Have timeshares gotten any better?

[anothercog]

We did the Marriott presentation in Orlando. We are loyal Marriott Gold Elite members. I've always found the company to be responsible and trustworthy and respectful to their guests.


NOT THE TIMESHARE DIVISION!


The person we dealt with was beyond rude, ignorant, and condescending. He repeatedly made incorrect assumptions about us, even after I corrected him - he just kept on spouting off the same wrong stuff. By the end, when we were quite fed up, he got even worse, which is typical of timeshare folks but I really expected better from Marriott. When we got home, I fired off a very nasty letter to the higher ups of the company. I don't think I ever got any response.


Disney, on the other hand, is as nice as you would expect Disney to be. We did the DVC tour not because we had the slightest interest in buying but because we are big Disney fans and I wanted first-hand knowledge about how it all works.


When we first sat down with the rep, I explained that. He asked about our typical Disney travel routine and I told him that we rent condos offsite for $75/night and were quite content to do that. We had no interest in staying onsite. He understood and was fine with that and admitted from the start that DVC wouldn't be right for us. But he still went through the whole presentation, showed us how it all works, answered our questions, and finished up with us getting free ice cream and the gift cards promised for doing the presentation. I would happily do their presentation again and I've recommended others to do it as well, as long as you are fully prepared to say NO and not actually buy anything.

Marriott spun off their timeshare division many years ago. They still use the Marriott name but are not the same company as the hotels.

I have never been on a Disney timeshare presentation. I bought my Disney contracts sight unseen because unlike other timeshares, it actually made financial sense for us because we want to stay onsite and hotels are too small for my family. I bought my original batch direct at a great price (back in 2009) and bought additional contracts resale. Disney is the only timeshare I would recommend (only for staying at Disney, not trading) but only at the resale prices. New prices are insane now.

 

[sengsational]

Not all, but some timeshares, the day after you buy a timeshare, it's worth $0.01 (if you can even get that for it).

 

[SmallCityDave]

I looked into it a few years ago and know timeshares have a terrible rep (ongoing fees, can't get out of, have to pay up to use different locations, etc). Has anything changed?

We have one and we really like it - There is maintenance fees.
We have 60+ locations without needing to pay extra fees.


Our timeshare uses points as opposed to having the same size unit at the same locations during the same time every year. We can choose a studio, 4 bedroom penthouse or multiple units, we can stay in Anaheim, Daytona Beach, Depoe Bay, Kihei, Coral Baja or 50+ other resorts. My wife wanted it and I knew it was a rip off after nearly 20 we still enjoy it and we use it 2-5 times a year.

 

[harley]

Back when I was young and poor, DW and I (and later DD) used to take the "free" 4 day/3 night sales pitch vacation at Disney. We were always able to buy a couple of extra nights for a reasonable price. We just had to sit through the sales pitch, which was annoying but worth it to us. Even at that young age I could tell that any time a company would throw that much sales firepower at you it must be a really good deal...for them!

I've known a bunch of people who have bought into timeshares over the years, and not a single one that was happy about the decision over the long run. Mostly I think it's the maintenance costs eating you alive that was the problem.

It's so easy to rent anywhere in the world you would want to vacation, I can't imagine why buying a timeshare would be a good idea.

 

[mickj]

We have a timeshare next to our favorite ski resort. One of the benefits is using free parking and hot tubs when we are skiing but not staying at the resort. It has worked out well for us.

 

[disneysteve]

Marriott spun off their timeshare division many years ago. They still use the Marriott name but are not the same company as the hotels.

Good to know, though I wonder why Marriott let's them keep using the name and tarnishing their reputation.


I will say, though, that we have stayed at a Marriott timeshare for a week and I can't say a single negative thing about the experience. Everything was excellent. It was only the sales pitch that was beyond awful. Our stay was unrelated as we rented the week from a friend who wasn't using it. We just paid his annual fee which I think was $500. Not bad at all for a week in a very nice 3-bedroom unit in a beautiful resort. So again, if you want to stay in a timeshare, just rent one. Don't buy. Disney being the one and only possible exception to the rule.

 

[Music Lover]

We went on a timeshare pitch and didn't buy a timeshare but we did buy some points for a couple grand. The original offer was for $4500 but they kept dropping the price. When it got down to $2000 I knew we could make good use of it.

So far we've been to Myrtle Beach, Edisto, Panama City Beach, Nashville, and Branson. We also took a trip to Wisconsin Dells. More than half of the points are still left and so far we've stayed for 22 nights. Assuming we get 40 nights out of it, the cost per night is about $50, so it's a great deal for 500 - 800 sq ft places with kitchens and laundry facilities.

At every place they invited us to a "meeting" and we went on all of them earning a $100 - $150 pre-paid Visa card ($800+ so far) at each one. So, we've really only spent $1200 for the 22 nights and can easily get another 20 nights with the remaining points. Plus more pre-paid Visa cards of we go to more meetings. If we get another $800 in pre-paid Visa cards we will have stayed 40 nights or so in some nice places for $400. $10 a night. No more meetings and it's $1200 for 40 nights or $30 per night.

You can make the system work to your advantage with a little bit of planning. We used it to check out a bunch of places we'd never been to going slightly or mostly off season when the points went further.

It's been fun but we won't do it again and we'll never, ever buy a timeshare.

 

[RobbieB]

Nah, still garbage. Buy used at 5-10 cents on the dollar, sorry no discount on the fees.

But the fees always go up. For life. Yours and your estate. Forever.

 

[bbqcoder]

A little googling... and here ya go:



Top Ten Reasons to Think Twice Before Buying a Timeshare

I’m a software developer so I know quite well how to use Google/Bing/etc and do use them extensively. I have thrown many of my technical books away because I don’t use them since it’s easier to search.

Was looking for people to provide more context into their “no” answers than just a no.

I do appreciate the pointer to what looks like a decent article on the disadvantages of timeshare ownership so thanks for that!

 

[frank]

any websites that have the time share rentals people are mentioning? sounds interesting to rent.

 

[Vacation4us]

I own 3 yes 3 Marriott timeshares. All bought resale. I find them to be a great value and have no plans to give them away anytime soon.

We trade them mostly to other Marriott’s through Interval International. It’s a hobby for me.

We just spent a week in Palm Desert in a very large 2 bedroom unit for $359 via a “free week” Interval gives us in addition to our weeks.

If you want honest answers from actual timeshare owners I would recommend searching TUG2.net (timeshare users group).

Timeshares aren’t for everyone and paying retail is dumb in my book. It truly is false that your heirs have to accept a timeshare from your estate. I just helped my neighbor get rid of her Marriott took 15 minutes of my time. I posted it for free on Tug and had a taker in less than 1 hour.

I understand why the hard sell and high prices give them a bad reputation but knowledge is power in all things.

I love my Timeshare!

 

[Vacation4us]

any websites that have the time share rentals people are mentioning? sounds interesting to rent.

Redweek.com offers owner rentals as well as the sight I mentioned above.

 

[TrvlBug]

I own 3 yes 3 Marriott timeshares. All bought resale. I find them to be a great value and have no plans to give them away anytime soon.

We trade them mostly to other Marriott’s through Interval International. It’s a hobby for me.

We just spent a week in Palm Desert in a very large 2 bedroom unit for $359 via a “free week” Interval gives us in addition to our weeks.

If you want honest answers from actual timeshare owners I would recommend searching TUG2.net (timeshare users group).

Timeshares aren’t for everyone and paying retail is dumb in my book. It truly is false that your heirs have to accept a timeshare from your estate. I just helped my neighbor get rid of her Marriott took 15 minutes of my time. I posted it for free on Tug and had a taker in less than 1 hour.

I understand why the hard sell and high prices give them a bad reputation but knowledge is power in all things.

I love my Timeshare!

+1. We also own Marriott (5 ) and love them. They are not 'investments' and take a bit of learning to maximize use if you plan on trading.

 

[disneysteve]

We went on a timeshare pitch and didn't buy a timeshare but we did buy some points for a couple grand. The original offer was for $4500 but they kept dropping the price. When it got down to $2000 I knew we could make good use of it.

So far we've been to Myrtle Beach, Edisto, Panama City Beach, Nashville, and Branson. We also took a trip to Wisconsin Dells. More than half of the points are still left and so far we've stayed for 22 nights. Assuming we get 40 nights out of it, the cost per night is about $50, so it's a great deal for 500 - 800 sq ft places with kitchens and laundry facilities.

I've never heard of anything like this. You were able to buy points with no other commitment? No contract or annual fee or anything? What company was that?

 

[Music Lover]

I've never heard of anything like this. You were able to buy points with no other commitment? No contract or annual fee or anything? What company was that?

Wyndham. We said no to buying a timeshare so they offered a "discovery" package of XX number of points. No other commitment, no maintenance fee...just use the points until they ran out. We turned that down and they kept dropping the price until we decided that the price was low enough where the price per night became very reasonable.

 

[disneysteve]

Wyndham. We said no to buying a timeshare so they offered a "discovery" package of XX number of points. No other commitment, no maintenance fee...just use the points until they ran out. We turned that down and they kept dropping the price until we decided that the price was low enough where the price per night became very reasonable.

Nice. That sounds like a great deal.

 

[ChrisC]

+1. We also own Marriott (5 ) and love them. They are not 'investments' and take a bit of learning to maximize use if you plan on trading.

Ditto. Owner of Marriott Timeshares/VCP over 4 decades, since 1999. Used them for priceless family vacations in the past and continuing to enjoy them in retirement. They are by no means our exclusive method of leisure travel, but we’ve leveraged them for great travel junkets. Works for me in my family.

Of course, timeshare haters gonna hate; and timeshare owners who know good deals and good trips, gonna keep on keepin on. More informed debates can be found at the Timeshare Users Group forum.

 

[samcat]

I was one of the lucky(?) ones and inherited a timeshare (two actually). One was very hard to use and expensive so I sold it on the aftermarket for $.01 - at least I wasn't paying the maintenance fees anymore. The other one, WorldMark, is not too bad so long as you have a place you like to go. DW and I love the Sonoma, CA area and go there several times a year. We plan far enough ahead that we rarely have a problem booking and the room is very nice and centrally located for us. We don't like to dine out too much, even when we are on vacation and like the kitchen amenities. It is also very easy to bring guests with us. I definitely prefer it to the hotel option for what we do in Sonoma. If we didn't have that resort to go to, then it would be a waste of money for us and I would get rid of it.

My parents have Worldmark also. We have loved it over the years. We are actually going to Angels Camp in May. Love the gold country and the wine tasting. We especially like the variety of locations we have access to.

 

[BGH1]

We have a timeshare in Myrtle, 3 bed lockoff and have traded into Maui several times, kuwai, st Thomas, Cancun twice, Disney world, and most stays have been 2 weeks in a unit that sleeps 8 and more, kitchen laundry full set up condo, Westin to boot. I think we have been very fortunate. It’s not for everyone but it sure has worked well for us.

 

[marion10]

Timeshare Users Group www.tug2.net has great forums and listings of timeshares for sale and rent. I would never buy from a developer. I had two timeshares I bought from a broker in South Africa in the 90s that we traded for some great vacations- but I paid $425 for each of them and the maintenance fees were very low. Sold then later for what I paid for them.

 

[isisdave]

Read TUG (tug2.net) and look on Redweek. You can buy some fairly nice places for $1 in the TUG marketplace, and there's a forum for last minute rentals (45 days out) that's limited in price to $115 a night. Never buy from a developer.

 

[Jerry1]

I used to work with a lady that worked the point system mercilessly. Not my cup of tea, but she was very happy with it. I knew her well enough to know she wasn’t a braggart. She stayed at some really nice places for the money and was satisfied that she got her money’s worth. It wasn’t a passive activity though, she worked it like a travel agent.

 

[Still_Waters_43]

No Way

Timeshare? no way!..... I use Airbnb, so no commitment,and vacation wherever and whenever I like

 

[Bagabonz]

I have a couple contracts with Hilton Grand Vacation Club for the Big Island of Hawaii. Before you do anything else join TUGG the timeshare users group. I’m super happy with Hilton. Staying here right now. Paid $100 for one and $1 for the other. Both on ebay. Never buy or even attend a presentation.

 

[troutnut1]

My parents got stuck with one 40 years ago and ended up buying a second week from a friend at about 1/4 of what they paid. I think they amassed an entire month. Luckily, back then gringos couldn’t own fee simple in Mexico. They were set up as 30 year leases. My wife and I had a few great times there because nobody wanted to use it. They did do a little trading that they liked. Learning about that resort “Costa Vida Vallarta” and what I could buy weeks for made great ammo against other timeshare salespeople. We lived at Lake Tahoe at the time and anytime we wanted extra gambling money we would just go to a presentation. We would then tell them we already had 4 weeks and although we liked their resort, we could simply trade some of our weeks for their weeks at a tiny fraction of the price. So why would we want to buy one? Sometimes they made us sit through the whole thing as punishment, other times they would just give us the money (in casino chips at the time) and send us on our way. Made my dad smile. He used to haggle over 25 cent books at garage sales and go harass new car dealers just for sport.