December 2008 Q & A

Q: “I want to sell one or two of my five timeshares for top dollar, but not as low as I see advertised with Holiday. There are so many to choose from and I just don’t know where to start. Do you have any recommendations or companies in mind who could possibly get this done?” –Reggie

A: Reggie, the truth is that there are too many companies out there willing to scam your money from you in return for a promise of a quick sale. Don’t fall for them! NEVER pay anyone a listing fee to sell your timeshare for you. Nine times out of ten, they are only interested in the listing fee, not selling the timeshare.

My first recommendation would be to rent out the timeshares in question for a few years and get some money. Hopefully, you didn’t buy these timeshares under the assumption that they go up in value, because they generally don’t. That shouldn’t be the motive for buying a timeshare.

Timesharing Today is a wonderful publication out of New Jersey where you can advertise your timeshare for rent or for sale. They charge an advertising fee, not a listing fee.

Q: “I own three timeshares, which gives me 3 weeks at the end of the year to add to the 4 weeks I already deposited with RCI. I’m thinking about trading some of the weeks for a cruise. What do you recommend?” –Imitiaz

A: Wow! Seven weeks to use. I don’t suppose you would give me one, would you? Kidding aside, I’m not a big fan of trading your timeshares towards cruises, whether using RCI Weeks, RCI Points, or ICE. More often than not, you end up getting a value of, say, $350 for your week, and you and I both know your weeks are worth more than that.

Many timeshare people will tell you that you can trade your week FOR a cruise, when in fact, you end up trading your week TOWARD a cruise. By the time you add up the charges for food, drink, entertainment, and other extras, you can get a better deal yourself, without giving up your week.

If you aren’t going to use all of your weeks for resort vacation, don’t lose them! Rent them out or roll them over to next year, if you can. If you’re going to rent them, by all means control them yourself. Don’t give them to the resort to rent out for you, because you have no control of what they charge and no way to find out if they were really rented out at all. Happy vacationing, Imitiaz!

Q: “Which weeks are high season, and what are the other weeks?” –Gladys in California

A: The answer, Gladys, is that high season varies from region to region. High demand season in Colorado may well be in the winter; i.e. skiing months. In other places, Missouri perhaps, the winter may be the low-demand season. Be careful though: some resorts in places such as Orlando, Las Vegas, and Hawaii will proudly announce to the world that they are “all high season, all year around.”

Wrong. Even within year-round, high-demand areas, there will be “better tradeable” weeks than others. While RCI still relies on the “Red, White, and Blue” color charts, I find I.I.’s Travel Demand Index a much truer glimpse into what really qualifies as “high season.”

Q: “I recently received a Bonus Week from Interval International. Can I rent this week out to someone else?” –Edward

A: First of all, I.I. calls them Getaway Weeks. I don’t want anyone to be confused about the correct terminology. The answer is, YES! You can purchase a Guest Certificate for whomever you want to give the Getaway Week to. Whether you are going to charge them more money than the actual cost of the Getaway Week is entirely up to you.

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