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Time Share properties on/near strip

Discussion in 'LV Strip Hotels' started by alexm, May 3, 2016.

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  1. alexm

    alexm VIP Whale

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    Hello All,

    I am hoping some on here may be able to provide some insight into some timeshare opportunities on the strip. Wife and I are in late twenties and have traveled to Vegas 3 times in 3 years. We know we love it and plan on making it an annual trip. Both her family and mine have also traveled to Vegas with us and enjoyed immensely, now her parents want to make their first trip.

    We are also at the age where we are looking to start a family and both sets of in-laws have said they would happily provide child care in Vegas for us if we travel together. The wife and I like the idea of Vegas because of its accessibility to major west coast destinations along with its affordability. We like the timeshare concept as we are the type of people that make it a point to take a week's vacation every year, but since we both own our own businesses we have the flexibility to travel whenever.

    From what little research I have done, it seems as though Vegas timeshares offer a good rate of transfer to other destinations should we ever decide to take a year off.

    We had discussed the concept of just booking rooms at casino rates, but the convenience of all the timeshare amenities compared to most annual maintenance fees seem far more logical for smaller children. While our room is usually comped (only pay resort fees), our in-laws don't gamble and would likely be paying for rooms (we would pay for them) for rooms for a week.

    I guess my question is which timeshare properties would be recommended by board members and does anyone know of a good place to start looking. Ideally we are looking for something within a block or two of the strip with a pool and we would want at least a 2-bedroom lockout on a flexible week. Cost is not monumentally significant but would like to be under 25,000 and under 1,000 maintenance fee.

    As we did the math we figure that hotel rooms for the family at same place as us plus our resort fees would run over 1,000 dollars, and these timeshares easily sleep 6-8 people which makes traveling as a group even easier.

    Thanks in advance for any advice, and if this is in the wrong spot, please feel free to relocate.
     
  2. BlacklabberMike

    BlacklabberMike MIA

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    just walk through harrahs and you be approached like a vulture on a dead carcass. :evillaugh
     
  3. dmr

    dmr Registered Abuser

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    In my not so humble opinion, timeshares in LV do not make sense one bit! First, I like the atmosphere of the casino-hotel. I like having the casino and the restaurants and such there and handy.

    Second, even with modest but consistent play, you will get comp or casino rates for hotels which make a few stays per year less costly than the maintenance and nuisance fees of the timeshares.

    LOL -- "What's the difference between a cold and a timeshare?" :) :) :)
     
  4. ken2v

    ken2v This Space For Rent

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    I believe there are a few timeshare boards out there. Google can help you out.

    You're going to get lots of kickback on this. Timeshare ranks right up there with kids, smoking and Battista's when it comes to enflaming VMB passions.

    My in-laws have had a "home" timeshare in Carlsbad for eons and a few friends have their base in Palm Desert and love it. Others couldn't get out from under their "burdens" quickly enough. Once you settle on a couple properties you can run the math and determine if the amount of usage and the cost offsets the perceived benefit of having a condo-like unit in Vegas. One can rent a lot of room (multiple w/family in the mix) in Vegas for a grand a year, for instance, with the comp kickback also adding value. My in-laws' unit is through RCI I believe and they've never had a problem trading out all over, but I know they have a very high priority given the location and the time of year. That might be more of a dime-a-dozen thing for Vegas units. There's gotta be gobs of units out there on the re-sale market that don't have that price tag, I'd think. That is not an insignificant bit of coin.

    Another question I have is are you trying to force or rationalize this simply because it is Vegas?
     
    Last edited: May 3, 2016
  5. JCLND

    JCLND Tourist

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    Too bad (or good actually) this wasn't posted 6 months ago........I had a friend who would of traded you his polo towers time share for a beer. I personally don't and wont ever have a timeshare but I saw exactly what a mistake it was for him......don't do it!
     
  6. nostresshere

    nostresshere Mr. Anti Debit Card

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    Figure out what the timeshare will cost INCLUDING maint and HOA fees.

    Then figure out what a hotel/ or timeshare rental will cost.

    I think you will find you can rent for a similar price and NOT be locked into anything. People change their desires and wants over time.

    I can see very little financial value in getting a timeshare anywhere.
     
  7. Tifysue

    Tifysue Tourist

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    The two timeshare locations I have stayed at in Vegas are The Jockey Club next to Cosmo and Hilton's Elara. (I don't own a timeshare I just rented the rooms.) I went on a timeshare presentation at the Jockey Club a few years ago just for the fun of it. A few tips I can provide are if you are going to get a timeshare at a timeshare presentation, hold out until the very last minute. They will send over a "closer" that will add things like a free trip to Hawaii to try to get you to make the deal. Also as previous posters stated, if you divide out your down payment plus HOA and maintenance fees, you can actually rent these exact same rooms for a fraction of the cost. The year after I went to the Jockey Club timeshare, I rented a room via their website for $100 a night (without resort fees) on a weekend in a one bedroom suite. I did not have to attend a timeshare presentation for this price and no one hounded me to attend one. It was just a rental from someone who wasn't going to use theirs.
     
  8. Krh2o

    Krh2o MIA

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    I own in HGVC. You can get them cheap like $500 on eBay and other ways. Just make sure you run a title check to make sure they don't owe anything.

    The HGVC Flamingo is right behind the Go Pool by the monorail stop. It's a short walk to the back of Flamingo. The rooms are nice and quiet. I like this because I love the Margaritaville casino, but hate the rooms at Flamingo, and Linq.

    HGVC Elara is in the Miracle Mile shops behind Planet Hollywood. It's more of a hotel with big suites then a timeshare but it's nice and quiet as well. I stayed there last month, it was a a little less 1/4 mile walk from our room to the PH casino according to my iPhone.

    Have not stayed at Jockey Clun, but I believe it shares an elevator w Cosmo.

    If you are going to buy a TS, buy online from someone else. You will get it for 10 cents on the dollar. If the Maintenence fees are low enough, it's a good deal especially if you primarily go on weekends. Also big Vegas weekends often times are not big TS weekends, with March Madness being the exception because of spring break.
     
  9. NickPapageorgio

    NickPapageorgio OG of the Sal Sagev Hotel

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    Hawaii and Aruba are two of the only locations that timeshares make sense for frequent visitors. Hotel rooms in both are expensive and the annual fees are a value compared to one/two/three/whathaveyou weeks of paying for a hotel.

    Vegas and Orlando aren't wise timeshare locations dye to the low cost of hotel rooms and the relatively large supply.

    Nick:beer:
     
  10. SteveO

    SteveO Low-Roller

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    Be educated before you try and buy a time share as most salespersons are liars of the first degree. And yes, I owned timeshare from 1984 through 2014 and finally got rid of it. The maintenance fees go on for all of your life and they never, never, never, decrease.

    http://tug2.com/Home.aspx

    One of the best sites for education and has many for sale or for rent ads. Largest timeshare group on the net.


    http://www.wyndhamowners.org/Forums.aspx

    For Wyndham specific properties


    ebay.com to buy at GREATLY discounted prices

    Generally, you should never buy from the timeshare property, always buy secondary market but you don't always get some of the incentives buying off the secondary market.

    Now, we have stayed at several timeshares in Vegas over the years and there are a few new ones too. Of the older ones, Hilton Vacation Club behind the Flamingo was probably the best just for the Flamingo pool and almost right on the strip. Second best was the Grand Desert (Wyndham property) and we stayed there several times.
    The others all sort of rank third or fourth.

    If we had it to do over again and we were buying now and money was no object then Hilton Grand Vacation is probably the best choice but it will be expensive! If you buy from the property do NOT be afraid to negotiate and be ready to walk at any time. It's worse than buying a car.

    Good luck and keep us informed.
     
  11. DeMoN2318

    DeMoN2318 The DERS

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    Marriott Grand Chateau is part of the Marriott Vacation Club. It is a point based "time share" so each year you get the points equivalent to the value of your property and can use them at any other Marriott Vacation Club location.

    You can buy more points, or more properties to get more points.


    My family has owned a 2 bedroom suite at the Grand Chateau for several years now and have used the points to travel to Hawaii twice, Florida, New York (for new years), and have staying in Vegas numerous times.

    It is not a typical "time share" but I highly recommend looking into it, the flexibility is amazing.
     
  12. fraygul

    fraygul Low-Roller

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    We got suckered into going to a presentation last month for Jockey Club. We have actually been debating buying a time share and thought maybe we would get some useful information. We were very, very wrong. They offered us a couple free nights (he made it sound like at the cosmo, pretty sure it isn't (we chucked it after everything else happened), food and 200 in free play) The food was gift cards for some sketchy website with food we wouldn't touch anyway, the 'freeplay' was at Casino Royale in some special machine that would only pay you if you hit a jackpot and then you would get $500. I pulled a couple spins, decided my time was worth more than the 'chance' at $500 and left, I was deceived and angry about it. The people next to me were angry as well. Casino Royale was actually my favourite casino on the trip before that, I was treated well and won all day. Now i won't go back. That they would want to be any part of a scam like that just turned me off.
    The jockey Club itself was ridiculous. Our salesperson REEKED of booze. They walked us past tvs showing websites saying they were good and some BB rating. She kept going back and forth over them being affiliated with Cosmo. At one point it was like 'The cosmo is huge and expensive and look at the chandelier' like they had anything to do with it. The next it was 'yeah they wanted this building but we said no'. Their sales pitch was 'they trust us, you should too'... lol. My guess is they are on that land and won't leave and the Cosmo just has to deal with it. Then she is telling us how much they offered for it... the place is soooo valuable.. and I laughed and told her yeah.. the LAND is. The place is a dump. The pool is full of overflowing ashtrays and nobody actually around the pool. The elevator to the cosmo doesn't require key entry.. scary (but they have video she says LOL)
    We are in the unit and she says, would you just LOVE to bring your friends here?? NO. And we have told her repeatedly we are not buying this, my BF is a doctor and his friends have time shares where celebrities live. Like hell we are bringing them to the Jockey club! hahaha. They had the same cabinets as my house did 15 years ago and I wanted to change them then! and the views were of a wall or the cosmo's garbage.
    And you can't decide later, after you even get to go google them and do research on them. I can't think of a bigger red flag. Also, they are like the 'time share' isn't specifically for this place you can go to all these other places.. but the jockey club is their jewel.. uh no thanks. They never did mention what cut of the profits we get when they sell to the cosmo because there is no way that place is still there in 40 years or whatever they were trying to sell us. Wonder why?

    If you really want a time share, after that experience (that actually started our bitchiness about Vegas on this trip) I would google all of them before you go and decide what you want to see and how reputable they are. The high pressure is crazy and I feel bad for the suckers who fall for this stuff. There seemed to be a few of them that came up when I googled it after.

    Also, The Cosmo should send someone in there to see what they are saying because it doesn't reflect well on them. My gut is that Jockey Club was full of it (which they should put a stop to) or that this stuff is true and then ewwww.
     
  13. eksantirik

    eksantirik High-Roller

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    I am going to be direct here but I really have a hard time understanding why anyone at all would want a timeshare anywhere, given the following points:

    1. Timeshares are usually sold via hard sales pitches. They are mostly pushed on the customer, meaning one doesn't actually need them.
    2. You don't own anything. So, no chances of land/real estate appreciation. And in terms of the timeshare deed, I've never seen one that is sold at a profit.
    3. You promise to pay maintenance fees for all your life. These fees are open-ended, there could be high inflationary period in the future, where you might not be able to afford.
    4. There is a proliferation of online travel websites like expedia, booking, priceline, hotwire, airbnb, vrbo, where you can score really good deals all over the world.
    5. Cash is king! If you have the cash, each year, just spend however you please (either book a travel, or buy a car, or go to a dinner etc.). With timeshare, you are stuck with just vacation.

    In OP's case, I'd rather put that $25K into strong stocks like WMT, JNJ, PG etc. They yield around 3% dividend annually, which gives back $750, a good chunk of your annual travel budget. And you get to enjoy the upside of these corporations' future growth.
     
  14. NickPapageorgio

    NickPapageorgio OG of the Sal Sagev Hotel

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    Wow... You are being direct, but with minimal knowledge of Timeshares.

    1. Timeshares are usually sold via hard sales pitches. They are mostly pushed on the customer, meaning one doesn't actually need them.

    Timeshares are sold to suckers via hard sales pitches. Educated consumers know to buy in the secondary market for pennies on the dollar. I have purchased 6, sold 2 and have made money on each. You are generalizing.

    2. You don't own anything. So, no chances of land/real estate appreciation. And in terms of the timeshare deed, I've never seen one that is sold at a profit.

    You do own a week in a specific unit for fixed week timeshares. There is a chance of appreciation, especially in Aruba and Hawaii, two of the hottest timeshare markets. How many have you seen sold if you've never seen one sold at a profit? My guess is that you can count timeshare closings on one hand, yet you are making big claims.

    3. You promise to pay maintenance fees for all your life. These fees are open-ended, there could be high inflationary period in the future, where you might not be able to afford.

    Yes, but any of the reputable companies have their fees in line with inflation, save for special assessments. IE fees dont double or triple at any point.

    4. There is a proliferation of online travel websites like expedia, booking, priceline, hotwire, airbnb, vrbo, where you can score really good deals all over the world.

    Let me know what you can come up with for the entire month of March in Aruba for 2 adults and 2 children on Expedia, Orbitz, etc. Total price for a suite including kitchen. I'm paying $2580 in fees and with energy surcharges, about $2800.00 for the entire month, oceanfront, 2 bedroom in Aruba.

    5. Cash is king! If you have the cash, each year, just spend however you please (either book a travel, or buy a car, or go to a dinner etc.). With timeshare, you are stuck with just vacation.

    This is true, but for me, having an annual oceanfront vacation in Aruba is pretty nice. I've never wanted to swap out, but that may change at some point, and I have the flexibility with exchanges to do so.

    25k is ridiculous... On the secondary market i've paid less combined for 6 timeshares. If someone pays 25k for a timeshare at a presentation, they haven't done their homework as a consumer, which isn't surprising. This however is where the negativity and horrible impressions of timeshares begin.

    Look, if you cant handle yourself in a sales situation, such as saying no to a car salesman, or no to a timeshare salesman, it's your own fault. This is a big boy world, with big boy responsibilities and big boy consequences. There are a lot of people out there trying to get your money..... Its up to you how wise you are in your decisionmaking.

    Nick:beer:
     
  15. Nittany1

    Nittany1 VIP Whale

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    Add Redweek.com. to the list for secondary market sites.
    You can rent or buy.
    If you are really interested try renting one for a week before buying .
    Like others said,do the math first before jumping into a timeshare.Lots of horror stories out there.
     
  16. dmr

    dmr Registered Abuser

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    I know I'm cynical about timeshares, but this comes mainly from the annoying salesdorks in Las Vegas and Hawaii.

    My recently-retired former boss and his wife have a timeshare in Cancun and they LOVE it! They like it so much they bought a second share so they could do it twice each year. He's showed me the numbers and they work for him.

    Of course, comparing this to a timeshare in Las Vegas where most of us get free or reduced rates is an apples to oranges comparison.
     
  17. NickPapageorgio

    NickPapageorgio OG of the Sal Sagev Hotel

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    Bingo. Part of the game is doing the research, visiting the resorts, price comparing, knowing the difference in exchanges and most importantly, getting something that works for you. I've attended the presentations and they're great. Great entertainment, great for learning about their portfolio and exchanges, great for seeing how badly they inflate prices and great for steering you to the secondary market.

    I did the same thing. I bought a week and then continued to buy and resell until getting the holy grail. 4 continuous weeks in the same oceanfront 2 bedroom unit in Spring. Being a New Yorker, there is nothing better than a 91 degree ocean breeze in March. Vegas is still a bit too cold in March, and I would never advise to buy a timeshare in Vegas or Orlando. Those two are resort towns with lower than average hotel rates. You want to buy somewhere you like, but also somewhere that has high hotel rates, thus justifying the purchase. If you can't justify the purchase financially, there are plenty of Homewood Suites and Embassy Suites type properties out there that are similar to timeshares without locking you in.

    Nick:beer:
     
  18. Jejas

    Jejas VIP Whale

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    I attended timeshare presentation twice,once made $100 once $75 both times cash.
    I still have positive view on timeshare salesman.
    I guess someone needs to pay for it, but not me.
     
  19. NickPapageorgio

    NickPapageorgio OG of the Sal Sagev Hotel

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    Years ago, we each received $150 freeplay and a stack of free buffet coupons at Harrahs (ended up being about 40). This was before Wyndham started giving the 2-1 buffets. $1000 to sit through 2 hours of point/counterpoint/rebuttal/repeat. Sure. I was half cocked anyhow, so it ended up being a good time.

    Sadly, they dont have the flexibility that they used to in upping the ante.

    Nick:beer:
     
  20. makikiboy

    makikiboy VIP Whale

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    I think many of us have attended time share presentations not knowing that it was just a come on and a sucker's bet. Some still attend because of the freebies offered. Most of us avoid them and avoid the hawkers that are in some hotels in vegas.

    I wouldn't blame CR for being part of this, they need to run a business and get money from these people but most of us know the scam of the timeshare so avoid them at all costs. Unfortunately the uninformed still get snookered into attending these presentations. Fragul, you should be happy that you didn't attend one of the other timeshare presentations, ones that take you miles away from the strip and will hold you "hostage" for hours even though you don't want to buy a timeshare and won't take you back until they decide it is time for the group to go back.

    Nick is correct, you need to do your homework and timeshares can work out for some people. Also be aware that some timeshares offer more depending on where you buy it. Not sure about now but for some Hawaii timeshares, if you buy a one week timeshare you can turn it into a 2 week timeshare stay elsewhere (even in vegas). Hawaii is in great demand so they offer more if you own a Hawaii timeshare. Some timeshares also allow you to "bank" a year so you can take it the next year along with that year's stay.

    I have friends who own timeshares and they think it is great. They get to go all over the world for vacation (they own a Hawaii timeshare) every year, let other friends stay if they don't plan on going that year and it also forces them to take a week off from their job every year.

    Timeshares aren't for everyone but after decades they are still in business around the world so they must fill a niche and some people still stay at these places.
     
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