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The TUGBBS forums are completely free and open to the public and exist as the absolute best place for owners to get help and advice about their timeshares for more than 30 years!
Join Tens of Thousands of other Owners just like you here to get any and all Timeshare questions answered 24 hours a day!
Wyndham Founder; Disney OKW & SSR; Marriott's Willow Ridge, Shadow Ridge and Grand Chateau; Val Chatelle, Pines at Meadow Ridge and Twin Rivers in CO; Hono Koa OF (3); SBR(LOTS), SDO a few); WKORV-OFC-4 and Westin Desert Willow.
We started with Vistana after finding tug and rescinding a developer WPORV purchase. We opted for the Westin Kierland Platinum route to use cheaper Staroptions to trade to other resorts - those weeks have maintained value phenomenally.
Shortly after we also bought a couple of resale Platinum NCV mostly to use - those have also kept their value very well over time. We've used them less often since moving to the East coast but still love visiting there and will likely use them in retirement close to annually.
Over time we added to our Vistana and Marriott a few more weeks mostly for "buy where (and what) you want to use" or via direct purchase to "requalify/enroll" resale weeks.
Recently we also purchased with DVC, both resale and direct. We live in FL and decided to try and enjoy more being relatively close to Orlando. I kind of regret not doing that 10+ years ago when the kids were younger, and DVC direct prices were where resale prices are today (and resale prices were obviously lower too). Who knew that timeshares could go up in value so much! I was shocked when my relatively lowball offer for our first resale buy (Bay Lake Tower) was immediately accepted without a counteroffer, until I tracked down the seller's original deed and historical resale prices and figured that the sellers basically broke even on their direct purchase from 2011. DVC deeds do expire in 35-45 years (some in 18 years, but we didn't buy those), so they can't maintain value forever and are guaranteed to eventually be worthless, but we'll hopefully enjoy them for at least a decade...
We initially bought MVC in 2014 (Points plus a HHI Barony week bundle) for access to the Hilton Head resorts. We eventually added EOY Maui Ocean Club and EOY Waiohai weeks for Hawaii. In the meantime, we liked HHI so much, be bought a full condo there, so now the HHI Barony week gets converted to points each year, giving us 6375 Abound Points each year, plus the EOY Maui and Kauai weeks.
About the same time we added the Maui and Kauai EOY weeks, we added a single week in the Hilton Grand Vacations Club system, primarily to access their extensive properties on the Big Island of Hawaii, but we've also used HGVC to go to Waikiki, Los Cabos, Carlsbad (CA), Tuscany Italy, and Charleston.
Started w/ Vistana and then added Hilton, Hyatt, Independents, and MVC Deserts. Pandemic changed everything. Decided to divest Hyatt, MVC Deserts, and some Hilton deeds. We have found that we would rather own where we visit instead of relying on II.(Love Tahoe). We like long weekend stays which Hilton gives us. We also like to travel in the summer and by car because we are a fam of 7 and have children w/ additional needs.
We have owned 6 Marriotts, 2 DVC and 1 independent on Hilton Head. We are down to Maui Ocean Club, Waiohai and the independent. We are going to add 2 more Waiohai resale weeks and 1 Ko Olina resale week. We also like to cruise and take land based trips where we are at a given hotel for no more than 5 days. Most of these locations do not have timeshare options.
The Hilton Head property cost us $1.00 and the seller paid this year’s maintenance fee and owner transfer fee. I ambled over to the bargain marketplace here on TUG last year. (Someone on this board referenced the bargain section.) I researched the property, asked questions on another board and we decided to take the plunge. Our season goes from April through the first week of June. We booked the June week. We were a little nervous because the fee to sell or transfer the property is pretty hefty. We ended up not being able to use it this year so we rented it for $1500! For an “off brand” timeshare we thought that was pretty good.
We own 1 marriott willow ridge 2 bed platinum, 1 grandview 2 bed 122000 pt RCI week and 300 DVC points. And its been 3 years since my last resale timeshare purchase
I bought my first week- a Harbor Lake 2BR Platinum week in 2020 for $300 all-in. Now I’m up to 10 Marriott weeks in 3 years! The Harbor Lake, a Willow Ridge, and 8 Grande Vista weeks!
I bought my first week- a Harbor Lake 2BR Platinum week in 2020 for $300 all-in. Now I’m up to 10 Marriott weeks in 3 years! The Harbor Lake, a Willow Ridge, and 8 Grande Vista weeks!
What do you do with all these? Are they in good enough seasons to enable renting for enough in excess of the maintenance fees to make it worthwhile? It might just be that you use them - the best reason for owning weeks.
I'm asking this because I'm thinking of buying a gold week or two to use for spring break for the grand kids at OceanWatch or Newport Beach. I'm hoping the maintenance fees don't overwhelm the rent potential for gold weeks.
I initially bought 1 Marriott NCV(resale) in 2021 after doing a lot of research and help from TUG. Since then I've added 1 more NCV, 2 MGC and also recently bought a HGVC BLD week(resale). The main reason I bought Hilton was for their flexibility. Since all of my Marriott's weeks are resale I dont have flexibility when it comes to Marriott. I rely on my MGC traders to explore other Marriott properties. With Hilton, I get open season(cash rate), Club Points and don't have to stay a whole week(min 3 day stay). Thus far I am extremely happy with all my purchases.
i owned some Marriott but gave them away prior to the merge
I own many Vistana - mostly resale - for the most part that worked out in my favor - except for Harborside
I still own 2 Hyatt units and 2 Hilton units
i used to own Wyndham and Shell - no longer! Thank god
used to own some varying independent ones many bought and sold over the years - got that down to 1 EOY RCI points unit
planning to get rid of the Hyatt and Hilton eventually - as soon as i exhaust all current points probably
may get rid of the Harborside if Marriott doesn't award any Abound currency for it
need to downsize in general now that my husband has dementia
HGVC Max for use in DC and NYC - they're on par with the Marriotts and have a decent owners lounge for breakfast, hors d'oeuvres, beer & wine. Waiting to see how useful the expanded access is w/the former DRI resorts (e.g., Cabo Azul).
Wyndham and WorldMark for use in specific places like Austin and Marina Dunes. They make a good back up for places in higher cost resorts I offer to rent out because of the shorter no-penalty cancellation periods. Useable as efficient trading weeks in ThirdHome.
Chairman's Club in Abound through resale Vistana mandatory weeks plus a few Lagunamar ones. Acquired those in anticipation of the Abound merger as an inexpensive way to get in that system - I don't own any Marriotts.
Several independents in places the systems don't cover (e.g., Captain Morgan's in Belize) and four weeks in a fractional at Flora Farms that are IMHO a higher tier than any of the systems I own in.
We own Marriott in HH, (a legacy gold season week) and Disney Vacation Club (purchased from 2000-2007).
We are looking at resale gold season weeks in Marriott in HH, as we are thinking a second week would be nice, but I have to weigh out the cost effectiveness of double MF in comparison to using DVC points for HH whenever we want to go outside of the Spring week we usually use the Marriott week for. Owning "too much" (for us) is definitely a consideration. It's not just about costs, it's about the time to use it.
So far what we own has been perfect for our needs....but a second week in HH is super tempting!
The learning curve for TS systems gets shorter the more systems you own. We own Vistana (Mandatory SOs, now Abound eligible), HGVC (several deeds) and assist a close relative with their MVC deed and have utilized this deed for stays. Just made our first Abound reservations a month ago. It was quick and easy.
Started in 1998 with a harborside at Atlantis as my only VOI all the up until 2019 until I joined TUG. Since then I purchased other vistana mandatory weeks. I’ve bought and sold a few vistana weeks and looking back wished I kept all of them as it would have helped me in new Abound program.
In addition to Vistana I picked up a VV affiliate at Massanutten to trade in RCI points. I got some really nice exchanges with that unit.
Currently, I am at 6 weeks all in Vistana/Abound with an Executive OBL in Vistana and I really can’t see myself adding anymore
We recently finalized our MVC Newport Coast Villas platinum week 26 (resale) purchase.
The only other timeshare we have is Disney Vacation Club. We have 300 points at Villas Grand California (direct) we purchased in 2010 and 270 Aulani points (subsidized resale) we purchased in 2020.
We ventured out to MVC so that we can vacation at premium locations not available with our DVC timeshare.
Wyndham Founder; Disney OKW & SSR; Marriott's Willow Ridge, Shadow Ridge and Grand Chateau; Val Chatelle, Pines at Meadow Ridge and Twin Rivers in CO; Hono Koa OF (3); SBR(LOTS), SDO a few); WKORV-OFC-4 and Westin Desert Willow.
We recently finalized our MVC Newport Coast Villas platinum week 26 (resale) purchase.
The only other timeshare we have is Disney Vacation Club. We have 300 points at Villas Grand California (direct) we purchased in 2010 and 270 Aulani points (subsidized resale) we purchased in 2020.
We ventured out to MVC so that we can vacation at premium locations not available with our DVC timeshare.
That's a good plan. I would rent the Newport Coast and wouldn't trade it. It's got good potential for rental purposes. There are other Marriott weeks (that can be locked off for two trades) that are much more valuable for trades.
I started out with a Disney Beach Club Villas timeshare, but as my kids grew they started liking other theme parks and didn't need to stay on site anymore. Before selling Disney, I bought Sheraton Desert Oasis and I have never stayed there, I always lock-off and use 2 weeks in Interval enjoying "Vistana preference".
Preference is quite powerful in Interval, which in part was responsible for me buying Marriott's Grand Chateau. Again, I have never stayed there, I always lock-off and use 2 weeks in Interval enjoying "Marriott preference".
Buying some points-based contracts were next, recently purchasing HGVC Paradise (to use well-priced points) for Big Island, Waikiki and NYC. WorldMark is my most recent purchase, as they had some West Coast destinations I wanted access to as well as being a great Interval trader when needed.
Location is everything, but you don't always need to own where you want to go. There are other strategies.
I only own Marriott. But my in-laws own Wyndham that I manage for them. They use their points for an extended family vacation every year or every other year that I plan. They just pay the maintenance fees.
So I’m pretty familiar with both of those systems. They actually complement each other pretty well- with each having some unique locations that the other lacks.
We own both, for exactly that reason. Originally owned Wyndham because of the variety of locations. We bought Vistana for access to the Westin Maui resorts, but bought that when our kids were grown and we knew we would need the extra points/weeks for family vacations with the grandkids.
I bought 5 Marriott weeks, 4 Vistana and 1 Hyatt. Of course they are all owned by MVW now. I chose most of them because they were resorts I liked with the added benefit that they would rent well over the cost of Maintenance. I could use 5 weeks a year and cover the fees on all of them with the other 5. I felt at the time that rentals would be easier with hotel-branded resorts.
I initially bought 1 Marriott NCV(resale) in 2021 after doing a lot of research and help from TUG. Since then I've added 1 more NCV, 2 MGC and also recently bought a HGVC BLD week(resale). The main reason I bought Hilton was for their flexibility. Since all of my Marriott's weeks are resale I dont have flexibility when it comes to Marriott. I rely on my MGC traders to explore other Marriott properties. With Hilton, I get open season(cash rate), Club Points and don't have to stay a whole week(min 3 day stay). Thus far I am extremely happy with all my purchases.
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