Timeshare reviews

Since paying redweek.com the annual fee and registering my timeshare I have not received 1 response. I would assume that many of the testimonials regarding redweek's effectiveness are fake. My timeshare is in a great resort and is very fairly priced. What's up?

I think most members of Redweek are Timeshare owners and want to rent their week to recoup some of their costs such as maintenance fees etc. or they would like to exchange with other timeshare owners to avoid paying exchange fees. It is very difficult to find weeks to echange on this site. It would be nice if we could do a search just for exchanges. The other problem I think is because non members cannot contact owners who have paid for an ad unless they become members. They should be able to contact us without charge. I would even be willing to pay an extra $10 to cover their fee if my week is rented. There are a lot of classified ad sites on the internet that are free. Most timeshare owners don't want to pay rental fees, that is why they bought timeshare in the first place. Our best prospects are those who usually rent hotels or maybe are considering timeshare. But I don't think these people want to pay a membership hoping to find something to rent. I know I wouldn't. I think if Redweek could drop the membership fee to contact owners we would get better results.

I am interested in purchasing the Westin Ka'anapali Ocean Resort Villas. I am fairly new at the timeshare concept and will appreicate all opinions. I am quite impressed with the SPG program and am already a gold member.

I am wondering if I should wait for the North Villas resales to become more available or purchase "pre owned" ones on the existing buildings. I am also wondering if I am better off purchasing the "resale" ones from the developer. I do realize that the price will be higher the then general resale market but it may offer some perks that I may be interested in. Also, I find the annual fees + taxes being almost $2000 is quite high, I am wondering if I am better off just renting. Thanks for you thoughts on this.

I don't know why you are having trouble - I've been an owner for only 2 years now but rented my extra unit both years through this site.

Hi thomasp107,

I posted my timeshare points on Redweek and got four responses, but three of them wanted to rent it on very short notice when resorts were already booked, while one wanted it for next to nothing. Don't people plan ahead?!!! Now the points that I can't use will expire on Dec. 31, unused! In any case, it wasn't Redweek's fault. Redweek did help me find potential buyers. If my potential buyers had planned their trip ahead of time, they could have gotten a great deal, as I was willing to rent out my timeshare for just the annual maintenance fee! PS: I don't work for Redweek!

I am a renter, and was happy to pay my very reasonable membership fee. I would not have paid a fee if I were not a serious renter. I rented for a week in Cancun, and will use Redweek in the future to find locations that I am interested in.

jenniferc190 "I am wondering if I should wait for the North Villas resales to become more available or purchase "pre owned" ones on the existing buildings."

I'm wondering why you would be interested in buying - isn't it much less expensive in the long run to rent? One of the reasons I enjoy this site is that there is such a large variety of great timeshares to rent from owners who are anxious to sell their weeks. I have been to many timeshare presentations where part of the sales pitch is how easy it is to trade weeks as an owner. Judging by the number of owners on this site who are trying to sell or trade their weeks, I'm guessing it must not be that easy - but this site is great for renters. All the advantages of staying at a great resort, with none of the hassles of paying maintenance fees or worrying about trading or losing points. Can anyone explain to me why ownership is better? Thanks

marilynbw

jenniferc190 wrote:

"I am wondering if I should wait for the North Villas resales to become more available or purchase "pre owned" ones on the existing buildings."

I'm wondering why you would be interested in buying - isn't it much less expensive in the long run to rent? One of the reasons I enjoy this site is that there is such a large variety of great timeshares to rent from owners who are anxious to sell their weeks. I have been to many timeshare presentations where part of the sales pitch is how easy it is to trade weeks as an owner. Judging by the number of owners on this site who are trying to sell or trade their weeks, I'm guessing it must not be that easy - but this site is great for renters. All the advantages of staying at a great resort, with none of the hassles of paying maintenance fees or worrying about trading or losing points. Can anyone explain to me why ownership is better? Thanks

Hi, thanks for the information. This kind of confirms what I have been thinking. I am interested in a Oceanfront 2 bedroom, resale about $58, 000. Assuming this is all I pay (I doubt it). At 6% per year (opportunity cost), I could have earned $3480 from just putting $58,000 in the bank CD, (I am sure I can do better). And considering the maintence fee + taxes, misc. at about $2200 per year, maybe more. I am looking at $5,680.00 ($3480+$2200)per year. Divide that by 7 nights, that's $811.43 per night. I am already a gold member in the SPG program, hoping to be a platinum member some time next year. I think I might be better off just renting the villa from someone ANYTIME, ANYWHERE I want or just stay at the Westin Maui hotel or its family and get upgraded to the best room possible (due to the elite membership). Either way, it sounds like it's a better investment. Keep in mind that I still get to keep my $58K. Am I right on this? With the timeshare, I have to worry about getting the exact week I am looking for (one year in advance), pray that the airfare will not be too expensive for that week (forget the possible deals) and my or the kids' schedule will not change (hard to tell due to the year in advance). When I do get to the villa, I must HOPE that my oceanview is not a over a parking lot. I really loved this villa and dying to purchase it, I am having difficulties justifying this mathematically. Please do correct me if I am wrong. I do welcome all opinions regarding this location (Westin Ka'anapli Ocean Resort and Villa). THANKS GUYS!

Hi Jennifer - yes those villas are very tempting, but as you've figured out - VERY expensive for what you get, and although they say it is yours, you are actually sharing it with 51 other familes - not quite the same to me as having your own place. Your math is correct that you are paying alot per year for that week, when you could stay at the same place for so much less by renting, with the added advantage that you are not pressured to stay there the same week every year, and you don't have to plan a year in advance to try to stay someplace else for a change. So to me, the answer is clear - it's better to rent. But it would be interesting to hear from a happy owner what they have to say about it. Any owners out there?

I agree with darcy54. Before I was a timeshare owner...I ran upon Redweek several times and didn't pursue a membership because I had no idea what it was.

One of the key factors when determining if it is worthwhile to purchase a timeshare is your availability to travel during "off-peak" periods". While certainly not the case everytime, more often than not, if you are looking to rent a nice (gold crown or 5 star) property on the Atlantic coast when your kids are on summer vacation, it will either be difficult to find on Redweek, or be very costly. Same goes for ski resorts in Colorado and Utah during Presidents week and Christmas.

So, if you really like a destination and intend to visit often and can only travel when the kids are out of school, you may be "forced" to buy. Who knows, once you buy you may find out it really does make more sense to own!

greg208 wrote:

One of the key factors when determining if it is worthwhile to purchase a timeshare is your availability to travel during "off-peak" periods". While certainly not the case everytime, more often than not, if you are looking to rent a nice (gold crown or 5 star) property on the Atlantic coast when your kids are on summer vacation, it will either be difficult to find on Redweek, or be very costly. Same goes for ski resorts in Colorado and Utah during Presidents week and Christmas.

So, if you really like a destination and intend to visit often and can only travel when the kids are out of school, you may be "forced" to buy. Who knows, once you buy you may find out it really does make more sense to own!

Hi greg208 Interesting point, but after reading thru the many pros and cons of owning vs renting on redweek, I cannot agree that could get forced to buy anywhere. I could be wrong about Christmas Week, but it seems as if something pops up just about anywhere you want to go if you just are patient enough. My big concern is the fear of the unknown. Especially if traveling with children. But I personally enjoy going to a resort sight unseen and hoping for the best! Our flexibility is our biggest asset and we enjoy spending the savings at the restaurants and bars! Happy Holidays!

Could anyone tell me if they have stayed at the Hilton Craigendarroch in Scotland? What do you think of it?

I am just a guy that buys and sells timeshares and rents them too. I have used redweek and myresortnetwork.com and redweek has a slight edge.

if you are selling and you are the lowest price here- you usually get some good responses.

if you are renting and it's a resort people want to stay at and you have a popular week (i.e. Thanksgiving week in KEY WEST, Memorial Day in Hilton Head) then it rents usually.

if all else fails, put it on ebay but expect to get about 50% less.

Ditto, ditto, ditto what Greg said below. If you can travel only in a red hot designated season (peak summer, holidays, winter ski season) then buying may be your only option. However, I would think long and hard before investing $58,000 (can't imagine what the yearly maintenance fees are) in one week of timeshare even if I could only travel in a red hot designated season.

It's a lot easier to buy a timeshare week than to sell one, and if you buy from the developer you will more than likely take a substantial loss when you get ready to sell. I would research other rental options or all the resale sites for the resort where you are interesting in buying.

greg208 wrote:

One of the key factors when determining if it is worthwhile to purchase a timeshare is your availability to travel during "off-peak" periods". While certainly not the case everytime, more often than not, if you are looking to rent a nice (gold crown or 5 star) property on the Atlantic coast when your kids are on summer vacation, it will either be difficult to find on Redweek, or be very costly. Same goes for ski resorts in Colorado and Utah during Presidents week and Christmas.

So, if you really like a destination and intend to visit often and can only travel when the kids are out of school, you may be "forced" to buy. Who knows, once you buy you may find out it really does make more sense to own.

I have now had my timeshare for sale with redweek since october and have received NO responses. I have even reduced my price to be very competitive. I should have reserched their prior results more closely. Redweek advertises the effectiveness of their web site agressively, but it is obviously not the best option for selling your timeshare. Having to become a member to pruchase or rent defeats what a seller is trying to accomplish, which is to make selling your timeshare easy for the buyer. I would reccomend against trying to sell through redweek. Find another resource to to sell your timeshare. You would be better off to going through the timeshare properties directly. They may charge a higher fee, but you would at least get a response.

thomasp107 wrote:

I have now had my timeshare for sale with redweek since october and have received NO responses. I have even reduced my price to be very competitive. I should have reserched their prior results more closely. Redweek advertises the effectiveness of their web site agressively, but it is obviously not the best option for selling your timeshare. Having to become a member to pruchase or rent defeats what a seller is trying to accomplish, which is to make selling your timeshare easy for the buyer. I would reccomend against trying to sell through redweek. Find another resource to to sell your timeshare. You would be better off to going through the timeshare properties directly. They may charge a higher fee, but you would at least get a response.

It is unfortunate that you did not have more success with your attempted sale. I am interested to know what property, location, week, size, etc. you wanted to sell and how much you were asking. I have found that most timeshare developers do not offer any resale programs as it undermines their credibility in terms of being able to demand high developer sales prices.

I know of several people who have successfully bought, sold and rented off this website. It all depends on having a desireable product in a desireable location at a desireable time, and most importantly at a competitive price. There are so many bargains available on the resale market for timeshares right now, that you must be willing to accept a price at or below other sellers with a similiar product.

Greg

Ditto everything Greg said below.

It's not Redweek's fault that your timeshare is not gaining any interest. The market (buyer) sets the price of any given timeshare week as to how much they are willing to pay.

If you bought from the developer you can expect only 1/4 to 1/3 or less on the resale market depending if your timeshare is desirable at all (re: supply and demand, season, popularity of the resort etc.)

You say you are competetive in your pricing. Competetive to what? If you are competitive to other units at your resort in the same season for sale, then more than likely other sellers are asking far too much for their weeks also. People look for bargains and/or a fair price for timeshare resales no matter what you may have paid.

As Greg said below, there are millions of timeshares available in the resale market (actually there's a tremendous glut). If yours is not getting any interest then you may have to consider taking a huge loss over what you paid.

greg208 wrote:

I know of several people who have successfully bought, sold and rented off this website. It all depends on having a desireable product in a desireable location at a desireable time, and most importantly at a competitive price. There are so many bargains available on the resale market for timeshares right now, that you must be willing to accept a price at or below other sellers with a similiar product.Greg

Hi,

The timeshare resale market "crashes" each October and doesn't recover until February. Why? Because everyone who wants to sell decides so in October when they think about the next years fees and don't want to pay them. By February, those units have largely gone away. The big sellers who maintain inventory don't want to pay either so "dump" what they can.

Historically, the best time to sell is March - July (price-wise).

This years drop was by far the worst of the last 5 years. 4-5 star weeks were going for $100 on Ebay.

Good luck!

John

jayjay wrote:

Ditto everything Greg said below.

It's not Redweek's fault that your timeshare is not gaining any interest. The market (buyer) sets the price of any given timeshare week as to how much they are willing to pay.

If you bought from the developer you can expect only 1/4 to 1/3 or less on the resale market depending if your timeshare is desirable at all (re: supply and demand, season, popularity of the resort etc.)

You say you are competetive in your pricing. Competetive to what? If you are competitive to other units at your resort in the same season for sale, then more than likely other sellers are asking far too much for their weeks also. People look for bargains and/or a fair price for timeshare resales no matter what you may have paid.

As Greg said below, there are millions of timeshares available in the resale market (actually there's a tremendous glut). If yours is not getting any interest then you may have to consider taking a huge loss over what you paid.

greg208 wrote:

I know of several people who have successfully bought, sold and rented off this website. It all depends on having a desireable product in a desireable location at a desireable time, and most importantly at a competitive price. There are so many bargains available on the resale market for timeshares right now, that you must be willing to accept a price at or below other sellers with a similiar product.Greg

john1671 wrote:

Hi,

The timeshare resale market "crashes" each October and doesn't recover until February. Why? Because everyone who wants to sell decides so in October when they think about the next years fees and don't want to pay them. By February, those units have largely gone away. The big sellers who maintain inventory don't want to pay either so "dump" what they can.

Historically, the best time to sell is March - July (price-wise).

This years drop was by far the worst of the last 5 years. 4-5 star weeks were going for $100 on Ebay.

Good luck!

John

jayjay wrote:

Ditto everything Greg said below.

It's not Redweek's fault that your timeshare is not gaining any interest. The market (buyer) sets the price of any given timeshare week as to how much they are willing to pay.

If you bought from the developer you can expect only 1/4 to 1/3 or less on the resale market depending if your timeshare is desirable at all (re: supply and demand, season, popularity of the resort etc.)

You say you are competetive in your pricing. Competetive to what? If you are competitive to other units at your resort in the same season for sale, then more than likely other sellers are asking far too much for their weeks also. People look for bargains and/or a fair price for timeshare resales no matter what you may have paid.

As Greg said below, there are millions of timeshares available in the resale market (actually there's a tremendous glut). If yours is not getting any interest then you may have to consider taking a huge loss over what you paid.

greg208 wrote:

I know of several people who have successfully bought, sold and rented off this website. It all depends on having a desireable product in a desireable location at a desireable time, and most importantly at a competitive price. There are so many bargains available on the resale market for timeshares right now, that you must be willing to accept a price at or below other sellers with a similiar product.Greg