Which timeshare company would best suit my needs?

[Autoeng]

I put this to the DVC group hoping for some experience that can help me make a decision.

I do not / will not vacation much at WDW or DL. Probably once or twice more in my lifetime. However I am looking to optimize my holiday dollars and am interested in investing in a timeshare type situation.

My family and I vacation every year in Siesta Key, FL for one week at a beachfront 2 bdrm condo. Rental is $1,500 per week and I am hopeful that by investing in a TS that I can come out ahead in just a few years. We have a 7 year old son.

I am wanting to take two, one week vacations per year (2 bdrm req'd). Once in early June to the gulf coast of FL. It does not have to be Siesta Key and looking at the TS maps there are limited choices there. I am looking for a laid back, family oriented vacation spot with white sand and shallow waters. Probably up in the panhandle.

The other vacation week (late August) I would like to be able to vary where I go. I would like to be able to go to Hawaii, New York City, Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Colorado, Caribbean, eastern and western Mexican coasts, WDW / DL, the Charleston, Savanna and 4-7 night cruises. Maybe last minute weekends in the Smokies if the price is right.

I've would like to stay within one company but don't know if that is going to be possible. DVC and it's relationship with II probably best suits the bill but is is also one of the higher cost TS's. Suggestions are very much welcome.

Thanks,
Autoeng

 

[Brave teacher]

If you are only planning to vacation in Disney once or twice more in your lifetime, then I would say DVC is definitely not for you. ALthough DVc has a relationship with II, the best value as far as point usage is concerned is to use your pointsat Disney World. I would look into different timeshare companies.

 

[Brian Noble]

DVC is a poor fit for your plans. It works best for someone who plans to spend most or all of their ownership assets on stays at DVC-owned resorts. It is fine if you infrequently exchange out to another destination, but often such exchanges do not provide good value.

You probably will need a fixed week (or a possibly a floating prime week) for June gulf, esp the panhandle or keys. That is a high demand/low supply situation. Alternatively, owning in a points system with a home resort advantage in a resort in the area. It is a difficult exchange, and can be difficult even in points systems if you don't have home resort advantage to be able to book before the masses start to plan their summers.

For your August trip, I'd recommend a points mini-system. You seem to have a focus on more westerly destinations, so I'm guessing WorldMark might be a good fit. Others to consider are Wyndham or BlueGreen.

If you really want one-stop shopping, Wyndham has resorts in the panhandle---you would want to own at one of them (rather than another Wyndham resort), and I do not see them coming up resale very often. You probably do not want WorldMark as a sole-ownership option, because they have no notion of a home resort advantage, and that might make the gulf tricky.

Instead, I would consider this a situation where you really want a portfolio of ownerships to meet your overall vacation needs.

 

[Autoeng]

Thank you for great replies. That helps me considerably.

 

[Lisa P.]

I agree with Brian and I would definitely give Wyndham a second look. There are a few good resellers out there who specialize in Wyndham resales. You may consider contacting one and letting them know what you're seeking (home resort, size of points contract, price you're willing to pay). Ask to be contacted if a suitable resale comes along. Consider a resale points contract at a Wyndham in Destin (Majestic Sun) or Panama City (Emerald Isle), for the home resort early booking advantage - then make that reservation as soon as it's possible, 13 months ahead of travel.

Here's why I'd look at Wyndham points:
--- vary the resort(s), unit size, weekly dates every year w/o added charges
--- able to vary length of stay easily outside of prime weeks
--- several resorts on the panhandle, expected to expand in Tampa area soon
--- Hawaii resorts in Oahu/Waikiki and Big Island
--- may use points for some Wyndham hotel stays (NYC?)
--- Associate WorldMark resort in W Yellowstone or RCI trade to Jackson Hole
--- Wyndham Flagstaff was a great home base for our Grand Canyon trip
--- Colorado resorts in Durango, Pagosa and soon, Steamboat Springs
--- Resorts in St Thomas & Puerto Rico or RCI trade into Caribbean
--- Associate WorldMark in Baja, Affiliate resorts in Mazatlan & Cozumel
--- Bonnet Creek borders WDW property, next door to some Disney resorts
--- Charleston accessible through RCI trades or day-trip from an RCI trade to Hilton Head
--- wonderful Wyndham Smoky Mtns Resort - one of our favorites!
--- Individual RCI or II annual membership is included with your maint fees. Must choose a home resort contract that's associated with RCI or II (RCI gives more of an exchange power boost for trading to other Wyndhams for fewer points).

For two prime weeks in 2BR units, booked directly through Wyndham, you'd probably want one or two contract(s) totaling 378,000 annual FairShare Plus points. On a good resale, you might pay ~$6-7,000 w/annual dues ~$1,600 including RCI or II membership. However, if you'll be making one summertime 2BR weeklong reservation in the panhandle and trading one week via RCI, you could EASILY make about 259,000 or more annual points work, perhaps as few as 220,000 pts with some effort to learn the system.

Join TUG - Timeshare Users Group or TS4Ms - Timeshare Forums and learn more before you buy ANY timeshare!!! Registering for the forums is free. Join TUG if you want to see ratings and read reviews about the resorts themselves. DVC is for personal, nearly annual usage, not for a primary exchange ownership.

BTW, we also own a several good exchange weeks - some are strong in RCI, others are strong in II, even getting a bonus AC week from II just for depositing them. PM me for details or suggestions. The overal cost of owning and trading these is less than the cost of owning a good resale with a solid points program but it requires some learning to understand and work the exchange systems. HTH!

 

[Dean]

As noted, DVC would be an extremely poor and expensive choice for this situation with a LOT of limitations and ongoing costs you won't find elsewhere. There are several good options but I like Wyndham and Bluegreen for this situation. Both will give you access to resorts in the area you note and a lot of additional flexibility at a dramatically reduced cost and without the added expense of paying additional to belong to an exchange company and with a lot of internal choices that are either free or at a far reduced exchange cost compared to exchange through the major exchange companies. Also, buying a fixed or floating week that fits your beach needs plus a second option for the variety exchanges may be an even better choice and BG or Wyndham would still be a great option for the second week.

Look at both BG & Wyndham as to their resorts and locations and see which one fits your needs, each has it's own advantages. I'd say that Wyndham has the advantage in resort numbers and to a degree, locations. I'd say cost is about the same overall for a week twice a year though Wyndham would be more for shorter stays. IF you wanted to do shorter stays, BG would be the better choice since they currently don't have a limitation on shorter stays thus you could reserve 2-3 days just as easily (and as early) as you could reserve a full week or more. Both have great Orlando, MB, Smokies & Daytona options. RCI points is another option. While Marriott might be a better choice for trading depending on your tates, the Gulf Coast options are somewhat slim with Crystal Shores (Marco) being dramatically expensive and Legends Edge (Panama City) not being on the beach and having high fees compared to what you get.

Something in the back of my mind tells me that either Hilton or Hyatt (or it could be some other top company) is about to break ground on a new Siesta Key option? I just can't pull it out of my memory right now as I've only seen the info once in passing, maybe Lisa P knows.

Certainly BG, Wyndham or a similar mini points system would be simpler, easier, relatively cheap and safe and would be a good starting point for a novice.

 

[JudyS]

Autoeng, you've gotten some good advice here! I agree with the idea of using Wyndham or Bluegreen. Wyndham has more resorts and has an agreement with Worldmark that would give you access to their inventory, but Bluegreen has the reputation of being more customer friendly, plus Bluegreen might be somewhat cheaper, depending on exactly what you bought and how you vacation.

One suggestion I haven't seen here is to buy a week managed by VRI and trade in their new VRI*ety system. Trading in VRI*ety does not require you to join RCI or II. A VRI week would probably be considerably cheaper than Bluegreen or Wyndham, although it would be less flexible since trades are mostly done in full weeks. It would also require advance planning because you'd be trading for most locations where you'd want to go, rather than just reserving with points. A VRI week would probably get you most of the places that you wanted to go, if you owned a red week and it was at least as big as the unit you wanted (i.e., if you want to trade for a 2-bdrm, you will need to own a 2-bdrm.) You could easily pick up a red, two-bedroom VRI week for $1000 or so off of eBay.

VRI manages three resorts in the Panhandle, although I don't know much about them: Bay Club of Sandestin - Destin, FL; Landmark Holiday Beach Resort - Panama City Beach, FL; Panama City Resort & Club - Panama City Beach, FL. You can see a list of VRI's resorts at: www.vrivacations.com plus they are merging with the system listed at www.vriresorts.com/ExchangeGuide.html
So, you could trade for the resorts listed on ExchangeGuide page, too. (Although in some cases, resorts listed on ExchangeGuide page have only a few units or weeks that are in the VRI*ety system, not the whole resort.)

If you are planning to do multiple trips a year, one possibility would be to buy a fixed VRI week at a location you wanted, plus a modest-sized Bluegreen or Wyndham points package.

By the way, Mexico trades are generally quite easy, so just about any decent resort can get you to Mexico.

 

[JudyS]

.....
You probably will need a fixed week (or a possibly a floating prime week) for June gulf, esp the panhandle or keys. That is a high demand/low supply situation. ...

Brian, is the Panhandle tougher to get than Southwest FL? I thought Southwest FL was tougher -- or, is that maybe only true earlier in the year (spring) rather than June?

I know that the Keys are a very tough trade....

 

[Brian Noble]

Winter/Spring panhandle is pretty easy because it's not beach weather yet. June is pretty tough. As a data point, the Wynfield destin resorts are more or less completely taken during the ARP period (when only those who own there can book). It's nearly as bad as the Myrtle Beach resorts.

The new resort that just came on-line might provide some slack, but it is about double the points.

 

[ldo]

if you have a certain place and time of year that you want to travel and it is relatively high season--but a fixed week or a floating week that is specific to that season. You will most likely find a better deal for a fixed week. For floating week, I would only go with a very reputable company--like Marriott--here's why---I have heard that a some TS sold fixed weeks for all the prime week (say summer at Hilton HEAd), etc. They had a few summer weeks left, then they moved onto floating weeks---and had tons of off-season weeks and a few prime week---they could say "you can book any week," but failed to mention there were 200+ off-season week and 5 summer weeks to choose from--get the picture?
Places like Marriott did not do this--so, if your season is june-aug all those weeks are available.
Many like points--I prefer fixed weeks (we have fixed beach weeks that we use it every year). My friends are very happy with their summer floating MArriott week----but the problem with that is kids get tired of going to the same place and then you have to start trading---if you are trading, then you are better off being in a points system like Hilton, Starwood, Wyndham, etc.
If I were you, I might consider looking at a fixed beach week resale that you could get for cheap (start surfing ebay)---use it a few years and then you can sell it and recoup your purchase price when your vactioning changes.

 

[nickspace]

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