My timeshare experience.

[SmallCityDave]

We bought our timeshare 15 years ago, I did it just to appease my wife I knew it was a horrible decision, we paid less than half of what the developer was charging but today knowing what I know I can purchase for a lot less.


To put things in perspective I recently had an offer from a timeshare broker, for $6k you can buy 20,000 points with those points you can stay in red (busy) season for 2 weeks in a 2 bedroom or 5 weeks in a 1 bedroom during blue (slow) season. Obviously I can spend more by getting a bigger unit such as a 4 bedroom penthouse or less by staying in a studio. 20k points will cost you $1400 per year or about $120 per month in maintenance dues.


We have over 60 locations/resorts, most of the time we drive to our destination and we have 10-20 resorts within 10 hours of driving. I'm certainly not a proponent for timeshares they have a well deserved bad reputation but for our family it works well.


Is anyone else enjoying their timeshare?

 

[Rianne]

My DB has 3 timeshares. He hates the yearly maintenance fees and has to fly to the resorts he likes. He's locked into what he can do with points and such.

We were pressured to buy one of these with the free breakfast, I'll never go through that experience again! IMHO, I would never buy a timeshare. That was my experience.

 

[Jerry1]

Couple points. First, I’m glad you enjoy. I know two other people who enjoy their timeshare. Second, you’re paying $1,400 a year. For what? The right to occupy, certainly, but is that all you pay or do they nickel and dime you?

I’m ignoring the capital (initial investment) as I think that cost is easy to handle.

 

[aja8888]

I have two friends over 70 years old who have them. They can't seem to get rid of them, and their adult children want nothing to do with them (the units). Dilemma for sure.

 

[erkevin]

I have owned for 23 years. Have had some amazing vacations using/trading it. However, the maintenance and exchange fees have pretty much outrun the value of the accommodations. Occasionally, we will get to exchange into a property that is in the $400/night range, making my timeshare worthwhile. Other times, not so much. We are in negotiations with the timeshare management for a deed in lieu of foreclosure. I want to rid myself of it

 

[SmallCityDave]

Couple points. First, I’m glad you enjoy. I know two other people who enjoy their timeshare. Second, you’re paying $1,400 a year. For what? The right to occupy, certainly, but is that all you pay or do they nickel and dime you?

I’m ignoring the capital (initial investment) as I think that cost is easy to handle.

The $1400 goes for maintenance I assume that it pays the taxes, payroll for the employees, utilities, house keeping etc all of the expenses of running the resort(s).


I don't get nickel and dimed you get 1 house cleaning per 10k points so if you have 3 stays in one year you will pay for the extra stay.

 

[Jerry1]

The $1400 goes for maintenance I assume that it pays the taxes, payroll for the employees, utilities, house keeping etc all of the expenses of running the resort(s).


I don't get nickel and dimed you get 1 house cleaning per 10k points so if you have 3 stays in one year you will pay for the extra stay.

No, I mean what do you get for the money. So, for $1,400 that’s about $200 per night assuming one week, which would typically be a middle tier hotel. Basically you’re prepaying your vacation. Is it a good deal or are you paying $1,400 per year to stay at the Holiday Inn for a week?

Per OP, 5 weeks at a decent place during at least shoulder season, could easily be worth $1,400.

 

[Chuckanut]

I know several people who enjoy their timeshares.

One couple has a two weeks in the summer at a nice beach that is about a 4-5 hour drive from home. They enjoy their time on their own as well as invite family and friends to spend a few days. About half their time along together and the other half with family/friends.

The other is a guy who bought a small studio unit on the Big Island of Hawaii right on the beach. Since he was one of the first buyers had his choice of weeks that never change. His time starts on the penultimate Sunday of the year. He says he can trade that week for just about anywhere in the world he wants.

Others I know would love to get rid of their Timeshare. They seem to spend a lot of time trying to rent it out to friends and relatives to help cover the costs of owning it.

 

[SmallCityDave]

No, I mean what do you get for the money. So, for $1,400 that’s about $200 per night assuming one week, which would typically be a middle tier hotel. Basically you’re prepaying your vacation. Is it a good deal or are you paying $1,400 per year to stay at the Holiday Inn for a week?

Good deal for us because it's a home away from home, we don't have to go out to eat every night and if we want to just hangout everyone does their own thing that's an option too.

It's funny we recently stayed in a Holiday Inn and our boys looked at us like we lost our minds (they had never stayed in a hotel).

For us it's a lot better than a Holiday Inn, it's basically condo's with a full size kitchen, washer and dryer, bedrooms etc. Most of the time our boys get their own rooms.

The resorts will have your standard rec room, gym, pool arcade etc... Most places we stay in the resort has a decent size footprint and it's normally 10-20 buildings housing 4-8 condos each but the architecture varies.

The best part is that we get a lot of flexibility if we want to stay 1 night we can if you want to stay 3 weeks that's an option, we like to travel during the off season where it's not as crowded and it's a little slower paced. We don't worry about roof leaks or maintenance issues.

 

[Jerry1]

Sounds good. Thanks.

 

[Jerry1]

I have owned for 23 years. Have had some amazing vacations using/trading it. However, the maintenance and exchange fees have pretty much outrun the value of the accommodations. Occasionally, we will get to exchange into a property that is in the $400/night range, making my timeshare worthwhile. Other times, not so much. We are in negotiations with the timeshare management for a deed in lieu of foreclosure. I want to rid myself of it

This is what concerns me. That the value deteriorates over time. I had a health club membership at a very nice club and through a special they were running, I got starting dues at $1 per month. Yep, $12 per year. It took about ten years, and the minimum increase caused the monthly payment to be higher than they were offering for new members. Ultimately, they sold and I didn’t take the offer to transfer to the new entity so I just let it run out. My understanding is that timeshares don’t let you walk away so easy. Therefore, it would have to be a pretty good deal to take the risk.

 

[Katsmeow]

We used to be members of the Disney Vacation Club. I don't know how it is now. But, at the time you bought X number of points at a particularly Disney location (ours was located at WDW -- I think Boardwalk Villas). Your points would allow you to stay a certain number of nights which varied depending on time of year. You could also use points to stay at other locations. For example, one time we stayed at the Disneyland Hotel at Disneyland. You could also trade points to stat at non-Disney properties which I never did.

We used our points every years and stayed at nice places. Yes, there were monthly dues but they were way, way less than what it would have cost to stay in the places we stayed. So this was a very good deal for us.

Eventually as our kids got older we got tired of going to Disney for all of our vacations and wanted more flexibility. We used a broker to sell our timeshare. Disney had a first right of refusal on all purchases and they often would exercise the right to purchase if someone accepted too low a price. This basically kept the prices up.

The timeshare was actually a 40 year lease, so by the time we sold there was not 40 years left (I think we had it for 4 or 5 years) so I was worried that would hurt resale. It didn't. We ended up selling for more than we had paid for the points so this ended up being a very good deal for us.

 

[njhowie]

We have Disney as well - best investment we made. Purchased in 2000 and can sell it today for 50% profit. It's already paid for itself a number of times over.

We go between 2 and 4 times a year. Been to Hawaii resort as well as most of the others. Every year on-property room rates go up, we grin.

 

[zinger1457]

I own at the Westin Kierland in Scottsdale, purchase resale about 11 years ago. No regrets, very happy with the purchase. Won't make money if I sell it but could get what I paid for it it fairly easily. I don't like flying but can drive to several locations (AZ, CA, CO). Based on how I use my timeshare when I break down the maintenance fee to a cost/night it works out to about $75/night to stay in a nice (4-5 star) 1BR unit with a kitchen. If you buy (resale) into the right place and know how to use it you can do well. Unfortunately there are a lot of timeshares that should be avoided and many don't find out about them until it's too late.

 

[Ronstar]

I bought a timeshare in Lake Tahoe in the early 80’s. I was caught up in their marketing spiel and bought on impulse. I backed out a few days later after I thoroughly evaluated the deal.

 

[Souschef]

I bought a timeshare in Lake Tahoe in the early 80’s. I was caught up in their marketing spiel and bought on impulse. I backed out a few days later after I thoroughly evaluated the deal.

+1 I had the same experience here in Ventura. DW ran the numbers, and said it was not worth it, so we cancelled. Good decision.

 

[brett]

We looked at them very briefly. Our big surprise, after a presentation and sales pitch, was the difference between the time share 'investment' and the price of the same product, same times etc. on a resale site. The resale sights also gave us an insight as to which one's might be dogs simply because of the quantity on the market and the low prices.

We have attended two presentations. One in Thailand. We got a free week at a high end resort. When we googled the company the red lights started to flash on our ipad. We did not even bother running the numbers on that one. The second was in Daytona Beach. Numbers did not add up, the so called vacation club that they tried to sell was a non starter. At the time we were paying guests at the resort. We walked away wishing we had not bothered but we did have a $100. cheque for our trouble.

A timeshare near us went bankrupt a few years ago. Owners had two choices. Pony up with $7 or $8K minimum or walk from the investment.

 

[Sue J]

I was just talking to my sister about hers. They have one in Princeville, Kauai and another in Cancun. The maintenance fees for the Hawaii one just had another increase. They have been there a few times but the flight is very long from Ohio. They still go to the one in Cancun but they have done everything there and now just go for a week in the sun.

Since they bought these, maybe 10-15 years ago, they have found that they love cruises (4 or 5 a year) and that they prefer them over going back to the same place every year. I think they would like to sell these and they know they would not receive anything close to what they paid for them. They bought them from the resort (not resale) so it sounds like they paid full price.

 

[CardsFan]

I bought a timeshare in Lake Tahoe in the early 80’s. I was caught up in their marketing spiel and bought on impulse. I backed out a few days later after I thoroughly evaluated the deal.

We might have been in the same presentation. Summer of 1980. It was rainy afternoon, so we said, what the heck, we can sit through this for an hour for Dinner and $20 worth of chips. The high pressure sales tactics were crazy, to the point of the salesman telling me I was an idiot if I did not see what a great deal it was. Fortunately, we resisted and got out.

Coincidentally, a while later (1-2 years?) 60 Minutes did an expose on the group. The Royal Aloha Vacation Club.

 

[gayl]

I enjoyed the lunch but never bought. It came with an offer for 3 days / 2 nights in Vegas which I demanded they give me as I walked out. Gave it to my son who had to show up and sign in to a presentation there. He explained that he was unemployed so did not have to stay

 

[Souschef]

This reminds me of a funny story DW told me. She and her late husband went to a few of these presentations. When they tried to sell them, she would say, ," Do you have any without kitchens?", The salesman said why? DW said, " I do not cook for my husband".
The salesman said, "You do not have to use the kitchen". DW said, "You do not understand, if there is a kitchen he will want me to cook for him"..
And that was then end of it, and all the perks were free.
BTW, she is a fantastic cook, and she DOES cook for me.

 

[Ronstar]

We might have been in the same presentation. Summer of 1980. It was rainy afternoon, so we said, what the heck, we can sit through this for an hour for Dinner and $20 worth of chips. The high pressure sales tactics were crazy, to the point of the salesman telling me I was an idiot if I did not see what a great deal it was. Fortunately, we resisted and got out.



Coincidentally, a while later (1-2 years?) 60 Minutes did an expose on the group. The Royal Aloha Vacation Club.

Sounds familiar. May have been the same presentation. Ours was in a ski condo in Tahoe. I remember getting chips, but can’t remember getting dinner out of the deal.

 

[skipro33]

I bought a timeshare in Lake Tahoe in the early 80’s. I was caught up in their marketing spiel and bought on impulse. I backed out a few days later after I thoroughly evaluated the deal.

I wonder how the new private home rental law changes in Tahoe will affect time shares?

Essentially, no one can rent their home out in Tahoe any more unless it's for 30 days or longer. We used to rent a place every Thanksgiving for all our family. We live in the area and it was much easier on us just to rent them all one house they could stay at instead of OURS! Probably the main reason the law was passed. Ha!

 

[Scuba]

We went to a timeshare presentation 15 years ago. I asked to look at their book of properties. The previous 3 resorts we had stayed at were not options. We like to stay in low density places, not mega-resorts. The timeshare model just doesn’t fit our style of travel. Airbnb or VRBO are great for us, or if we actually stay in a resort, we like the Small Luxury Hotels of the world.

We do have friends that have timeshares in Mexico and they love them.

 

[ivinsfan]

I wonder how the new private home rental law changes in Tahoe will affect time shares?

Essentially, no one can rent their home out in Tahoe any more unless it's for 30 days or longer. We used to rent a place every Thanksgiving for all our family. We live in the area and it was much easier on us just to rent them all one house they could stay at instead of OURS! Probably the main reason the law was passed. Ha!

How is this enforced lots of towns have rules on the books for rentals of less than 30 days but everyone seems to ignore them. In fact the place we go to snowbird had these laws but then decided to dump them and put a hotel tax on the short rental stays. But then again how do you enforce that.


My SIL has managed to collect about 10-`12 timeshare weeks over about 20 years. My DB works for an airline so flying on short notice isn't a problem. They own timeshares they have never stayed at. But the devil is in the details as you can't buy a resale of a cheapo property because it has almost no trade value. So they pay all the annual maintence fees and the fees to deposit them to trade and the trading fees to go the timeshare they want to stay at. It adds up and she has found she needs to book or trade up to a year ahead of time to get anything she really wants. Now several timeshares in higher value areas have started using add ons to collect more money. We booked a couple of condos thru her resort portal..it was London off season and you had pay 100 pounds a week for power and gas usage.

Someone saying they stay for 75 a night means they are paying maintence fees of less then 525 a week and no trading or cleaning fees. I guess very few timeshares offer this option when all the costs are factored in. Lets not forget the timeshares that are collecting your maintence fees and not actually maintaining things. Boom a levy on your unit for a new roof. My SIL got a 7000 dollar levy on an older unit she had traded for. She is constantly bragging them up so who knows, I do know we live a couple thousand miles apart and not many timeshares out here in flyover country, they travel constantly but haven't been out my way in almost 15 years because she can't get a timeshare here, doesn't want to get stuck out at my farm and won't pay money for a hotel to meet us in the big city since they shell out so much cash for the timeshares.


We don't see each other much...