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Looking for answers on timeshare vs vacation clubs

A

atripwithaview

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Resorts Owned
Unlimited vacation club
Hello, I am researching if timeshares or vacation clubs are worth joining. I was wondering if anyone would be willing to answer a few questions for me. I am new to this forum so I am not sure if you can direct message me on here or not. If not you can email me at atripwithaview at gmail. I would really appreciate some feedback on my questions. Thanks so much!
 
Timeshares are worth it but vacation clubs are not worth joining. We've sat through several of these presentations for vacation clubs to find out what the deal was. They have the last call inventory that you have access to by having an RCI account. For not much money you could buy or even get entirely free a biannual or triennial week at Grandview Las Vegas. The annual maintenance fees would be around $200 for a bi and even less per year for a tri week. You could look for a points week but if mostly what you're interested in is the sale and last call weeks that don't require any points then a fixed week would be fine. Fixed weeks aren't as popular so sometimes you can even find people offering a cash incentive to take them. With a points week when you find a reservation you want in the regular inventory, not the sale and last call weeks, if you don't have enough points you can borrow points from the next use year and you pay a $239 exchange fee for a 7 night stay when you book with your points. With a fixed week you don't pay an exchange fee to use that week but if you don't want to use that week you can deposit it and get TUPs, Trading Power Units, to go somewhere else that same week or a different week. But then you would be paying an exchange fee.

The sale weeks and last call weeks generally run $239-$299. The annual membership fees for a point account are as follows. I think fixed week owners get offers on the membership fees that are a little better. There are people who keep an RCI account just to have access to the sale and last call weeks.

Annual RCI Points® Subscription Fees USD
1 YR $124
2 YRS $229
3 YRS $321
4 YRS $409
5 YRS $499
 
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What do you mean by vacation club? e.g. Inspirato Vacation Club (no ownership) or Marriott Vacation Club (ownership based timeshare)?

Timeshares can be worth it in the right situations. There is a questionnaire in the New-to-Timesharing forum sticky to complete if the latter so the community can assist you to see if it is right for you.

Generally we found clubs like Inspirato not worth it unless you consistently need large luxury houses for exotic family vacations and do not mind losing $17k for the initiation fee when you quit and pay at least $3k for a week. Seems like you could do better with Airbnb or VRBO with no upfront fee.

Plus with timeshares you can rent them out to offset maintenance fees. Can't do that with clubs like Inspirato.

OTOH, you can quit Inspirato at any time - you forfeit the $17k fee. You will need to sell, give away or deedback a timeshare, which may take time or may be difficult depending on the property.
 
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If this: https://www.unlimitedvacationclub.com/ is what you belong to, it's unlikely that you own anything. Resorts in Mexico and the Caribbean are generally easy to rent, and there is no 'membership' required. Our experience is that 'vacation clubs' offer unsold inventory as long as there IS unsold inventory. When that dries up, or membership stops being lucrative for their sales staff, they just disappear, taking members money with them, only to reappear under another name at another place and time.

Timeshares, on the other hand, at least in the USA are 'shared Real Estate' with deeds. Owners actually OWN something- or at least a defined Right To Use a certain date and place.

If this doesn't answer your 'research', feel free to post here in the public forum and we'll try to answer your specific questions.

Jim
 
"Disney Vacation Club", like Marriott, is a timeshare and probably not the kind of "vacation club" you are asking about.

Like Marriott, Disney's timeshare is deeded real estate but unlike Marriott, it comes with specific expiration dates, depending on your home resort (i.e. it's sort of like a lease, or "right to use").

It's important to think of timeshares moreso in terms of "ownership" rather than "joining." DVC has been worth it over the 10+ years I have owned it. Annual dues go up a small amount most every year but I could sell for a gain right now, if I wanted, so it has been money well spent for someone who likes to stay onsite at WDW every year or so anyway. No telling if DVC is worth joining at current prices - the future is difficult to read - but it's worth looking into for serious Disney fans, at least.
 
Thanks for the help. By Vacation club I was referring to clubs like Hilton Grand Vacations that give you points and then you redeem your points for rooms. So unlike a timeshare where you are buying a share of a property that you can use for as long as you are paying your yearly fees the vacation club gives you so many points to use each year. I had to sit through a pitch by them a couple months ago and now have to go to another one next month. They make it sound so appealing so I was wondering how to ask people that have tried these "clubs" before. I do belong to one "club" through AM resorts Unlimited vacation club and that one was more of a "pay this fee and get exclusive member only sales" It has been worth it for me because we can go to all-inclusive resorts for as little as $50.00 per day.
 
Hilton Grand Vacation club (HGVC)is a timeshare because you own a deeded property that converts to points. There are good properties and bad property deals. We own 2 HGVC and have been happy.

Buy resale and you will save 10s of thousands over developer.

Join Tug $15 to research and learn how to buy resale without getting scammed.

Fill out the questionnaire in the new-to-timeshare sticky and post to Hilton Forum to find out whether Hilton is a fit for you.
 
Let's just nip this one in the bud right now. Pronto.

If you Google: "AM resorts Unlimited vacation club" your computer will virtually EXPLODE with hits containing the word SCAM.
I strongly recommend that anyone reading this post should avoid 'south of the border' timeshare clubs.

Don't take my word...just google it.

let's face it: if all-inclusive resorts were routinely available for $50 a day.....they would go broke after my first visit to the bar and buffet.
don't take the bait.....

I smell a troll.
 
taterhed said:
Let's just nip this one in the bud right now. Pronto.

If you Google: "AM resorts Unlimited vacation club" your computer will virtually EXPLODE with hits containing the word SCAM.
I strongly recommend that anyone reading this post should avoid 'south of the border' timeshare clubs.

Don't take my word...just google it.

let's face it: if all-inclusive resorts were routinely available for $50 a day.....they would go broke after my first visit to the bar and buffet.
don't take the bait.....

I smell a troll.
Click to expand...
Just to be clear, I am not recommending any travel club. I am only trying to find out if anyone recommends them. I am visiting Hilton Grand Vacations Club and had thought of joining but was also considering RCI so I am only looking for feedback.
 
You seem to be confusing HGVC (which is a deeded ownership timeshare company) with 'vacation clubs' that do not own their inventory and instead, broker unsold inventory of other companies. Unlikely anyone here recommends them. You do not 'join' HGVC. You buy a week (or the equivalent number of points that are based on a deeded week).

RCI is just an exchange company. You cannot buy the ability to exchange without owning an interval (week) to exchange. They DO have some leftover inventory they rent, but it is NOT prime inventory, and all RCI members have access to these leftovers, called Last Calls.

Jim
 
atripwithaview said:
Just to be clear, I am not recommending any travel club. I am only trying to find out if anyone recommends them. I am visiting Hilton Grand Vacations Club and had thought of joining but was also considering RCI so I am only looking for feedback.
Click to expand...

Ok, great.

Here is the feedback you requested:
Hilton Grand Vacations Club (HGVC) is a wonderful timeshare. It is a deeded ownership--as @Passepartout noted--and is not a 'club' other than the fact that it appears in the name.
Here is a great FAQ about HGVC timeshares:
https://tugbbs.com/forums/index.php...y-hilton-club-booking-window-overview.274977/

There is a great page of advice that will explain HGVC and many other timeshare ownerships (some contain the word 'club' in the name, but are NOT clubs):
https://tug2.net/timeshare_advice/free-timeshare-owner-advice-articles.html#BSR

Here is a great comparison chart of the major timeshares: https://tug2.net/timeshare_advice/timeshare-system-comparison-chart.html

Interval International (II) and RCI (Resort Condominiums International) are the two major EXCHANGE companies that allow owners of timeshares to 'exchange' or 'swap' what they own for another vacation week (or something comparable like a cruise etc...). II and RCI are not 'timeshares,' they are exchanges. While they may have some internal points programs, they are not deeded ownership and this is beyond our discussion.

Do some reading and come back if you have questions.
Welcome.
 
I'm uncertain what the exact definition of " vacation club" is regarding the op's question but Worldmark is a vacation club. The name is actually Worldmark the Club. This timeshare system differs from many as it is not a deeded unit that the owner purchases but instead it is an equal ownership of all of the resorts in the WM system depending on membership type.

To me, a vacation club is a multi-destination membership instead of a deeded single destination ownership.

I like a vacation club like Worldmark better than any of the other timeshares I have ever owned.

Bill
 
Just to clarify: There are several internet entities that identify themselves as 'vacation clubs,' that are based on a scheme, shtick or promise to provide 'super luxury' accommodations for a small price. Some of them (Mexico) are affiliated with legitimate timeshares.

In general, I would advise anyone to avoid the Internet or Mexico based 'vacation clubs.'

This is in no-way to be confused with HGVC, DVC, MVC, Worldmark or any other large-scale organized timeshare company.

The word 'club' in the name of a resort/system/property does not define the program.
 
atripwithaview said:
Just to be clear, I am not recommending any travel club. I am only trying to find out if anyone recommends them. I am visiting Hilton Grand Vacations Club and had thought of joining but was also considering RCI so I am only looking for feedback.
Click to expand...

If anyone dares to recommend a travel club, they will be labeled a troll.
 
atripwithaview said:
Hello, I am researching if timeshares or vacation clubs are worth joining. I was wondering if anyone would be willing to answer a few questions for me. I am new to this forum so I am not sure if you can direct message me on here or not. If not you can email me at atripwithaview at gmail. I would really appreciate some feedback on my questions. Thanks so much!
Click to expand...
Along with our timeshare we also own into "Global Discovery Vacations". We like it. We feel it is more flexible sometimes. There is a annual fee, but if you do not want to travel any particular year you do not need to pay your fee. We have been to Gattlinburg, Portugal , Las Vegas ,Palm Springs, Branson.
 
Cathy Rosen said:
If anyone dares to recommend a travel club, they will be labeled a troll.
Click to expand...

Naaaw.

I'm just very wary of the 1-post 'Guests' that appear on the forum, and then start to opine on the wonders of Mexican/Internet vacation clubs. The last few have started with some off-hand line about topic B....but then quickly pointed out how nothing compares to the benefits of XXXX Club.

I luv my Worldmark Vacation Club.

See, I didn't turn into a troll!

 
We met a couple at Pollard Brook one summer and they belong to a vacation club that has an arrangement with Pollard Brook and other resorts and that is how they were there. They said they loved their membership.
 
One of my good friends bought an El Cid Vacation Club. They traded their PBSB and some cash at a presentation in Cozumel. I think they are into it about $15,000 usd when counting the cost of resale PBSB. They were very tiered of the PBSB so it might be a good option for them as they like Cozumel and Mazatlan.

The problem with these smaller clubs is that there isn't many destinations. I bought a Vacation Internationale with 8 years left on the rtu a while back and figured out I kind of like the locations offered but I don't plan on renewing this or buying another. I have been trading my Mexico weeks in the Universal Vacation Club to get more points in VI.

I really like my Universal Vacation Club in Mexico. It offers five or six beach front resorts in five popular beach destinations.

Bill
 
There may be some clubs that work. I used to work with someone who is a member of a vacation club. I don't know specific details, but they pay an annual fee and can get weeks at different resorts. We discussed it because she was going to Hawaii in April, a month after I had gone and one of the resorts was the same one I had exchanged into. They were able to get Wyndham Kona Hawaiian Resort (the one I had stayed at) and then they went on to Maui and stayed at Ka'anapali Beach Club. It sounded like they may have paid about or slightly over what I paid for maintenance fees plus exchange fees for my stay at Kona. They have also gone to the Caribbean and Cancun in March. So they can get desirable reservations. They can also end their membership at any time. I don't know if they had a pricy buy in, but that wouldn't be much different than someone who bought a timeshare from the developer. It probably isn't for most Tuggers, but this particular club may at least be delivering decent vacations.
 
Just because "vacation club" is in the name does not mean it isn't timeshare. I am a long term happy owner in Bluegreen Vacation Club. There is deeded real estate under there, not vapor points. It is a very flexible and economical system that does not nickel and dime me.

research is key to identifying what will work for you, regardless of what the system is called. I would not unilaterally ignore every system with Vacation Club in its name.
 
Duplicate - posting problem
 
Duplicate. Posting problem.
 
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