Kim's Travel Tidbits

To Timeshare or Not to Timeshare...That is the Question

2011-05-27T23:22:00.000-07:00

Almost everyone knows someone who owns a timeshare. You may quite possibly own one yourself. Well the fact of the matter is, timeshares or vacation clubs are a rapidly growing industry. They've been around forever but now, many popular hotel chains are joining in on the action. Many popular hotel chains such as Marriott, Westin, Hyatt and Hilton, have all began to build vacation club properties all over the world. Vacation Club units in popular destinatiuons can run up to $90,000 or even more at high end properties.
The monthly payments on these units that may be 2 bedroom, 2 bath for use 1 week per year are normally around $400-$500 monthly, ouch! You also are obligated to pay maintenace fees once a year, generally in December right before Christmas. Many owners may pay maintenance fees of $600 a year.

In my opinion, owning a timeshare just doesn't add up unless you are wealthy and have money to burn. What many people do not know is that any of these timeshare properties can in most cases, be easily booked through many travel websites. Travel websites such as Expedia and Travelocity offer stays at many of these properties for $100-$200 a night. I kid you not, the same unit that some poor timeshare owner is paying $400 a month for, plus yearly maintenance fees, can be booked by you on Orbitz for $200 a night. You do the math. Who is getting the better deal? If you are a timeshare or vacation club owner, don't feel bad. I once owned a timeshare myself. I eventually got wise though and sold it. Also, if you just must buy a timeshare, buy resale from a previous owner. You will pay half the cost. Just make sure that their maintenance fees are all current. So my advice to you is, if you really would like to stay at one of these really nice vacation club properties that you've heard about it's very easy. Do yourself a favor by saving yourself $400 a month and just book it through Expedia yourself.

Kim's Travel Tidbits: The Rack Rate Rule

2011-05-26T00:25:00.000-07:00

Kim's Travel Tidbits: The Rack Rate Rule: "The rack rate rule is a very simple one, indeed. You NEVER EVER pay rack rate for a hotel room. There are many deals to be had when bookin..."

The Rack Rate Rule

2011-05-26T00:23:00.000-07:00

The rack rate rule is a very simple one, indeed. You NEVER EVER pay rack rate for a hotel room. There are many deals to be had when booking a hotel. The best place to start your quest for hotel steals and deals would be Priceline. Buy naming your own price and placing bids on Priceline, you can slash your hotel rate by as much as 50%. No, I am NOT KIDDING. If you love staying at four and five star hotels but do not like paying four and five star prices then Priceline is your best bet. Some people are uncomfortable using Priceline due to the fact that you are not able to chose your exact hotel. You bid on a certain star hotel in a certain area and your credit card is charged if your bid is accepted. They will not reveal the name of the hotel until after a hotel has accepted your bid. If your only concern is a certain quality of hotel in a certain area then this will appeal to you.

My second choice would have to be Hotwire. Hotwire works similar to Priceline with the exception of bidding. They give you the rate for certain star level hotels but do not disclose the name of the hotel until you have purchased the hotel at rate disclosed. You can still get realy good rates but rates are not as good as Priceline.

These two travel websites are the only ones I EVER use for booking hotels. Why pay $200 for a night at a hotel when you could only pay $90. Hotels love for customers to book rooms directly from their websites but savy travelers NEVER do. Take my advice and save that extra cash for a nice massage.