Why own lots of timeshares?

[GManFL]

Excuse my ignorance...I am new to this timeshare world. I see people posting about being owners of 20+ timeshares and see also that most profiles people owns 5-6 timeshares. Is this for business purposes? Unless you are a wealthy retiree who can afford paying maintenance fees, taxes etc for a large amount of timeshares? Can someone please provide some commentary about the reasoning/business for owning more than 2 timeshares?

 

[dioxide45]

Some own for commercial rental operations. Some own to use and rent out other weeks to cover all their fees so they can vacation for "free". Others own to give to family or friends, but I would say that most who have 20+ weeks are doing commercial rentals for profit. There are some exceptions though.

 

[bnoble]

We own five and we (try to) use them all. We both have flexible jobs where we set our own schedules, and we are in a position where we can afford to take on fewer clients in exchange for more time off.

 

[BM243923]

We own 5 consecutive winter weeks in Fort Lauderdale.
We are retired and use our weeks every year, and our kids come down for a week or 2.
Started with one week and slowly increased to 5 weeks.

 

[Kozman]

Most of our timeshares were purchased around 2000 when maintenance fees were very reasonable and trading fees were reasonable. We did not realize how maintenance fees would escalate as much as they have over the years. More management and exchange companies are now taking advantage of owners for their own profit and to satisfy their share holders.

 

[easyrider]

I think we are down to 8 - 10 timeshares depending on what size units we reserve. We use all of them in one way or another. We only rent to friends or family if they are part of our trip for the cost only. Usually, we don't charge our kids anything as they and their kids are one of the reasons we enjoy traveling. It is interesting that some of the people we take are amazed at how little the cost is to stay in one of our timeshares compared to anywhere else they look. Sometimes I'm amazed too, lol.

Bill

 

[needvaca]

like others, we started bringing friends or family on vacation with us. and like to go to different locations.

 

[ScoopKona]

Excuse my ignorance...I am new to this timeshare world. I see people posting about being owners of 20+ timeshares and see also that most profiles people owns 5-6 timeshares. Is this for business purposes? Unless you are a wealthy retiree who can afford paying maintenance fees, taxes etc for a large amount of timeshares? Can someone please provide some commentary about the reasoning/business for owning more than 2 timeshares?

We only own one, which we trade for two-to-four weeks of vacation. (That's how the program is set up.)

Most timeshares don't work like that so it's, "buy a week, use your week, or trade your week, but it's always a week." People who own these traditional timeshares will tend to own a week in each resort they like to visit regularly.

 

[GManFL]

Some own for commercial rental operations. Some own to use and rent out other weeks to cover all their fees so they can vacation for "free". Others own to give to family or friends, but I would say that most who have 20+ weeks are doing commercial rentals for profit. There are some exceptions though.

How is that even possible seems to me that the "maintenance fees" are setup so that if you rent the unit out comes out to a similar price than a hotel, plus the owner assumes the risk of not renting the unit, how could you profit? once again I am new to this timeshare thing so I guess there must be many things I do not know

 

[Patri]

Don’t worry about it. Start small yourself. Take a couple vacations. See if it works for your wants and needs.

 

[VacationForever]

We own the equivalence of 9 weeks of 2-bedroom of timeshare and use them all. We use them mainly to get away from hot summers and cold winters. Upon retirement, we increased our ownership as we can get away for long periods of time. Friends join us (for free) for most of our stays.

It is still cheaper than owning a 2nd or a 3rd home.

 

[travelhacker]

We own more than we can use (and we can use a lot since I have a very flexible job -- I think we'll have used about 8ish weeks of timeshares for ourselves this year).

I am in the process of divesting of two weeks (fortunately, for a fair amount more than I paid), but I think I will hang on to everything else for the time being.

I have planned several group gatherings in some really great locations:

My FIL joined us for 3 weeks in Kauai over Christmas Break 2022 / 2023
My extended family (32 of us) will be staying at Newport Coast Villas to kick off summer in 2024 (June gloom and all)
I booked several units at Marriott's crystal shores for 20+ of my family in June of 2024
I'll be going to Crystal Shores and Hyatt Coconut Plantation with 2 other families for our fall break 2024
My friend and his family will be joining our family at HGVC Kingsland over the fourth of July 2023
My wife took several friends to beaver creek in a couple of units in May of 2023

I couldn't do this if I didn't own as many weeks as I do.

 

[sue1947]

How is that even possible seems to me that the "maintenance fees" are setup so that if you rent the unit out comes out to a similar price than a hotel,

My maintenance fees for a 2 BR condo in prime time are around $850 for a week or $120/night. That matches the cost of a motel room. However, for that money, I get a 2 BR condo with full kitchen, 2 baths and washer dryer. The size and amenities result in a higher rent. It all depends on what you own and whether you can reserve a week that will rent for more than maintenance fees. There is risk and it's not something I want to mess with, but there are quite a few who have made it work.
I own 2 timeshares both in points that allow me to book multiple weeks. I'm retired and flexible and can stretch those points into a lot of travel time. I use it for myself or friends/family and it has made some wonderful group trips possible. Timeshares aren't for everyone. You need to be a planner who can understand and utilize the rules to your advantage and plan a year or more in advance.

 

[Passepartout]

We have two. One, a fixed week that we use every year, like a second home in a resort area. The other is a points arrangement that allows us to exchange into other resorts worldwide. Both were bought resale for pennies on the retail dollar.

Jim

 

[Sandy VDH]

This group is like an AA meeting but for timeshare ownership. Some of us here at tug want timeshares, some of use want out, some of use want 1 and some of us are like cookies, 1 is never enough.

It just depends on which camp you fall into

 

[bnoble]

I’ve been to AA meetings. No one there wants just one.

 

[dms1709]

We have 5 weeks, 4 are back to back in Bonita Beach in February, which we go to every year, and one we split and get two more trips. WE have totally enjoyed our timeshares, you just need to purchase resale in places you want to go and at a time you would want to be there.

 

[DRH90277]

We own a number of weeks primarily to support our needs for family reunions at either of two resorts, OceanWatch and Newport Coast. We also venture out to some other resorts we own. This is fine for our extended family and builds great family relationships. There is something to be said for having the grandchildren return to the same favorite resorts year after year - kind of like having a very nice home at the beach.

I think timeshares are in transition from owning weeks to the points-based system and it will be interesting to see how this works 10 or 20 years out. We may be old fashioned but considering our needs, the point system doesn't work well for us. It's just too hard to get prime reservations. So, I'm hopeful the family will just sail under the radar and continue what works for us today.

We do own points and can generate lots of points from enrolled weeks to meet any points reservation need for weeks we don't own.

Tug is an interesting forum as it shows a wide spectrum of timeshare owners and uses.

Considering our love for OceanWatch, I would not be surprised to see our family buy more weeks.

 

[montygz]

Most of our timeshares were purchased around 2000 when maintenance fees were very reasonable and trading fees were reasonable. We did not realize how maintenance fees would escalate as much as they have over the years. More management and exchange companies are now taking advantage of owners for their own profit and to satisfy their share holders.

I remember getting deals on mid-priced hotel rooms for $39 back in 2000. Now a "deal" is $200. A ticket to Disney was $46. Now it's $159. Going to the movies was $4. Now it's $15. I just paid $700 to rent a car for week. That was like $125 back in 2000.

When you compare the cost of timeshare stays to the cost of living, it is still reasonable and can be a huge bargain.

Not that anyone likes their fees to go up, of course.

One reason some people collect multiple timeshares is that they will sometimes start small -- then realize they want more. I started with one, now I have two. Also, there are many types of ownership. You can have triannual and biannual weeks. You can have weeks and points. Some trade in RCI and some in Interval. To put your perfect collection you may want to collect a few.

For the people with several weeks of units, they can be an alternative to a vacation home for snowbirds or a way to make a bit of cash on the side to offset costs.

 

[davidvel]

I’ve been to AA meetings. No one there wants just one.

Some of us are just here to provide support for the others.

 

[chellej]

At my high point I owned 26 weeks. I rented quite a few and supplemented my income. I am now down to 3 and will probably let one more go. As kids grew and started their own families we didn't need as many and they weren't interested if they had to pay maintenance and deal with exchanges.

 

[BJRSanDiego]

How is that even possible seems to me that the "maintenance fees" are setup so that if you rent the unit out comes out to a similar price than a hotel, plus the owner assumes the risk of not renting the unit, how could you profit? once again I am new to this timeshare thing so I guess there must be many things I do not know

At low demand locations, brands and seasons, then yes, the MF may be around what a person could rent for either directly or through a place like redweek or Tug2, etc. But, for high demand locations/brands and seasons that likely isn't true IMHO. For me, I always split my lock-off TS. That almost halves the cost per unit that I deposit.

As an example, I just got back from a week's stay at Marriott's Ko Olina (Ohio) in a 2 BR ocean view unit. I checked on a couple of travel sites like Hotels.com and the nightly rental for my dates was over $1,000 per night. My "all-in" nightly cost was around $ 165 (this was an exchange of one of my 1 BR Marriott Palm Desert units). I get a lot of good trades. For example, every year I like to spend a week at Marriott's Newport Coast Ca., Canyon Villas (Phoenix), and Hyatt's Northstar (Lake Tahoe) and Pinon Pointe (Sedona). All in 2 BRs where I had deposited half of one of my lock-offs (half efficiencies and half 1-BR units). So, for me, I am staying at 4 plus star places at a very favorable cost. (But, I have never bothered to rent any of my weeks.)

BTW, when you're doing your cost analysis don't compare a hotel room cost to the cost of a well equipped timeshare (perhaps 2 BR, granite countertops, full kitchen, multiple resort swimming pools, etc.). Apples and raisins.

 

[easyrider]

How is that even possible seems to me that the "maintenance fees" are setup so that if you rent the unit out comes out to a similar price than a hotel, plus the owner assumes the risk of not renting the unit, how could you profit? once again I am new to this timeshare thing so I guess there must be many things I do not know

The difference between the mf and amount you can rent a timeshare for depends on factors like season, events and location. Often times a timeshare will hit many boxes in the factors and will rent well. I have been able to rent a Mexico beach week in winter season for 3 times our mf. I have also had to deal with other peoples problems which became my problems is why I don't care to rent our timeshares.

Bill

 

[lotus921v]

I got into them because it's a way to get discounted vacations for me and my extended family. After a close call with almost losing my life a few years back, I realized life is too short not to stop and smell the roses. Rather than spending a few grand a week on a vacation, this gives me better flexibility for long weekends and weeks off at a price I can justify. I have multiple different systems because of FOMO as well lol. I have a ton of points and my parents are now traveling for the first time since retiring over a decade ago. It makes me happy to be able to facilitate that for them.

 

[needvaca]

So many of us on this site are diehard, knowledgable timeshare owners/users, but for the vast majority of people (90%+), timeshares are a big waste of time and money. We on this site have made timeshares a hobby/passion, and have devoted numerous hours to learning how to extract all the value out of our timeshares. We use them all, never let a week go to waste, exchange them through systems for even more usage, or rent them. It's a labor of love, but not a simple one.