[ 2018 ] Thirdhome

[Eric B]

Interesting....

The sales reps there are always coming up with some weird explanation for how they arrive at the prices, but I hadn't heard of them actually involving third parties like this before (unless you count the timeshare trade in thing). They have a good product and would be much better off just selling it in my opinion, but I guess they maximize their profits and the sales commissions this way. I wouldn't let it turn me off to ThirdHome, though. Bear in mind that I haven't actually made a reservation with them, so really should reserve judgement, but that seems like a red herring. I have heard the "marketing weeks" discussion before, but usually in the form of them offering to take the first few years Ambassador Certificates or something like that. I did have one offer me a contract stripped of the registered week, leaving just the extra ones for a minor discount.

 

[Finsadbel]

What HGVC property. Or is this only for higher levels of Elite?

We own at the ELARA. We haven’t had any bad experiences like others on here but have only been “members” for a short time. Their “key system” is a bit expensive. Our advice is to really search around before you deposit a week with them. You may be able to rent the property for cheaper than what it costs for the exchange.


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[Eric B]

We own at the ELARA. We haven’t had any bad experiences like others on here but have only been “members” for a short time. Their “key system” is a bit expensive. Our advice is to really search around before you deposit a week with them. You may be able to rent the property for cheaper than what it costs for the exchange.


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For me, using one of my Vidanta weeks deposited in the ThirdHome Super Peak season, I get keys for just under $210 per key; if I use different ones, though, it can get closer to $300. (For comparison, with the upgraded membership levels you can buy extra keys to make an exchange for $500 each.) Not sure how it will work out long term, but my understanding is that maintaining a membership not based on a resort affiliation only costs the deposit of one week each year, for which you get the appropriate number of keys based on the home or resort week you deposit and the time of year you deposit it. I think you're right on with looking into rental costs versus exchange costs; they have some awfully nice looking places listed that cost a lot of keys, which adds up in your MF cost per key as well as in the sliding scale for the exchange fee. On the other hand, they've got some fairly decent places in there that you can exchange into for one key that would only have a $395 exchange fee, making it a week for a touch over $600 for me all in. For the most part, their low end looks like it's comparable to what you can get on the high end in RCI; I plan on trying them out at that end first this year because I've already got most of my vacations planned, then seeing what they're higher end ones are like next year. The stuff they have for rent on the rental side is priced a lot more expensively in overall costs than the exchange side, at least for me.

 

[Sebastiane]

I do not think you can deposit timeshare ownership in to ThirdHome. ThirdHome is a home sharing gadget where you savings intervals of time in your excessive quit luxury domestic or vacation domestic and in alternate you can journey to other people's luxurious homes for which they also deposited time. It works just like RCI or II but for houses. I am curious about the legitimacy of ThirdHome. Are they an trade company? Are they registered like RCI and II in the states that they do business.

 

[Eric B]

There are quite a few timeshares in Third Home. Mostly high end ones, e.g., Grand Luxxe, Four Seasons, Ritz Carlton, Montecristo by Pueblo Bonito, Diamante, Grand Solmar. There is an exchange portion and a rental portion. No idea about registration. You can see what locations they have by exploring the website.

 

[Finsadbel]

Hyatt and HGVC Elara are on ThirdHome. A few DVC also.....

 

[A.Win]

I finally joined ThirdHome! They are very impressive in the Colorado ski areas, so they used this in their demo. In my mid-Atlantic region, I was a bit disappointed.

But I do like the tax benefit. Let's say I rent my timeshare for $2,000. After various taxes and fees, maybe $1,200 reaches my pocket. With ThirdHome, I am basically using that $800 in savings to pay their high exchange fees instead.

Have any of you had positive experiences yet?

 

[Finsadbel]

We have traded into ThirdHome once. We were scheduled to use our “keys” when the pandemic hit, so we had to cancel.

So far, it appears like it will be “acceptable but not ideal” for us to trade into ThirdHome. The exchange fees can be ridiculous.

 

[A.Win]

I received a Cyber Monday special from Third Home:
To celebrate Cyber Monday, THIRDHOME members are able to book any available Vidanta Grand Luxxe week Keylessly for one day only! Members have access to two of the Grand Luxxe resorts located in Nuevo Vallarta and Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Both resorts offer 1-4 bedroom accommodations and top-of-the-line amenities.

If this works as advertised, you only pay the $700 to $1,200 exchange fee (varies bases on season and unit size). This seems like a really good deal but I'm not sure. Are there any other hidden fees involved?

 

[Eric B]

There is a $42/day resort fee and there will be some minor taxes, etc. Those are disclosed on the listings.

 

[Finsadbel]

I looked into this also. Still trying to decide on what day. It’s the usual “Key” fee + the fee listed in the listing.

 

[chemteach]

I joined ThirdHome through hearing that they now take timeshare weeks on one of Eric B.'s postings. (Thank you, Eric!!) We are currently staying in a 3 bedroom house in a not so safe part of National City in San Diego. We had no idea about the neighborhood before arriving, but ThirdHome has been great about the situation. We are heading out to Joshua Tree for a New Year's week trip in a 3 bedroom house. That area isn't posh, but the neighborhoods are fine. I'm looking forward to having an option outside of RCI and II for travel - likely doing family reunion type gatherings in large homes. I've been lucky in the past being able to get 2 or 3 units in a timeshare for family trips. Hoping this will be a fun new experience for us. I almost jumped on the Grand Luxxe special they are running, but with kids heading off for sumer internships and unsure of what the summer holds for my kids, I'm waiting for now.

 

[Eric B]

Glad to hear you're finding some good exchanges there! Could you let us know how the week turns out overall and which one you stayed in? I've seen a few nice looking ones pop up around the National City neighborhoods and had been thinking about taking one of them for a week next year, but am curious about the not so safe aspect now.

If you get a chance, my favorite Mexican restaurant there when I lived in San Diego was Las Cuatro Milpas under the bridge to Coronado. Absolutely nothing fancy about it, but you have to get there early due to the long lines. Not sure what they're doing now, but the food was well worth a side trip. I usually just went and picked up stuff to go for the office anyway.

 

[TravelTime]

I joined ThirdHome through hearing that they now take timeshare weeks on one of Eric B.'s postings. (Thank you, Eric!!) We are currently staying in a 3 bedroom house in a not so safe part of National City in San Diego. We had no idea about the neighborhood before arriving, but ThirdHome has been great about the situation. We are heading out to Joshua Tree for a New Year's week trip in a 3 bedroom house. That area isn't posh, but the neighborhoods are fine. I'm looking forward to having an option outside of RCI and II for travel - likely doing family reunion type gatherings in large homes. I've been lucky in the past being able to get 2 or 3 units in a timeshare for family trips. Hoping this will be a fun new experience for us. I almost jumped on the Grand Luxxe special they are running, but with kids heading off for sumer internships and unsure of what the summer holds for my kids, I'm waiting for now.

ThirdHome used to position themselves as offering luxury homes. It seems like they are going middle market now.

 

[chemteach]

ThirdHome used to position themselves as offering luxury homes. It seems like they are going middle market now.

They definitely still have some amazing luxury homes. I'm hoping to visit the Napa Valley area one day - staying in one of their homes. They also have some large very nice residences in Colorado that I was looking at for a summer gathering. You do have to be more cautious in larger cities with unpredictable neighborhoods. The inside of the house is beautiful. But I don't like that there are guard dogs at about 40% of the homes and bars over windows and doors of all the neighborhood homes. ThirdHome will be taking this residence off their listings.

 

[youknowthenight]

Thanks for posting, I just joined as well. Fun to at least browse the listings. There is supposed to be 0 key within 30 days stays, but haven't seen anything yet.

 

[dewco]

This is an interesting thread. We are long time, big fans of Third Home and have worked out a program that works very well for us. I wrote in another thread today describing a small portion of what we’ve been able to do with Third Home.

Vidanta is truly a slime operation. We used Third Home to book a keyless 2 week stay in a Puerta Vallarta property. Beautiful property but the timeshare presentation was the WORST timeshare presentation of our lives! We might stay at one of their properties in the future but NEVER again a presentation. The Third Home program doesn’t require attendance at a presentation.

 

[A.Win]

I am enjoying my first Third Home stay at Grand Luxxe. I concur that the sales presentation was too long, with one person after another trying to sell you something.
The room is stunning, but there are so many extra costs involved. In many ways, I miss the all inclusive vacation that I usually take.

 

[wmgjr]

We are currently staying in a 3 bedroom house in a not so safe part of National City in San Diego.

Was the Thirdhome listing called Lemon Grove something?