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Re: Marriott Going to Point Syst (by Charles S.):

dennish144 wrote:

After 6 years of owning Marriott timeshares, what advice would I give my 5 married children regarding the "financial aspects" of timeshare/points ownership? Incidentally, our ownership includes 5 Newport Coast weeks, 1 Custom House week in Boston, 1 Grand Chateau week in Las Vegas, and 2,500 Vacation Club points. This investment nears $200,000.

I would advise them to "rent" what they need thru Redweek; and, should they really insist on ownership, to only buy high season easily traded weeks in the secondary market. I would tell them not to worry about the added flexibility of the point system as it is not worth the cost. I would remind them of the annual maintenance fees that amount to half or more of the cost of renting a week. I would tell them to invest their money safely and avoid the extraordinary and immediate decline in value one experiences from buying a timeshare product. I would also remind them that there is no acceptable exit strategy for timeshare products.

What else? I would tell them to plan vacations 9-12 months in advance and that they can have the fun without the extraordinary cost of timeshare ownership. One last thing, I would remind them that we have had great "family building" experiences on Marriott vacations.

Gosh Dennis,

When you put it like that it's a lot of money for a timeshare. I gather you must have bought direct from Marriott. $200,000 sounds like buying a house, huh? I bought my Ko Olina week for $20,000 and although I have not regretted it, I wish I had done it differently as in resale. Now my DRI points, I have paid about $35,000 for but I can stay at least 6 weeks during high demand season in a one bedroom, but I can stretch those same points to 3-4 months very easily if I decide to change to a lower demand season or incorporate studios too. I think I would pass on to my kids to just rent, but if they must have a timeshare, read, read, and do more reading before buying to learn the nuances of what they are getting.

You know we say this now, and then if the economy were to make a big change, we might be saying to people that they should have a timeshare.