A Timeshare question.......

[JKJK]

My parents own a timeshare, 1 week a year. They recently mentioned that they were selling it. They told me I could have it if I wanted it. The dues are 500.00 a year. My parents are on vacation right now and Im not able to ask them about it at the moment. My question is this:

Do you have to take the entire week all at once or can you break it up into 2 and 3 night stays?

If you want to stay somewhere, other than your "home" place, what would be a typical fee to do that?

Thanks in advance.

 

[M 'n C]

each time share is different but with the one my parents have you have to take the week all at once (no splitting) and I think that it is free to switch to another place but it depends on the availability of the other place. For example theirs is in Destin and Destin is usually coded red or yellow the entire year (meaning very popular vacation spot) so it is really easy for them to trade to another place. Orlando on the other hand has so many timeshares that if they had one in orlando and wanted to trade for destin it would be harder since orlando is usually green or yellow. I hope that makes some sense.

Also with theirs if they want to take an additional vacation (besides the 1 week) and stay on their timeshare property or another one in the network they could get an owner rate which is less and stay however long they want.

 

[dmensing]

Kerry:

The answers to your questions can vary based on what timeshare program you are talking about. Some programs have methods of breaking up weeks into smaller stays. We own through Fairfield where we own a week that has been converted to Fairfield's points program. We can use the points to book less than weekly stays if desired.

If you want to stay somewhere other than your "home" resort, there typically are fees. Most timeshares trade through either RCI or Interval International, but there are several other independent companies as well. Some programs allow you to trade to other resorts within their own program without going through one of the trading companies, such as Marriott, Hilton, Fairfield, Worldmark, etc...

If you want to visit an board dedicated to timeshares, check out the Timeshare Users Group (www.tug2.net). That is where I learned most of what I know about timeshares.

HTH,
Dan.

 

[JKJK]

Thanks for your responses. Im anxious to talk to my folks when they get back.

 

[swilshire]

A good place to educate yourself is at www.tug2.net . There are experts there in all things timeshare. Once you know the specifics of exactly what your parents own, you'll be able to get good tips on how best to use it.

We have been using timeshares since 1996 for most of our vacations. Our kids are so spoiled that they can't bear to stay in a normal hotel room, no matter how nice.

I estimate our costs at roughly $100 a night when you add in all the exchange fees, membership costs, maintenance fees, etc. That's quite a bargain for nice 2 and 3 bedroom condos in great places. Since you usually pay no extra fees (with a few exceptions) that would equate to about $85 a night in a hotel with all the taxes.

We spent 22 nights in Hawaii in June in timeshares. Our family had a wonderful trip at a very reasonable cost.

Sheila

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

I second the tug2 recommendation. You should find out if you can deposit that week into Interval, and if so, what the trade value would be. You can get some excellent swaps through Interval! We own a very cheap resale timeshare for this purpose.