Australian timeshare opinions wanted.

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

I know there are a few Australian timeshare/vacation club owners out there and I'm hoping to get some information about their ownership and experiences.

I owned timeshare over 20 years ago but much has changed since then and I'm having difficulty finding information about Australian experiences. I've been to a couple of presentations (Accor and Holiday Concepts) and have their PDS but am keen to hear of the "real experiences" of owners with regards to quality, ease of exchange etc.

Currently I'm checking all the websites for re-sales and it seems there are quite a few different options available.

Accor Premier Vacation Club (points)
Wyndham Vacation Resorts (points)
The Holiday Club Pacific (points)
Interchange Vacation Club (points)
Holiday Concepts (points)
The Holiday Club Pacific (points)


Classic Holiday Club (weeks)
Holiday Concepts (weeks)
and numerous individual resorts

Any information you can share would be much appreciated.

[Sydney Contributor - Bronze Find all posts View Profile Close Sydney]

Hi Carol,

By Wyndham I'm guessing you mean Worldmark by Wyndham? If you are on the East coast of Australia, Wyndham is great. We just recently bought into Worldmark after a few years of checking it out. We like it so much that we recommended it to my sister and she has just closed on the purchase last week. There are no fees to use the resorts in the system except the maintenance levy. There are also no fees to change or cancel a reservation within the cancellation period.

Accor is slightly more expensive than Worldmark as they charge more fees but you can go to the snow in NSW as they have a resort there.

Interchange Vacation Club I feel is more expensive than it's worth but they have city resorts like the one in Sydney and Melbourne. You can also become a member of IVC by converting one of your timeshare weeks for pts with them. Personally, I feel this is a waste of money. You need to pay a yearly membership fee and then the levy for an exchange. I think this is too expensive personally. You can access IVC by joining Interchange exchange company also.

Holiday Concepts resorts are mostly in Victoria and while the standard isn't as high as Worldmark or Accor, they are still nice though by Australian standards. We aren't too fussed about standards as just enjoy going away and spending time with the kids but I know it matters to many.

We own 4 timeshares as well as Worldmark credits. Two of the timeshares are in NSW and at resorts where we have exchanged and rented out but primarily they are places we want to return to as a family time and again. 2 are in South Africa which we use as a cost effective way to exchange only.

There's also Classic Holidays managed resorts. Members can exchange into resorts within this group with a fee. Much like a priority exchange company. They use DAE to do this but they pay a cheaper rate than regular DAE member.

I think these are all becoming more prevalent in Australia as a backlash to RCI as these resorts found they were given very poor trading power in RCI.

Do you own any timeshares at the moment? What are your aims? Do you want to be able to use different resorts or just the same one? The key to getting value for money is the purchase price but also the ongoing fees involved.

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

Hi Syd
Thanks for all the info. Much appreciated . There doesn't seem to many Aussies on forums so I was thrilled to get such a prompt response.

I don't own a timeshare at the moment, we live in Adelaide and there is not a lot around here - Goolwa, a Houseboat and Mt Lofty House.

Whenever we holiday OS we seem to end up in Asia because its so much cheaper than Australia. I spent a lot of time "backpacking" through Indonesia when my son was 5 and 6 years old, staying with locals at their "homestays/resorts", then taking a week at a 5* resort (to clean ourselves up and rest) before heading home. We wanted our son to really experience the local people and culture rather than stay 5*. My son is now 14 yo and for our last holiday we went to Thailand and did a combination of local stays and 5* (hotel deals on the internet whilst we were on the move). I find that the cheap, local, backpackers places are now charging more than the hotels (as well they should - we always felt that a little house on the beach with food delivered by the owners family and massages on our verandah was so much better than a high-rise hotel and their services). Our son is now asking for "less exotic" holidays where he can take a friend and it occurred to us that he hasn't seen much of Australia. The timeshare idea is appealing because there is possibly more of an opportunity to meet with others of different nationalities and take a friend with us without having to pay for 2 hotel rooms. We will be limited in the length of holidays we can take in a few years time when our son gets to Year 11/12, so I'm interested in the "new" points membership to make use of the short stays. It seems that getting "week" stays in school holidays is quite difficult unless you have a great trader and I haven't worked out where they are yet I'm not keen on going to the same place year after year. In the future I would like to spend some time visiting family in England and also spend time in Europe.

The location of the timeshare is quite important and also the ability to trade well and easily with the flexibility of short stays too. Quality is not as important.

[Sydney Contributor - Bronze Find all posts View Profile Close Sydney]

If you're after short stays most of the pts systems in Australia won't suit you as they require weekly stays.

Worldmark & Accor don't but they are not anywhere near you, unless Ballarat is close enough.

Worldmark has good trading power in II & RCI. you can also exchange with DAE with Worldmark. I don't really know much about the others but I did stay at Mansfield Country Club earlier in April and got a brochure on Classic Holidays as Mansfield is managed by them. They only have weekly stays.

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

Hi there,
We have owned Holiday Club membership for some 6 years now and have hardly really enjoyed the full potential of the opportunities timeshare/points system may offer. This is due to the fact we are poor in long-term future planning and have children attending school. School holidays are always booked in advance and peak season exchange costs more points than you earn in a year. We banked most of our points in the initial 3 years but now we are forced to spend all points accrued over 3 years.

We have tried to sell our membership but the Holiday Club wouldn't do not take back or on-sell it, however they have provided information of little help.

The Holiday Club reservation system is not the best because you have to call them in person to secure your booking. This is very frustrating because while you can browse properties/location while planning but upon speaking to the consultant you would find that your choices are not available at that particular time.

If you are looking to buy timeshare/points then please check to see if you are able to secure your holiday over internet so that you can be assured that what you see is what you get - off-course based on your membership privileges.

We are happy to sell ours at a bargain with 95,000 points and membership paid to December 2011.

I know there are a few Australian timeshare/vacation club owners out there and I'm hoping to get some information about their ownership and experiences.

I owned timeshare over 20 years ago but much has changed since then and I'm having difficulty finding information about Australian experiences. I've been to a couple of presentations (Accor and Holiday Concepts) and have their PDS but am keen to hear of the "real experiences" of owners with regards to quality, ease of exchange etc.

Currently I'm checking all the websites for re-sales and it seems there are quite a few different options available.

Accor Premier Vacation Club (points)
Wyndham Vacation Resorts (points)
The Holiday Club Pacific (points)
Interchange Vacation Club (points)
Holiday Concepts (points)
The Holiday Club Pacific (points)


Classic Holiday Club (weeks)
Holiday Concepts (weeks)
and numerous individual resorts

Any information you can share would be much appreciated.

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

With a great local exchange system like DAE, points does not seem like a good option in Australia.

I owned a week on the Gold Coast for a number of years but sold it some years ago. The issue had nothing to do with trading, which I was doing through DAE, but the change in exchange rates between the Oz $ and US $ which made the effective cost of the maintenance fee / levy much higher.

[mrspigdoc Member Find all posts View Profile Close mrspigdoc]

I have RCI points based on a resort in Australia (91,800 points a year). I believe it is through Holdiay club.
Teresa

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

My kids are grown, and I dont need them anymore. I am giving away the ownership. Email me if you are interested.
Teresa

[toddys91 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close toddys91]

Hi there,
We have owned Holiday Club membership for some 6 years now and have hardly really enjoyed the full potential of the opportunities timeshare/points system may offer. This is due to the fact we are poor in long-term future planning and have children attending school. School holidays are always booked in advance and peak season exchange costs more points than you earn in a year. We banked most of our points in the initial 3 years but now we are forced to spend all points accrued over 3 years.

We have tried to sell our membership but the Holiday Club wouldn't do not take back or on-sell it, however they have provided information of little help.

The Holiday Club reservation system is not the best because you have to call them in person to secure your booking. This is very frustrating because while you can browse properties/location while planning but upon speaking to the consultant you would find that your choices are not available at that particular time.

If you are looking to buy timeshare/points then please check to see if you are able to secure your holiday over internet so that you can be assured that what you see is what you get - off-course based on your membership privileges.

We are happy to sell ours at a bargain with 95,000 points and membership paid to December 2011.

Hello.

I currently have Holiday club pacific shares, I purchased last year, already make alot of use, but we are an older couple with grown kids so no need to rely on school holidays. When you say you are willing to sell yours for a bargain, what exactly do you consider a bargain?
I have seen a few for sale latley and have contact HCP who have been most helpful providing information needed to transfer a membership. So long as yours is a platinum membership the process is quite simple.

Email me if you are still looking to sell?

Regards

Angela

[toddys91 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close toddys91]

Hello Teresa

I might be interested?

[denisetakinui@hotmail.com Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close denisetakinui@hotmail.com]

Holiday Club shares

Are yor shares still available?

I have RCI points based on a resort in Australia (91,800 points a year). I believe it is through Holdiay club. My kids are grown, and I dont need them anymore. I am giving away the ownership. Email me if you are interested.
Teresa

Regards

Denise

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

Are yor shares still available?



Regards

Denise

Welcome Denise,
To see if the points are still available, click on "mrspigdocs" name and choose send an email....this will be quicker then seeing if she answers here.

Or see her classified ad here http://www.timeshareforums.com/forum...iewad-528.html

[Sydney Contributor - Bronze Find all posts View Profile Close Sydney]

FYI, Teresa's shares are no longer available.

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

FYI, Teresa's shares are no longer available.

Thanks Syd, I have deleted her ad.

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

Holiday Club Pacific membership

Hi, we have a Platinum membership with The Holiday Club Pacific. We have thought about selling. Would any one be able to tell me what would be considered a fair price for 20,000 annual points?