Is it ever a good idea to get a Timeshare?

[geist1223]

I remember when we first bought Patti's Financial Advisor told us it was a big mistake. She got involved because Patti needed to pull some money out of Investments to pay for her half. I put my share on an 18 month No Interest Credit Card and rolled it over once to a new No Interest Credit Card. But after hearing about our travels and going with us to Hawaii, Australia, and Victoria BC she changed her tune. She admitted that for us it was a great idea. We made full use of it and traveled to a lot of places staying in nice places.

I have to admit the first couple years were a steep learning curve. That I did mainly on my own. I did get some assist from Sells folks at Owner updates. In those days most of the sells folks were left from the Trendwest days. They actually wanted to help you to learn how to use the Points to your best advantage. I did not discover www.wmowners.com and TUG until years later. Our primary timeshare is Worldmark. Also about 80% of our Worldmark Points are Developer Points. I know I can hear every body say "ONLY BUY RESELL". However those Points give us access to New Zealand and Australia without having to do any trades. We have made 3 trips to Down Under. They also give us access to the Wyndham Resorts through Club Pass.

 

[montygz]

It can be a good idea if you understand what you are buying, know how to use it and what to expect.

Most people who buy timeshares are sold them by a sales person and fail on all of the above.

We bought a timeshare for $250. We've owned it for 2 years about paid about $3300 for in dues, exchange fees and report fees. We've stayed at Disney's Saratoga Springs three times, all in peak season, and a resort, not DVC, in Hilton Head once.

If we booked those places retail, it would of cost more than $15,000. For our last trip to Disney, the same dates were $6,000 if you booked it on the Disney website.

Now, if you can't afford to travel to Disney, or use your timeshare, it will not be worth it. A timeshare, even bought for $250, is a luxury item. You have to use it to get the value out of it. Booking the hotel is just the start of the costs as well. You have transportation costs, the cost of visiting nearby attractions, food, etc.

We have a large family, and we love having the extra room, kitchens, bathrooms and washers and dryers you get with timeshares, so they are a great value for us.

Also, we rented timeshares for years so we knew exactly what we are getting in the timeshare system.

 

[jehb2]

Here’s a quote from my young daughter last year. “Mommy, I really liked Europe, and Japan was a whole lot fun. But next year could we go back to Hawaii.”

I won’t list all the places we’ve been in our 20 years of Timesharing. But the point is our timeshares have allowed us to travel to a lot of awesome places.

More recently I participated in a Tug forum lamenting the high cost of hotel rooms. Booking a hotel room for 1 night reminds me just how expensive travel can be.

 

[brianfox]

Only under certain circumstances. After you're financially secure. Your kid's education is paid for. Your retirement is assured. You can buy (for cash) in the resale market, and you understand that you are NEVER going to see that money again.

Jim

Jim, I recommend you never apply for a Timeshare Salesperson job; you're just not cut out for it. Way too honest...

 

[Passepartout]

Jim, I recommend you never apply for a Timeshare Salesperson job; you're just not cut out for it. Way too honest...

No worries.

 

[silentg]

We have been timesharing since 1981. I was totally against it, my husband liked the idea of having a set vacation because he never took vacations. We were only married a few years and our son was a baby. We bought a one bedroom in Vermont a Fourth of July week. After our first time staying at our timeshare I was happy we bought it. We didn’t buy another week until 15 years later when we bought Dikhololo that one we used for trades. We no longer have either of these timeshares anymore. We have bought resales on TUG and someday vacations. At this time we have 5 weeks at 5 different places. Now that our vacations are mostly just us two. We have more flexibility to travel and have had many great trips with exchanges. We buy where we want to stay, so if we don’t go other places we can enjoy our own resorts. Timesharing works for us, but not everyone.
Silentg

 

[Jan M.]

For us owning timeshares has been wonderful! Even way back in the first few years we owned Fairfield which is now Wyndham if you had asked us if we ever thought we would go as much as we have and stay at all the places we've stayed we would have laughed and said only if we win the lottery for millions. We wouldn't have touched resale on a dare back when we first bought many years ago. However times have changed and thanks to the internet, TUG, Ebay and a number of legitimate resale businesses we've been able to make resale purchases in the last five years to add to what we already owned.

When we moved to Florida 7 years ago for my husband to take a new job his territory was all of southern Florida from Sarasota over to Fort Pierce and clear down through Key West. He set his own work schedule and I soon found that there were so many resorts we could stay at through RCI when he had a few days work in the various Florida locations. We already owned a lot of Wyndham points and a small number of points at a resort in the RCI system and I bought two 98,000 point weeks at Grandview Las Vegas on eBay as we were mostly using RCI. At the time I bought those two weeks I thought we would just be using the points until he retired, which he did in February, then I would put them on TUG to pass them on to some one else. We never had plans to get rid of our Wyndham points and I won't be getting rid of those RCI point weeks either as we've been able to do so much with the points from them. In retirement we can see that we will be able to use them even more.

We are able to book and travel within 60 days with our Wyndham points and within 2-5 weeks with our RCI points which gets us the discounts and free upgrades. I have the time and inclination to spend the time looking for the discounted reservations. We truly make the most of our points however I'm the first to acknowledge that the way we have been able to travel even before retirement doesn't work or is even possible for everyone. We spend the money to be platinum with RCI which allows me to put reservations that are at least 14 days out on hold until midnight of the following day which gives us time to talk and decide if we are interested in what I've found. Before the hold runs out I can confirm the reservation which I can still cancel by midnight of the following day with no penalty or loss of fees. If you are flying that gives a person a couple of days to find airfares at a reasonable price and still be able to cancel the reservation if you can't. With reservations made with our Wyndham points I can cancel any reservation that is at least 15 days out.

We like the Wyndham resorts and I often book them using our RCI points. Early this week I just picked up a last minute reservation at Wyndham Bonnet Creek on RCI in a two bedroom unit for the week of May 20-27. I will try to find another two nights using our Wyndham points to finish out the holiday weekend and avoid the traffic on Memorial Day and if I can't we will just come home on Sunday. We just got back from 17 nights at Grandview Last Vegas, our first time staying there. We also had 5 nights at Wyndham Flagstaff booked with our Wyndham points that same trip. In addition to these stays so far this year with our RCI points we've stayed at Disney's Saratoga Springs over Martin Luther King week, two weeks for us and a week for my sister at the just opened Wyndham Austin resort in February and in March a week at Reunion Resort in Orlando in a Worldmark unit.

In the past several years through RCI using those Grandview Las Vegas points we've stayed at a number of great resorts here in Florida. Many of these weeks were holiday weeks and a lot of them were winter high demand weeks. I've probably missed a few but as you can see we've stayed at a number of fantastic resorts and all but 4 of the weeks were the discounted point weeks or sale weeks. There isn't one resort we wouldn't go back to.

Twice at Disney's Saratoga Springs
Twice at Disney's Animal Kingdom in a savanna view unit
Also in Orlando through RCI in addition to Wyndham Bonnet Creek several times and Wyndham/Worldmark Reunion twice, we've stayed at Wyndham Star Island and Vacation Village at Parkway for three weeks each
Plantation Beach Club at Indian River in Stuart, FL, HGVC resort, twice for two consecutive weeks
Plantation House and Plantation Beach Club at South Seas Resort on Captiva Island, FL, HGVC resorts
Charter Club on Marco Island, FL, HGVC resort
On Sanibel Island, the Caribe Beach Resort 4 or 5 times, Lighthouse Resort, Sanibel Beach Club and Casa Ybel (HGVC resort)
Disney's Vero Beach Resort
In Boca Raton, FL at the Ventura twice and LaBoca Casa
Sunisands at New Smyrna Beach, FL
In Cocoa Beach the Discovery Beach Resort, Las Olas Beach Club and the Resort on Cocoa Beach twice
In Naples the Vanderbilt Beach Club twice and Gulf Pointe Intervals twice
Casa Blanca Resort in Panama City Beach
Sarasota Sands
Anchorage Resort and Yacht Club in Key Largo, FL

Outside of Florida I've booked several weeks at resorts on Hilton Head for my sister and once for myself at the Ocean Palms Resort at Port Royal. And last year we stayed for two weeks at the Wyndham Fairfield Bay resort.

 

[silentg]

Sounds great Jan!
Have you done reviews for these places? We are going to Wyndham Fairfield Glade in Tennessee next May, have you been there? We stay at Wyndham on exchanges, also HICV resorts and many independent timeshares too! We enjoyed meeting you in January at the TUG get together!
Silentg

 

[TravelTime]

Great thread! We are new to Timesharing, only about a year in. However, we have already gone so many great places. We have bought both weeks and points. We have bought the higher end brands and locations so if we can’t travel ourselves, we could rent the time out for double the MF. Some of our timeshares come with access to Elite Alliance and ThirdHome. We also have access to II and RCI but I do not think we will be using II or RCI for exchanges except for occasional Getaways. Elite Alliance is a really cool upscale program, IMO. Before buying timeshares, we paid Expedia prices for hotel rooms and went on expensive cruises. So for us, the value is there and we are able to get more space for less money in upscale resorts and locations around the world.

 

[VacationForever]

Great thread! We are new to Timesharing, only about a year in. However, we have already gone so many great places. We have bought both weeks and points. We have bought the higher end brands and locations so if we can’t travel ourselves, we could rent the time out for double the MF. Some of our timeshares come with access to Elite Alliance and ThirdHome. We also have access to II and RCI but I do not think we will be using II or RCI for exchanges except for occasional Getaways. Elite Alliance is a really cool upscale program, IMO. Before buying timeshares, we paid Expedia prices for hotel rooms and went on expensive cruises. So for us, the value is there and we are able to get more space for less money in upscale resorts and locations around the world.

Which timeshare system gives you Elite Alliance access?

 

[TravelTime]

Which timeshare system gives you Elite Alliance access?

Four Seasons Aviara

 

[Panina]

For me timesharing has been the best. Traveled to many places over the years, affordable because of timesharing.

Now my portfolio is in Keys West, Marco Island, Longboat Keys, Miami Beach, Banner Elk NC and Myrtle Beach, all at prime times, easy to get to and at my favorite places. Renting would cost much much more then owning.

I do still trade to Disney, Hilton Head and coastal Maine but the guarantee of owning where and when I like to go at an affordable price makes timesharing a win for me.

 

[VacationForever]

Four Seasons Aviara

Thanks.

 

[jamcclure1044]

My late wife and I bought our first timeshare in the 1980s because it forced us to go on vacation and locked us into luxury lodging we might not choose on our own. I have never visited our original timeshare -- it's a winter holiday week in a ski resort in Austria -- but have exchanged it for a wide variety of locations.

We subsequently bought into a Universal Vacation Club/Villa Group location in Puerto Vallarta that remains my go-to vacation spot. We got lucky: The resort group is well-managed and has regularly upgraded its properties over the years without significant hikes in maintenance fees. They also have an internal exchange program and a rental program that defrays most of my maintenance fee when I do not use my weeks.

The principal limitation is that my needs have changed. When we first bought timeshares my wife and I had jobs with generous paid vacations. Becoming self-employed left us with more timeshare weeks than we were able to use. I use the timeshares even less now because retiring to the sunbelt eliminated the need to escape winter. I still get to Puerto Vallarta every few years, use the resort's rental program when I don't and am looking into Interval's cruise exchange program.

The downside is that all of this has been unnecessarily expensive. I bought my timeshares from the developer, got talked into upgrading a couple of times and got taken when I converted a week to points. Buying on the secondary market for pennies on the dollar is the only way to go. On my last trip I met a guy from Canada who had purchased enough timeshare weeks on eBay to spend the entire winter in Puerto Vallarta.

My game plan in the next few years is to sell off my timeshares. I will not leave the timeshares to my kids unless the kids really piss me off.

 

[skimeup]

What is Elite Access?

 

[rosco1e]

Timeshares are fantastic IF....

• You don't buy them from a resort (resale market only so you pay a normal price)
• You're can travel enough to make them worthwhile. Ideally you have no more than two while you're under 60.
• They trade great but have low maintenance fees.
• They expire so you don't have to go through hoops to get rid of it. Not many expire. I personally have (and really like this feature) Royal Holiday points memberships. I, not they, can control the expiration date of them by either using them once each year for a normal expiration date, or doubling or tripling up on trips and bring forward future years to now. So basically I can take a 20-year expiry date and make it 10 by simply using up future points faster than normal. HUGE benefit. When they expire...you're out. Simple.

 

[taterhed]

Timeshares are fantastic IF....

• You don't buy them from a resort (resale market only so you pay a normal price)
• You're can travel enough to make them worthwhile. Ideally you have no more than two while you're under 60.
• They trade great but have low maintenance fees.
• They expire so you don't have to go through hoops to get rid of it. Not many expire. I personally have (and really like this feature) Royal Holiday points memberships. I, not they, can control the expiration date of them by either using them once each year for a normal expiration date, or doubling or tripling up on trips and bring forward future years to now. So basically I can take a 20-year expiry date and make it 10 by simply using up future points faster than normal. HUGE benefit. When they expire...you're out. Simple.

don't take offense....I'm only being 1/2 serious

What you just described really does not exist. It's the 'Bigfoot' of timeshare ownership!!

LOL

 

[TravelTime]

What is Elite Access?

Here’s their website: https://elitealliance.com/

 

[skimeup]

As a baby in the timeshare biz, I was advised to buy on the secondary market and as such I never bought from developers. As an opera nut, I started with Inn at the Opera - across the street from the SF Opera house. I started in the early 2000's and did pay in the low thousands for some, but timeshares still had a little value then. I owned several timeshares in San Francisco which I thought would be good for trading and weeks in Sedona and Santa Fe. For awhile the getaways on Interval International were amazingly inexpensive so I took advantage of those. As the cost for membership in Interval International went up and the cost for trades went up, exchanging no longer seemed cost effective so I dumped II and SF timeshares. Sedona (Los Abrigados) got bought out by Diamond International - a disaster but I was able to get out of those two weeks. Santa Fe was wonderful but to get the weeks I wanted in prime summer time for opera, I had to pay and reserve two years in advance. Now I find I can do an airbnb for the same price (not as nice as the Santa Fe timeshare but far more flexible), so I got rid of those.

I am still an opera nut so I kept my San Francisco week at Inn at the Opera. I purchased a very large number of points with Royal Holiday (all resale - about $1 on eBay), which makes most people shudder. However, for me it has been very effective. RH has arrangements in just about every major city and this spring, for example, I spent ten days in New York at The Manhattan Club and was able to rent time for two sets of friends at the same, which recouped most of my MF's. I have also spent time in San Diego, Chicago, Madrid, London, Paris, Mexico City and Rome using RH and now can add Barcelona, Santiago, Brussels, Morocco, Isanbul and Berlin. I haven't gone near Mexico beach resorts although RH owns some and doubt I will - there are so many rentals it doesn't make sense to use my points that way and I am not a golfer or a beach sitter. Not a drinker so AI doesn't interest me - especially since I travel alone half the time. I just picked up Hyatt Carmel for an amazing price and since I love the area and love the other spots where Hyatt has resorts, it seems like a good fit. So - keeping San Francisco IO because I go there several times a year and happy to go to Carmel if I don't work out a more interesting way to spend my Hyatt points. Otherwise, working with RH points to go to various places. For New York I am able to stay in a one bedroom suite across from Carnegie Hall for the same price as a hostel at the YMCA. As a retired teacher/administrator, my disposable income needs to be managed well to meet my travel wishes and a combo of timeshare with airbnb seems to do the trick. But it is unquestionably work and planning well ahead of time - so definitely not for everyone.

Bottom line, as you can see from the varied responses here, timesharing works for us folks on tug but we do spend time to work on it. Before buying, you need to really think through your interests and goals and finances - and then get your feet wet a little at a time, I'd say. You can find almost anything on eBay but don't just look at the sale price on eBay - also look at the MFs, as you'll be paying those for a LONG time....

 

[icydog]

Great response.

George

Only under certain circumstances. After you're financially secure. Your kid's education is paid for. Your retirement is assured. You can buy (for cash) in the resale market, and you understand that you are NEVER going to see that money again.

If you fit the above criteria, timeshares are a great way to build memories with family and friends that are hard to get in other ways.

Jim

There are exceptions of course. Disney Vacation Club comes to mind.

 

[humsor]

I was about to pour my heart out on my own experience with timesharing, but then I thought about the OP, so I went back through all the posts and saw that they never commented again. Reminds me of my kids. They ask a question, but they are long gone before I am done with answer.

For the record, I bought a fractional ownership (which is a fancy way of saying a "lot of weeks" timeshare) at a ski resort in 2010 resale. We use it like crazy for skiing, and have had the added bonus of lots of great trades through RCI (gotten a little harder of late). The value for the ski season is worth it alone. So much so, that we just doubled down on a second 1/4 share.

My kids were 5 and 2 yrs. old at the original purchase. Now 13 and 10 they get super annoyed if we stay anywhere with no extra bedroom or only one bathroom. If they only knew. I grew up in a camping family. We had a 4 person tent for 5 people and the nearest bathroom required a flashlight and a 100 yard walk...haha. I love our timeshare(s) and every great moment it has provided our family.

Humsor

 

[bogey21]

Now my portfolio is in Keys West, Marco Island, Longboat Keys, Miami Beach, Banner Elk NC and Myrtle Beach, all at prime times, easy to get to and at my favorite places. Renting would cost much much more then owning.

I do still trade to Disney, Hilton Head and coastal Maine but the guarantee of owning where and when I like to go at an affordable price makes timesharing a win for me.

Similar to the way I operated. My ending portfolio was Ruidoso, Biloxi, Deerfield Beach, Dillon (in CO) and Myrtle Beach. Along the way it included Mesquite (in NV), Galveston, Hilton Head, Orlando and Jackson Hole among others. I also traded into Las Vegas and Key West.

What I liked best were guaranteed Weeks in place I liked going and saving money.

George

 

[bbodb1]

Sounds great Jan!
Have you done reviews for these places? We are going to Wyndham Fairfield Glade in Tennessee next May, have you been there? We stay at Wyndham on exchanges, also HICV resorts and many independent timeshares too! We enjoyed meeting you in January at the TUG get together!
Silentg

We have stayed at the Glade both before and after the change from Fairfield to Wyndham as the Glade was a nice stopping point for trips going east from our home BUT we have also stayed at the Glade as a destination as well. A May stay should be great for getting out and seeing the parks and trails nearby, also hitting the things to do within driving distance. Depending on the community you reside in, and your expectations for the visit, this can be a very relaxing environment. The Cumberland County Playhouse and Fall Creek Falls are worth adding to your 'things to consider for activity' list. Beware though, this location has really embraced the hard sell approach if you check in during the usual times.

 

[bbodb1]

I am curious as to your rationale for this point:

Timeshares are fantastic IF....

• You don't buy them from a resort (resale market only so you pay a normal price)
• You're can travel enough to make them worthwhile. Ideally you have no more than two while you're under 60.
• They trade great but have low maintenance fees.
• They expire so you don't have to go through hoops to get rid of it. Not many expire. I personally have (and really like this feature) Royal Holiday points memberships. I, not they, can control the expiration date of them by either using them once each year for a normal expiration date, or doubling or tripling up on trips and bring forward future years to now. So basically I can take a 20-year expiry date and make it 10 by simply using up future points faster than normal. HUGE benefit. When they expire...you're out. Simple.

 

[silentg]

We have stayed at the Glade both before and after the change from Fairfield to Wyndham as the Glade was a nice stopping point for trips going east from our home BUT we have also stayed at the Glade as a destination as well. A May stay should be great for getting out and seeing the parks and trails nearby, also hitting the things to do within driving distance. Depending on the community you reside in, and your expectations for the visit, this can be a very relaxing environment. The Cumberland County Playhouse and Fall Creek Falls are worth adding to your 'things to consider for activity' list. Beware though, this location has really embraced the hard sell approach if you check in during the usual times.

What do you mean a hard sell? I don’t go to presentations, don’t sign up for free gifts. Unplug the phone in the room don’t answer the door unless I know who is there. I wear my TUG tee shirt. Don’t need anymore weeks! Thanks for the heads up though!
Silentg