Saturday, February 21, 2009

Don't Buy A Timeshare! Join a Classy Vacation Membership Program Instead.


Travel season is upon us again and unfortunately, many people will be talked into buying a timeshare. I'm not trying to be judgmental, after all, I purchased two timeshares myself. I just don't want you to learn the hard way like I did.
Hi. My name is Margaret and this is me at the beach. No bikini's for me. I'm a grandma now and kind of like food a little to much to ever sport a bikini again. I just wanted to show you that I am a real person.


But seriously, There are lots of reasons why I say "Don't buy a timeshare" and here are just a few.


1) A timeshare has huge up front costs

2) A timeshare obligates you to just one location (boring) for life or to pay exchange fees

3) A timeshare has maintenance costs and annual dues

4) A timeshare does not include guest weeks.


I really got tired of those annual maintenance costs rising at very rapid rates each year. The properties I stayed at were great. . . I have no complaints about that, but the cost was getting out of hand. Every time there was a storm, I would shudder. I knew that that meant. Besides, I get bored easily and I like to try different places. My timeshare only allowed me to go to the same place year after year unless I exchanged it with RCI. That was ok too, but I oftentimes didn't get the same quality that I had with my original timeshare because to get a 5 star one you had to book up to 2 years in advance (unless there was a cancellation). In all fairness, with RCI, I did get excellent customer service.


With all of the above factors in mind, I set off to sell my timeshare or trade it for another that didn't require maintenance fees. I also took a look on google for alternatives to timeshares. I still wanted to stay at a timeshare property but I didn't want to own the same one year after year. That's when I found Global Resorts Network and I'm glad I did. I did compare their membership to others out there, but I found that even some of the Disney properties, the Shell properties and RCI properties and others were all part of this membership. The others were exclusive to their own memberships, and once again, the choices were limited.


I watched the movie first: http://www.amazingvacationsite.com and visited the site where I could sign up for the live demo http://grntimesharediscounts.com and then I joined. I have never looked back since.


Once again, here are the reasons I say "Don't buy a timeshare".


1) A timeshare has huge up front costs GRN Membership $1,495 or $2,995 depending on whether you choose a lifetime membership or a 3 year membership.

2) A timeshare obligates you to just one location for life or has you pay exchange fees our membership allows total freedom and flexibility to travel anytime, anywhere worldwide. There are over 5,000 resorts listed presently.

3) A timeshare has maintenance costs and annual dues GRN Membership is $1,495 or $2,995 to join, with no ongoing costs or annual fees. You only pay when you want to travel and they have plenty of inexpensive "hot weeks" for $295 and $395 for a week, per week, not per person. That's a great advantage as some of the places sleep even up to 6 people at a time!

4) A timeshare does not include guest weeks. GRN does.

What are Guest Weeks?


Platinum members have access to unlimited guest weeks per year. The guest weeks are available from $399 to $799/week. Members can purchase a guest week and give it away to a family member or friend. They can pay you for the week or you can give it away as a gift. A Guest week makes an awesome wedding gift for a family member. Guest weeks can be found at any of the 5,000 + resorts worldwide.

Do yourself a favor and completely check this out. Do the free demo. There is NO obligation. If you are going to make some type of decision to go on vacation, then at least make an intelligent one.


You can call me. My phone answers Dunn Associates. If I am not in, please leave a message and I will return your call within 24 hours. Yes, that really is a picture of me, no makeup and all. . . a bit discheveled looking because the wind was blowing at the beach, but nevertheless, I am real and I am a real member and I am very happy that I can tell you "Don't buy a timeshare" speaking from experience!

THINK ABOUT THE COST OF A PLATINUM MEMBERSHIP. HERE'S A BREAKDOWN.

When you are considering the cost, several things to keep in mind are:

1. When you take $2998 and spread it out over 100 years which is how long the platinum membership is for (obviously you will need to pass this membership on to someone in your family to use all 100 years), the cost is $29.98 per year (if I did my math correctly).

2. You can check with your tax accountant, but if you are using the weeks to travel for business, they should be a write off.

3. When you take 3 vacations that should have cost you $1700 for the week times 3 = $5100 and you get the same week for example for $599 instead, $599 x 3 = $1797 total cost for three vacations. $5100 minus $1797 = $3303. You have just paid for your membership in savings alone. You will be traveling for a deep discount for the next 100 years for nothing but the cost of the week, not per person, but per family member.

4. So, even if you can't get a last minute property through the standard timeshare list of resorts available (next day), and you travel frequently, then you will most likely be taking three vacations that would normally cost you $1600 - $1700 for the week over the next 100 years. You know that you can travel for as little as $298 up to $799 per week for the next 100 years, what will you be losing by becoming a member?

You will be losing by not becoming a member.

Remember too that you have access to discount hotel reservations, airline reservations and cruises, on the site as well where you can reserve shorter stays and last minute stays as well.

That was the rationale that I used to join and it makes perfect sense to me.

HOT WEEK EXAMPLE AVAILABLE TO MEMBERS RIGHT NOW

Here is an example of one hot week that is perfect for a family of 4. Click Here.