just asking about timeshares

[traumaguy]

hi ive been a timeshare owner for over 30yrs and have had much success , but now i have a question? i personally think timeshares ownership is about to hit a wall.i've noticed that many places have reached a point where maintenance fees plus the fee to trade have hit a point where some resorts are cheaper to go to their website and rent a week cheaper! i dont want to mention names of resorts but here is an example. at one major resort the maintenance fees are $1800 for 1 week and if you trade thru a company the fees are roughly $250 my math says thats $2050! now i just went to the companies website and can get a week for $1477-$1955 this includes taxes. so if you own a week it's basically less unless you go to the resort you own. is it just me or does this seem to make timeshares worthless unless you can trade to some place like h
Hawii or Tahiti, now thw work around i found is to use a few get aways to offset your maintenance fee i'm retired so i travel about 16 weeks a year. but for the average person who only travels 1-2 weeks a year it doesn't seem financially advantageous. i just wanted to hear from others what they think, thanks for reading and your replies

 

[davidvel]

hi ive been a timeshare owner for over 30yrs and have had much success , but now i have a question? i personally think timeshares ownership is about to hit a wall.i've noticed that many places have reached a point where maintenance fees plus the fee to trade have hit a point where some resorts are cheaper to go to their website and rent a week cheaper! i dont want to mention names of resorts but here is an example. at one major resort the maintenance fees are $1800 for 1 week and if you trade thru a company the fees are roughly $250 my math says thats $2050! now i just went to the companies website and can get a week for $1477-$1955 this includes taxes. so if you own a week it's basically less unless you go to the resort you own. is it just me or does this seem to make timeshares worthless unless you can trade to some place like h
Hawii or Tahiti, now thw work around i found is to use a few get aways to offset your maintenance fee i'm retired so i travel about 16 weeks a year. but for the average person who only travels 1-2 weeks a year it doesn't seem financially advantageous. i just wanted to hear from others what they think, thanks for reading and your replies

You don't want to name names but I've never been to a resort that only costs 1500-2000 a week, certainly not in a 2BR with a good view. We generally go to MVC, in Hawaii and ski destinations, which usually run $500-800/night on marriott.com, not including taxes.

Using lock offs we generally get 7 days in a 2BR paying about $1500-2000 a week in MF and trades, depending on size and location.

 

[amsunshine]

I'm skeptical that one could book the same high quality resort, room size, season, amenities, etc. for less than the cost of maintenance fees for the exact same thing. That hasn't been my experience at all. Every single time we've exchanged, we have received amazing accommodations through Interval for much less than what we would have been charged retail. However, I don't doubt that there might be some timeshares which overcharge for maintenance fees. I just haven't seen any in my own experience. I do agree, though, that the more one travels, the more timesharing makes financial sense, in part for the exact reason you mention, ie, getaway deals and accommodation certificates.

 

[Hindsite]

There have always been times of the year when the developer prices are lower than the maintenance fees. If your travel pattern is now such that you travel then ownership may no longer be for you. Timeshares have always been a niche product and not the answer to all vacation lodging needs.

Personally I'm still getting great value and haven't found airbnb or hotels that have the facilities that I value for a better price than I pay using timeshares.

 

[montygz]

hi ive been a timeshare owner for over 30yrs and have had much success , but now i have a question? i personally think timeshares ownership is about to hit a wall.i've noticed that many places have reached a point where maintenance fees plus the fee to trade have hit a point where some resorts are cheaper to go to their website and rent a week cheaper! i dont want to mention names of resorts but here is an example. at one major resort the maintenance fees are $1800 for 1 week and if you trade thru a company the fees are roughly $250 my math says thats $2050! now i just went to the companies website and can get a week for $1477-$1955 this includes taxes. so if you own a week it's basically less unless you go to the resort you own. is it just me or does this seem to make timeshares worthless unless you can trade to some place like h
Hawii or Tahiti, now thw work around i found is to use a few get aways to offset your maintenance fee i'm retired so i travel about 16 weeks a year. but for the average person who only travels 1-2 weeks a year it doesn't seem financially advantageous. i just wanted to hear from others what they think, thanks for reading and your replies

Sure, if you own an expensive timeshare, you should be using it to trade into other expensive resorts to get maximum value.

Typically, those units will trade well, and you can get other comparable units.

If you just want a trader for lower-cost units, you can get one for fees that are much less.

 

[traumaguy]

You don't want to name names but I've never been to a resort that only costs 1500-2000 a week, certainly not in a 2BR with a good view. We generally go to MVC, in Hawaii and ski destinations, which usually run $500-800/night on marriott.com, not including taxes.

Using lock offs we generally get 7 days in a 2BR paying about $1500-2000 a week in MF and trades, depending on size and location.

i said no exotic places, but i've gotton resorts in orlando, mexico and the caribeean , I'm not a skier but i just did a getaway search for vail co 2nd week in dec i found several resorts 1br from $515-$1000 for a week. Hawii is very expensive so $500-$800 a night is probably the norm. but if you own a week in Hawii i guarantee maintenance are way more than $1800. i have friends who own in hawii and at some of the major chains maintenance fees ran from $3500 to $7600 this coming year. ok i'm not saying all timeshares don't work i own 5 weeks at 3 different resorts 3 are 2br lockouts. But right now i did a tour this year at the resort i was staying at i paid $607 for the week thru II, the resort website was charging $211 per nt that's $1477 . the tour was asking $32,000 for 1 week, so i asked the guy touring me. why would i give you $32,000 when if i invested my money at 4% interest which is low right now i would get approx $1200 and i could rent a 2 br here for $1477 so i would have to pay about $300 out of pocket for the week and still have my $32,000 in the bank, so why would i buy at this price? he gave me my $250 visa and signed me out. so what i'm asking is how are current prices making any since from a finacial stand point on the average timeshare being sold right now?

 

[davidvel]

i said no exotic places, but i've gotton resorts in orlando, mexico and the caribeean , I'm not a skier but i just did a getaway search for vail co 2nd week in dec i found several resorts 1br from $515-$1000 for a week. Hawii is very expensive so $500-$800 a night is probably the norm. but if you own a week in Hawii i guarantee maintenance are way more than $1800. i have friends who own in hawii and at some of the major chains maintenance fees ran from $3500 to $7600 this coming year. ok i'm not saying all timeshares don't work i own 5 weeks at 3 different resorts 3 are 2br lockouts. But right now i did a tour this year at the resort i was staying at i paid $607 for the week thru II, the resort website was charging $211 per nt that's $1477 . the tour was asking $32,000 for 1 week, so i asked the guy touring me. why would i give you $32,000 when if i invested my money at 4% interest which is low right now i would get approx $1200 and i could rent a 2 br here for $1477 so i would have to pay about $300 out of pocket for the week and still have my $32,000 in the bank, so why would i buy at this price? he gave me my $250 visa and signed me out. so what i'm asking is how are current prices making any since from a finacial stand point on the average timeshare being sold right now?

Of course, it matters where you stay, as the commercials go. By locking off our MRD and trading back to almost always a 2BR with each side (a few 1BRs), it is very cost effective. I've never heard of $7,600 MF even in Hawaii for a week.

Again we are trading into MVC in Park City, Tahoe, Maui, and Ko Olina on a consistent basis. I'd never trade my 1BR side at Ko Olina unless we got 1BR or bigger on Maui or 2BR at Waiohai, but we do trade the studio back for 1BR and 2BR. Our weeks cost us a few thousand each to acquire, and getting 2 weeks in exchange for one cuts the average MF in half.

 

[amsunshine]

i said no exotic places, but i've gotton resorts in orlando, mexico and the caribeean , I'm not a skier but i just did a getaway search for vail co 2nd week in dec i found several resorts 1br from $515-$1000 for a week. Hawii is very expensive so $500-$800 a night is probably the norm. but if you own a week in Hawii i guarantee maintenance are way more than $1800. i have friends who own in hawii and at some of the major chains maintenance fees ran from $3500 to $7600 this coming year. ok i'm not saying all timeshares don't work i own 5 weeks at 3 different resorts 3 are 2br lockouts. But right now i did a tour this year at the resort i was staying at i paid $607 for the week thru II, the resort website was charging $211 per nt that's $1477 . the tour was asking $32,000 for 1 week, so i asked the guy touring me. why would i give you $32,000 when if i invested my money at 4% interest which is low right now i would get approx $1200 and i could rent a 2 br here for $1477 so i would have to pay about $300 out of pocket for the week and still have my $32,000 in the bank, so why would i buy at this price? he gave me my $250 visa and signed me out. so what i'm asking is how are current prices making any since from a finacial stand point on the average timeshare being sold right now?

I just checked, for example, Hyatt Kaanapali annual maintenance fees for a 2 bed, Ocean View. They are about $4296/yr. I then checked their website to see what the retail cost would be to book the same unit the first week of May. The average prepaid rate was $868/nt or $6076 per week. So, yes, there would be a savings over purchasing retail. Whether it makes financial sense to own at this resort depends on whether you will return to this particular resort year after year, making sure you have a nice 2 bed unit with a beautiful view each time. In such a case, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and lots of people decide the cost is worth it to them. Hawaii is pricey, no doubt about it. If a buyer doesn't see him/herself coming back to that Hyatt in Maui every year and needing a 2 bedroom, sure, it doesn't make sense to buy it.

But now it seems you've changed your initial point, unless I misunderstood, which I believe was that you can rent the same unit, same timeshare, etc., retail for less than maintenance fees? That doesn't seem likely. If you are instead comparing maintenance fees in HI to other areas, that's a different ball of wax. On the other hand, owning a high quality unit in HI will likely give you excellent trading power to trade into other high quality resorts, with unit size increases, during the best times of year, so . . . . that has value.

No one here advocates purchasing from a developer as these units can be purchased resale for less (unless you have the funds to burn and want something very specific that would be difficult to find resale). Also, no one advocates for purchasing this type of unit as a "trader".

I don't think anyone can predict whether timesharing will or won't hit a wall at some point. Who knows? I believe it does offer great value as long as the user understands what they own and how to use it most efficiently.

 

[jeffox]

I gave back my Polo Towers in 2014. That year the maintenance fee was a little over $1300. In 2024 I rented the exact same size unit in the exact same tower I stayed in previously for an all in price a little less than $800. The $250 I spent for DRI to take my my unit was the best money I ever spent. It has saved me thousands over the years.

I just got back from a week at Tahiti Village in Vegas for just over $500. If you are a veteran, we were discussing renting over Here awhile back.

 

[chapjim]

This guy sounds like another RENTER.

 

[SmithOp]

Also, consider the higher end resorts are adding resort fees and parking fees to exchangers, and put you in the least desirable units.

 

[davidvel]

Also, consider the higher end resorts are adding resort fees and parking fees to exchangers, and put you in the least desirable units.

We have not found any of that to be the case with MVC resorts we trade into multiple times a year. Maybe these aren't high end.

 

[easyrider]

i just wanted to hear from others what they think

Sometimes it definitely seems that way. A relative went to our resort in Mexico through the resort website and paid for two weeks. The cost was a bit higher than a mf but included breakfast and massages. If a person actually bought this timeshare from the developer the cost would swing to the renters favor.

Bill

 

[easyrider]

Maybe these aren't high end.

I agree, Marriotts aren't really considered opulent or high end compared to many brands.

Bill

 

[easyrider]

Also, consider the higher end resorts are adding resort fees and parking fees to exchangers, and put you in the least desirable units.

I think Hilton is charging exchangers about $50 a day for parking in Hawaii. The Grand Luxx in Nuevo Vallarta has such a high resort fee that it makes us think forget it but when considering what a person pays to buy one of these from the developer its probably fair.

Bill

 

[vail]

Except...who rents at retail.
A lot of good weeks on redweek at good prices.

 

[jp10558]

I hear this a lot on the timeshareowners subreddit that you can save a lot of money over owning or trading just by calling up the resort and booking direct. I'll admit, I haven't called up a resort to test, but I have looked at various resort websites - and I'm talking lower end timeshares too, and the resorts never rent retail less than MFs that I can see. They might rent for MFs plus whatever other fees might apply like parking and resort fees.

What I have seen is frequently an RCI cash stay or an II getaway will beat an exchange MF + exchange fee + resort fees + parking, and often can even beat owning at the resort and just considering MFs. However, those aren't available (strictly speaking) without having owned or owning *some* timeshare for access.

And while I can't determine every rental path and platform, Redweek has never beat out my MFs - assuming they even have a week available. Can they? People tell me they can, but it must be very very low end resorts or non-desirable times, like coastal Maine in January or something.

I have seen Wyndham rentals on eBay for what seem like good prices, but I do wonder how many are honored by Wyndham with their crack-downs. I'd take a risk if it's cheap enough if I knew I'd get my money back if cancelled and it would be cancelled before I traveled to the resort. It doesn't work that way, so I don't tend to want to risk the differential in emergency hotel rooms if it falls through on attempted check in. Your appetite for risk may vary. But the major platforms that provide any protections there also add a LOT to the rental rates such that it stops being a deal in a lot of locations in the mid tier and lower.

What I don't know is AirB&B/VRBO - theoretically they somewhat have your back if you're denied check in, but what a hassle. Also, it's basically impossible to work out before booking if you're actually booking a timeshare - at least in my limited perusal.

So - I do wish these people like the OP would actually name names so I know what they're talking about - because I like hunting for deals and I keep failing to find the vast majority of the ones that beat out the TSs where they're applicable.

 

[traumaguy]

There have always been times of the year when the developer prices are lower than the maintenance fees. If your travel pattern is now such that you travel then ownership may no longer be for you. Timeshares have always been a niche product and not the answer to all vacation lodging needs.

Personally I'm still getting great value and haven't found airbnb or hotels that have the facilities that I value for a better price than I pay using timeshares.

I've been doing this for over 30yrs and have over 250 weeks of trades under my belt 80% of which have been at top chain resorts in 2 br, i can travel when ever i want because i'm retired and it works well for me. but what i'm asking is for the average person with a family and younger children or children in school other than college they must travel when school is out and travel maybe 1-2 weeks a years it doesn't seem like a winning proposition with maintenance. i just went on sheraton website and looked up a week in end of june and the week of Christmas the june week for 2br was about $1500 the Christmas week was $2100 both 2 bedrooms there are not resort fees the maintenance fees for these same resorts are about $1600-$1800 and dont forget you have to buy the week if you get it from the resort you spending $20,000 and up. we old timers know how to work the system but for a newbie it just doesn't seem to make sense, you see what i'm saying

Of course, it matters where you stay, as the commercials go. By locking off our MRD and trading back to almost always a 2BR with each side (a few 1BRs), it is very cost effective. I've never heard of $7,600 MF even in Hawaii for a week.

Again we are trading into MVC in Park City, Tahoe, Maui, and Ko Olina on a consistent basis. I'd never trade my 1BR side at Ko Olina unless we got 1BR or bigger on Maui or 2BR at Waiohai, but we do trade the studio back for 1BR and 2BR. Our weeks cost us a few thousand each to acquire, and getting 2 weeks in exchange for one cuts the average MF in half.

my friend owns here Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villas and her maintenance was over $6000 this year and i'm sure this is not the most expensive

I just checked, for example, Hyatt Kaanapali annual maintenance fees for a 2 bed, Ocean View. They are about $4296/yr. I then checked their website to see what the retail cost would be to book the same unit the first week of May. The average prepaid rate was $868/nt or $6076 per week. So, yes, there would be a savings over purchasing retail. Whether it makes financial sense to own at this resort depends on whether you will return to this particular resort year after year, making sure you have a nice 2 bed unit with a beautiful view each time. In such a case, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and lots of people decide the cost is worth it to them. Hawaii is pricey, no doubt about it. If a buyer doesn't see him/herself coming back to that Hyatt in Maui every year and needing a 2 bedroom, sure, it doesn't make sense to buy it.

But now it seems you've changed your initial point, unless I misunderstood, which I believe was that you can rent the same unit, same timeshare, etc., retail for less than maintenance fees? That doesn't seem likely. If you are instead comparing maintenance fees in HI to other areas, that's a different ball of wax. On the other hand, owning a high quality unit in HI will likely give you excellent trading power to trade into other high quality resorts, with unit size increases, during the best times of year, so . . . . that has value.

No one here advocates purchasing from a developer as these units can be purchased resale for less (unless you have the funds to burn and want something very specific that would be difficult to find resale). Also, no one advocates for purchasing this type of unit as a "trader".

I don't think anyone can predict whether timesharing will or won't hit a wall at some point. Who knows? I believe it does offer great value as long as the user understands what they own and how to use it most efficiently.

i think maybe i was misunderstood, when i posted i was not asking for a pro or con reply. I was starting a conversation on a site with like minded people asking for opinions, sure there are always the exceptions. but look around even here on tug, how many resales are there and look at the prices. look at the number of resorts closing. i spend the winter in orlando and these are some of my observations, they may not be scientific but what do yall think. been going to orlando from nov til march for past 12yrs and this year i noticed the 3 resorts i stayed at(all name brands) had many more people who drove down from all of this country, except for the week after christmas most rental rates were close if not less than maintenance fees. i talked with over 100 people and most were older retired people or some younger with kids that were using parents timeshare. a lot of people were taking the discount promotions for taking a tour. i went to all 4 disney parks and universal and island of adventure the wait times were lowest i've seen since covid. many people with kids i talked with at the pool said they skipped the parks or did maybe 1 day because of prices.for those of us who know how to navigate the system it still is valuable to us. But i was wondering if the high maintenance fees have reached a point where unless you go to the resort you own each year have we reached a point where renting seems a better financial option. factor in that if you pay $16,000 initial buy in which is very lower from developer over 30 yrs that adds $500 a year to week ownership and this assumes you write a check for the $16,000 if you get it financed the cost will only go up. so i guess what i'm asking is who are buying timeshares these days(thank God for get aways)

 

[traumaguy]

I just checked, for example, Hyatt Kaanapali annual maintenance fees for a 2 bed, Ocean View. They are about $4296/yr. I then checked their website to see what the retail cost would be to book the same unit the first week of May. The average prepaid rate was $868/nt or $6076 per week. So, yes, there would be a savings over purchasing retail. Whether it makes financial sense to own at this resort depends on whether you will return to this particular resort year after year, making sure you have a nice 2 bed unit with a beautiful view each time. In such a case, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and lots of people decide the cost is worth it to them. Hawaii is pricey, no doubt about it. If a buyer doesn't see him/herself coming back to that Hyatt in Maui every year and needing a 2 bedroom, sure, it doesn't make sense to buy it.

But now it seems you've changed your initial point, unless I misunderstood, which I believe was that you can rent the same unit, same timeshare, etc., retail for less than maintenance fees? That doesn't seem likely. If you are instead comparing maintenance fees in HI to other areas, that's a different ball of wax. On the other hand, owning a high quality unit in HI will likely give you excellent trading power to trade into other high quality resorts, with unit size increases, during the best times of year, so . . . . that has value.

No one here advocates purchasing from a developer as these units can be purchased resale for less (unless you have the funds to burn and want something very specific that would be difficult to find resale). Also, no one advocates for purchasing this type of unit as a "trader".

I don't think anyone can predict whether timesharing will or won't hit a wall at some point. Who knows? I believe it does offer great value as long as the user understands what they own and how to use it most efficiently.

i agree it works well IF YOU KNOW HOW, it works for me, but the most freq traveled areas are orlando, las vegas, if you check redweek.com you can look at resales and they will show maintenace fees. lets throw out hawii as i said before. now for this 2 locations maintenance fees are about $1450-$1800. now maybe i have too much time on my hands but if you were to pay $16000 for the timeshare with great financing you would pay about $20,000 divide this by 60 yrs and that adds about $350 a year for ownership. so now your actual outlay is more like $1800-$2150 for the week. if you were to invest the $16,000 at 4% interest you would get about $640 per year and keep the $16,000. now for example( i use orlando because some many people travel there) i looked a sheraton resort during the christmas week dec 20-27 a 2 br was $1626 tax included, their maintenance fee was $1800 . so with the average cost from developer of $20,000 and up per week and average maintenance fee of $1400 yr why do people continue to buy at these prices without just a little research? i take the tours for the cash since lately i've been getting $250-$300 for a few hours of my time. it just amazes me that even during some tours the presenter will show you the II book and get aways and if you look at the very resort you are touring 1 week getaways for 2 br go for $500-$1000 per week, yet they tell you you can rent your unit and recoup your maintenance fee? just wondering if others see it this way thanks for your reply

 

[davidvel]

my friend owns here Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villas and her maintenance was over $6000 this year and i'm sure this is not the most expensive

A 2BR week there has MF of about $3,800, not sure what your friend is telling you. Maybe some points ownership.

 

[davidvel]

i agree it works well IF YOU KNOW HOW, it works for me, but the most freq traveled areas are orlando, las vegas, if you check redweek.com you can look at resales and they will show maintenace fees. lets throw out hawii as i said before. now for this 2 locations maintenance fees are about $1450-$1800. now maybe i have too much time on my hands but if you were to pay $16000 for the timeshare with great financing you would pay about $20,000 divide this by 60 yrs and that adds about $350 a year for ownership. so now your actual outlay is more like $1800-$2150 for the week. if you were to invest the $16,000 at 4% interest you would get about $640 per year and keep the $16,000. now for example( i use orlando because some many people travel there) i looked a sheraton resort during the christmas week dec 20-27 a 2 br was $1626 tax included, their maintenance fee was $1800 . so with the average cost from developer of $20,000 and up per week and average maintenance fee of $1400 yr why do people continue to buy at these prices without just a little research? i take the tours for the cash since lately i've been getting $250-$300 for a few hours of my time. it just amazes me that even during some tours the presenter will show you the II book and get aways and if you look at the very resort you are touring 1 week getaways for 2 br go for $500-$1000 per week, yet they tell you you can rent your unit and recoup your maintenance fee? just wondering if others see it this way thanks for your reply

I don't think anyone is disputing with you that low end timeshares in overbuilt areas, that can only be given away can probably be rented for less than MF. If those are the resorts you frequent, then renting is great.

Also, even at higher end resorts, few people here would ever recommend buying direct from a developer, so that whole example is a waste of time.

 

[amsunshine]

i agree it works well IF YOU KNOW HOW, it works for me, but the most freq traveled areas are orlando, las vegas, if you check redweek.com you can look at resales and they will show maintenace fees. lets throw out hawii as i said before. now for this 2 locations maintenance fees are about $1450-$1800. now maybe i have too much time on my hands but if you were to pay $16000 for the timeshare with great financing you would pay about $20,000 divide this by 60 yrs and that adds about $350 a year for ownership. so now your actual outlay is more like $1800-$2150 for the week. if you were to invest the $16,000 at 4% interest you would get about $640 per year and keep the $16,000. now for example( i use orlando because some many people travel there) i looked a sheraton resort during the christmas week dec 20-27 a 2 br was $1626 tax included, their maintenance fee was $1800 . so with the average cost from developer of $20,000 and up per week and average maintenance fee of $1400 yr why do people continue to buy at these prices without just a little research? i take the tours for the cash since lately i've been getting $250-$300 for a few hours of my time. it just amazes me that even during some tours the presenter will show you the II book and get aways and if you look at the very resort you are touring 1 week getaways for 2 br go for $500-$1000 per week, yet they tell you you can rent your unit and recoup your maintenance fee? just wondering if others see it this way thanks for your reply

You quoted my post but didn’t seem to read it. I told you no one here advocates for buying from a developer, but there are some who might for very specific reasons.

I also referred to the trade power associated with certain resorts which has added value for many, and that doesn’t even account for preference periods for resorts such as Marriott and Vistana/westin/sheraton. Your nonspecific reference to a Sheraton was unhelpful. Someone might purchase a resort in Orlando and never stay there - instead preferring to trade it for more expensive resorts elsewhere. That’s how one gets more bang for maintenance fee bucks.

Personally, I would never finance the purchase of a timeshare, and would discourage anyone from doing so, but to each their own. You could also ask why people buy and finance fancy sports cars that break down all the time and lose value as soon as they are driven off the sale lot? Because they like them and want to, maybe? It’s all individual.

 

[jp10558]

I've been doing this for over 30yrs and have over 250 weeks of trades under my belt 80% of which have been at top chain resorts in 2 br, i can travel when ever i want because i'm retired and it works well for me. but what i'm asking is for the average person with a family and younger children or children in school other than college they must travel when school is out and travel maybe 1-2 weeks a years it doesn't seem like a winning proposition with maintenance. i just went on sheraton website and looked up a week in end of june and the week of Christmas the june week for 2br was about $1500 the Christmas week was $2100 both 2 bedrooms there are not resort fees the maintenance fees for these same resorts are about $1600-$1800 and dont forget you have to buy the week if you get it from the resort you spending $20,000 and up. we old timers know how to work the system but for a newbie it just doesn't seem to make sense, you see what i'm saying

I think the main issue is you're basing this on Orlando. The most overbuilt place in the world I think. Yes, they have some of the worst rates in MFs vs rentals. Can you share the week and actual location you used for the comparison? I ask because I compared my 2BR HGVC Seaworld home week and unit to the Hilton.com website and the difference was noticable. Hilton.com is $3,028.10 total for 7 nights. I think that includes taxes. My MFs for that home week, which wouldn't require a booking fee or anything is $1,600, but adding the club dues to be fair all in, is $2,000. Like you said, more usage is better because the more weeks you own, the smaller that $400 club dues is. OTOH I bought resale so have much less to amortize.

The sales people aren't really selling these based on the real numbers, I don't think they ever have been. If they were, I think far earlier than 2026 people wouldn't have had the math work out. But this is also Orlando. A couple years ago I booked a week in a 2BR at McAlpin Plaza the second week of December. It was less than all my points, on todays MF cost it would be $1430 in MFs, and it would be $80 booking fee. So $1,510. Hilton.com for the same place was $5,623.67 total for 7 nights. I don't know the MFs for McAlpin but this also shows how it's not really that hard to maximize value potentially. It just depends.

 

[jp10558]

i agree it works well IF YOU KNOW HOW, it works for me, but the most freq traveled areas are orlando, las vegas, if you check redweek.com you can look at resales and they will show maintenace fees. lets throw out hawii as i said before. now for this 2 locations maintenance fees are about $1450-$1800. now maybe i have too much time on my hands but if you were to pay $16000 for the timeshare with great financing you would pay about $20,000 divide this by 60 yrs and that adds about $350 a year for ownership. so now your actual outlay is more like $1800-$2150 for the week. if you were to invest the $16,000 at 4% interest you would get about $640 per year and keep the $16,000. now for example( i use orlando because some many people travel there) i looked a sheraton resort during the christmas week dec 20-27 a 2 br was $1626 tax included, their maintenance fee was $1800 . so with the average cost from developer of $20,000 and up per week and average maintenance fee of $1400 yr why do people continue to buy at these prices without just a little research? i take the tours for the cash since lately i've been getting $250-$300 for a few hours of my time. it just amazes me that even during some tours the presenter will show you the II book and get aways and if you look at the very resort you are touring 1 week getaways for 2 br go for $500-$1000 per week, yet they tell you you can rent your unit and recoup your maintenance fee? just wondering if others see it this way thanks for your reply

I think most systems are selling more than just coming back to Orlando, and I'm sure that's at least some of how they sell them. If anyone did any research before buying from the sales guy, they'd never buy retail at all, forget about doing any of that math. They'd see the much more obvious $4,000 on resale market vs $40,000 retail for the same deed. Or in non MVC places potentially the free resale vs $$$ retail.

 

[jp10558]

I don't think anyone is disputing with you that low end timeshares in overbuilt areas, that can only be given away can probably be rented for less than MF. If those are the resorts you frequent, then renting is great.

I'm not so sure - if you don't own any timeshare and hence can't get RCI Extra Vacations / Last Calls or II Getaways, I'm not actually that certain you can rent those locations for less than MFs. Or at least it's rarely as easy as just call the resort / go to the website. Even looking at a low end resort in Orlando - Magic Tree, Expedia shows $1,538 for a week in a 2BR and the MFs reported were $650.