Hi! Clueless and appreciate any advice!

[Silsalbri]

Hi all. I’ve been lurking for maybe a year on and off and finally joined. I’m trying to figure out the lowest cost way for me to be able to have access to low cost last minute timeshares to travel with my husband and our kids. We have friends and family who own timeshares in Cali it’s a set week, set unit. We don’t care so much about that as having access to the last minute deals. What is the best way to go about doing this. We also have a pretty low budget for purchasing anything as we are in the midst of paying off home remodel and a large hospital bill but we still want to prioritize travel. Traditional hotels no longer work because we have a bunch of kids and booking two hotel rooms is getting expensive. I have read a little about RCI and having points to access all the last minute deals. Also the week system which is a whole different system? My husbands uncle is a world mark member, he has invited us along a few times to stay when he has found a last minute deal. Is worldmark a whole different system? Any tips, help, guidance would be greatly appreciated. Should we try buy a cheap, low maintenance fee here in AZ? We could almost go anytime if it was local being my husband works remote and we can pull our kids from school.

 

[tschwa2]

While exchange companies do have last minute deals, most of it wouldn't be to drive or places that are easy and cheap to get to by plane in the summer or when children are off school. There is just way more demand than supply for those types of vacations. Most of the deals are going to be during times and locations when there is more supply than demand. Interval has great deals on places like the Caribbean and Hawaii in the summer periodically, but they often show up the day of or the day before check in and aren't reliable enough that you can just buy tickets to Hawaii in advance knowing something will show up. It may or it may not.

 

[Patri]

Certainly buy something inexpensive, or even get it for free. There are deals here and on eBay. If you would ever want to stay at an AZ place, buy there. You can join RCI or II depending on which exchange company the resort uses, and don’t have to deposit your timeshare if you want to use it. Timeshare ownership lets you see the last minute vacations and pay cash for them. It can be great fun. You probably won’t get exotic spots, but I doubt that is your purpose. If you deposit your week or points, you can plan farther out to exchange them for another location.

 

[DaveNV]

Timesharing can be fun, but you have to work the system to get the most from it. As has been mentioned, you can get a timeshare for nothing, if all you want to do with it is use it to get access to inventory in an exchange company. If you want to exchange it for something, then where and what you own starts to make a difference - better-owned places tend to net better exchanges, but usually far out from check-in. Last minute things tend to be just the leftovers, and the occasional gold nugget cancellation. You have to be flexible, and stay on top of things to make it worthwhile.

Points and Weeks are different types of timeshares. RCI has a Weeks inventory and a Points inventory for exchanges. They do not generally overlap. The RCI account you end up with is related to the type of timeshare system you own.

WorldMark is its own timeshare system, in the same vein as Marriott or Hyatt. It can be a reasonable way to get your foot in the door, since WM exchanges with both RCI and Interval, the buy-in is reasonable, and it can be easily expanded later, if you want to own more. You can join either (or both) exchange company, never deposit anything, and have all that last minute access you're looking for. When you want to book your own WM time, the options are good. But again, you need to plan ahead - WM works best when planned 13 months ahead of time.

The ideas you have about paying cash for last minute deals is one part of the game - as long as you're flexible. Depending on how "last minute" you're taking about, it may net you some nice places, providing you can get there. If you're talking about last minute in Arizona, you'll find most timeshares are located in Phoenix, Sedona, Flagstaff, or maybe Tucson. There are a few stray places there, but those areas are where most timeshares are located.

Take your time, do your research, and do not jump into anything until you know exactly what you're getting, and getting into. It can be extremely easy to get into a timeshare, but can be very difficult to get out of one. Proceed with extreme caution.

Good luck!

Dave

 

[Passepartout]

Keep your eyes peeled for a triennial ownership at Grandview in Las Vegas. They are nice units, and there is little to no chance of a special assessment for something like hurricane damage. You only get use once every 3 years, but the cost is very low and it gives you access to RCI's 'Last Calls' that are generally leftover units or at places that are trying to generate sales. The cost is under $300 for 7 nights, and they are for travel within like 45 days. Some can be off season and some of the units might not have prime views- think parking lots.

It's a great way to stick your toe in the timeshare waters. And if you like it, there are lots of full-on resales to add to your ownership, or to unload it if you find it isn't your thing.

Welcome to TUG.

Jim

 

[easyrider]

Hi all. I’ve been lurking for maybe a year on and off and finally joined. I’m trying to figure out the lowest cost way for me to be able to have access to low cost last minute timeshares to travel with my husband and our kids. We have friends and family who own timeshares in Cali it’s a set week, set unit. We don’t care so much about that as having access to the last minute deals. What is the best way to go about doing this. We also have a pretty low budget for purchasing anything as we are in the midst of paying off home remodel and a large hospital bill but we still want to prioritize travel. Traditional hotels no longer work because we have a bunch of kids and booking two hotel rooms is getting expensive. I have read a little about RCI and having points to access all the last minute deals. Also the week system which is a whole different system? My husbands uncle is a world mark member, he has invited us along a few times to stay when he has found a last minute deal. Is worldmark a whole different system? Any tips, help, guidance would be greatly appreciated. Should we try buy a cheap, low maintenance fee here in AZ? We could almost go anytime if it was local being my husband works remote and we can pull our kids from school.

Since you are familiar with Worldmark maybe go that route. We are able to drive to many of the Worldmark resorts which is nice when you bring kids. Worldmark has so many resorts there really isn't a need to exchange but when you decide to exchange Worldmark trades well. Worldmark has other perks like bonus time, Monday Madness and low season bookings.

Worldmark is a vacation club with many resorts on the West Coast and very few on the East Coast. Other resorts are in Hawaii, Mexico and Canada.

Bill

 

[BJRSanDiego]

My orientation is Interval and Marriott timeshares. So my knowledge is more concentrated in those areas.

The inventory in getaways or last minute vacations (i.e., rentals) is often limited or doesn't exist in high demand periods and/or five * resorts. But there can be exceptions and as @DaveNV said, you need to "work the system" to get the most out of it. With Interval timeshares you can set a mobile alert to let you know when targeted inventory appears.

Living in Az. is a decent location "drive-to" getaway timeshare vacations - - there is often decent inventory in Phoenix, Tucson, Sedona, Palm Desert, San Diego, Las Vegas, etc.

In the past 15 years I have bought about 15 or so getaways and I think that for each, the cost was less than the maintenance fee is I was an owner. But none were during high demand periods.

I do a lot more exchanging than getaways. The exchanges allow me to go to locations and at times not provided by getaways. My own preference is to buy quality units (on the resale market) because they trade well and could (in theory) be sold for about the same as I paid for them or easily just give them away. Be careful with picking up a low value timeshare as they may not trade super well and you may eventually have to pay to get rid of them.

 

[Philofarrellyrb]

Hi all.

I'm new to exploring RCI. I'm considering las Vegas Grandview. 1 or 2 bed every year use.
Looks like I can pick up week cheaply. I'll be using for exchange to use in other resorts. Orlando and Europe.
Any advice really appreciated. I'd hope to get enough points to get a rental around Easter time. Orlando next year. Would this be a possibility. (I know off peak will be easier)
Also closing and getting on to RCI system could take some time. I'm based in Europe. So not sure if this prongs the process.

Thanks in advance

Phil.