Whats the difference between a Vacation Club and a Timeshare?

[BWV Dreamin]

Is there any difference between a vacation club vs. a timeshare?

 

[Mtnman44]

both are timeshares. A timeshare, may or may not be part of a "club".

 

[ChelleinNC]

Both are timeshares, but DVC and some of the other new vacation clubs differ in that they sell points to be used whenever/however you'd like as opposed to traditional timeshares that sell a week (example:3rd week of June).

 

[BWV Dreamin]

Both are timeshares, but DVC and some of the other new vacation clubs differ in that they sell points to be used whenever/however you'd like as opposed to traditional timeshares that sell a week (example:3rd week of June).

Yes, thats what I thought, but then I've seen other timeshares based on points, and they didn't call themselves a "Vacation Club". Just wondered if there was something else specific to being in a "Vacation Club".

 

[Lynne M]

I don't think there's any specfic meaning to "Vacation Club". That's just what Disney chose for the name of their timeshare product.

If anything, they wanted to distinguish it from the older week-based timeshares, which had gotten kind of a bad rep.

 

[JimC]

I'm not sure if there are legal differences. But Marriott uses vacation club and it sells weeks, not points.

I suspect that Marriott and Disney wanted to distance themselves from the traditional "timeshare" market, which had a not very stellar reputation when they each entered the business. Also both Disney and Marriott are very brand conscious and vacation club is probably a better fit with those positions.

 

[vandy]

"Vacation Club" sounds more enticing and is more marketable than "Timeshare". It's all about the marketing and sales.

 

[rinkwide]

If they're really that focused on marketing I'd suggest the word nightstick as an alternative to "club".

 

[Buckeye Fan]

I don't think this has anything to do with the terminology, but DVC expires on a given date (depending on the resort), where other "timeshares" are yours forever once you purchase. This may also differ across timehsares, though.

 

[Charlesaway]

If they're really that focused on marketing I'd suggest the word nightstick as an alternative to "club".

I don't know, that's kind of a bit out of context. I mean, I'm sure I wouldn't have been too keen to buy into a 'Disney Vacation Nightstick'.

On topic, I don't know much about the Marriott offering, but the DVC does of course also have several vacation package exchanges, like the Adventures by Disney packages or some of the other exchanges such as the african safaris, which do convey the 'vacation' component of the club, placing it outside the realm of merely a timeshare accomodation without fixed dates. Or at least that's my interpretation.

 

[4Pluto]

Is there any difference between a vacation club vs. a timeshare?

About $10,000.

 

[Cinderella]

I'm wondering if it's because timeshare sells a specific time, or week? I would hate to have to vacation at the same time each year.

 

[kimberh]

I'm wondering if it's because timeshare sells a specific time, or week? I would hate to have to vacation at the same time each year.

I have both, we own week 42 in Pigeon Forge, the peak of the leaves, or color change in the mountains. Very hot week. High red, or Ultra red. There are several positives to it, I never have to worry about getting a hard to get room ( near impossible) and very good trading power with RCI. I have not been to the Mountains in 5 years. I trade all over with this week, when we bought it, points were not even a option. We paid $5000.00 for a 2 bedroom villa that is ours forever. The maintenance fees have just hit $300.00. This is a very nice resort. We are about 2 miles from Dollywood. The closest Timeshare to Dollywood. I usually trade to the Caribbean.

 

[Dean]

It's mostly just marketing but clubs tend to be a collection of timeshares, usually where you can trade to the other resorsts in some way or another.

 

[Lisa P.]

Kimberh, what is the name of your resort in Pigeon Forge, please? Do you own a studio, 1BR or 2BR week, with those low maint fees?

We live about 2 hrs east of there and love visiting every year. We usually stay for a few nights at the Wyndham (used to be Fairfield) Smoky Mtns resort but we sometimes like to spend a whole week. We've thought about picking up another resale week for fall foliage. So I'm looking at the different places and considering options. Thanks for sharing info.

Back on topic, the recent additions to vacation clubs on the market have included some that don't actually provide a deed to anything. They require a large fee to "join" and you basically get the chance to make annual low-cost reservations at a variety of timeshares and lodging companies which have contracted to rent their time to the club. But all availability is subject to change from year to year and some companies even seem to use the Exchange Company extra vacations listings to offer, basically, rental leftovers. It seems that just as the high-end timeshare companies renamed their product (from timeshare to "vacation club") to avoid name-association with ill-reputed businesses of the past, some of the newer, riskier companies are renaming their product (from pre-paid rental contracts to "vacation club") to cash in on the name-association with these more reputable companies. Buyer beware. Don't go by the name. Go by the product and what's in writing.

 

[dianeschlicht]

I always thought "vacation clubs" or "Vacation groups" were a collection of multiple timeshares that allow members to stay at any "club"/"group" location without doing a traditional trade. Kind of like when we can book at another DVC resort at the 7b month window. I know the Shell Vacation group works that same way.

 

[Darkside]

Owning a DVC is the closest thing to owing a piece of the "Magic". We use our DVC for going to WDW, however, it is nice to know we could use it for staying at other non-Disney resorts. I have personally have went through Fairfield/Wyndham and Marriott programs and they are just not for us. We have owned timeshares in the past and really don't like them. To me DVC and other timeshares are really different. Our conclusion is the level of service that Disney provides is second to none. We don't get the warm fuzzies when vacationing at other timeshares.

 

[Didney Daddy]

The other thing to consider about Disney is the success factor. 350,000 families have joined and use DVC. Not every experience has been happy but the overwhelming % is happy with the product. Disney quality, Disney support for the pricing mechanism, focus on the family, flexibility, and fair rules. No other time share compares when you look at the balance of factors in my view. There are great deals on other time shares but those great "resale" prices come because someone wanted out really bad and took a beating from their original price. You just don't have that kind of bad taste left in the mouth even from the people whom DVC did not work for.