Is keeping this TS really worth it?

[hawkeye1960]

I have a TS i purchased for practically nothing at a red-zone resort in Phoenix a couple of years ago. It's a very nice place (still new) and close to my retired parents too, I live a 1000 miles away. We used our week there for the first 2 yrs but now we want to exchange it and go somewhere else. I never knew that we had to pay Interval $140. to do this. You take this amount plus our $400. per yr maintainence fee and its over $100 per night for this trip. We can stay at a nice hotel for that amount! Am I being naive or just missinformed on the benefits of having a timeshare?

 

[rickandcindy23]

Deposit your week into another exchange company that isn't so expensive. Where do you want to travel? Some areas are hard to get through the alternative exchange companies. What does red zone mean?

How do you compare a hotel room with a timeshare? There is no comparison, in my opinion.

 

[djs]

One thing to ask yourself is if this "nice" hotel you can book will have a full kitchen? Will it have 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms? How about a washer/dryer in the unit? Yes, there can be a lot of "nickle and diming" when it comes to timeshares, but I believe that if you step back after all is said and done and take a look at what you spent vs. what you got you will do fine.

 

[Rent_Share]

How do you compare a hotel room with a timeshare? There is no comparison, in my opinion.

At $400 annual maintenance it could be a studio which would be a closer comparison

Being the devils advocate - Booking a hotel romm offers much more flexbility, < 7 Days, in most cases cancel up to 24hours before arrival, etc. . . No trading power shuffel . . . .

 

[Karen G]

I never knew that we had to pay Interval $140. to do this. You take this amount plus our $400. per yr maintainence fee and its over $100 per night for this trip. We can stay at a nice hotel for that amount! Am I being naive or just missinformed on the benefits of having a timeshare?

I would guess that the exchange fee might even be more than $140 plus there's the expense of belonging to Interval International. I don't know how large the timeshare unit is that you own--is it a studio with that low an annual fee. If it is a studio, maybe it is comparable to a hotel room. If it's larger or you can trade it for a larger unit with a full kitchen, then you might perceive more value for it.

I use the $100/night figure to compare a timeshare stay to a stay in an average hotel such as a Best Western that might or might not have a mini-fridge and a mini-microwave in the room. If I can get a timeshare unit with a separate bedroom or two, a full kitchen w/everything I'd need to prepare meals or snacks, a large bathroom or two, and maybe a washer/dryer in the unit, then it's worth it to me to have a timeshare. It's worth it even more if we are traveling with our kids and need more room for everyone.

But, with today's rental market, one can rent a timeshare for less than the annual fees. One can certainly be a lot more flexible with travel plans if he/she doesn't have to plan a year or two in advance as is sometimes requred with timeshare exchanges.

So, for me, staying in a timeshare is much more preferable than staying in an average hotel room. Owning a timeshare is becoming a different story.

 

[timeos2]

There is never an answer thats good enough

I have a TS i purchased for practically nothing at a red-zone resort in Phoenix a couple of years ago. It's a very nice place (still new) and close to my retired parents too, I live a 1000 miles away. We used our week there for the first 2 yrs but now we want to exchange it and go somewhere else. I never knew that we had to pay Interval $140. to do this. You take this amount plus our $400. per yr maintainence fee and its over $100 per night for this trip. We can stay at a nice hotel for that amount! Am I being naive or just missinformed on the benefits of having a timeshare?

If you want to trade your time then you need a renter or a third party group such as RCI, II or any of the dozens of others to accomplish that. Some like II and RCI demand an actual paid membership plus having your resort affiliated with them plus the exchange fee for the specific exchange you choose to make. Those can add up - especially since II also demands a fee to associate you resort(s) to the II system in addition to the ongoing annual fee to be a member.

Add all that up and, especially for that first year, the cost per night is outrageous. Thats one of many reasons you should only buy to use timeshare weeks. Anything you plan to trade more than maybe 25% of the use periods you would be far better off with renting as it avoids the commitment to ownership fees, exchange company fee/memberships and offers a far better chance of getting exactly what you want "in trade" vs the often convoluted and notoriously unreliable week for week exchange process through II (or any other exchange group).

When you sit at the presentation they hand you a quick glance at the "wishbook" and leave the impression that gaining access to all those wonderful resorts is no more than a quick request to trade similar to making a hotel reservation. As you know that is far from the truth.

So if your plan is to use the majority of the time then rather than pay II to join & be a member for something you'll use only on a rare occasion you should rent your week (s) and use that money to rent exactly what you want on those infrequent years travel to your home resort isn't ideal.

If trading has become the more likely use then look at selling your existing ownership & buy into a points system set up to do just that (use a different resort/location each year) or get out of timeshare ownership & just rent what you need as you need. Both are far better solutions than paying more money to be a member of an exchange company, the annual fees for that and the non-guaranteed nature of week for week trades that the option of II trade would offer.

 

[BevL]

As others have chimed in, it's in what's important to you. We like a nice comfortable place with a real couch, a real kitchen and more than one TV. We like to travel with others, so two bedrooms is great, and we sometimes split the cost, making it even more cost effective.

When we can get that for around $100 a night or $50, if there are two couples, we think our timeshares give great value.

But if you're the type of person that uses a place to stay as somewhere to sleep, shower and store your stuff, you're not really getting full value from a timeshare.

 

[John Cummings]

How do you compare a hotel room with a timeshare? There is no comparison, in my opinion.

Depends on the hotel. Many are nicer than timeshares with much better services.