onenotesamba
TUG Member
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2015
- Messages
- 244
- Reaction score
- 17
- Points
- 128
- Location
- Brooklyn, NY
- Resorts Owned
- HGVC Sea World, HGVC Boulevard/Strip
Thanks for this! At this point, I've educated myself, somewhat on HGVC, and it seems like it's a good fit, but I honestly don't know about other timeshare/vacation ownership programs and how they work.
1) Where do you want your home resort to be?
Generally, we spend one long weekend in Las Vegas each year (3-4 nights), and then take another 1 or 2 week long vacations in other places. So, I'm assuming Las Vegas, though we're not usually there for a full week.
2) Do you want to visit your home resort at least half the time, or do you want to trade more than half the time?
We like to travel to many different places. We're not the type to go to the same place each year.
3) What are your 5 top trade destinations?
We've been around the world--we've literally set foot on every continent (including Antarctica) in the past ten years. We like a mix of adventure (hiking, sightseeing, safari), urban exploration, and relaxation (sitting by a pool with a cocktail). We'd be interested to trade into as many diverse locations as we could.
4) How many people do you usually travel with?
There are two of us. We're same-sex married couple with no kids. But we like to take vacations with our extended family, so the option of getting a two or three bedroom unit from time to time is appealing.
5) Can you travel any time, or are you locked into the school schedule?
Can travel at any time.
6) Can you make firm plans 12 or more mos. in advance?
Yes, but we'd love to have the flexibility to be able to plan on a shorter time frame.
7) Can you vacation for a full week at a time?
Yes, but we'd like to be able to find a program that would give us long weekends in Las Vegas from time to time.
8) What level of accommodations do you prefer on a scale of 1 to 5 stars?
I'd say 3 and up.
9) How much can you afford to spend upfront, without financing?
We're looking for the "sweet spot" between upfront buy-in, and annual membership fees, obviously. I think we'd be most comfortable with a resale buy-in in the neighborhood of $10K, or less.
10) How much can you afford to spend every year for a maintenance fee that will come due right after Christmas, and increase each year?
If it's a points-based system, and we could stretch the points to more than a week, that might have a bearing on what we'd be prepared to do, but if we could get a week of vacation lodging for MF and Taxes for close to $1000/year, that'd be great. If we could get two weeks usage out of ownership in a point-based system, for under $1500, that'd be even better for us.
11) Are you a detail oriented planner?
Yes. But with a tendency to indulge impulses.
12) Do you understand that once you buy a timeshare, it may be very difficult to sell or give away, and you are responsible for all fees, until you do?
We do. Which is why we'd likely be interested in buying into a system that's affiliated with a major hotel or resort chain, or a well-established system.
__________________
From what I know of HGVC, it seems like buying resale would give us something that is very flexible, and would allow us to visit Las Vegas for a long weekend annually, and take additional vacations to a wide range of destinations on the side. But, as I said, I don't really know anything about the Wyndham, Starwood, Hyatt, DVC or Marriott programs, so if anyone reads this and thinks that there's an obvious good fit for us that we're missing, I'd be grateful if you could clue us in!
Thanks!
1) Where do you want your home resort to be?
Generally, we spend one long weekend in Las Vegas each year (3-4 nights), and then take another 1 or 2 week long vacations in other places. So, I'm assuming Las Vegas, though we're not usually there for a full week.
2) Do you want to visit your home resort at least half the time, or do you want to trade more than half the time?
We like to travel to many different places. We're not the type to go to the same place each year.
3) What are your 5 top trade destinations?
We've been around the world--we've literally set foot on every continent (including Antarctica) in the past ten years. We like a mix of adventure (hiking, sightseeing, safari), urban exploration, and relaxation (sitting by a pool with a cocktail). We'd be interested to trade into as many diverse locations as we could.
4) How many people do you usually travel with?
There are two of us. We're same-sex married couple with no kids. But we like to take vacations with our extended family, so the option of getting a two or three bedroom unit from time to time is appealing.
5) Can you travel any time, or are you locked into the school schedule?
Can travel at any time.
6) Can you make firm plans 12 or more mos. in advance?
Yes, but we'd love to have the flexibility to be able to plan on a shorter time frame.
7) Can you vacation for a full week at a time?
Yes, but we'd like to be able to find a program that would give us long weekends in Las Vegas from time to time.
8) What level of accommodations do you prefer on a scale of 1 to 5 stars?
I'd say 3 and up.
9) How much can you afford to spend upfront, without financing?
We're looking for the "sweet spot" between upfront buy-in, and annual membership fees, obviously. I think we'd be most comfortable with a resale buy-in in the neighborhood of $10K, or less.
10) How much can you afford to spend every year for a maintenance fee that will come due right after Christmas, and increase each year?
If it's a points-based system, and we could stretch the points to more than a week, that might have a bearing on what we'd be prepared to do, but if we could get a week of vacation lodging for MF and Taxes for close to $1000/year, that'd be great. If we could get two weeks usage out of ownership in a point-based system, for under $1500, that'd be even better for us.
11) Are you a detail oriented planner?
Yes. But with a tendency to indulge impulses.
12) Do you understand that once you buy a timeshare, it may be very difficult to sell or give away, and you are responsible for all fees, until you do?
We do. Which is why we'd likely be interested in buying into a system that's affiliated with a major hotel or resort chain, or a well-established system.
__________________
From what I know of HGVC, it seems like buying resale would give us something that is very flexible, and would allow us to visit Las Vegas for a long weekend annually, and take additional vacations to a wide range of destinations on the side. But, as I said, I don't really know anything about the Wyndham, Starwood, Hyatt, DVC or Marriott programs, so if anyone reads this and thinks that there's an obvious good fit for us that we're missing, I'd be grateful if you could clue us in!
Thanks!
