Timeshares or Luxury Resort Memberships
What�s better: Timeshares or Luxury Resort Memberships? Both timeshares and travel club memberships have gotten a bad rap nowadays. They seem to be more expense than leisure than anything else. But as I have weighed down the benefits and flaws that both have to their repertoire, I have to say that luxury resort vacation memberships are way better than timeshares. Timeshares� Flaws With all the benefits that come with owning timeshares, the costs that come with it will simply weigh down anyone because it ranges from $15,000 to $30,000. And the fact that one doesn�t really use it all-year round, it is simply ill fit for the casual vacationer. Not only that, maintenance fees are immense and they usually cost around half of the weekly costs of the property. Another problem that comes with purchasing timeshares is the inconvenience that you have to go through. Not only do you have to peruse long, detailed and droll contracts, you have to do it and sign the dotted line early because timeshare units are very limited. As a matter of fact, you may have to book a property as early as one year before your vacation! That�s simply too long for the more impulsive vacationer. Even if most people in the United States are fairly satisfied with the service that they get from timeshares, which hovers around 80% of buyers, I�ll convince you that beneath the hype that timeshares are synthesizing throughout the years, the age-old way of getting VIP accommodations in your vacation, which is signing up for a luxury vacation membership club, still comes off as one of the best in service. Membership Benefits The thing about being a member with these clubs is that they have extensive and exclusive connections. You�ll get access to many of 5-star luxury resorts dotted across the globe. And the thing about these memberships is that they are substantially cheaper than timeshares. There are even lifetime memberships that fall into this category, with one that only costs $2,995. As compared the sextuple digits seen in the bills of timeshare properties, luxury club memberships are immensely cheaper than these. And the thing is, you can just hop into your hotel any time of the year with the frequency of which all in your volition. Timeshares, however, only limit their clients to around one to two weeks per year, which is highly disappointing given its sky-high prices. More so, being a member entails many discounts, from flights, cruises, hotels and many more. And lastly, it is very convenient. As compared to the timeframe needed to buy a timeshare, which may go up as long as a year, being a member can get you to a 5-star room in as little as 72 hours. Conclusion With all the pros and cons that I�ve listed down, luxury memberships really do outweigh timeshares. However, this doesn�t take into account pure customization and personalization characteristic of timeshare properties. Yes, luxury memberships do give that, but at a substantially smaller degree. But it still depends on how much you can spend and how luxurious you want your vacation to be. Now, I still believe being a member of a luxury vacation club outweighs timeshares given that it outperforms timeshares by a mile not only by price, but also by connections and convenience as well.