Around 20 or so years ago we received an offer in the mail for two nights in a nice Gatlinburg hotel. All we had to do was listen to a two-hour sales pitch on time shares. Two “free” nights in the Smoky Mountains meant vacation to us, so we prepared ourselves for the pressure by literally practicing saying “no.” How hard could it be? Ultimately, our practice failed us.
The facility was impressive…actually, a little too impressive. The agent was friendly…perhaps a little too friendly. The presentation was slick…almost assuredly, too slick. The timing of each segment was, well, very well timed. The biggest problem we hadn’t prepared for was the sense it made…a lot of sense.
Time-share brings out the same feelings in many people, as do used car sales. It is an unfortunate side effect of dealing with commission sales. Folks who stand to make money off my spending, tend to really want me to spend…and make no mistake, the pressure is there. Fortunately, we didn’t let the pressure get to us; we said yes.
Now, time-share isn’t for everyone, so please regard this as meaningless to you if travel isn’t that important. If, however, you try to include a beach and/or mountain type trip or two into your year, it may fit your needs better than you suspect. The basics of time-share ownership as we’ve experienced it are actually very simple. Our first purchase was a fixed week (the 4th of July week) in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Our time-share unit was basically a 2-bedroom house with a loft. The level of comfort was first rate. We used it for years and traded it for beach trips and even stayed in Disney World for a week. Later, we bought into a more flexible points system, giving up our fixed week but allowing stays for less than a week in lots more places. We’ve stayed in Myrtle Beach, Daytona Beach, Panama City, Williamsburg, Virginia, St. Augustine, even in Jausiers, France while we were living in Germany, and the accommodations are always very nice. Now that our trips are usually just the two of us, we stay in smaller units for fewer points, consequently, more trips. So, how much?
When our son was young, we typically traveled every summer staying in a motel/hotel for 5-7 nights. Hotel stay requires almost all meals out, so that was an added expense. A week with just three people in one room is tough. When we listened to the sales pitch, it became obvious the deal made sense to us. Simply, you pay some amount up front for a point total. Those points can be spent each year on units wherever your company has resorts (time-share companies trade with each other---that is easier to see in a presentation, but it’s simple). The initial fee can be what you might spend in say 7-8 years of traveling staying in hotels/motels, so while it may appear to be substantial, it truly pays for itself after that time. There are fees each year, but they are reasonable. The points get added to your account on the anniversary of your purchase date, and you can borrow points from the next year or save points from the current year (restrictions apply). The points are sold to you as deeded property that is part of your estate.
I have had people tell me it must be nice to own such a luxury as time-share, and they are right. All vacations would have to be considered luxuries, but I think it’s more of an issue of where you put your priorities. We chose to spend money on time-share when we could have spent it on other, more typical, luxuries. For instance, we’ve been married over 30 years and have bought two new cars in all that time. Travel is a love of ours, but we’ve learned that travel without comfort just doesn’t work for us.
Younger readers have the burden of being early in careers and, possibly, child rearing, but you also have the great luxury of a lifetime of trips. Older readers may be more limited in number of years of ownership, but we are certainly more flexible in the dates we can travel. We have never stayed anyplace we weren’t extremely satisfied with. Resorts by nature are located where there are incredible things to do and see. We have always loved the mountains and the beaches, so those are our typical trips, but historical sites like Williamsburg have been wonderful, too.
Good luck. See you down the road or maybe at a time-share sales meeting. Just keep practicing.
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