Timeshare – What you need to know

So, what is the timeshare Sales Persons take on Timeshare?

This is the normal pitch.

When considering a timeshare, many travellers compare their options based on the experiences they have had with hotels. If you’re deciding between your timeshare and hotel options, here are a few things to keep in mind:

– Most timeshares are as good or better than a hotel in terms of luxury and service. Many of the finest timeshare resorts are owned by the most trusted names in the hotel industry, like Disney, Four Seasons, Hilton, and Marriott.

– Timeshares typically offer much larger accommodations than their hotel counterparts. Many timeshares include multiple bedrooms, fully equipped kitchens, dining areas, living room spaces, and balconies or patios.

– With a timeshare, you not only have access to luxurious accommodations but also to all that the resort has to offer, such as workout facilities, pools, tennis courts, activities for the kids, and much more.

– Your timeshare property is a vacation you can rely on. Rather than worrying about hotel room availability, especially during peak seasons, your timeshare is there for you to enjoy year after year.

– Many timeshare properties offer exchange programs, enabling you to explore the country or even the world through the benefits of your timeshare ownership.

– Unlike a one-off stay at a hotel, your timeshare ownership is an investment that can be shared with friends and family and even passed on to future generations.

So what’s the real experience like?

Below is a typical response from a potential timeshare purchaser.

I’ve been suckered in the past into  attending timeshare presentations and definitely wanted to avoid spending our vacation time being pressured into buying property or joining a vacation club. I checked on TripAdvisor and saw several posts of travelers who complained about being bullied into sales presentations we decided to lower our expectations, especially since it was a free trip but we were determined to stand firm and avoid any sales presentations.

Everything seemed fine when we arrived the resort. We were offered transport from the airport, and upon reaching the resort, we noticed it was one of many properties owned by a company called Vedanta.

The service was impeccable during check-in but as soon as we received our keys we were immediately asked to meet with a manager. The manager explained the key attractions and benefits at the resort then asked if he could invite us to a free breakfast. Alarm bells rang, and we politely declined repeatedly. The manager kept insisting that we attend and wanted to show us all the benefits of becoming a member of a luxury vacation club we still said no. The manager also inquired about booking excursions and when we informed him that we had already booked our own tours online he seemed pretty annoyed.

Fast-forward to the evening and we noticed that the room was really noisy, the wall seemed thin and we had a connecting door that didn’t help.

We could practically hear our neighbours’ conversation and the music they were playing on their phone. Since we had an early morning tour planned, we decided to ask the front desk if we could switch to a different room, preferably one without a connecting door, or at least a connecting room that was unoccupied.

We were really surprised at what happened next. The front desk was unwilling to assist us; we went back and forth with the manager for about an hour and at one point they agreed to move us in another room. We were asked to pack up our stuff and return to the front desk when we waited there for about an hour and then we were told that the room was not available and that we would have to stick to our original one. Frustrated, we decided to leave the resort the next day and forfeit our free stay.

Using my Chase Ultra Reward points I transferred 60,000 points to Hyatt and booked to stay at the Andaz Mayakoba Resort Riviera Maya down the road the hotel was incredible and provided a complete contrast to our experience at the Mayan Palace

So what’s the difference between a hotel versus a timeshare or vacation club for those of you who don’t know the difference

Timeshares are agreements where several joint owners have the right to use a property as a vacation home usually for a specific period of time. The key aspect here is the owner as you’re purchasing the right to the property even if it’s only for a week or two in a year

Timeshare owners usually acquire a real-estate deed for specific dates at a designated property; it’s like owning two weeks of a furnished condo in Hawaii. There are maintenance fees to be paid for the upkeep of the property, although these tend to be less than the costs associated with owning a second home or property.

With timeshares, you often have the option to participate in networks where you can exchange stays with other timeshare owners, enabling you to holiday in different properties around the world. However, this can sometimes be challenging, especially during peak travel periods and in sought-after locations.

Vacation clubs are slightly different, it’s essentially a membership that grants you the right to access properties under an umbrella of resorts. The crucial term here is the right to access rather than purchasing a property; you pay a membership fee to your resort.

You’ll gain more flexibility on the location and time you wish to utilise but you’ll sacrifice the equity that you would earn if you purchased a timeshare.

In summary,the pros for timeshares are:

• Ownership and built equity
• Consistency in the timing
• Flexibility to exchange your timeshare with another owner

The cons for timeshares include:

• Limited flexibility regarding vacation timing.
• Annual maintenance fees
• Fewer services compared to a regular hotel or resort

For vacation clubs the pros are

• Greater diversity of destinations and types of resorts
• Slightly more flexibility with vacation timing
• Access to more hotel and resort services

The cons for vacation clubs are:

• they’re typically more expensive than timeshares both upfront and annually
• Availability may be limited; it could be challenging to book during peak seasons
• you have no equity or ownership
• You lack the ability to exchange outside of the vacation club network

If you do decide to purchase or join one of these resorts here are some factors to consider:

1) Resort hiring costs and prices. My experience with holiday clubs suggests that resort prices are generally higher compared to the value received. While I anticipate meals being pricier at a resort or hotel, I don’t mind if the quality matches. Unfortunately, we discovered that the prices for meals, drinks, and groceries often outweighed the quality and customer service. Since it can be challenging to leave the resort, you may become overly reliant on what’s available and the charges incurred.

2) Prices may not be competitive. There are numerous stories online of individuals researching to stay at the exact same location and time frame, only to find it costs the same or less than their timeshare or vacation club rate. Additionally, with services like Airbnb, you now have more options when booking accommodation, so consider this when weighing up the fees associated with a vacation club or timeshare.

3) limited flexibility. This mainly applies to vacation clubs. I’ve found that these resorts typically want to control the customer experience and when you deviate from it, you often encounter problems or lack of support.

Our story from earlier is a perfect example everything seemed great until we deviated from the planned structure

We declined to attend the sales presentation and arranged our own independent tours. When we wished to depart, we were compelled to have our luggage transported back to the resort’s main lobby instead of simply calling for a taxi to pick us up directly from our resort. Upon raising the matter with the manager, he remained unwilling to accommodate us, despite certain guests being granted direct pickups from the resort.

This extended our checkout process by an additional 45 minutes, and we felt uneasy surrendering our luggage, particularly given the conflict we had already encountered with the resort.

4) High-pressure sales tactics are something I can personally attest to. The methods employed by timeshare networks and vacation clubs are exceedingly aggressive. They usually try to lure you in with gifts or free services like meal tours and event tickets then you’re stuck in a long presentation where the price keeps dropping and the pressure to sell increases

I know it is the nature of the industry to sell, I find it intolerable to spend my vacation time being coerced and bullied into a deal.

5) difficulty getting out. One common tactic that’s often used by timeshares and sometimes by vacation clubs is the idea that you can commit now and if you change your mind you can just call and cancel within a specified period of time. These clauses, known as cooling-off periods, are often presented alongside justifications such as “Why not secure the price now with no penalty if you change your mind”. However, the reality is that they make cancellations very cumbersome, often requiring numerous phone calls to different offices and the submission of various official documents.

Some vacation clubs even disallow cancellations so make sure to check the agreement if you’re considering entering into such a deal.

6) disputes.  This applies to any hotel or resort stay, not just vacation clubs.  If you encounter a payment dispute with the hotel.  I was just refusing to sign the credit card receipt or invoice while the hotel and resort can still charge you the fee.

You essentially forfeit the right to a dispute; by signing the invoice since you’re agreeing to the charges. We made this mistake at the Mayan Palace and we’re stuck with four nights of resort fees when we only stayed there one night. They declined to waive the fees and told us to call the booking agent. When I called them afterward they said that we were misled since they don’t deal with or receive any of the resort fees and that, as I’d signed the credit-card invoice, I essentially waived my right to a chargeback. So definitely don’t make the same mistake as us!

Of course, there are individuals who adore their timeshare and genuinely find value in it. I suppose I just really value having more flexibility in my travels and with points and miles and Airbnb, I feel like I’m able to travel and afford things that would normally be out of reach.

One other thing that’s really important to me is customer service and intention I don’t expect things to be perfect but I expect there to be an intention to resolve issues. My experience at the Mayan Palace versus Andaz Mayakoba Resort was like night and day.

While we felt trapped, and unsupported at the Mayan Palace our experience at the Andaz Mayakoba made us appreciate the importance of customer service and our desire to feel like valued guests when visiting a hotel.

Timeshare Reviews