10 Reasons To Buy A Timeshare

If you do a search in the so-called “mainstream press” over the past 6 months, you’ll find all sorts of “Stay Away From Timeshare” pieces. These pieces have a few things in common:

• They are all written by writers who have never experienced a timeshare vacation.
• They are all written by writers who assume that just because the vast majority of timeshare resorts still unfortunately employ outdated and heavy-handed marketing and sales practices, the product “can’t” be any good.
• They are all written by writers who still (sigh) are quick to condemn timeshare by saying that they are lousy investments (they are, but ever try selling 10 years of hotel bills?).

In truth, there are some excellent reasons to NOT purchase a timeshare. For all you skeptics out there, here they are, in no particular order:

• You don’t understand what you are buying. If you can’t understand it from the salesperson, the resort or the reseller, you are not going to understand it enough to use it to your advantage.
• You don’t vacation, see no need for vacation, have no plans to vacation and/or don’t enjoy vacation.
• When you do vacation, you typically spend less than $80 per night and less than 7 nights per year.
• Paying for the timeshare will significantly reduce the quality of your life.

Now that we got that out of the way, let’s concentrate on what timeshare is, what it can do for you and 10 reasons that you should buy a timeshare:

1. You vacation on a somewhat regular basis, you enjoy vacationing and you plan on continuing to vacation.
   This is a simple, basic, yet overlooked reason to make the jump into timeshare. Without using the horrid word “invest” in financial terms, doesn’t it make sense to “invest” in something that you own instead of rent?
2. You typically spend more than $80 per night for your vacation
   accommodations.
   If you do spend more than $80 per night for vacation accommodations, you will undoubtedly understand what your money gets you in a hotel (not much) and more importantly, you will reach “financial break-even” in a relatively short period of time.
3. You place long-term value over short-term cost.
   Just like a house…in the beginning, a timeshare may NOT save you money in the short run. But as we discussed above, if you plan on using it for a while, you are likely to save money even when you factor in the maintenance, real estate taxes and exchange fees.
4. You want to leave a vacation legacy.
   It does sound like a hackneyed phrase used by timeshare salespersons world-wide, but the truth of the matter is that for most people, vacations are some of the most valuable time they will spend with their family. I don’t know about you, but I can’t tell you what I received from my parents for my 18th birthday, but I can tell you every details of the vacation we took that year. And if I had children, that’s something that I would want them to experience as well. Leaving your heirs $20,000 in cash is a nice idea indeed. Which makes the greater gift… $20,000 in stuff that is designed to wear out, or a quality vacation that can be used and enjoyed and shared every year?
5. You want and feel you deserve “more” and “better” in every sense of the word.
   More space, more amenities, more luxury, more choices than you knew you had access to, better value, better service, better experiences.
6. In terms of planning your vacation you fall into one of these four categories:
   a. Long-Term Planner
   b. Short-Term Planner
   c. Let’s Try Something New
   d. I Like Routine

I am well aware of the exchanging problems that many owners experience on a yearly basis and I’m not going to whitewash them. However, if you fall into one of these four categories, you are in luck. Long-term (1 year or more) planners are likely to get what they want in an exchange, provided they own the right product. Short-term (90 days or less) planners will be rewarded with a plethora of options due to other owners not understanding the system or canceling. Staying away from requesting a specific resort or even a specific area, the “let’s try something new” people will find thousands of resorts that offer great vacation experiences. Sure, Hawaii, Myrtle Beach, Sanibel Island, Newport Beach and Vail may be tough to get into, but there are just as many other great locations that aren't. And you dyed in the wool “we only go to the Wisconsin Dells every year the 2nd week of July people”? Wonderful! Get a fixed week in your resort and voila! No reservations necessary.

7. You can cut through the bull and understand exactly what timeshare will and won’t do for you.
   Don’t believe everything you hear, good or bad. Get yourself some education, talk to other owners, do your homework, do some research, hire a consultant.
   
8. You want more control of your vacations.
   Get involved. You can’t run for a seat on a hotels’ Association Board because it doesn’t exist. You can (and should) get an active voice and vote on your resort’s Homeowners Association Board. Understand the trading process…which gives you more control? Deposit First or Request First? Understand your trading power…which gives you more control? Weeks or Points?
9. You want more of a “home” feel when vacationing.
   One of the reasons people, maybe you, don’t enjoy vacationing is that you move yourself and your family from a 3 or 4 bedroom home into one small room for a week or more, and find you all suffer from cabin fever. You don’t live in one small room at home, why do that on vacation? If you like to make snacks at midnight and watch movies at home, 15 stale bags of Cheetos and flat Coke from the vending machine down the hall isn’t going to cut it, is it?
   You like and use the many discounts that timeshare offers you.
10. Bonus Weeks, Getaway Weeks, discounts on airfare, car rentals, attraction tickets, restaurants, dinner shows and travel services just to name a few. When was the last time you rented a hotel room for a week and they gave you access to another week for only $259? When was the last time you used, or even looked at all those “perks” that came with your timeshare way back when you bought it? And if you haven’t taken the jump into timeshare yet, remember to ask about all of these discounts and perks.

Timeshares are NOT for everyone. And no, timeshares can’t be sold for a profit. But they will give you better vacations, they will open the door to vacations that you never thought you would be able to experience, they do make total financial sense and they are affordable for the vast majority of vacationing Americans.

Holiday is pleased to partner with Lisa Ann Schreier. Customers who purchase timeshares from Holiday's site may request a FREE, signed copy of Lisa's "Timeshare Vacation for Dummies".

About Lisa Ann Schreier-Ms. Schreier is the founder of Timeshare Insights, an independent consulting and education source. She has recently been featured on CNBC, in Men’s Journal, Barron’s, GRAND Magazine, on National Public Radio, This Week In America and on more than 75 local and national radio programs.

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