I’ll admit it, we own two timeshares. We have traveled all over the Caribbean and a few other places. Overall, we knew the rules of the game going in, and it has worked out well for us. We have three one week vacations coming up during the next 12 months, and each week has a one bedroom unit.
I read someplace recently that timeshares are one of the strangest products, in that people will (sometimes) say that they love their timeshare, and at the same time they will not recommend it to anyone else. There are also plenty of people who hate their timeshare and are trying desperately to get rid of it.
Anyone else care to share? If you are trying to rent out or sell your timeshare, I might be able to provide some helpful websites. Side note: I am NOT in the industry, but I spend a lot of time reading up on it.
My “two cents” - I had a “starter timeshare.” I basically got it for free, taking over the mak tenancy fees from an older woman who no longer wanted it. We got rid of that one and paid a ridiculous amount of money for another one, but we plan to go to that place for our week. I find GREAT deals on RCI extra vacations. timeshares are NOT for everyone, but they can be a good deal if you use them correctly.
I agree, they are not for everyone. It requires the ability to book early, and also have some flexibility in locations. The people who think they are going to trade their crummy timeshare into one particular resort in Las Vegas for New Years, or get some other spectacular reservation, will likely be disappointed.
Are your annual costs plus the money you invested less than what one can spend to rent a place on VRBO/Homeaway/Airbnb or at a site like RedWeek with timeshare rentals? I guess I’ve never understood the appeal and the finances of being locked in for a certain timeframe (I know you can swap) when renting is so easy.
You can also get a good deal if you book very last minute. A former SIL was a genius in getting great deals at the last minute. Because of the nature of their jobs, they knew they’d be vacationing in May and Nov. She’d trade their bottom of the line, hotel room-like timeshare for really nice 2 bedroom condos at the last minute. They had to be a little creative, but it worked. Sometimes they’d go to the beach, sometimes Vegas, one time Lake Havesu (in May? not a hot market). They drove, so no need to get air tickets in advance.
I used to prepare the paperwork for timeshare offerings. Actually the more expensive they are, the quicker they sell. We could sell the penthouse units at a golf or ski resort 10 times over, but sometimes we couldn’t get the project to go because we couldn’t sell the lower floors. Rich people often don’t need financing, while regular millionaires do so sometimes.
I had a timeshare that I never used. The annual fee was higher than what I could have rent something similar on Airbnb. It was so hard to get the week I want because I often didn’t know when I was going on vacation until few months prior. It was the worst investment I ever made. I couldn’t even get ride of it. Luckily my Ex asked for it during the divorce.
My parents own several weeks (bought in the early 80s so they got a great deal) and my siblings own a week or two here and there. My parents have tried to GIVE me their timeshares…no way. I use them all the time and reimburse them for their maintenance fees but for me timeshare doesn’t work. I have, without exception, been able to find one-week stays for less than the maintenance fee of every timeshare I am familiar with. Just this past month I stayed at AKL by renting points from an owner who just wanted to get their maintenance fee paid for…happens all the time. I use timeshare at least once a year but I pay 1/4 of what it would cost to own.
We bought a floating one for very little money. The resort threw in one free week, all-inclusive, so we made out well. It ends after 20 years, so we won’t have to unload it.
My parents have four timeshares. Not sure what they will do with all of them!
We were able to sell ours! We had the type of timeshare that was a certain number of points, so we could accumulate them and use them anywhere in their system. In any case, it just wasn’t for us, and it killed us every year having to pay those fees! We found a buyer–at a much-reduced price of course–and just as we were about to close the deal the company exercised its “right of first refusal” and bought them back from us at the same price the private party was going to pay. We lost money on the deal, but it won’t take too long to make that up by not having to pay those fees! So relieved to have off-loaded it!
We own several, and while they have worked for us I wouldn’t recommend them for anyone else. When our children were younger I knew their and my (university) schedule well in advance. By booking one year out we could actually get on my H’s calendar. If I waited until a month or two out he would never had had a week free. So for our purposes it introduced a discipline to get us somewhere. The kitchen was also important for peace of mind as we were living with severe food allergies. Sometimes I book two weeks and we bring along my siblings and their families by providing them a week in Hawaii or Mexico for free. that way they just have to pay the airfare. I think this has allowed the cousins to spend a different type of time together. Having said all that, now that the kids are grown, we have more than we can use.
We own a couple and use them. We have had them for a long time so the cost/benefit math has worked out. I saw a chart recently that if you travel to relatively expensive areas, which we do, the break even comes in around 10 years. And no, we could not rent the kind of place we stay in for the maintenance fee. We got our first one because we vacationed with our 4 children and my mother in the same resort place every couple of years. It was cheaper and more comfortable than 2 hotel rooms. As a resort it had all kinds of amenities, too, to add to the vacation. Now we use that one for trade and get away for a bit in the winter. Our other one we actually return to all of the time.
I used to own quite a few weeks. I owned timeshares for over 20 years. They were great when the kids were small. We used them to go to ski resorts and Disney World. After dh died and I lost my ski buddy, the ski vacations stopped. Then Disney World lost its lustre and we stopped going there as well. Between those two events, I discovered cruising and I purchased a vacation home. So, timesharing just didn’t work for me anymore. I sold the last two within the past year. Life is much more hassle-free without the timeshares.