needing some clairfication on Westgate Timeshares

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

I was talking to my brother the other day about his timeshare as I was curious about what they have and where they can go etc. He is really frustrated and ready to sell it. I think his problem is that he just doesn't know how to use it. He said that he can never get in where he wants and that he can go on vacation with it but "he has to go to the mountains in the summer and the beach in the winter". Can anyone offer some advice on him making successful reservations? He told me he is ready to just give it away.

[ace2000 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close ace2000]

I was talking to my brother the other day about his timeshare as I was curious about what they have and where they can go etc. He is really frustrated and ready to sell it. I think his problem is that he just doesn't know how to use it. He said that he can never get in where he wants and that he can go on vacation with it but "he has to go to the mountains in the summer and the beach in the winter". Can anyone offer some advice on him making successful reservations? He told me he is ready to just give it away.

Without having any idea about what timeshare he owns, I would recommend that one thing that is important is to make your swap early. If you wait till a month before you want to take your vacation, he is absolutely correct... you'll get exactly what he is describing.

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

he can go on vacation with it but "he has to go to the mountains in the summer and the beach in the winter".

Heh. I read this and thought, "What the heck is wrong with the mountains in the summer?" - when we lived in Denver I used to spend my summer weekends hiking in the Rockies. "Collecting fourteeners" is a time-honored summer pastime there. But I suppose he's a skier.

People would probably have more tips if they knew more about where he owns, but, yeah, reserving early is key for just about any timeshare owner who wants the more typical vacations. We're fine with mountains in the summer and beaches in the winter (assuming you mean Florida or South Carolina beaches - less enthused about Lake Michigan beaches in January), but then again, as people who've moved a lot, we're more about "what's there to do around here" than about "I've always wanted to do this."

Some timeshare places really are all about one season, but a lot of them are near stuff that's going on year-round. I'd much rather go to Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge in January than in July or leaf season, for instance, because in January there's Wilderness Wildlife Week and many of the things I'd like to do there are open but not crowded. Leaf season doesn't interest me because we've got plenty of stunning fall vistas around here anyhow, and adding crowds to it doesn't appeal much. Springtime there is something special, too, and not as crowded as summer or leaf season.

If all he likes to do on vacation is hit the beach in the dead of summer and hit the slopes in the dead of winter, he might be happy if he reserves much earlier. If his timeshare doesn't trade into anything in the preferred timeshare's most popular season even then, that's another issue entirely (although he still might get that summer beach vacation if he were open to trying another beach). But I suspect a lot of people unhappy with their timeshares miss out on great vacations because they don't think out of the box, myself.

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

Well, first of all westgate resorts have properties in various parts of the USA. I'm not sure if he has been trying to go through them or through an exchange company. If he has tried going through them and is having difficulty, he may want to consider trying an exchange company. Westgate properties generally don't trade that great, so he will want to plan early. One thing for him to consider is if he is going through an exchange company , that he still should receive priority within that exchange program of going back into westgate resorts.

Make sure that he is giving his time away early to whomever he is dealing with, assuming that it makes a difference. Most exchange companies give priority towards those that give them their time in advance.

The fact of the matter is that timeshare exchange companies receive 90% of their inventory as offseason space, so if he wants to get that 10% of peak season, he needs to be planning earlier than 90% of the other members of the program. He'll also need to be flexible in what he is looking for. Generally if you're looking for one specific week, at one specific property during peak season, you're not going to be successful. However if you give a month window, and an area rather than a specific resort, then things tend to be a little easier.

Hope this helps a bit..

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[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

Need clear?

Wastegate sucks.

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

He owns in Gatlinburg and he bought in the winter and I would imagine that he owns a week in Novemeber or December. I'm not totally sure.

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

Get rid of his floating or point TS and buy fixed weeks where and when he wants to vacation.

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

Well, he is of the mindset that all timeshares are a rip off and I tried to talk to him about what I have, but I don't think he is going to take a chance with it again. If he only knew how to use what he has.

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

He owns in Gatlinburg and he bought in the winter and I would imagine that he owns a week in Novemeber or December. I'm not totally sure.

Seems to me that he was sold a low demand time but he's wanting to exchange for high demand seasons. That's almost always a tough trade. Timeshare salesman sell junk weeks all the time but tell buyers that they can go anywhere with them. In a barter system, it rarely works like that. You'll usually be able to get like for like weeks or, summer in the mountains and winter at the beach. Of course even winter at the beach can be high demand time. Try getting south FL in Feb. sometime.

His best chance is to deposit his week early and make his request as early as possible. Be flexible and give the exchange company as large of a list of resorts and dates as you can. If you're to specific, say one resort on one check in date only, you'll almost always have trouble making the exchange.

Another option is to use Interval International's (Westgate exchanges thru Interval) Flexchange period. This is short notice exchanges of less than 59 days. It doesn't matter what exchange power you have. For the most part, all exchange restrictions are removed and, if it's available, anyone can get it with virtually any week. There have been some great trades reported this way. He'll need to set up his online account with Interval and learn how to search on his own to maximize this option.

Mostly, he needs to get off his duff and do the research you're doing right now. To many timeshare owners buy into timeshare and think it should be as easy as booking a flight or rental car online. It's not always that easy and there are tricks to learn to maximize you ownership. It's not automatic. It takes work to learn. He needs to get on a computer and visit sites like this one.

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

Well, I thought I'd ask about it in hopes that I could find out something for him. I agree that he needs to research what he has and what the best way to use it is. I'm just disappointed that he is so disappointed.


I was excited that he has II cause I wish I had it.


I am very well pleased with my Wyndham timeshare. So much that we went on a vacation and ended up buying some more points at a really great price on something that someone had given back to the company.