Timesharing - - a positive experience for us.
Oct 21 '00
We bought a timeshare in 1995. Initially, I was very unsure about it and regretted our decision. With all the negative things you hear and read about timeshares, I did not want to tell anyone we had bought one because I feared they would think we were foolish for buying one. After using it for a few years, however, I am now happy with our decision to buy the timeshare.
Since we purchased the timeshare, we have gone to Las Vegas twice (this is where our timeshare is located), Orlando twice and once to Aruba. The person who sold us the timeshare referred to it as 'vacation insurance', saying it ensures you take a vacation each year and unlike other forms of insurance, you see something from the premiums you pay in. I believe this is an accurate description of what a timeshare is. I have read other articles that state if you add up all fees associated with timeshares and compare that total to what it could cost to purchase similar vacations separately, the timeshare total would be higher. This may be correct, but I think just totaling the costs overlooks two important factors.
First, if you didn't have a timeshare where you risk losing your week if you don't use it, would you really take a vacation each year? Probably not, as you would decide to do something else with the money. Having the timeshare has made vacationing a priority in our lives and I don't think that is a bad thing. We have had some wonderful, unforgettable experiences. Given a choice, I'd rather spend my money on vacations and experiences instead of material possessions. But that is my choice and I realize it might not the right choice for everyone.
Second, with the timeshare, you stay somewhere that is nicer than what you would book for yourself if you were paying for each night separately. In Florida, we stayed at a Marriott. If we had planned a trip to Florida on our own, I think I would have picked a cheaper hotel, trying to cut costs.
Timeshare travel does take some getting used to. I find it works best when you plan your trip several months in advance. That way you have more time to get better rates on airfare. On one of our earlier exchanges, I booked the hotel without checking airfare rates. After I checked airfare rates, I discovered the rates were outrageous for our planned travel dates. So I repaid the $100 exchange fee to save several hundred dollars in airfare. Now that we have the Internet and it is easier to check airfares, I haven't had that problem again. But I also won't commit to a hotel without checking airfare first. With timesharing, you learn to juggle your choice of resorts with your travel dates. Most locations have multiple timeshares and check-in dates so you can compare those with the dates you need to travel to get the best airfare. But this is why it is best to start planning your vacation sooner rather than later.
One unexpected benefit of timeshare travel is getting bumped. On our first trips to Florida, we were bumped and got $1400 in airfare credits. That was used for airfare for our second trip to Florida where we were bumped for another $900. Using that and the leftover credit from our first bump, we paid for our Aruba tickets. If we had been traveling as part of a vacation package instead of timesharing, we might not have been able to take those bumps. With the timeshare, we did not risk losing our room if we didn't check-in by a certain time; we just had to call the hotel to let them know we were arriving late.
If you do decide to buy a timeshare, here are some things to consider:
1. Buy in a popular location. We picked Las Vegas because we don't mind going there every year and airfare to Las Vegas is usually inexpensive from our home. We loved Aruba and the timeshares there were cheaper, but the airfare we'd pay to use it every year would kill us! Another plus to Las Vegas is they have no property tax. We toured timeshares in Florida and the owners paid property tax in addition to their yearly maintenance fee. A popular location also means you will have better luck exchanging.
2. Consider buying a resale timeshare. We weren't aware of this option when we bought. Had we known about it, we could have saved on our purchase price. If we had to do it again, I would buy a resale unit. The Internet has information regarding this.
3. Be sure you review the maintenance fee part of your contract with the sales rep. After we bought, we discovered our maintenance fee can be raised up to 14% each year. While knowing that initially might not have changed our decision, it was one thing that I didn't remember from our sales presentation and it was upsetting to learn about it later. In recent years, our maintenance fee has not increased by that much and I guess it could be compared to the 12-17% room tax you pay on hotel rooms.
4. Before you buy, tour several timeshares. That way, it is not such a 'spur of the moment' decision if you buy after taking a tour. We toured in Las Vegas several years before we bought so we had been thinking about it before we actually bought. Since then, we have toured in other locations. Doing that re-assured us that we bought in the right place.
5. When you exchange, pick Gold Star resorts. Our exchanges are handled by Interval International. Their book rates some resorts as Gold Stars. We have always exchanged to Gold Star resorts and have never had a bad experience.
Hopefully this has provided some input on timeshare ownership. It is not for everyone, but it has been a positive experience for us. We enjoy staying in suite-type rooms when we vacation. We also enjoy having a kitchen in our room: not that we cook while we are on vacation, but it is nice to have a refrigerator stocked with cold drinks and snack items. We are also the type who don't spend a lot on vacation so we can afford to take a nice vacation every year. Once we vacationed with a couple who spent a tremendous amount on souveniers and dining out. For them, that was a once-in-a-lifetime vacation. We spent moderately and were able to return the next year.
This has been really long, but I wanted to include as many of our experiences as possible.
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Epinions.com ID:
ggoering
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Member: Gretchen Goering
Reviews written: 5
Trusted by: 1 member
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