Timeshares promise a world of endless vacations and great savings. Since they became popular decades ago their price has skyrocketed. Leaving the question of whether they are still a good value.
Timeshare Travel | Cheaper than hotels?
Time share salesmen have fancy math to prove that timeshares are a great investment and you save hundreds of thousands of dollars by buying one.
Their math usually ignores the time value of money of equivalent investments, and the inflation risks of items such as maintenance fees and insurance.
The main benefits of buying a timeshare have nothing to do with financial investment benefits. Comparing the cost savings of buying a time share to renting hotel rooms is an unfair comparison. Such comparisons should never be your reason for buying a timeshare.
Timeshare Travel | Eating In
One of the best benefits of having a timeshare is that they usually come with a full kitchen. For a family of four, this can mean saving hundreds of dollars a day by eating in. Even if you eat out, it allows you to bring home leftovers, and eat them later.
On my last timeshare vacation to West Palm Beach Florida, we ate in almost every meal. At the end of the trip, I had to wonder if a week of dishes and eating in was really a vacation. It did free up more time for us to see local attractions such as the JFK Space Center, but we had missed out on going to some local dives.
It is hard to overlook that we probably saved $500-$1000 (for two people) by eating in almost every day.
The local grocery store at West Palm Beach had friendly people who were able to tell us the good places to go around town, and was a great resource for our trip.
Timeshare Travel | Guaranteed Vacations
Another big advantage to owning a time share is that it forces you to take a vacation every year. It is so easy to skip vacations in today’s busy world. Being ‘forced’ to take a vacation every year ensures that you get some much needed R & R in your life.
Timeshare Travel | Shop Around
If you are going to take the plunge and get a time share, always do your research. Buying the first offer from a hard sell salesperson will normally get you the very worst price. Salespeople usually have three tiers of offers (each progressively lower), and there are also independent sites where time share owners sell their time share directly. Do your research, and never buy a timeshare after a hard sales pitch.
