One of the most common questions we get is “what are the advantages of timeshare ownership?” Since there seem to be so many disadvantages, people begin to wonder if there are any timeshare advantages. This is a valid question and one that needs to be honestly answered. While there are a great many disadvantages to ownership, there are plenty of advantages as well. For anyone to make a informed decision on whether or not owning one is right for them, they need to know both the advantages and disadvantages associated with ownership.
Since this website mostly focuses on the disadvantages of ownership and how to escape from timeshare ownership, this particular article will highlight some of the advantages that exist.
Advantages and Benefits
Owning a timeshare encourages yearly vacations: Many people live busy lives and even when they want to take a vacation, life seems to throw obstacles in the way. The intentions are good, but when it comes down to actually taking the vacation, there are often a variety of reasons the vacation never takes place. Having a set timeshare week encourages even those with busy schedules to take a vacation. Since the timeshare must be paid for whether the vacation is taken or not, it’s sort of a “forced vacation” that can help people take a vacation each year that they might not if they didn’t own a timeshare.
Larger living space: Timeshare units are usually much larger than hotel rooms. Timeshare units are usually more on par with condos than hotel rooms. Timeshares will usually have more spacious accommodations including a kitchen, larger bedrooms and more bathrooms than a typical hotel room.
Self made meals: One of the big expenses of any vacation is the cost of feeding the entire family when you must go out to eat every meal. Since most timeshare units come with a kitchen and cooking utensils, it’s much easier to make your own meals while on vacation than if you were vacationing in a hotel room.
No extra charges for friends: Most timeshares will have a limit on the number of people that can stay in them, but this limit is usually much higher than a hotel room. Where you would need to pay extra charges for each additional person that was staying in a hotel room (or even possibly needing to purchase a second hotel room), friends or additional family can stay in the timeshare (as long as the occupancy stays under its limit) for no additional charge.
Simplified vacation planning: Since you usually have a set week at a set location when you purchase a timeshare, there is a lot less planning and organization that needs to be done to take your vacation. It takes a lot of the complexity out of the whole vacation planning process.
Home resort bonus use: When it comes to reserving units at the resort where you have purchased a timeshare (your home resort) at other times of the year, timeshare owners usually have first choice to claim unused time at bargain rates for shorter two and three day vacations.
Resort amenity use: If you purchase a timeshare unit that is nearby to where you live and it comes with unlimited use of amenities for owners, the timeshare can be a great deal if you use the available amenities on a regular basis. In such cases, you could forgo such costs as a gym membership, a tennis club membership and a pool membership if these were amenities that were included as part of the timeshare unit purchased.
A place that you know: When you own a timeshare, you know the resort so that you know exactly what the room and amenities will be like when you arrive. There is no having to worry if the photos of the hotel are a true representation of the destination you are traveling to or that there will be any unexpected surprises. You have the ease of mind of knowing exactly what your vacation will be like each year.