What is the best option for our family

[Nascia]

My husband and I are considering purchasing an additional time share. We just purchased a 2bd/ 2ba unit at Orange Lake and have a RCI points account with 65k points through there. We currently have 4 children, ages 12y, 7y, 3y and 4 months. We will hopefully be adding 2 additional children within the next 5 or so years. We are fairly young (both under 30), but also established (careers, home, cars etc.) and travel a lot. We like to stay at nicer resorts (Hilton, Marriott) and typically travel at least 2 weeks per year, plus several weekend trips. We don't have a favorite destination per say, we do go to Disney a lot, but will be spreading our future vacations (I'm Disneyed out so to speak). We tend to go skiing on the weekends in the winter months and travel to the beach in the summer. Our trips are either planned at the 10-6 month mark or at the last minute. Which program would be the best for us in terms of flexibility and cost?

 

[DeniseM]

Then main problem that I see is that you eventually will need accommodations for 8. I think if I was you, I would buy where I wanted to go. If money isn't a problem, then I'd buy a 3 bdm. in the mountains and a 3 bdm. on the coast. Then you will always be guaranteed of getting the space you need. You could buy 2 every other year timeshares if you don't want to own 2 weeks each year. Exchanging through II or RCI, when you need accommodations for 8, is going to be difficult. Especially since you will probably need to travel during school holidays.

 

[Nascia]

Thanks for the reply, I just wanted to add that we usually travel during one week in the summer and the other week while school is in session, we try to avoid traveling during school breaks as much as possible.

I guess our biggest problem is that we don't really know where we want to go. We don't frequent any one resort or area, changing it up each trip. I was thinking about the FF/ Wyndham, Hilton or Marriott points programs, but wasn't sure if it would be the best fit for us. If I buy resale, can those points go into our RCI points account? Is there a down to owning a biannual timeshare?

Thanks.

 

[ecwinch]

Give some thought to the Marriott properties - at perhaps their Hilton Head or their Galloway, NJ resort. Summer Marriott weeks at HHI are great traders, and they have an exclusive 30-day priority window within II for other Marriott locations.

As Denise mentioned, unit size will start to become an issue. To address that problem, you should probably also look at a points based system. Marriott does not have a points program in the traditional sense.

The standard rule in buying a timeshare is to look at a resort where you want to go 50% of the time. If you expand that to the resorts with their own internal trading network, you will get a better idea of what system is best for you.

In some systems, bi-annual units, have slightly higher fees. I am a big advocate of buying a bi-annual points based system to get your feet wet and determine if timesharing fits your life-style. It is not for everyone.

 

[DeniseM]

Thanks for the reply, I just wanted to add that we usually travel during one week in the summer and the other week while school is in session, we try to avoid traveling during school breaks as much as possible.

Once your kids are in high school, it will become difficult, if not impossible to take them out of school for a week, so I would put together a plan that doesn't require you to do that.

 

[wackymother]

I agree with Denise about the timing thing--kids in HS can't take off the way younger kids can.

Also, with a lot of kids, you'll want to think about whether timesharing is the way to go. We have three kids and we fit into a 2br unit with no problem. But we know people where the kids just can't get along, and they need a 3br--and there aren't that many 3br timeshares. With five kids, seven people traveling, you will need a 3br at least practically every vacation, because most 2br units have a capacity of 6 people maximum. There are some 4br timeshares, too.

I wonder if you should consider buying a large timeshare somewhere near you that you really like and could return to year after year, OR if it would be easier just to rent houses wherever you go on vacation. Because your kids range out over a long period (ours do too), it's hard to predict how things will go in five or six years.

 

[lprstn]

Well Wyndham works great for us. I have 4 kids and can get 3 and 4 bedrooms with 10 month out planning in most cases, and the locations that I want to have better luck at getting a 4-bedroom, I own my Wyndham at. I have had this product for about 8 years and it has grown well with me and my family, as there are plenty of Wyndham resorts to choose from that have a large room capacity.

 

[aliikai2]

There have been some very good answers

and with your growing family, your need for variety, I would suggest you look at additional RCI points.

These can be purchased or even leased and since you understand their system, it seems like a natural addition to your portfolio.

fwiw,

Greg

My husband and I are considering purchasing an additional time share. We just purchased a 2bd/ 2ba unit at Orange Lake and have a RCI points account with 65k points through there. We currently have 4 children, ages 12y, 7y, 3y and 4 months. We will hopefully be adding 2 additional children within the next 5 or so years. We are fairly young (both under 30), but also established (careers, home, cars etc.) and travel a lot. We like to stay at nicer resorts (Hilton, Marriott) and typically travel at least 2 weeks per year, plus several weekend trips. We don't have a favorite destination per say, we do go to Disney a lot, but will be spreading our future vacations (I'm Disneyed out so to speak). We tend to go skiing on the weekends in the winter months and travel to the beach in the summer. Our trips are either planned at the 10-6 month mark or at the last minute. Which program would be the best for us in terms of flexibility and cost?

 

[Nascia]

Thanks for all the replies. I think we're getting a better idea as to how we want to proceed. I think we're going to look closer at the programs by Wyndham, Marriott and those with RCI points. We're not in hurry, but realize we will need the added points and larger units sooner rather than later.

 

[krmlaw]

My 2 cents on kids in high school ...

We used to take our DS (now 15) out of school as well. But this year he is in 10th and in the advanced program, and it was difficult on him to miss a full week of school. After we got back from our winter vacation (Nov 8 - Nov 15), we decided to change our 2009 winter vacation to over thanksgiving. Then, instead of missing 5 days of school, he will only miss 2 days.

We found that as DS advanced in his learning, it was harder to take him out.

If you have to travel off school break when the kids get in high school, we try to look for a week where there is at least 1 holiday, so DS only misses 3 or 4 days instead of 5.

In 2010, we are going on a cruise and taking DS out of school, but choose an October week where he already has the Monday off. Missing 4 days is better than 5.

 

[gorevs9]

deleted...inadvertently duplicated

 

[gorevs9]

I'm not sure what school systems are doing across the rest of the US of A but here in RI, may districts are "penalizing" students who miss large blocks of school due to family vacations.

But then again, our school systems think parents can't take care of their own kids, so they feel they have to "take over". I better stop now before it gets too political :ignore:.

 

[Nascia]

I'm sure we will need to adjust as they get older. They are involved in sports but our district is pretty flexible with vacations. They allow students to miss up to 5 school days per year for family vacations (it's even written into the student handbook). We've always gotten a very positive response when asking for time off (that said, aside from vacation, they very rarely miss any school). The idea of traveling during short school weeks is good. We always have in-service days at random times during the year.

 

[lprstn]

Well my High Schooler can only miss 3 days from his school without penalty, and he is always in sports. Truth be told, he is in honors classes, and the 4full days he missed this quarter bought him down a whole grade letter as he had a lot to catch up because they move so fast. So next year I planned that he will only miss 2 (1/2 days) during the week on Thanksgiving. I even had to cancel a 7day trip to Europe (in which he would have only missed 4 days of school), because of his exam schedule. Now I will have to move that trip out another year and spend more $$ going in the summer.

 

[gorevs9]

My daughter's HS would take a spring break trip to Europe every year. One year the students on the softball team were informed that if they planned on going to Europe with the HS, then don't sign-up for the team. It sounds cruel, but one year they had toforfeit some games because they couldn't field a complete team.

 

[csalter2]

Not a great idea

As a high school principal, I am appalled that kids would be missing school for vacations when there are so many days off as there is. We as Americans say education is important but then we take vacations on school days to interrupt the education. Kids are in school for most places about 180 days. There are Christmas, Spring and Thanksgiving weeks. There are several holidays and of course there is the summer. There is ample time for you to give your child a family vacation. Your calendars are sometimes posted at least a year in advance. Our school district has them available 2 years in advance.

People are always complaining how our schools' education is inferior to China, Japan, India, etc. Do you think these kids are missing school to go on vacation. NOOOOOOO!

Don't get me wrong. Vacations are important for families but not with school being missed. You are inconveniencing the teacher and the rest of the class because you now want special accommodations because you decided to take a vacation and don't want to miss out on anything. That is wrong. Your child is truant from school even if it is with your permission because at least in California only a illness and a court appearance really qualifies for an excused absence. Going to have fun to relax in the sun is the same as taking a day off to go to the beach when school is in even if you're parents are with you.

Parents send the wrong message. For those of you who have kids in honor classes, yes you are putting your child behind the eight ball even with a couple of days missed. You may even set time aside from homework but what about projects they may be working on with other classmates or a project that is due the week when you are supposed to be gone?

Planning your vacations for school days is inconsiderate and sends the wrong message. I would suggest that all of you who do it to think about that.

 

[gorevs9]

As a high school principal, I am appalled that kids would be missing school for vacations when there are so many days off as there is.

Let me tell you about one of my experiences when my oldest was in 3rd grade and we went on a vacation during school . We contacted the teacher who gave us the week's schedule and a list of homework that would be required. We would make sure our daughter understood the material and completed the required exercises. After we got home, for the next few days my daughter would not have any homework. Why? Well, she did it all during vacation and was actually AHEAD of the teachers schedule.

Going to have fun to relax in the sun is the same as taking a day off to go to the beach when school is in even if you're parents are with you.

I have lived my entire life in the Northeast, and the history and culture that can be presented to a child on vaction is amazing. Washington DC, Boston, Williamsburg, Gettysburg, NYC. Do I need to go on?

Planning your vacations for school days is inconsiderate and sends the wrong message. I would suggest that all of you who do it to think about that.

I don't know about teachers in CA, but here in RI, if teachers decide to go on strike, school get's delayed a week and then extended at the end of the school year (without any cosideration for the parents). If I planned a vacation AFTER the official school schedule, then we go with or without the teachers' blessings.

 

[nigel_ht]

As a high school principal, I am appalled that kids would be missing school for vacations when there are so many days off as there is. We as Americans say education is important but then we take vacations on school days to interrupt the education.
...
People are always complaining how our schools' education is inferior to China, Japan, India, etc. Do you think these kids are missing school to go on vacation. NOOOOOOO!

There appears to be zero correlation between parents taking kids out of school for vacation and the systemic inferiority of US public school test scores in comparison to other school systems after 8th grade.

Kids are in school for most places about 180 days. There are Christmas, Spring and Thanksgiving weeks. There are several holidays and of course there is the summer. There is ample time for you to give your child a family vacation.

There may be ample time but not always ample budget to go during high season rates. Plus, off season is usually less crowded and a better experience since you get to do more.

Parents send the wrong message. For those of you who have kids in honor classes, yes you are putting your child behind the eight ball even with a couple of days missed.

I find that the parents of children in honors classes are typically doing an above average job and do not need scolding from school administrators for "sending the wrong message"...

As with everything else, you have to judge the impact of your actions before you take them and some kids in some school systems are better able to handle these kinds of absences without significant impact to the classroom or studies.

 

[Chemnole]

This is one of the reasons we homeschool.

 

[calgarygary]

As a high school principal, I am appalled that kids would be missing school for vacations when there are so many days off as there is. We as Americans say education is important but then we take vacations on school days to interrupt the education. Kids are in school for most places about 180 days. There are Christmas, Spring and Thanksgiving weeks. There are several holidays and of course there is the summer. There is ample time for you to give your child a family vacation. Your calendars are sometimes posted at least a year in advance. Our school district has them available 2 years in advance.

People are always complaining how our schools' education is inferior to China, Japan, India, etc. Do you think these kids are missing school to go on vacation. NOOOOOOO!

Don't get me wrong. Vacations are important for families but not with school being missed. You are inconveniencing the teacher and the rest of the class because you now want special accommodations because you decided to take a vacation and don't want to miss out on anything. That is wrong. Your child is truant from school even if it is with your permission because at least in California only a illness and a court appearance really qualifies for an excused absence. Going to have fun to relax in the sun is the same as taking a day off to go to the beach when school is in even if you're parents are with you.

Parents send the wrong message. For those of you who have kids in honor classes, yes you are putting your child behind the eight ball even with a couple of days missed. You may even set time aside from homework but what about projects they may be working on with other classmates or a project that is due the week when you are supposed to be gone?

Planning your vacations for school days is inconsiderate and sends the wrong message. I would suggest that all of you who do it to think about that.

Just to stir the pot on what is turning into a non-ts discussion - is there a greater co-relation between student performance and family vacations or student performance and hs principals posting on the internet on a school day?

 

[AwayWeGo]

Another Advantage Of Home Schooling.

As a high school principal, I am appalled that kids would be missing school for vacations when there are so many days off as there is.

Mom & Dad & Junior & Sis can head off to a timeshare any time they want, not exactly for vacation but rather for something more like a Field Trip.

Highly educational, no ?

And, shux, don't the home-schooled kids usually beat the sox off the public school kids anyway at spelling bees, standardized tests, & so forth ?

Full Disclosure: The Chief Of Staff & I went to public schools. Both our sons went to public schools. We didn't get into timeshares till after both guys were grown & gone. So it goes.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[gorevs9]

Just to stir the pot on what is turning into a non-ts discussion - is there a greater co-relation between student performance and family vacations or student performance and hs principals posting on the internet on a school day?

The Principal posted on the 24th, which was a Saturday.

 

[bnoble]

Once your kids are in high school, it will become difficult, if not impossible to take them out of school for a week, so I would put together a plan that doesn't require you to do that.

This isn't just because you might not be able/willing to pull your kids---the value of your ownership is directly tied in many ways to how much demand there is for what you own. I would never buy anything that only allowed for travel when most kids were in school, particularly for a family vacation destination.

For example, our school district typically has Week 8 off every year, and we spend that in Florida. However, Week 8 is not a big school vacation week, and so rather than buying a fixed week 8, I'd be much more inclined to buy points or a float that included week 8 as well as summer and the major holidays.

 

[theo]

voluntarily deleted in a rare (and temporary) onset of better judgement....

 

[csalter2]

Correction

Just to stir the pot on what is turning into a non-ts discussion - is there a greater co-relation between student performance and family vacations or student performance and hs principals posting on the internet on a school day?

The post was made on a Saturday not a school day.