Is there any benefit for me to ever buy a timeshare?

[DesireMore]

We traveled much like yourself for many years. For us, timeshares are just another option. I know the exact cost associated with our ownerships, just like I always account for the cost of hotel loyalty points and airline miles. We still have certain destinations where we always book cheap hotels. For other trips, a kitchen is pretty important to us, so a timeshare or AirBnB is the way to go. Sometimes location is particularly important to us.

Every time we plan a trip, I look at all the options that meet our needs, and book the best value. Occasionally, I'll see an RCI last minute deal that is so good, we take an unplanned trip. All in all, we probably spend about half of our ~60 nights away each year in timeshares. We spend a LOT more than $500 a year on lodging, but we spend less than we would without timeshare ownerships. I think we get more, as well.

And your scenario makes sense. I assume you're retired or semi-retired if you take two months a year off for travel. I'm still working age in my early thirties, so my travel is usually a full week plus several 3-5 day trips a year. Perhaps if I had more flexibility then timeshare would be a good option.

 

[Fredflintstone]

Many folks here love their timeshares and really believe it’s a great value. I am always happy to hear from those who treasure their time in a timeshare.

I personally rent because I don’t like a locked in contract and enjoy the hunt for rental deals. I like the competition factor too versus having a timeshare brand. I like cash as my talking tool versus points. That said, a timeshare can be of good value sometimes especially if you like prime, resort type accommodations. For me, as long as it’s clean, near the sites or beach, I’m a happy camper.


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[Panina]

Is that a fixed week? I'm definitely aware that the Keys are pricey no matter where you rent from, especially during high season. On a funny note, the one time I stayed in Key West was at a gay friendly hostel lol. It was an experience, but I definitely see that as not being everyone's cup of tea. Good find on that one.

Yes, actually two consecutive fixed weeks in the same unit.

 

[DavidnRobin]

Try getting this view from a hotel
rental...

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[Fredflintstone]

Wow! Very nice pic.


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[cman]

Try getting this view from a hotel
rental...

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Gonna need a timeshare rental for that view. Nice photo.

 

[easyrider]

My experience is when I was under 35 years old with a young family I really enjoyed camping in beautiful areas, and occasionally I still do. Around 35 for me was when we bought our first timeshare which was a resale Worldmark. Over the years we bought a couple more WM's and made trades to places like the Manhattan Club, Morritts, Grand Mayan's and Marriotts.

If you believe resale timeshares are not as good as renting you must of had a real dog of a timeshare. A good resale like Worldmark will trade for very high quality resorts with the benefit of owning 120 home resorts that can be reserved for way less than a comparable hotel.

Bill

 

[Synergy]

And your scenario makes sense. I assume you're retired or semi-retired if you take two months a year off for travel. I'm still working age in my early thirties, so my travel is usually a full week plus several 3-5 day trips a year. Perhaps if I had more flexibility then timeshare would be a good option.

We're still young - or so we'd like to believe - in our mid thirties. Fortunately, both of us have a lot of flexibility when it comes to time off. We take a couple of week long trips each year, and as many long weekends as we possibly can. Unfortunately, without that kind of flexibility, it's difficult to recommend timeshares as an inexpensive vacation option.

 

[MOXJO7282]

IMHO the only people that should buy a resale TS is someone who wants to go to a prime location during prime time and has a long time horizon to have a ROI. In this scenario you save the high rent premium you would pay as a renter. This is why I did it. I was obsessed in getting to my family to Maui during President Week. It was either pay the huge rental premium or buy and if you use it for 10+ years you'll overcome your initial investment and begin true saving in future vacations. I took it a step further and instead of buying 1 I bought many and actually turned it into a vacation use/rental portfolio that has been the best financial decision I ever made.

 

[cman]

IMHO the only people that should buy a resale TS is someone who wants to go to a prime location during prime time and has a long time horizon to have a ROI. In this scenario you save the high rent premium you would pay as a renter. This is why I did it. I was obsessed in getting to my family to Maui during President Week. It was either pay the huge rental premium or buy and if you use it for 10+ years you'll overcome your initial investment and begin true saving in future vacations. I took it a step further and instead of buying 1 I bought many and actually turned it into a vacation use/rental portfolio that has been the best financial decision I ever made.

Prove me wrong but I just can't imagine a scenario where you can amass 10+ years of fees, adjust for opportunity cost, time/value of money adjustments and arrive at something resembling a good financial decision. You may have pulled it off, but you're in the minority. Post what your acquisition dates, costs and fees were and I'll run the numbers for you. I'm just trying to be straight up with people thinking of jumping on the timeshare wagon. They should know that there will be no positive return on their investment. They should know that renting is a much more affordable option. They should also know that the level of accommodations that they get by going the timeshare route will far exceed what they can get from a hotel. However, we should be honest with them and let them know that they can get the exact same timeshare accommodation by renting and not taking on the lifelong burden of ownership. Let's be honest. It's hard to give these things away. Most of the hardcore owners on this board would jump at the chance to give some weeks away for a dollar. It sucks, but it's true.

 

[bnoble]

The big reason I wrote this thread was more to see why you guys choose to timeshare.

We rarely stayed in plain hotel rooms. We tended to either stay in Residence Inn-type places or we'd rent a house or condo from VRBO or (if the local market supported it) some other vacation home outlet. I appreciate having a more comfortable and better-equipped place to stay, particularly if I am there for more than just a few days---and most of my vacations are at least a week. It eventually became clear that buying a timeshare on the resale market would be a way to do that more reliably, with the likelihood of improved locations and quality for a fair price. Over time, this has definitely held true for us. An unexpected benefit is that we've ended up taking vacation more seriously than we might have otherwise, because timeshare is a use-it-or-loose-it proposition.

In my current stage of life (separated, kids in college) I am doing most of my travel solo. I still prefer a well-equipped condo to a hotel room if I'm going to be somewhere for more than a few days.

 

[bnoble]

Prove me wrong but I just can't imagine a scenario where you can amass 10+ years of fees, adjust for opportunity cost, time/value of money adjustments and arrive at something resembling a good financial decision.

I suspect that in most cases it requires a purchase on the secondary market for pennies on the dollar. That's what all of mine were.

Edited to add: at one point, a retail DVC purchase had an ROI horizon of 7-10 years, using a range of opportunity cost factors that most folks would find reasonable. I'm not sure that's still true at current prices, though.

 

[Antonio 8069]

I doubt you are going to find what you are asking for? i.e. an ROI reason to own a timeshare. Its because there are all kinds of psychic & non-pecuniary reasons to own. e.g.:
- gifting a week to friends and family;
- exchange possibilities;
- visiting friends & associates.
We bought @ SVR 10 + years ago. Our kids are all grown up. On a recent visit, I spoke with owners who come every year. Others bring their grandkids. None of them regretted their original decision.

 

[rapmarks]

I bought a resale in 1991, added and divested since then a few times. My total cost is under $2000 and I have gone on at least 200 vacations, so I figure each trip had a cost of $10 sunk cost plus maintenance fee plus exchange fee. For several years we took advantage of extra vacations and paid $189 a week.
If I stayed at my home resort, we got free daily use of a very expensive Tritoon boat to explore the lake of the ozarks. I also was able to use bonus time to add two or three nights on to a trip at lower than hotel prices.
Sometimes there are enough perks on a timeshare stay to help compensate for the expense. When we stayed in downtown San Diego we got free breakfast every morning.
My only ownership now is at Little Sweden and my family meets there every year for the week so we still enjoy it. It is an impossible trade, so owning was a feasible option.

 

[taterhed]

The big reason I wrote this thread was more to see why you guys choose to timeshare. Like are there hidden tricks of the trade I'm not seeing? My mom owned a timeshare that was given to her while I was growing up, and we stayed in some nice places (mostly Marriott Vacation Club resorts). I should probably also mention that, because my mom was never tech savvy with a computer, I set up an account on Interval International years ago and helped her book exchanges and getaways. She recently was able to get rid of her timeshare, but low and behold I'm still able to log into II! I'm tempted to renew the membership just so I can book getaways despite no one in my family owning a timeshare anymore.

Three reasons:

1. Timeshare ownership 'forces' you to take vacations. It's easy to delay, distract and just stay home to 'save money.' I would pay a good deal of my fortune to have taken more family vacations with my kids....before they flew the nest.
2. When you stay in a lot of hotels....you begin to despise vacationing in a 12x12 foot room. Staying in a hotel room and eating expensive and/or crap food gets old real fast. Those who travel know what I mean. With kids? You might as well get 2 hotel rooms, because the pizza, clothes and debris will be everywhere. No privacy, TV on all the time. Ugh. Not my idea of vacation. Well, you just spent over $300 a night with 2 rooms, fast/restaurant food and $27 movie rentals.
3. At some point in my life, "Motel 6" became "Motel Hell." Ditto for Helliday Inn, Scary8 and Hellton Gargoyle Inn. At this point in my life, I want something that looks and smells about the same as my own home (or close). Quality---and I don't mean Quality Inn (Sic).

Finally, we choose to travel when we can. That's not always easy to plan (not retired). We like locations that don't lend themselves to Motel 6. Hawaii, Carmel, Spain, Hilton Head, Sanibel etc... We routinely get very, very nice accommodations--with lots of room and high-quality appointments--for the price of a low-mid level hotel room. And, about 3 times the space. No more forced restaurant food, no more tiny rooms, and a much better quality of neighbors on average.

Timeshares are not for everybody.
Nobody should buy something they can't afford, won't use or don't understand. Especially on credit.

If the points I made above don't apply to you.....and you're happy with Motel Hell or rentals or VRBO etc...... then you've answered your own questions!

Cheers!

Happy New Years to all!

 

[dgalati]

Prove me wrong but I just can't imagine a scenario where you can amass 10+ years of fees, adjust for opportunity cost, time/value of money adjustments and arrive at something resembling a good financial decision. You may have pulled it off, but you're in the minority. Post what your acquisition dates, costs and fees were and I'll run the numbers for you. I'm just trying to be straight up with people thinking of jumping on the timeshare wagon. They should know that there will be no positive return on their investment. They should know that renting is a much more affordable option. They should also know that the level of accommodations that they get by going the timeshare route will far exceed what they can get from a hotel. However, we should be honest with them and let them know that they can get the exact same timeshare accommodation by renting and not taking on the lifelong burden of ownership. Let's be honest. It's hard to give these things away. Most of the hardcore owners on this board would jump at the chance to give some weeks away for a dollar. It sucks, but it's true.

I own but but find much truth in your post. I have crunched the numbers and for the way I travel renting is a much better deal for me without the commitment or burden of paying maintenance fees. Disclaimer: My numbers don't have a developer sunk cost and all my ownership was low cost resales.

 

[Eric B]

Three reasons:

1. Timeshare ownership 'forces' you to take vacations. It's easy to delay, distract and just stay home to 'save money.' I would pay a good deal of my fortune to have taken more family vacations with my kids....before they flew the nest.
2. When you stay in a lot of hotels....you begin to despise vacationing in a 12x12 foot room. Staying in a hotel room and eating expensive and/or crap food gets old real fast. Those who travel know what I mean. With kids? You might as well get 2 hotel rooms, because the pizza, clothes and debris will be everywhere. No privacy, TV on all the time. Ugh. Not my idea of vacation. Well, you just spent over $300 a night with 2 rooms, fast/restaurant food and $27 movie rentals.
3. At some point in my life, "Motel 6" became "Motel Hell." Ditto for Helliday Inn, Scary8 and Hellton Gargoyle Inn. At this point in my life, I want something that looks and smells about the same as my own home (or close). Quality---and I don't mean Quality Inn (Sic).

Finally, we choose to travel when we can. That's not always easy to plan (not retired). We like locations that don't lend themselves to Motel 6. Hawaii, Carmel, Spain, Hilton Head, Sanibel etc... We routinely get very, very nice accommodations--with lots of room and high-quality appointments--for the price of a low-mid level hotel room. And, about 3 times the space. No more forced restaurant food, no more tiny rooms, and a much better quality of neighbors on average.

Timeshares are not for everybody.
Nobody should buy something they can't afford, won't use or don't understand. Especially on credit.

If the points I made above don't apply to you.....and you're happy with Motel Hell or rentals or VRBO etc...... then you've answered your own questions!

Cheers!

Happy New Years to all!

My reasoning for timesharing closely parallel what @taterhed listed. I spent plenty of time in Motel Hecks when I was in my 20s and 30s, and prefer the accommodations we can get through timesharing. I can also afford them a lot better now that I am nearing retirement; I'm in the process of optimizing my timeshare portfolio for that coming phase of my life. In the beginning of our timesharing it was mostly a moderately nice resort nearby with a fixed week so we knew we "had" to take a vacation. Lately it has been getting out of the cold of winter in top notch resorts in Mexico and the Caribbean.

As far as ROI goes, I'm not sure it really makes sense to look for it with what is fundamentally a luxury item. @DesireMore is in a much better position than I was when we started timesharing because he's doing his homework before acquiring and found TUG first. I have comparison shopped stays in comparable places and could come up with an ROI if I had to, but for some of them it is difficult to find a place that offers all I can get at my timeshares or ones we trade into and when it is possible the costs are much, much higher than the fees we pay for ours plus exchanges.

Results may vary, of course. My long-term planning is based on my wife and I having several defined benefit pensions that will provide good reliable income in retirement, which I've budgeted for on a cash-flow basis, so I look at it as having capitalized the cost of access to the trips we are and will be taking. I have done the research to figure out the most efficient way to use what we have and have added flexibility to our TS portfolio to suit our future needs.

 

[Quiet Pine]

I'm still able to log into II! I'm tempted to renew the membership just so I can book getaways despite no one in my family owning a timeshare anymore.

I bought my timeshare ($300 resale) from a woman who had recently purchased it. As soon as her deed was recorded, she joined Interval International. Then she sold the timeshare. Her intention was to use Getaways, and needed to own a timeshare only long enough to qualify for II membership.

 

[DesireMore]

Fascinating thread. I enjoy all the input everyone has given me.

 

[MOXJO7282]

Prove me wrong but I just can't imagine a scenario where you can amass 10+ years of fees, adjust for opportunity cost, time/value of money adjustments and arrive at something resembling a good financial decision. You may have pulled it off, but you're in the minority. Post what your acquisition dates, costs and fees were and I'll run the numbers for you. I'm just trying to be straight up with people thinking of jumping on the timeshare wagon. They should know that there will be no positive return on their investment. They should know that renting is a much more affordable option. They should also know that the level of accommodations that they get by going the timeshare route will far exceed what they can get from a hotel. However, we should be honest with them and let them know that they can get the exact same timeshare accommodation by renting and not taking on the lifelong burden of ownership. Let's be honest. It's hard to give these things away. Most of the hardcore owners on this board would jump at the chance to give some weeks away for a dollar. It sucks, but it's true.

The factor you and many others call "adjust for opportunity cost, time/value of money adjustments" is not a valid factor to figure in my opinion for anyone that is using their financial resources properly when investing for retirement. I currently and have for 25 years of my professional career maxed my investments putting a big percentage of my income away into various retirement vehicles. Not to mention a company 401k match and a pension plan where they put another 6% of my salary into a pension. I'm obviously very lucky to have those resources so I really don't think I or anyone else who is in a similar situation need to factor in this "opportunity cost". Now if you're someone who isn't saving significantly for retirement I would agree with you but I think most savvy TUGGERS know this.

Also in my case my funding source was largely 6 or so 0% credit cards that I played back in the day to perfection to buy the bulk of my 28 Marriotts when they were just giving money away to use for 12-18 months with free 0% balance transfer. It was like taking candy from a baby really where I would just flip from one to the other without any fees. I did this for 10 years even when they started adding 1 or 2% transfer fee because that was a minor fee to incorporate into my overall costs.

Lastly to me this opportunity costs is overthinking and paralysis by analysis. If you follow this theory you would have to make this on every purchase. Buy a Mercedes instead of a cheapo car? On that extra costs were there opportunity lost? What about multi-grain bread instead of white bread? My point is if you're wisely using disposable income this opportunity cost is not really relative.

 

[LannyPC]

Despite many people hating attending these presentations, I find them entertaining. And the freebies/discounted stays are a bargain.

...my current girlfriend is cheaper than me. We're heading to Orlando for a week in a couple weeks, and she wants to do as many of these presentations as we can to pay for Universal and all of the stuff we want to do

Believe it or not, I too find these presentations kind of amusing if you go in forearmed with the knowledge of the TS industry, the resale market, and the fact that sales people are notorious for their lies. It is kind of fun refuting all their ludicrous statements. The problem I find, however, is when you go in there with your spouse or significant other and the sales people (this is one of their ploys that I absolutely despise) deliberately try to play one spouse/significant other against the other. They do this to try to get at least one spouse mad at the other and then the other will cave in just to try to "keep the peace".

This is why we have determined not to attend any more presentations regardless of the compensation offered.

 

[easyrider]

The bottom line is time-sharing costs do add up over time with no equity in the product to offset the costs. If a person were to purchase a vacation property they would build up equity over the years, often times making money off the vacation property when they sell it. I did the math and think we have spent maybe $160,000 in the last 20 years for time sharing and travel costs.

Things have changed a bit as we have more time to play and have increased our time sharing to about 10 - 12 weeks a year with most of our travel in our winter months. The average cost is about $100 a night for accommodations in one bed or two bed units in ocean front resorts for the most part. When air fare is included the travel costs are a bit more than the time share cost. It could be that we spend about $225 each day for both. So maybe 70 days at $225 or almost $16,000 a year. Probably more.

As I read this I realize that some people might think I have a habit, lol. I bug my grand kids about the $5 coffee they buy daily. I think my habit is close to $50 a day. Never thought about it this way. Wouldn't change a thing for the most part.

Bill

 

[CPNY]

Single man, no kids. Not picky about accommodations, whether it's camping, Motel 6, etc. I do enjoy getting resorts if I can get them for about the same price or just barely above what a basic hotel room. So far, I've had a lot of luck taking advantage of timeshare incentives for some cheap vacations ($49 for four days/three nights with the obligation of attending a presentation). I've been on several of these presentations, and the math never adds up. Why should I pay $10,000+ and $1,000+ a year in maintenance fees when I've been able to get by for less than $500 a year for all of my accommodations? I usually travel alone or with whichever girl I'm dating at the time. I've discovered the resale market where many people are giving away the same packages that I've seen sold by developers for thousands of dollars. But given all the tricks/hoops you have to jump through, I'm hesitant to even get involved in something like this. Is there any real benefit for someone like me who doesn't have a family and doesn't plan to ever have one?

In your situation and I own a few, they have worked well for me and I also travel outside of them a ton!

 

[dgalati]

[/QUOTE]

Believe it or not, I too find these presentations kind of amusing if you go in forearmed with the knowledge of the TS industry, the resale market, and the fact that sales people are notorious for their lies. It is kind of fun refuting all their ludicrous statements. The problem I find, however, is when you go in there with your spouse or significant other and the sales people (this is one of their ploys that I absolutely despise0 deliberately try to play one spouse/significant other against the other. They do this to try to get at least one spouse mad at the other and then the other will cave in just to try to "keep the peace".

This is why we have determined not to attend any more presentations regardless of the compensation offered.

That is referred to as divided and conquer in the Wyndham play book. It works as well as daze and confuse.

 

[cman]

Also in my case my funding source was largely 6 or so 0% credit cards that I played back in the day to perfection to buy the bulk of my 28 Marriotts when they were just giving money away to use for 12-18 months with free 0% balance transfer. It was like taking candy from a baby really where I would just flip from one to the other without any fees. I did this for 10 years even when they started adding 1 or 2% transfer fee because that was a minor fee to incorporate into my overall costs.

Lastly to me this opportunity costs is overthinking and paralysis by analysis. If you follow this theory you would have to make this on every purchase. Buy a Mercedes instead of a cheapo car? On that extra costs were there opportunity lost? What about multi-grain bread instead of white bread? My point is if you're wisely using disposable income this opportunity cost is not really relative.

Not sure where you're coming from with this. Your decided to use a 0% financing vehicle as opposed to a high interest one or take the money from your retirement savings. In other words, you considered the opportunity cost.