I am addicted to Timesharing

[travelplus]

I guess you can call me an Exchangeholic and a Timehareholic. I love playing the Timeshare gambling game just like the Stock Market I love to see what resorts we can trade into, how to maximize our ownership by piggybacking off our owner week or staying somewhere new.

The only thing about Timesharing is that you are guaranteed a week to use if you play the cards right. Unlike gambling the house wins. In Timesharing you can beat the rush if you can book it at the right time and not be too picky where you want to go and stay.

The Getaways are more enticing and you can easily extend your vacation. Gambling has its adrenaline rush just like me booking vacations I get the same rush just looking online to see where I can go for the dates we can use.

Lady Luck is usually on our side especially with resources like TUGS BBS you can ask people how to work the system and even get more for your week. When your sitting in your unit that you so carefully booked and put in the requests only then can you thank Lady Luck and enjoy that bottle of fine champagne that you have been meaning to have.

My Trading Power Units on RCI and TDI on II is like the Stock Market and I can make the most out of my piggy bank. I consider the Exchange Fee like a Trade Fee and the commission I get is a beautiful unit that another person could have easily reserved if he or she had called in to put in specific requests by reading reviews on Yelp, Trip Advisor and TUGS BBS.

May Lady Luck be on your side. I would love to hear your responses on my analogy.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving.

 

[AwayWeGo]

I would love to hear your responses on my analogy.

I think of the timeshare game as related to the Monopoly board game, but with real money instead of pretend dollars & real geographic locations instead of little squares on a game board & real people going places instead of little game markers that pass Go & collect $200.

We play recreationally, not competitively.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[sue1947]

I agree with both analogies. I like to travel and plan trips, but I also like the thrill of the chase of a bargain. I own Worldmark so it costs me points vs a specific week. I can do Request first for full price and be pretty sure to get something; but what's the fun in that? I do Deposit first with a low season week but have no control over which week they give me. Sometimes it's good and sometimes a dog. I always test the waters first and, if I get a good one, I double down and get another. When I get a good one, I go for the high end stuff like FSA (this year) or NCV (which I'll probably use the remaining good deposit for next year). However, when it's a winter week in Oklahoma, I have to work a lot harder but always end up with something satisfactory. The last dog ended up, via some Eplus retrades, as this Christmas in Victoria, BC; a place I love especially at that time of year.

I really appreciate the help I've received at Tug. I think the biggest plus is just seeing what is possible and expanding my vision of what to look for. So many places, so little time.

Sue

 

[missyrcrews]

I started with one lonely week 15 years ago. Now we have 4. They are all at the same resort, though, and 3 of the 4 are ones we use almost every year. I guess I'm not as much of a gambler as you...I bought where we will usually go.

However, we do trade that 4th week, and we purchase extra vacation weeks through RCI. We usually are in timeshares for 6 or 7 weeks a year. The whole family gets in on the choosing. (kids are 11--19) We are currently in the planning stages of a week in Williamsburg for summer 2018. The anticipation is as fun as the trip!

We have stayed in some wonderful places in the past 15 years....places we would never have gone otherwise. We tend to look for family-friendly spots within a day's drive of Maine. Keeping our expectations realistic has been key. I have never "lost" at the game...always been able to find some place to go when I wanted to travel. We love timesharing!

 

[dominidude]

My Trading Power Units on RCI and TDI on II is like the Stock Market and I can make the most out of my piggy bank. I consider the Exchange Fee like a Trade Fee and the commission I get is a beautiful unit that another person could have easily reserved if he or she had called in to put in specific requests by reading reviews on Yelp, Trip Advisor and TUGS BBS.

May Lady Luck be on your side. I would love to hear your responses on my analogy.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving.

The exchange fees/membership fees can add up quickly if you are not careful.
Also, consider that using Airbnb and renting from other timeshare owners can be really cost competitive, especially when considering you will not have the commitment of timeshare MFs, annual exchange company dues, exchange fees, ePlus, etc. Also, renting might take less time than dealing with exchanges.

I think timesharing and exchanging can be a good thing if you do it (like everything else) in moderation.

 

[jackio]

I think it is the thrill of the chase that caused me to have more weeks than I can use. But I am still always looking for another to "round out" my holdings. Everyone's sightings and stories are so enticing that the rule in my house now is, for every one I adopt, I have to give one away.

 

[Panina]

I'm proudly a timeshareholic and exhangeholic too. Doing timeshare for over 30 years since my early 20's and no regrets. Own many I use but love those trades, always worth the additional trade fee. Each year I get to experience great new places. I have always been able to get where I requested.

 

[b2bailey]

Several years ago, while standing in line to check-in to a Disney resort (great exchange) I overheard my teen granddaughter say to her friend (who had been invited to join us) -- "I'm glad my grandma is a timeshare addict."

Since that time she has joined me on trips to Hawaii, Newport Coast, Lake Tahoe, Palm Springs, Chicago, and Aruba.

Pretty well sums it up for me.

 

[AwayWeGo]

The exchange fees/membership fees can add up quickly if you are not careful.
Also, consider that using Airbnb and renting from other timeshare owners can be really cost competitive, especially when considering you will not have the commitment of timeshare MFs, annual exchange company dues, exchange fees, ePlus, etc. Also, renting might take less time than dealing with exchanges.

I think timesharing and exchanging can be a good thing if you do it (like everything else) in moderation.

Son & daughter-in-law & grandson rented a Home-Away 3BR-2BA double-wide in a nice mobile home community out by Orange Lake for their 4-week Disney vacation last summer. They're big Disney fans & have annual passes to the WDW parks. (Son had to fly home for work during part of that time, then flew back for more family vacation.)

Since we got zapped out of our January 2016 Florida vacation (hip replacement surgery -- successful), we decided we would book a timeshare week in Kissimmee FL while son & daughter-in-law & grandson were nearby in their Clermont double-wide. (We snagged a nice 1BR "A" unit overlooking the I-4 right of way at Vacation Village At Parkway -- great view of Disney fireworks but unmistakable sound of tires rolling along the highway.)

Papa Alan spent 4 outstanding afternoons with grandson at the WDW water parks -- Typhoon Lagoon twice + 2 times at Blizzard Beach. (I won't claim I was the oldest guy at the water parks, but for sure I was in the Top Ten.)

Younger generation were happy in their Home-Away digs. We were happy in our Last Call timeshare. What's not to like ?

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[bogey21]

Back in my TimeSharing heyday I was just the opposite. I didn't like the hassle and uncertainty of scheduling and exchanging. I owned 6 carefully selected Fixed Week/Fixed Units around the country in places like Ruidoso, Myrtle Beach, Biloxi, Deerfield Beach, Hilton Head, etc. In addition to knowing where I would be staying setting up lowest cost travel was easier.

George

 

[Dori]

The thrill has always been in the hunt! We have done over 100 exchanges since our first purchase in 1992.

dori

 

[vacationtime1]

I'm not addicted.

I check TUG only a few times per day.

I don't check Interval for exchanges more often than daily, even though I have nothing left to exchange until January.

I only own a few -- six, I think -- the fewest I have had in years.

I have only a few spreadsheets showing economic cost of the units I own, past usage, and cost per exchange and I don't update them every day any more.

And I've planned out future TS trips only fourteen months in advance.

 

[travelplus]

So nice to read your replies. Happy Thanksgiving