Do you freely admit you own a timeshare?

Yup...I say that I trade cheapo timeshares that I bought off of Ebay. Of all of the people I've told, loads have expressed interest in timeshare trading but not a single one has taken the time to learn about it

I don't normally bring it up.. I have a few co-workers that own or have owned Timeshares and really enjoyed them.. but also have a number that are really down on the whole concept. a few months back a group of us were out for drinks, and two guys spend 30 mins or so talking about how much of rip-off they were. How they always promise one thing and you get something else or you never get your money back.. I opted not to enter the debate and try and change their minds... that just seemed like too much work...

On the other hand i have had a couple of people ask genuine questions about how they work, and i do attempt to explain them to the best of my knowledge.

As others have said, they can work great or be a total rip-off, it depends on each persons situation.

I freely admit if asked or if the subject comes up but do not elabrate unless there is interest.

My friends and family all know I do and they are happy since they get the benefits of my OCD for timeshares by using my AC's and bonus weeks- LOL:hysterical:

Some friends, family and close co-workers know we have owned DVC for years. Anyone else, it all depends on the conversation and the people. I don't go out of my way to tell people but don't shy away from it either.

Many are actually interested.

Our family and friends know that we own timeshares and have gone with us many times. We talked to a family member last night in New Zealand and the first question he asked us is where is your next timeshare stay. They should know our schedule but we surprised them when we said Kauai next!

I don't go out of my way to mention that we own timeshares so found out years later that several couples in our street are Marriott timeshare owners too but in Kauai at the Waiohai. They love their resort and go every year and do not belong to II or the DC nor do our other friends who return to their resort twice a year. I asked our neigbors once if they wanted to swap with us during spring break but they said no because they want to be on the ground floor only so you see that all people are different because we would prefer not to be on the ground floor.

None of our friends complain about their timeshares in other brands either and travel a lot but the industry seems to have a bad name so we prefer not to mention it to strangers unless they bring the subject up or ask us how we travel so much.

Spreading the word

I'm far from rich.... But I have clients/friends who know I take good vacations. Every year I go somewhere. When someone says, I know you don't make much, how do you manage that? I say, "Well, I own a timeshare". I get the "you got suckered, and your maintenance fees are exorbitant" look. I just smile my crocodile smile, and ask them if they know where they can lay hands on a 2 bed, 2 bath poolside penthouse with 1200+ square feet for a week on Grand Cayman for $1100. That usually stuns them a bit. Then they mention the outrageous buy-in cost, the pushy sales people etc., and I get to tell them about TUG. When I mention that I bought it for $1, their jaws drop. Closing costs were $610.

Then I get to tell them that while it isn't for everyone, and you do need to be able to do some advance planning, I went to Yellowstone for a week trading through RCI, and still have enough trade value to go someplace in shoulder season for nothing more than the exchange fee. I tell them NEVER to buy from a developer. I met a lady at my home resort seriously thinking about buying through that resort, but she was really interested in something closer to home. When I told her what I paid for mine, she accused me of lying. I smiled my crocodile smile, and told her to get out her tablet, got her onto the TUG website, and I proved it.

When I've picked where I want to go, I call a girlfriend, they say of course I'll come! We cover our airfare independently, she covers food & the rental car, I cover the TS, and we both get a great vacation for a lot less $. WOOHOO!

I researched for a year before I bought, and I couldn't have done this without TUG. I'm thrilled I found you guys, and I can't say enough good things.

I have discussed this openly with family and friends especially in the last year to help finance vacations and cost of additional units. Finding it easier to work the system , the more points you have.
Much happier as a points owner vs a weeks owner and the ability to plan perfect vacations from 2 days to 3 weeks starting / stopping any day of the week.
I have found only last minute interest, no planners. All our good stuff will be gone 9 months out unless it is off season.
So a 10 month plan is for me to be able to get 40% to 60% off resort cost, sometimes more, yet have found zero takers.
I would give family a better deal, my own brother opted for Hooters in Vegas over a signature unit I was able to get him for less.
I don't talk about it any more, unless asked.
I Reserve prime locations / times , and use the Tug market place to rent. Those that have rented from me have been very happy, and say they plan on using me in the future. So time will tell but strangers are getting some great deals and I'm gaining some new friends.

I hope as my kids start to have families, I can ease the stress of vacation cost at the same time, Put a proven system in place they can follow easily for many years to come.

We have had a timeshare since 1981, only one for many years, then found Tug and Bought Dikhololo during the heyday, but I am getting off topic. I only talk about my timeshares when people ask us. We have friends who own and never exchange their weeks or only go to Marriots, thinking they are eletete ....have an Aunt who owns Marco Island and is trying to sell it for $25,000. I tell friends and family about TUG but they don't listen. Is kind of like religion everyone has different beliefs of timeshares. My Dad always called it a waste of money. My mother bought a week at an auction dirt cheap, and Dad still thought they were swindled. He liked going on the vacation, but didn't like the fees. I tried explaining Timesharing to him but it fell on deaf ears. Mum got the concept and made the most of her timeshare until she became too ill to travel. Now my brother has Thier timeshare and is letting his children exchange it for Honeymoons. I have learned to only talk about my timeshares when people ask. Every timeshare I own is for a different reason. I no longer have the first one or the second one I bought. I am getting better at selling or giving them away. Luckily my husband trusts my judgement and is a great traveling companion!
Silentg

Not sure why I'm posting to thls old thread today. Guess I'm just feeling chatty. Maybe the nice Pinot Noir I'm drinking this afternoon has something to do with it ...

Q: "Do you freely admit you own a timeshare?"
A: "Sure do! And I'm proud of it!"

-- and I'll talk the ears off anybody who's willing to listen, but only if they ask.

Our first purchase was from the developer (Makai Club) on our third visit in five years to Kauai and with the rate I was racking up airline miles on my job, we knew we'd be returning often. It only made sense to have our own lodging to return to in the location we wanted to keep going back to. Our net cost was quite a bit less than renting other condos (at least back then) and about a wash with hotel costs that would provide only one dinky hotel room.

We bought our second one (Makai Club Condos - these are stand alone cottages on the Makai golf course with two bedroom suites) resale for lots less than developer price, thanks to TUG, although back then resales still held some significant value so we paid a price that would make resale buyers cringe today.

We've had GREAT vacations in our own units, and the years we didn't get back to Kauai, these were tiger traders thru RCI. We never converted to points, so we kinda got screwed when trading a great Hawaii week for a lesser resort, but in the last few years when RCI went public with trade value points, we routinely get two weeks in exchange for one week deposits - and sometimes more.

Not earning many airline miles now, so Hawaii is much more difficult to justify getting to, and by now the Makai Gal has discovered Europe. Our flights seem to go in the other direction now, and we haven't been back to our beloved Kauai since I retired in 2002.

Strangely enough, now that we're retired, we're finding it HARDER to schedule our timeshare weeks, rather than easier, because we seem to be so darn much busier. We're spending $$ extending RCI deposits and combining points now, and with everything else we're doing, we're still having trouble scheduling all our weeks. So something's got to go. We tried to give our Makais off to other TUGgers in the Bargain Deals forum, but finally, reluctantly, we started the process to deed them back to the HOA.

But after retiring to South Carolina, we picked up a really cheap off-season week in Hilton Head that we love to use, and I don't think we'll ever even deposit and trade this one. Once we stop depositing and work through our backlog of deposits we'll finally be able to start taking advantage of some of the other rentals and deals that are available.

So, I feel we've gotten more than our money's worth back from our timeshares. The vacations we've garnered through our ownership have been fantastic - both at our home resorts and in wonderful exchanges all over the country.

I'm glad this old thread came up there is a lot of good info here.
My boy said that first they have to go and see the value of a timeshare vs hotels.
Kitchen, living room, washer / dryer
We stayed in Hotels recently on a trip west for 12 nights. Spent $3000 on hotels every night wishing I had my Villa's.

Why didn't you convert your HICV to IHG points? You would have saved $$ on hotel stays, that is what we do with our Orange Lake. Used it for Paris, London and Rome! Not all at the same time but a few years apart!
Silentg

I'm always surprised the number of people I run into that do own timeshares.

I did use points (IHG) 380,000 to be exact that I had accumulated.
With the 4 to 5 ratio (20% loss), That is still a little over 3 unit MF's
It was nice it was paid for already ahead of time but it still cost the money.

Sometime the points cost as much or more than if you paid for the room.
I do try to do that math first before using my HIVC points.
35,000 pt nights add up fast, if you reserved your Orange lake resort with IHG points it would be cheaper to rent directly from Holiday inn unless its prime time.

The point is for the money, I missed the roomy Villa vs the hotel room but this was a sight seeing vacation and the hotel was the only was it could happen.

I really do not tell people that I own a timeshare because my friends and family all have a negative views of timeshares and feel that they are all rip-offs. I did my due diligence and research prior to purchasing and for what I pay in MF’s for both of the weeks I own I could not stay in a condo type of setting in those area’s for cheaper then what I am paying. I think like so many Tugger’s have stated, ensure your buying what you will use and that it will work for you.

I bought all of my timeshare’s resale and all but two of them cost me under $200, all in. My summer week in a high demand area cost me $14K, but my ROI will be paid off in 9.5 years and for the last 20 years these weeks have continued to skyrocket in value since this is an independent HOA and is run very well.

I’m not disappointed in any of my weeks and I’m looking forward to when I can retire in 12 years and use some of the bonus weeks and extra vacations that are offered thru II and DAE.

The condo point above is very important. We have stayed on Cape Cod for 4/5 years. No desire to own a TS there due to location of them and ability to VRBO there effectively.

Sent from my LT26i using Tapatalk

We bought our first timeshare in 1984 and the second in 1986...similar story

silentg said:

We have had a timeshare since 1981, only one for many years, then found Tug........ I have learned to only talk about my timeshares when people ask. Every timeshare I own is for a different reason. I no longer have the first one or the second one I bought. I am getting better at selling or giving them away. Luckily my husband trusts my judgement and is a great traveling companion!
Silentg

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We were young and poor. I was raised by a single Mom, but we always had a yearly 2-week vacation when the GE Plant shut down. My husband's family, on the other hand, never vacationed. He doesn't get involved in any way with the timeshare stuff. But he has been enjoying the vacations that our family has been able to take for 30+ years. He trusts my judgement, as well.

Folks always comment on all the vacations that we are able to take. However, when we tell them that it's because of our timeshares, most shut down after that because of their preconceived notions about timeshares. No need to elaborate further. I don't need to convince anyone. It works for us.

See ya when I get back. Yea, I'm going on vacation.......again!

Egret, you do have similar story to me. My family always went to the Beach for 1 or 2 week vacation. My husband's family never did. When we were young married, we went on a 5 night vacation in Vermont for$9.00, they trapped us into a timeshare I did not want. My husband said if we buy this we will have to take at least one week a year to go on vacation. He was a person who worked 2 jobs at a time. We had no money so I asked my parents for a loan and we paid for the timeshare in installments. It was 4,500. Dollars a 4 th of July week. Like I said previously my Dad thought timeshares were a waste of money and that we were being swindled. But we used our little timeshare when the kids were tiny, when the resort went bankrupt, we held on to it. Got kicked out of II. Welcomed into RCI, kicked out of RCI ( I had my own account so RCI honored my exchange) then back again. After joining Tug I learned a lot more about timeshares and enjoy the ones I have now. We no longer have that first little timeshare, they are still in business but our RTU was up so we stayed a few extra years then said farewell. also gave back Dikhololo, no hard feelings! Sorry for the long winded story, but even with all the up and down. I am glad we got into Timesharing!
Silentg

We also get IHG points when my husband travels on business. Sorry if I sounded harsh!

I find it comes up more often than not when meeting new people as inevitably I get asked what I do....and subsequently hear "oh yea? We have one of those we never use!" or other similar comment that rarely expresses delight in ownership unfortunately

How can you own one and never use it? If you are paying the Maintenence fee and not using it, that is like flushing money down the toilet!

Silentg
I didn't take it that way, earned points are great!
saving points from HIVC to IHG for ever till used is a great feature so you don't loose them. (this is how I accumulate points)
When this is done they are paid points not earned points making many of those hotel stays quite pricy! That is why I check both ways
If they were earned points, that would be awesome.

I was so upset once when I had fixed weeks and Orange lake was only Orange lake. nothing was available to switch and we couldn't go. I didn't use my week but kept telling Orange lake I was coming so they couldn't rent it either.
It was so hard to switch your week at that time I was ready to throw in the towel.
since I switched to points it has been way better.

It can be overwhelming and embarrassing , people are to busy with everyday life and just figure they will tackle it on another day.

Tank said:

I didn't use my week but kept telling Orange lake I was coming so they couldn't rent it either.

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I like your style!!!

I often tell people that we own a timeshare. I have no problem talking about it and have never had a negative reaction to it.

silentg said:

How can you own one and never use it? If you are paying the Maintenence fee and not using it, that is like flushing money down the toilet!

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Isn't it amazing! I know several folks, more like 10 or so over the years, who are in that exact scenario. The tell me that they have timeshares, but have never used them. They pay their MF, even pay RCI, but do not go. I offer to help them to learn how to use the vacations, I even used to plead with them to get some fun out of their weeks. No takers.

These folks eventually lost their ownership to foreclosure or such. Years later, they meekly tell me that they no longer have the timeshare. I know what happened without even asking. It still boggles my mind.

What I do know is that folks like this do NOT want to hear about all of the good trades or travels you are enjoying. They certainly do not want to know how to get a "good deal" in the resale market. I think that they are embarrassed that they paid so much, and unwilling to try to make it right or to get some good use out of their ownership.

Once, I met a friend of a friend while a group of us were staying at a resort in Williamsburg Va. I secured 3 large units where I hosted my son's graduation festivities right at the resort. This friend had just come from the presentation and bought a week for about $14,000. I told them that they could rescind, they could save thousands, and I even showed them some ebay pricing to convince them. No go. They did nothing, but kept what they had purchased. Plus, it was one of those bummer off season weeks!

Anyway, many of us here on TUG overpaid at first, but we later learned and grew in our timeshare knowledge. I am one of the most knowledgeable people on the subject of timesharing, but unfortunately, I haven't been able to save some people from themselves.

Timesharing does have a "bad rap." Sometimes it is best to just say, "I am going to my resort for vacation," and leave it at that!

QUOTE: "Sometimes it is best to just say, "I am going to my resort for vacation," and leave it at that!"

That's what I do!
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