Pre Paid Vacation

[Baggi]

Recently I've started looking online to pay for my trip after I've booked it with points.
For example, I'll book a hotel in San Diego for 5 nights and it'll cost me X points and then I'll divide that by my total points and my monthly fee.

Example: Monthly fee is $200. Annual cost is $2400. Cost of room is half my points therefore cost is $1200.00

When I look online, the cost is usually right around $1200.00.

This makes me wonder, why do I have a time share? If it'll cost any Tom, Dick or Harry $1,200.00 and it's costing me $1,200 via points, what's the point?

Anyone else experience this? Do you need to get up to the VIP level to make it worth while?

 

[WManning]

Recently I've started looking online to pay for my trip after I've booked it with points.
For example, I'll book a hotel in San Diego for 5 nights and it'll cost me X points and then I'll divide that by my total points and my monthly fee.

Example: Monthly fee is $200. Annual cost is $2400. Cost of room is half my points therefore cost is $1200.00

When I look online, the cost is usually right around $1200.00.

This makes me wonder, why do I have a time share? If it'll cost any Tom, Dick or Harry $1,200.00 and it's costing me $1,200 via points, what's the point?

Anyone else experience this? Do you need to get up to the VIP level to make it worth while?

I like the ability to search and book myself. Renting from someone is a mixed bag. Try booking a last minute reservation when availability shows up within the 15 day travel date. I snagged a New Years Eve room at Margaritaville Nashville recently. This room showed up at 16 days out probably someone canceled before they lost points. I searched several times a day 3 weeks out and was in disbelief that I was so lucky.

 

[Baggi]

I like the ability to search and book myself. Renting from someone is a mixed bag. Try booking a last minute reservation when availability shows up within the 15 day travel date. I snagged a New Years Eve room at Margaritaville Nashville recently. This room showed up at 16 days out probably someone canceled before they lost points. I searched several times a day 3 weeks out and was in disbelief that I was so lucky.

This isn't renting from someone else, or at least, I don't think it is.

This is through booking.com or Travelocity, etc.

 

[BoomerKwanger]

What are your MFs per 1000 points? I'm wondering if you just need to get lower MF deeds via resale.

I can book a full week 1BR at Margaritaville Rio Mar during prime season for less than $1500 (no VIP here...just resale). I haven't ever seen a hotel deal, AirBnB deal or Extra Vacation deal for anywhere nearly that cheap. Also a lot of those come with random extra fees (taxes, AirBnB cleaning/service fee) that spike up the nightly rate when you actually go to pay. Other thing is are you comparing hotels to timeshare rentals? That's not apples to apples, since timeshares usually come with more space and a full kitchen, which is very helpful (especially when travelling with kids/family). But I can imagine some travelers not needing that at all, so maybe the would be over paying if all they need is a AirBnB roomshare or a hotel situation.

It's also possible that you're a miracle worker at finding great online deals....if that's the case, that is definitely a blessing as well!!

 

[paxsarah]

Like, exact cost for the same accommodation, or just a comparably nice hotel for the same city? Our recent beach vacations have definitely been a better value than something of comparable number of bedrooms and quality for the same dates, especially once I add the taxes and fees on those outside sites.

Or for instance, we have an upcoming 5-night stay in a 2BR at Great Smokies Lodge the week before Easter. It cost me 105,000 points. My MFs right now are $6.66/k, so it cost me $699. Expedia doesn't have that week available (since it abuts Easter) but 2 weeks later, 5 nights (the same Sun-Fri) costs $1355 including taxes and fees - almost twice as much, and it's a less in-demand week. This all as a resale owner.

I figure my ownership paid for itself many times over for all of those DVC exchanges I made over the years, paying in the neighborhood of $1,000/week for a 1BR that typically went for $500-ish per night rack rate from Disney. But even still, I find my Wyndham points stays are still a better value than the alternatives, on average.

 

[WManning]

This isn't renting from someone else, or at least, I don't think it is.

This is through booking.com or Travelocity, etc.

It's a third party rental! No matter who its booked with.

 

[WManning]

Like, exact cost for the same accommodation, or just a comparably nice hotel for the same city? Our recent beach vacations have definitely been a better value than something of comparable number of bedrooms and quality for the same dates, especially once I add the taxes and fees on those outside sites.

Or for instance, we have an upcoming 5-night stay in a 2BR at Great Smokies Lodge the week before Easter. It cost me 105,000 points. My MFs right now are $6.66/k, so it cost me $699. Expedia doesn't have that week available (since it abuts Easter) but 2 weeks later, 5 nights (the same Sun-Fri) costs $1355 including taxes and fees - almost twice as much, and it's a less in-demand week. This all as a resale owner.

I figure my ownership paid for itself many times over for all of those DVC exchanges I made over the years, paying in the neighborhood of $1,000/week for a 1BR that typically went for $500-ish per night rack rate from Disney. But even still, I find my Wyndham points stays are still a better value than the alternatives, on average.

This is also a resale account without the sunk cost of buying VIP! Thanks Wyndham for owner priority dates.

 

[troy12n]

Regarding "I can get a hotel for cheaper"...

Sure, you certainly can, and you get what you pay for. Compare a hotel, even a nice one, even a suite at a nice hotel, to a timeshare unit. Much bigger, nicer, partial or full kitchen, actual rooms (for separation) vs being in one room with potentially other guests. Need a 2BR unit? Try to find that in a hotel. Sure, you can book 2 rooms, probably not for the same price for as nice of a unit.

It's not comparable, and this, is what you are paying for. But yeah, if you are of the "days inn is nice enough" crowd, probably timeshares aren't for you.

 

[Baggi]

What are your MFs per 1000 points? I'm wondering if you just need to get lower MF deeds via resale.

I can book a full week 1BR at Margaritaville Rio Mar during prime season for less than $1500 (no VIP here...just resale). I haven't ever seen a hotel deal, AirBnB deal or Extra Vacation deal for anywhere nearly that cheap. Also a lot of those come with random extra fees (taxes, AirBnB cleaning/service fee) that spike up the nightly rate when you actually go to pay. Other thing is are you comparing hotels to timeshare rentals? That's not apples to apples, since timeshares usually come with more space and a full kitchen, which is very helpful (especially when travelling with kids/family). But I can imagine some travelers not needing that at all, so maybe the would be over paying if all they need is a AirBnB roomshare or a hotel situation.

It's also possible that you're a miracle worker at finding great online deals....if that's the case, that is definitely a blessing as well!!

I'm not sure what my MF per 1000 points is. I know I pay almost $240 a month and I have 2 contracts. One is a re-sale for 220,000 points and one is original for 210,000 for a total of 430,000 points annually.
I recently booked WorldMark Mission Valley for about 180,000 points. That's 42% of my points. $240 a month times 12 months is $2880. 42% of that is $1210.00.
Now, go to booking dot com and look at WorldMark Mission Valley for those dates in April, 11th thru 16th. Also, because I booked with WorldMark, it cost me an additional $99 for a total of over $1300 for those 5 nights.

I'm making an apples to apples comparison here.

 

[Baggi]

Like, exact cost for the same accommodation, or just a comparably nice hotel for the same city? Our recent beach vacations have definitely been a better value than something of comparable number of bedrooms and quality for the same dates, especially once I add the taxes and fees on those outside sites.

Or for instance, we have an upcoming 5-night stay in a 2BR at Great Smokies Lodge the week before Easter. It cost me 105,000 points. My MFs right now are $6.66/k, so it cost me $699. Expedia doesn't have that week available (since it abuts Easter) but 2 weeks later, 5 nights (the same Sun-Fri) costs $1355 including taxes and fees - almost twice as much, and it's a less in-demand week. This all as a resale owner.

I figure my ownership paid for itself many times over for all of those DVC exchanges I made over the years, paying in the neighborhood of $1,000/week for a 1BR that typically went for $500-ish per night rack rate from Disney. But even still, I find my Wyndham points stays are still a better value than the alternatives, on average.

It's entirely possible this isn't always the case. That I'm only encountering this with WorldMark hotels and not Wyndham. I always did get pretty darn good rates with my points at Bonnet Creek in Florida.
But I'm going to start looking at this for every reservation I make and see if it's close to equal or not. I hate getting ripped off and if more often than not it's matching, then why am I pre paying these vacations?

 

[Baggi]

Regarding "I can get a hotel for cheaper"...

Sure, you certainly can, and you get what you pay for. Compare a hotel, even a nice one, even a suite at a nice hotel, to a timeshare unit. Much bigger, nicer, partial or full kitchen, actual rooms (for separation) vs being in one room with potentially other guests. Need a 2BR unit? Try to find that in a hotel. Sure, you can book 2 rooms, probably not for the same price for as nice of a unit.

It's not comparable, and this, is what you are paying for. But yeah, if you are of the "days inn is nice enough" crowd, probably timeshares aren't for you.

I'm not saying this at all.
I'm making an apples to apples comparison, looking at the cash cost of the hotel vs the point cost of the hotel and how much that costs me. In both cases, it's the same place.

 

[paxsarah]

I'm not sure what my MF per 1000 points is. I know I pay almost $240 a month and I have 2 contracts. One is a re-sale for 220,000 points and one is original for 210,000 for a total of 430,000 points annually.
I recently booked WorldMark Mission Valley for about 180,000 points. That's 42% of my points. $240 a month times 12 months is $2880. 42% of that is $1210.00.
Now, go to booking dot com and look at WorldMark Mission Valley for those dates in April, 11th thru 16th. Also, because I booked with WorldMark, it cost me an additional $99 for a total of over $1300 for those 5 nights.

I'm making an apples to apples comparison here.

I looked it up on Booking.com, and will just note that's the pre-tax, prepaid price. A cancelable reservation would have been $1,525 pre-tax. Also, when I tried to click through on the booking, it suddenly was no longer available. Same on Priceline - appeared, but then no longer available. Then I clicked through on Agoda, and it did come through to the booking screen, and with taxes and fees it was $1,458, nonrefundable. So you're still ahead, if only by a bit.

 

[Fiona1]

I'm not saying this at all.
I'm making an apples to apples comparison, looking at the cash cost of the hotel vs the point cost of the hotel and how much that costs me. In both cases, it's the same place.

I was recently in San Diego and I agree. It really depends on the day of the week. The Friday and Saturday rate is so much higher than that of the rest of the week, I ended up booking a suite at the Marriott Pulse for cheaper and the rooms are definitely nicer. Sometimes, I can even book the same room on Extraholidays for cheaper than my MF. But I am currently in Old Town Alexandria, (from Sunday to Wednesday) and you are not going to find a deal as good as using points. Unfortunately, it can be hard to arrange a vacation just from Sunday to Friday.

 

[bnoble]

So you're still ahead, if only by a bit.

Ahead is ahead. Ahead by $200 compared to a non-refundable rate (so you also have better terms) sounds like an okay deal to me.

For example, I'm sitting in a 2BR at Marriott Cypress Harbour as I'm typing this. This week was not available for cash (it is spring break for a lot of people), but a lower-demand week after the spring break/easter rush is a litlte north of $1800, so this week would definitely have been more. The unit I'm using for exchange was about $950. Add the exchange fee and the entire year's membership fee (pessimistically), and it's about $1250.

For what it's worth, I don't get too worked up over how much I am saving. It's usually at least a little bit. It's often a lot--it depends on what exactly I booked and how. I suspect that every once in a blue moon I could have booked something for less some other way. For me, owning timeshare is not only about saving money. It is also about making vacation a priority rather than have it be something I fit in after everything else.

And that's important too. Would I have ever been able to get this week for cash directly? Maybe. Maybe not. This is probably the peak spring break week in Orlando (judging by the various crowd calendars) so it's far from certain. But this is the week I needed to be here, because my daughter is in grad school, and this is the week she is off.

 

[Jan M.]

Booking your timeshare stays through whatever timeshare system you own is preferable to booking through a travel site or some another party. Even if the cost would be same it's better to be the owner rather than the renter.

For some people owning isn't a good option. That can be due to limited time off or finances.

Some people are better off paying more to rent stays. There's a learning curve to becoming a happy and successful timeshare owner and some people have neither the time nor the interest it takes. Think of all the times we've seen here on TUG, on Facebook or heard people complaining that they've never really used what they own or can never find anything. When they're basically told that's on them for not making the time and effort to learn and search they'd rather continue to claim timeshares are a ripoff or they or their family member was taken advantage of by a salesperson.

 

[davidvel]

We traded our 1br (1500 cost) into a 2br Mountainside unit for spring break (cash cost about 4000+, if available at all).

We do this every year and Hawaii with similar costs, at beautiful Marriott resorts. I love our timeshare and the value.

 

[CO skier]

This makes me wonder, why do I have a time share? If it'll cost any Tom, Dick or Harry $1,200.00 and it's costing me $1,200 via points, what's the point?

The booking.com price looks like a $200+off sale pricing. Maybe you can find such a deal in the future, maybe not. With your timeshare, the "sale pricing" is locked-in months ahead of time, if you want. You know what you will get.

My maintenance fees are typically $1,000+/week less than comps on the rental market (prime ski weeks), so where+when you vacation enters into the equation.

 

[lotus921v]

I'm not sure what my MF per 1000 points is. I know I pay almost $240 a month and I have 2 contracts. One is a re-sale for 220,000 points and one is original for 210,000 for a total of 430,000 points annually.
I recently booked WorldMark Mission Valley for about 180,000 points. That's 42% of my points. $240 a month times 12 months is $2880. 42% of that is $1210.00.
Now, go to booking dot com and look at WorldMark Mission Valley for those dates in April, 11th thru 16th. Also, because I booked with WorldMark, it cost me an additional $99 for a total of over $1300 for those 5 nights.

I'm making an apples to apples comparison here.

About $6.70/1000 points

 

[Sandy VDH]

I compare the costs from alternate booking sources, either developer points, bonus points, rental, 3rd party websites. I usually try to pick the lowest cost. The only reason not to pick the lowest cost is you have points that are expiring that you have to use. But remember there is always save or put in RCI.

I own several programs, even related ones, like owning Both Worldmark and Wyndham. Worldmark is alwasy cheaper via worldmark directly, it always costs more for me to book and pay for it in Wyndham dollars. Try RCI for Worldmark, it might be a cheaper alternative.

 

[Arimaas]

It's entirely possible this isn't always the case. That I'm only encountering this with WorldMark hotels and not Wyndham. I always did get pretty darn good rates with my points at Bonnet Creek in Florida.
But I'm going to start looking at this for every reservation I make and see if it's close to equal or not. I hate getting ripped off and if more often than not it's matching, then why am I pre paying these vacations?

I made a spreadsheet that does the cost benefit calculation for you. Let me know if you can see this and understand it.

I just dumped my Hilton for more Wyndham. After 5 or 6 years of owning Hilton, I would have been better off booking through some site to get Hilton room (I'm in the red about $690 versus rack rate which is due to two years of no real usage). With Wyndham, I'm ahead by a little over $4700. Basically after I make my reservations, I go online and price it out paying cash (total with tax, resort fees, etc.) and compare that to all my annual costs and upfront costs. It makes me happy to own my Wyndham points!

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Elk6h-SnYwxtWObSHtoMvRd4mtCSq6Ok3puVvx6RCgo/edit#gid=0

 

[Rich S]

Recently I've started looking online to pay for my trip after I've booked it with points.
For example, I'll book a hotel in San Diego for 5 nights and it'll cost me X points and then I'll divide that by my total points and my monthly fee.

Example: Monthly fee is $200. Annual cost is $2400. Cost of room is half my points therefore cost is $1200.00

When I look online, the cost is usually right around $1200.00.

This makes me wonder, why do I have a time share? If it'll cost any Tom, Dick or Harry $1,200.00 and it's costing me $1,200 via points, what's the point?

Anyone else experience this? Do you need to get up to the VIP level to make it worth while?

I would like to address the question "This makes me wonder, why do I have a timeshare?"

Long story, but I'll make it as short as possible. I have been going to Las Vegas for the last 15 years. My buddy and I always go to CES. I would ask him "how long are you staying?" He would say "I haven't decided yet, maybe 5 days, maybe a week". I would then go and try to book my room and found that the prices for the hotels had jumped 150%. A hotel at that time that was $89.00 a night had jumped to $239.00 plus resort fees and taxes. I could only afford to stay 3 nights. I asked my buddy, "where are you staying and how can you afford to stay so long?" He said, "I'm staying at my timeshare"

I took my wife with me to Las Vegas and we stayed at the South Point Hotel. It is on the very south end and quite aways from the strip. It's not a bad place to stay, and has some very nice attributes.
We went to meet up with my buddy and his wife at their timeshare and when we got to their room, his wife was sitting at their dining table playing video games while he was still getting ready in their bedroom. We sat on the couch as she was able to get wine and snacks out of their refrigerator while we waited. There were four adults lounging in their room moving about comfortably without feeling cramped. I looked at my wife and said "We need a timeshare"

This coming year the Super Bowl is going to be played in Las Vegas. Because I own a timeshare and am booked for a 4 bedroom presidential for the week of the Super Bowl. My wife and kids will be able to experience the fanfare and excitement of the week that is always so hyped up. We are going to stay for a week when otherwise I wouldn't be able to afford to stay for more than 2-3 days at the price they will be asking for a hotel room during that same time.

I now go to Las Vegas 3-4 times a year. I am also going to Kauai, and Cabo San Lucas this year, and I will be staying in my timeshares. I would only be able to afford one of those trips if I had to pay for a hotel.


That's why I have a timeshare. I know they are not for everyone, but they really have enhanced my vacation experience.