Timeshare Resort Extra Charges

[Tamaradarann]

We all know of some of the costs of owning and using timeshare ownerships. These are some of the costs that I know of, if others know of others please add to my list. Some costs come right away and are obvious others come later when the timeshare is used at certain resorts and in certain locations, The initial price is a most obvious cost which we all know about when we buy. The annual maintenance is usually the next cost we learn about. Ownership could also incur a special assessment. Foturnately we have never personally encountered those.

When using a timeshare other costs can be realized. The resort fee or amenities fee is instituted by some resorts per week or per day. The Cleaning Fee for stays shorter than 7 days. In Hawaii there is a State TAT(Transit Accomodation Tax) per night stay. We just stayed on Kauai and now there is a County TAT in addition to the State TAT. Also we stayed at a Wyndham on Kauai and this resort had charges if you needed more than 4 internet connections. In a 2 BR with 4-6 people in it more than 4 internet connections would be necessary. I know if would have been if we went with our Daughter and Grandchildren. This Wyndham also had charges for most of the stations on the TV. We spent a great deal of time trying to find FREE stations on the TV since most of the shows and movies were paid stations.

I almost seems like instead of going on timeshare vacation being a free stay since you own the vacation, you need to look at how much will you need to pay to use what you own.

 

[Silverdollar]

We all know of some of the costs of owning and using timeshare ownerships. These are some of the costs that I know of, if others know of others please add to my list. Some costs come right away and are obvious others come later when the timeshare is used at certain resorts and in certain locations, The initial price is a most obvious cost which we all know about when we buy. The annual maintenance is usually the next cost we learn about. Ownership could also incur a special assessment. Foturnately we have never personally encountered those.

When using a timeshare other costs can be realized. The resort fee or amenities fee is instituted by some resorts per week or per day. The Cleaning Fee for stays shorter than 7 days. In Hawaii there is a State TAT(Transit Accomodation Tax) per night stay. We just stayed on Kauai and now there is a County TAT in addition to the State TAT. Also we stayed at a Wyndham on Kauai and this resort had charges if you needed more than 4 internet connections. In a 2 BR with 4-6 people in it more than 4 internet connections would be necessary. I know if would have been if we went with our Daughter and Grandchildren. This Wyndham also had charges for most of the stations on the TV. We spent a great deal of time trying to find FREE stations on the TV since most of the shows and movies were paid stations.

I almost seems like instead of going on timeshare vacation being a free stay since you own the vacation, you need to look at how much will you need to pay to use what you own.

Another cost is parking, especially in urban settings. For example, cost for parking at Margueritaville Atlanta is $55/day, or $385/week, plus tips. Then, if you drive to restaurants in the city you will most likely pay additional parking fees and tips. I have some experience with this. I have been to Marg. ATL five times since it opened last June. Fortunately, I live within 45 minutes and only stay the weekend for these "staycations".

 

[troy12n]

There's a few fringe fees, but they are very specific and in some cases legislative requirements.

So you can complain about it, but it's really not a "timeshare specific issue".

Some things:
`1. parking charges in urban environments - not timeshare specific, hotels too... try parking in a major city. You have to pay. Period. Stop complaining.
2. local taxes / fees - Like Hawaii, Puerto Rico, etc - not timeshare specific, applies to hotels too. Stop complaining.
3. "Power charges" on some of the islands. Again, not timeshare specific.
4. Complaining about cabs/ubers? Really? Stop complaining
5. Charging for more than 4 devices for internet? It's like this at all Wyndham resorts. And has been for a while. Worldmark charges for ALL internet access.

Vacationing costs. I don't see any of these as valid concerns. A lot of these, most actually apply to hotels too.

Especially the Hawaii complaining, you will be paying the same fees if you stay in a hotel. Easy fix. Don't travel to Hawaii... done.

Otherwise, complain to the legislators about how unfair these fees are... hint hint, they are charging you to be there. It's a revenue stream. And it's not going to change, because "vacationers" are expensive.

 

[Tamaradarann]

Another cost is parking, especially in urban settings. For example, cost for parking at Margueritaville Atlanta is $55/day, or $385/week, plus tips. Then, if you drive to restaurants in the city you will most likely pay additional parking fees and tips. I have some experience with this. I have been to Marg. ATL five times since it opened last June. Fortunately, I live within 45 minutes and only stay the weekend for these "staycations".

Good Point. I didn't list parking because we have never paid for parking before, but certainly there are resorts that do charge. You are also correct that in many locations if you have a car you need to pay for parking when you drive to restauarant or other activities.

We have stayed at the Hitlon Hawaiian Village in Waikiki for over 1000 nights without a car so even though they charge like $50/day to park we have never paid it. We have always focused on vacations that we could do without a car Honolulu Waikiki, New York City, New Orleans French Quarter, San Diego Gas Lamp. San Francisco downtown, Ocean Drive Miami Beach, etc. There was no parking charge for our stays in Kauai. We have also never paid for parking on Maui or Hawaii Island. We have always had a car when vactioning on Hawaii Island but we have been looking at staying at the Ocean Tower in Waikiola which charges for parking. We would like to stay there but for that stay we would stay without a car rather than pay for parking.

 

[Silverdollar]

There's a few fringe fees, but they are very specific and in some cases legislative requirements.

So you can complain about it, but it's really not a "timeshare specific issue".

Some things:
`1. parking charges in urban environments - not timeshare specific, hotels too... try parking in a major city. You have to pay. Period. Stop complaining.
2. local taxes / fees - Like Hawaii, Puerto Rico, etc - not timeshare specific, applies to hotels too. Stop complaining.
3. "Power charges" on some of the islands. Again, not timeshare specific.
4. Complaining about cabs/ubers? Really? Stop complaining
5. Charging for more than 4 devices for internet? It's like this at all Wyndham resorts. And has been for a while. Worldmark charges for ALL internet access.

Vacationing costs. I don't see any of these as valid concerns. A lot of these, most actually apply to hotels too.

Especially the Hawaii complaining, you will be paying the same fees if you stay in a hotel. Easy fix. Don't travel to Hawaii... done.

Otherwise, complain to the legislators about how unfair these fees are... hint hint, they are charging you to be there. It's a revenue stream. And it's not going to change, because "vacationers" are expensive.

Thank you for your input. I don't believe I said that parking charges were timeshare specific, or that I was complaining about these expenses. It was simply a statement of fact that there are parking costs to be considered when using ones ownership, especially in urban settings. I would think that many Tug members would consider $400+ for parking and tips to be a "deal-breaker" when determining whether to vacation to a particular location.

As a long-time member, I welcome you to become a member of Tug.

 

[troy12n]

I would think that many Tug members would consider $400+ for parking and tips to be a "deal-breaker" when determining whether to vacation to a particular location.

Honestly, it's a known fact that parking in urban areas is hellaciously expensive and always has been. This is something that goes with the territory, isn't specific to timeshares and isn't something you should be complaining about in this context.

 

[altiste1]

I don't read any of the above comments as complaining. Looks to me like enumerating the various charges at these locations so as to accurately forecast the total cost of a trip there. No whining I can detect.

And I expect @Silverdollar is correct that many TUG members would choose not to stay a week at a resort that charges that much for parking, if the stay is part of a driving vacation. I would definitely think twice about it.

 

[Tamaradarann]

Honestly, it's a known fact that parking in urban areas is hellaciously expensive and always has been. This is something that goes with the territory, isn't specific to timeshares and isn't something you should be complaining about in this context.

Perhaps I am bringing up the point about Timeshare Resort Extra Costs since we now live in Wikiki across the street from the Hilton Hawaiian Village where we have stayed for many nights using timeshare points. We still own these points so we are starting to vacation in other locations, with my eroneous thought that we have the points so it is free vacations. Weil even though we own the Timesharesd, using your Timeshare is not a free vacation. There are these costs that we don't have if we stay home in Waikiki.

 

[Skipper Scooby]

I know when we stayed at Kingsgate in Willamsburg, VA 10 or so years ago, there was a $5 daily activities fee. However, I don't know if they do that now or not.

There was never an activities fee at Governor's Green in Williamsburg, so the fee at Kingsgate was resort specific.

 

[troy12n]

I know when we stayed at Kingsgate in Willamsburg, VA 10 or so years ago, there was a $5 daily activities fee. However, I don't know if they do that now or not.

They do, and it's $7/day now, and it's not a Wyndham charge, it's specific to that resort's HOA

 

[55plus]

Honestly, it's a known fact that parking in urban areas is hellaciously expensive and always has been. This is something that goes with the territory, isn't specific to timeshares and isn't something you should be complaining about in this context.

There are many ways to skin a cat when it comes to parking.

At one point we lived in Wisconsin and took a Grayhound bus to Chicago when Wyndham had a resort downtown. Then took a Lyft to and from the resort.

We drove to Washington DC and stayed at National Harbor. We parked in long-term parking at the airport and took the Metro to King Street Metro Station, then caught the National Harbor shuttle to the resort. I prefer Wyndham Old Town Alexandria because parking is free, at least for now.

In San Antonio we parked in a public parking ramp. Because I have a disabled veteran plate, parking was free if you park in a disabled parking space.

In Waikiki we rented a car for the day. I picked it up early a block from Wyndham. Drove around the island, went grocery shopping at Hickman AFB and returned later in the day to avoid parking costs.

We now live in Ft Walton Beach/Destin are looked into taking taking a Grayhound to Atlanta Margaritaville but it a very time consuming ride. So we'll drive to Atlanta and park in long-term parking at the airport and take a Lyft or public transportation to the resort.

 

[paxsarah]

We now live in Ft Walton Beach/Destin are looked into taking taking a Grayhound to Atlanta Margaritaville but it a very time consuming ride. So we'll drive to Atlanta and park in long-term parking at the airport and take a Lyft or public transportation to the resort.

There are also other parking options near the Atlanta location that are close to half the price of the parking at the resort. By the time you pay for airport parking and transit/Lyft and considering your travel time, depending on the length of your trip it may be worth looking into the other nearby parking options.

 

[troy12n]

I stay at Old Town Alexandria as well when in the DC area, which ends up being at least once a year, sometimes twice, even though I own at National Harbor Stay there because of the free parking and superior location. I'm not sure the shuttle to National Harbor still runs, I did it once to use the pool at National Harbor just to see what the process was like. Isn't very convenient so never tried again.

San Antonio there's a public parking garage about 1000 feet from La Cascada that's $6/day, same thing, in Austin there' s a public garage that's $15/day 3 blocks from the resort.

Some urban areas there's indeed lower cost options. But big metro areas, like DC, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, there's no escaping the high cost of parking, and this is not a new concept, at least not without either a massive inconvenience or putting your vehicle at risk. National Harbor is one of those places where I don't think there is an affordable option nearby. And by affordable, I mean sub $20/day

 

[Tamaradarann]

There's a few fringe fees, but they are very specific and in some cases legislative requirements.

So you can complain about it, but it's really not a "timeshare specific issue".

Some things:
`1. parking charges in urban environments - not timeshare specific, hotels too... try parking in a major city. You have to pay. Period. Stop complaining.
2. local taxes / fees - Like Hawaii, Puerto Rico, etc - not timeshare specific, applies to hotels too. Stop complaining.
3. "Power charges" on some of the islands. Again, not timeshare specific.
4. Complaining about cabs/ubers? Really? Stop complaining
5. Charging for more than 4 devices for internet? It's like this at all Wyndham resorts. And has been for a while. Worldmark charges for ALL internet access.

Vacationing costs. I don't see any of these as valid concerns. A lot of these, most actually apply to hotels too.

Especially the Hawaii complaining, you will be paying the same fees if you stay in a hotel. Easy fix. Don't travel to Hawaii... done.

Otherwise, complain to the legislators about how unfair these fees are... hint hint, they are charging you to be there. It's a revenue stream. And it's not going to change, because "vacationers" are expensive.

You make some very good points here about Parking, Cabs, and Ubers. However, your point about alot of fees being charged in Hotels as well as Timeshares misses the point I was making. Some of the selling points of purchasing a Timeshare is that you OWN a portion of the unit. You pay your share of the property tax just like a home that you own. In fact at times when I have entered a resort that I own I have been welcomed with the comment "Welcome Home". You certainly don't own a hotel. Therefore, to be charged a TAT(Transient Accomdations Tax) on a property that you own and pay taxes on is not appropriate.

Your point about Wyndham Resorts charging for more than 4 devices at all resorts just makes Wyndham look a little greedy compared to other timeshare companies. Or is it really just the Spectrum deal that Wyndham made which makes Spectrum more money. I am a big fan of HawaiianTel rather than Spectrum in Hawaii. Again if you own a home you don't pay for more than just 4 devices.

You didn't address the issue that I mentioned about the amount of paid TV that Spectrum puts on versus the ease in being about to access that few free stations. Again we have HawaiianTel in Honolulu in our home and there are many and mostly free stations on our TV so again it could be Wyndham's contract with Spectrum or just Spectrum being a littel greedy in its TV service.

In Summary, the added costs of staying at a timeshare that you own certainly takes away the feeling that the timeshare that you purchased allow you to go on a cacation without paying for accomodations. It makes it certainly more expensive than staying home.

 

[troy12n]

You make some very good points here about Parking, Cabs, and Ubers. However, your point about alot of fees being charged in Hotels as well as Timeshares misses the point I was making. Some of the selling points of purchasing a Timeshare is that you OWN a portion of the unit. You pay your share of the property tax just like a home that you own. In fact at times when I have entered a resort that I own I have been welcomed with the comment "Welcome Home". You certainly don't own a hotel. Therefore, to be charged a TAT(Transient Accomdations Tax) on a property that you own and pay taxes on is not appropriate.

Which has nothing to do with parking. The facilities you pay for parking at, are facilities that Wyndham does not have a parking garage on-site, and they contract this function to someone else. Since not everyone using a timeshare has a car (especially at urban resorts) it would be unfair to bill the parking back to the Maintenance Fees for the resort... So yes, my point IS valid...

The TAT is a very location specific charge that is part of a local law, outside of the resort's control. Would it really make you feel better for Wyndham to bill you for this fee on all the points you own (theoretical weeks) into your maintenance fees? Because that has to be paid by someone... again, like parking, that would not be fair. And also if they did that, you would complain about that too. Especially if you spent your weeks elsehwere.

Your point about Wyndham Resorts charging for more than 4 devices at all resorts just makes Wyndham look a little greedy compared to other timeshare companies

I don't know if you know this or not, but Worldmark charges for ALL wifi. They don't give you 4 devices for free. If you want wifi, you have to pay. So not "all other timeshare companies"

You didn't address the issue that I mentioned about the amount of paid TV that Spectrum puts on versus the ease in being about to access that few free stations. Again we have HawaiianTel in Honolulu in our home and there are many and mostly free stations on our TV so again it could be Wyndham's contract with Spectrum or just Spectrum being a littel greedy in its TV service.

I have no idea about the TV, I can count on one hand the number of times I have even turned on the TV in a resort unit... you are really in the weeds now

In summary, I feel your complaints are invalid and unjustified. You are also more than welcome to exit timeshare ownership if you feel you are unjustly burdened by these restrictions. Most people don't have such petty complaints, and I feel I addressed each one of them in a valid manner. Everything has a cost, I think Wyndham did a pretty good job charging back the uses of things like parking to only the people who use it, rather than burden all owners for the traveling habits of the minority... aka, others who don't drive to urban resorts would complain (validly) about subsidizing people who drive...

 

[Tamaradarann]

Which has nothing to do with parking. The facilities you pay for parking at, are facilities that Wyndham does not have a parking garage on-site, and they contract this function to someone else. Since not everyone using a timeshare has a car (especially at urban resorts) it would be unfair to bill the parking back to the Maintenance Fees for the resort... So yes, my point IS valid...

I didn't mention anything about parking because I don't have a problem with the way Wyndham handles parking. I have never paid for parking when using timeshares anywhere and have stayed in timeshares for about 1500 nights.

The TAT is a very location specific charge that is part of a local law, outside of the resort's control. Would it really make you feel better for Wyndham to bill you for this fee on all the points you own (theoretical weeks) into your maintenance fees? Because that has to be paid by someone... again, like parking, that would not be fair. And also if they did that, you would complain about that too. Especially if you spent your weeks elsehwere.

You are correct the TAT is part of the Hawaii State Law. The point of my post was NOT directed only about Wyndham. If you recall my summary: "In Summary, the added costs of staying at a timeshare that you own certainly takes away the feeling that the timeshare that you purchased allow you to go on a vcacation without paying for accomodations. It makes it certainly more expensive than staying home."

I don't know if you know this or not, but Worldmark charges for ALL wifi. They don't give you 4 devices for free. If you want wifi, you have to pay. So not "all other timeshare companies"
I didn't say all other timeshare companies give you free WiFi. I actually have had to pay for WiFi at other timeshare resorts. This comment was more directed at the Wyndham choice of Spectrum for the Wifi service which gave you something for free and attempts to suck you into paying more during your stay. Again, I must direct you to my summary: In Summary, the added costs of staying at a timeshare that you own certainly takes away the feeling that the timeshare that you purchased allow you to go on a vcacation without paying for accomodations. It makes it certainly more expensive than staying home."



I have no idea about the TV, I can count on one hand the number of times I have even turned on the TV in a resort unit... you are really in the weeds now

We usually don't turn on the TV much when we are at a resort, however, the weather in Princeville turned to its usual rainy weather the last 3 days so we were staying in more than usual and would have liked more user friendly TV rather than such a service from Spectrum which tried to suck you into buying TV shows and movies. This again was directed at Wyndham's choice of Spectrum for the TV service.

In summary, I feel your complaints are invalid and unjustified. You are also more than welcome to exit timeshare ownership if you feel you are unjustly burdened by these restrictions. Most people don't have such petty complaints, and I feel I addressed each one of them in a valid manner. Everything has a cost, I think Wyndham did a pretty good job charging back the uses of things like parking to only the people who use it, rather than burden all owners for the traveling habits of the minority... aka, others who don't drive to urban resorts would complain (validly) about subsidizing people who drive...

Since we are now living across the street from the Hilton Hawaiian Village, which we have stayed in for over 1000 nights between 2009 and 2022. we don't need to use our timeshares to stay in the location we love most in the world. Therefore, we have already started to take you up on your offer for us to exit some of our timeshare ownershp. We are also going to be using our HGVC points more at the HGVC timeshares in Las Vegas which have much less fees and costs to actually use our timeshare ownership.

 

[HitchHiker71]

The overall theme of this thread hits on rule #5 in the following article about timeshare ownership in general:

Is timesharing right for me?

The purpose of this article is to establish what we consider to be a few hard and fast rules to live by when attempting to determine conceptually if timeshare ownership is a good match to meet your…

wyndhamexperts.org

Excerpted for the article for direct reference:

Overall point being - any timeshare ownership has a fair amount of expense associated with it by design given most of the resort locations are in very popular areas that are captive tourist areas.

Points based timeshare systems are by definition not divided interest real estate ownerships. Even the so called deeded ownerships like CWS are undivided interest ownerships which is really
just a nice way of saying prepaid vacations. I say this because I often see comparisons to actual home ownership for example. Apples and oranges these days. 30-40 years ago when DI interests were the norm, this may have been at least partially true, but with UDI or trust based ownerships like CWA or Worldmark, it really isn’t a good or accurate comparison and hasn’t been for the past 20 years or so as most timeshare systems have migrated to demand points based systems.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[jeffox]

I almost seems like instead of going on timeshare vacation being a free stay since you own the vacation, you need to look at how much will you need to pay to use what you own.

This is why I rent, I have to pay the fees anyway, but without the upfront or recurring costs. Just the rental price, which on my stay next month, is 1/3 maintenance fees, plus $20 a day parking and a $40 resort fee. I get all the benefits without all the costs.

 

[jp10558]

One thing to do if the Internet cost is stupid is (if you are or know someone techy, or are willing to read some guides online) to get either a "travel router" that only uses one IP (device) from the resort, and gives you IDK, 10 or more connections to it from your devices.

The other option, if you're travelling a lot in the US and want to have some people online to work or whatever while travelling is to get a hotspot plan from AT&T or whoever (AT&T has one of the least expensive and best unlimited plans). Those allow 10 devices to connect to the hotspot.

 

[Tamaradarann]

One thing to do if the Internet cost is stupid is (if you are or know someone techy, or are willing to read some guides online) to get either a "travel router" that only uses one IP (device) from the resort, and gives you IDK, 10 or more connections to it from your devices.

The other option, if you're travelling a lot in the US and want to have some people online to work or whatever while travelling is to get a hotspot plan from AT&T or whoever (AT&T has one of the least expensive and best unlimited plans). Those allow 10 devices to connect to the hotspot.

Good suggestions to get around the charge for internet connections. However, the internet charge isn't the only one which is annoying and making the timeshare that you own and pay annual maintenance on costly to use. The amount and deceptive paid TV that we experienced at the Wyndham that we stayed at in Kauai was another one of them. Then there is the Resort Fee or amenities fee that some resorts charge.

As far as the State of Hawaii TAT(Transient Accomodation Tax), I know that is NOT a timeshare exclusive charge that the resorts charge, but it is a charge that you need to pay when staying at a timeshare that you OWN! I just read an article on Beat of Hawaii which pointed out that the projection for travel to Hawaii this summer has cooled off and one of the reasons is the high TAT which everyone must pay whether you stay in a Hotel, Timeshare, or Rental Property which makes Hawaii vacations more expensive.

The TAT on top of the other costs to get to HawaII (Plane Fare) and stay(Food AND Drink Costs which are taxed) makes taking a trip to Hawaii expensive and the people of Hawaii appear A Little Greedy in their taxation policy.

 

[pedro47]

Timeshare Resort Extra Charges? Where is this item found on the resort budget and what happen to all money collected by the resort during the resort fiscal year?

I'm looking for an audit trail and accountability or the dollars collected .

 

[comicbookman]

They do, and it's $7/day now, and it's not a Wyndham charge, it's specific to that resort's HOA

But it does include unlimited play in the gamerooms on the video games etc, for all guests in a unit.

 

[chapjim]

But it does include unlimited play in the gamerooms on the video games etc, for all guests in a unit.

We quit going to Kingsgate shortly after the arcade opened and the daily fee was imposed.

The game room was chaotic -- a dozen or so pre-teens and early teens, running wild, totally unsupervised. I don't know how the game consoles themselves survived.

 

[BJRSanDiego]

If a person is staying on, say, Maui at their OWN timeshare deeded week (not an exchange), do they still have to pay TAT? What about a points owner (which is more like an exchange within the Trust) ?

 

[sponger76]

If a person is staying on, say, Maui at their OWN timeshare deeded week (not an exchange), do they still have to pay TAT? What about a points owner (which is more like an exchange within the Trust) ?

Yes to both.