Re: Airbnb vs timeshare. We just got back from and Airbnb stay in a fabulous 3 bedroom house in Mammoth Lakes, CA. It was definitely nicer than any timeshare that we have ever stayed in. My daughter chose and paid for it because we were babysitting and also for Father's Day for my husband and the other grandfather. I just looked up the nightly cost. For $750/night, it had better be nicer than a timeshare! There were still funny Airbnb issues that made me wish that it was a timeshare. The biggest of which was discovering that the washer and dryer were not to be used. They were unplugged and all of the cabinets in the laundry room had locks on them. I didn't go there to do laundry, but there was a spill that resulted in needing to do a quick load of laundry, but nope, the washer and dryer were apparently off limits. There were two master bedrooms but the third room had bunk beds, a trundle, and a futon. It was all beds (to be expected in a ski town). None of the windows had screens on them so we couldn't open them at night because of the bugs. And I am never going to get past knowing that there are cameras on every exterior door, watching to see what we are up to. But on the other hand, having a garage/driveway was great for parking. There were other quirks but they were not significant.
Even if you own at an expensive resort, your maintenance fees are probably no higher than $375-$400 per night. If you own in a less expensive resort and do a lot of trades, then your nightly costs, including MF and exchange fees, are most likely far less than that. Sure there are places through Airbnb that may be less expensive than a timeshare, but in my personal experience, you will get what you pay for. If you want a higher quality airbnb, you will pay for that. There are probably areas where there is enough supply of lodging that the prices for a nice rental will be competitive with the cost of a timeshare, but in most places I just don't think that you will see that. Additionally, Airbnb is the closest thing that we have as a competitor to a timeshare and timeshare management needs to keep up with them in terms of amenities and overall maintenance, which is a good thing in my opinion.
I just spent a few minutes computing my average nightly cost (which is $175/night over 8 trades) but it's a bit all over the place. I have one trade that cost me roughly $330/night including resort fees and a size upgrade, but it is a place that we love (Hanalei Bay Resort), so it is self inflicted pain. We could definitely stay in other resorts in the area that would be less expensive. It is still quite a bit less than a rental though. In late April, we stayed at Hyatt Northstar (Truckee) on an AC for $329 for a full week. That is outlier on the other end. We have family nearby so it is perfect for us, but definitely off season. The rest of our trades were around the $140/night and all represented good value.
Even though these are significant changes in II, adapting and learning how to play the game will be the new game. Personally, once the Eplus fee jumped up to $89, I stopped adding it. I'll roll the dice and pay for a full price retrade if necessary. I stopped booking for friends and family awhile ago - they can't wrap their heads around the concept of this being a final booking. They always seem to circle back around and want to change the dates or cancel and get their money back. So the guest cert change doesn't matter to me either. And platinum has been offering less and less value to me anyway. I used to appreciate the reduced cost for a size upgrade but only one of my traders is a 1 bedroom, so it isn't as useful for the two bedroom traders. I will most likely not renew unless they offer some screaming deal. I suppose the flex change issues *could* be significant, but I never had the patience to be making changes at the last minute, so it will probably not affect me other than if there was a catastrophic situation that would require a date change, but I'll deal with that if/when it happens and I may have to take my lumps. In the end, I think that I will save money by not upgrading to platinum, they think that they will somehow benefit financially. We'll see how that works out.
I just hope that we continue to get access to nice properties in good locations. That is the value add for me.
