• 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 31 years ago in October 1993 as a group of regular Timeshare owners just like you!

    Read about our 31st anniversary: Happy 31st 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 $23,000,000 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 $23 Million dollars
  • Wish you could meet up with other TUG members? Well look no further as this annual event has been going on for years in Orlando! How to Attend the TUG January Get-Together!
  • Sign up to get the TUG Newsletter for free!

    Tens of thousands of 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!

All Inclusive TimeShares

StuartAlt

newbie
Joined
Dec 30, 2011
Messages
22
Reaction score
0
Location
New Jersey
I do not own a Timeshare and I am new to TUG. My wife and I recently had a wonderful vacation in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. On our vacation we were pitched a Timeshare Presentation by the Unlimited Vacation Club from AM Resorts. The final offer we recieved was about $20,900 for a 50 year or 100 weeks or $12,600 or 30 weeks(They lowered it to $10,100 but then there were too many restrictions that I could not use it). For this they would save us 25 percent and give us an upgrade to the Preferred Club everytime we stayed at one of their Resorts. They were also willing to throw in a stay at their resort Zoetry. At first they said 7 days and then 3 to 4 days. I looked into this because I enjoyed the all inclusive resort and due to my work I usually can only go on vacation around Christmas time which is getting to be quite expensive every year and wanted to see if we could lower or cost each year. However I did not do this deal because it did not make financial sense to me. It would save me about $1,000 each time I stayed at their Resorts so this looked like too long a period of time to get my money back.

That being said we had a great time at the All Inclusive and if I was wondering if there are any type of Timeshare with All Inclusives(probably looking in the Carribean). I just am not sure how this would work because they are providing more than room but food, service and entertainment as well. Would anyone have a reputable company to recommend? I have seen some horror stories of people buying timeshares in Mexico(though the same could be said about the U.S.) While I understand that Timeshares are not the best investment it has to make some sort of financial sense over a period of time. I appreciate any advice on this. Thank you.
 

spirits

TUG Member
Joined
Aug 15, 2007
Messages
1,071
Reaction score
296
Location
Edmonton
Resorts Owned
Banff Rocky Mountain Resort
You are off to a good start

First of all congratulations on not buying from a high pressure sales presentation. You will be so happy when you find out what a bullet you just dodged. Second you have found a great community here from people who own, love and use their timeshares well. Keep on coming back and learning more about this great way of life. You will find out if it is a way for you to holiday. The important fact is you will be an informed consumer and will make the right decision for you. I visited on this site for 6 months before buying my first timeshare and this site has made my timesharing a very rich part of my free time. WARNING: THIS SITE MAY BE ADDICTIVE;)
 

Patri

TUG Review Crew: Veteran
TUG Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
7,099
Reaction score
4,871
I would never buy at an AI resort. Hard to trade and you can rent weeks at most without the obligation to own. You will never "get your money back" on the purchase by what you "save". The lure of the AI experience will surely wear off and you will want to try other places.
 

Ridewithme38

TUG Member
Joined
Jul 14, 2010
Messages
3,325
Reaction score
4
Location
Long Island, NY
When you own at an All Inclusive TS, are the "All Inclusive fees" part of the MF or are they separate?

I know renting a All Inclusive TS from RCI you have to pay the fees separately, thats why i ask
 

Conan

TUG Review Crew: Elite
TUG Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
3,142
Reaction score
598
Location
Connecticut
Once you own a timeshare (bought resale, for example on Ebay) you will be able to exchange it for one or two non-all-inclusive (non-AI) weeks per year, or many (at least four) all-inclusive (AI) weeks per year.

The main trading exchange, RCI, will give the resort you own a number of trading power (TP) points per year. If you buy wisely you'll get a timeshare week that's worth between 25 and 50 or more TP points per year.

You'll be able to spend your TP points either for non-AI weeks (one or two 25 TP weeks or one 50 TP week if you have enough points).

Alternatively, you'll be able to spend your TP points on four or more AI weeks per year (AI weeks trade for low numbers of TP points because you'll still need to pay approximately $2,000 to $3,000 per couple for the meal plan at check-in.)

Here's how I'd view the cost of getting into timeshares. You'll pay maybe $2,000 to buy your timeshare week (including closing costs); count its resale value as zero, so over ten years it adds $200 per year to the cost of vacationing. You'll also pay maybe $800 per year in maintenance fees and exchange fees of $200 per exchange.

So if you end up exchanging for only one non-AI week, your cost is ($200 + $800 + $200 = $1,200) or about $175/night. Exchanging for two non-AI weeks your cost is ($200 + $800 + 2*$200 = $1,400) or about $100/night.

Exchanging for four AI weeks your cost is ($200 + $800 + 4*$200 = $1,800) or about $65/night, plus $300 to $500 per night for the meal plan.

You can see why TUGgers like timeshares, and why we lean toward non-AI vacations.
 

HudsHut

TUG Review Crew
TUG Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
4,359
Reaction score
1,523
The Mexico all inclusive resorts are available for rent/exchange in RCI every week of the year, because their all-inclusive fees are so high.
 

StuartAlt

newbie
Joined
Dec 30, 2011
Messages
22
Reaction score
0
Location
New Jersey
Thank you so much for your Advice. Yes Spirits I can say this sight is getting addictive already. I can't say the Salesman applied that much pressure because I told them right from the start that I am not doing a business deal today and I won't be doing anything without any checking. They showed me the RCI book and told me it would cost $548 to stay at any of these Resorts in the book. THey also told me their resort had a high trade value. I did check and saw that an All inclusive does not have much trade value and the only savings I could get would be at their resort. Due to this I saw the only savings I could get would be staying at their resort and this deal did not make sense.

They kept saying they did not consider it a Timeshare and there were not monthly fees. Though I think there was $250 yearly registration fee.

I wasn't sure why these type of resorts did not have a higher trade value but know I see why because you still have to pay for all the food and other services with the resort and it can be high. I can see why it makes more sense to just buy a regular timeshare than an all inclusive. I guess I was looking for a place that included everything included at the AI which may have given a substantial discount other than the 25% percent I was offered.

Where would I be able to find listing that lists the resorts with the higher trade values? I would like to find a place that the family and I could enjoy but also I would have a high trade value so I could go other places as well. How are the Timeshares in the Carribbean typically and how do they trade? Thank you again
 

spirits

TUG Member
Joined
Aug 15, 2007
Messages
1,071
Reaction score
296
Location
Edmonton
Resorts Owned
Banff Rocky Mountain Resort
Have fun searching

Sometimes you get answers right away to your posts. Other times the answers are a little more difficult to get and you might have to do some searching on your own. The timeshare world is increadibly complex (quite often because of misleading sales practices) What you will find here are people's experiences with specific aspects of vacations and other topics (see the lounge, my favorite hangout.) Just a word of advice. Do a lot of research before you commit to timesharing. Peoples' needs change over time and while timeshares are very easy to buy they may be more difficult to sell.
There is a lot of availablity right now due to the economy and you may find renting suits your lifestyle more than ownership. I work in a school and find I need fixed weeks and I love the pleasure knowing my timeshare will be waiting for me at the same time every year. Others have more flexibility and can travel very cheaply at the last moment. But as some wiser ones have stated- their vacations in a suite with multiple rooms and a kitchen at Motel 6 prices keeps them coming back to timesharing. I personally love it. My family camped for many years and I would not think about a timeshare then because I loved being in the trees in our cosy trailer, cooking and washing dishes outside:p . But now that the kids are grown I find timesharing fits my lifestyle very well. Welcome and keep coming back. Let us know how your education is coming along.;)
 

Ron98GT

TUG Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2010
Messages
2,299
Reaction score
15
Location
Las Vegas, NV
Resorts Owned
HGVC (7k Hawaii), Marriott (2-Bdrm L/O), & RCI Points (80k Grand View)
When you own at an All Inclusive TS, are the "All Inclusive fees" part of the MF or are they separate?

I know renting a All Inclusive TS from RCI you have to pay the fees separately, thats why i ask

I won't say never, but I will say NO. The TS could range from a studio/boat upto a 3+ Bdrm. The AI fee charged is oer-person. Kind of hard to include that into the MF when you don't know how many people will be staying in that unit: one or more. Plus the AI fee is for food, drink, & toys. Those costs are unstable throughout the year, so hard to come-up with a yearly figure that would be included in the yearly MF.

Also, if the AI was included in the MF, then the cost was paid. To charge an up front AI fee to the owner or RCI exchanger would be double charging.


http://ai.rci.com/docs/FAQ/rci_document_view
 

StuartAlt

newbie
Joined
Dec 30, 2011
Messages
22
Reaction score
0
Location
New Jersey
AI Monthly Fees

To help answer your question at least for the presentation I went to for the AI one of their selling points was that there was not any monthly fees. But then again they were not giving you a room for any particular week throughout the year but only a twenty five percent discount on a room and an upgrade if available.
 

Ron98GT

TUG Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2010
Messages
2,299
Reaction score
15
Location
Las Vegas, NV
Resorts Owned
HGVC (7k Hawaii), Marriott (2-Bdrm L/O), & RCI Points (80k Grand View)
Thank you so much for your Advice. Yes Spirits I can say this sight is getting addictive already. I can't say the Salesman applied that much pressure because I told them right from the start that I am not doing a business deal today and I won't be doing anything without any checking. They showed me the RCI book and told me it would cost $548 to stay at any of these Resorts in the book. THey also told me their resort had a high trade value. I did check and saw that an All inclusive does not have much trade value and the only savings I could get would be at their resort. Due to this I saw the only savings I could get would be staying at their resort and this deal did not make sense.

They kept saying they did not consider it a Timeshare and there were not monthly fees. Though I think there was $250 yearly registration fee.

I wasn't sure why these type of resorts did not have a higher trade value but know I see why because you still have to pay for all the food and other services with the resort and it can be high. I can see why it makes more sense to just buy a regular timeshare than an all inclusive. I guess I was looking for a place that included everything included at the AI which may have given a substantial discount other than the 25% percent I was offered.

Where would I be able to find listing that lists the resorts with the higher trade values? I would like to find a place that the family and I could enjoy but also I would have a high trade value so I could go other places as well. How are the Timeshares in the Carribbean typically and how do they trade? Thank you again

No need to buy a Caribbean TS to trade in the Caribbean, just buy a good mainland USA trader with lower MF's.

If you do want to buy something in the Caribbean, Marriott has their TS's on St Thomas & Aruba. You could buy one of these as resale, or just buy a good mainland (platinum) Marriott trader. Marriott trades thru II, so you could trade into another TS on another island. I bought my Marriott to only trade within Marriott (Hawaii, Caribbean, Spain, & France).

I see a lot of Caribbean TS, including AI's, using my Grandview RCI points trader, another option for you. I can go to the Caribbean cheap (low MF's) without owning there. Planning on going to Puerto Rico & St Marteen, using my RCI points. I can/do also use my RCI points to trade into HGVC (Hilton TS's) in/on Hawaii, Las Vegas, Florida, & Scotland.
 
Last edited:

LannyPC

TUG Member
Joined
Jul 5, 2010
Messages
5,278
Reaction score
3,346
Location
British Columbia
Is there any way of knowing if a resort has a mandatory AI fee? I know RCI will let you know if you plan on trading into that resort or rent an Extra Vacation. But let's say I'm looking at an ad in TUG, E-bay, MRN etc., to rent or buy a unit there. Is there a way of knowing before contacting the owner?
 

marinersfan

TUG Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2005
Messages
171
Reaction score
0
Location
Idaho
Resorts Owned
Timbers at Island Park Village Resort
We've enjoyed our AI

When you own at an All Inclusive TS, are the "All Inclusive fees" part of the MF or are they separate? I know renting a All Inclusive TS from RCI you have to pay the fees separately, thats why i ask
I do own a mandatory All Inclusive (AI) resort at Park Royal Cancun (Caribbean)which is part of the Royal Holiday group. I can't speak for all of the AI resorts, but our MF's are separate from the AI fee. We pay the MF’s annually, but we only pay the AI fee when we book time. Although we haven't exchanged for a number of years, the last time we did we did not pay the AI fee. We booked the week and Royal Holiday deposited it into RCI.

Personally, we love our AI resort. My wife thinks it's the best vacation we go on. We still have young kids and all the food and drinks we want are only moments away. No cooking, no dishes, no planning on where, what, or when we are going to eat, and no limiting food/drinks to a budget. She loves it, the kidslove it, and I love it because we've already paid and I'm not walking around monitoring the money going out.:D Gratuity is also included aswell as non-motorized activities. They will also pack you a box lunch if youare going out on an adventure.

In the past two years, my brother went on a cruise, and also rented a home in Cabo. He’s rented my unit a number of times and he said the cruise was about a wash comparing what he paid for the cruise/food/drinks. The Cabo home was shared between a number of friends so he compared what was spent on food/drinks to the AI fee, and it was very close to being a wash, but he admitted he didn’t eat as much and definitely didn’t drink as much – maybe a good thing. :D Both he and his wife feel the same way – much more relaxing at an AI resort.

I would never buy at an AI resort. Hard to trade and you can rentweeks at most without the obligation to own.
I somewhat disagree. In fact a person can pick one up for next to nothing right now so the upfront cost would be or could be almost zero. Since the AI fee is not paid until you book time it’s the same as owning a non-AI resort. In general I think people are under the assumption that an AI resort is very expensive and not worth it - and that may be true for some, but maybe they just don’t understand how an AI works. Our experience has been very positive.

With the amount of timeshare inventory available for rent right now why would anyone buy? The market is saturated with timeshare classifieds – AI and non-AI. There’s a reason that I bought my first and currently own two. With kids, I couldn't imagine traveling any other way than in a Timeshare right now, but with a large rental inventory to choose from, why would anyone buy?

You will never "get your money back" on the purchase by what you "save". The lure of the AI experience will surely wear off and you will want to try other places.

This is true of many timeshare contracts. I’m not promoting Royal-Holiday at all – in fact I’m trying to dump mine, but they have a number of resorts to trade into. Some are AI and some are not so you don’t have to go to the same resort all of the time. Again, the AI fee is not included in the MF so it’s no different than owning a non-AI resort.
 
Top