planning to do that? Just in case they really DID want to stay home.

Thanks. We had discussed things a bit, but he didn’t know what I had in mind. If they had flat out refused to accept it, I would have cancelled and gotten my money back. Another beauty of WM. But to find a weekend availability at a nice resort nearby at this late date was a bit of a surprise. Locking it down quickly was pretty important. :)

Dave
 

Passepartout

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Thanks. We had discussed things a bit, but he didn’t know what I had in mind. If they had flat out refused to accept it, I would have cancelled and gotten my money back. Another beauty of WM. But to find a weekend availability at a nice resort nearby at this late date was a bit of a surprise. Locking it down quickly was pretty important. :)

Dave
Good job, Dave. You're a good guy. But we already knew that.
 

easyrider

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Pretty cool Dave !!! :clap:

I haven't ever given a timeshare stay to anyone yet without them knowing. I see how this can work with he free cancellation at WM. Another reason I like WM.

Bill
 

AnnaS

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Very nice, thoughtful and generous of you.......

We have gifted our points to family and friends for various reasons. I am sure they will appreciate it a ton.
 

Sandy VDH

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I have, but at times NO good deed goes unpunished.

I had a housekeeper some time back that always complained that she had no money and desperately wanted to go away. So as a christmas bonus I gave her a week away and she picked the location and date. When the date was past I asked her how her vacation was. She told me she decided NOT to go, and just didn't bother to tell me so I could cancel. Sometimes something that has no cost to someone also has no value either.

I did send my niece on her honeymoon. I paid for the hotel, they paid for the all inclusive. Which was $100 pp/pd. This is the one all inclusive I think is a good option. It is the Explorean Resorts, there are only 2, they are part of the Fiesta Americana Resort. This hotel chain is good, as it also includes one excursion a day for that fee. They had a great time, and loved the excursions. The food and staff were fantastic.
 

Luanne

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I have done it a couple of times for our dd and sil.
 

klpca

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I'm sending my brother/SIL to Seapointe over Labor Day weekend, (actually 5 nights). They have been going through some tough times and I had expiring HGVC points so I booked a trip for them. I have also sent my husband's sister and her husband to Hawaii (WKORVN studio) to thank them for all of the driving that they have had to do for my in-laws (we live about 2 hours away from all of them). My FIL has advanced Macular degeneration and my MIL won't drive anywhere except church or the grocery store, so my SIL (who works full time) has to take them to all of their doctor appointments. We had an extra week so we called them up and asked if they would like to go to Maui - they chose the week of my SIL's birthday. We also sent the daughter of a close friend to Sedona for her honeymoon. I found a getaway week for about $200. They were thrilled because otherwise they weren't going anywhere for a honeymoon. It's nice when you can help someone.

And I agree @Sandy VDH , folks who don't pay anything for the week frequently think that it must not be worth anything. I made my brother pay for the guest certificate just to make sure that they didn't back out in the end. Fingers crossed that they will go. My SIL already told my mom that they weren't sure that they could get the two extra days off (which seems ridiculous - they never take any time off and they have known since late Dec 2018). We will see what happens.
 

DaveNV

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Sometimes something that has no cost to someone also has no value either.

I understand that. When I was a young teenager, (I think I was 13?), I won concert tickets from a radio station dial-in contest to a big performance. The tickets were given away in singles, and after trying really hard, four days later I won a second ticket to the show. I was really excited, because I had tried so hard. As the day approached, I realized I didn’t have anyone to use the second ticket, so I gave them to the next door neighbors. They were a young Navy couple with little money. I even volunteered to babysit their kids so they could go. I looked forward to hearing all about the concert, which was a “Battle of the Bands” thing featuring a lot of big names at the time.

About an hour after they left, the neighbors came home. I asked what had happened. We’re they sick? The show cancelled? They said it was too crowded to find a convenient place to park, so they gave the tickets to somebody on the street near the venue.

I was furious. But I said nothing, and just went home. I never offered to give them anything again.

Dave
 

jehb2

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I use to routinely give away week. We had more points than we could use and our MFs were a lot lower. However now I rent out my units and use the money for vacations (Airbnb) to Europe and Japan.
 
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moonstone

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Nearly 30 years ago we gave my sister & her hubby a week (RCI EV) in Banff for their honeymoon. Since it was off season and RCI had a sale on we thought it was a great deal. They already had the plane tickets, rental car and a hotel booked for their stay and were able to cancel the hotel with no penalty.

For my In-law's 40th Anniversary the siblings & spouses went together on 2 weeks in Myrtle Beach (their choice) even though they didn't want any gifts. Dad had just retired and really wanted to spend some time in FL but knew he wasn't up to the long drive any more. I was even able to book them a 2 bedroom (to get 2 bathrooms -important for them!) for the same price as a 1 bedroom!

Last year DH & I went together with his sister & her DH to give their nephew and his bride a week's stay in Las Vegas for their honeymoon. All they had to book was airfare and rental car. They loved it and said they are never staying at an AI again!


~Diane
 

jdent1

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We are giving our daughter and future SIL two weeks in Hawaii next June for their honeymoon. They were planning on going to southeast Asia but all the wedding costs have started to add up and that trip was going to be even more expensive then expected. So they "settled" for Hawaii - actually my daughter was very excited to go back and show her husband the sights.
 

Ralph Sir Edward

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let's see. . . . (All at Bay Club in Hawaii)

My sister and my second cousin.

A former boss twice. Once with her husband, once with a friend of hers after her divorce.

Once with a former co-worker, her husband, and their son and future daughter-in-law. Everybody was comfortable with having the honeymoon first. (They are now married. They couldn't afford a honeymoon.)

Once with a friend of my sister whom I've know for nearly 40 years. She took 3 other friends along for their "once in a lifetime" trip to Hawaii. I cherish the thank you card I got back.

Hopefully my sister again this January. This time I will be along to overlap the trip. . .

Once with a childhood bud and his family to Royal Palms in Orlando.
 

clifffaith

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We gave friends a week at Kaanapali Beach Club, Deluxe Ocean View, as a honeymoon gift. We gave Cliff's sister and BIL a week in Branson, a few days at KBC (to augment the travel package they were already on) and twice several days at the Diàmond Resort in Santa Fe. I posted after we met them in Santa Fe this past April and didn't get treated to so much as a pancake breakfast, that they had worn out their freebies. I don't expect more than a thank you when they go to Branson on their own, happy to offer them lodging. But sit across the table from me at breakfast and ask the waiter for separate checks, I feel dissed.
 

DaveNV

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I posted after we met them in Santa Fe this past April and didn't get treated to so much as a pancake breakfast, that they had worn out their freebies. I don't expect more than a thank you when they go to Branson on their own, happy to offer them lodging. But sit across the table from me at breakfast and ask the waiter for separate checks, I feel dissed.

I remember when that happened. Unconscionable behavior.

Dave
 

geekette

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Oh yes, I like to do things like that.

My last "meaningful" gift was a couple in their 50s, I worked with the guy. His wife was diagnosed with cancer, was not supposed to be life-threatening, but the treatments would be brutal. He wanted to get away before all of that started, and I had points they used to head NE and enjoy just being a couple in a new place, feeling normal before everything got crazy.

I feel so fortunate to get great vacations that it's easy to want others to enjoy, and sometimes, you just know you have the power to make someone happier.
 

geekette

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We are not all heart. If we take in the shorts because someone changes their mind they do not get a second chance.

Yes. I like being generous but there can be situations or behavior that remove someone from my list forever.
 
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