A pal of mine emailed me a few days ago asking:
Do you have a hilton grand vacations hgvc timeshare? Which resort do you usually go to? Are you happy with it?
We went back and forth in email, including me explaining some of the math behind time shares and why they’re such a bad idea for most people (myself included, in hindsight) and so I thought I’d publish the back and forth here, add some additional comments, and invite you readers to add your own two cents and your experiences with timeshares, whether you jumped or not.
Ready? Here we go…
I responded: We paid $110,000 for a double-timeshare share at the fanciest new King’s Land location in the Waikaloa Beach area (Kona Coast) of the Big Island of Hawaii. When Linda and I separated, however, and we took a two-location, shared kids, trip to Hawaii for a few weeks, she booked through Hilton Grand Vacations and I just went to the vacation rentals by owner (VRBO) Web site and booked a nicer place with far, far less hassle.
The theory of timeshares is good, but my experience is that the reality is that it’s so complicated to figure out their point system and when you can / can’t get what you want, when you want, that I strongly suggest you put the money into a CD and use sites like vrbo.com to book your trips instead.
For example, check out this page to see how many rentals there are on just the Waikoloa coast area on the west side of the Big Island of Hawaii.
My friend, rather surprised to get this information from me (I think he expected it was a better deal), responded:
Thanks for the straight scoop, that’s very sobering. You were one of the few people I know who had bought a timeshare and I thought you were still high on it.
We would only buy one on the used market but I think we’re leaning away even from that. The annual fees scare me and it seems like they can increase them at will. I like the idea of renting other people’s timeshares — there is a huge market for that and lots of bargains.
Also, VRBO looks great.
My response:
Yeah, ultimately it’s about complexity. I really like being able to just go where I want, when I want, and timeshares only work if you actually use them annually for at least 20 years, then the math starts to work in your favor.
I mean, our Hawaiian timeshare was about $110k plus I think $2k/annual fee and a $180 booking fee per trip. My VRBO condo was about $1300/week (maybe?) for a two bedroom. We planned on using it 2-3 weeks/year, so that’s $2,600-$3,900 flat fee versus $110,000. How many years do you have to actually go on vacation before the numbers balance out?
To be fair, I will say that the rooms and the facilities are gorgeous. Here’s a typical King’s Land room:
Nice, eh? But if we would have gone for two weeks every year for a decade then run out of steam and stop using it, that room would cost me about ($110,000/10)/2 per week, or an impressive $5,500/week. At that rate I want a butler, cook and driver thrown in, and probably a private jet to get me to Hawaii in the first place.
The worst thing is that of course that’s not the full math because there’s at least a $2200 annual fee and that $180/trip booking fee too, so let’s say $6,000 per week, paid in advance.
Now there are definitely people who groove on timeshares, but I expect that they have less expensive options, and indeed, I should point out that the King’s Land Hilton Grand Vacation Club resort is one of the most expensive ones in the entire chain, and that if were were willing to stay in the older HGVC resorts in Waikoloa Beach, we’d have had enough points for a month/year there. So that’s $2,500/week across a decade, but again, the math doesn’t quite work out that nicely and there’s no mention of the fact that nailing down what we wanted, when we wanted it, was a pain in the booty.
Nonetheless, my kids are very flexible when it comes to vacations, so if I go back to the VRBO site and look for two or three bedroom condos available for a week, it’s about five minutes to find a three-bedroom + loft condo in a great location about a half-mile from the King’s Land Resort, priced at $199/night (or $1,393/week):
[see more info] [makes me want to book and go out there for a few weeks, actually!]
In a nutshell, timeshares seem to be a relatively obsolete concept to me with the rise of Internet-based vacation rental sites like VRBO.com. If you have the ability to dig around, why go through the hassle and tie up your cash in advance?
Marriott International Inc. disclosed in Sept 2009 that it will stop developing new time-share and luxury-residential projects and write down the value of timeshares under construction by $760 million.
The Wall Street Journal wrote, “The three largest time-share players — Wyndham Worldwide Corp., Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. and Marriott — already had dramatically pared their time-share businesses in the past year to reflect weakening demand, falling prices and difficulty securitizing loans for consumers.”
“[The timeshare] business, at least for the next 10 years, is going to remain permanently shrunk,” said Joseph Greff, a gambling and lodging analyst for J.P. Morgan Securities, speaking of the time-share and luxury-residential markets in general.”
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125371358595033997.html#mod=todays_us_marketplace
Vacation Rental home owners are taking a beating, too, in this dreadful economy. I speak from experience.
Better link for the Wall Street Journal Article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125371358595033997.html
We also like the flexibility – and inexpensive cost – of renting a timeshare. We use http://www.redweek.com and have gotten wonderful deals in some great luxury resorts.
I so agree with you about the nonsense of buying a timeshare. But I gotta say that thank heavens some people own them, and want to rent them out, because renting a timeshare has been for us a saving grace in getting to have family vacations. They are so much less expensive (we get ours through http://www.redweek.com) than hotel rooms, and come with all of the perks that resorts have to offer.
I love me VRBO. The company rocks!
I’m in the industry, so it may sound weard, but my only advice is “don’t buy timeshare” (maybe unless you have a relative working for the exchange program…)
I am trying to rent a condo in Kings Land for a trip with my daughter. Do you still have contact info for the one you rented. I can’t seem to find any on VRBO or redbook
Melinda, I dug around and couldn’t find any information other than this:
http://www1.hilton.com/en_US/hi/hotel/KOAKLGV-Kings-Land-Hawaii/index.do
I will note that I gave my share of our timeshare to my ex and when she goes on holiday, she stays at a different place and seems to have abandoned the timeshare entirely.
If you’re considering buying a timeshare, be smart and buy a timeshare on the timeshare resale market. Not only will you save thousands of dollars, you’ll receive all the benefits included in vacation ownership. Itâs really important when buying or selling timeshares to deal with a reputable, licensed realtor who has extensive knowledge of the timeshare industry, however, so you don’t get ripped off.
you’ll save alot of money buying timeshare on the resale market but there is a catch. i work in the business and the companies don’t allow you all the benefits like that person said. if you go to that location great, but if you want to use your points for car rental, air fare, food, gas, gift cards. forgt it. if you get a weeks resort, there are issues also. just be carefull, people assume all the time that they can use all the benefits and then after buying are stuck with it. if you buy one resale, then buy another one at that same resort and they will combine the both and you’ll be ok.
I couldn’t agree more with the numbers not adding up for the Hilton Grand Vacations. I fell victim to the sales pitch in 2008 and have regretted it ever since. I have seen my annual maintenance fee raised significantly every year and is now $1,091. This of course doesnât include all of the small periodic fees for using my timeshare, nor the fees that are charged for not using my timeshare. I just recently made a reservation in December to use my 2010 points before they expired, but for some reason the system would only let me use my 2011 points for the reservation (and of course I got charged for this). Then my 2010 points expired and I had to call someone to complain about it, and I had to pay to ârescueâ my 2010 points (which was another $84). The HGV rep said I should read the rules more carefully because there are stipulations about why I can only use my 2010 points if I pay to move them to 2011.
Now maybe this program makes sense to some people, but for someone like me who barely has enough time to TAKE a vacation, this program has been a colossal waste of money. I feel like I sold my last cow for an ordinary bean.
that stink but all companies aren’t like that. you have to do your homework before buying or ask alot of questions when your on tour. some companies allow you to keep your points forever. it only cost 45.00 to put them into a seperate account and then you save them for food,airline tickets,shopping,car rental,cruise. so if you don’t go on vacation-cash them in for gift cards to best buy or dick sporting goods. all companies are different. i have worked at 4 different companies and they all have good things. your reps should help you, not run away after the sale. that’s why people are unhappy, they don’t get the service.
Thanks for this frank information, most useful for those of us getting all of the special offer emails from HGV, I will now delete them as they arrive.
What I find savoy owners do is rent part of their ownership out and use part of their ownership… buy doing this they are able to vacation annual free and have something to leave behind to future generations.
I felt as though this forum needed a different perspective, as it is HGVC is they only company expanding and doing more for their owners.. We have over 95% customer satisfaction approval rating from our owners and the most flexible system in the industry!
For all of the people who think the “Resale market” is the way to go… Good Luck! It is currently the biggest complaint in the state of FL and is the most unregulated market in terms of real estate in the country. Hilton last year set aside over $20 million to clear up the resale market, which is more than enough to buy any and everything you’ll see, so the question is, if we didn’t buy it… why would you?
Of course ownership isn’t for everybody and you can always find “deals” out there, but I was always taught, if you don’t own, you’re owned!
The true value comes when you leave behind lifetimes of vacations to future generations…. already paid off!
Thanks Nick.
We are new owners. Every other year option. I know we will use it. My goal is to pay it off early.
Congrats Danielle!
Remember you have an option on your contract to pick up the opposite year at a discounted rate!
Thanks for this. We are new HGVC owners, paid in full, I see the benefits but we are also not blind to pitfalls. We are on an every other year plan.
Found staff at HGVC to be great with follow up questions, etc.
Thank you for all of this information. I am about to sign with HGVC (tomorrow) and I am doing research. I clearly have more questions to ask.
I found some untruth to your article which makes me question your integrity and your intentions.
First, you have posted a picture of another HGVC property and labeled them as King’s Land when in reality the picture is from the guest room at Kohala Suites before their renovations.
Secondly if you indeed paid $110,000 that would have qualified you for various Elite Statuses which means your reservation fees would either be free or $39 if you were not booking your deed type. And if you were truly Elite that means you have a lot of points which can equate to much more than 2 weeks. I also question why you feel your ownership would only entitle you to returning to your property? Why not explore with your points and see the world? Heck, why not even book something like a $800/night hotel room in Europe?
I wrote this so many years ago I don’t remember much about the photos I included. And as for the Elite Status, I don’t recall hearing a word about that from our sales people when we bought the shares. Yes, we could have stayed elsewhere, but we didn’t want to, we wanted to stay in Hawaii at the property.
We would like to take a one week family vacation every other year and we attended a presentation on Friday 8/17/2012 and actually signed the deal with HGVC for $16,500 plus 860/year maintenance for a 2 bedroom unit. This deal is for 5,000 points every other year starting in 2013. They also gave us a signing bonus of 15,000 points plus an additional 2,400 points because we intend to pay this in full right away.
While this appears to be a reasonable program, it did not stop me from waking up with a panic attack the next morning…especially after reading some of the horror stories found online about never being able to book a vacation when or where you want.
We are still within the 10-day buyer’s remorse cancellation period and confusion with the actual use of the program has set in. Can anyone tell me (from actual experience) if this deal is worth it or if we should cancel?
It depends on a number of factors Rick.
1) Can you afford to spend the money you have signed up to spend? If so, pay off the loan as soon as you can. If you can’t, back out now.
2) Do you plan on staying at 5000 points every other year or might you eventually buy more? If you plan on staying at 5000, maybe you should back out and then buy resale. Just realize that there is a lot on passionate debate online about buying resale versus buying from HGVC (with the resale camp being far more vocal). The resale only camp would say that on a a strict price basis per point, it is cheaper, to buy resale. But buying resale means that you will lose out on your bonus points, which are substantial in your case. And you can use your bonus points to pay for your maintenance fees if you so choose. But bonus points do not renew each year like your club points do. If you plan on buying more points eventually, then be aware that Elite status and higher in HGVC requires that you purchase from HGVC.
For example, when my wife and I first purchased, we had a goal to eventually own 14,000 points/year (Elite) and soon after to buy up to 24,000 points/year (Elite Plus), so we never even considered resale. The Elite status gives some benefits, although again the resale camp would say it’s not worth it. But, as an Elite Plus member I have a specific person that I can call 24/7 to remove roadblocks provide information, and etc. I like that kind of service.
All in all though, you can’t go wrong with the quality of HGVC resorts. My wife and I have been delighted with them. Those that are bookable online are relatively easy to reserve and get what you want. It is the ones that are not bookable online that are harder to reserve. Good luck in your decision.
I guess I have a different take on HGVC and timeshares than does the author. No, timeshares aren’t for everyone, but they work for me. Here is my story.
I have spent my working life investing for retirement. My wife and I decided in 2010 to also invest in a timeshare. I do not view the timeshare as a financial investment. It is a lifestyle investment. My wife and I have taken more vacations in the last 2 year than we did in the previous 20 years. In addition, the quality of accommodations is far greater than we experienced previously. As Elite Plus HGVC members, we have seen great customer service, very good resorts, and excellent timeshare flexibility. In a sense, I have diversified my investments to include not only those that provide monetary return (my 401k), but also that provide lifestyle return (my timeshare).
But some would say, “Don’t invest in a timeshare, take that money, invest it in the markets, and use these monies for future vacation.” For me, however,this would emotionally limit me from taking vacations in years when returns are not good (like now, for example). Because of my timeshare purchase, I now find that I have the emotional freedom to take a vacation regardless of how my other investments are doing. Stated another way, putting money into a timeshare that I trust frees me to take the time for a vacation now. I am less concerned about having the funds in the future to take vacations because I have already spent a significant portion of the funds needed for these vacations in the past . The timeshare, Lord willing, is there for the rest of my life and can be passed on to my children.
Yes, there are maintenance fees, but this is the cost of ownership of the timeshare. If I had a vacation home, there would be larger maintenance fees plus the emotional and physical energy needed to keep the vacation home well maintained. With the timeshare, I have maintenance fees but no emotional, physical, or time investment is needed. Thus, I feel more free than I think I would feel with a vacation home. Maintenance fees are simply the marginal cost of taking vacations in a timeshare environment. They are “insurance payments” to make sure that the timeshare property is maintained at a high level of quality.
Bottom line: My wife and I have counted the cost and feel very good about the lifestyle returns that our timeshare purchase has given us. In the final analysis, the decision to purchase a timeshare is not merely a financial issue. It includes lifestyle and peace of mind issues also. It may not be for all people or temperaments, but it works for my wife and I.
We own timeshares in Hawaii (Kings Land) and Myrtle Beach (Anderson). Given the flexibility of the Hilton Grand Vacation system, we take vacations wherever HGVC resorts or Hilton Hotels are located.
I just did an interesting analysis on the value of Elite Plus ownership at HGVC:
The roughly $100,000 we invested in Elite Plus (24000 HGVC club points per year with a total grant of 66400 bonus points) could be invested in a joint life annuity on immediateannuity.com to yield $4800/year for the remainder of my wife and my lifetime (we are in our mid 50s–younger folks would get less per year from an annuity).
The 24000 yearly club points yields roughly 12 weeks of studio accommodations per year (1 week of studio costs 2200 points/week in platinum season and 1600 points/week in gold season, so I assume roughly 2000 points/week for a studio on average). Given HGVCs upgrade policy for Elite Plus, this could be converted to 12 weeks of a 1 bedroom suite. Nevertheless, assuming the value of accommodations is $100/night, this translates to a total value of $8400/year. Maintenance fees accounts for about $2400/year. This leaves the net value that I receive from the use of the 24000 points per year (from the $100,000 originally invested) at roughly $6000/year.
So in this very simple example, I’m up $1200/year comparing HGVC versus an annuity. If I factor in the 66,400 bonus points received, the “financial return” of my timeshare is even greater, increasing the value over an annuity from $1200/year to roughly $3500/year assuming the total value of the bonus points (just over 33 weeks of studio living = about $23240) is pro-rated evenly over 10 years.
This is a very subjective calculation, nevertheless I found it to be an interesting exercise.
Doug,
Thanks for the thorough response. You’ve definitely given us a lot to think about for the next day or so. I appreciate your time on this.
My pleasure Rick. BTW, I have just started a Facebook Page called “Exploring Hilton Grand Vacations Club”. This is not much there yet, but feel free to drop by, like the page, and post questions if you have any. As I mention above, I am an Elite Plus owner/member at HGVC but I am not in any other way affiliated with Hilton. Here is the link:
https://www.facebook.com/ExploringHiltonGrandVacationsClub
And one more thing Rick:
Based on the info you provided about your purchase, it appears to me that, excluding bonus points, the ROI is zero on your deal (the benefits of the days/year granted in points equals the maintenance fee). However, if you include the bonus points as a prorated item over 10 years, the ROI is roughly 4%, which is equal to what you would get in an annuity.
So what have you decided on your purchase?
All the best,
Hey Rick, you probably could care less, but being OCD, I have to correct what I think is an error in my ROI calculation above. The maintenace fees you state are likely every other year (I used every year in my calculation of zero ROI before bonus points. If it is every other year then the ROI is 2.8% before and 6.8% after bonus points
Thanks again for the calculations. We decided to cancel the contract although we may consider this again somewhere down the road.
I bought my HGVC in 1997 then upgraded in 1999. It was wonderful especially while my children were young. We traded it out every year and my kids and my husband and I travelled all over the place including two trips overseas. Now we are older and unable to travel as much, and I wonder of I can rent it out? Does anyone have info about how to do this without getting scammed?
Valerie,
The easiest way to know if it’s a scam is if they ask for money upfront… you should only collect money not spend.
Also remember you are the only one who can make reservations, no one else can book reservations with your points… You can book reservations under different names, but you have to be the one who calls.
Wow… I posted on this some time ago and thought I should check in… Doug, I work with Ivette at the corporate offices and read your responses that you sent to her. I thought wow, what a great way to break down ownership with HGVC and how to determine whether it fits your life style or not.
Fast forward, I happened to think about the forum and wondered if anyone had posted since I last visited in March… To my surprise, I found myself reading the same thing Ivette showed me!! What a coincidence!
I’m glad to see that HGVC owners have found this site and have responded with nothing but positive feedback, not a surprise to me as I talk with owners daily and know of their satisfaction.
The only thing I didn’t see mentioned about Elite is the top level Elite Premier! Talking about benefits!
Nick, nice to see you “at corporate” checking in here, but I think it’s a bit questionable to say it’s nothing but positive comments from owners when I originally wrote this as a HGVC owner who was dissatisfied. At this point my ex has the timeshare and as far as I can tell she definitely doesn’t use it to its full potential so I expect she’s probably not thrilled with the economics of the situation either…
I find negativity attracts negativity, when you originally started this forum everyone who responded followed your lead most if not all basing their opinions on assumptions and what they’d heard.
Since my post in Jan. of this year (2012), every commit has been positive!
As many have said, timeshare isn’t for everybody, it is a certain type of life style and not everybody can do it.
Perhaps you have found ways that work better for you, and that’s great! But if reading what Daniele, Heather, Donna, Guy, Doug, & Valerie wrote isn’t a turn in opinion I don’t know what is.
Guy said it best… If you spent over $100k, many years ago, you would be at least Elite if not better and would have the power to travel much more than 2 weeks a year. In addition to being able to travel the world.
We’re sorry this didn’t work for you and that your ex can’t seem to find a way to use over $100k worth of timeshare, perhaps have her speak with Doug who is similarly invested and seems to be ecstatic about his ownership.
My wife and I attended HGVC tour last year. We didn’t buy then but we were offered 5,000 points at a cost of $1,500 and we are booked for Waikoloa Village Hotel. As a bonus we were offered a two night stay at a local Hilton Hotel nearby. We made a reservation but could not make it. We were then contacted explaining that we were liable for $500 cancellation fee (what!). YES…they explain it as a bonus but quickly learned it was yet another attempt to coerce us into buying. We were required to do the same tour AGAIN. Talk about persistent. I have been in sales all my life and can appreciate zealousness of a sale. However, this 90 minute tour lasted 3+ hours. Even though, I explained to the sales rep that we were not interested. It was the same ol’ dog and pony show you experience at a car dealership when buying a car. Then their “closer” was a disaster. He didn’t shake my hand nor my wife’s when he sat at our table. He mumbled most of his words and threw in an occasional joke that made no one laugh but himself. Even our original sales rep shook his head a couple of times at the tings that were coming out of his mouth. The best part was his pitch on how he was going to throw in a bonus 2800 points just because he liked us. Hmmmm? Really?
And then the sore loser. It took our sales rep took 3+ hours of our time to make himself our buddy buddy…but it took him 10 minutes to let us know that we had wasted his time. As he escorted us out his demeanor was filled with obvious disgust. Where is the business etiquette that I used to know?
They don’t realize this but we ended up running into another couple who went through the same dog and pony show and they were offered 3400 points but the cost for their offer was $4,500 more for what we realized the same level of ownership.
Hilton – you are seriously ruining your reputation with experiences like this.
How does one get out of a contract? I recently signed, only yesterday and on one page it says I have 7 days to cancel, rescind is the word they use. I can’t tell how to get out of it. It talks about the grace period, but doesn’t say HOW to cancel.
This exchange has been helpful and would appreciate some furhter understanding. My wife and I just completed our third HGVC promo presentation. This was at Kings Land, for the first time we were actually open to buying in. We are 60 yrs old with grown children and take two vacations a year, one cruise and one nice land. We would continue to in retirement.
Here was the deal 2 BDRM with 14,400 pts for $74,000 and 1723 MF including 72,000 bonus pts. Leaving the bonus points aside, which I calculated out to be worth approx. $11,000 on the open market that is a $63,000 investment. We would pay it directly in cash.
Using a 4% inflation factor for the MF and the cost of paid vacation, and leaving the $63,000 as an investment, paying each year’s vacation out of it, receiving a 4% annual return. When finished that works out to approximately a 17 year payback!
A similar resale (if HGVC doesn’t ROFR) is available for $30,000.
Could someone help me understand the REAL benefit in buying into (1) a 17 yr payback? Why not just book yourself each year? And (2) is losing Elite status with the resale worth over $30k? Simply put what are we missing in not going forward with a time share?
Many of you appear to have a good understanding of this I would appreciate your views. Many thanks.
We bought every other year in Hawaii. This was a while ago but did not get as many bonus points. Almost upgraded but they were only giving 5K bonus points. So we did not upgrade. We are pretty happy as we dont use up all our alternate year points of 7K. So we either rescue to move forward and pull forward if we need to.
Gene G
Wow that is too high. The price per point is almost $5+. We bought ours in kingsland of course y years ago for less than $3 a point. We took every other year and 7k points. Works out pretty well. You are 60welcome yrs old and would never recommend my father to put all that into a club. Put it in a retirement savings. If you need a club membership then take a n alternate year membership. We used it to become members and if we need to get more time then just pay cash option which is far less than a hotel.
Hello,
I stumbled upon this discussion while doing web searches regarding the purchase of an HGVC timeshare.
From what I have seen so far there are no real long term monetary advantages purchasing directly from HGVC. The bonus points offered to us had a variable value depending on use. We re offer 1 million hilton honours points if we purchased 8400 gold points for approximately 34,000 dollars (annual).
The HH point value varies greatly. From what can gather it has a monetary value of approximately 10,000 dollars.
So far resale does seem the best method of purchasing. It is all about the points. Why would I pay 3 times or from HGVC and get the same vacation opportunity as purchasing resale? That’s crazy!
When I can purchase 11,000 plus points for approximately 7000 dollars.
Anyways I haven’t committed to anything,yet. But it has been fun looking into this type of ownership.
Regards
I, too, just attende, a sales presentation and did not purchase. I then did some research regarding resale possibilities and found them to be 40% – 60% lower than the quoted price during the presentation. Besides the bonus points, what are the procedual differences in booking properties with points purchased from Hilton versus points purchase by resale? Thanks.
My wife and I purchased HGVC in 2005 and started off with 3,500 pts worth one week in Orlando in a 2bedroom/2bath. The first time we used our timeshare we were badgered to attend an “owners update” to learn about new locations, etc. We attended and ended up doubling our points to 7,000 for a 3bedroom/2bath in Vegas. Now we are divorced and can’t afford to keep up with the mortgage and maintenance fee of $1,000 annually. Hilton informed us that they would buy our timeshare back from us for $3,000-$4,000. What an insult! We paid a total of $27,000 for the 7,000 points and we still owe $12,0000 which was refinanced by Hilton after five years and now the loan is all interests. They are really screwing us over right now and I have not way out because bad credit will cost me my job which. What should I do? The balance when we refinanced was $12,xxx and it’s still the same no money going to principal anymore.
If you’re thinking about purchasing HGVC, Do NOT buy into the presentation. The sales guides are hungry and just there to make as much money as they can, they don’t care about you. Timeshare is a major scam no matter what company you deal with. There is always a fee. A booking fee, a fee to transfer points to Hilton Honors and you will not get as many nights out of your points when you transfer to Hilton Honors, then there is a fee to transfer points over to RCI, and there is a fee to roll your points over to the next year so you don’t lose them.
They will drain you with fees and constantly increasing annual dues. If you decide you need to sell they will offer you no much more then $3,000 no matter what you paid. They don’t care if you lost your job or your spouse died or you medically unable to travel. You will pay for your timeshare until you die or sell it on e-Bay for $1. You have to basically give it away if you can’t use it any longer. It’s like a cancer.
Hilton will not even allow us to downgrade to a lesser amount, they say you can only upgrade. We had no clue that the annual dues would be less in a 1bedroom versus a 2 or 3bedroom. It’s all about the points. So what I’ve learned if you buy a timeshare found out which resort has the lowest annual dues and buy the smallest unit, because when you travel as long as you have enough points you can stay at any location and in any size unit you need.
If you’re smart you won’t buy into the scam, or you’ll buy one for $1 on eBay and the fee is only $200 to transfer the title.