Looking to buy another Timeshare property

[sandres1996 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close sandres1996]

Hello everyone. I just signed up with this forum hoping to get feedback from Diamond Resort Owners in regards to their customer satisfaction with Diamond as a company.

I currently own two properties with Wyndham/Fairfield and have been very happy with my ownership...until recently. Wyndham continues to reduce owner benefits and have done so again most recently with a policy change to no longer allow the transfer of points between owners. Something that gave owners great flexibility. This along with MF increases, guest cert. fee increases, etc. Needless to say, I'm frustrated and angry with Wyndham!

As I have been looking at World Mark (a divisions of Wyndham)and now Diamond it seems there are increasing concerns with these companies as well and a lot of unhappy owners...especially with the HUGE maintenance fee increase for 2009(at least that is what I have read).

Another concern would be II as an exchange company. As it is I have only experienced RCI and I have always been able to get what we wanted and in the past 3 years have made about 7 exchanges.

If you could give me your feedback I would appreciate it. What are you happy with and what are your frustrations/concerns with the direction Diamond is going. Also, if I do buy should I buy direct or on the secondary market? What are the pros and cons of each?

Links if they are available for further study/research would be appreciated.

I'm looking forward to any and all feedback. Thanks in advance for your responses.

Stacey Andres

[Y-ASK Member Find all posts View Profile Close Y-ASK]

I recently purchased (resale) at Grand Beach II and 9000 SV1 Trust points. The GB II purchase went smoothly and I was in the system pretty quickly (2-3 months). The 9000 SV1 purchase is a different story. The timeshare resale company is blaming Diamond resorts for the hold up. It's been over 4 months since I signed the paperwork.

It seems to me that the Diamond resort could care less about resale owners or their satisfaction if it is indeed Diamond holding up the owner transfership process. In my opinion that's a really bad decision on their part. I mean all of the timeshares need owners to pay the mf's in order to maintain the properties. Why bite the hand that feeds you? Any way I've been happy with the stays that I've had at Greensprings and Grand Beach. Maybe once I get into the system and I'm able to use those points I'll feel better about the SV1 Trust as well. One other issue that kind of bothers, Diamond does not send out any sort of Welcome package or here's how your timeshare works for resale buyers. Again how stupid is this? They collect quite a fee for the transfer process why can't they include some sort of direction for usage as part of that cost?

Y-ASK

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

I Like DRI

Until I recently had problems with my maintenance fees issue, I have always liked DRI. I have seen changes since I originally bought this time share about 8 years ago and it was with Epic Resorts. It has since changed ownership from Sunterra and then Diamond Resorts International. Through each change I have literally been upgraded where I have received the benefit of more properties and benefits. I must say that I have been to different resorts and noticed that the properties are being upgraded. That has been a plus since Diamond has taken over. I have also noticed more properties being added all over the world since Diamond has taken over. I like to travel and having places all over the world to go to is a plus to me.

I understand that if the properties are going to refurbished it is going to cost money. I had noticed that Epic had let the properties go and Sunterra was starting to do the same thing. I own Marriott and like the condition of their properties. I wanted the same with Diamond. That comes at a cost. I understand that and don't mind paying.

Now I don't like paying extra maintenance fees, but I hate even more going to a resort that I cannot stay in. I am a gold elite member and have plenty of points to stay for several weeks using the system. It works well with my Marriott Ko Olina property. It provides a lot of flexibility for me.

If you listen to most of the complaints from people, it is really about the increase in maintenance fees or customer service issues that could easily resolved by DRI if people would listen more closely to the concern. Before the maintenance fees became an issue, it was the condition of the properties. That seems to be being addressed now. I have stayed at the The Point at Poipu, Sea Village, Cypress Point, The Marquis Villas, Scottsdale Links, Scottsdale Rancho Mirage and The London Bridge Resort. These properties are either affiliates or DRI properties. What they all have in common is that the rooms are a very, very nice size some much larger than Marriott timeshare rooms. What seems to be inconsistent from place to place is the condition of the properties. I will not stay at the Marquis Villas or The London Bridge Resort again until they are upgraded and maintained. I have visited the Marquis Villas and it's being worked on. It's in a prime location in Palm Springs, CA and close by. I look forward to its completion since I love Palm Springs and it's close to my home.

In a word, I like DRI and I believe there is good value for it.

[sandres1996 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close sandres1996]

Looking to buy another Timeshare property

Thanks for your feedback so far. I actually thought there might be more replyies than just two. I have friends that own with DRI and for the most part they seem happy. I have been to a presentation before and the resort that we looked at was very nice...Lake Tahoe. I'm curious Y-Ask where you picked up your properties. I have been looking around and don't know what I'm going to do yet but would like to know if there is a resale place or two that I haven't found. If I were to buy a DRI property on the resale market what type of ownership should I look for? Are pts tied to certain resort for deeding purposes but those pts can be used at any place in the system (this is how Fairfield is) or is it more like a vacation club (I think this is the way Fairfield is going) where you get x # of pts and they can be used anywhere in the system.

I do understand paying a little more to have nice resorts. That makes sense. It just hurts for those that are not prepared or cannot afford such a large increase in their MF.

I'm not sure if I should just stick with DRI or if I should own with multiple companies. Can anyone address this issue?

[Jr94 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Jr94]

We bought into a Diamond resort a few hours from where we live. We already have a timeshare that is based by the week and is associated with Interval International (II).

In comparison, I would not have bought with Diamond, except for the ability to stay for as little 2 nights. We did not have that capability with our weekly resort or through II and we wanted to get away for weekends.

The main reason is that dollar for dollar, Diamond M fees seemed to be about 1 3/4 to 2 times as high as our ocean front timeshare.

Otherwise, Diamond seems fine.

[Bill4728 Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Bill4728]

Please note:
if you buy Worldmark, you are for the most part treated the same as owners who bought directly from Wyndham.

If you buy Diamond, you are not treated the same as owners who bought from Diamond. You will not have a "club" membership and access to the many other DRI resorts. You'll have access only to the resort you bought or to the several resorts in the trust you bought.

Hope that helps

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

Thanks for your feedback so far. I actually thought there might be more replyies than just two. ...

Geesh, please give us some time - most of us are busy with 'life', you know

We were literally on verge of unloading our decade+ Polo Towers unit a couple of years ago - it is weekly based, II-affiliated - for Worldmark as we have a weekly based Marriott and wanted a lower-cost points-based system to compliment our TS portfolio.

We happen to be visiting Polo T when DRI JUST purchased Sunterra and they were literally starting up the efforts to convert Polo T owners into the Club. This is the time I found this nice little forum and through many 'conversations' and advice, we decided to convert to DRI.

DW and I just were talking about this last night - we are glad we have a points system, DRI seems OK so far. Not sure how their value (costs vs what we are getting in return) compares to other systems.

One thing to note, however. I wish DRI had more local (within 2 hours) resorts - we are in San Fran area) which Worldmark had, that are DRI-controlled, not just affiliates. With affiliates, availability is generally less and quality may not be as nice as DRI-level (from what I have seen so far, DRI quality is pretty good).

Also, MF over the past two years have maybe went up over 25%..., not a good thing given the state of the economy and people's budgets.

[sandres1996 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close sandres1996]

Forgive me!

I know, I'm terrible impatient!

From what I have been finding out WM does not seem nearly as flexible as Fairfield. That has been somewhat disappointing. The thing I do like about Fairfield is the availability of all the resorts. That has given us many options. We have been able to book about 14 weeks over the last three years. About 6 of those have been given away. 4 weeks we are using this year. If I were to buy DRI on the secondary market what club would be the best for me to buy into?

Stacey

[Y-ASK Member Find all posts View Profile Close Y-ASK]

I'm curious Y-Ask where you picked up your properties. I have been looking around and don't know what I'm going to do yet but would like to know if there is a resale place or two that I haven't found.

Got my two off e-bay last Oct. My father owned at Sedona and I've been managing his membership for about a year now which is how I came to know Sunterra and eventually Diamond. You can find a whole bunch of information on the TUG forum (Timeshare Users Group), plus they have a classified area, and you can find sales and rentals on redweek.com which I've rented timeshare weeks from people there.

We also own at a couple of DVC (Disney Vacation Club) properties and really like these the best (basically because we are a Disney type family). We also own at Marriott's Horizon's in Orlando. Never been there yet (we go in June) but we have been to Marriott's Cypress Harbour across the street and it was really nice. I would be happy to own there if I didn't already own DVC, Horizon's, and Grand Beach. We plan to use the SV1 points for short weekend stays in Williamsburg or someplace close to home.

One last thought I would never purchase from the developer unless there were no resales and I just had to have the place. Some where like Marriott's Oceanwatch in Myrtle Beach which I almost bought. Now there's plenty of resales and I'm going as cheap as I can.....

Y-ASK

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

DRI Stinks

I am also a long-time DRI owner, previously with Sunterra. DRI treats their owners like a cash cow. They just don't seem to realize that happy owners are what make a timeshare company successful. Poor customer service, ever increasing and ridiculous maintenance fees, and exorbitant fees to join "The Club" - timeshare ownership used to be FUN, but not anymore! The Club is MANDATORY, even if you go to your own resort and even if you don't use your points that year. DRI is one big giant rip-off. I would totally avoid DRI.

[julieab Member Find all posts View Profile Close julieab]

I am just a lowly average owner that bought 5500 points (deed-based, just before the trusts). At the time, it was enough to get a week in a one bedroom unit almost everywhere in High season.

We bought for the flexibility to use a few days here and there, multiple resorts without an exchange fee, and increase our week to two by going in the off-season or during short notice.

Unfortunately, most of the places we've wanted to go have not been readily available. Even when I was trying to book at midnight 10 months out, I couldn't catch some of the HI resorts. I've since found out they don't own all the units in the buildings, so I'm competing with all the other DRI members. I've frequently tried to find stays on short notice, but DRI's search function is tedious to use and/or there hasn't been anything available for the resorts we could go to on short notice - they've long been booked. There's no on-going search feature, you just have to check all the time. And weekend trips didn't turn out to be very practical because those have the highest point values and use up our points too fast - not enough for another weekend, really.

And since DRI's take over, they've added some really nice resorts, but our 5500 points are not enough to get a week during most of the year at these new ones.

So we've ended up trading in II where DRI's trading power is hardly beat. And the point values are usually far better than in DRI's system -- you just have to pay that exchange fee. To me, this is the best part of DRI. But after maint. fees of $684, club dues of $225, and an exchange fee of $140 (?), my personal cost of ownership has doubled in 6 years and it's been very hard to justify (we're a budget motel type of family).

Now with the loss of DVC in II (another reason we went with Sunterra over other point systems), this year I will be reliquishing my club membership, revert to traditional ownership, cut my losses, and try my hand in RCI.

If I had a lot more points, I think I'd feel different. DRI just doesn't fit for us. So my advice would be to research the resorts and point values in their trusts and the likelihood of you visiting those resorts to see if DRI works for your style.

And BTW, DRI doesn't allow members to transfer points between each other either.

[sandres1996 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close sandres1996]

Very interesting

Reading your replies have been enlightening. It seems like what has been happening to Wyndham Fairfield owners is not isolated. The feedback I'm getting is that this seems to be what several of these bigger companies are doing. They used to be in it for the owners but that no longer seems to be the case. Maybe with some of these lawsuites owners are filling can change the direction things have been going????? I'm sorry to hear that DRI is having some of the same problems. Despite the problems of I'm currently facing I am still a huge advocate of the points system. It has allowed us to vacation much more than we normally would and it is relatively inexpensive. I guess to get the most out of it now we just need to become more creative. If I can find the right DRI package I might by but it seems right now that I should stick with what I have. Guess I will wait and see for a while.

Stacey

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

I am also a long-time DRI owner, previously with Sunterra. DRI treats their owners like a cash cow. They just don't seem to realize that happy owners are what make a timeshare company successful. Poor customer service, ever increasing and ridiculous maintenance fees, and exorbitant fees to join "The Club" - timeshare ownership used to be FUN, but not anymore! The Club is MANDATORY, even if you go to your own resort and even if you don't use your points that year. DRI is one big giant rip-off. I would totally avoid DRI.

THE Club is not mandatory, but I do agree with you that both Sunterra didn't and DRI really doesn't seem to understand that a happy owner makes THE Club a much better thing. Even if that happy owner bought second hand and was charged a 'nominal' fee to re-enter THE Club.

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

Reading your replies have been enlightening. It seems like what has been happening to Wyndham Fairfield owners is not isolated. The feedback I'm getting is that this seems to be what several of these bigger companies are doing. They used to be in it for the owners but that no longer seems to be the case. Maybe with some of these lawsuites owners are filling can change the direction things have been going????? I'm sorry to hear that DRI is having some of the same problems. Despite the problems of I'm currently facing I am still a huge advocate of the points system. It has allowed us to vacation much more than we normally would and it is relatively inexpensive. I guess to get the most out of it now we just need to become more creative. If I can find the right DRI package I might by but it seems right now that I should stick with what I have. Guess I will wait and see for a while.

Stacey

I don't thnk that many of us want to share in our current reality. We have a very unstable and unpredictable stock market, an economy that looks as frail as can be and we are in the midst of a recession. I cannot understand why people don't understand that adjustments have to be made for things to stay afloat. Maintenance fees have gone up at every timeshare company I have read about on TUG. The reason is because people are losing jobs in record numbers and businesses cannot get credit and are floundering. The raise in maintenance fees is a natural offshoot as more and more people are looking for relief to the current situation. I don't like the maintenance fees hikes like everyone else. However, I understand the current situation. DRI is seemingly expensive, however I am seeing some progress in the works on the properties I have visited. Customer service is at times slow, but they seem to take care of the matter.
DRI offers lots of flexibility.

[sandres1996 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close sandres1996]

I cannot understand why people don't understand that adjustments have to be made for things to stay afloat. Maintenance fees have gone up at every timeshare company I have read about on TUG. The reason is because people are losing jobs in record numbers and businesses cannot get credit and are floundering. The raise in maintenance fees is a natural offshoot as more and more people are looking for relief to the current situation. I don't like the maintenance fees hikes like everyone else. However, I understand the current situation. DRI is seemingly expensive, however I am seeing some progress in the works on the properties I have visited. Customer service is at times slow, but they seem to take care of the matter.
DRI offers lots of flexibility.

But you just made a great argument for why raising MF sometimes in the extreme way it is being done is bad. If DRI, Wyndham and others want to keep their owners and they know some of them already struggle to make the payment why would they deliberately make it more difficult. There will be owners that refuse to pay and don't care about their credit or bankruptcy. So what now? DRI is going to take the properties back. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. So now they have less owners paying the higher fees and ultimately are bringing in less money. So, in the long run DRI loses because they are having to foreclose and those that they pretended...opps, said they were out there to help have great vacations lose as well because they no longer own a great vacation opportunity.

I don't doubt those that stick it out will continue to enjoy their ownership I know I will but companies that change from being for the owner to being for themselves are losing site of the big picture.

Someday maybe I will own DRI and experience their resorts for myself. Might be a year or two though.

Stacey Andres