Is a Timeshare a Good Idea for Family Travel?
Yep, we’re going there. We’re going to talk about the dreaded topic of timeshares. Some say that they are your best option for travel. Others argue that they are not worth the money or the hassle. The truth, from our perspective, is that they are a resources that, when used effectively, can add great benefits to your travel.
We are the owners of two timeshares. Both were acquired through gifts from friends and family. Being lucky enough to not have to pay the upfront purchase prices most likely influenced our overall opinion of their value. So take our advice with a grain of salt. And always do what is best for your family financially.
Here are a couple of perks to owning a timeshare:
You get more space for your family
Don’t get us wrong, hotels are great. But, hotels have tight living quarters. If you’ve ever traveled with an antsy little one, you know how difficult it can be to keep them quiet in a hotel room.
Timeshares offer options from studio apartments to three bedroom condos. Sometimes, it’s necessary to have more room to get the fidgets out and to be a little bit louder.
One Thanksgiving, we were able to rent an isolated cabin for our family and some friends. Then, we didn’t have to worry about people next door hearing us and calling the front desk to complain about crying kids.
Meal savings
There are many travel expenses, and meals are no exception. Eating out on vacation can be pricey.
With the exception of some studio apartments, your timeshare will have a kitchen, with a full refrigerator, oven, microwave, etc. This allows you to prepare low cost meals and save money.
If you prefer to eat out and not have to cook during vacation you can run with that too. But, we like eating breakfast, preparing a dinner or two, and providing late night snacks at the timeshare and saving a few bucks.
Some Additional Amenities
Many timeshares offer in-unit washer and dryer. There is nothing better than doing laundry before packing your bags.
Most timeshares will have a pool. Some have a playground. Many have video gaming consoles. Most include free Wifi. You may discover a mini golf course, pickleball court, or other sports offerings.
Some, but not all, will include free parking during your stay.
Thinking of purchasing a timeshare? Here are some details you may want to consider:
Points versus weeks
There are two basic timeshare offers out there. In the older, more traditional model, you purchase a resort location and buy a week. You are set up with a specific week of the year, in a specific unit type (one bedroom, 2 bedroom, etc), at a specific resort.
This is a good option for families that enjoy vacationing at the same spot year after year, like an annual summer vacation to Orlando. The only flexibility you have in this model is to trade your week for a week somewhere else through 3rd party timeshare exchanges such as RCI or Intervals International.
Exchanging your week is actually rather easy, but does come with an added fee and you cannot break the week up into a few nights at multiple resorts.
The newer, points model offers you more flexibility. You technically are still buying a specific week at a specific resort. However, that week equates to a set number of annual points. Use points as currency within a network (Hilton, Wyndham, etc).
Your points can be used all at once, or divided up into multiple trips throughout the year. For example, you may have 5,000 annual points and spend it across 2 different vacations, a 5 night stay in Orlando for 3,500 points and a 2 night stay in Colorado for 1,500 points.
Each reservation may have a nominal booking fee. Some timeshares allow you to stay at your home resort for no additional fees.
The points model tends to be a bit more expensive, yet vastly more flexible, than the specific week model.
Yearly fees
After you have purchased your week, you will have to pay yearly maintenance fees. Be aware that the cost of these fees can increase over time and tend to be the thing that attribute to timeshare owners regretting their purchases. Fees vary greatly between resorts and physical locations.
This is where a little homework can greatly pay off. If you are looking more to the points model and not a specific resort, purchase somewhere with lower maintenance fees. You will save thousands of dollars over the course of ownership.
Make sure you include the maintenance fee when deciding if a timeshare makes financial sense for your family.
The pitch
We have been to way too many timeshare sales pitches. Usually we go with absolutely no intention of buying and are only there for the promised freebies like attraction tickets, gift cards or free future vacations. Yes, just like 99% of the other people in the room.
These pitches are not fun and they last WAY too long. That’s the truth.
The salespeople want you to make an emotional and rash decision. They will use all kinds of high pressure techniques. We have seen it ALL.
However, if you’ve done your homework and are ready to purchase a timeshare, let us let you in on a little secret. The best offer will be at the end of the pitch. If you sit through the sales pitch and want to purchase, wait until the final offer before you’re booted out the door. It’s going to give you the most bang for your buck. Just don’t tell them that we told you so.
Affiliate programs
When you purchase a timeshare, you also get the opportunity to participate in affiliate programs, such as RCI or Intervals International. You might have to pay a little more to join these affiliate programs, but it is worth the expense since these groups allow you to exchange your week, or points, to travel anywhere in the world.
For example, we own points through Hilton Grand Vacations and they do not have a resort in South Dakota. However, since we are also in the RCI exchange, we can use our Hilton points toward any RCI participating resort, several of which are located in South Dakota!
These affiliate programs also have global options, so we can book lodging in Scotland if we want to search for Nessie.
Timeshares are difficult to sell
Yes, we know that timeshares can be difficult to unload if you are no longer able to afford them. The internet is full of “Sell Your Timeshare” sites. Truthfully, it is difficult to sell a timeshare and the market is inundated with deeds for sale.
We advise that your seriously consider the long-term impact of a timeshare purchase. We know people who have tried unsuccessfully to sell their timeshare. That’s a real bummer.
So our best and greatest advice is to know what you are getting into. If you think you’ll be in over your head, don’t buy a timeshare. Vacation is supposed to be fun, not exhausting.
This article was update on February 22, 2024
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I haven’t heard of this concept may be because it is not popular in India. But I googled it and got some insights. Through your blog it seems like something that I would like to try and then share my own verdict.
This sounds like a cool opportunity to explore. I’ve heard of timeshares before but have never been sure what they entail. This is really useful – thanks!
They’re not right for everyone, but they work for us.
Really informative post.
That was an interesting read. I know about the concept but interesting to get some more in depth knowledge about the logistics behind it
I love time shares! My family has a few with Marriott and I agree that they can be difficult to navigate but completely worth the reward as we can use our weeks at any Marriotts in the world and get more space at each location (Family of 7 doesn’t fit well in tiny rooms!)
A family of four doesn’t fit well in tiny rooms either!
This was the most helpful description of time shares I’ve ever read. We’ve been offered perks to listen to a pitch but have never attended because of the hard sales approached we know they use. It seems like a great option for certain travelers.
It can be a good option. You do send a strong will to say “No” if it is not right for you.
The most significant part of the time share pitch is that you are now pre-paying for vacations – for good or for bad. If you really can’t afford this expense, you will be regretting for the emotional decision. If you have the free money, but need a little help with budgeting than this could be exactly what you need to fulfill your travelling dreams. If you are already an ample traveler and have a system worked out, make sure the offer that you are buying will enhance you travels, since you will be in a contract to continue to pay for it either way.
Yes. Well said.
Great read but having inherited two of them, my response is a flat out no. They are a big headache and almost impossible to get rid of. Though the resorts are pretty nice, they are definitely for a family that only takes a one week vacation each year and doesn’t want to have to think about planning their trip. It is expensive so I’ve never really understood the concept myself.
They are very difficult to sell. And there is an ongoing maintenance fee. So, yes, you definitely need to factor those things in when deciding to purchase.
I agree fully with your advice…’know what you are getting into’. Most of the people I know who bought a timeshare are eager to sell 🙂 In my personal opinion, I would prefer not to be tied down to locations and hotels.
This is really interesting. I’ve heard about these events where salespeople try to sell you and always thought I’d love to go for the freebies but wouldn’t be persuaded to buy! Timeshares can be wonderful, but it’s great that you got yours through family and not through a hard sell at an event!
This brings back memories. As a child, my parents and I came to a big city for holidays. We lived in a small country town so this was a big deal for us. We were on the Gold Coast and my parents got asked to attend a timeshare briefing which of course they had no idea what that was back in the 80s. As a kid, I remember being really angry with them because we got stuck in there for hours! Roll on 30 years and it’s interesting to read your take on timeshare and from what it seems, it’s still the same. I know people who have had a timeshare forever and swear by it, but mostly I head bad things about it. I also thought it was interesting what you’ve said about the difficulty in unloading them if you need to as well. Thanks for the update on this methodology.
Timeshares have been around for some time now and always the question of whether they are worth investing in or not crop up. Personally, we feel we would not be happy to invest up front in a timeshare and commit ourselves. Arguably the convenience and other benefits are there but one needs to do a cost-benefit analysis and see the financial angles as well.
I have always wondered about time shares, usually we run away from the guys when they say the words haha. Thank you for the information, I didn’t know there were two types as well, the points system seems a lot better overall for flexibility. I love having the option of having a kitchen on holidays as well, rather than relying on restaurants the whole time. Great article, thank you so much for sharing!
Thank you. The points system has worked well for us.
This sounds like quite an interesting concept which I have never encountered previously, thanks for sharing! I’ll be researching more before deciding whether to venture into this timeshare venture.
We are owners of points enough for 16 weeks of timeshare vacations, 12 of them all-inclusive! Do we like them? Yes, and I intend to write a post about it!
We would love to one day have 16 weeks of timeshares at our disposal. Maybe when the kids are out of the house!