How often do you let a week go unused?

A fellow employee has owned a ski week for 18 years which he has never used--he let his sister use it once and he rented it out one other time. I figure he just never learned how to use his timeshare. He is single and has a good income, so he must not care too much about losing the maintenance fees every year.

I know a lot of you own more points and weeks than any working person could possibly use (and still remain employed). I'm curious how often you, the experts, let a week go used? I'll count any unused, unrented week or significant number of points that expire. A week that is deposited with an exchange company and then expires, unused, can also be counted. If you used any part of the week, it doesn't count since you received some benefit (and not everyone can use an entire week). However, I will count a week that is rented for much less than the cost of maintenance fees, or a week that is given last-minute to a friend or relative--the likely result of a week when you couldn't figure out what to do with it. I don't really care about ACs--since those can be considered more or less rentals.

At any rate, when you let a week go, do you get angry with yourself for wasting money on fees, or do you just count it as part of the total cost of owning a timeshare?

-- Keith

The only week I ever lost was due to a family emergency. Couldn't be helped. Otherwise I always plan ahead and timesharing is my hobby. I work and play with it everyday. Sometimes I wish I had more weeks (I have 2 1/2) to play with. We have had many wonderful vacations.

My adult children also have made out pretty good because of my hobby.

I Love Timeshares!


Anne

Let'm Expire? No Way.

The 1st 2 times we rented out our timeshare(s), it was because plans changed after we locked in our floating-weeks reservations, so it was rent'm out out or lose'm.

Then we figured we had mastered the system of renting'm out, so we did that with our own deeded weeks, getting enough in rent for'm to cover fees plus a little something, using the little something to pay for Last Call reservations into other people's timeshares.

Later we realized our mastery of the system was an illusion. We got no takers for a semi-offseason week we were trying to rent out & so we went there ourselves on a "surprise" vacation rather than let it go unused.

The plot thickened when we got into timeshare points, & in fact we ended up using a bunch of overripe timeshare points (plus money) to get some dumb Disney tickets as an alternative to letting those perfectly good paid-for points simply expire.

One underappreciated feature of timeshares is the clock that keeps ticking -- weeks-points mox nix -- & thereby motivating us take vacations. The alternative -- wheeling & dealing in renting out timeshares -- can be trickier. Either way, letting a week or a point expire would be a blow to the psychological underpinnings of timesharing around here, & we take pains not to let that happen.

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

And yet again, Alan, your reply is both informative and provides me my morning chuckle. Thanks for that!

As for me, I own 11 weeks more or less, some splitable for double stay or exchange, some used as points, some every other year. None has ever gone unused. Sometimes the use was not a real bargain or the best exchange on the monetary end but all were great vacations. I have let a few bonus weeks (ACs) go because I depleated the yearly allotment of vacation funds in the vacation fund kitty. As cost continue to rise, I'm doing a lot less exchanging and a lot more going to the one's I actually own. I will do only "request first" type exchanges if I do any at all.

Well I own 1 week at Sheraton Vistana, and 311,000pts with Wyndam, which I usually bank at least 5-28K weeks for trading and use the remainder of points for weekend trips to AC, or Williamsburg, or as compliments to my drive to FL (we use pts to rent 2-3night stays at Myrtle Beach on our drive to FL). Anyways...I typically end up selling or doing a friend exchange for 1 to 2 weeks, of each year. However, my friend trades work out well for me as I am getting Aruba for a Bonnet Creek Week.

Never let them go unused. I have chosen to not use Bonus Weeks because I didn't have any more vacation time, both with RCI and SFX, but that's it.

Once we had a vacation shot when Morritts was hit by a hurricane. RCI deposited some of the points back in our account. But it was too late to plan a replacement vacation and I instead decided to opt for some surgery I had been putting off. The points would have expired before we could have used them, so, as with Alan, we bought some Disney tickets to use in the future. Not a great value, but better than letting them expire.

Never ever let weeks go used. We either use, rent, trade or exchange for points every year. We've had 24 years of wonderful vacations with our timeshares. When you let your weeks go unused, it's a complete waste of your hard earned money. Why not enjoy what you have, life is too short IMO !!

My inlaws owned a timeshare they did not even use 1 time. No not to rent and or even visit theirselves! They owned it for over 10 years.

When we joined Disney Vaction Club, I asked them about their timeshare. I thought maybe they did not own it anymore. Well they did... I thought wow all those times we went to Disney before joining DVC we could have used their timehare to trade into Orlando! Since then they have "given" us full use of their timeshare and we trade into DVC every year and use the AC at Disney also! Since DH is an only child this does not cause any problems and they are happy to see the timeshare getting used!!!

caribbean said:

Never let them go unused. I have chosen to not use Bonus Weeks because I didn't have any more vacation time, both with RCI and SFX, but that's it.

Once we had a vacation shot when Morritts was hit by a hurricane. RCI deposited some of the points back in our account. But it was too late to plan a replacement vacation and I instead decided to opt for some surgery I had been putting off. The points would have expired before we could have used them, so, as with Alan, we bought some Disney tickets to use in the future. Not a great value, but better than letting them expire.

Click to expand...

Same here with Morritts but we got a great replacement week for the same week in December at Melia Paradisus in Punta Cana. One of our best exchanges ever. We also had to cancel a July 4th week exchange to Colorado two years ago when my daughter was due the week before our vacation. We got a Marriott Grand Vista 2 BR during flex exchange for August of the same year.

We bought our first week in 1992 and currently own 8 weeks. We have never lost a week in all those years and we usually either deposit our weeks for exchange or we rent out our Aruba weeks. The four weeks that are left get used up real easy with 2-3 weeks each year for me and my wife and multiple units needed for a family vacation in Florida during spring break. This year we even ran out of weeks to trade and both my daughters needed to use one of their weeks so that they could join us in April for our Florida vacation. So now I owe 1 daughter two weeks of timeshare exchange and the other 1 week.

In addition to our Florida exchange this year we will be going to St. Lucia in December and somewhere in the USA in the summer. I usually find something during the flex exchange period for either July or August. Oh, I have already gotten a 2br week for our 2009 Florida family vacation. At this point I need to wait until March so I can deposit two 2009 weeks so that I can start searching for more great vacations.

Never, I think that would really kill me - I give them to friends well in advance - or take the time myself. But I have heard of people that don't use them, just pay the fees and mostly it's because they haven't learned..I just want to take them under my wing and help them understand their options....or at least let me use it for them

Once, just once, we didn't make it to a confirmed exchange due to work stuff, and couldn't find anyone who could use it at the last minute...dang!!
Connie

Points For Surgery -- Who'd A-Thunk?

caribbean said:

But it was too late to plan a replacement vacation and I instead decided to opt for some surgery I had been putting off.

Click to expand...

That's an outstandingly creative idea -- wish I had thought of that.

Shux, maybe I could have had my knee scoped using my overripe timeshare points + co-pay, instead of getting those dumb Disney tickets.

How many points does it take for surgical operations anyway?

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

Never, although I have put units in a rental pool a month out and earned a few dollars less than my maintenance fees when the unit only rented for three out of seven nights. I either use a deposit to take a long weekend that I wouldn't have otherwise...not a bad thing...or find something for a friend or relative if I can't take the time. They appreciate it, and cover my costs. No regrets.

A short answer is Never lost a week in 20 years of timesharing. On two occasions we had to cancel a confirmed exchange and lost our exchange fees. But those weeks were used for other exchanges. Also, we make good use of low cost getaways available in off-season to enjoy more vacation weeks. Being retired, time is not an issue. But I watch carefully our overall travel expenses.

K.

We Had To Let 3 Days Go By The Board . . .

. . . checking in Wednesday evening instead of Sunday evening. That was due to a backache so severe we had to delay our departure. (Now that's a bad back.)

But it was an Instant Exchange reservation, not straight-points, so we considered the loss minimal -- plus, we had a nice time the days & nights we were there.

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

We have had a timeshare for twenty five years, and we have let only one week go unused. We didn't discover we had lost it until we received a statement in the mail that it had expired. We have used a few bonus weeks over the years, so that has made up for the one week lost. We have also rented a few weeks from listings on TUG and E-bay.

I think you're asking the wrong crowd! I am constantly amazed by the number of people who say to me, "Oh, I own a timeshare. But I never use it, just pay the fees every year...."

One friend (definitely not wealthy) has a timeshare in Hawaii that she must have bought about 20 years ago. As far as I can tell, she has never used it once, never exchanged it, nothing. Never thinks about it.

When she mentioned it to me, I said, "You know, maybe I could help you get some nice exchanges to places you would enjoy," she completely clammed up and never brought it up again.

I'm sure it's a sore subject, but...sigh. I just wish people would get some use out of what they have.

We've never NOT used one of our weeks. I don't plan to ever NOT get something out of my weeks. Be it use, rental income, exchanges, the joy of gifting, or points as a last resort to me.

I do however know some people who fit this thread. I work with a guy who owned 2 3-br weeks in orlando with westgate. He never used it himself once, and owned for 8 years. The only time it was ever used was when a relative would ask if they could use it. I think he said that happened twice. Luckily he found some people to buy both of his weeks last year, so he's out. His aunt bought 1 3-br unit at the same place and has never used it for 9 years. He is trying to get those same people to buy his aunts place.

I also play vball with a woman who owns one of those 40 weeks in 40 years plans in Cancun. She has owned it for 6 years. She has used 1 week so far. I actually asked her last week about it for this year, and she said that she hasn't even thought about it. That just makes my head spin.

Oh, when can't use whole week I use it for the weekend...

Also, I try to book most all for Friday check-in, just in case I run out of vacation. That way I can at least use Fri-Mon and get use out of it. I figure using some of it is better than not using it at all. Oh, and my co-worker owns a week at Virginia Beach for 7 years and never uses it. I told her to just go for the weekend, she says she doesn't have time. What a waste!

We have never let a week go unused. I would take an exchange that wasn't very exciting before I'd waste the fees, or go for part of the week, whatever. I have never given a week away, but would consider it if that was the only option short of letting the week go unused.

We've been timesharing since 1984...

...we never have let a week go unused. I can't imagine paying those yearly fees and not using the weeks. It's hard to hear about folks who continue to pay maintenance fees year after year and don't use the week. Too much disposable income? Most times not. I don't get why they hang on to them and instead put some real effort into finding out how to get rid of that monkey on their back.

In For A Penny, In For A Pound & Vice Versa.

Egret1986 said:

I can't imagine paying those yearly fees and not using the weeks. It's hard to hear about folks who continue to pay maintenance fees year after year and don't use the week. Too much disposable income? Most times not. I don't get why they hang on to them and instead put some real effort into finding out how to get rid of that monkey on their back.

Click to expand...

Maybe the folks who keep on paying & paying & never getting round to using their timeshares are the folks who bought at full freight -- say $25,000 & up, signing on the line because it seemed like a good idea at the time instead of thinking it over & making up their minds in advance.

In comparison with $25,000+ in good green money already down the drain (plus carrying charges) on an unneeded full-freight timeshare, what's another $500-$600 per year down the dumper in wasted maintenance fees?

By contrast, those penny-pinching bargain hunters who snagged their resale timeshares for nickels on the dollar in a premeditated kind of way are the same folks who for sure going are going to be keeping track of all the money that goes out in the form of timeshare annual fees & levies. Folks like that (it seems to me) are not apt to let their paid-for weeks & points go unused.

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

Guilty.

Rick and I probably lost 3 or 4 weeks before the internet. I was having a very difficult time tracking the weeks back then. Now we own 7 times more timeshares and I have no problem keeping track of them, thanks to Excel spreadsheets and the exchange company websites.

We bought in 1995 and I have only let a few RCI traded points expire. I have dreamed up trips and shared to be sure to use our points. This reminds me, I do have some points for 2008 to use!

what is the worth of an unused timeshare???

i've not used my timeshare since 1994, and the timeshare company has closed but i usually lease my timeshare, and make some reasonable profit, will this be of some problem???

pls help me out, i'm in a dilemma

___________________________________________________________________
Timeshare-Investment