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“I’D BE HAPPY TO JUST come here every year,” I told my husband. We and our two daughters had arrived on Maui 72 hours earlier. It was May 2000—and our first trip to Hawaii.
We’d signed up for a timeshare presentation in return for discounts on tours and activities. By the time we got to the meeting, I’d fallen head over heels in love with the place. The timeshare salesperson had an easy time persuading me to buy. I had a harder time persuading my husband, but we ended up signing on the dotted line.
Between 2000 and 2008, we acquired more time at our original resort—now owned by Hilton Grand Vacations Club (HGVC)—and also bought time from Marriott Vacation Club (MVC). We now own two deeded Marriott weeks per year and the equivalent of two more weeks at HGVC.
Sunset from the author’s balcony at Hawaii’s Marriott Maui Ocean Club
Back in 2000, when I told my husband that I wanted to come to Hawaii every year, I wasn’t kidding. We live in California, and it’s a less-than-five-hour flight to Maui from our home airport in Sacramento. With the exception of 2020, when Hawaii closed down tourism due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve been to Hawaii at least once a year since we purchased our first timeshare. In fact, as I write this article, my husband and I are enjoying a two-week stay at Marriott’s Maui Ocean Club on Ka’anapali Beach.
Even though we’ve enjoyed our timeshares and made good use of them, I’ve always felt sheepish about having fallen for the timeshare pitches. Everything I read about timeshare ownership reminded me that timeshares are not a good investment. Recent events, however, have made me reconsider my sense of regret. Hotel prices have skyrocketed in the post-pandemic era, especially in Hawaii. I follow several Facebook travel groups, and I’ve seen complaints about even middling hotels going for $1,000 per night or more on Maui—and thought, “Well, I’m glad I have our timeshare weeks booked.”
I remember that first timeshare salesperson in 2000 showing us a chart of how hotel prices climb exponentially over time, and she made the point that, “In 20 years, you might not be able to afford to stay here.” It may have been the first and only truthful thing a timeshare salesperson has ever said to a prospective buyer.
Out of curiosity, as we were preparing for our current trip to Maui, I priced the same two weeks we’d be staying at the MVC property, May 15-29, at the three major hotels also on Ka’anapali Beach: a Sheraton, a Westin and a Hyatt. I priced a deluxe king room with an oceanfront view, which is somewhat equivalent to the unit we’re staying in.
The price for the two weeks at the three hotels ranged from $20,000 to $24,000. By comparison, our annual maintenance fee for our two weeks of MVC timeshare was $2,800 for 2023. And the hotel options are only somewhat equivalent. Our timeshare unit is a comfortable, spacious one-bedroom condo with an oceanfront view, balcony, full kitchen and in-unit laundry. There’s a lovely pool complex, onsite shops and restaurants, a well-equipped gym and resort activities.
I also checked rental prices for condos on Vrbo and on RedWeek. The latter is a timeshare rental and resale website. While we could rent two weeks at a condo on Maui more cheaply than we could book hotel rooms, the lowest prices were still well north of $5,000 for two weeks, and the condos weren’t necessarily as well equipped as where we’re staying now, nor do they have the resort amenities or great location we get to enjoy.
Of course, the financial comparison isn’t just between annual timeshare maintenance fees and current hotel or condo rental prices. There were acquisition costs for our timeshare ownership. Over several different purchases, we spent some $110,000 to acquire the month or so of time we now have in the two different vacation clubs.
The way we view this, though, is that we could have bought a condo on Maui for our own use as a second home, something we’ve also discussed. To get a similarly appointed and located condo, we’d have to pay more than $1 million, and our monthly homeowners’ association fees would be substantially higher than what we pay in maintenance fees at our two vacation clubs.
If we’d used the $110,000 as a down payment for a condo, we’d still have a huge mortgage, in addition to the homeowners’ association fees, not to mention the other carrying expenses and hassles associated with owning a second home. Instead, the money we’ve spent allows us to spend up to a month in Hawaii every year. For our specific goal—an annual trip to Hawaii that we can count on and plan for—our timeshare purchases have worked out well.
I never thought I’d be writing an article defending our timeshare purchases, especially for a financially savvy and conservative audience like HumbleDollar’s readership, but here we are. Rather than feeling foolish about the money we’ve already spent, with retirement on the horizon, we’ve begun to think about adding to our portfolio with another week or two of MVC ownership. If we do, though, it’ll be a purchase on a secondary resale site such as RedWeek, not through the vacation club itself. That part I do regret.
Dana Ferris and her husband live in Davis, California. She’s a professor in the writing program at the University of California, Davis, and is the author or co-author of nine books on teaching writing and reading to second language learners. Dana is a huge baseball fan and writes a weekly column for a San Francisco Giants fan blog under the nom de plume DrLefty. When not working, she also loves cooking, traveling and working out. Follow Dana on Twitter @LeftyDana. Her previous article was A Better Plan.
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Could someone help me understand the resale market? One can buy hundreds of points on ebay for almost nothing. Annual fees are maybe a couple of thousand dollars. What’s the downside?
There really isn’t a downside. If I had it to do over–or if I do it again–that is absolutely what I will do.
We bought a one week timeshare at Vistana Resorts back in 1982, which is now owned by Marriott Vacations worldwide. We paid $6500 for it, with a 25% up front payment and $110 a month for 5 years. (Interest rates were in the teens back then). We have it each February which is considered prime time to them.
We live in the northeast, and we used it every year, even when our kids (4 of them) were infants. Our annual maintenance fee is a little over $800 a year now. It is still a beautiful and well maintained place, and so convenient to all the attractions. It’s only minutes from Disney World.
Our grown kids now use it, and family and friends have used it as well.
We think it was and is a great investment.
That’s awesome. Glad it worked out so well for you and now your kids!
Congratulations on doing something that has made you happy, and for two decades, too. It’s a good thing we don’t all like the same things: I can’t imagine going to the same place year after year (and I’m definitely not a beach person), but you’d maybe not care for sleeping on trains or in old style B&Bs with bathrooms down the hall.
We like going to new places, too! We try to mix in the new and the familiar. Trains are OK, but the bathroom down the hall thing doesn’t appeal much. 😂
Yes, as I’ve gotten older I’ve mostly been doing en-suites, although my go-to cheapie hotel in New York is still “down the hall”. It’s one reason my travel costs have increased.
I found this article interesting and engaging in part because it’s a positive example of a category of expenditures that are important in people’s lives, but resist analytical analysis. They are purchases individuals commit to in order to make themselves happy, even if that purchase would not make other people happy.
Examples abound: people who buy golf club memberships, collect pre-1960 John Deere tractors, restore 1967 Mustangs, collect stamps or China place settings or own cats. The list goes on and on.
Having a car that doesn’t start sitting in my garage would not make me happy. For the car restorers, perhaps few other things make them happier. What is critical is not whether having a broken-down car in your garage “makes sense” in by any universal standard, or is an action that would make others happy, but rather whether it makes you happy.
This article is good because it explores a decision that clearly made the person making it happy, even though time shares don’t always do that for other people. I admire people who make those decisions successfully, because they are exhibiting an accurate judgement of who they are and what makes them happy—a surprisingly difficult task that many people never fully achieve. It is a thing happy people do and unhappy people do not do.
The other admirable person here is the writer’s husband, who was smart enough to be skeptical of the time share at first and even smarter to go along with what made his wife happy. An elite life skill.
Thanks so much—great comments!
Adding: I’m well aware of how privileged we are to choose to spend money to make ourselves happy (as opposed to just getting by). But my husband and I have talked about this a lot. We’re just as happy having tacos a la carte on the patio at our favorite Mexican place in town or having a Papa Murphy’s Take and Bake pizza with a cheap bottle of wine as we are having a splurge meal in Maui.
Thinking about what makes you happy and not JUST the “prudent” choice is, yes, a privilege, but it also makes life a bit sweeter.
We also love to go to Hawaii, it’s a great place to relax and enjoy life. However, your analysis the costs of your timeshare ownership omit some of the costs.
You have $110,000 tied up in your timeshare ownership. These dollars could have been invested instead of being used to purchase your timeshare weeks. we don’t know the exact dates of your purchases so we can’t offer an exact comparison. However, Vanguard’s Total Stock Market ETF, VTI, grew at a compound rate of 7.78% between its 2001 inception and today.
Additionally, you didn’t say whether your weeks were paid for in cash or financed. Financing would have increased the amount of your investment, and is the way most of these weeks are purchased.
I haven’t researched the resale value of your timeshare weeks, or how difficult it will be to dispose of them.
All that being said, my point is not to criticize your timeshare purchase, only your financial justification. All of us have activities/things we enjoy doing and thus spend money to do so.
It doesn’t matter what we spend our money on, only that we feel we get value for the $$. Most of these things can’t be justified financially and there is no need to do so assuming that your financial life is in order. You might get your latte at Starbucks, and I may get mine at McDonald’s. We are both right.
We all need to feel free to spend our money in anyway that brings us enjoyment. However, most of us who arrive at retirement with a nice nest egg did so by being careful with our money. The habit of thrift is hard to break. So, we engage in mental games to justify to ourselves, spending on things we want, and don’t really “Need”. So, spend and enjoy, and don’t try to make the math work.
I have never thought of our timeshare purchases as a good investment. As I said, I felt like a sucker for having fallen for the pitch. But having spent the money, we’ve tried to make good use of our purchases.
Obviously, if we’d used that money to buy a second home instead, we’d have the potential benefit of rental income and appreciation over time. But we don’t want to live on Maui full-time—we just want to go there regularly. Nor do we want to be locked into the expense and work of a vacation home. Just not our jam.
My point in the article was not really to justify financial decisions made well in the past (we’ve made other mistakes, too) but more to muse that, 20+ years later, it hasn’t turned out as badly as I’d thought—even from a financial standpoint.
Timeshares in the vacation space have always struck me as being something like annuities in the retirement space. If purchased thoughtfully after careful research from a reputable seller at fair price, good results for the end user can be obtained without too much difficulty. However, therein lies the rub; words like “thoughtful”, “reputable”, and “fair price” aren’t generally associated with the word “timeshare”–it’s usually more like “high-pressure”, “shady”, and “over-priced”. Kinda like an annuity, lol.
Good on you for doing your research, knowing what you want, and ending up choosing a reputable company that’s actually avoided bankruptcy. Not everyone is so savvy (and fortunate), and hopefully you’ll be able to enjoy your vacation spot for many more years to come.
Great analogy, and thanks for the kind words!
Dana..when I read your post and viewed your photo, one phrase came to mind: Joie de Vivre..
Joy of Life. Don’t worry about your upcoming retirement. As savvy as you are you’ll figure it out. Enjoy your Hawaiian vacations while you can.
My only connection with Hawaii is when a friend had a milestone birthday; decided on a Hawaiian theme and even had an Elvis impersonator there.
Now, I don’t know what it is about me that people want to dance with me, but Elvis came over and put a lei around my neck and we danced to (Let me be your) Teddy Bear.
I have a photo of that one. So much fun..
Really enjoyed your post and so glad the time shares worked to your advantage.
There really is something very special about the place. When we were there recently (during which time I wrote this), I thought a lot about why I’m so drawn to it.
I, too, am a very happy owner of timeshares, Dana. The critical issue is to buy what you will actually use rather than planning to exchange, which may-or-may-not be available.
A great source of information, as well as a vehicle for resales and trades, is the bulletin board TUG2.com [Timeshare User Group], much of which is accessible at no cost if one registers as a guest. Accessing resort reviews or participating in the Marketplace requires a membership of $15 per year. They are a great group of knowledgeable, helpful folks concerning timeshare purchase and use. Check out the Discussion Forums, including on Hawaii. https://tugbbs.com/forums/
Thanks, Susan! As it happens, I just signed up for this last week!
I think much of the criticism of time shares is created by the timeshare ownership structure itself. My experiences with timeshares was as the CPA of clients who had entered their no go years of retirement and upon their death. After decades of no longer being able to use the timeshare the expense of the ongoing monthly fees and assessments became a financial burden. The client was unable sell their Florida timeshare at any price and were unwilling to pay thousands more to have someone take over the legal obligation of the ongoing costs. After my client’s death none of their adult children were interested in owning or using the timeshare and they ended up filing a timely disclaimer on their parents estate with the probate court so the timeshare financial obligations did not pass through to the kids.
It is good to hear you are happy with your long term choice for the money you have and will spend for enjoyable vacations in Hawaii. Unlike simple ownership of property where the expectation is the value of the owned property will increase, timeshares may have no value and that is often not how they are sold causing the bad reputation.
We’re in two different situations with our two timeshare companies. Our original ownership, which is now with Hilton, is points and not weeks, and points are worthless on the resale market. They have a “Transitions” program for U.S. ownership that allows you to exit at age 75 if you want to do so, and at that point, we might just do that. (We’re early 60s now.)
Our Marriott ownership is deeded weeks, and we can choose every year to convert them to points that allow us to stay at any Marriott property, not just our home resort. Those actually have some resale value, though not at the price you paid, and Marriott has right of first refusal if you want to sell those back. We may put the deeded weeks into our trust if one of our daughters thinks she’ll want them; if not, we’ll probably sell when we are no longer traveling.
Dana, great article. Thank for linking to my earlier article on timeshares. It sounds like your family manages your timeshares in a great way. Our two biggest mistakes were buying at full price before checking the secondary market, and buying a Hawaii property while living on the East Coast. Making a yearly trip to Hawaii just didn’t make sense for us, but for Californians it is much easier. I hope you enjoy it for many more years.
Thanks, Rick!
A friend bought a Disney Vacation Club time share about 30 years ago when they were first offered. I think she paid $10,000. Time can be used not only at Disney resorts but at non Disney resorts around the world. They took their children every year and now their grandchildren. They have loved every minute . The price today is about $32,000.
Yes, we have a lot of flexibility with our ownership as well. We’ve been able to trade Hawaii time over the years for places like Cabo San Lucas, New York City, Tahoe, and so on. Another thing the salesperson said that turned out to be true is that Maui is so popular it would always trade well.
All that said, I think a big key to being happy with it is what I said at the beginning: Even if I could never get any good trades, I’d be happy to go there regularly, like a second home.
If you can afford it and enjoy it and actually use it why not? Forget the calculations and take a dip in the ocean.
I don’t know anything about time shares, but it seems the negatives are mostly about people who can’t afford them, we’re looking to make money and couldn’t afford to or just couldn’t use what they purchased. Or, got bored with the location and can’t get rid of it.
I’m in a couple of Facebook groups for owners, and I learn a lot from those. You have to commit yourself to (a) planning ahead and (b) using what you bought—and, as with an Instant Pot, there’s a learning curve. If you’re a more last-minute, spontaneous type, you may not get what you what when you want it. On the other hand, they usually have special discounted deals for close-in bookings when someone cancels. Once we’re retired, I’m guessing we’ll seriously consider those sometimes.
Dana, you are right. It is surprising to read a defense of timeshares in this forum. My hat’s off to your courage. I won’t join you in ownership, but I thoroughly enjoyed my reading and hope the comments are kind. I also hope you never have a reason to write an article of overall regret about your buying decisions.
Dana, thanks for your article. I heard a recent podcast guest discussing similar themes just a few weeks ago. The guest was Dr. Cory Fawcett on the White Coat Investor podcast, discussing his new book A Guide to Loving Your Timeshare. As someone who had always looked down on the idea of owning a timeshare, I was struck by his many excellent thoughts and rationales for why they can be not only an enjoyable vacation option but a financially savvy one as well—if done properly.
Thanks, I’ll definitely check that out!