We don't own any timeshares and have only recently become interested. I've read tons on here and elsewhere but haven't found all of the answers (or current in some cases) so hoping I'll get a better idea by posting.
I accepted an offer for a cheap trip to Vegas from Hilton after they called me for the 5th time since we go there a few times a year anyway. The 2.5 sales pitch in the middle of our Saturday afternoon was annoying, but it was worth getting 3 nights at the Trump over Labor Day weekend for $150!! Anyway, there were a lot of intriguing points, but I knew from a small amount of research several months ago that I could get a much better deal through resale. My wife was less than interested before the presentation, and hated the presentation more than I did, but also was turned around slightly by seeing the potential value!
We do not vacation in the same place every year and have no real desire to, so I don't think a traditional timeshare is right for us. Some years we take a week or two, sometimes only one or only small 2-3 day trips. We do like the idea of owning something giving us incentive to travel more though. We currently live in Southern California, but I'm military so have the potential to move around. That may be changing very soon though so it's hard to say. While here we go to Vegas frequently, as well as other places all around California. When we lived in Florida (which is a potential move as well) we travelled all over Florida as well. My wife loooves Disney so we seem to go about once every other year at whichever Disney is closest (we also used to live in Japan so Tokyo Disney was also a destination!). In addition my wife is British so we go to England once every 18-24 months and try to take a European vacation with that. One intriguing thing that the salesman told us was we could rent cottages in England through the program, but I can't really find any other info about something like that.
So as you can see, flexibility is very key for us. It's also rare that we decide on a trip 9-12 months out so I'm afraid that may be an issue. We both travel for work so that can make long term planning difficult. We would like to have a good two weeks of time: one week for a long trip, and another week to split up into 3-4 short trips. The option of single nights would be really nice as we like to do a lot of weekend trips. The HGVC open season seemed ideal but i think you have to do 2 nights for that?
I haven't found a very good comparison of HGVC versus Marriott vs Starwood etc. Would buying directly into RCI be a better option? Or just renting on an as-needed basis? We also have the option of Armed Forces Vacation Club, which seems like a pretty good deal, but it's mostly only good for 7 day trips either really far out, or really short notice!
Sorry about the long post. I'll also include the "what should I buy" info in case I missed anything above.
1) Where do you want your home resort to be?
Right now Vegas is good because we go there the most.
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?
If it's 7 days during the same week, we'd probably trade nearly every time. Especially in Vegas. 4 days is all we can handle!
3) What are your 5 top trade destinations?
Hawaii, Caribbean, Orlando, Pacific Islands, pretty much everywhere!
4) How many people do you usually travel with?
Just the two of us for now.
5) Can you travel any time, or are you locked into the school schedule?
Anytime. Work restrictions vary.
6) Can you make firm plans 12 or more mos. in advance?
Not usually!
7) Can you vacation for a full week at a time?
We can and sometimes do.
8) What level of accommodations do you prefer on a scale of 1 to 5 stars?
5 if we can get it! Usually go with 3-4 though based on budget. The potential Hilton accommodations are one enticing thing.
9) How much can you afford to spend upfront, without financing?
Prefer to keep it super cheap, under 3k, but could do 5-10k for the right deal. Could go much higher if needed but it doesn't seem it would be necessary.
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?
Again, lower the better but 1k is pretty easy. Could go higher if there were real value.
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
I accepted an offer for a cheap trip to Vegas from Hilton after they called me for the 5th time since we go there a few times a year anyway. The 2.5 sales pitch in the middle of our Saturday afternoon was annoying, but it was worth getting 3 nights at the Trump over Labor Day weekend for $150!! Anyway, there were a lot of intriguing points, but I knew from a small amount of research several months ago that I could get a much better deal through resale. My wife was less than interested before the presentation, and hated the presentation more than I did, but also was turned around slightly by seeing the potential value!
We do not vacation in the same place every year and have no real desire to, so I don't think a traditional timeshare is right for us. Some years we take a week or two, sometimes only one or only small 2-3 day trips. We do like the idea of owning something giving us incentive to travel more though. We currently live in Southern California, but I'm military so have the potential to move around. That may be changing very soon though so it's hard to say. While here we go to Vegas frequently, as well as other places all around California. When we lived in Florida (which is a potential move as well) we travelled all over Florida as well. My wife loooves Disney so we seem to go about once every other year at whichever Disney is closest (we also used to live in Japan so Tokyo Disney was also a destination!). In addition my wife is British so we go to England once every 18-24 months and try to take a European vacation with that. One intriguing thing that the salesman told us was we could rent cottages in England through the program, but I can't really find any other info about something like that.
So as you can see, flexibility is very key for us. It's also rare that we decide on a trip 9-12 months out so I'm afraid that may be an issue. We both travel for work so that can make long term planning difficult. We would like to have a good two weeks of time: one week for a long trip, and another week to split up into 3-4 short trips. The option of single nights would be really nice as we like to do a lot of weekend trips. The HGVC open season seemed ideal but i think you have to do 2 nights for that?
I haven't found a very good comparison of HGVC versus Marriott vs Starwood etc. Would buying directly into RCI be a better option? Or just renting on an as-needed basis? We also have the option of Armed Forces Vacation Club, which seems like a pretty good deal, but it's mostly only good for 7 day trips either really far out, or really short notice!
Sorry about the long post. I'll also include the "what should I buy" info in case I missed anything above.
1) Where do you want your home resort to be?
Right now Vegas is good because we go there the most.
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?
If it's 7 days during the same week, we'd probably trade nearly every time. Especially in Vegas. 4 days is all we can handle!
3) What are your 5 top trade destinations?
Hawaii, Caribbean, Orlando, Pacific Islands, pretty much everywhere!
4) How many people do you usually travel with?
Just the two of us for now.
5) Can you travel any time, or are you locked into the school schedule?
Anytime. Work restrictions vary.
6) Can you make firm plans 12 or more mos. in advance?
Not usually!
7) Can you vacation for a full week at a time?
We can and sometimes do.
8) What level of accommodations do you prefer on a scale of 1 to 5 stars?
5 if we can get it! Usually go with 3-4 though based on budget. The potential Hilton accommodations are one enticing thing.
9) How much can you afford to spend upfront, without financing?
Prefer to keep it super cheap, under 3k, but could do 5-10k for the right deal. Could go much higher if needed but it doesn't seem it would be necessary.
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?
Again, lower the better but 1k is pretty easy. Could go higher if there were real value.
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
