Egret1986, can you explain why diamond has been your worst experience?
im curious if i am better off going with a big name like hilton or marriott and why they may be better? i assume the sales tactics are the same at all of them and hilton/marriott more expensive than diamond?
it does seem some people are happy with diamond
If you feel the feedback "does seem some people are happy with diamond", I agree that is true. I don't believe my personal situation should necessarily hold a lot of weight for you. As I stated, I was holding 17 traditional weeks (prime summer beach weeks with high demand) when Diamond acquired Gold Key Resorts (small local group). I was very, very happy with the product that I owned. Gold Key Resorts had just acquired one of the resorts in North Carolina's Outer Banks to add to their four resorts in Virginia Beach. I owned many weeks (including independent resorts) at the time. Diamond is too corporate for me. With 17 weeks, I felt the brunt of the acquisition and all the initial issues (for close to two years) faced by owners. If I had only owned a couple of weeks, I don't feel that I would have experienced these issues to the degree that I did. The North Carolina resort was originally a big seller of RCI Points and was wholly affiliated with RCI. Diamond is affiliated with II. Before it was over, my only choice was to pull seven contracts out of RCI Points. I didn't pay to put these contracts into RCI Points, but some owner did (probably $3000+ per contract) and they had value (flexibility) to me in RCI Points. The difficulty that I had with Diamond and the costs that I incurred due to this unforeseen acquisition left a very bad taste in my mouth. For the first 18 months after the acquisition, I had an unpaid part-time job trying to make my contracts work and get what I was entitled to. In the end, I had to pull those seven contracts out of RCI Points, which wouldn't have been my choice. My only way to survive until I could un-Diamond myself was to cancel the RCI Points. I have bought and resold timeshares for many years. The Gold Key Resorts timeshares that I owned pre-Diamond maintained decent resale values ($3000-$5000). The resale values plummeted after the Diamond acquisition in 2015. These contracts are now essentially worthless. I also have been renting timeshare weeks for 12 years. Fortunately, I have been able to continue to rent my Diamond weeks while I liquidate.
In summary, I would say my experience and situation is not typical. Few folks have 17 contracts. Others, such as yourself, make the the choice to buy the product. I did not choose to buy into the Diamond product. My opinion of Diamond and personal experience shouldn't be considered in making a decision about whether to buy into Diamond or another system. Up until Diamond, I wasn't part of any of the timeshare systems out there. I was always drawn to the independents.
I made a business out of my timeshares (owning 42 weeks in 2015). Diamond's acquisition threw a monkey-wrench into my business, caused me headaches beyond belief, expended my energy and time, and cost me some money. Fortunately, that lost money will amount to much less than some lose on a single timeshare purchase through the developer. I've got five Diamond contracts left with a couple of options for getting rid of them. They rent for well over maintenance fees and will be rented until they are gone. I will then be down to two independents, which I will keep for personal use or rentals.
Again, do your research and ask questions before jumping in. Diamond could be something that works for you.
PS: When you speak of "sales tactics", are you considering a developer purchase? Be fully knowledgeable and prepared if that is a consideration. TUG is a great forum for gaining that knowledge and prepping for a purchase. Best to you!