Anyone part of a timeshare or destination club?

Joey_V · August 2015

I keep getting these offers from Inspirato and while they look fantastic and we travel way more than the average, I'm not keen on the initial deposit and slightly painful yearly fees.

Anyone here on any good destination clubs or just use vrbo?

Kurt300 · August 2015

Best answer: Don't. But if you must do it, buy secondhand from an existing owner at a significant discount to the marketing hypsters.

Multiply those yearly fees times all the fractional owners to see the motivation of the marketers.

Of course, this is IMO...

GospelTruth · August 2015

I bought one once under high pressure only to back out two days later (they had a 5 day backout clause). They aren't worth the money in my opinion - no matter how they try to sell them to you. As Kurt300 said, if you must buy, then go on the secondary market. You'll find 12k-15k timeshares for a third to a quarter of the price. I remember researching the one I purchased when I got home and found it for a 1/3 the price on the secondary market.

Here are what I see are the negatives:

High yearly maintenance fees. Depending on the property they can be $600-$800 a year.
You are stuck to the one place and usually the one time of year to go there. Some do say your week is floating, but try getting a swap out for Vail in the winter when you purchased a week in the spring. I understand, not all timeshares are the same - but do your homework.
Consider the travel costs to get to/from your timeshare. If you buy a timeshare in Hawaii and live in Ohio, you'll have to figure on flight and island transportation costs. Those are costs that they won't talk about when they give you the hard sell. And you never know how much flight and transportation costs will be in the future. Gas prices will rise again someday and you can bet that so will the associated transportation costs to get there.
They'll make it look like a great place to stay for a cheap nightly rate over time. I didn't find it to be that cheap actually - for a $12k outlay and $600 a year in fees. For $12k you get a great place for what is essentially $100 a night for those six nights (your maintenance fees). Yes, some places can be amazing - but are you really going to stay in your room the whole time you're there?
You can find better deals in my opinion booking these places from other time share holders who can't make their yearly trip. Example: In Hawaii you can get a nice timeshare one or two bedroom rental for under $200 a night. If you think about it, that's $1200 for lodging. Take out the yearly maintenance fees you would have paid and now you have spent an extra $600 over if you owned the place - but you didn't pay $12k for the place either. Take that extra $600 our of your cost to own and now you still have $11.4k in the bank.

If you can find a place you know you will be going for the next 20 years... maybe it's not so bad. I just can't find the justification in owning one based on the fees and price.

Polkie2009 · August 2015

I take Dave Ramsey's advice on timeshares and avoid them like the plague.

mantis · August 2015

No don't do it. Work with a good travel agent and you'll get more out of your money then any time share. I'm way out on them

WagnerRC · August 2015

Dave's advise got me 2 houses paid off. debt free

daboyz · August 2015

Wifey and I have owned a timeshare for about 17 years and love it. We have points so we don't go to the same place. If you know how to work the system it's not as bad as everyone makes them out to be. This year we've gone to Hilton Head,Wisconsin Dells twice, Chicago and we're going to an awesome resort just south of Branson on Table Rock lake at the end of September. It's hard to stay in hotel rooms.

Joey_V · August 2015

So I guess it really depends on how much you use it.

My family and I go to Disney world a lot, once a year typically. There is this Disney Vacation Club that is basically a time share. For us, I think that might be worth it..... unless we stop going every year... so that's gotta be something we gotta think about.

Inspirato seems to be a high end version of vrbo or airbnb.... all the places are vetted and seem to be very well kept. The problem is the initiation fee and the yearly fee... though the prices for the place is reasonable.

coolsax · August 2015

I'll have to agree with Da boyz on the points options probably being more worth it. My Parents have a points one and while they don't use it as much as they like, they can have guests anytime they want so my wife and I make use of it. so it doesn't cost us anything but Points systems give you a lot more choices on actual destinations. Again I wouldn't personally buy one, but the one my parents belong too has some nice places to stay. and if you're going to use it, it might be worth it to you in points system.

Joey_V · August 2015

Yeah I see about the points. Inspirato is not based on a points system rather being a member gives you access to their accommodations. The thing is we might just use it enough to make it work though the initial fee is $17,500 and the yearly is $3,000 not counting the nightly costs associated with the property. So probably a cash outlay closer to 10k per year.

Not cheap but very good 5 star type accomodations to vail colorado, Tuscany Italy, West Indies, etc...

I spoke to my boss just today when he relieved me at work (real boss, not wife boss) and he brought up a good point. Although we vacation quite a bit right now whenever we have a string of 4 or more days off, we are not going to have that luxury once the baby turns school age because we are restricted by school... So he told me that it's going to be very difficult to use up the Inspirato membership if I am limited to spring, winter breaks, and summer vacations because:

1. It's going to be twice as expensive as off peak months which is typically when we go.
2. We would have to go on weekends which would also be more costly than going on a stretch of weekdays which is how we travel right now.
3. We aren't going to be as flexible and we would have to fight with other members to get certain destinations.

So unfortunately that sealed the deal for me, it might be not worth it to join a destination club not based on how we travel now but based on how we might expect to travel in the near future.

Seems to me like Inspirato is great if you're filthy rich and don't have a budget to abide to.. but if you're like the rest of us and need to stick to a budget, it's difficult when you're trying to balance value with outright expenses.

Joey_V · August 2015

Good point. Used market is the way to go if at all. Inspirato has no used market so I'm stuck there.

GospelTruth wrote: »

I bought one once under high pressure only to back out two days later (they had a 5 day backout clause). They aren't worth the money in my opinion - no matter how they try to sell them to you. As Kurt300 said, if you must buy, then go on the secondary market. You'll find 12k-15k timeshares for a third to a quarter of the price. I remember researching the one I purchased when I got home and found it for a 1/3 the price on the secondary market.

Here are what I see are the negatives:
High yearly maintenance fees. Depending on the property they can be $600-$800 a year.

You are stuck to the one place and usually the one time of year to go there. Some do say your week is floating, but try getting a swap out for Vail in the winter when you purchased a week in the spring. I understand, not all timeshares are the same - but do your homework.

Consider the travel costs to get to/from your timeshare. If you buy a timeshare in Hawaii and live in Ohio, you'll have to figure on flight and island transportation costs. Those are costs that they won't talk about when they give you the hard sell. And you never know how much flight and transportation costs will be in the future. Gas prices will rise again someday and you can bet that so will the associated transportation costs to get there.

They'll make it look like a great place to stay for a cheap nightly rate over time. I didn't find it to be that cheap actually - for a $12k outlay and $600 a year in fees. For $12k you get a great place for what is essentially $100 a night for those six nights (your maintenance fees). Yes, some places can be amazing - but are you really going to stay in your room the whole time you're there?

You can find better deals in my opinion booking these places from other time share holders who can't make their yearly trip. Example: In Hawaii you can get a nice timeshare one or two bedroom rental for under $200 a night. If you think about it, that's $1200 for lodging. Take out the yearly maintenance fees you would have paid and now you have spent an extra $600 over if you owned the place - but you didn't pay $12k for the place either. Take that extra $600 our of your cost to own and now you still have $11.4k in the bank.

If you can find a place you know you will be going for the next 20 years... maybe it's not so bad. I just can't find the justification in owning one based on the fees and price.

ken brydson · December 2019

spam reported

treitz3 · December 2019

Spam aside, I am glad this was brought back up. I missed it the first time around. A workplace issue with working ungodly hours (Read over 100 per week and then some) made me think about life after I quit a couple of years ago. The wife and I bought into a timeshare that was points based.

Life is short. Enjoying it with time off of ALL responsibilities and enjoying said time with family? One simply cannot put a price tag on that.

The best advice would be to ask questions PRIOR to buying. Do the research. Don't be lazy. You will not be disappointed if you do.

@daboyz, I have a feeling that we may belong to the same club. That was the best damned decision we have made as a family. Our vacations have quadrupled and our memories are freakin' PRICELESS!!!

I have zero regrets. Only pride in what we did and we are looking forward to another busy vacation schedule this year!

Tom

coolsax · December 2019

My parents have a points based one and have for years. They let us use their points b/c they never get around to using them all and we've gone some pretty neat places... I honestly don't think its worth it unless you travel a lot or plan to share with family.

daboyz · December 2019

If you're talking about Bluegreen, @treitz3, then yes. My wife and I have been owners for over 20 yrs. and have enjoyed it immensely. If you know how to work it properly then it's great.

treitz3 · December 2019

That's the one! My grandparents and other family members had multiple timeshares that they have passed down to my parents and will one day be passed down to my sister, brother and I. Most of them paid off more than 50 years ago.

We purposely bought our own because I have been to the same exact units in Myrtle Beach twice a year for so many decades (since I was knee high to a duck) that I actually dislike Myrtle Beach now. (It was great as a kid!)

The points based is so appealing to us because although you can swap out with other timeshares around the world with my parents time shares, there is a lot more work involved in doing so. There is no work with points based. Just availability. First come, first serve. It's also not forcing you to go to the same daggum place every year. That gets old, especially if you have been going to the same spot for over 4 decades.

I like being able to pick the resort and pick the date(s) a year ahead of schedule and maximize our points. We have not been to any resort twice where we have had to use our points and the bonus time is great for weekend getaways or traveling.

Tom

Anyone part of a timeshare or destination club?

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