RCI The Registry Collection. $45,000 CASH. What should I do?

[asdgf12341 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close asdgf12341]

Went to one of those pressurizing high scale timeshare presentations. The guy offered me that if I pay $45,000 cash (after negotiating) I can get 2 weeks a year. He told me that I also get free unlimited weeks (paying $199 for 1 room, $299 for 2 rooms, etc.). Maintenance fee is $1500 a year. I looked at theregistrycollection.com and they have some really nice places.

What is your experience with these "upper scale" timeshares? He never told me that I need to "trade" with other people (like I've been reading on the forums).

Also, he told me that we can rent at the Ritz, 4 Seasons, Disney and all these high end hotels. Is this really too good to be good?

[fishingguy Member Find all posts View Profile Close fishingguy]

....45K is a lot of $$$$

We don't own a membership, but I have been curious about the Collection ever since first hearing about it. I've done some reading and combed several forums, so I'll just give you my perspective on things. You can take it for what it's worth....

There have been some posts on TUG about the Registry Collection, going all the way back to 2007. Some owners have not been happy, after having the value of their ownership reduced about 1-2 years after buying in. Others have had difficulty making exchanges due to availability, even though the collection has mostly US inventory. You can search over there for more posts, but here are a couple to get you started:

Registry Collection Experiences - Timeshare Users Group Online Community Forums

The Registry Collection - Timeshare Users Group Online Community Forums

45K$$$ is a huge amount of money for 2 weeks full-use each year. Add in the annual and seperate exchange fees, and you are likely getting into a long term commitment that requires a gigantic up-front cost -- and if you read the terms and conditions for membership, you need to inform them ahead of time should you want to sell your membership. Many of the properties being sold to gain membership are not solely exclusive to only Registry Club members; and many of the properties you have access to for exchanges, are not exclusive to club members.

Exchanges and rentals will still be subject to availability -- regardless of what you may or may not have heard in the presentation. A lot of the resorts in the portfolio also trade in II/RCI/other high end exchange companies, which really isn't surprising. Especially since, the collection is actually just an on-going partnership with RCI and some specific resorts. So you will be competing for exchanges and rentals, just like everyone else who wants to go to the same place.

At first glance, it does appear that you can rent some properties for <1/2 of the going rate for rentals in RCI. But you could rent a whole lot of weeks for that $45K; even if you paid the full rental price. So I suggest you research other options, especially if you aren't familiar with timeshare ownership, how they exchange, etc.

Once you get familiar with them, you'll be in better position to draw your own opinion about the collection. The membership has been around for a long time, and it appears that what they offered won't change over night, ...and a 45K$ outlay may be worth doing more homework.