Compare/contrast different companies. What timeshare system is best?

[momofthreeplusone]

Hi everyone,
First of all let me say how extremely valuable I feel this site is and how helpful I have found the members! Thank you everyone.
My husband and I sat through a VSE presentation while on vacation on Kauai last month. We were almost hooked but could not because of the cost, and the timing. We do not wish to have anything on our credit history at this time.
I came home and found out about the resale market and, thanks to the site, have decided that when the time and price is right, we would like to take the plunge and become timeshare owners. Would like to save up and buy directly from a current owner, or a broker if need.
Would appreciate some insight on which company to go with. Pros/cons of Vistana compared to other systems? Those of you who own in multiple companies, which do you prefer and why? Cost vs accommodations? Ease of use and booking your week? Potential resale value or transferring ownership to our kids? Other things I have not thought of?
Thank you.

 

[WinniWoman]

I cannot speak for Hawaii or any timeshare "systems". I personally like owning fixed deeded weeks at resorts we like to go to every year and that we can drive to. With our ownership we do not have to book what we own. We just show up for our week and we have use of our same unit every year. On occasion we exchange a week to go somewhere else through small exchange companies that are free to join. Other times, we rent through other timeshare owners to go on an extra vacation elsewhere.

There is a newbie survey you should fill out so that other Tuggers can give you advice.

http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/index.php?threads/what-to-buy-questions-for-newbies.208742/

 

[TUGBrian]

this chart should help!

http://tug2.net/timeshare_advice/timeshare-system-comparison-chart.html

 

[Panina]

I cannot speak for Hawaii or any timeshare "systems". I personally like owning fixed deeded weeks at resorts we like to go to every year and that we can drive to. With our ownership we do not have to book what we own. We just show up for our week and we have use of our same unit every year. On occasion we exchange a week to go somewhere else through small exchange companies that are free to join. Other times, we rent through other timeshare owners to go on an extra vacation elsewhere.

There is a newbie survey you should fill out so that other Tuggers can give you advice.

http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/index.php?threads/what-to-buy-questions-for-newbies.208742/

I agree with mpumilia. Owning fixed weeks guarantee you go where you want. Owning driving distance to home guarantees a nice place when traveling due to costs is not an option.

By getting a fixed week that you would be happy to use and is also a strong trader gets you the best of everything. With my strong traders I have always had good success with trades in II.

I do own in the HGVC system and like that as a supplement. One week is pure HGVC, the other an affiliate. At some point I will give away my pure HGVC and get another affiliate as I prefer the guarantee knowing I can go to the affiliate.

 

[geist1223]

Our primary system is Worldmark. It is a pure Point System with no "Home" Resort. This really works for us. Worldmark has 80 to 90 Resorts all over the USA but mainly the Western half of the Country including Hawaii, Fiji, Mexico, and British Columbia Canada. Worldmark does not work for everyone. You have to be able to plan 13 months in advance and spend the time to learn how to use the System.

 

[momofthreeplusone]

We are just beginning to research buying a timeshare on the resale market, would love input on what would meet our needs best. Thanks for helping out a newbie and thanks Denise for these questions. I am posting my answers below so that people can offer insight.

1) Where do you want your home resort to be? Hawaii (but not Oahu)

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? Depends. We have lots more places we want to see, but also love Hawaii. Don't mind going back to Hawaii regularly but also want some flexibility.

3) What are your 5 top trade destinations? Mexico, Bahamas, Caribbean (anywhere warm and tropical really) California, Arizona

4) How many people do you usually travel with? Me and hubby but would like to start with friends or family

5) Can you travel any time, or are you locked into the school schedule? Locked into somewhat of the school schedule, based on my teaching position. I currently teach winter, spring, and summer quarters at our local community college.

6) Can you make firm plans 12 or more mos. in advance? Yes

7) Can you vacation for a full week at a time? Yes

8) What level of accommodations do you prefer on a scale of 1 to 5 stars? 4-5

9) How much can you afford to spend upfront, without financing? Currently 2,000, but can save up.

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? Can budget, realistically 2,000 tops. Are they all due in January?

11) Are you a detail oriented planner? Not hugely detail oriented but willing to learn

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? Yes, would also like to be able to let our friends or family rent

 

[ronparise]

If you want a guarantee of time and place, buy a fixed week

If you want different times at the same place buy a floating week

If you want flexibility of time and place buy into a points system

I don’t like using the word “best” as that implies just one will do.

My approach was to make a list of the places I want to visit, and then buy into a system that has a resort or resorts in those places

In my case Washington DC was on my must have list. And at the time Wyndham was the only game in town. I looked a little deeper and decided the Wyndham system had 10 resorts within a half a days drive, the maintenance fees were affordable and the cost to purchase was low. So I bought into Wyndham

Since then I have added Worldmark which of the points systems, offers, I think, the best value

Your needs and wants will be different and your budget different so my choices may not work for you, but I think my method of laying your needs up against what the various systems offer is the “best” way to do this

 

[geist1223]

There is no single "Best Resort." Every person's needs, wants, effort to use, etc are different. Many people buy Worldmark and then get upset when they are never able to get Hawaii. But they did start trying to Book until January for a July Trip. Many times we like traveling during the shoulder seasons - Fall and Spring - except Cabo we like during the Winter. Because of the learning curve and effort to use effectively Worldmark is not the best Timeshare System for most people. We love all the Options on places to go West Yellowstone, Daytona Beach, Vancouver BC, Victoria BC, Fiji, Cabo, Orlando, Park City Utah, Branson, Austin Texas, San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, Maui, Kauai, Hawaii, etc etc, etc.

 

[geist1223]

One thing many people recommend is that you rent at a time share resort a couple times to see if it is really want you want. So you can spend some time in the TUG Market Place. There are rental sections, buy sections, and Bargain Deals.

 

[amycurl]

getting a fixed week that you would be happy to use and is also a strong trader gets you the best of everything. With my strong traders I have always had good success with trades in II.

This was basically our family's strategy, and we've been very happy with it. Since purchasing in 1995, we've used our home week three or four times, I think, and have gotten some really great trades all the rest of the years. But if we decided to stop trading--or if getting what we want becomes impossible--we can either rent it for more than maintenance fees or use it and be perfectly happy. Finding out what you can get via rental for the time you want to go vs. what you would need to pay in MF is another great rubric for determining if purchasing at that particular place is a good deal. If there is regular rental availability for less than MF, then there is absolutely no reason to own there.

 

[DaveNV]

I'd also suggest you explore Points, rather than a Weeks timeshare. For the value you spend to own a Week at any specific Hawaii resort, a trade back to places on the Mainland may not be equitable. In other words, the value of the maintenance fees you pay in Hawaii may be more than you could get that Mainland week for in Points, or even to rent it outright. When you add in exchange fees and such, you may end up spending more than you might want to, just to vacation somewhere other than Hawaii. With Points, the location of the owned timeshare isn't a factor - the number of Points required to stay at the resort you want to go to is what matters. You figure out the dollars spent per point, and do the math, to decide whether staying at that resort is financially worthwhile. Also with Points, you aren't locked into a specific week or resort, and you have much more flexibility. Points let you pick the week, the view type, and even the size (in some cases) of the unit you stay in. With Weeks, you're pretty much locked into the type of unit you own.

I owned a floating Week at a nice Kauai resort, and I rarely exchanged it. I loved staying at that resort. But when the management company changed to one based in California that has a number of other locations, and their own mini-system for internal trading within their brand, I sold the Kauai week, and bought into one of their California locations. Now I pay a lower maintenance fee than the Hawaii resort charges, and I can exchange back into the Kauai resort for less than owning there. On face value, I'm getting a better deal than folks who own at the Kauai resort would get if they did the reverse, and internally exchanged back to one of the California resorts. The one thing I gave up was the Owner's preference at the Kauai resort to select the unit I wanted to stay in. But after staying there about a dozen times, I know what to expect, and how to make the most of time spent staying there.

I second the suggestion to rent before you buy. You may find your 4-5 star needs may be met with 3-4 star resorts, which can end up saving you money. Alternately, spending the money to stay at a 4-5 star resort may be more than you want to, if you aren't making the most of everything available at the fancier resort. (If you'll be out and about all day, and the resort turns into more of a B&B kind of thing, how nice does a bed and kitchen space need to be to be comfortable?)

Good luck in your search. Take your time, and don't jump to buy anything. It is MUCH easier to get into a resort than it is to get out of it. There will ALWAYS be another bargain coming along. If you don't get the one today, there'll be the same (or a better) one tomorrow.

Dave

 

[Passepartout]

Mom, I think you have unrealistic expectations. You say you can afford $2,000, yet 'want the BEST 4-5 star accommodations IN HAWAII, for more than just 2 people, 'to start'. The MF on this will be higher than the $2,000 in your budget, and you want it to have 'resale value'- well, then you have to be in a position to PAY for that resale value. You don't address how you'll be going to Hawaii for these vacations. Depending on the size of your brood and where home is, that can be a sizeable chunk of change.

I'd strongly suggest you try renting a timeshare within reasonable driving distance from home a time or two. We hear waaay too often from nice people just like you, who bought their 'dream vacation home', who have suffered a reversal of fortune, or the kids grew up and don't want the timeshare, or the price of MF that was just a few hundred bucks when they bought escalated to $3,000 a year, and the place has hidden water damage, the builder disappeared and there's a Special Assessment of $6-7,000 a week PER OWNER.

Timeshares are luxury goods. Only buy them with disposable income. NEVER go into debt for one.

Good Luck. Start easily and cheaply. You can always upgrade, and timeshares are a helluva lot easier to buy than sell.

Jim

 

[WinniWoman]

What part of the country do you live in? Airfare can get expensive.

 

[vacationtime1]

I agree with the others that renting a few times will focus you on what works and what doesn't.

Your criteria are tough, especially the purchase price aspect, but one place that may work for you is the Bay Club on the Big Island of Hawaii. But rent there first. And don't underestimate the learning curve on how to use any TS ownership effectively.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

As stated previously it depends on your desired:

a) locations
b) budget
c) flexibility
d) system provider reputation

Here are my observations from my recent research on what to add to our timeshare portfolio: (YMMV)

Location:

Hilton (HGVC) is fantastic for Oahu (Hilton Hawaiian Village), Big Island, New York City, San Diego (Carlsbad/Legoland), Tuscany (Italy). Trading within the system is easy except for Lagoon Tower Oahu during prime summer, and NYC. It's easy to upgrade to a larger or view unit with more than you own by borrowing future points or shortening your week. With planning, trades into Worldmark and Wyndham resorts via RCI for Disneyland and Hail Mary trades for DVC into Disneyworld during off-peak. Good availability for trading Worldmark/Wyndham for other locations and Fiesta Americana. For RCI, HGVC owners are not required to deposit their week to search for trades and sometimes can get two to three weeks for one week of HGVC points.

Most of the systems have Vegas, Orlando and Myrtle Beach.

Westin and Marriott complement Hilton with Maui, Kauai, Arizona and Caribbean properties and trade via II which also enables trades into Hyatt.

Hyatt has Key West, Tahoe northshore/incline, Carmel which are unique.

Worldmark has many unique western US locations such as Yellowstone, Idaho, Oregon Coast, San Francisco. (we may purchase Worldmark in the future for these location options if we cannot get them through RCI or II trades.)

Budget: Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott and Westin all have nice units 4 to 5 scale depending on the location. Hyatt tends to be a bit more upscale at some properties such as Kaanapali Beach. Worldmark/Wyndham are 3+ to 4 scale range. All will be priced accordingly.

There may be pockets of resale value. For example, Hilton Lagoon Tower resale prices dropped when they started selling the newer Grand Islander. Some owners opted to buy the newer property adding to the supply of Lagoon units on the market. Now resale prices at Lagoon have recovered since Grand Islander selling out soon and resale inventory reduced. Hilton West 57 resale values are currently lower because developer is selling the Residences at the NY Midtown Hilton. Similar to Lagoon, some W57 owners are selling to buy the newer property. Land is scarce in NYC (Kaanapali Beach, and Waikiki) and the maintenance fees at W57 are the lowest in Manhattan so are expected to recover similar to Lagoon Tower. Bay Club on the Big Island offers one of the best values in Hawaii and trades HGVC/RCI.

Other areas such as Vegas and Orlando with abundant land have the lowest resale values and maintenance fees and are often used as traders. Trading is nice however you get the lowest priority rooms - like basic economy middle seat priority. Others want first class priority reservations and to get suites, or views so buy into the locations they want to stay such as Hawaii and NYC. Personal preference and budget trade-offs.

Flexibility: We purchased Hilton and would have stayed with Hilton for our next purchase if they had a Maui resort. Easy to trade within the system and points based on an actual deed versus a portfolio of deeds so difficult for the system provider to devalue. We are leaning toward Vistana/Westin Kaanapali resale because it is more flexible than buying Marriott Ocean club. Although both offer lock-off options which are fantastic (Hilton system is different), Westin Kaanapali has staroptions which can be traded more easily whereas Marriott Maui resales do not. Marriott also requires a larger buy-in of two units to get your unit during prime summer at 13 month reservation window.


System Provider Reputation: I would buy from Hilton, Vistana, Worldmark, Marriott and Hyatt because they provide a quality product and are reportedly fair with owners (even though the sales process sucks). There are other systems which I am either unfamiliar (e.g. DVC, Wyndham), or would be wary based on reading owner horror stories from Tug and elsewhere. Research is required.

FWIW...This is my opinion based on what I know from owning HGVC and what I learned. YMMV.

 

[bogey21]

If exchanging was important to me, I probably would probably try to find the one with the most expansive point system. On the other hand if you know where you want to go most years and top of the line accommodations are not at the top of your priority list, I'd look at Independent HOA Controlled Resorts. At my peak I owned six of these carefully selected for size of MF, location, cleanliness, etc. My cost for the six I owned was less than $8,000 for the bunch.

George