The Florida Fun Family loves to vacation! With so much to do in the state of Florida, we mostly staycation. Recently, we attended a couple of different company’s vacation ownership presentations to see if vacation ownership is a good option for us. Between the two presentations, we walked away with a cruise, 3-night stay at Daytona Beach, a Visa Gift Card, $50 dining voucher, a 5 and 7-day stay at another resort within the next year.
Although I was really close, the one thing I didn’t walk away with was a vacation ownership package. We did the math and it just didn’t make sense to us right now, but is vacation ownership right for you?
What is vacation ownership?
What I am talking about here is not the traditional timeshare that you may be familiar with where you have one week at the same resort every year. Today, I am talking about the world of vacation clubs.
Vacation clubs are usually associated with a specific resort brand like Wyndham, Marriot, Hyatt, etc. Their members are given a certain amount of points each year and have the ability to travel to any resort within their chain in accordance with their points.
Cost
The first thing to think about when considering purchasing a vacation ownership is the cost. Every company has its own financing department and will gladly loan you money so that you are part of their club. The question is if you don’t have the means to plop down $20k that day, does a $400 to $1000 a month payment something you can afford? Does it make sense to you? It sure didn’t to me. I politely explained to the sales rep that $400 a month is more than my current car payment.
Another thing to consider with the cost is the annual maintenance fees. We attended two presentations and only one company required annual maintenance fees, but these fees are annually forever, long after your vacation package loan is paid in full.
What about transportation? A vacation in Hawaii or Europe sounds nice, but we all know how expensive plane tickets are to get there. Now I have to factor travel into the equation. During the presentation, we were told that you can utilize your points for airline tickets but when actually purchased with points, you are spending more on the airline tickets and losing some of your vacation days.
Lastly, with the cost in mind, you have to consider how much would an equivalent vacation cost without a vacation ownership?
We always find great deals online when we plan our travel. I have even scored good deals directly from both companies whose presentations we attended this summer. It is possible to stay in their resorts without owning. The last presentation we attended I was told a 2 bedroom suite was $700 a night at their resort. Little did the rep know that I had booked the same room for $150 a night on my own. This led me to believe they may inflate the value of their rooms a bit to their owners.
Resale Options
When we returned home from our last trip that was paid for by attending the presentation, I decided to do a little internet research. I was so close to buying into the vacation ownership that I had to know more. What I discovered were hundreds of resale timeshares that were available for the fraction of the cost that the company was offering.
These resales were being offered by private owners who either couldn’t afford the costs, weren’t using it, or regretted their purchase after the legal time frame to rescind their contract (which in the state of Florida is only three days). At that moment I decided if and when I was ready to purchase, I would purchase a resale.
Pros and Cons of Vacation Ownership
So of course cost is always the main thing when considering purchasing a vacation ownership, but that is why it is the main objection that the high-pressure sales reps have to overcome. Here are some other pros and cons to vacation ownership.
Pros
- Opportunity to travel to various places and explore the world.
- Access to deluxe vacation accomodations.
- Once you pay off your investment, you now do not have a “hotel bill” when you travel.
- You can pass down the trust to your children or another heir.
Cons
- Availability of Locations. Can you stay where you want, when you want?
- Annual Fees.
- Can not vacation outside of the company’s properties and partners.
- Your heir will be left with the annual fees that maybe they don’t want or can’t afford.
I am sure there are many more pros and cons individuals who have purchased into vacation ownership could add to this list. I am more certain that any sales rep at a presentation would add at least 10 more pros and all of my cons would be objected.
The pros and cons and information provided in this post are all from my experience attending presentations. So if you ever find yourself in the hot seat of a vacation ownership presentation and on the verge of purchasing, ask yourself, is vacation ownership right for you? Does prepaying for your vacations make sense for your family?