How does the timeshare industry still exist?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have one and we love it. We bought it through a points system so we're not tied down to any one place. We've gone all over the world, and plan to start taking our daughter with us. You pay some up front money but your yearly maintenance fees basically just pay for the way discounted hotels that we could never afford otherwise. (We figure we save about 50%) The way our points are set up, we get two awesome vacations a year. We really wouldn't be able to afford a trip to Cape Town, South Africa, but we're heading there this fall, staying in a four star hotel right on the water.
What's the problem with them?

Simple math.. if you pay 18K for a timeshare, plus $800 in maintenance fees every year and divide by the number of years you use it, this is no bargain. Don't forget the upsell every few years to "upgrade". It' a complete ripoff. You also have zero control over the rise in maintenance fees. Hotels discount their rooms constantly and you can rent villas and condos for much less without being tied to the same week every year.

We're not tied to the same week or time frame at all. We have a host of places we can go, we pick one, and we go.
Why are people being snippy and angry with folks who just want to go on vacation and are happy with their means of doing so?
Oh, wait, this is DCUM. I forgot there for a second.

There is nothing snippy about my post. You asked what was the problem and I answered. You seem to be very happy with your timeshare, great. Unfortunately many timeshares don't work this way. There's the hard sell, phony promises and lack of transparency. TImeshares are upwards of 20K. In order to switch weeks some require you to buy additional points, this is on top of the maintenance fees.

[Anonymous]

I just bought my second Timeshare in six years. I love it. I can Vacation whenever, and wherever i want for a fraction of the coast of a hotel room. My only regret is i waited so long to buy my first one. Even with the yearly maintenance fees my vacations have doubled and the cost has been cut in half.