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We travel a lot for business and pleasure and are tired of staying in hotels with limited amenities. We heard about timeshare a long while ago at a presentation but don't recall the details. We are interested in learning as much as possible about how the system works and how to get the most from it. If it proves to be beneficial, we would be interested in buying points and getting involved. Is this a system that could work for someone looking to stay for only a few days at a time or would we have to commit to a full week? Honestly, how's the availability?? Black-out dates? Can we stay where we want, when we want? Any other good tips for us novice timesharers?
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You've come to the right place!
Bluegreen is a great system for those wanting to stay less than a week. That is one of the things I love about Bluegreen.
Availability is good to very good assuming you can plan well in advance. We can book at 11 months out.
The biggest concern I would have is whether the resorts are in areas where you need to travel. You should check out the list of resorts on the Blugreen website (bluegreenowner.com, just click on the Explore Resorts tab).
Good things about BG relative to other timeshare companies:
1) ability to book less than a week
2) relatively low MF
Less than great things:
1) uneven resort quality, some great ones and some dogs
2) clustered mostly along the east coast with additional options through Shell Vacation Club (assuming you're a Travelers Plus member).
I'm sure others will chime in.
Anita -
Most timeshares are in major vacation areas (Daytona Beach, Myrtle Beach, Gatlinburg, Wisconsin Dells, etc.), so I don't know that they'd be available for your work travel. OTOH, depends on where you need to travel - one of the things that attracted us to Bluegreen is that they've got resorts within an hour's drive of the furthest division of hubby's company, so it'd be easy to combine a business and pleasure trip.Originally posted by JerGyll
We haven't had any trouble with availability, but we either travel off season or reserve early (with timeshare, that means months ahead, not weeks). With points systems you don't have to rent by the week, but there are fewer points systems than weeks out there.
Bluegreen is a points system, so you can get as few as two days at a time, and there are no black out dates (unless you have a Sampler, which is essentially renting points for a year), however it is "first come, first served" sort of deal, and some units disappear quickly. There are other points systems, some larger, some focusing on another part of the country or different types of units. Most Bluegreen resorts are east of the Mississippi, for instance, while Shell resorts tend to be West (although there are exceptions in both cases). Bluegreen resorts usually have full kitchens, but tend toward the basic; Shell resorts are fancier, but don't necessarily have full kitchens. Etc.
You can also rent timeshares from owners, which might be a way for you to decide which system fits your style, although it is harder to find units that rent by the day that way. Your best bet is to look at resorts within points systems - while most Bluegreen rentals are by the week, your odds of finding a rental by the day is better with Bluegreen than with most RCI resorts, for instance. That might give you an idea of which resort system "fits your style" as well.
I think "bluegreenonline" will work better for you than the owner's address, although maybe that'll get you there as well. Notice the dot above the picture of a particular resort - "Club resorts" are much easier to get into than "associate resorts."
http://www.bluegreenonline.com/explore/home.aspxComment
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