To Buy A Timeshare In Hawaii?

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

I love Hawaii and own EOY at the KBC and at Kahana Falls. But is it a a good idea to own in Hawaii?


Is it a good idea to buy a timeshare in Hawaii? Yes or No and why.


If you own, should you own Weeks or Points and why?


Should you use it or use it to trade and why?


What is the MF charge in Hawaii and for a like resort in the mainland US?


What is the average cost of air to Hawaii from your home city?


Do you go to Hawaii every year or would you like to go every year?


If you own, do you have 2nd thoughts now? And why did you buy then?





Walt

[rikkis_playpen Diamond Club Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close rikkis_playpen]

Timeshares in exotic locations...

Far too often, an inexperienced timeshare buyer doesn't consider things such as travel expenses and all the other miscellaneous fees that can add considerably to a vacation expense. I've always preferred to recommend they err on the side of caution!

For a newbie, I always make the same recommendation- buy a timeshare within driving distance of your home- that you would be happy using at the home resort at least every other year.

For the experienced user- buy what and where you want! Generally you are going to buy via resale at a competitive price, you'll do your research so you can squeeze the most value from your purchase, and worst case scenario is that it won't work for you, and you'll turn around and sell for a slight loss.

[philsfan Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close philsfan]

Hawaii mf's plus taxes are high. I have saved $300 to $400 per exchange by trading in and I have done that six times in the last 6 years. If you're gonna pay those mf's you better be using it in my opinion....or renting it.

Airfare for the last two trips from PHX ranged from $450 to $550. Flight for the previous trips from the east coast were $700 to $800 in the days when flights were cheaper.

We were doing every other year from NJ but now we are trying to go at least once a year from PHX.

We haven't stayed at Kamaole Beach Club yet. If we get there and we like it, I could be tempted by that location. Outside of that, trading in is working for us.

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

I Was Hoping For More Input

When someone travels to Hawaii for the first time, it is really easy to come back as an owner of a Hawaiian timeshare. I wanted to give the readers of Timeshare Forums some food for thought.

I believe that the 2 post, posted ahead of this one hit the nail right on the head.

Ebay is telling us that there is not much value in Hawaiian timeshares.

I love Hawaii and own EOY at the KBC and at Kahana Falls. But is it a a good idea to own in Hawaii?


Is it a good idea to buy a timeshare in Hawaii? Yes or No and why.

Maybe at a Ebay price of less than $1000.00


If you own, should you own Weeks or Points and why?

I see no reason to pay higher cost for Points. Because of the high MF, one should only use their timeshare week.


Should you use it or use it to trade and why?

See above. The MFs of Hawaii make it too costly to trade to other areas.


What is the MF charge in Hawaii and for a like resort in the mainland US?

It appears that the MF is more than twice as high as resorts on the Mainland US.


What is the average cost of air to Hawaii from your home city?

From Milwaukee the cost is between $700 and $1000 depending on the time of the year.


Do you go to Hawaii every year or would you like to go every year?

Every Year.


If you own, do you have 2nd thoughts now? And why did you buy then?

I am really sorry I bought at the Maui Embassy since it became the Maui DRI, because of less services under DRI and higher MF increase than resorts on the US mainland.

My other non DRI resorts (I own 9 weeks at 4 Resorts) have not increased their MFs more than a few dollars over the last 4 years.

It has become a much better deal to trade into Hawaii. My cost is $500 MF and $165 exchange fee, for a total cost of about $665 for 1 week in Hawaii at resorts like KBC, The Point at Piopu, The Bay Club and the Hilton.

And there appears to be no end of rentals in Hawaii like the KBC for less than the MF.

What would anyone buy at prices of $30,00 and a MF of $1100 to $2000 or more for a timeshare week?

Walt

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

I travel to Hawaii (Big Island and Maui) 4-5 times per year. I own multiple weeks at the Kona Coast, Fairfield Points at Kona Hawaiian Village, Maui Schooner and Gardens of West Maui. You must plan on using your week yourself because the maintenance fees are much higher for these Hawaiian weeks compared to other timeshares.

So, why do I own? I like the flexibility in booking the exact unit that I want at the time that I want (e.g. A building at Maui Schooner, upstairs unit at Kona Coast) and not relying on the potluck of exchanging into the same resorts. I also like to know roughly what times of the year we will be traveling to the islands, so that I can track the airfares and book the flight once I think a reasonable price has popped up. Owning as many weeks as I do also allows me to make some last minute reservations if a great airfare pops up.

Another advantage of ownership is that I like to travel at off peak times of the week (typically on a Tuesday or Wednesday) to make sure that I can be upgraded to First Class on my flights. I fly 100,000 miles per year on American Airlines (almost 100% leisure travel), so I get unlimited space available upgrades on domestic flights, so it is important to look at overall availability before I book my flights. Because we travel so frequently to Hawaii, we can make do with a shorter stay (sometimes only 5 days). My typical cost to fly to the islands is around $600 from Chicago (sometimes more ($700-$800) if we are flying closer to a holiday).

I would say that you have to plan on really using your Hawaiian timeshare each and every year, because of the high maintenance fees associated with the units on Hawaii. This drawback is becoming very apparent on the Hawaii E-Bay auctions where units that typically were very competitive and received many bids are now languishing and not receiving any bids at all.

I do think that the shutdown of Aloha and ATA created doubt in the minds of many people who traveled to Hawaii numerous times per year at very reasonable prices (primarily from the west coast) and has helped to dry up the pool of potential owners of the Hawaii weeks. I think that people are starting to realize that airfare is variable and if fuel prices start to rise dramatically, they could be priced out of their vacation in Hawaii.

[davhu1 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close davhu1]

Is it a good idea to buy a timeshare in Hawaii? Yes or No and why.
We thought so because I bought one in Oahu a few years back and we still have not used. Its a resort we like to get back to severy 2/3 year. Only paid ~$700 including closing cost.

If you own, should you own Weeks or Points and why?
We have a pre-determined rotating week. Each each year at a different season

Should you use it or use it to trade and why?
Right right now we only traded but we like to start going ia a couple of years

What is the MF charge in Hawaii and for a like resort in the mainland US?
$425 for a 1 br

What is the average cost of air to Hawaii from your home city?
$750

Do you go to Hawaii every year or would you like to go every year?
Every 2/3 years

If you own, do you have 2nd thoughts now? And why did you buy then?
No. Price was good and a good exchanger with RCI, II or VRI

[pkfox Member Find all posts View Profile Close pkfox]

We love Kauai. We tried to go there 2 out of 3 years. Did not work. We missed it to much. Now we go every year. Buy something with Maintenance fees at or below $1000. We own were the developer is long gone and the management co is hired by the association. That way the inmates run the institution. Do Not Do Points. REPEAT. Do Not Do Points. If you do RCI points you are not allowed to rent out your unit. If you buy into a chain group they set the rules. Airfare from the Midwest to Hawaii is usually not much more than Pacific coast of Mexico. If you can not or choose not to go a week in Hawaii is easy to rent to someone in the Midwest. I have access to 8 weeks. The weeks I am not going to use myself I usually have rented a year in advance to family or at the office and make $150 to $250 a week. I have one unit the same people have used for 3 years. Owners usually get better pick of unit over exchanges. Try to find a resort that will allow you to carry over your week to the following year. We started that way. Going for 2 weeks ever other year. Also you do not have to panic if plans must change. I joined RCI for the extra vacations. I have not nor ever will deposit a Hawaii week.

[dude-luv Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dude-luv]

To Own or Not to Own?

We also love Kauai and own two weeks--one on Maui and one on Kauai. Our Kauai unit is not worth much but provides us with great accomodations. We believe that going for one week is not worth the trip and we usually book two weeks. We sometimes exchange into other resorts on the island and don't seem to have a problem getting most exchanges. It is important to have a base that you can build with by owning at least one week in Hawaii. By owning one week, you are assured of having some control over dates. You can build from there by watching air fares and either renting/exchanging for another week.

We use Alaska Airlines credit card miles and take advantage companion fares. Each of us has a separate card and we are allowed a companion fare (second ticket) for $50 once each year. Therefore, we have two trips where air fares are almost two for one. Often we get a sale on the first ticket. We also apply miles for another trip and therefore can often make use of four flights (including return) per year for almost the price of one fare.

Maintenance fees are considerable in Hawaii and they are a factor in the decisions that I make. However, I find that owning a Hawaiian timeshare gives me the ability to plan or to exchange into other timeshare in the islands (which I have done many times). I buy these timeshares resale on e-Bay at the lowest price possible and try to keep things within a budget. We love the islands and will continue to vacation there but exchange possibilities have allowed us to try many vacations in many other areas.

If I find that the cost of owning these timeshare becomes prohibitive, I will try to auction them off (at a very low price). If you buy at a low price, then selling at a loss is not as painful. I view timeshares not as an investment but as an opportunity for forced travel using great accommodations. I much prefer timeshares over hotels.

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

Our children are now adults. We expect to have two of them with us in Hawai'i this summer. We wouldn't be able to do that using hotel rooms.

No grandchildren yet, but we're looking forward to the time when we will have three generations together in a condo in Hawai'i. That was in definitely in our minds when we purchased our first Hawai'i timeshare.

[Link7881 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Link7881]

I love Hawaii and own EOY at the KBC and at Kahana Falls. But is it a a good idea to own in Hawaii?


Is it a good idea to buy a timeshare in Hawaii? Yes or No and why.


If you own, should you own Weeks or Points and why?


Should you use it or use it to trade and why?


What is the MF charge in Hawaii and for a like resort in the mainland US?


What is the average cost of air to Hawaii from your home city?


Do you go to Hawaii every year or would you like to go every year?


If you own, do you have 2nd thoughts now? And why did you buy then?





Walt

Hi everyone. I'm new to this forum and was looking for the introduction thread, so I can introduce myself to the forum members formally. But since, I can't find it... I'm Najala and would love to learn more and share my ideas as well, with everybody.

To Tennis Walt, an inexperienced timeshare buyer doesn't consider things such as travel expenses and the other miscellaneous fees.

For first timers, I always make the same recommendation- to buy a timeshare within driving distance of your home.

For the experienced user, generally you are going to buy via resale at a competitive price, you'll do your research so you can squeeze the most value from your purchase.

Hawaii Tours Guide

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

Hi and welcome to TS4MS.

You'll find we're a friendly bunch and we love to share our knowlege and to have others share their experiences with us.

Sue