If you had it all to do over again...would you still buy your Timeshare?

[Theousaf]

We love our Aruba timeshares...

Over the years my wife and I have attended many timeshare presentations, in Hawaii, Las Vegas, Cape Cod et al. A few years ago we went to Aruba and fell in love with the island and went to four timeshare presentations...one more crooked then the next. Their lies were so transparent that we called them out on it and still got the $200 from each for wasting our time. We eventually bought two bedroom lockouts for two weeks at the Divi Phoenix and one at the Divi Links and we are very happy that we have did. We bought the properties and weeks that we like so we don't have to deal with RCI or Interval and can easily rent the weeks/units we don't need.

 

[integlikewhoa]

This information is according to the U.S. Lodging Industry Key Statistics study on the average hotel nightly cost.

In 2013 the nightly cost was $110.53

In 2000 the nightly cost was $85.99

In 1986 when we first purchased our timeshare the nightly cost was only $54.78.

In 1986 our timeshare m/f was less than $200 per year for a two bedroom unit. The project year m/f for 2015 is over $1500.

I'm currently thinking about getting into time shares. I'm young currently only take 4 day vacations 2 times a year only spend 150 or so a night on 1 bed suites in Vegas San Diego and the like. Shop deals now or just went to a timeshare sales pitch got rooms free. So I'm not spending bucks now maybe 1000 a year if I don't find some deal.

Now even with 100 to 2000 ebay deals the annual m/f at the places we are looking at are 1000 to 1400 a year. I do a search and guess a date to stay at these places and it seems like they are 170 to maybe 200 a night with weekly deals dropping prices further. I'm looking into hgvc. But so far seems like m/f going to just break even with time sharing. And resale doesn't look so hot on ebay. So what's the big savings vs. Just renting a room with these 1 plus annual fees

 

[Picker57]

Yes.....with some reservations

Just curious.

not a discussion of resale vs retail...but knowing what you know now...would you still have bought your first Timeshare...or would you have made a different choice?

1. Comparing hotel rooms to timeshares is not 'apples to apples', as they don't add the cost of meals to the hotel rooms. That's significant for us, as we're not such "foodies" that we dig spending lots of time in restaurants.
2. While we've enjoyed our timeshare vacations, we've also really enjoyed condos we've rented through sites like VRBO and Air BnB. With the recent major uptick in the Shell maintenance fees, I'm not sure there's any advantage to owning/using our timeshare points. We've found some very nicely priced condos via rental, significantly less costly than the necessary Shell points.
3. True, timeshares create a prepaid vacation; I like that.
4. All in all we're happy with our timeshare experience. However because of the increasing fees it's not a slam dunk opinion like it would have been a couple of years ago. Our Shell points are now costing just under $.24 each, so a 2BR unit - for a couple of weeks - gets pretty expensive.

------------------------Zach

 

[doritoguy]

Yes. In fact I wish I had done so 15 yrs ago. All my purchases are resale purchases for what it's worth.

 

[vacationtime1]

Our first purchase was a "learning experience". We bought an ocean view unit at Waiohai, resale, for what was a fair price at the time. Two problems:

Waiohai is a dedicated two bedroom. Now that we understand the flexibility of lock-offs, we would never buy a dedicated two bedroom again. Our bad; the kids are now in college and seldom accompany us to Hawaii; if we had purchased a lock-off, we would have an extra week to use.

2006 was a bad time to buy. The resale price of Waiohai is currently about half of what the resale price was eight years ago.

 

[littlestar]

I'd definitely do it again. We bought our first one with Disney Vacation Club. Price back then with the incentive (direct purchase) was around $70.00 a point. We have taken a lot of Disney vacations and gave away quite a few vacations to family and friends over the last 13 years.

 

[Rjbeach2003]

Yes, with some reservations too

1. Comparing hotel rooms to timeshares is not 'apples to apples', as they don't add the cost of meals to the hotel rooms. That's significant for us, as we're not such "foodies" that we dig spending lots of time in restaurants.
2. While we've enjoyed our timeshare vacations, we've also really enjoyed condos we've rented through sites like VRBO and Air BnB. With the recent major uptick in the Shell maintenance fees, I'm not sure there's any advantage to owning/using our timeshare points. We've found some very nicely priced condos via rental, significantly less costly than the necessary Shell points.
3. True, timeshares create a prepaid vacation; I like that.
4. All in all we're happy with our timeshare experience. However because of the increasing fees it's not a slam dunk opinion like it would have been a couple of years ago. Our Shell points are now costing just under $.24 each, so a 2BR unit - for a couple of weeks - gets pretty expensive.

------------------------Zach

We bought in Hawaii from Shell about 5 years ago. We had extra money, and of course being savvy negotiators, we overpaid. But we were in. Two years ago some aquaintances wanted to get out of their SVC points and gave them to us. Only paid the $150 transfer fee. The maintenance fee, with club membership is slightly over $1500. We are going to the Big Island in June-July for three weeks. We are staying at Kona Coast for 5 nights, then to condo in Mauna Lani with family for 8 nights, then back to Holua Resort for 8 nights. We are paying $350/night total for the Mauna Lani 3 bedroom condo.
Based on our annual fees we are paying $188/night average for the 13 nights SVC in a 2 bedroom. I also did a search on Expedia and found that if we simply rented those days as hotel, the cost would be around $285/night.
Probably the biggest reason I don't regret buying is that it has kept us coming back to Hawaii.
We are in our 60's, not yet retired, but flexible. I don't recommend buying on a monthly contract, or if there are young children. That is why the couple gave us their points.

 

[abc31]

Yes and no

When I discovered resale timeshares on ebay, I thought I found gold. Two of my friends had recently bought timeshares from developers and told me what they had paid. So when I stumbled upon timeshares on ebay for $100, I impulsively bought two of them with the intentions of using them to trade. I soon found out that October in Orlando wasn't the best trader. I might still be happy though if the RCI fees had not tripled as well as my annual fees. After I found Tug I bought a Royal Holiday Club for the purpose of staying in NYC. Although a lot of people complain about RHC, I actually love it. After years of reading TUG, I wish I could go back and do things differently. I really like timesharing, but I wish I could get rid of my first two purchases to make room for better ones, but I already have more weeks than I can actually use.

 

[Picker57]

After years of reading TUG, I wish I could go back and do things differently. I really like timesharing, but I wish I could get rid of my first two purchases to make room for better ones, but I already have more weeks than I can actually use.

We bought SVC points directly from Shell. Twice. You think YOU wish you could do things differently?

They say wisdom comes with age. Nope...sometimes age comes alone.

-----------Zach

 

[Jason245]

When I discovered resale timeshares on ebay, I thought I found gold. Two of my friends had recently bought timeshares from developers and told me what they had paid. So when I stumbled upon timeshares on ebay for $100, I impulsively bought two of them with the intentions of using them to trade. I soon found out that October in Orlando wasn't the best trader. I might still be happy though if the RCI fees had not tripled as well as my annual fees. After I found Tug I bought a Royal Holiday Club for the purpose of staying in NYC. Although a lot of people complain about RHC, I actually love it. After years of reading TUG, I wish I could go back and do things differently. I really like timesharing, but I wish I could get rid of my first two purchases to make room for better ones, but I already have more weeks than I can actually use.

Have you tried giving those two away? It isn't like you are losing that much money on them.....

 

[Beefnot]

Me and my wife pinch ourselves all the time over the magnificent vacations we have had during our three years of timesharing. We look back to our last pre-timeshare stay at Del Mar Inn, which was decent, and that was the way we figured we'd always vacation.

Then after my dad offered us up a timeshare exchange at Big Bear (funny thing is that growing up we only stayed once in his Orlando timeshare that he pays MFs annually and typically goes unused, and that one time we went I don't even remember it), this was the red pill that changed everything. I started researching timeshares, found TUG, and the rest was history.

The first two I "purchased" on ebay, one got deeded back due to an error and the other I gave away the following year. Since then I've purchased three more timeshares and one points system. For us, exchanging is the name of the game. We typically only stay at top tier properties unless the only thing available in the area (e.g., Big Bear) is "clean and comfortable". We love it. I can't see growing tired of timesharing, knock on wood.

The only drawback is I wonder if I'm spoiling my kids too much. Timesharing is pretty much all they've now ever known. I was skyping with them recently while on a business trip, and they were quite perplexed, asking: "Where is the kitchen?". Good times.

 

[Beefnot]

With the recent major uptick in the Shell maintenance fees, I'm not sure there's any advantage to owning/using our timeshare points. We've found some very nicely priced condos via rental, significantly less costly than the necessary Shell points.
------------------------Zach

Tell me about it. The best use of Shell Points these days is depositing them into II. Especially when you can score a great flexchange. 2BR at Marriott Ko Olina for 1750 points, boom!

 

[linpat]

Yes, I would buy Wyndham points again but I do wish I'd known about resale vs developer costs. However, there may not have been much of a resale market 20 years ago compared to now. Timeshare ownership has let me exchange into resorts into the UK, explore new areas, and gives me a ready-made reason to vacation.

 

[gwenco]

hell no!

Renting is much cheaper if you are going to vacation once or twice a year. Sick of the fees, etc. We've been timesharing and not by choice, for over 15 years now.:annoyed:

 

[AlmostRetired]

No doubt - Yes

I purchased a resale unit at the Marriott monarch in 1995. I also purchased a unit at resort world of Orlando the same year at auction. They are both summer weeks. I have never stayed at resort world (now called legacy world of Orlando) but traded every year to places like Hawai and Cancun to name a few. Resort world was a 5 star when I purchased it but it hasn't been that in a while.

The timeshares forced (reminded) me to take at least 2 weeks of planned vacation every year. I am not sure renting would have forced me the same way.

We always had two bedrooms which gave both my wife and I our space while giving my two kids their space. The Marriott rewards program was much better and reasonable points got me 4 round trip tickets to Europe and hotel for 2 weeks.

Shame on me because I was too lazy to understand the new Marriott program. Thanks to recently reading the tug discussions on the program, I get it. Thank you tug members. While I am not going to buy points, I did take advantage of the legacy week to be part of the program. I am looking for a second monarch week. I found a summer week for a very reasonable price that I can rent and leverage into renting points.

Knowing what I know now....I would still own.

 

[AlmostRetired]

No doubt - Yes

I purchased a resale unit at the Marriott monarch in 1995. I also purchased a unit at resort world of Orlando the same year at auction. They are both summer weeks. I have never stayed at resort world (now called legacy world of Orlando) but traded every year to places like Hawai and Cancun to name a few. Resort world was a 5 star when I purchased it but it hasn't been that in a while.

The timeshares forced (reminded) me to take at least 2 weeks of planned vacation every year. I am not sure renting would have forced me the same way.

We always had two bedrooms which gave both my wife and I our space while giving my two kids their space. The Marriott rewards program was much better and reasonable points got me 4 round trip tickets to Europe and hotel for 2 weeks.

Shame on me because I was too lazy to understand the new Marriott program. Thanks to recently reading the tug discussions on the program, I get it. Thank you tug members. While I am not going to buy points, I did take advantage of the legacy week to be part of the program. I am looking for a second monarch week. I found a summer week for a very reasonable price that I can rent and leverage into renting points.

Knowing what I know now....I would still own.

 

[lizap]

Yes, yes, yes.. TSing is so much better than we ever imagined.

 

[Explorer7]

Yes we would do it again though I don’t see where I would get the same deal today as we did on our original purchase. Our vacations have exceeded our expectations with discount ts and upgrades through our Wyndham Gold VIP membership. What’s most uplifting is that we’ve have experienced bargain 4br presidential units and other larger accommodations allowing us to share with our children, grand children, our parents and friends. I remember one time in particular when Dw’s mother said in a quiet moment during one of our stays that she never thought that she would live like this which blessed my wife’s heart to be in a position to add these experiences to her mother’s life.

 

[luvNMB52]

enjoy our TS vacations

Yes, we would do it again. Now that we are retired and have lots of flexibility with our travel, we are able to benefit from the grandfathered silver VIP benefits we have due to purchasing developer points in 2004 and 2006 at Fairfield/Wyndham Ocean Blvd. We live within 2 hrs of NMB so can take planned and last minute vacations - most times just the 2 of us but also some family gatherings. We like the flexibility of getting different size units depending on our needs. We usually go to NMB (have ARP at all 5 options there), but have also enjoyed trips to Bonnet Creek, Alexandria, Nashville, Fairfield Glade, Smokey Mtns., and Williamsburg. Wish we had known about TUG/resale when we bought, but have made the most of our ownership over the past 10 years. Have learned many "tricks of the trade" here on TUG to make those points go as far as possible!

 

[Bill4728]

I own a Marriott, Club Intrawest, Monarch Grand (by DRI) and Mountainside Lodge (by Shell/Wyndham)

I would still buy the Marriott But would have bought a Hilton and Westin TS.

The Hilton has a agreement with Club Intrawest (CI) so I'd be able to use my Hilton to get into all my CI resorts. So I wouldn't need CI anymore. Although CI is my very best trader. I get GREAT trades with my CI for almost nothing.

We have really enjoyed any visit we have ever had into any of the westin resorts So if I had to do it over I'd buy a week at mandatory Westin in Phoenix instead of the Monarch Grand and Mountainside Lodge. I'd love to get rid of Monarch Grand and Mountainside Lodge but can not even give them away.

 

[falcon]

Would still buy...

Just to reiterate what was already said, I am glad we bought our timeshare 18 years ago. We bought it before ground was broken, so we still overpaid, but not by a lot. We bought close to home, which we thought was a mistake (we mostly traded at the start), but with our kids now working at the nearby ski hill, having the ability to have day-use and book owner bonus time relatively cheaply has been a huge plus. I look at it this way, if we had bought a cottage, it'd be way more expensive, we'd have upkeep and yearly taxes, and we'd be tied to going to same place all the time.

We have made a few mistakes along the way, but that was our journey and because of that, we have had 2 or more vacations with our kids every year in fantastic places. We have also brought extended family and friends with us on occasion.

Having said ALL that, sure, I would advise people to only look at resale and to avoid those weasels at all costs. We bought our every other year unit at Resort on Cocoa Beach a few years ago resale and it is, by far, our best purchase.

 

[elaine]

yes. We bought 2 resale on ebay from the same reseller--not freebies. The 1st was a cabin attached to a campground for $1K. Annual fees were around $400 and we got day use privileges, which we used 2-3X a year. We had a 5 yr old and 2 toddlers. We went every year and called it our "camp house." My kids all caught their 1st fish there. There were 3 pools, putt-putt, crafts--the kids had a ball. Then 10 years later, it had outlived its usefulness to us. I deeded it back to the resort for free. Our 2nd was a summer beach week that I bought for around $3k, which I gave away on TUG after owning for about 10 years. Great vacations when the kids were younger, and good trades via II. But, that one had also outlived its usefulness and, with RCI going to TPUs, we no longer needed the additional II trades. We still own a fixed summer week @ HHI, a RCI points week and DVC points. We are buying more DVC points.
I don't think I would have done anything differently. We have loved TSing and have gone to many places that we would never have traveled without TS. I even have to say that RCI has done OK by me--esp. trading into DVC 4X. Elaine