MF question--Hawaii

[Kidpolska]

When comparing MF's for the different resorts, it seems like the Hawaiian resorts have some of the lowest fees around. Anyone know why this is so? Do they tend to have more special assessments than other properties?

 

[Bigrob]

When comparing MF's for the different resorts, it seems like the Hawaiian resorts have some of the lowest fees around. Anyone know why this is so? Do they tend to have more special assessments than other properties?

I would revise this to say: SOME of the Wyndham Hawaiian resorts have low maintenance fees. Others do not. For example, Ka'eo Kai Maintenance Fees are rather high, Kaui Beach Villas are average-ish. Bali Hai and Shearwater are very low.

In the case of Shearwater, and to a lesser extent Bali Hai, the reason is at least in part because it costs so many points to stay there. Here's the math behind it (greatly simplified but you can easily extrapolate to a full resort):

Resort A has a 2BR Deluxe unit that costs 154,000 points to stay in for a week. Let's call it... Fairfield Glade as an example. Weeks at The Glade have maintenance fees in the $740/year range, plus CWP when converted.

Resort B has a 2BR Deluxe unit that costs 325,000 points to stay in for a week. Let's call it... a Bali Hai Penthouse 2BR unit. The Bali Hai maintenance fee per week is about $1015/year range, plus CWP when converted.

The Bali Hai maintenance fee is actually higher than Fairfield Glade for a 2BR. But the resultant MF$/K point is much lower because the week at Bali Hai is worth more than twice as many points as the week at Glade.

 

[Kidpolska]

Thanks, Bigrob. I've always thought that the best way to supplement my current points was to focus on low MF's per 1,000...as we don't really care about ARP and don't have a particular affinity for any one specific resort.

 

[AUtiger]

But points are points right?

I would revise this to say: SOME of the Wyndham Hawaiian resorts have low maintenance fees. Others do not. For example, Ka'eo Kai Maintenance Fees are rather high, Kaui Beach Villas are average-ish. Bali Hai and Shearwater are very low.

In the case of Shearwater, and to a lesser extent Bali Hai, the reason is at least in part because it costs so many points to stay there. Here's the math behind it (greatly simplified but you can easily extrapolate to a full resort):

Resort A has a 2BR Deluxe unit that costs 154,000 points to stay in for a week. Let's call it... Fairfield Glade as an example. Weeks at The Glade have maintenance fees in the $740/year range, plus CWP when converted.

Resort B has a 2BR Deluxe unit that costs 325,000 points to stay in for a week. Let's call it... a Bali Hai Penthouse 2BR unit. The Bali Hai maintenance fee per week is about $1015/year range, plus CWP when converted.

The Bali Hai maintenance fee is actually higher than Fairfield Glade for a 2BR. But the resultant MF$/K point is much lower because the week at Bali Hai is worth more than twice as many points as the week at Glade.

But points are points right? So if I bought at Bali Hai and I never went there I could use the points at other Wyndham resorts and my maintenance fees would be lower than if I bought at the resorts I was going to stay at. Using your example above I could stay 2 weeks at Fairfield Glade for $1015/ year if I owned at Bali Hai instead of the $1480/year it would cost if I owned at Glade and I would had ARP at Bali Hail if I ever did want to stay there.

 

[Ty1on]

But points are points right? So if I bought at Bali Hai and I never went there I could use the points at other Wyndham resorts and my maintenance fees would be lower than if I bought at the resorts I was going to stay at. Using your example above I could stay 2 weeks at Fairfield Glade for $1015/ year if I owned at Bali Hai instead of the $1480/year it would cost if I owned at Glade and I would had ARP at Bali Hail if I ever did want to stay there.

Points are points except the ARP aspect, which you noted. Also, the front end cost of a Bali Hai contract, if you can find one, is going to be significantly higher than a Glade contract.

 

[AUtiger]

Points are points except the ARP aspect, which you noted. Also, the front end cost of a Bali Hai contract, if you can find one, is going to be significantly higher than a Glade contract.

I agree that the initial cost is more but you could stay twice as much with at Glade and save $450/year with Bali Hai contract. I would also think the Bali Hai contract would be easier to sell latter. I think the initial cost would be about $4000 more with closing cost giving you about a 9 year break even point but you would also have twice as many weeks at Glade.

So if you are going to do this is CWA less expensive than say a Bali Hai contract?

 

[Ty1on]

I agree that the initial cost is more but you could stay twice as much with at Glade and save $450/year with Bali Hai contract. I would also think the Bali Hai contract would be easier to sell latter. I think the initial cost would be about $4000 more with closing cost giving you about a 9 year break even point but you would also have twice as many weeks at Glade.

So if you are going to do this is CWA less expensive than say a Bali Hai contract?

Maintenance fees? CWA is significantly higher than Bali Hai. Purchase price? CWA was going nuts ($16-$20/K) for a couple weeks in the summer, but I cannot imagine that on the average, you can find a Bali Hai contract for the same price per point as a CWA. Also note that if ARP IS an issue for you and you want to stay in HI frequently, CWA has no deeds in HI at all.

 

[55plus]

When comparing MF's for the different resorts, it seems like the Hawaiian resorts have some of the lowest fees around. Anyone know why this is so? Do they tend to have more special assessments than other properties?

A low maintenance fee location is a good way to add additional points. You should also factor in resellability. I personally would look at location first and then low fees, unless the points are CWA. What good are low fees if you cannot sell it or even give it away at a later date...

 

[AUtiger]

Maintenance fees? CWA is significantly higher than Bali Hai. Purchase price? CWA was going nuts ($16-$20/K) for a couple weeks in the summer, but I cannot imagine that on the average, you can find a Bali Hai contract for the same price per point as a CWA. Also note that if ARP IS an issue for you and you want to stay in HI frequently, CWA has no deeds in HI at all.

My wife and I are empty nesters in our 50's so we are not interested in staying at most places during high season so ARP is not a big deal for us. We would probably like to go to Hawaii but we don't see a need to own a TS there. I'm just looking at having a place to burn some of my 5 weeks of vacation every year. I would also like relatively low fees. So a place like Bali Hai might make sense.

 

[Kidpolska]

So I ended up pulling the trigger on 126k in Bali Hai...MF's around $45/mo. Happy camper!

 

[DeniseM]

If you are only looking for points, this may be a good value for you.

As far as a home resort, it's so-so for a Hawaii resort, because it's not on the beach.

Resort Webpage: http://www.pahio.com/resorts/Resorts/Bali_Hai_Villas/bali_hai_villas_17.html

 

[Kidpolska]

Yes Denise, was strictly points only. ARP isn't really an issue for us, as we have pretty high flexibility for travel dates. I was just about to buy an 84k contract at the same $45/mo, so i I am counting myself as very lucky.