When people find out we have a vacation timeshare, they usually have a lot of questions. Sometimes they ask if they should buy a timeshare, and my first inclination is to answer “NO”; but I have to admit, owning one has changed my life. When I try to explain this contradiction, I realize myself how utterly confusing the whole business of timeshares can be. Let me try to sort this out for you, based on my personal experience of owning a timeshare since the late 1980’s.

Driving down I-75 in Florida on the way to Disney World in 1990, we saw a billboard that said “Free Disney Dollars”, so, since we were all about saving money, we stopped to see what that was all about. Little did we know that this would start our journey toward vacation timeshare ownership. To get our free gift, all we had to do was attend a free breakfast at a little cafe’ in a new town called “Celebration” in Kissimmee, Florida. From there, we were taken across the street to tour the Parkway International Resort, where we were convinced that buying a timeshare would enhance our lives.

What is a Timeshare?

The timeshare that I own was purchased in 1990 for $9,500. After a down payment of $940, with an interest rate of 17.5%, and the note payment of $175.34/month for 8-1/2 years, I actually paid $18,824.68.

What I got for that money was a standing reservation for the same two-bedroom condo, from Saturday through Saturday, during Week 31 (the first week of August), every year at a resort in Kissimmee, Florida, very close to Disney World. What this means is that the timeshare company could sell a reservation for this two-bedroom condo for the other 51 weeks for that same amount, possibly more or possibly less. If they sold all 52 weeks for $9,500 each, that means they grossed $494,000 for one two-bedroom condo in or around the year 1990.

Costs of the Timeshare

In addition to my initial investment of $18,824.68, I am charged an annual “maintenance fee” which was $234 the first year and has gone up every year for 35 years, so that it is now $1,111.57, payable on January 1 of every year. This fee includes:

So, I have paid approximately $24,000 over the last 35 years for maintenance fees.

Add together my initial investment of $18,824.68, plus $24,000 for yearly maintenance fees, and that means for the privilege of staying in Kissimmee for a week every year, I have paid a total of $42,824.68. If I divide that out over 35 years of ownership, my vacation lodging has cost me an average of $1,223.56 each year for a stay in a two-bedroom condo in a nice resort within just a few short miles of the Disney attractions.

To me, it doesn’t seem like a horrible deal. One of the cons, however, is the fact that most people don’t want to spend the same week every year at the same location. As our kids aged out of Disney, the location became less and less desirable. I wish I had purchased a timeshare on a beach somewhere. Fortunately, the timeshare people knew this, so many of them make it possible to “exchange” your “week” for another one, which I’ll try to explain next.

Vacation Exchanges

If I didn’t want to go to that particular condo during Week 31, I could join a trading company (such as Interval International) that provides other options, for a fee. The annual membership fee for this service pays for the opportunity to “exchange” my “week” for any resort in the world that (a) is part of their exchange group and (b) is available during a week I am available to travel. I’m estimating that this annual membership fee started out at around $19 a year, and is currently $99 a year. Over the last 35 years, I have paid approximately $2,050, or $58.57 a year for this membership.

I estimate that I have exchanged my Kissimmee timeshare for a different location 30 times, which means I have stayed at the original location only 5 times over 35 years. The exchange fee with Interval International is now up to $229. So, add that to my average cost per year from above, and the cost is still well below what it might cost to stay in a two-bedroom condo for a week anywhere.

And here is the BEST part, you can stay virtually ANYWHERE in the world—which is definitely a pro. The con is that you have to go through the exchange website and find units that are available where you want to go during the week you are available to vacation. If you are open to going anywhere in the world, you can certainly find someplace to go! However, our travel preference is to go someplace warm within driving distance, which limits our choices.

A few years ago, my timeshare property changed how exchanges were handled, so instead of exchanging through Interval International, I was asked to sign up for a membership with Diamond Resorts, which is now a part of Hilton Grand Vacations. This expanded the list of available resorts; however they use a “tier” system, which means, based on the “vacation value” of my resort, I may pay an additional charge to stay at a nicer or more popular resort.

I chose to also keep my Interval membership because for the last few years they have given me “Certificates” which allowed me to choose a location without exchanging my week. This means that I now have the option to vacation TWO weeks out of the year. Some years I have had access to two Certificates, which meant I could vacation for THREE weeks. I never figured out why I got the extra ones, but who’s going to look a gift horse in the mouth? To use my Certificate, I find an available location during a week I want to travel, and can book it for a small fee, which is now up to $299.

We recently used a Certificate to book a 3-bedroom condo at Southwind Villas in Hilton Head. We invited friends to vacation with us, and they were each happy to contribute $50 a night to help with expenses. Each couple had their own private bedroom and bathroom. We all got to stay in a beautiful resort for nearly nothing, and we had a wonderful time together!

Pros

Exchange Privileges: So, to summarize, I can use my exchange privileges to travel anywhere in the world three weeks out of the year. For each week I go, I pay either an exchange fee of $229 (unless I choose a higher-valued location) or a certificate fee of $299 for an entire week’s stay each time. To me, this is a huge pro.

Free Home Resort Stay: Even if I don’t exchange, I can visit my home resort in Kissimmee, during Week #31, and pay nothing (except of course my annual maintenance fee and my two exchange membership annual fees, which I’m going to pay whether I go anywhere or not).

Quality Resorts: Almost all of the resorts are nice, modern, beautiful places with loads of amenities. Some are rated higher than others, are newer than others, and are in better locations than others. I’ve never stayed anywhere that I would consider as “a dump” or substandard. You can look at the reviews to determine just how nice a place is and if it fits your needs.

Ability to Gift or Rent: For $69, in addition to the exchange or certificate fees, I can “gift” my week to someone, and they can go on vacation. Or, you can charge someone to use your timeshare week. We did that one time in the late 1990’s, and the going rate at that time was $1,800 for the week.

Yearly Vacation Incentive: If I hadn’t owned a timeshare, I most likely would not have gone anywhere for vacations many years. I am thankful for the many wonderful vacations I have experienced over the last 35 years! I have visited numerous resorts, mostly along the Florida Gulf and Atlantic coasts, and have cherished the mornings I’ve been able to sit on a deck, drinking coffee, feeling the ocean breezes, enjoying the magnificent views.

Cons

Sales Pitch: Every time you go stay at one of the timeshare resorts for the week, you are invited to attend a breakfast or other gathering, which is their code for “sales pitch”. I attended a few of these, and learned that I could just say no, and not be bothered with it. Some of the presentations were painless, but a few were just awful, with high-pressure tactics. You would usually get something free for attending.

One time I got free tickets to see the Blue Man Show at Universal. I was vacationing with a girlfriend, and we went to the presentation together. They usually require you to attend with your spouse if you are married, but this was a girl’s week out, so no spouse was present, and I told them that. The saleslady tried to sell us a timeshare as a “couple”. She did her fast talk for about 45 minutes, then pushed some papers in front of us, and said to just sign here and to give her a credit card for a down-payment. The paper was a contract for a $30,000 timeshare, at some exorbitant interest rate. We politely declined, and she gave us our Blue Man Tickets.

Another time, I WAS with my spouse, and we went to the presentation because we were curious, and because they were giving free tickets to the Daytona Speedway Museum. The salesman was very pushy and rude, especially when we declined his sales offer. Since the presentation was billed as two hours, he said we had to sit there and wait until the two hours were over before he would give us our tickets. We were on a beautiful veranda next to the Atlantic Ocean, so it wasn’t a horrible experience to sit there and wait.

Low Resale Value: Resale value for timeshares is very low, so your maintenance fee is a lifetime commitment unless you bail out without expecting to recoup your purchase price. Actually, your timeshare becomes part of your estate when you die, so it’s more than a lifetime! You may have seen the ads where a company will help you escape your timeshare, and I’ve never pursued that because I’ve been able to use it frequently. When the day comes that I can no longer vacation every year, I’ll have to figure out a way to relinquish or liquidate it so that I’m not responsible for the annual maintenance fee.

Summary

Timeshare ownership can be a worthwhile endeavor. Just as with anything, though, it’s important to carefully consider all the pros and cons, and don’t allow yourself to be pressured into a quick long-term financial obligation without knowing all the facts up front. You need to be aware of not only the initial investment, but also the annual maintenance fees, membership fees, exchange fees, etc. Think about whether or not you want to be committed to a vacation at the same location every year, or if you will want to use your timeshare as a springboard for a vacation exchange program.

I hope you have found this blog post helpful. If you have comments or questions about this topic, please leave us a note in the textbox provided. We would also love to hear about other timeshare experiences you may have had—bad or good.