Other timeshare vs DVC....

[culli]

I have read posts here about other timeshares possibly being better deals more flexibility etc. Well we bought DVC and had a good understanding of how it worked and the value. We bought we no intentions of trading out, just using at WDW and we are happy with the purchase.

I use to be against timeshares thought it was bad investment etc. With DVC I started to research them and for our needs it worked. Well now I'm thinking we do more than Disney so was going to look at another timeshare but wanted something with a big company such as Marriott behind the timeshare - kind of a safety thing. It sure does seem like the other timeshare are sooooooo much more complicated than DVC (or maybe I just take these boards for granted ). And the prices (at least at Marriott) seem pretty high, still trying to find a resale place that has the rep the timeshare store has on these boards. I know there are plenty of less known TS out there for pretty cheap. We bought thru DVC due to the great incentives at the time but wouldn't hesitate with timeshare store. I started to read a similar board to this on timeshares and WOW lots to know

I consider my self fairly intelligent and I'm sure I will figure it out. I guess my point is my latest "research" for a more flexible but well respected timeshare sure makes me appreciate the non aggressive nature of the DVC guides and willingness to give info - plus the basics seem pretty simple with DVC. Ok enough of my blah blah blah yada yada yada......... The search continues......................

 

[PrettyKitties]

Have you looked at the TUGS website or redweek? TUGS has lots of info and there are resales on Redweek. I just bought a Hawaiian resale on Redweek, so far everything is OK. (Just couldn't wait for the DVC Hawaiian resort.) But you are right, other TS systems seem more complicated than DVC.

You probably will not get any deals on Marriott on the resale market because they have ROFR.

 

[culli]

Have you looked at the TUGS website or redweek? TUGS has lots of info and there are resales on Redweek. I just bought a Hawaiian resale on Redweek, so far everything is OK. (Just couldn't wait for the DVC Hawaiian resort.) But you are right, other TS systems seem more complicated than DVC.

You probably will not get any deals on Marriott on the resale market because they have ROFR.

I tried to get info from redweek but you have to buy a membership just to get particulars on the listing sounds weird to me And yes TUGS is where I have been learning more and I plan on taking my time, but they are making me realize how good I have it with DVC. Did they handle the whole transaction for you with closing, title etc like timeshare store here does? Congrats on your Hawaiian resort, I'm thinking of some skiing and like the Marriott Utah resorts but ability to EASILY trade out to another resort if I want.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

I know very little about other timeshares, but I do know this...

DO NOT BUY FROM THE RESORT ITSELF.
You can buy the exact same thing on the resale market for litterally pennis on the dollar.

MG

 

[PrettyKitties]

I tried to get info from redweek but you have to buy a membership just to get particulars on the listing sounds weird to me And yes TUGS is where I have been learning more and I plan on taking my time, but they are making me realize how good I have it with DVC. Did they handle the whole transaction for you with closing, title etc like timeshare store here does? Congrats on your Hawaiian resort, I'm thinking of some skiing and like the Marriott Utah resorts but ability to EASILY trade out to another resort if I want.

I didn't think it was particulary weird to have to buy a membership on Redweek - it was only $15. It just allows you to view what is available. To view certain things on Tugs, you also have to buy the$15 membership. I guess it depends on whether the content is worth it for you.

Redweek does not handle closing - we are going through another firm. The firm will handle closing, title, recording, etc. I am hoping that a Hawaii TS will be easy to trade - but we will see what it is like with airfares going up. DVC does seem to be more user friendly - but I can still use my DVC points to stay at their Hawaiian resort (when it happens) & then stay at my other TS for two wonderful weeks in HI!!

 

[CarolA]

I tried to get info from redweek but you have to buy a membership just to get particulars on the listing sounds weird to me And yes TUGS is where I have been learning more and I plan on taking my time, but they are making me realize how good I have it with DVC. Did they handle the whole transaction for you with closing, title etc like timeshare store here does? Congrats on your Hawaiian resort, I'm thinking of some skiing and like the Marriott Utah resorts but ability to EASILY trade out to another resort if I want.

I fail to understand why ANYONE would list thier timeshare on Redweek.com. You want me to PAY to look at your for sale unit

Uh. NO!

I am also doing some looking and seriously considering a Marriott. I have been busily reading the TUG message boards and actually paid them for the resort reviews etc. (You can respond to thier classifieds without paying however!)

Marriott is high and I can't really decide if it's worth it. (I want Hilton Head Island which does not help!)

 

[Dean]

I have read posts here about other timeshares possibly being better deals more flexibility etc. Well we bought DVC and had a good understanding of how it worked and the value. We bought we no intentions of trading out, just using at WDW and we are happy with the purchase.

I use to be against timeshares thought it was bad investment etc. With DVC I started to research them and for our needs it worked. Well now I'm thinking we do more than Disney so was going to look at another timeshare but wanted something with a big company such as Marriott behind the timeshare - kind of a safety thing. It sure does seem like the other timeshare are sooooooo much more complicated than DVC (or maybe I just take these boards for granted ). And the prices (at least at Marriott) seem pretty high, still trying to find a resale place that has the rep the timeshare store has on these boards. I know there are plenty of less known TS out there for pretty cheap. We bought thru DVC due to the great incentives at the time but wouldn't hesitate with timeshare store. I started to read a similar board to this on timeshares and WOW lots to know

I consider my self fairly intelligent and I'm sure I will figure it out. I guess my point is my latest "research" for a more flexible but well respected timeshare sure makes me appreciate the non aggressive nature of the DVC guides and willingness to give info - plus the basics seem pretty simple with DVC. Ok enough of my blah blah blah yada yada yada......... The search continues......................

There may be more nuances to learn with another timeshare options, but it's not really more complicated. Remember you're looking to learn both another timeshare AND an exchange system. Marriott and the other top options are fairly expensive but they can be far less so than DVC if you compare apples to apples for the same size unit for 7 days. The biggest difference is in yearly dues where DVC can be far more even with the yearly cost of joining an exchange company and other potential fees. There is no one best option with Marriott or anything else. For one just getting started I'd recommend spending 6 months getting educated and then look at buying something you'll use part of the time unless you plan to travel off season consistently. You can usually buy a Marriott resale at 60% of the retail price, sometimes less. I just bought a HI Platinum week EOY (every other year) for about 45% of the EOY price and 50% of the prorated yearly price. A Platinum Plus (guaranteed 4th of July week) at Marriott's legends Edge just sold for less than $7000 on ebay for EY. Fees for Marriott's are in the $900-1000 range for HH and Aruba weeks, $1400-1600 for HI as examples.

Pleases note that most of your benefits of any timeshare are based on 2 areas. One getting the right thing for the right price up front and then learning and using the system to your advantage. With Marriott that means learning how to reserve to get ahead of the next person and making your reservation at exactly 12 months out, 13 months if reserving concurrent or consecutive weeks, a big advantage which I've taken advantage of many times now.

 

[Dean]

I fail to understand why ANYONE would list thier timeshare on Redweek.com. You want me to PAY to look at your for sale unit

Uh. NO!

I am also doing some looking and seriously considering a Marriott. I have been busily reading the TUG message boards and actually paid them for the resort reviews etc. (You can respond to thier classifieds without paying however!)

Marriott is high and I can't really decide if it's worth it. (I want Hilton Head Island which does not help!)

Carol, Redweeks is actually one of the premier options. I do agree that requiring potential buyers/renters to join did hamper them somewhat but I've been fairly successful over the years renting, buying and selling timeshares there. For the casual person like myself, ebay is very difficult to use to rent or sell. Bidshares is very friendly but doesn't get that much traffic. Craigslist is still a variable but at least it's free.

 

[culli]

There may be more nuances to learn with another timeshare options, but it's not really more complicated. Remember you're looking to learn both another timeshare AND an exchange system. Marriott and the other top options are fairly expensive but they can be far less so than DVC if you compare apples to apples for the same size unit for 7 days. The biggest difference is in yearly dues where DVC can be far more even with the yearly cost of joining an exchange company and other potential fees. There is no one best option with Marriott or anything else. For one just getting started I'd recommend spending 6 months getting educated and then look at buying something you'll use part of the time unless you plan to travel off season consistently. You can usually buy a Marriott resale at 60% of the retail price, sometimes less. I just bought a HI Platinum week EOY (every other year) for about 45% of the EOY price and 50% of the prorated yearly price. A Platinum Plus (guaranteed 4th of July week) at Marriott's legends Edge just sold for less than $7000 on ebay for EY. Fees for Marriott's are in the $900-1000 range for HH and Aruba weeks, $1400-1600 for HI as examples.

Pleases note that most of your benefits of any timeshare are based on 2 areas. One getting the right thing for the right price up front and then learning and using the system to your advantage. With Marriott that means learning how to reserve to get ahead of the next person and making your reservation at exactly 12 months out, 13 months if reserving concurrent or consecutive weeks, a big advantage which I've taken advantage of many times now.

Yeah we are going to take our time, I have seen a few out there that would be of interest. I definitely have lots to learn as this would not be the no brainier that DVC was for our family, I was just overwhelmed - you bring good points about learning multiple TS and the exchange system. We don't plan on exchanging out DVC so it was nice to know we could if we wanted but didn't spend much time researching the policies. See where fuel prices and the economy brings things - who knows maybe pick something off for a steal

You make good points about the size of unit for the price, I guess I'm just tunnel vision on having weeks (even if floater) instead of managing points. I'm looking at Utah as like the looks of both Marriott resorts there but would probably need to go Platinum to utilize time when one could ski. This would then give us option to trade - and maybe get to HI Congrats on your HI purchase, I heard Marriott has some pretty terrific resorts there

So I take it you feel Marriott is worth the premium price?

 

[Dean]

YYou make good points about the size of unit for the price, I guess I'm just tunnel vision on having weeks (even if floater) instead of managing points. I'm looking at Utah as like the looks of both Marriott resorts there but would probably need to go Platinum to utilize time when one could ski. This would then give us option to trade - and maybe get to HI Congrats on your HI purchase, I heard Marriott has some pretty terrific resorts there

So I take it you feel Marriott is worth the premium price?

There are good points systems out there as well. The high end ones include things like Westin (Starwood), Hyatt & Hilton. There are several mid level points systems including Bluegreen RCI points and Wyndham. That's why you need to figure out what works for you as it will be different than what works for me. All of the top options will share one common flaw with DVC, that is that what's best to own and use is generally not what's best to trade. I feel many Marriott's are worth the premium for the right person, esp for a good resale price, same can be said for the other options I mentioned above and several others I didn't. BG & Wyndham are likely a better mix of use and trade at a good price than are most Marriott's but like DVC, Marriott's tend to be more upscale nicer resorts. Buying Ski season in Utah will be an expensive option and will likely not be a good trading choice. If you want to trade much I'd compromise somewhat on the demand of the week & resort in favor of something cheaper that still trades well. For trading, you always want to be in a position to be trading up as much as possible. Even a lateral trade is a down trade of sorts due to the risk in trading and the way units are assigned at the destination resort. There are many choices.

 

[BroganMc]

I know very little about other timeshares, but I do know this...

DO NOT BUY FROM THE RESORT ITSELF.
You can buy the exact same thing on the resale market for litterally pennis on the dollar.

MG

I realize the price is cheaper via resale but I do question the wisdom of this blanket statement, in particular for Marriott. AFAIK, Marriott does not extend the "exchange for hotel rewards points" for resale owners and there are no reward point bonuses given.

In our use of Marriott, we use the weeks and points interchangeably for vacations. I haven't paid for a hotel stay for years. I can't really imagine not having the use of both systems.

As far as our buy-in price, it was actually cheaper than Disney and still is. Mind you we purchased good deals in Orlando and Williamsburg (under $20k and racked up around 800,000 reward points in bonuses). So if you were thinking of owning at the higher priced resorts (Hilton Head, Hawaii, Myrtle Beach, Aruba, etc.) resale may be worth the cost savings.

Other timeshare programs do not have the same restrictions to resale owners. Do your homework wisely.

 

[CarolA]

Carol, Redweeks is actually one of the premier options. I do agree that requiring potential buyers/renters to join did hamper them somewhat but I've been fairly successful over the years renting, buying and selling timeshares there. For the casual person like myself, ebay is very difficult to use to rent or sell. Bidshares is very friendly but doesn't get that much traffic. Craigslist is still a variable but at least it's free.

Thanks for the feedback. I am still not sold on Redweek. Perhaps because I can tell most of the for sale adds are badly written. I looked at a bunch of HH adds last week. Probably 90% of the did NOT tell me the season (Plat, Gold whatever) IMHO that should be a basic and it makes me Why wouldn't you give that info? Do you really want to deal with a bunch of emails only to discover that they weren't really interested because you have "silver"???

I am really in the early stages. I think my big hold up is that I really do not need a two bedroom very often!


BroganMc,
I actually spoke with the Marriott Rep last week and discussed the option of a direct purchase. I am not sure that the points are worth it to me. However, I do travel a lot on business and get points that way. (I have about 100,000 points right now for example with Marriott) Plus I also know that just because you have points does not mean you will be able to use them! (Try booking a Marriott in Boston in the spring for a weekend for example... not possible LOL!)


However, the resales on Hilton Head are NOT going for those discounts Dean quoted as far as I can tell. So the "savings" may not be worth giving up the points... decisions, decisions. (Heck some sellers in "fantasyland" want almost full price for thier Hilton Head units. I don't get that, if I am paying full price I am going to Marriott and getting the points! LOL!)

 

[Dean]

I realize the price is cheaper via resale but I do question the wisdom of this blanket statement, in particular for Marriott. AFAIK, Marriott does not extend the "exchange for hotel rewards points" for resale owners and there are no reward point bonuses given.

In our use of Marriott, we use the weeks and points interchangeably for vacations. I haven't paid for a hotel stay for years. I can't really imagine not having the use of both systems.

As far as our buy-in price, it was actually cheaper than Disney and still is. Mind you we purchased good deals in Orlando and Williamsburg (under $20k and racked up around 800,000 reward points in bonuses). So if you were thinking of owning at the higher priced resorts (Hilton Head, Hawaii, Myrtle Beach, Aruba, etc.) resale may be worth the cost savings.

Other timeshare programs do not have the same restrictions to resale owners. Do your homework wisely.

Marriott does not USUALLY allow resales to get points but there have been a few exceptions. IMO, Marriott reward points fall into the same category as the DVC cash equivalent exchanges, a nice option just in case but not something worth paying much money for. Given one is often talking $10-15K or more difference on resale vs retail for many Marriott options, it'd be hard to justify for the points alone, esp if valued around 1¢ per point as most insiders would. Grande Vista and Manor Club are two perfect examples where $20K total could get you two units with a 2 BR Platinum at each, closing, and the first years fees with money left over. There are a few possible exceptions where buying direct from Marriott are good choices such as EARLY pre-construction for some resorts, when you want a fixed or special week such as Platinum plus or a special unit such as Ocean Front or a Penthouse unit and in some cases, EOY usage. There are other systems with ROFR as well, including Marriott on a portion of their properties.

 

[CarolA]

I think I know what I want... now it's a matter of finding it at a price I am willing to pay.

However, I am not in a hurry so hopefully in the next six months or so something will open up. (Plus I really need to dump some DVC points )

 

[Dean]

Thanks for the feedback. I am still not sold on Redweek. Perhaps because I can tell most of the for sale adds are badly written. I looked at a bunch of HH adds last week. Probably 90% of the did NOT tell me the season (Plat, Gold whatever) IMHO that should be a basic and it makes me Why wouldn't you give that info? Do you really want to deal with a bunch of emails only to discover that they weren't really interested because you have "silver"???

I am really in the early stages. I think my big hold up is that I really do not need a two bedroom very often!


BroganMc,
I actually spoke with the Marriott Rep last week and discussed the option of a direct purchase. I am not sure that the points are worth it to me. However, I do travel a lot on business and get points that way. (I have about 100,000 points right now for example with Marriott) Plus I also know that just because you have points does not mean you will be able to use them! (Try booking a Marriott in Boston in the spring for a weekend for example... not possible LOL!)


However, the resales on Hilton Head are NOT going for those discounts Dean quoted as far as I can tell. So the "savings" may not be worth giving up the points... decisions, decisions. (Heck some sellers in "fantasyland" want almost full price for thier Hilton Head units. I don't get that, if I am paying full price I am going to Marriott and getting the points! LOL!)

If you know enough you can probably figure out the season on many of those ads as most will give you some clue such as the week # or a date or holiday reference. But one thing to note is that many of the weeks listed on various websites (redweeks, bidshares, ebay, etc) are by brokers that don't know the system well enough to know to state that and sometimes can't even find it out for you. Worse, IMO, are those websites where they don't list ad specifics and only list resort, unit size, week # or season and ask you to submit a bid. IF people get nothing else out of this thread, this is an important point. Reading and interpreting timeshare adds (sale or rent) is a tricky but important issue, one not to be taken lightly.

As for HH, we can talk about the 3 best resorts there in terms of price as one group and only discuss platinum time. OF will be expensive, maybe $30K resale for a 2 BR. OS (ocean side) will be in the $21K range best you can do. Garden View will be a little less, maybe $15-18K with Barony likely being a little cheaper than Surfwatch in this regard. These prices do represent a significant savings over retail. Please note that these are not the prices you'll see listed, you'll have to be willing to make offers and hear no. And you'll get some that get upset because they think their week is worth more than it really is and think you're trying to take advantage of them. Remember that Grande Ocean Gold runs to week 23 but weeks 22 & 23 are Platinum at BB and SW.

Carol, if you generally don't need a 2 BR and don't want to go to HH most years OR you won't go to HH in the mid summer, I'd look elsewhere. Maybe a 1 BR or lockoff in Aruba or a solid lockoff like Ocean Pointe, Manor Club, Ski or Dessert resorts Gold season or similar. Then try to trade in for those times you do want HH.

 

[CarolA]

If you know enough you can probably figure out the season on many of those ads as most will give you some clue such as the week # or a date or holiday reference. But one thing to note is that many of the weeks listed on various websites (redweeks, bidshares, ebay, etc) are by brokers that don't know the system well enough to know to state that and sometimes can't even find it out for you. Worse, IMO, are those websites where they don't list ad specifics and only list resort, unit size, week # or season and ask you to submit a bid. IF people get nothing else out of this thread, this is an important point. Reading and interpreting timeshare adds (sale or rent) is a tricky but important issue, one not to be taken lightly.

As for HH, we can talk about the 3 best resorts there in terms of price as one group and only discuss platinum time. OF will be expensive, maybe $30K resale for a 2 BR. OS (ocean side) will be in the $21K range best you can do. Garden View will be a little less, maybe $15-18K with Barony likely being a little cheaper than Surfwatch in this regard. These prices do represent a significant savings over retail. Please note that these are not the prices you'll see listed, you'll have to be willing to make offers and hear no. And you'll get some that get upset because they think their week is worth more than it really is and think you're trying to take advantage of them. Remember that Grande Ocean Gold runs to week 23 but weeks 22 & 23 are Platinum at BB and SW.

Carol, if you generally don't need a 2 BR and don't want to go to HH most years OR you won't go to HH in the mid summer, I'd look elsewhere. Maybe a 1 BR or lockoff in Aruba or a solid lockoff like Ocean Pointe, Manor Club, Ski or Dessert resorts Gold season or similar. Then try to trade in for those times you do want HH.

Dean,

Thanks for the advice. What I am doing right now is "stalking" Marriott resales in general. I want to get an idea of what the "price points" really are vs what I see advertised. It does appear to me that there is a bigger "negiotation room" then I see on DVC. For example I am going to list some OKW points and I figure I am looking at a two to three dollar a point "negoiation" But I see several Marriott adds with the "Make an offer" plea which makes me think there is some room. Plus it appears while Marriott does ROFR they don't seem as agressive on it as Disney.

I looked at other resales on HH, but....I keep coming back to the great Marriott locations there and the "unknown" on the other traders. (Some of them have "no rating" for example in the RCI database. Kind of scary!)

 

[Laxmom]

Carol, I wouldn't say that. Marriott ROFR'd Gold Barony week from us earlier this year and I knew they had 9 of the same in their inventory. We used Timeshare Wholesalers and were very pleased with the service - just sad it got ROFR'd.

The other thing about the Marriott's on HHI that I haven't seen mentioned here is that we always are offered an accomodation certificate from II if we deposit our HHI platinum week. This is typical of a good high demand week. There are no guarantees, of course, but if there are times where you don't want ot use your week there, you can actually get 2 weeks for the one. The extra week would cost you max $299 for a 2 or 3 bedroom. We used our latest AC to go back to HHI in another Marriott off season. The original week got us a trade into OKW for later this year.

There are other resorts within Marriott that offer AC's sporadically but HHI seems more consistent....for now. There are no guarantees that this will continue indefinately. I also wouldn't worry about the points. Marriott keeps devalueing their point system - unlike DVC. It takes more points to stay in their hotels but the TS's aren't worth anymore than what was assigned at construction. For what you save on the purchase, you could buy a boat load of points with the cash saved.

Good luck with your search. If you search TUG there is a database maintained by a member on Marriott ROFR- just not much history on HHI there. I can tell you what it is for a Barony gold week!! Dean is giving you good advice here - he knows his stuff!

 

[Slakk]

There are good points systems out there as well. The high end ones include things like Westin (Starwood), Hyatt & Hilton. There are several mid level points systems including Bluegreen RCI points and Wyndham. That's why you need to figure out what works for you as it will be different than what works for me. All of the top options will share one common flaw with DVC, that is that what's best to own and use is generally not what's best to trade. I feel many Marriott's are worth the premium for the right person, esp for a good resale price, same can be said for the other options I mentioned above and several others I didn't. BG & Wyndham are likely a better mix of use and trade at a good price than are most Marriott's but like DVC, Marriott's tend to be more upscale nicer resorts. Buying Ski season in Utah will be an expensive option and will likely not be a good trading choice. If you want to trade much I'd compromise somewhat on the demand of the week & resort in favor of something cheaper that still trades well. For trading, you always want to be in a position to be trading up as much as possible. Even a lateral trade is a down trade of sorts due to the risk in trading and the way units are assigned at the destination resort. There are many choices.

As you know (and using your wisdom) we just bought an EOY 2 BR lockoff in Aruba and are thrilled. Marriott has great trades if needed and their resorts are fabulous with so many more choices then we have with DVC.

We still have 200 points at DVC and will use them but now Aruba will compliment those trips. And the price for us is better than buying the points from DVC and hoping to get the trade I want.

 

[Laxmom]

Surf Club or Ocean Club? We went to SC last year for the first time and really loved it there! I think Aruba is right up there with HHI for us. Better than Hawaii; shorter flight, friendlier to tourists (JMO) and conversion rate that was favorable at the time.

Enjoy your purchase! We like having both!

 

[culli]

There are good points systems out there as well. The high end ones include things like Westin (Starwood), Hyatt & Hilton. There are several mid level points systems including Bluegreen RCI points and Wyndham. That's why you need to figure out what works for you as it will be different than what works for me. All of the top options will share one common flaw with DVC, that is that what's best to own and use is generally not what's best to trade. I feel many Marriott's are worth the premium for the right person, esp for a good resale price, same can be said for the other options I mentioned above and several others I didn't. BG & Wyndham are likely a better mix of use and trade at a good price than are most Marriott's but like DVC, Marriott's tend to be more upscale nicer resorts. Buying Ski season in Utah will be an expensive option and will likely not be a good trading choice. If you want to trade much I'd compromise somewhat on the demand of the week & resort in favor of something cheaper that still trades well. For trading, you always want to be in a position to be trading up as much as possible. Even a lateral trade is a down trade of sorts due to the risk in trading and the way units are assigned at the destination resort. There are many choices.

Dean WOW you really have been giving me good info and things to think about. Lots of info and I assume it will take me 6-12 months to decide what is best for the family. Just looking at other TS the Marriott does seem to be pretty solid. I have been dissecting Hilton and although I like the point system, it seems they use mostly affiliates. Right now Marriott Desert Springs seems to be going pretty cheap on EBay, but I have to research the ROFR. Looks like most if not all Marriott properties trade well but the common theme I see for Marriott is they all are very nice. Looks like you can't go wrong with any resort you decide to stay.

I'm in a similar situation as Carol as I'm "stalking" and learning about resales. I'm looking at the Marriott to be the relaxation type vacation to just hang out and experience some of the "local" activities. We would probably go to a different place each year as they all have a certain appeal........but do think we would tend to want to ski every other year. That is the hard part deciding where to own but we are in the position to take my time.....kids are real young - thus adding to making DVC a no brain choice for us as we (the adults) enjoy hanging out a Disney. I'm sure we will add on here and there to DVC to get bigger accomidations at OKW but I'm starting to see from looking at other TS that DVC is a prem price.

Sorry long winded but thanks for your insight