As I stated over and over, there are tons of ways to maximize timeshare ownership to travel in luxury for significantly less than booking hotels, vacation rentals and even airbnb. Outside of complicated strategies, I have found that one of the easiest ways to maximize timeshare ownership is booking timeshares for a ski vacation.
If you ski, you know that accommodations during the ski season can be exorbitant in costs. The ski season generally lasts only about 4 months and most hotels will make the vast majority of their money during this season. Booking a week during this time can be prohibitive to most people including myself. It is not unheard of for a hotel to cost between $3,000 to $6,000 for a ski week. Booking a suite or two bedroom will likely increase this amount by even more. Luckily, there are a lot of very high quality timeshares that are located in highly desirable ski locations. Park City, Beaver Creek, Vail, Aspen, Whistler, and others are just a few examples. Generally, I would assume that most maintenance fees for timeshares run between $750 to $1500 for the year so if you can exchange your one timeshare and all of your points for a one week ski vacation that would normally cost over $3,000, you would come out significantly ahead. I am a big fan of Park City, Utah and generally take a few ski trips per year. A couple of years ago, Canyons and Park City Mountain, the two main ski locations in Park City, were bought by Vail Resorts. Last year was the first season where both resorts became connected by a Gondola ride to create the largest ski area in North America. Here is a good article on the development. Park City has many things going for it but for timeshare owners, it is actually a great destination since there are multiple timeshare properties that are ski-in/ski-out or within easy access to the lift. Interval International is one of the two large exchange companies where you can exchange your points or timeshare week for other weeks. Interval International (II) does offer various membership levels. II recently offered a great deal for upgrading your membership level for 50% off. I discussed this offer here. As a quick reminder, II offers three membership levels, General membership, Interval Gold and Interval Platinum. Due the offer, I upgraded my membership and I am now a Platinum member. While platinum membership does not help you with giving you priority trades, there are some decent benefits that you should be aware of. The first benefit is that each Interval Getaway is discounted $50. Interval Getaways allow you to book weeks with cash instead of using your points or weeks. There are often times some significant weeks that can be had for under $300 for the week. I have seen prime weeks in Cancun, ski weeks, Caribbean weeks and others. Now, in addition to those great prices, you will receive $50 off making it an even better deal. The second benefit is the ability to issue guest certificates for free. These guest certificates usually cost $59 per reservation but it is now included as II platinum member. If you have friends or family, you can reserve getaways and issue a guest certificate for free. This can be a great way to give vacations to friends or bring friends with you on vacation. Getaways can make travel really affordable! The third benefit is what II calls Platinum Escapes. Every now and again, II runs a promotion that offers significant discounts on available weeks. These are only offered to platinum members. I have seen entire weeks for under $150 for the week. The fourth benefit is Priority Getaway Viewing. II claims that you can see different inventory than others for Getaways. I have not seen this benefit in action but it is an advertised benefit so I assume it must happen every so often. The fifth benefit is shortstay exchange. Shortstay exchanges allow you to reserve rooms by night instead of by the week. If you do not normally travel by week, this may be a decent benefit but the exchange rates are generally higher than booking by the week. At times, this may come in handy but generally, I have not found this to be an exciting perk. The sixth benefit is called Interval Options. This allows you to trade your week or points towards the purchase of a cruise, tour, golf or spa vacation. I will look into this benefit more closely in other posts. I personally have not used it since I value exchanges very highly. The seventh benefit is a hotel discount of 10% for hotel stays booked with Orbitz. In other posts, we can look to see whether this is truly a perk. The eight benefit is bonus points on Hertz rentals that are good for 2 free days. If you book through II, you will get 550 Hertz Gold Plus Rewards with your first rental and another 550 Hertz Gold Plus Rewards with your second rental. This can be redeemed for 2 free days or you can accrue your points for other rewards. The ninth benefit is discounts through Saversguide. There are dining discounts such as 50% off or BOGO offers. We'll look into this benefit further but on a quick review, there does seem to be some decent offers. The tenth benefit is Airport Lounge Membership. II includes a standard priority pass membership which can get you access to some lounges. This is decent but there are a lot of credit cards that offer better access but in any event, it is a good perk. We can discuss the Priority Club membership in other posts but lounge access can make traveling a lot easier. The eleventh benefit is VIP concierge. The offer a personal assistance for dining, activities and others. The twelfth is called the Golf Connection. As an II platinum member, you can get access to private golf courses. A 15% discount on golf equipment is also available. The thirteen benefit is called Dining Connection. We can take a closer look at this benefit in other posts but they claim to offer you special amenities including tours, complimentary appetizers and desserts and other special items. The fourteen benefit is called City Guides. II has compiled guides for you to review and use while you travel. Overall, I think that there are some significant benefits to getting II's Platinum Membership. I generally use the $50 discount off Getaways and the free guest certificate. Using just these two perks can easily make up for the fee. The other perks can be beneficial at the right time. Make sure to follow me on Facebook and Twitter and subscribe below!
A full review of all the fees associated with timeshares are necessary so that you fully understand the financial commitment of owning a timeshare. Each program has various fees that are associated with various aspects of timeshare ownership.
A lot of owners get disgruntled about ownership due to the fees associated with ownership rather than the quality of the accommodations. Therefore, I think it is important to understand what these fees are and how to minimize them or least accept them when determining whether owning a timeshare makes financial sense. While fees are annoying, the financial benefits of owning a timeshare can be very appealing if you do travel each year and want the extra space and full kitchen benefits, among other things. For this particular post, I will review the fees associated with the Hyatt Residence Club. As discussed in the Hyatt Residence Club guide, there are various options for reserving your home week or reserving a 2,3,4 or 7 night stay at various properties. As discussed in the guide, the Hyatt Residence Club is a hybrid system where owners own a specific week and that week is allocated a certain amount of points. In the event that you want to use all or a portion of your owned deeded week, there is no fee to make that reservation. You can reserve your specific owned week for no additional transaction fees. You must reserve the week 6 months before the beginning of your deeded week. This is the Home Resort Preference Period (HRPP). However, here is a listing of the various other fees associated with the Hyatt Residence Club. As shown below, there are different costs depending on whether you book online or over the phone. ONLINE FEES: Transaction Fee: $41 Cancellation Fee: $51 Gold Passport Exchange Fee: $133 Guest Certificate: $30 Returned Check Fee: $65 Split Week Resort Fee: $39 PHONE FEES: Transaction Fee: $47 Cancellation Fee: $57 Gold Passport Exchange Fee: $143 Guest Certificate: $36 Returned Check Fee: $65 Split Week Resort Fee: $39 As you can see, the fees for over the phone are slightly more than booking online. Generally, you should save a few dollars and book online. TRANSACTION FEE: The Transaction Fee is applied when you make a specific booking using points. This will apply for each transaction that occurs. As explained in the guide, when you use some of your points for a reservation, you will incur a transaction fee for each reservation. Depending on the time period, size of unit and number of nights, there is a potential to make multiple reservations using points. GOLD PASSPORT EXCHANGE FEE: The Gold Passport Exchange Fee applies when you want to convert you Hyatt Residence Club Points into Gold Passport points (soon to be World of Hyatt Points). The exchange rate generally does not make for a favorable exchange and their fee ($133/$143) further makes this type of transaction unfavorable. Unless there is a specific redemption, there are better ways to obtain Gold Passport / World of Hyatt points that to use your timeshare points. Additionally, if you purchased your week on the resale market, the Hyatt Residence Club prohibits you from exchanging into Gold Passport / World of Hyatt points. GUEST CERTIFICATE FEE: One benefit of having a timeshare is the ability to allow friends and family to use it in the event that you cannot use it. Most programs encourage you to show the benefits of timeshare ownership. The Guest Certificate Fee makes sure that the guest is on the reservation upon check in so that the owner will not be liable for any fees or damage that occurs. CANCELLATION FEE: In the event that you cannot use a reservation, Hyatt does allow you to cancel the reservation. If you cancel more than 60 days prior to arrival, you will pay the fee but you will receive your points back into your account. You will not receive a refund of the transaction fee so the entire fee for cancellation is really the Transaction Fee AND the Cancellation Fee. Cancellations made less than 60 days to arrive causes your points to be restricted. You can only make additional reservations with those points for reservations occurring 60 days of the date the reservation is made. Due to this restriction, you should try to cancel more than 60 days prior to check in. Otherwise, your points can be significantly impaired and you will only be able to use those points for that limited inventory. SPLIT WEEK RESORT FEE: The Split Week Resort Fee is charged directly by the resorts for reservations of less than 7 nights. This is annoying fee as you will be charged $39 (same for online or phone) for any reservation less than 7 days. Therefore, you will be charged this fee for a 2, 3 or 4 night stay. The fee is to cover the costs of cleaning the room but I find this fee to be obnoxious. It can significantly add to the cost of the reservation and it does not change whether you have a studio, 1 bedroom, 2 bedroom, 3 bedroom or larger. You should note that the following properties DO NOT charge the split week fee: Hyatt Main Street Station Highlands Inn Hyatt Grand Aspen Park Hyatt Beaver Creek Northstar Lodge. Basically, 5 out of the 16 properties do not charge this fee which is nice but still annoying for the other properties. Like most fees, they are annoying and wish that they did not apply. However, fees seem to be a part of everyday life as travel is full of fees all over the place. Resort fees, baggage fees, priority boarding fees, upgrade fees, seat reservation fees, rollaway fees, etc. While the fees are annoying, it does help to be aware of them so that there are no surprises. There is generally little reason to make reservations and other transactions over the phone as Hyatt's website is a decent online tool. It most circumstances, it makes sense to save some money and book online. Make sure to follow me on Facebook and Twitter and subscribe below.
A timeshare purchase is a significant financial decision. Even if the initial purchase price is not large, the ongoing maintenance fees can be significant and it can be difficult to sell your timeshare down the road.
Before you jump into a purchase, you need to review the various programs and see what works best for your vacationing style, budget and family. There are material differences between various programs and timeshares so you should not jump into any purchase without thoroughly reviewing the options. One of the best ways to get information is through the timeshare presentation. If you vacation at all, you most likely have been targeted to participate in a timeshare program in exchange for gift cards, events, activities, diners, etc. As I recently described here, almost all of the major timeshare developers offer some type of heavily discounted vacation packages in exchange for sitting through a 90 minute presentation. Some timeshare presentations can be difficult to sit through but some can be very casual and provide you good information on the programs. There is no obligation to purchase and I highly recommend that you take time to think over any purchase and do your research before committing to anything at these presentations. If you are interested in potentially owning a timeshare, these introduction packages can be an absolute steal. In order to begin the search, you should request information from the various programs. By providing your e-mail address and indicating that you are interested in more information, you will likely begin to get targeted for these types of offers. A new offer that just arrived is for Diamond Resorts. Diamond Resorts is a large timeshare developer but perhaps not as well known as Hyatt, Hilton, Marriott or some of the other companies that have more notoriety. I have stayed at one Diamond property and thoroughly enjoyed it. The Point of Poipu in Kauai, Hawaii is one of their nice properties but they do have many others. In other posts, we can go through their program in more detail but this offer that I received is for 3 nights in Sedona, Arizona or Scottsdale, Arizona. For this offer, you can stay Stay at Arabella Hotel Sedona or Best Western Cottonwood Inn and tour Sedona Summit or The Ridge on Sedona Golf Resort Sedona, Arizona. As you can see by the reviews below, both properties are highly rated.
Sedona, Arizona is a very nice destination and great for a three day trip. In this particular offer, you receive 3 nights and a $100 Restaurant.com gift certificate for $199.
The issue with this particular offer is that they are not putting you up in the actual resort that they are trying to sell. I think that this is very unfortunate. However, despite this downfall, a long weekend for $199 is cheap by any means. Additionally, this offer is providing you with an opportunity to tour the Scottsdale Villa Mirage. They will put you up at Holiday Inn Express & Suites Phoenix North - Scottsdale or Hampton Inn & Suites Phoenix/Scottsdale. Again, unfortunate that they will not put you up at the actual property but still a potentially good deal. The reviews are fairly good for this property. Scottsdale is a great city and home to spring training. If you can grab a time slot during spring training, it can make for a fantastic trip.
In order to participate in this particular offer, you need to have an annual income of at least $50,000. If married, both spouses must attend. This may be targeted but you can call and give them your information and see if they will offer you the same deal or something else.
You can call 1.844.952.9030 for more information on this offer and see if you are able to participate. These types of offers come around regularly and can provide you with a great deal on a very affordable vacation. The timeshare presentations can be pushy but I have generally found that most people are nice. I have found that presentations in the states are less pushy than elsewhere in the world. If you are potentially interested in a timeshare, these are great opportunities to get a very affordable vacation while learning about the programs. Some of these types of offers are much better than others. This particular offer discussed above is not great since they are putting you up in a lower quality hotel. There are many offers for Hyatt, Hilton, Westgate, Marriott and others where they put you up in the particular resorts that they are selling. If they want you to buy into a resort, I would think that they should at least give you the opportunity to stay at the resort for a few days. I will post these types of offers in the Guru Deals section as they arrive. As mentioned, some are better than others so you need to be choosy on which ones to participate with. Most offers prevent you from doing multiples presentation offers so you can likely only do one a year with each company. If you are potentially interested in timeshare ownership, I think that these types of offers are very worthwhile to get an introduction to the properties and the various programs. Again, do you research before committing to anything. There are no shortage of timeshares so learn as much as you can before purchasing! Make sure to subscribe below! Comparison of Marriott, Hyatt and Vistana programs for exchanging in Interval International10/21/2016
As I explained in my other post found here, there are multiple timeshare strategies to utilize in order to maximize ownership and get multiple weeks in very nice resorts. In this post, I want to explain why you can purchase a timeshare solely for exchange purposes and how the different programs compare.
For this post, we will compare a timeshare for the Marriott Vacation Club, the Hyatt Residence Club and Vistana Signature Experiences (Formerly Sheraton and Westin Vacation Club). These three timeshare systems all trade through Interval International. In addition, all three of these programs have point components. Marriott is now an all point system whereas the Hyatt and Vistana systems are hybrid systems meaning that you own a specific week that can be converted to points. In this analysis, I want to compare ownership of 2 bedroom units. These are by far the most common in most timeshare systems and provide the most flexibility. Owning a 2 bedroom unit allows you to reserve 2 bedroom units, 1 bedroom units or studios.
When purchasing a timeshare, you can buy directly from the developer or purchase on the resale market. Purchasing from the developer can have certain perks as opposed to resale but will almost definitely cost a lot more.
Purchasing from the developer or purchasing on the resale market is a lot like purchase a car. You can get a brand new car from the dealership or you can purchase a used vehicle on the private market.
My family and I like to travel a lot. We take multiple vacations throughout the year. One of the reasons that we are able to do so is due to our timeshare. We can take multiple vacations in very nice accommodations for a very reasonable amount of money when compared to hotels or even airbnb or vacation rentals.
There are various tricks and tips to travel cheap and use frequent flyer miles for flights, points for car rentals and even points for activities. Timeshares are great for numerous reasons but one key benefit is having a full kitchen. Being able to cook in your timeshare can save you tons of money.
I have written a lot on how to exchange timeshares to get multiple weeks as well as how to use various tips and tricks to maximize ownership and travel for less. Exchanging timeshares is definitely one of the best ways to maximize ownership but you first need to have a timeshare in order to do so.
Most people do not go out and purchase a timeshare but rather attend a presentation while on vacation and end up purchasing a timeshare. The timeshare industry uses various incentives to get you to attend these presentations and entice you on purchasing a timeshare. These timeshare presentations have definitely resulted in causing the industry to be viewed negatively due to high pressure sales tactics and broken promises by taking up your valuable vacation time. Despite these issues, my view is that timeshare ownership is definitely worthwhile BUT you need to understand what you are purchasing, how the internal programs work and how the external programs work. Timeshares come in various types and it is very complicated. You need to understand the programs and understand the pros and cons of ownership before purchasing. If you do want to purchase a timeshare, there is no shortage of available options. They are many options by various companies all over the world. In other posts, I will explain how to get really cheap vacations to attend timeshare presentation and how these actually can be great deals but for this post, I wanted to explain some preliminary considerations that you should consider on what to purchase. There are tons of timeshares by many different developers. Some timeshares are single property timeshares when you can only purchase a week at one property, some are points based systems and some are hybrids. There are well known timeshare companies as well as many companies that you have never heard of that operate one or two properties. TIMESHARE COMPANY: In reviewing a timeshare purchase, I would recommend looking to the well-known companies. Marriott, Hyatt, Hilton, Wyndham, Westgate or the Four Seasons. I recommend starting with these companies since they have a brand image to maintain and they tend to have a consistent product. Most timeshare properties using these names are high quality and well maintained. Additionally, since they have valuable brand names to protect, they have greater motivation to make and keep you happy. While not impossible, they are less likely to abruptly change the system and cause havoc to their owners. HOME RESORT: The home resort is where you will actually own the week. You need to decide whether you want to use the week where you own or if you will likely be exchanging the week for other destinations. Strict points based systems (Marriott) no longer have a home resort but most timeshare systems still sell weeks even though they can be converted into points and used in multiple different ways. If you will be traveling for a specific week and a specific destination each year, you may want to purchase that desired week at the specific resort. In a hybrid system, you should consider whether you want to purchase a week that you may actually use some years while still having the option to convert that week into points for exchanges. REVIEW WHAT IS CLOSE TO HOME: There are timeshares all over the world and in many locations that you probably did not realize. When reviewing what to purchase, you should review all the locations of the company you are purchasing from. You should make sure that there are locations where you would like to visit. Also, I would highly recommend purchasing a timeshare from a company that has a location close to home. Anything within driving distance can make sense. Some years, flights may be cost prohibitive or there could be other reasons where you need to stay close to home. You will want the opportunity to use a property that is within driving distance. If not, it may be difficult to use your timeshare that year and the worst thing to do is to pay maintenance fees on a timeshare that you don’t use. EXCHANGES: Exchanges can allow you to “trade-up” and get better weeks than you own. You should review what companies and what resorts trade through the exchange companies. Most timeshares can be exchanged through RCI or Interval International. You should review both companies and see what resorts are available through both companies. If you are considering purchasing timeshare points or a week convertible into points, you need to review how many points it will take to exchange into various weeks. I will do a separate post on this issue but you should understand the amount of points necessary to get a comparable week within the programs. SIZE OF UNIT: This may be elementary but you need to consider how many people you will be traveling with. If you are a couple, a studio or 1 bedroom may be sufficient but as a family of four, a 2 bedroom quickly becomes mandatory. 2 bedroom units are very prevalent within the system so a 2 bedroom may make sense even if you will be traveling as a couple. As explained in other posts, a larger size unit does provide you with ability to take multiple week vacations in smaller units. MAINTENANCE FEES: The maintenance fees are ongoing fees. They will almost definitely increase year over year so you need to make sure that you are comfortable with that expense. Different locations and different properties have different fees. If you are purchasing into a program with multiple properties that are exchangeable into points, the best strategy is to purchase the week with the highest amount of allocated points with the lowest maintenance fees. You should also consider the location as destinations with a lot of natural disasters could have higher maintenance fees due to higher insurance costs. We can go over the “sweet spots” in various programs. PURCHASE PRICE: You need to determine the amount of money that you are comfortable spending on the initial purchase price. You should NEVER finance the purchase of a timeshare. If you need to finance the purchase, you should not purchase a timeshare as it is a poor financial decision. I have also made the argument that the initial purchase price is a “sunk cost”, meaning that you will likely never recoup the initial purchase price when you go to sell the timeshare at a later date. When you purchase a timeshare, I think it is smart to go into the purchase with that assumption. However, I think that most of the well-known companies listed above can retain at least some value or at least can ease the sale process in the future. However, in no event should the purchase be considered any type of financial investment! VACATION STYLE: Most timeshares are sold as week intervals so if you travel for less than a week, a timeshare may not be best. However, many timeshares are now convertible into points and with those points, you can reserve nights in various intervals starting with as a little as 1 night. Additionally, the exchange companies do also offer some type of exchanges where you can reserve units with less than 7 days. However, most of the timeshare systems are structured for 1 week stays. If you never take 1 week vacations, timeshare ownership is probably not the best decision. LUXURY ACCOMMODATIONS? The timeshare universe is quite diverse and the quality of timeshares can vary widely. There are top of line timeshares like the Four Seasons or there are very low quality timeshares that are in serious need of renovation. Generally, you cannot own a poorly rated timeshare and expect to trade into the Four Seasons. The exchange companies generally try to match exchanges so you can a similar quality unit that what you deposit. If you like to travel in luxury (like I do), you should purchase a highly rated timeshare. You should review the rating provided by RCI and Interval International of the potential timeshare to ensure that it is designated well within their systems. This will allow you better opportunities to trade into top tier properties. CONCLUSION: This is meant as a general overview of things to consider when purchasing a timeshare. There is a ton of information so in summary, I would recommend the following:
There is a ton of information here so I will break down these items in other posts. Please feel free to send questions on any potential purchases. Make sure to follow me on Facebook and Twitter and to subscribe below!
Planning far ahead is one of the best tools to use to grab high demand weeks in high demand resorts. It can be difficult to plan so far in advance but if you want the opportunity to grab prime Christmas weeks, you need to plan as far in advance as the system allows.
Interval International generally allows you to search 12 months in advance. You can search for available weeks 12 months from the date of search. You can also put in a Request First or Deposit First search 12 months in advance of the desired travel dates. This is great way to get in line to grab a prime week when it becomes available. I recently discovered a new trick within Interval that will allow you to search for 2 years from the date of the search. This can be extremely helpful since you can now see weeks 2 years in advance. In order to use this trick, you need to reserve a week as far in advance as possible. You should search for any weeks that are 12 months from the date of search. You go through the process of reserving that week and paying the exchange fee. YOU MUST GET E-PLUS EXCHANGE. I have talked about the tremendous benefits of E-Plus and this is one additional perk that makes this a no-brainer to get!. Once you reserve a week and you get E-Plus, you can then go through your history and do a E-Plus retrade. As discussed above, E-Plus allows you to retrade the reserved week up to three additional times. When you go to retrade using your E-Plus, the system defaults and allows you to search for an additional 12 months from the date of arrival. For example, assume that I begin a search on October 1, 2016. Interval International's system will allow you to search for exchanges for check-in dates of October 1, 2017 or before. If I found a week for a check-in date of October 1, 2017, I can choose E-Plus as part of the exchange fee. When I confirm that week, I can use E-Plus to search for a re-trade of my October 1, 2017 week. When I search using the E-Plus, the system allows me to re-trade my confirmed week for a check-in date of October 1, 2018 or before! By choosing E-Plus and going through these steps, I have now increased my ability to see availability for 2 years from the date of search. It can be hard to fathom on planning a vacation for 2 years in advance, but it is essential to do so to get these highly desirable weeks. As discussed earlier, one of the best benefits of the E-Plus is the flexibility. While you can now reserve a week 2 years in advance, you have the option to re-trade that week up to three times without any additional fees. Even though you are potentially planning a trip 2 years in advance, you still have the flexibility to change the week, destination or resort. Being able to search inventory for 2 years in advance is fantastic. Since most members do not have that capability, there could be some very desirable weeks that you can reserve before the general members. The downside to this approach is that you lose the ability to do a Request First or Deposit First where you provide Interval with the desired resorts and weeks and they will reserve it for your prior to it becoming available to the general population. This can be a downside but since you can now see inventory that most people cannot see or cannot even put in a request for, this method provides you with a distinct advantage in the system and sets you up to find those fantastic weeks at fantastic resorts. Make sure to follow me on Facebook and Twitter and subscribe below for unique exchange opportunities and travel deals! |
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