My standard newbie questions

[fishpotato]

Hi everyone! I’m looking for your wisdom in figuring out a great way to save on travel for my family. We are in our 30s with a 10 year old and will travel half of the time with one set of grandparents.

A lot of our travel so far has been on hotel points but that doesn’t work well when booking 2 bedrooms in Hawaii. Timeshares might be the answer?


1) Is there a vacation destination you wish to visit most of the time or on a regular basis? if so where?

Hawaii and Caribbean

2) Do you want to visit your home resort at least half the time, or do you want to trade more than half the time?

Home resort half the time and other resorts half the time. We love Hawaii but it takes so long to get there that a closer destination will be the choice some years.


3) What are your 5 top trade destinations?

Other Hawaiian Islands, Caribbean, Western Europe, Mexico, Southwest USA

4) How many people do you usually travel with - total, including yourself?

3 to 5

5) Can you travel any time, or are you locked into the school schedule?

School schedule for the next 9 years

6) Can you make firm plans 12 or more mos. in advance?

Yes

7) Can you vacation for a full week at a time?

Yes

8) What level of accommodations do you prefer on a scale of 1 to 5 stars?

Prefer 4-5 but 3 is good sometimes too. We stayed at Marriott Kauai Lagoons a few years ago and that was great for us.

9) How much can you afford to spend upfront, without financing?

Very flexible as long as it’s long term cheaper than paying retail Hawaii suite per night prices. Let’s say $10,000 or less.

10) How much can you afford to spend every year for a maintenance fee that will come due right after Christmas, and increase each year?

Less than $4,000. Ideally a lot less but I don’t know what is reasonable for upper mid-tier and luxury locations.

11) Are you a detail oriented planner?

Yes, I thoroughly plan my trips but leave plenty of time to relax.

12) Do you understand that once you buy a timeshare, it may be very difficult to sell or give away, and you are responsible for all fees, until you do?

Yes. I’m concerned about this but if we can save on travel for the next few decades then it should be worth it. We are in our 30s.

 

[DaveNV]

You might explore WorldMark. It isn't the total answer you're seeking, but it is one viable option.

Lots of SW USA locations, some in Hawaii, 2br units are common, pretty reasonable maintenance fees. Relatively easy to book, with a bit of effort.

Dave

 

[pedro47]

To the OP. Welcome to the TUG WEBSITE.

The OP, needs a two (2) bedrooms villas, with a full kitchen, a sleep sofa in the living room for his child and two (2) bathrooms. IMHO. That is my starting point.

 

[fishpotato]

To the OP. Welcome to the TUG WEBSITE.

The OP, needs a two (2) bedrooms villas, with a full kitchen, a sleep sofa in the living room for his child and two (2) bathrooms. IMHO. That is my starting point.

Yeah, that’s what I had in mind. Two bedrooms as well as a sofa bed for the kiddo, two baths, and a kitchen at least when we are traveling with my in-laws.

I’m not sure what programs make sense. I am somewhat familiar with HGVC and have stayed in a Marriott in Kauai but I don’t know what other options are out there for 4 star type travel.

 

[BJRSanDiego]

I own four Marriott's. So, I am obviously biased towards Marriott. But bear with me.

I am very happy with my ownership because they trade well, having a Marriott "priority" is a BIG plus and many/most are 2 BR lock-offs. We have always "split" the unit into a 1 BR and an efficiency and trade both sides. The majority of the Marriott locations are generally 4 or 5 star. The MF's are a bit higher than Wyndham. A trader (e.g., Grand Chateau, Palm Desert, Branson, etc.) can be purchased resale for roughly 3 or 4K (I'd recommend buying the top season for better trading power) and MF are roughly in the 1500-1600 range (except Hawaii for both MF and purchase).

For Hawaii, the Marriott family (including Westin and Sheraton) has several timeshares. We've traded into Hawaii five times. (When I trade into Hawaii I do a "shotgun" approach and list most of the Marriott's, the Sheraton and a couple of the Westins.

For the Southwest (where I live) there is (in network) Palm Desert, Phoenix, Newport Coast, Lake Tahoe, plus we regularly trade into Sedona (Hyatt) and Tucson (Shell Starr Pass).

Buying into the Marriott network gives you priority access to Marriott, Sheraton, and Westin. Plus Interval handles Welk/Hyatt and Disney. Marriott trades in Interval.

 

[fishpotato]

Interesting. I only learned about II last night so the idea of going with trade desirable Marriott 2 bed lockoff isn’t something I had considered yet.

I’m stuck traveling during school vacations so the idea of always trading is a little spooky but I do like the idea of having a lot of variety, even if it is forced variety due inventory.

I’ll go read the Marriott guide.

Please do let me know if there’s anything else in particular I should consider while deciding on a program. Still very much in research mode on programs and RCI/II

 

[ScoopKona]

I’m stuck traveling during school vacations so the idea of always trading is a little spooky but I do like the idea of having a lot of variety, even if it is forced variety due inventory.

Timeshare is turning into a product much like healthcare -- where "in network" matters. If you buy into one of the name-brand hotel systems, you will in general receive more favorable trades within that system -- at the possible cost of getting less time than through II.

While I agree that it is better to own something you will use, I don't. I've never stayed in my unit. I will never stay in my unit. My unit is in my hometown. If I go there I have better options. I bought it just to trade. Since I get anywhere between two and four weeks out of the week I own, I'm quite happy with it. (This kind of leveraging won't happen if you always need large units.) You'll need to learn the basics of all the various systems, and then look at what they have and where they have it. I would also just rent a week in various places to get a decent feel for the resort. Have a salesman explain the system to you. If you do a "courtesy tour" (no gift) you can get up and leave any time.

Finally, if you're buying in the Caribbean, be careful to buy a place which will survive the next hurricane. There are loads and loads of timeshare owners whose travel plans just got thrown into medium-term limbo thanks to damage from Ian. Puerto Rico has suffered the same problem. And several other leeward resorts have been "down for repairs." I would look for something in Aruba or Bonaire -- they rarely get hit.

 

[jmhpsu93]

Your budget and needs align well with a little bit of work and planning on your part - the big thing is always the willingness to commit 12 months out.

With a well under $10K initial investment, you could pick up a Palm Desert 2 BR platinum lockoff like Marriott Desert Spring Villas or Shadow Ridge and something like a 2 BR Grande Vista in Orlando (also platinum). Both are lockoffs, total about $3500 +/- in maintenance fees (likely to increase this year) and you would have a lot of flexibility to use or trade. If you spend a little more up front you could get an Aruba Surf Club 2BR to use or trade vs. the Grande Vista.

As noted you would get trading preference in Interval for Marriott-to-Marriott trades. There are additional trading fees of about $350/week.

 

[BJRSanDiego]

...

I’m stuck traveling during school vacations so the idea of always trading is a little spooky but I do like the idea of having a lot of variety, even if it is forced variety due inventory.

...

two techniques for increasing your chances of reserving school vacation weeks:
(1) Buy at a resort you like to go to and in the season for school vacation weeks. Then reserve the school week you want at exactly the earliest point that you can (that is, set the alarm).
(2) Book your home resort for the highest trading power week (aka "TDI"), deposit it immediately and put in a request for the school vacation week you want. Also, consider putting in a request for the next school vacation as well as future ones, even if a year further out. That way you'll be in a good position in the queue.

 

[fishpotato]

This advice is soooooo interesting. Thank you so much for going into detail on how to think about making this sort of setup work despite school schedules. I'm a big fan of planning vacations early and it'll be doable going forward as my mother in-law will be retired and we won't have to worry about her work not giving her time off.

I'll take a look at those resorts jmhpsu93. They sound really interesting for the kind of travel and trades we would want to do.

 

[fishpotato]

I know this is a hard question to answer but how likely would I be able to trade a 2 bed MGC Las Vegas for a 2 bed somewhere in Hawaii between June and end of August if I can make plans as far in advance as possible for summer 2024? I know that it’s all up to II inventory but is this like a 90% odds or a 20%?

Marriott seems like a great fit for my needs if I can trade routinely, but Hilton might be a better fit if I just buy a home week in Hawaii if trading is too hard with school vacations. Marriott deeds in Hawaii are way pricier than Hilton from what I can see.

 

[rickandcindy23]

Marriott's Kauai Lagoons is not 3 star. If you consider it that low, you are not looking for 3 star or higher accommodations. Kind of made me giggle to see that.

Marriott is a great system, and I highly recommend it, but exchanges are never a guarantee. If you are flexible, then exchanges do work well. We bought to use but only our Maui accommodations are those that we use each year. We bought Kauai and then did not use it for Kauai. Kind of strange but it all worked out okay (long story).

The prices for resales are increasing. I saw a week at Sheraton Broadway Plantation go for such a high price, I considered selling all of mine for that profit. And we own a bunch of them that we basically got for free. Now is the time to sell because people are buying.

 

[fishpotato]

Marriott's Kauai Lagoons is not 3 star. If you consider it that low, you are not looking for 3 star or higher accommodations. Kind of made me giggle to see that.

Marriott is a great system, and I highly recommend it, but exchanges are never a guarantee. If you are flexible, then exchanges do work well. We bought to use but only our Maui accommodations are those that we use each year. We bought Kauai and then did not use it for Kauai. Kind of strange but it all worked out okay (long story).

The prices for resales are increasing. I saw a week at Sheraton Broadway Plantation go for such a high price, I considered selling all of mine for that profit. And we own a bunch of them that we basically got for free. Now is the time to sell because people are buying.

Hah! I wrote the sentence around accommodation stars in a confusing order. Kauai Lagoons was exactly what we would love to own it if it wasn’t so pricey. 4-5 star is the preference but I would stay in a 3 star some of the time if we needed to with our budget and school calendar constraints.