Why I like to timeshare

[jericap Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close jericap]

My first timeshare purchase was in Punta Cana and bought from a developer (MVC) because we just fell in love with the place; so much so that we bought another resale within the next 6 months. Since then we bought 4 others in the States and use almost all of them each year.

Timesharing helps us balance our lives; it insures that we will use them each year.
Before we got into timeshares, we went on vacation once or twice a year; usually on a cruise, sometimes 4-5 days to other places. We spent the same amount of money on them as we do on 6 weeks+ timesharing.

We like the fact that if we don’t want to get up and go for breakfast each morning, we don’t have to. We can sit on a balcony somewhere and have coffee and toast and if we’re tired at night, we can make a sandwich.
We also like the fact that there is room to move around and sit in a chair to watch TV instead of on a bed.

I can give a week to each of my 2 children if they’re looking to go somewhere with their families. I can reserve more than one unit to go with friends, who don’t travel much.

It has enabled us to visit places that I normally would not even think about visiting. Last year we stayed in Hill Country Resort in Canyon Lake, Tx. We loved it and never would have thought to go there! It was an hour away from San Antonio and Austin in the opposite direction.

It doesn’t have to be a Gold Crown or 5 star resort; just clean and in decent shape. Location usually wins out over all else. I drive 1 hour plus to work everyday, so an hour away from a major destination doesn’t bother me in the least; it enables us to see the country side and visit “off the beaten path” types of places. We also meet some very nice people along the way.

We look in a book or online and say..hey, let's go xxx or let's go xxx. It doesn't matter, there are always places to see and visit.

For many years I was dead set against timeshares and couldn’t understand how people can spend “that much money” on a timeshare and go one specific week to one specific resort, year after year. I have friends that do that very thing! A few of them just let their week sit in a bank and never use it.

We are thrilled to own timeshares and these are just some of the reasons we like to own and I’m sure, continue to buy!!

It would be interesting to see why others buy and use their resorts.

[ArtsieAng Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close ArtsieAng]

I am also very happy with my timeshare purchases, and have had similar experiences as yourself.

We purchased our first two timeshares directly from Marriott, one week apart. At the time, we didn't know about the retail market. Too bad.

Even so, we never regretted getting involved with timeshares. We love them, and so do our children.....My DD wanted to go to Disney for Spring Brk this year, and I was able to grab her a DBV. She's going with two friends, and they are just thrilled. If we didn't own timeshares, she wouldn't be staying at DBV. No way I would have payed what they're asking for the week.

We feel that we have gotten some great deals with our timeshares, and have traveled to places that probably would have been prohibitive, otherwise. Timesharing has opened up a whole new world for us.

My only problem is that my DH only gets 3 weeks vacation. That is no way to live, in the world of timeshares.

[hliw Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close hliw]

Us too!

I couldn't agree more! We LOVE timesharing! It has enabled us to travel an awful lot with a small child without anxiety....when she was a baby, it was great to have a kitchen for bottles and babyfood, a place for us to hang out while she napped..just so convenient.

Now that she is bigger, it is nice to have room to spread out, to have a place for her games, books and puzzles, to have a DVD in the room where we can all snuggle up on the couch and watch Narnia or an insipid princess movie for the 1000th time (with more to come, no doubt!)

Before we had her, we travelled all over the place and still do, but appreciated the benefits more once she came along.

It has enabled us to travel with friends for 9 years, giving our girl a playmate and allowing the parents to celebrate our shared anniversary date and catch up after a year of not seeing each other.

TSing gives the grandparents an opportunity to go on vacation with us while giving everyone needed space breaks.

I would not be willing to pay $3500+ for a week (the cost of some of the places we have stayed) and appreciate the value of ownership. It's the greatest thing for high quality vacations and wonderful family time.

HLIW

[Icc5 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Icc5]

Memories

For us it has been the memories we've made together as a family and will make in the future. We started out aprox. 20 years ago with one unit that we bought from the developer and started trading and traveling with a 6 year old and a baby. Now, they are adults and my daughter and her husband have a 6 month ol daughter.
We have had family reunions, a wedding, and even traveled enough for my son to be tired of Hawaii.
Now the memories will include a whole new generation as our grandaughter travels with us. The memories can't ever be taken away.
When I was growing up as a kid I only had been to 3 states and crossed the border into Mexico. My kids have been to maybe 30 states, and Mexico and Canada.
The best part after 20 years is we've only begun. We currently own 3 timeshares and points with Worldmark and are just around the corner from the retirement zone.
Bart

[falmouth3 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close falmouth3]

My husband was dead set against TS's. My sister bought one in Mexico and I started looking at eBay. I bid on a 2 BR in Orlando, thinking I'd never win and I did. DH was furious. However, he's now a real fan of timesharing. We take nice vacations, have a decent sized place to stay - and he can move to another location in the unit when my snoring gets too bad.

This has been a great find for us and we love the places we've gone with our very inexpensive purchase - and saved money over what it would have otherwise cost us. After all, how else could we have stayed in a 2 BR condo in Scotland for $399 a bonus week?

Sue

[tonyg Goomba & Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close tonyg]

Room, full Kitchen, amenities and it gave me the ability to take all our grandkids to Disneyworld.

[1950bing Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close 1950bing]

Timeshares are just one way to vacation. They are NOT for everyone and NOT everyone needs one as most salesmen think.

1. They cost a lot of money.
2. The fees are forever and continue to go up.
3. They can come up with new fees as time goes on and owners must pay.
4. In a lot of cases,owners have little to no input as to how things are run and how money is spent.
5. You have to learn how to " work " the timeshare for max.use and pleasure. It is a science to learn. Here is where you learn that.
6. They are very hard to get rid of and most likely you will take a loss when you do finally get rid of it.

Look around, there are many other ways to have fun and vacation!

[dougp26364 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dougp26364]

Our first purchase was in 1998. It had been over 10 years since we had taken a vacation due to various factors in our lives. Something else always seemed a little more important or we just didn't have the money to go.

The year we purchase was something of a bit of turmoil. We had planned a weeks vacation but, my grandfather ended up needing bypass surgery so that week was spent hanging out around the hospital.

We moved that vacation to the next month but, my mother went in for surgery that didn't go well and she passed away. That week was used making final arrangements for her and getting things in place to settle her estate.

We had taken off yet another week to pack up her house and put things into storage but, the realator didn't listen to us and told the buyers they could move in a month earlier than what we had set aside. We ended up making the 300 mile drive on our days off to pack and store all of her personal belongings, forgetting about the week we had again requested off to do all of this work.

All of the sudden, that week we had taken off was almost upon us. We were both beat and in real need of some time off. The only reasonable last minute deals were charter packages to Vegas. While in Vegas we took a tour. They gave us time to discuss it between ourselves and decided we were going to long between vacations. We both agreed if we spent that kind of money ($18,000 for a 2 bedroom condo) that we darn sure would make plans to use it. So we purchased and haven't looked back since. We now own 7 timeshares between Vegas, Branson and S. Florida with between 5 different developers.

What do we like about timeshares? They're great for advance planning and I need to make plans in advance.

We absolutely love the space to spread out. If my either of us get up early the other doesn't have to get up as well. We can get up, go into the living room, put on a pot of coffee and hit the internet, watch TV or go the the fitness center if the resort has one.

I love the kitchen for keeping snacks handy and occasionally fixing our own meals. We have a few favorite reciepts that, because of time constraints can't always fix at home. I love being able to grill steaks out (when grills are available) rather than having to go to a restaurant every night. We know how we want our steaks cooked and seasoned and, for us at least, I do it better than most restaurants.

I love the selections of locations to travel. I enjoy looking through I.I. book and thinking about new places to go. Right now I prefer the mini-systems like Hilton, Marriott and now DRI. I find it fun to look at the options they offer for internal exchanges more so than looking through the I.I. or RCI wish book. I'm starting to refer to them as wish books more than exhcnage books since some of the resorts they list are next to impossible to get into.

I also enjoy the variety timesharing offers while still keeping me focused. There's a great variety offered but finite choices as well. In years past I'd ask my wife, "Where do you want to go" and she'd answer "I don't know." I find with timeshare we can select a few places we'd like to travel and then go from there. If there's a destination we don't go to this year then maybe we'll go there next year.

[arlene22 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close arlene22]

Why I like to timeshare:

1) the kitchen: our DD has type 1 diabetes, and traveling used to be so difficult that we rarely did it (eating out every meal wreaked havoc with her blood sugar). Now I can cook some meals and eat some out. Perfect.

2) washer/dryer: allow me to pack a lot lighter

3) the space: after the third kid, we had to have two hotel rooms, which is a killer. That's when t/s started to become economical for us.

4) "forced" vacations: DH works very long hours and prior to t/s, every vacation was a negotiation (I'll take off if I can, sorry I can only take off one day, we'll have to postpone, etc.) Now he knows the dates way in advance, the plans are set in stone, and surprisingly, it works. Only once in the past 5 years he has had to leave and come back during a t/s vacation. We have been able to enjoy many more weeks vacation than we would have without the timeshare. And the relaxation he achieves on vacation is priceless-- a necessary detox to a highly stressful lifestyle. I know you can say that we could have had those vacations without timeshare, but believe me, they would not have happened. And I'm grateful that we've had those awesome times together and created wonderful memories.

5) the hunt: it is fun to see what you can trade for and where you can go in a hobby kind of way (see Lawren's Pokemon Theory thread!)

6) the anticipation: with vacations planned to far in advance, we get so much enjoyment out of looking forward to our next trip, planning it out, etc. Also, I used to get sad at the end of a trip-- a little mini-depression/letdown that it was over. Now that we have a few timeshares to use, I just look forward to the next trip, which is always right around the corner! Makes it much easier to say goodbye to the last one with a smile on my face.

7) Last, but not least : my TS4M buddies!

[Jimbo Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Jimbo]

Love the space & economics of it

All of you have such great responses.

For us, the space is priceless. My wife is a night owl and I am an early riser. We would never make it in a hotel room. One of, I guess would be stuck in the bathroom reading a book or surfing the net.

Now with 3 kids, we really need more space. 2BR condos are the best and will work for us but even 2 hotel rooms (which we get when in route to our condo) is just such a drag. Not all hotels have connecting rooms so it makes it feel like a little more like a condo.

Also, the economics of it is great. Our 2nd was gifted to us by my wife's grandmother. Our 3rd TS we bought resale. In all cases, though, even the 1st one bought retail from Marriott, we have enjoyed the economics of TS'ing. I am an accountant by trade and so for each vacation I "account" for all the expenses of the trip and in every case, we couldn't get the same accommodations for the price!!!

To all those that are skeptical about TS'ing, they should take a serious look at it and run the numbers!!!

Over the past 10 years we have had so many good memories and great experiences I can't imagine what it would have been like without TS'ing.

[JWC Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close JWC]

We have been timesharing for 20 years. We have had some excellent vacations over the years. However we are not that interested in timesharing any more as our travel preferences changed a few years ago. Now we prefer luxury hotel/resorts with all the amenities they offer such as room service, etc. The economics of it is of no concern. We sold one of our timeshares several months ago and will probably sell our other one in the next year or so. The only timeshares we have stayed at that come close to what is offered at a luxury resort hotel are the Grand Mayans. The Royal Mayan was close but not quite there. We like the flexibility of hotels. There are many options available today, including renting a t/s if you want one. Many of the hotel chains now offer suites such as the Homewood Suites by Hilton. We stayed 2 weeks in a 1 BR unit at Homewood suites last June. It was very nice with a full kitchen that we didn't use. We had the amenities of a hotel with the room of a t/s and we had a free hot breakfast every morning and free dinner 4 nights a week. For those that are interested in the economics of it, the cost was $104.00 /nt. There were 3 of us in the unit. We have also stayed at the Homewood Suites in Phoenix. We had a huge 2BR unit that was larger than any 2BR timeshare unit I have seen.

I just thought I would offer a different perspective on the subject.