It's Maintenance Fee Month. Good old January. How is everyone coping? Are timeshare maintenance fees still worth the value vs hotel or other forms of

[billymach4]

So yes it's Maintenance Fee Month. Good old January.
How are you all coping with the exorbitant fees again this year?

I have 2 weeks at Ocean Pointe. I know there are some people with multiple weeks that like to go down for the the winter months.
Also have 2 other EOY weeks at other resorts.

Of course Redweek and the other listing sites are flooded with owners wanting to bail out. This of course is devaluing the relative cost of the resale value.

I am totally conflicted. Part of me wants out. Another part is looking forward to more travel as my retirement years approach.

Are timeshare maintenance fees still worth the value vs hotel or other forms of vacation travel?

Please share your current analysis and strategy?

 

[billymach4]

Looking at this quick google search makes it feel just a little bit better? Especially since I can split the 2 bedroom into 2 weeks.

 

[gln60]

I’m all good with what we own…definitely not going to spend another dime…not happy with the increases but have 3 great vacations booked for 2024.….and plan on many great vacations in the future.

 

[VacationForever]

We certainly had this conversation. Here's how it went:
Husband: Should we just get rid of the expensive Desert Springs Villas I weeks and keep the lower maintenance fees ones for now?
Wife: But we will lose our Chairman's Club level because we are currently just barely above 15K DC points.
Husband: Oh, you are right, so we keep them for now.
Wife: We (You) are not getting any younger and we should plan on stopping the long drive to vacations in 5 to 7 years' time and then we should "get rid" of them then.
Husband: Yes, maybe 3 or maybe 10 years, depending on my driving then. [BTW, we split long drives.]

So, that's the plan... do nothing until we no longer can use our timeshare.

 

[dioxide45]

We certainly had this conversation. Here's how it went:
Husband: Should we just get rid of the expensive Desert Springs Villas I weeks and keep the lower maintenance fees ones for now?
Wife: But we will lose our Chairman's Club level because we are currently just barely above 15K DC points.
Husband: Oh, you are right, so we keep them for now.
Wife: We (You) are not getting any younger and we should plan on stopping the long drive to vacations in 5 to 7 years' time and then we should "get rid" of them then.
Husband: Yes, maybe 3 or may 10 years, depending on my driving then. [BTW, we split long drives.]

So, that's the plan... do nothing until we no longer can use our timeshare.

Perhaps when 5-7 years comes we will all be in those self driving cars. This might allow you to extend the time to get rid of them.

 

[VacationForever]

Perhaps when 5-7 years comes we will all be in those self driving cars. This might allow you to extend the time to get rid of them.

Good point. Only when they stop crashing into white container trucks.

 

[bnoble]

All good. My fees fit my budget, and I believe I get good value for the stays. Every once in a while I have to get a conventional hotel—nothing fancy, not in a great destination, just average places—and the fees look even better.

 

[billymach4]

It certainly depends on what and where you own.

 

[dioxide45]

We now have five weeks (one is technically an EOY), I just did the math and relaxed we are spending over $8K for what we own. We get about 10 or so weeks out of that. The better value for us is in II getaways and such. So far, we are still sticking around.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Holding for now. We were planning for our kids to inherit our Vistanas when die. Sell/ deedback our HGVC VOIs before we die which are primarily European RTUs so easy to exit.

Now with Vistana MFs at $3000+ for a week and the spread between a rental and MF diminishing rapidly, we are rethinking the inheritance strategy. We will use for the forseeable future because MF is < rental. But when MF > rent it will be time to exit and find the next vacation hack.

I sincerely hope MVC (and all of the developers) are tracking MF vs. rental rates as a key metric otherwise the systems could implode from owner exits if the equation flips.

 

[jwalk03]

Compared to what hotels are charging per night I still find my timeshare weeks to be a great value.

We also save a ton of money by cooking a good portion of our meals in the villa in a given week. and really appreciate having separate bedrooms for us and the kids. So definitely still worth it for us!

 

[echino]

Maintenance fees are still worth it in some cases, compared to hotel rates. But as fees go up, the difference shrinks and the resale value goes down, until eventually it crosses zero into the negative territory.

 

[mjm1]

We still find very good value through our portfolio. However, we are going to sell some now, because we just have too much for our needs. It will be interesting to see how it goes.

 

[billymach4]

Maintenance fees are still worth it in some cases, compared to hotel rates. But as fees go up, the difference shrinks and the resale value goes down, until eventually it crosses zero into the negative territory.

Always has been a moving target. Many have predicted implosion. However on a large scale that has yet to happen.

 

[DanCali]

Of course Redweek and the other listing sites are flooded with owners wanting to bail out. This of course is devaluing the relative cost of the resale value.

Are timeshare maintenance fees still worth the value vs hotel or other forms of vacation travel?

Please share your current analysis and strategy?

It's not just resale prices. I've noticed that as MFs have gone up, it's caused more owners to rent, causing Redweek rental prices to go down. So over 2 years, we pay 30% more in MFs and rental prices are flat at best.

I notice that in most responses so far in this thread, comparisons are relative to hotel rates rather than Redweek rental prices, because the truth can be ugly in many cases... But are we actually now justifying things the way salespeople do? If you can rent the same week from an owner for less than MFs, what's the value really?

I'm not predicting an implosion either, and I'm not surprised most so far are hanging on, including us. I'll just point to two behavioral economics effects which are probably at play:

Endowment effect: individuals place a higher value on an object that they already own than the value they would place on that same object if they did not own it. Applies often to items with emotional significance to the individual.

Disposition Effect: investors prefer to sell assets that have increased in value, while keeping assets that have dropped in value.

But here is a question I think is important to ask oneself, although it's hypothetical because resale weeks don't have the same perks on what many of us own like Abound enrollment. But, ignoring that, if you didn't own today what you have would you buy it at prevailing resale prices even assuming you got the same benefits you have. If the answer is no, then maybe consider selling...

Wife: But we will lose our Chairman's Club level because we are currently just barely above 15K DC points.

We've recently sold one of our Vistana weeks and one of the reasons was that they canceled their internal Elite program and we no longer felt "shackled" as you describe. Selling that week did not affect our Chairman status since that combines all our Vistana and MVC weeks and we're still well over 15K. But we would have lost the Vistana 5-Star Elite, if that was still a thing.

Going back to my prior notes, I did feel some "seller's remorse" after selling that week especially since although resale prices are near-zero (mostly due to high MFs) rental values are still substantially higher and we do like visiting the resort. But when I realized that I wouldn't actually buy it again for even for $0 at the current level of MFs (and recent MF increases), I felt much better about it. The thought process is indeed different on the other side of it. It probably helps that we have other weeks to trade in there via Vistana points, albeit getting that room type via exchange is hard.

But, like most here, we're holding on to the rest of our weeks for now. Most still have substantial resale value too, indicating that rental prices are still reasonably higher than MFs.

 

[jabberwocky]

I like what we have; however, we are finding we actually need more now that the kids are older and wanting to bring friends along. I just dropped over $500/night for two basic hotel rooms for a short family stay.

Travel has gotten more expensive but our Vistana units still provide us with value and fit within our budget. Should the increases continue like this I’ll likely make another HGVC purchase as they seem to be able to find ways to continue adding value to their owners rather than simply viewing their owners as cash cows to be milked to the last drop.

 

[Red elephant]

It all depends on what you use your timeshares for and the hotel brand you prefer staying in. Hawaii is too expensive paying hotels and renting on redweek. HHI and Myrtle beach is also expensive in the summer with hotels or renting especially if you prefer the Marriott brand. Westin St John same thing . I enjoy the Ritz in St Thomas only affordable way there is thru Abound.
Owning lock off units still has more value as well.
I am spoiled with the space afforded to me with my timeshares and would not enjoy staying in a standard hotel room for a week let alone 2 -3 weeks. Would I bye more at these fees nope except for Barbados if I can find it.

 

[bazzap]

Most of our Maintenance Fees are not due until February.
Thankfully (I guess?), seeing some of the much higher rises, at least for our 6x home resorts they have only increased in the range 3.5% to 9.6%.

 

[bnoble]

comparisons are relative to hotel rates rather than Redweek rental prices,

I made one of those posts, but I’m doing more than fine on this front as well—and I just looked at RW to double check.

 

[Hindsite]

Still getting great deals via II, that can't be beaten on Redweek or through electing for club points, even though we've got low season weeks that would be classified as terrible II traders. Stalking II inventory is entertaining as is trying to work out which of the great choices to explore. We hope to be able to make better use of II bonus weeks and certificates if we can free up the time to use them.
The costs are still below the budget we set when we bought, which was compiled based on what we were actually spending on vacation lodging.

 

[pedro47]

MF and Club Fees are increasing yearly. I now disliked driving more than Six (6) hours to MB and Hilton Head. We are in a holding pattern right now. We still enjoy our timeshare travel away from home. Thinking about giving everything up when we turn eighty years old.

 

[dougp26364]

If they keep increasing at double digit rates while my income increases, at best, single digit rates, there will come a point where we can no longer afford the luxury of timeshare. That said, hotel room rates are outrageous in their own right. 7 nights in a hotel room would cost in the neighborhood of $1,400 to $2,100. Likewise RV travel isn’t all that inexpensive when you add in the cost of the gas, storage when not in use and park fees.

If we want to travel I’m afraid there’s not a lot of alternatives that are more attractive after the initial cost of the timeshare has been paid.

 

[Dean]

I don't see this as timeshare vs redweeks vs hotel stay but rather an issue of whether we travel or how much we travel. Everything is getting more expensive. Timeshares do have risk and carry commitments along the lines of a condo. Covid drove that home for many and should be a wakeup call for everyone that wasn't aware before.

 

[timsi]

While we are still OK with what we own, we've decided to stop adding (including plans to add Hilton). It's worth noting that many recent retail buyers, particularly those who purchased points within the last 3-5 years are probably struggling. Marriott’s recent move to increase provisions for loan delinquencies from 8% to 10%, even before the announced 15% maintenance fee hike, is indicative of growing concerns. The lack of a plan to curb maintenance fee increases without compromising quality appears short-sighted. While increasing MF may generate additional management fees, it seems unsustainable in the face of rising delinquencies. This could ultimately lead to a scenario where the developer holds more inventory than they can rent or sell profitably, potentially creating a downward spiral.

 

[wuv pooh]

Still getting 28 nights in a 2bd per year for a comparable $200+ tax from another corporate provider. I would never rent from a private individual. That is up from $150 10 years ago but seems to be comparable value to the market and still works for us. Lock offs and legacy weeks provide a lot of the value. I can't really make the math work on any further points purchases, been tempted by a few bundles in the $7.25 range but don't really need more days at this time in our lives.