Question on other vacation clubs

[BobH]

Quite a while ago I read about DVC Members who may also own at Marriot Vacation Club. I am curious as to whether any other vacation clubs have their memberships expire as the DVC does in 2042? Can anyone answer this?

 

[RobDoc]

We belong to Avatar/Amber Vacations, which is a small (5 resorts) timeshare organization. It is comprised of resorts which are converting from week-based to point based membership....very slowly. There is no expiration of that membership.

However, there are several other point based timeshares which do have expiration dates- some as low as 35 years. I don't know about Marriott or Fairfield and cannot name the other expiration organizations from the top of my head- but they do exist.

I have also exchanged to other timeshares- less than 20 years old- which have suffered great disrepair, likely due to poor management, which I wouldn't want to stay in again- even if I owned there myself. Time will tell how many timeshares are likely to last 50 years in good repair. I know of one I'm confident will meet that standard....DVC!

Hopefully someone else (Dean???) can provide a more thorough answer.

 

[stlrod]

I own at both (I am newer to DVC than Dean though.) Marriott does not have an expiration date. The difference in that Marriott is true ownership (like your home) while DVC is a leasehold (which really makes no practical difference except the deductibility of taxes and mortgage interest on DVC is more questionable and one expires and one does not.) There are some older Marriott properties which although not run-down, pale in comparison to the newer ones. In my view though the best properties were those completed in the early part of the '90s. As Marriott and DVC grew, both tended to make smaller units. If you are looking at purchasing a timeshare, the leasehold/ownership issue (at least with respect to DVC) should probably be a fairly minor concern (I think non-DVC sales personnel in Orlando like to make an issue of it.) There are very many much more important considerations. I tell everyone looking at purchasing that they should check in to the 3 best in the business, Marriott, Hilton and DVC (in no particular order). I am not familiar with Sheraton's program but my guess is that it has simply combined elements of the others and might be worth a look (after all, they all steal ideas from each other.)

 

[Dean]

The word "Vacation Club" really doesn't have much meaning. It's much like saying something is on sale. We are essentially talking timeshare here. While there are some similarities in many of them, they come in all shape, sizes and colors (literally and figuratively). If you're just wanting to get educated, there are several options available. Two of the best sources are Timeshare Users Group (TUG) and Timesharing Today. TUG is $15 for year one with renewal at $10 per year. There are BBS, classifieds, reviews, rankings and a lot of other info. TST has a written and online portion with articles and reviews. TUG is the better value but I find both useful.

To try to answer your question somewhat, here's a few items. Timeshares are usually either fee simple or right to use. RTU tends to end in 30-50 years but 50 seems to be the most common. There are 2 main exchange companies, Interval International (II) and RCI. With some you have a specific week and unit. With others you may have a floating week and/or unit. There are other points programs out there, most with some similarities to DVC but with many differences as well.

 

[BobH]

Thanks to all of you for the excellent and informative replies.

BobH

 

[ralphd]

Some Marriott's do have a expiration date, not all are deeded. Most resorts in the Caribbean and in Mexico are 'right to use.'

ralphd

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by ralphd
Some Marriott's do have a expiration date, not all are deeded. Most resorts in the Caribbean and in Mexico are 'right to use.'

ralphd

True, I think Aruba, both resorts in Spain and Custom House in Boston are all RTU. I don't know about the HI properties. Truthfully, it's not a big deal unless I'm buying at less than 30 years out. There are few resorts I'd want to own that are 50 years old.

 

[ralphd]

Very true Dean!

Doubt I will have to worry about it in 50 years.

ralphd