Some people live for doing timeshare presentations while others can’t stand them, so we naturally have to ask ‘are timeshares worth it?’

A brief history of timeshares

Vacation ownership started in Europe in the 1960s and moved over to the United States by the mid-1970s. These vacation ownership properties, or timeshares, became a popular way to market annual use of shared condominiums. The logic of them is simple in nature–own the rights to a single unit for a short period of time (typically a week). You can decide to use your week or find someone else to use it in your place.

There are different types of arrangements, which include partial ownership of the property, leasing of the property, or just a simple “right to use”, under which you have no legal claim of any ownership.

From there, the scheme can become even more complex, with some timeshares running a separate “points” system, whereby you can trade in your week at one location for a stay somewhere else. Or you could “save up” for a stay at a nicer property.

Vacation ownership has ballooned into a $19 billion industry, and should continue to grow in the years to come. So, should you venture into this type of vacationing?

Timeshare offers are meant to catch your attention

Timeshares generally get you with an offer of discounted travel up front. Perhaps it’s an offer for a low rate that would be hard to pass up. Or, maybe you get extra benefits like bonus points with a hotel loyalty program, on-property credit, or the use of a rental car. These companies give you a benefit up front so that you come in feeling like you get a good deal. But, in order to get this deal, you need to agree to a timeshare presentation that can last between 90 minutes and 2 hours (or more).

Inevitably, this timeshare presentation needs to be sometime during your stay. That can be a little inefficient if you’re somewhere like in Orlando when your intent is to go to the theme parks. You could try to schedule the talk as soon as possible, but some timeshares want to wait until later in your stay so you can fully experience what the property has to offer first. They’ll use any advantage they can take.

How do you get these timeshare offers? Each major loyalty chain has their own version of a timeshare and it could be as simple as opting into marketing materials to get on the list. We’ve also received a few extra points for listening to a timeshare pitch over the phone after calling in to Hilton for some assistance on an unrelated reservation.

It’s the whole “you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours” take. If they can’t at least get you into the door, they have no chance to sell anything to you. But those who are here are more receptive to the pitch (in part because they have to be).

Don’t expect elite benefits during your stay

If you’re coming to the hotel as part of a timeshare offer and you’re an elite member of the loyalty chain, don’t expect any elite benefits. That includes things like free breakfast or lounge access. Though we’ve once received free breakfast at a vacation ownership property, it’s safest to plan like you won’t get it.

When you’re coming as a vacation owner, you’re not coming as a hotel loyalty guest. Think of it as you can only have one title attached to your name. And everyone here at these properties typically get treated as a potential owner, so that overrides any other title you might have.

The same might extend to elite night credit. Again, don’t expect it to help you on your path towards earning elite status.

However, some chains (such as Marriott) might hand out complimentary elite status just for owning a timeshare. That said, the program could discontinue, so we wouldn’t expect it to be a permanent feature of vacation ownership. Is it strange that timeshares hand out free status to the chain when they don’t have to offer it in return? Not really when you consider that they want you to spend more time in other properties where the parent company can earn more revenue.

Be prepared to say ‘no’

When you sit in a timeshare, bring a calculator with you. Write things out on paper. Do your own research ahead of time. Bring a timer. The general flow of timeshares is you first learn about the benefits of being an owner, and then you get the sales pitch (and possibly followed by a ‘closer’).

Don’t be afraid to let the seller know that you’re setting a timer right from the start. Set it for however long you need to be there. If nothing else, this is a signal to the seller that you understand the rules of the game and–odds are–you’re not going to be interested in buying. The sooner you can signal to the seller that you do not have interest in buying, the easier it might be for you.

Calculate the real costs of the purchase

Be prepared for the salesperson to put a lot of numbers on a piece of paper in an attempt to overwhelm you. You should just counter this with writing down the key points on your own paper. Draw a line down the middle and put the benefits on one side with costs on the other. Buying a timeshare often means owning it for life–and your heirs will be forced to continue to own it after you die.

What can the real costs include?

• The cost of the unit itself, which runs tens of thousands of dollars
• Financing, which generally is not at a favorable rate
• Closing costs, which we’ve generally not heard disclosed from any presentation we’ve been to but what purchase of property doesn’t have them?
• Annual maintenance fees, which might inflate roughly 5%-7% in a typical year
• Special maintenance/repair fees — if the property needs repair (like a new pool or some new feature that will ‘benefit’ guests, they may place the upgrade cost on owners (this is also generally not disclosed)
• Annual dues, which some of the major timeshare networks charge
• Exchange fees, which might happen if you want to stay in a property other than the one you purchased
• Reservation fees, if you want to use your stay or transfer the reservation to someone else

You might even get hit with a fee for trying to sell your timeshare–one more chance at getting money from you on your way out. Add up the cost of that annually, then multiply it by the number of years you’ll be living. Are you ready to commit that much money on just one week of vacations the rest of your life?

Are the benefits actually worth what they claim?

We’ve also heard that you can’t hold timeshare salespeople accountable for what they say to you verbally, that they almost have a license to lie. That can create high-pressure moments where it might sound like a good deal, but the benefits don’t work the way as described initially.

We’ve done several timeshares before and we’re quite familiar with the loyalty programs of each of the major chains. Sometimes you’ll hear fabrications of how great the points are–perhaps before the latest devaluations or ancient lore of unicorn redemptions. It helps to know how valuable each point is and what you can realistically get from them before you show up. Don’t rely on the salesperson to tell you some cherrypicked redemption stories.

However great the redemptions might seem, discount them by 10%. Are you ready to take that same vacation year in and year out over the course of your life? Can you guarantee you’ll be available that same week each year? Or that you could easily find an alternative that works for you? The 10% discount intends to adjust for 1 missed vacation for each 10 years of ownership. Sometimes work, illness, or life get in the way of vacations.

Why not look at the ‘used’ market?

There are plenty of timeshares out there that you can buy from others who want out. Rather than buy one during your visit to a presentation, why not consider one that someone else is trying to offload? Sure, you won’t get some of the benefits, but you also don’t need to pay as high of a price just to buy the property. You’ll still be on the hook for annual fees and anything else owners are responsible for.

Look up what ‘used’ timeshare properties are going for at that resort and straight up ask why signing today is a better deal than going the cheaper route. If nothing else, it will give you a sense of what benefits are tied to the purchase today (like a signing bonus) and what is an actual feature of the timeshare itself.

The intent isn’t to be a combative conversation and more just to help you rationalize the cost of the timeshare.

Timeshare presentations are only ‘worth it’ if you leave when the timer is up

We’ve heard horror stories of people staying for hours, well beyond what they were required to commit to. Sometimes companies bring in closers or you walk through an ‘exit’ to find it leads to someone else’s room and they tell you to throw all those numbers away and start fresh with some better deal.

This all links back to knowing your obligation, setting the timer to remind you of that minimum obligation, and then politely ending the call when time’s up. For timeshares to be ‘worth it’ you need to leave when the timer rings and you need the ability to say ‘no’.

Say you have a 90-minute commitment and the stay gives you $600 off a vacation you’d otherwise be willing to pay. That would be the equivalent of an hourly rate of $400/hour by ‘working’ the timeshare. It might not be quite that high if you otherwise need to go out of your way to do the presentation. Are you comfortable taking time out of your vacation to save that amount of money? Unfortunately, only you can make that determination and all that ‘profit’ goes away if you don’t know how to say no.

Suggested reading:

• Are Mattress Runs Worth Your Time and Money?
• How to Emulate Hotel Elite Status When You Don’t Have Status
• How Rewarding is a Night at Each Hotel Loyalty Program?