Marriott Vacation Club: Return on Investment in 19 years?

[Boom-chaka]

...that assumes 10 resort travel days per year and a 5 year loan term at 19% APR. The best ROI is 7 years, assuming 20 resort travel days per year and a 5-year loan term at 5% APR.

That stinks.

I'm a new member here - my wife and I just returned from the MVC sales pitch at Grande Vista in Orlando.

A penny for your thoughts...

I'm wondering if this MVC is a total scam and/or the sales rep totally flubbed our presentation. (Fair disclosure: I sell $1M+ software packages to hospitals, so maybe I got put off by high-pressure sales tactics and didn't absorb the logic.)

Hoping I missed some critical information here?

Typically, the sales process is 1) establish need, 2) present value, 3) create immediacy to act.

We never actually established my need for this product...the sales rep suggested the typical family wants to do 10-15 vacation days per year "for the kids", then down the road could use the ownership as an "asset". We don't / can't / won't travel that much to a hotel resort. Ever. (I hope!) We showed this to her on paper and it was ignored and she skipped right to "value" of ownership vs 10-15 days per year renting hotel rooms, and then the immediacy of this moment ("act now and you'll secure this great thing").

The pitch raised a lot of red flags, which is why I'm here and doing the math:

• she skipped an adequate needs assessment (do we even need or want this?)
• "1:100 people will buy", then "30% will buy" came out later
• lots of personal stories about how she - and her powerful & successful customers - use their points
• mixed denominations of various costs (perpetual membership fees presented as monthly, one-time charges mentioned later, purchase price for the points as a lump sum, financing w/o volunteering rate, etc.)
• points-per-stay varied based on location, season and availability
• trying to logically connect MCPs (club points) with MRPs (rewards points for hotels, etc.)
• using the word "asset" repeatedly re: real estate, esp. when it has limited access, variable value, and uncapped membership fees? Seriously?
• pay for it with a high-interest Marriott credit card to "get the points"?! 19%...what?
• high-pressure sales tactic of distracting from cost-over-time questions with unrelated premiums, like "2,000 bonus points if you buy now", etc.

During a relentless sales pitch, there was no way to quickly examine all the fees to calculate the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) over 5, 10, 20 years (that's what's needed to determine ROI). So when the "closer" guy with the Rolex came in to do his work, he had no sense of our value of the product and just puked a bunch of numbers at us, which also revealed more hidden charges and fees.

Closer guy suggested financing the $26K, on a Marriott credit card "for the Marriott Rewards points"...

"Okay," I said, "what's the rate?"
"Depends on your score..."
"Assume an 800; what's the lowest rate?"
"19%"
"Whaaaaa?!?!"
"Well, you can pay it off immediately and still get the points! That's what I just did!"
"Okay, but not many people can do that..."
"But you get a free trip with 200K points, so it pays for itself!!"​

Amazing...I'm horrified to think that people get suckered into these decisions without all the required info! Enough about that bad sales presentation. Let's talk about the real cost of this program.

I made a spreadsheet for Total Cost of Ownership over 15 years with these assumptions:

• 2000 MVC points costs $26,500 + $1060 / yr + $700 processing fee
• (very few people will pay cash for this sort of thing)
• Marriott financing is 19% APR (sheesh!)
• Accumulating credit card points has zero (zilch, nada, nothing) to do with spending money on a timeshare...using a Delta Skymiles card or AmEx Saphire is a better product for a lower cost of use
• an average HELOC (home equity line of credit) right now is ~5%
• financing is stupidly expensive for terms >5 years, esp. 10+ years, esp. esp. @ 19%
  • some people are actually carrying a balance for this on a high interest credit card!

My spreadsheets showed a pretty lame TCO over 15 years, even with a 5 yr loan term, with low interest financing:

• 2,000 points / year (pitched as "entry level"): "$26,500"
  • TCO = $57,844 (19% APR, e.g. high-interest credit card or mafia / loan-shark)
    • upfront of $9,450 / year for years 1-5
  • TCO = $46,606 (5%, e.g. HELOC or parents)
    • upfront of $7,200 / yr for years 1-5
• "1,000 / 2,000 points" (1,500 / yr average): "$13,750"
  • 15 yr TCO = $46,606 (19% APR)
    • upfront of $5,165 / yr for initial 5 years
  • 15 yr TCO = $27,945 (5% APR)
    • upfront of $4,000 / yr for initial 5 years

The "break-even" point is when the accumulated cost of buying into the program becomes equal to the accumulated cost of renting hotel rooms at $250 / night (w/ projected 3% annual rate increase).

For people paying 19% APR for 5 years, plus fees, etc, they needed to pay into the program for 9 years in order to match the accumulated cost of 20 hotel rental days per year. These people would see a 19 year break even point to match the total cost of 10 hotel rental days per year.

At 5% APR, the break even point arrives earlier at 7 years of paying in to match total cost of 20 hotel rental days per year, and 15 years top match 10 hotel rental days per year.

That is pretty horrible return on investment. You'd need to commit to vacationing in a Marriott property >20 days / year to break even in <7 years. That's a lot of vacation time...more than I'd ever use, esp. at a resort property. Also consider the cost of traveling to all those vacation areas...20 days is 5-7 long vacations every year! Who even does that?!

It's tough to stomach the up-front financial hit, get tied into a commitment to deal with the fact that it's an uncertain, complex process to get the desired location, when you want it, for a reasonable price, paid for in "points" that by definition have variable value and fluctuating service fees.

IMO, this is a horrible investment for retired people...they cannot afford the upfront costs (and would use a credit card) or the airfare fees required to travel to a resort that often. My calculations showed ~$33K in *interest alone* for a $26K loan with a 10-year term at 19% APR.

In my experience, working people like me who have that sort of disposable income could keep the costs down with a HELOC, but they we don't have the capability to take a 3-7 day vacation every 8 weeks.

What did I miss here? Is this the most ridiculous scam ever?

 

[MOXJO7282]

here we go again.

 

[Boom-chaka]

Is there a sticky or archive on this subject?

Please, go ahead and humor me...it's actually a legitimate post, backed by a few hours of number-crunching and writing.

We're wondering if we just wasted 3 hours in a scam sales pitch?

 

[rpw]

You did.

 

[GregT]

There's another thread going on in parallel, started by Golden Vike. I think it's worth spending some time reading it.

Best,

Greg

 

[StevenTing]

The think is, you can't think of it like an investment. There's no guarantee that you can sell your interest for what you paid. I did my own analysis and used a predictive cost of increase for both maintenance fees along with a predictive value of my usage. I came out to about 18 years for my break even point. After year 18, that's where I start gaining. Granted, I made all of my purchases directly from the developer. I probably overpaid by $40k, which would have made my break even point 9 years.

 

[rhonda]

Welcome! and Well done. No, I don't think you missed anything of significance from the presentation and sales effort. Yes, the pitch was intended to cause you to mentally 'check out' before hearing the retail pricing, exorbitant financing, and additional fees. You were supposed to fall in love with the room model, the dream of 'owning your vacations' and have set your hearts on your first vacation on the new points. You were supposed to be more easily moved. You were supposed to cave to the peer pressure of not disappointing your spouse.

Good on you for maintaining your brain. Well done.

If you liked the product and 'the dream' - you might consider retail. You might even consider an entirely different vacation product. The ball is in your court and you didn't lose any money over it. Again, well done.

 

[catharsis]

OK

What you missed:

1. Marriott financing and Marriott Credit card are not the same, marriott financing will 'only' be in/around high single or low double digit rates of interest. The credit card push was to pay for the items using the credit card to get more points.

2. Your assumption of $250 per night value while achievable is not guaranteed, it would be quite possible to achieve negative returns or never achieve 'breakeven'

What you didn't miss:

• using the word "asset" repeatedly re: real estate, esp. when it has limited access, variable value, and uncapped membership fees? Seriously?
• The pitch raised a lot of red flags,
  
• It's tough to stomach the up-front financial hit, get tied into a commitment to deal with the fact that it's an uncertain, complex process to get the desired location, when you want it, for a reasonable price, paid for in "points" that by definition have variable value and fluctuating service fees.

I suppose there actually is no sticky which says "if you have just bought at a sales Pitch and are within your rescission period you should probably rescind as the salesperson was almost certainly lying to you when he stated or implied that you could not get the exact same deal again next week if you really wanted (and by the way, don't buy next week either)" now that you mention it... I'm not sure why?

There are always exceptions where someone gets a deal that works for their needs but basically you are very close to the bulllseye in your assessment.

Stick around here and read the threads and FAQs though to work out how value can be maximised from the program or how to access places like Grande Vista cheaply through the marriot resale market.

 

[Hi I'm new here]

Boom-Chaka, your analysis nailed this destination product, great job.

Find the pinned post by Sue that details the cost to rent a TS for the night and by the week. It is shocking to see how little you can rent for the 2000 points.

 

[vacationtime1]

Kudos to OP; your analysis is excellent.

Although one doesn't need to read beyond your statement that "We never actually established my need for this product."

If you don't need it, why buy it? Save yourself the $26K, $46K, $58K or whatever fuzzy math numbers you were given.

(Note: timeshares are great, but only if they work for you and your family)

 

[wuv pooh]

The numbers are very fuzzy depending on what you use for your cost of funds, residual value, willingness to deal with private rental hassle, value you put on a Marriott point, etc.

What I believe is firmly established:

1. You will always do better buying the equivalent product resale, although some hybrid purchases of weeks points from Marriott may be close.
2. You will always do better than paying Marriott.com rates. If that is your alternative it makes sense to consider in all cases.
3. The destination points are much less attractive than the old weeks program. My estimate is the breakeven is about 2x as long for my use pattern.
4. This is in no way an investment. It is prepaying for vacation time at hopefully a better rate.
5. You are committing to the system. Despite what they say there is a large value loss if you don't use your value at the resorts.
6. You will probably take more and better vacations and spend more money than if you paid cash. It is not cheap to fly to Hawaii or Aruba, etc.

Personally we are very glad we got "scammed". My break even on my first weeks was less than 10 years due to lock offs and II bonus weeks when II allowed you to trade up easily. Break even on my points will be much longer, but I like the flexibility and the points put me to lifetime platinum with Marriott, so I got some other benefits that I value.

 

[chris5]

Hmmmm, why treat a luxury consumption item as an investment?

Treating a timeshare as an investment is a marketing ploy -- designed to trap you into thinking that the purchase has more advantages than prepaid vacations or prepaid travel excursions. I'm very content with my timeshare purchases, and I might have over paid for them too, but I think financial constructs to evaluate timeshare purchases are misguided in that the purchase is not an investment. Seriously, do we apply break even or ROI analysis to the purchase of a Subzero Refrigerator or about Aga stove?

 

[amanda14]

It's money I will never regain the investment on and we bought our first resale and the second from the developer. Which is backwards I know but it was right place/time etc., long and interesting story.

Anyway, what that money did buy us was opportunities to go to places we would not have otherwise visited and when I do the numbers for a family of five with kitchens and laundry in the rooms we are still ahead of the game compared to if we had to do hotel rooms. It bothers me about the lost money but I knew what I was getting into. Still very happy we purchased 2x.

 

[Trudyt623]

A years of wonderful vacations and family memories are the largest investment in timeshare. My husband is a numbers man also and we initially passed on Marriott Vacation club and Disney Vacation club just to revisit them a few years later and to see the pure joy in our children's faces caused us to purchase directly from Disney and resale for Marriott.

 

[AlmostRetired]

I worked for IBM for 30 years, all in various sales roles. I will tell you that the money MVCI is asking from the average customer is significantly more than in value than the money a hospital IT budget needs to pay you.

So image if you had 90 minutes to sell your software, the marketing cost to get you that lead was high and your measurement was transactional. Value selling would be impossible. This is the reason the MVCI sales force are given the ability to mislead, misrepresent and disregard your real needs. Bridging the two worlds they are trying to focus on the intangible benefits but are doing it in a dishonest way. The company allows this by having in their contract don't believe anything told you before signing this. Example, 2000 points will get you nothing traveling when sochhol is out and next to nothing all the other times. Unethical selling is the reason I will never invest in the stock but love the timeshare product

How you like to vacation now is different than when you have kids, your kids are in school, in college, when they are out of college and finally when you retire. If you had a product that could adjust to this at a more affordable price (resale) might this be an intangiable benefit.

I purchased resale weeks at a timeframe and location that rents well ( 1.5 to 2 times my maintenance fee) and becomes my method to vacation outside the timeshare world. Might this Be a tangible benefit.
I purchase a timeshare on EBay that cost me 1800, a maintamce fee of 550 every other year that I traded have of it for a two bedroom in Aruba. Could this be a tangible benefit?

Truth in posting...I purchased my timeshare only after having kids because it forced me to plan a vacation. This is another untangiable benefit. My kids have been to London, Madrid, Paris, Aruba, St Thomas and Orlando, Hawaii, HHI a benefit they appreciate (kind of). A big benefit was forcing me to plan vacation. Being on commission with escalating bonuses above 100 percent of plan it was easy to justify not taking all my vacation time and back than, I could defer them.

Avoiding the purchase of a timeshare by renting, using AirBnB or any number of options are all viable options. My suggestion is for you to use Tug to continue to learn about timeshares. Only than con you figure out the true TCO with all the tangiable and intangible benefits. Only than can you figure out the value to you.

You are on the right path by recognizing FUD.

Lastly, I would tell you to avoid buying a timeshare unless you are willing to work hard at being happy with it. It does take work.

 

[m61376]

To reiterate what Greg said, definitely look at the other, very lengthy, thread.
That said, while there are better ways to get into the system than buying points directly, whether by buying points on the resale market, buying a hybrid points and legacy week package from Marriott, or buying a week on the resale market, depending on your anticipated vacation needs, please consider that ownership isn't strictly a financial decision. It is also an investment in family time, and that part of the equation transcends dollars and cents. And, no, I'm not trying to sound like a salesperson here, just saying that I know we've taken more trips and spent more time with family, and had the opportunity to invite friends, etc., that we otherwise would not have done. So that's part of the intangibles that fall outside a spreadsheet analysis.

Take the time to read threads here and ask lots of questions, before deciding what kind or if any ownership is right for you. Welcome to Tug, btw

 

[fuz74wuz]

We have owned 2 weeks at Cypress Harbour since 2004. We have never been there. We have traveled all over the country and the world using these weeks. Our maintenance fee was well worth it for us. We have since sold one week as we are travelling less, but there are plenty of beautiful places for us to go on the west coast.

 

[suzannesimon]

...that assumes 10 resort travel days per year and a 5 year loan term at 19% APR. The best ROI is 7 years, assuming 20 resort travel days per year and a 5-year loan term at 5% APR.

That stinks.

I'm a new member here - my wife and I just returned from the MVC sales pitch at Grande Vista in Orlando.

A penny for your thoughts...

I'm wondering if this MVC is a total scam and/or the sales rep totally flubbed our presentation. (Fair disclosure: I sell $1M+ software packages to hospitals, so maybe I got put off by high-pressure sales tactics and didn't absorb the logic.)

Hoping I missed some critical information here?

Typically, the sales process is 1) establish need, 2) present value, 3) create immediacy to act.

We never actually established my need for this product...the sales rep suggested the typical family wants to do 10-15 vacation days per year "for the kids", then down the road could use the ownership as an "asset". We don't / can't / won't travel that much to a hotel resort. Ever. (I hope!) We showed this to her on paper and it was ignored and she skipped right to "value" of ownership vs 10-15 days per year renting hotel rooms, and then the immediacy of this moment ("act now and you'll secure this great thing").

The pitch raised a lot of red flags, which is why I'm here and doing the math:

• she skipped an adequate needs assessment (do we even need or want this?)
• "1:100 people will buy", then "30% will buy" came out later
• lots of personal stories about how she - and her powerful & successful customers - use their points
• mixed denominations of various costs (perpetual membership fees presented as monthly, one-time charges mentioned later, purchase price for the points as a lump sum, financing w/o volunteering rate, etc.)
• points-per-stay varied based on location, season and availability
• trying to logically connect MCPs (club points) with MRPs (rewards points for hotels, etc.)
• using the word "asset" repeatedly re: real estate, esp. when it has limited access, variable value, and uncapped membership fees? Seriously?
• pay for it with a high-interest Marriott credit card to "get the points"?! 19%...what?
• high-pressure sales tactic of distracting from cost-over-time questions with unrelated premiums, like "2,000 bonus points if you buy now", etc.

During a relentless sales pitch, there was no way to quickly examine all the fees to calculate the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) over 5, 10, 20 years (that's what's needed to determine ROI). So when the "closer" guy with the Rolex came in to do his work, he had no sense of our value of the product and just puked a bunch of numbers at us, which also revealed more hidden charges and fees.

Closer guy suggested financing the $26K, on a Marriott credit card "for the Marriott Rewards points"...

"Okay," I said, "what's the rate?"
"Depends on your score..."
"Assume an 800; what's the lowest rate?"
"19%"
"Whaaaaa?!?!"
"Well, you can pay it off immediately and still get the points! That's what I just did!"
"Okay, but not many people can do that..."
"But you get a free trip with 200K points, so it pays for itself!!"​

Amazing...I'm horrified to think that people get suckered into these decisions without all the required info! Enough about that bad sales presentation. Let's talk about the real cost of this program.

I made a spreadsheet for Total Cost of Ownership over 15 years with these assumptions:

• 2000 MVC points costs $26,500 + $1060 / yr + $700 processing fee
• (very few people will pay cash for this sort of thing)
• Marriott financing is 19% APR (sheesh!)
• Accumulating credit card points has zero (zilch, nada, nothing) to do with spending money on a timeshare...using a Delta Skymiles card or AmEx Saphire is a better product for a lower cost of use
• an average HELOC (home equity line of credit) right now is ~5%
• financing is stupidly expensive for terms >5 years, esp. 10+ years, esp. esp. @ 19%
  • some people are actually carrying a balance for this on a high interest credit card!

My spreadsheets showed a pretty lame TCO over 15 years, even with a 5 yr loan term, with low interest financing:

• 2,000 points / year (pitched as "entry level"): "$26,500"
  • TCO = $57,844 (19% APR, e.g. high-interest credit card or mafia / loan-shark)
    • upfront of $9,450 / year for years 1-5
  • TCO = $46,606 (5%, e.g. HELOC or parents)
    • upfront of $7,200 / yr for years 1-5
• "1,000 / 2,000 points" (1,500 / yr average): "$13,750"
  • 15 yr TCO = $46,606 (19% APR)
    • upfront of $5,165 / yr for initial 5 years
  • 15 yr TCO = $27,945 (5% APR)
    • upfront of $4,000 / yr for initial 5 years

The "break-even" point is when the accumulated cost of buying into the program becomes equal to the accumulated cost of renting hotel rooms at $250 / night (w/ projected 3% annual rate increase).

For people paying 19% APR for 5 years, plus fees, etc, they needed to pay into the program for 9 years in order to match the accumulated cost of 20 hotel rental days per year. These people would see a 19 year break even point to match the total cost of 10 hotel rental days per year.

At 5% APR, the break even point arrives earlier at 7 years of paying in to match total cost of 20 hotel rental days per year, and 15 years top match 10 hotel rental days per year.

That is pretty horrible return on investment. You'd need to commit to vacationing in a Marriott property >20 days / year to break even in <7 years. That's a lot of vacation time...more than I'd ever use, esp. at a resort property. Also consider the cost of traveling to all those vacation areas...20 days is 5-7 long vacations every year! Who even does that?!

It's tough to stomach the up-front financial hit, get tied into a commitment to deal with the fact that it's an uncertain, complex process to get the desired location, when you want it, for a reasonable price, paid for in "points" that by definition have variable value and fluctuating service fees.

IMO, this is a horrible investment for retired people...they cannot afford the upfront costs (and would use a credit card) or the airfare fees required to travel to a resort that often. My calculations showed ~$33K in *interest alone* for a $26K loan with a 10-year term at 19% APR.

In my experience, working people like me who have that sort of disposable income could keep the costs down with a HELOC, but they we don't have the capability to take a 3-7 day vacation every 8 weeks.

What did I miss here? Is this the most ridiculous scam ever?

Your analysis is excellent. I purchased 2 Marriott weeks from Marriott 8 years ago and paid cash. I just updated my return. I have recouped 60% of my purchase price +'maintenance fees by personal usage and renting them. I consider fair market rent as the value for my usage and the actual rent when I rent to others minus the ad costs.

Since that original purchase, however, I bought 7 resales. The pay-back on those are between 2 and 7 years. I don't finance them, however. I have seen too many posts here on TUG from distraught owners who have to get out of their ownership and can't cover their purchase price and pay off their loans. It's a sad state of affairs. Timeshares are a luxury purchase, a prepaid vacation, but not an investment. The ever-increasing maintenance fees are bad enough without having to pay for the financing on a quickly depreciating "asset". You always need an exit plan which might be giving them away if your life situation changes. Just my 2 cents for whatever it's worth.

 

[MSH]

We used to put off vacations or take short trips. Lots of excuses why we couldn't get away. Around twelve years ago we bought a week at the Marriott Surf Club and soon after added another two weeks. Paying for a vacation in advance means we are going away every year for three weeks. Good financial investment - NO. But it is an excellent investment in rest, relaxation, and getting away from the Chicago winters. So for me it has been well worth the expense.

 

[JT]

What is the best way to determine break even point? We bought resale grande chateau (granted before housing disaster) for the most part we have had many vacations in the last 8 years-we have been able to lock-off and trade our 2 bd into for the most part 2bd for 2 weeks per year. One of the main reasons we did this is so that we don't eat out for 7 days and have more space on vacation for our 4 family members. We may eat out once per day. Costco is our best friend on vacation- not to mention not spending 100$ per day at a hotel bar.

 

[bazzap]

We

What is the best way to determine break even point? We bought resale grande chateau (granted before housing disaster) for the most part we have had many vacations in the last 8 years-we have been able to lock-off and trade our 2 bd into for the most part 2bd for 2 weeks per year. One of the main reasons we did this is so that we don't eat out for 7 days and have more space on vacation for our 4 family members. We may eat out once per day. Costco is our best friend on vacation- not to mention not spending 100$ per day at a hotel bar.

We have never even tried to determine break even point.
As others have said, we don't primarily view MVC in financial terms.
However, Grand Chateau has probably been our best investment in terms of value for money.

 

[StevenTing]

What is the best way to determine break even point? We bought resale grande chateau (granted before housing disaster) for the most part we have had many vacations in the last 8 years-we have been able to lock-off and trade our 2 bd into for the most part 2bd for 2 weeks per year. One of the main reasons we did this is so that we don't eat out for 7 days and have more space on vacation for our 4 family members. We may eat out once per day. Costco is our best friend on vacation- not to mention not spending 100$ per day at a hotel bar.

This is very hard to calculate as each person will determine this differently. The link below is to a spreadsheet that I use to track my overall expenses related to the time shares along with my perceived value of usage. In order to determine my perceived value, I just use the cash rate when booking on Marriott.com. I then project what I expect MF to grow on an annual basis based on historical growth rates. I then apply a growth rate of perceived value as well. I don't remember all of the details but it usually takes me about an hour or two each year to remember exactly how I created the spreadsheet. My spreadsheet is overly complicated because I have an EOY week as well.

As you can see, I've spent over $120k between maintenance fees and paying developer prices for weeks over 12 years and have received about $102k in perceived value over that same time.

My worst usage of my weeks/points is to rent them out so I will probably not be renting out points in the future. I receive my best value by actually using my weeks and points.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/piuk0hrm69lbr6p/Timeshare Cost Analysis-20170313-Shared.xlsx?dl=0

 

[taffy19]

Good for you to decide to use every point for your own vacations while your family is young. Your Marriott "ownership of vacations" will probably stay in the family to continue their vacations with their children later. I have read this on TUG so many times that Grand Parents love to spend quality time with their grand children in a beautiful resort on the beach or any other nice place or theme park.

 

[Kevin Fun]

I own several weeks at Newport Coast in the prime season. I bought these on the resale market for around $8K each. MF are around 1200 per year. I have been able to rent them for 1500-2300 per week. I only buy ones I feel I can cover my MF with a little income for my investment (purchase Price & MF cost). I am now buying a Westin week 52 since I know I can rent it for much more then the MF. Right now we will rarely use these since we like to travel to different places in the world but I am having fun learning and messing around with them, but have picked places I think I would like to travel too when I am older. I hope to make a little money or limit my losses while I am getting my feet wet. I too have sat with the developer and couldn't justify their math so I though I would start this way and see how it works out.

 

[SMB1]

Timeshare is one of the worst investments and one of the best purchases we've ever made. We'll never sell for what we've paid. And we've overpaid. But we've bought and paid several times now, each time with eyes wide open. We've taken more family trips, stayed in first class accommodations, learned to work the system (not only the TS, but hotels, rental cars, and airfare as well) than we ever would have planned and paid cash for. We live in Massachusetts. We went "down the Cape" in the summer and skied the north in the winter...weekend trips, stayed with friends, day trips, etc. It is just what is done here. Since purchasing 10 years ago, we've been to the beach in Daytona, Manhattan Beach, Oahu, Maui, Myrtle Beach, Hilton Head, Newport, and Cape Cod. We've skied Breck, A Basin, Vail, Park City, NH, ME. Been to Orlando multiple times, San Francisco, LA, Vegas, Atlantic City, Chicago, NYC and others. Almost all of these trips would not have happened if we didn't "invest" in vacations. My kids have traveled as much in their lives as we have in ours. We just would never have booked hotels for weeks at a time, paid for flights, rented cars, laid out thousands of dollars multiple times per year had we not purchased.