Berkeley Parents Network: Advice about Timeshares

Berkeley Parents Network

Advice about Timeshares

Berkeley Parents Network > Reviews > Housing, Neighborhoods, & Moving > Advice about Timeshares

Timeshares - are you happy with yours?
What is your experience with timeshares?
Selling a Time Share

Timeshares - are you happy with yours?

Oct 2007

Hi everyone. This is a general question about timeshares. Those of you who have them, how happy are you with your selection? Would you do it again if you had the choice? How long is your commitment? Are you happy with your vacation options, meaning, places you can go?Do you think it is worth the money? We went to a timeshare ''presentation'' once about 5 years ago up in Napa. We felt very pressured and the sales people were really rude when we didn't commit. They wanted us to pay $200/month for 30 YEARS!! We laughed when they told us that. We also never used the free Vegas trip because we left feeling so angry. BUT, my best friend has 2 timeshares and loves them. One is a HIlton, and the other is a private resort in Mexico. Anyone with advice on this topic? We will be attending a Wyndham presentation in a few weeks, but are considering Hilton as well. Or others. Thanks for any input. anon

Way to show them! By not using the free gift which is the only reason to sit through one of those presos. Honestly, why do you keep going to these presos? They are high-pressure sales situations. The only reason to get one is if you LOVE a certain place and want to vacation there every single year. Plenty of people go on vacations without having time shares. anon

We own one in Mexico. We are pretty happy with it. There are pros and cons. From our experience (a family of four), if money is an issue, it's cheaper to do a package deal that includes airfare than use the timeshare and pay for four airline tickets. But the accommodations we get (wherever we use the timeshare) are almost always wonderful. Since we have a family, we like having places that have kitchens, living room, dining room, etc. We like the space. Hotel rooms that come with package deals make us feel pretty cramped--plus there's usually no refrigerator, etc. If you can afford the airfares that come with going somewhere, a timeshare is a nice option--providing you get a nice one. We joined Interval International, so we can deposit our timeshare week and use it at other resorts around the world. We're pretty happy with ours. Happy Timeshare Owner

My husband and I own two timeshares - a Hilton and a Marriott. The best advice I can give you is to do your homework and research, research, research and ask questions like you are doing now. We literally attended dozens of timeshare presentations over 10 years (including the one in Napa) before buying our first one. There are plenty of on-line forums and web sites to gather information. One of my favorite sites is www.tug2.net (Timeshare Users Group).

It has worked well for us and we have enjoyed them very much. We especially like the roominess that comes with staying in a timeshare - 1 or 2 bedrooms, a separate living room, full kitchen and a washer & dryer inside the unit (the latter two being indispensable with children!). They are both considered real estate and we will have them forever and our children will inherit them when we're gone. Because they are considered real estate, we also pay property tax on them (in addition to an annual maintenance fee).

We love both our Hilton and Marriott - they are great brand name places. My only regret is that we bought both of these timeshares in "gold" season rather than "platinum" season. That means we are limited to what time of the year we can travel. Between the two, I would say I prefer the Marriott a little bit more because they have better locations than Hilton and the exchange company they use, Interval International, is more user friendly than RCI. A Momma Who Still Loves to Travel

What is your experience with timeshares?

July 2007

I am interested in people's experience with time shares and vacation ownerships such as the Starwood/Sheraton. I hear different opinions but would like to actually know from people who have these shares or ownerships. How do You like it? What are the benefits? What are the drawbacks? Any surprises when you bought your share/ownership? What upfront footwork/research would you recommend if one considers a share/ownership? Thank You for taking the time to respond. Single mom with 11 year old girl

Hello, I wanted to respond to your question about purchasing a timeshare because I am one of the people that bought 20 some years ago, and actually like timeshare ownership. I was single at the time, and took my sister and her kids on vacation once a year. I love the space and kitchen available in most timeshares. Before you buy, the first question you want to ask yourself is, will I really use it? Do I have the funds and time to travel? The owners that are unhappy are those who purchase on a whim, but don't ever use it. That said, I have owned a timeshare with Fairfield, which is now called ''Wyndam Resorts'' for probably 20 years, and have never been unhappy with my purchase. I did a lot of research and was able to purchase through Wyndam (Williamsburg, VA) at a reasonable cost. Compare maintenance fees before purchasing (mine are approxmiately 00 year for a one bedroom in Virgina). I would suggest buying somewhere that you enjoy going to in case you don't want to trade it to go to other locations. My experience has been it is easy to trade to other timeshares using RCI, but they want 99 for a trade now, and you have to pay membership fees to RCI (Wyndam pays my RCI membership fees, so I don't know what they are). I can trade within Wyndam at no cost. Buy from a reputable company that you will have good trading power with, i.e. Starwood, Marriott not only have beautiful resorts, but I asume it will be easy to trade if you don't want to stay within your timeshare company. Consider buying at least a one bedroom, not a studio, you or your daugter may want to bring along friends or relatives. Lastly, don't buy directly from the company. There are tons of people trying to unload their timeshares on www.redweek.com and other websites. You can pick up a bargain, just do your research first, maybe by even visiting the timeshare resort first if possible. Marriott is selling in South Lake Tahoe, so you might be able to wrangle a free weekend to check it out. No sure what Sheraton you were looking at. Lastly, keep in mind timeshare ownership in Mexico is limited to I think 30 years. My timeshare in VA is considered property, I can will it to anyone and it never expires. If you have any further questions, feel free to email me. h

Hi there, We bought a 2bdrm lock off week at the Westin Ka'anapali Ocean Resort Villas (Starwood's big property in Maui) back in 2003. I would be happy to talk to you about it. Also, I would highly recommend that you start reading up on the bulletin board where a lot of Starwood people post and ask questions because every question that could ever be asked is there...... http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/ page down to the Hotel Based Timeshare Forum..... and start searching and reading.

Selling a Time Share

Dec 2006

My mom would like to dispose (by selling) a timeshare that she has owned for more than ten years but never used. It is in a good location at Orlando Florida across from Disney. Someone got hold of us and wanted us to pay $1500 so they can advertise and sell the property. I do not trust this process. Has anyone sold a timeshare successfully? How does one go about it? Is there a reliable org or group that does this? How about price? She bought it fully paid at $9000 more than 10 years ago. Is this like real estate where the value goes up? Thanks a lot. A

Timeshares are generally very hard to re-sell and are worth much less on the secondary market than the original purchase price (in contrast to real estate), so don't expect to get very much. I wouldn't pay the $1,500 fee for someone to sell the timeshare. Your best bet is probably to list it on E-bay, Craigslist, and even the BPN marketplace. Anon

Check out this website: http://tug2.net/ ''TUG'' stands for Timeshare Users Group and they are a group of folks who own timeshares and share information (resort information, buying, selling, renting, etc.). If you scroll down on the home page, there is a link on the left side to an article about selling timeshares Owner of Two Timeshares

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