3 Facts Timeshare and Vacation Ownership Companies Should Tell You Upfront

Here are 3 important facts about timeshare and vacation ownership that bear repeating:

• Timeshare is not an investment. Critics of timeshare, financial advisers  and journalists looking to write an exposé, love to get on the bandwagon and tell you that timeshare and vacation ownership is a really bad investment. But guess what… timeshare is not an investment at all. Milk and bread are also really bad investments (what’s the appreciation value on a half-empty carton of milk?) but we all still buy milk and bread… we enjoy them, benefit from the way they add calcium to our bones, make our cereal tastier, and hold our sandwiches together. Timeshares are a vacation product that you use, enjoy, and savor the memories you create there. Timeshares make vacation planning easier for busy families and offer spacious accommodations, and desirable amenities that far exceed those of most hotels. If purchased as market value resales, timeshares and vacation ownership can also afford you vacation savings over the long haul. But unless, and until, something changes dramatically, vacation ownership is not an investment and should never be bought under the misconception that it is.
• Timeshare exchange works better for flexible vacation planners. Timeshare exchange works very well for millions of vacation owners. But if you have very strict ideas about where you want to go and when you can travel with your timeshare exchange, you may find the process frustrating. Timeshare owners who get the most enjoyment out of timeshare exchange are often those who look at the available options for exchange and select a destination from what’s available at the time they want to travel. Flexibility in travel dates, preferences on accommodation sizes, and even regarding the resort you select will make it much easier for you to use timeshare exchange to find your next dream vacation location.
• Timeshare ownership often includes benefits that many owners fail to utilize. Getting the most out of your timeshare often means making the effort to become self-educated. Read materials available online from your resort and from owner associations. Chat online with other owners. Ask questions of your resort, your HOA, and other owners at your resort. Timeshares are unfortunately more complicated than we wish they were and within the complications of weeks, colors, points, tiers, and other multifarious rules, sometimes many of the perks and benefits of vacation ownership go unrecognized and unused.  

Vacationing should be easy and timeshare ownership is one way to make it easier. But until you truly understand what you are buying and what your own, you could miss much of the true value of your vacation ownership.