Maintenance Fee Increases

[FRECK]

For those who have been owners for a while, do the maintenance fees go up significantly every year? Our salesman showed us a list of the maintenance fees for the past ten years demonstrating that they've barely increased. At this point, I'm pretty sure he showed us fake information. The guy turned out to be a major shyster. I'm doing damage control now and wondering if we should suck it up and make the best of it, or try to figure a way out, even at a loss. We purchased 1,000 points in June and have recently learned that we can't do much of anything with them. I feel so stupid for falling for this guy's spiel. If something sounds too good to be true, it usually is!

 

[Fasttr]

I would say 5% annual increase would be the norm. Higher this year with inflation doing its thing on all costs.

 

[Bodie]

Own two weeks Aruba Surf and hold 2500 DC pts. A little over seven percent total increase. Could have been worse, I guess. Not sure how many more years of travel ahead but as a senior I do foresee an exit from MVC. Sue me.

 

[pedro47]

I feel a 5 to 7% annual increase will be the norn for this year.

 

[jwalk03]

I feel a 5 to 7% annual increase will be the norn for this year.

Just got my Harbour Lake- 5.75% Increase.

Just waiting on the Grand Vista now...

 

[TheTimeTraveler]

I always look closely at the maintenance fees for one week. Then, I ask myself if I could rent a weekly rental in a 2 bedroom, 2 bath unit with a great view for less than my annual maintenance fees?

The answer has always been no. This has become more pertinent in the last 10 months as I have found Hotel room prices have really shot up. And, I usually can't replicate a Marriott Villa by using a Hotel room. The timeshare is a far better deal when looking at it this way.

Bottom line? Stuff is going up and I can accept (reluctantly) an increase.




.

 

[pedro47]

We paid over $250 per night for a 2 bedroom hotel room in Houston, Texas, this year. The breakfast buffet was the piss.

 

[jwalk03]

I always look closely at the maintenance fees for one week. Then, I ask myself if I could rent a weekly rental in a 2 bedroom, 2 bath unit with a great view for less than my annual maintenance fees?

The answer has always been no. This has become more pertinent in the last 10 months as I have found Hotel room prices have really shot up. And, I usually can't replicate a Marriott Villa by using a Hotel room. The timeshare is a far better deal when looking at it this way.

Bottom line? Stuff is going up and I can accept (reluctantly) an increase.




.

agreed! I lockoff and trade so I get 2 weeks for one maintenance fee (plus the interval costs of course.). And even with the increase it’s still a winning proposition in my mind.

 

[jmhpsu93]

agreed! I lockoff and trade so I get 2 weeks for one maintenance fee (plus the interval costs of course.). And even with the increase it’s still a winning proposition in my mind.

Agreed. Using our 2BR Harbour Lake as an example, +$90/year is only another $45/week for each half of the trades. $7/day or so is nothing and a rounding error in the travel budget.

 

[MOXJO7282]

We've owned multiple Marriott TSs, mostly Maui and HHI, for over 20 years and have tracked the MFs very closely over that time. While it is disappointing they have gone up so much, I believe if you have the ability to manage it to the max, the Marriott TS value is still very good, but if it not for the increases almost every year, they value would be excellent. The question is if/when does it come to that point where MFs outweigh the value. Certainly many offseason weeks already do but as costs rise that percentage increases and at some point there is a tipping point.

 

[RunCat]

Do not own with Marriott but with Vistana and HVC(Welk) that are both in the family. IMO, points/weeks should be treated as currency. You can use them wisely or poorly. I have traveled with timeshares to places I never would have paid cash to stay. I find the value proposition to be good.

 

[m61376]

The sad reality is that hotel rates have also gone up tremendously. My 2BR Plat. Aruba week MF's are just over 2K, yet if I was to rent it with the best non-owner discount available the lowest rate I could find for a less desirable week in the Plat. season (highest demand weeks aren't available) is $8700.
Admittedly my 3BR Gold week with MF's of $2685 has a best rental rate of around $6900 for a non-summer week (no availability for prime summer weeks), so not as great a "discount" but still a tremendous value. And I've morphed lock-offs into 1 and 2 BR units in Hawaii, Westin Lagunamar in Cancun, 2 BR in HH and various other trades for small upgrade fees in II. So while the increases are a bit frustrating, because we own we're able to take multiple vacations a year that would likely be unaffordable given hotel rate increases.

 

[gnipgnop]

I would say 5% annual increase would be the norm. Higher this year with inflation doing its thing on all costs.

 

[FRECK]

I always look closely at the maintenance fees for one week. Then, I ask myself if I could rent a weekly rental in a 2 bedroom, 2 bath unit with a great view for less than my annual maintenance fees?

The answer has always been no. This has become more pertinent in the last 10 months as I have found Hotel room prices have really shot up. And, I usually can't replicate a Marriott Villa by using a Hotel room. The timeshare is a far better deal when looking at it this way.

Bottom line? Stuff is going up and I can accept (reluctantly) an increase.




.

I agree with you, but it depends on what you have. We have 1,000 points and realized we can't get anything for a week with these points. Even though the salesperson showed us a bogus demo showing we could book anywhere in the continental US for a week with 1,000 points. Realistically, we can get 3 nights at a place in season if we settle for a studio. In our case, we could do a lot better on our own. It's crazy how these salespeople outright lie and show false info, and get away with it day in and day out.

 

[Foggy1]

I would say 5% annual increase would be the norm. Higher this year with inflation doing its thing on all costs.

5% would be nice. At Shadow Ridge's annual meeting last Thursday, We were told to expect an increase of 15% for 2023. Haven't seen the billing yet, but comments in addition to 15% were....~$250/year or ~$20/month. However you look at it

 

[hcarman]

For those who have been owners for a while, do the maintenance fees go up significantly every year? Our salesman showed us a list of the maintenance fees for the past ten years demonstrating that they've barely increased. At this point, I'm pretty sure he showed us fake information. The guy turned out to be a major shyster. I'm doing damage control now and wondering if we should suck it up and make the best of it, or try to figure a way out, even at a loss. We purchased 1,000 points in June and have recently learned that we can't do much of anything with them. I feel so stupid for falling for this guy's spiel. If something sounds too good to be true, it usually is!

I would say in the 12 or so years we have had ours the fees per year have about doubled. So the sales people like to point out how much hotels go up per year (they told us 7%) but our fees have gone up that much or more many years. So not insignificant. And for us with a small family (3 or 4 per stay) the fees work out to about 300 a night (not counting what we purchased for). So you have to weigh whether it makes sense.

 

[aka Julie]

5% would be nice. At Shadow Ridge's annual meeting last Thursday, We were told to expect an increase of 15% for 2023. Haven't seen the billing yet, but comments in addition to 15% were....~$250/year or ~$20/month. However you look at it

OMG. Did they say why the increase was going to be so high. Why is Shadowridge always so high? They are consistently on the high end percentage wise. We haven’t stayed there in at least 5 years. We choose to lockoff and get 2 weeks someplace else to maximize our already high maintenance fee. I’m about ready to dump our week. Even though we bought resale, we way overpaid with current pricing.

 

[TravelTime]

In the past 10 years, I am estimating that a luxury hotel room in a great location has doubled to tripled. For example, we stayed at Grand Wailea about 10-12 years ago and I paid $400 a night for an ocean view hotel room. I just looked online and it is $1390 a night. We stayed at Nayara Springs in Costa Rica in the past for $300-$400 in December during the holidays and I am seeing it is $800 to $1500 a night now. These rates are not including tax which adds hundreds more. Granted, a timeshare is not going to be as nice as a luxury hotel but you get more space and you can get amazing views. They are an especially good value with families.

 

[VacationForever]

OMG. Did they say why the increase was going to be so high. Why is Shadowridge always so high? They are consistently on the high end percentage wise. We haven’t stayed there in at least 5 years. We choose to lockoff and get 2 weeks someplace else to maximize our already high maintenance fee. I’m about ready to dump our week. Even though we bought resale, we way overpaid with current pricing.

I believe Desert Springs Villas I is always higher than Shadow Ridge, and I own 2 weeks of it. Not looking forward to 2023 MF.

 

[TheTimeTraveler]

I agree with you, but it depends on what you have. We have 1,000 points and realized we can't get anything for a week with these points. Even though the salesperson showed us a bogus demo showing we could book anywhere in the continental US for a week with 1,000 points. Realistically, we can get 3 nights at a place in season if we settle for a studio. In our case, we could do a lot better on our own. It's crazy how these salespeople outright lie and show false info, and get away with it day in and day out.

I hate to say it but I think you'd be far better off with resale weeks rather than outright points. Resale weeks give the most bang for the buck. Granted, not as flexible as points, but then again you don't pay the same. Weeks generally usually have a lower entry cost.



.

 

[vacationtime1]

OP doesn't have to -- and probably shouldn't -- make any decisions right now. He has 3000 points to use (1000 purchased + 2000 bonus) which will cover a year's trip (assuming it is not a a full week in a 2bd unit in Hawaii). He can rent points for about the same cost as MF's would be for the next year. At that time he can make a more informed decision. This plan has no additional upfront costs.

 

[DanCali]

For those who have been owners for a while, do the maintenance fees go up significantly every year? Our salesman showed us a list of the maintenance fees for the past ten years demonstrating that they've barely increased. At this point, I'm pretty sure he showed us fake information. The guy turned out to be a major shyster. I'm doing damage control now and wondering if we should suck it up and make the best of it, or try to figure a way out, even at a loss. We purchased 1,000 points in June and have recently learned that we can't do much of anything with them. I feel so stupid for falling for this guy's spiel. If something sounds too good to be true, it usually is!

Our weeks dues at Newport Coast were $1130 in 2016. They were $1433 in 2022 (dues at NCV exclude county tax). I was hoping to find some earlier receipts but no luck...

That's a 27% increase over 6 years, or an annualized compounded rate of 4% per year. That's higher than the inflation rate over that period, which was probably 2% until it spiked in the last 18 months.

Trust points were at $0.437 in 2013 and $0.628 in 2022. That's 43.7% over 9 years which is an annualized rate of 4.1%. This probably reflects a broader average increase for a "basket" of weeks.

 

[jme]

I always look closely at the maintenance fees for one week. Then, I ask myself if I could rent a weekly rental in a 2 bedroom, 2 bath unit with a great view for less than my annual maintenance fees?

The answer has always been no. This has become more pertinent in the last 10 months as I have found Hotel room prices have really shot up. And, I usually can't replicate a Marriott Villa by using a Hotel room. The timeshare is a far better deal when looking at it this way.

Bottom line? Stuff is going up and I can accept (reluctantly) an increase..

Absolutely correct.
Maintenance fees will continue to go up, but all the while, so will the rental rates if you were seeking a place to stay.
And that's especially true for a 2BR condo in a NICE resort.
As I'm seeing some of our favorite non-timeshare resort hotel rates in places we normally go annually, those have gone up astronomically, too, virtually pricing us out.
I'm sucking it up this December for a 4-night stay at our most favorite resort hotel, the Grove Park Inn in Asheville NC, but I'm not so sure we'll be able
to go next year if the rates go up ANY further. Shame!!! I've been going there since I was a child, and the memories are beyond fantastic.
Our children have experienced it too, and love it. Now that they're grown, they cannot afford it, or I should say, are reluctant to spend it, even though both are professionals.
I think what we're paying in MF increases is reluctantly acceptable, as you put it, because what we're getting in the long run is worth it, relatively speaking.

 

[Fredflintstone]

In the past 10 years, I am estimating that a luxury hotel room in a great location has doubled to tripled. For example, we stayed at Grand Wailea about 10-12 years ago and I paid $400 a night for an ocean view hotel room. I just looked online and it is $1390 a night. We stayed at Nayara Springs in Costa Rica in the past for $300-$400 in December during the holidays and I am seeing it is $800 to $1500 a night now. These rates are not including tax which adds hundreds more. Granted, a timeshare is not going to be as nice as a luxury hotel but you get more space and you can get amazing views. They are an especially good value with families.

Boy, you are right. Rates have been climbing to crazy levels. I think it’s almost time to grab that travel tent, my 1 burner stove and find a sweet spot on the beach to park away from the crowds.


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[Fasttr]

Boy, you are right. Rates have been climbing to crazy levels. I think it’s almost time to grab that travel tent, my 1 burner stove and find a sweet spot on the beach to park away from the crowds.

As my Aunt would say, back in the day when I was a kid and our family would go camping…. “Why would you want to go on vacation and have it WORSE than you have it at home?” She had a point. ;-)