My Survey

[glamdring269]

I've answered the survey questions below but wanted to ask some questions as well. I plan our travel well in advance and since we know when our travel times are due to my work schedule and her school schedule it actually makes it very easy. I'm already experienced in renting out villas/condos from owners via services such as VRBO so already do a decent job finding good value in booking our trips. With that said, if the general consensus is that we should be ok just continuing to do what we're doing then I'm ok with that. But if there is some advantage to owning a timeshare relative to the current way I'm handling our trips then definitely interested. (FYI, we do own at DVC so have some limited timeshare experience.)

And for the record, I tend to book like this for almost anything. Not a huge hotel room fan so even when visiting places like New Orleans I try to find condo/apartment/etc. offerings that are still close to all of the amenities but offer perks not available in a tiny hotel room.

Thanks to any advice you may be able to offer!

1) Is there a vacation destination you wish to visit most of the time or on a regular basis? if so where? Maui. Would prefer Lahaina area.

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? Visit half the time but also travel frequently on long weekend trips. Flexibility is always a plus.

3) What are your 5 top trade destinations?
Caribbean (St. John fans... alas, willing to try other locations)
Europe
Las Vegas
Gulf coast beaches from Gulf Shores down to Ft. Myers area.
Smoky Mountains

4) How many people do you usually travel with? 2 adults. 0 kids.

5) Can you travel any time, or are you locked into the school schedule?
Primarily travel around school schedule. Prime "long" weeks are around July 4th and Christmas. Sometimes travel during Spring/Fall break. Our long weekend trips are scattered throughout.

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

7) Can you vacation for a full week at a time? Yes. Specifically on this point though we often prefer 10-12 nights in spots such as Hawaii and Europe due to travel distance.

8) What level of accommodations do you prefer on a scale of 1 to 5 stars?
I'd say 4 on average. Willing to flex between 3-5.

9) How much can you afford to spend upfront, without financing?
$25k, but of course would like to minimize.

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? $2-$3k, but of course would like to minimize.

11) Are you a detail oriented planner? Yes.

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.

 

[rhonda]

Welcome to TUG!

I've been participating in your related thread on the Disboards. Comments to your survey above:

Geographical span. I am not aware of any timeshare that covers all of your stated travel destinations (questions 1 and 3) inside a single system.

• Some point-based mini-systems will offer Hawaii and Las Vegas.
• European timeshares are often out in the country -- away from major cities and popular sight-seeing attractions. They are in places that Europeans use to escape the crowds, breathe fresh air, hit the slopes, etc.
• Wyndham points covers your southern US destinations, LV, St. Thomas.
• Worldmark points (credits) offers Lahaina (bicycling distance into town ... but not walking distance), LV, St. Thomas.
• RCI Points is an "exchange club" affiliation, not a specific timeshare, that likely comes closest to meeting the range you are seeking. If you really need that range in "one purchase" -- consider buying a timeshare that participates in RCI Points. There are many moving parts to this suggestion and it requires a good deal of study both at the RCI Points program level and the underlying affiliated timeshare. More on this topic later, if it seems needed.

"Stars." (Quality Rating) For reference, I'd suggest that most DVC units are similar to "3-Star" in the timeshare world. If you are comfortable with DVC units, you'll be ok with a wide range of timeshare properties. Where DVC resorts might reach a "4-Star" rating are in their expanded pool complexes (far exceeding most timeshare properties), ground transportation, theme park access (obviously), and the unique decor/theming of each location. But overall, DVC is basically a 3-star in terms of unit size, unit construction quality, unit amenities, unit maintenance/repair, unit cleanliness, etc. (In my opinion/experience ...)

Length of Stay (carried over from your Disboards thread). Most point-based mini-systems will support your intended 9 or 10-night stay. Check the links and chart posted in a thread titled FAQ Links for Timeshare Points and Hotel Based Ownerships for comparisons across the various mini-systems.

Print out this comparison table and start marking all over it!

Again, Welcome! and Best wishes in your research.

 

[glamdring269]

Hi Rhonda, appreciate the response! To be honest I don't really need the level of flexibility described in the questionnaire responses. Those would be nice to have if a program offered it but to be honest, if I could be guaranteed 10-12 nights in Lahaina/Ka'anapali every other year that is all I'm looking for. Anything on top of that is just gravy!

I've spent plenty of time walking/running the area outside both the Hyatt and Marriott properties and know both of those are fantastic. Not too sure if there are other offerings on that stretch that offer up some resale timeshare value or not but, to your point, if DVC properties are basically 3* then I'm certainly ok with that.

With that said, it would be nice to have some flexibility to use our ownership in the Caribbean as well. We live in TN so sometimes prefer to stay more local which is what led us to St. John in the first place.

 

[K2Quick]

If I were in your shoes and I were tied to a school calendar, I'd probably lean toward either the Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villas (WKORV) or Marriott's Lahaina and Napili Villas with a 2BR every-other-year unit. On the years you visit, you can lock off your unit and stay one week in the 1 BR side and the second week in the studio side. That will yield you exactly 14 days (you have to book full weeks when using your deeded week rights). Alternatively, you can use your points from WKORV to book the days you want. That way, you can book the 10-12 days you say you're looking for, but you can only book those at the 8-month mark and probably don't have as good a chance at landing the highly desireable dates. For Hawaii, buy it to use - I would never trade it.

For the non-Hawaii stuff since it's just two adults, I don't see where timesharing is going to add a lot of benefit for you for the other destinations you listed. I'd just stay flexible there and rent. A WKORV unit will give you an included Interval International membership - you can always use that to book getaways. Alternatively, you might consider getting a Las Vegas Hilton week to supplement your Hawaii week. Their point system is highly flexible and would check off your LV and Florida boxes and also would get you access to the other exchange company RCI. You could bag an EOY WKORV deed and an annual Las Vegas Hilton deed and have that fit within your stated budget for upfront cost and annual maintenance fees.

 

[WalnutBaron]

I'd recommend you consider Westin Kierland Villas in Scottsdale. Because it is a so-called "mandatory" resort within the Vistana/Starwood system, you would be able to use your StarOptions points to trade into Hawaii at either Westin Ka'anapali (3 different locations) or Westin Princeville, with fairly accessible availability. Westin Kierland Villas has maintenance fees that are about half of the fees in Hawaii.

If you really have no flexibility to travel beyond the peak holiday weeks you mentioned, then you will need to buy specifically for Westin Ka'anapali, which is also a mandatory resort. Do not buy at Westin Princeville, which is a voluntary resort and, therefore, will not carry StarOptions to allow you to conduct internal trades within the Starwood system.

Another reason to consider Starwood is that it has Westin St. John. This is also a very tough resort to trade into, but if you put in a request long in advance of your desired travel date, you'll at least have a chance of getting it.

As Rhonda mentioned, Starwood is not going to cover all of your desired locations, but it definitely hits your star rating and you can acquire a resale 2BR lockout unit that is well within the budget you mentioned.

Good luck!