Your Thoughts On Strip Timeshares?

I was thinking of buying a Jockey Club timeshare. Polo Towers looked ok as well.

Anyway what are some of your experiences staying at timeshares on the strip?

Do you own one there?

I see JC's maint fees run less than $550 for a 1 bedroom and the location is fanfriggintastic.

It has it's own entrance to Cosmo and is literally steps away from the strip meaning even from the back of the property, you are on the strip in 5 minutes.

Also the bus stop is right out in front of it.

I like Polo Towers too but it's maint fee for a 2BR is over $1100 and I might struggle to justify it.

I wanna know folks' experiences with JC, PT, or any other timeshares on the strip. I love that area around Cosmo/PH/City Center.

No resort fees but also....no casino. Lol

 

I have sat through a couple of Time Share presentations and quite frankly, they make no sense at all to me. I know some people who have them and absolutely love them. And the hard sell tactics of the Time Share companies can sometimes make it seem like the best deal ever. So, I am not saying my opinion is correct for everyone and dont mean to insult or discourage anyone from doing this if they feel its best for them. But as for me, I just dont get it, on so many levels, that it is unfathomable to me that folks would actually be taken in by these "deals".

 

JC may be an exception, but as far as timeshares go, I don't get it, either. My buddy owns three weeks of timeshare. He bought them for pennies on the dollar. You can find many people looking to unload their timeshare obligations on internet auction sites and other online resources, at less than they sunk into them for 5 or 10 years.

I've had my share of presentations, and they always tell you how you're investing in real property, and you can deed it to your children. The problem is, they don't run out of units, they can always develop/sell more. And they do.

Houses can appreciate or depreciate in value, so why not timeshares? If you think the value of the purchase of a JC timeshare is going to stand up over time, (and it has a better chance than many timeshare developments, I would think,) then perhaps it's worth it if the unit is nice and you're use to spending several hundred dollars on a hotel room every year in Vegas.

I'd certainly love to know the economics of JC timeshare and what owners think of their purchase. Would be an interesting read.

 

What is it that you don't get?

 

Yeah I'd never buy at a presentation anyway. I'd buy an IDWIA (I don't want it anymore).

JC just seems so alluring due to location and low cost. I mean it's practically connected to Cosmo..

 

I've always felt the same thing.

Seems like you are pretty much locking yourself in to where and when you want to spend your vacation each year and just has that potential for problems like:
What if you get tired of Vegas and want to do something else next year?
What if you want to go at a different time next year?
What if you just can't go, for work or whatever reason, when its your turn?
What if something happens with your financial situation where you can't afford a vacation this year?

Yes, there are services where you can rent out your time or trade them with others, but those can charge a fair bit for an annual membership and have a service charge on top when you use their service... plus it just seems like a bit of a headache and waste of time to go through the whole process of trying to trade your time for somebody else's time.

 

I'm kinda looking for folks that stayed in or own those timeshares.

If I buy, I'd buy a floating week with exchange program included.

My aim is to stay in Vegas on the cheap at a great location. I thought there'd be some owners on the forum.

 

I think you could get a nice hotel room for the cost of the purchase + the maintenance fee for quite a few years. And have a fresh place/experience at that.

 

I own 2 timeshares and I work for a timeshare company.

From my personal perspective, it's great. BUT mine is a fixed week at the beach and I always use it (or let family use it). Our maintenance fees are low and management is awesome.

From my work experience, NO FRIGGIN' WAY! People get so frustrated when they try to exchange and can't get what they want or when they want it. There are fees to exchange and you have to be really careful to book a place that is up to your standards. If you prefer going to the same place all the time, are happy with that choice and comfortable with the fees, then it may work (as it does for us).

I'd look for an opportunity to rent someone else's timeshare for a steal and not have to deal with the commitment.

NEVER buy at a timeshare presentation - do resale.

 

And you have the choice of where and when.

 

If they were such a good deal they wouldn't have to bribe you to their presentation....people would be knocking down the door to get in.......and remember....the older the time share you are buying into the more the maintainance fees will go up for repairs.

 

No, I do not own a timeshare.

However, it just does not make financial sense to go that way, particularly in Las Vegas.

Even at full street price, hotels in Las Vegas are cheaper than in most major cities. Even with consistent modest play, you can get greatly reduced rates and in slower times total freebees. The monthly payment on a timeshare loan plus the maintenance fee is certainly far more than what you would spend at a mid-level Strip casino-hotel.

Plus, your building may get shadowed by one of those mega-developments, ala Jockey Club.

 

I get timeshares.

I don't really get Vegas timeshares.

To me, lodging is by far the most affordable part of a las vegas vacation, particularly as a full week would feel like a very long vacation in vegas, but also because their hotel rooms are so cheap compared to other tourist destinations.

So the only real appeal would be having a kitchen, and for a short trip I'm fine with eating out.

 

Why buy something you can get for less money otherwise?

You can get rooms at Polo Towers or pretty much any other timeshare when you want it. No obligation to ever return again. Or pay fees. Or pay....

Nothing.

I just don't get why anyone would do it.

 

Amen Brother. I sat thru a presentation at PHo just to see the new tower, when it got down to brass tacks and they started talking about prices. I pulled out my smartphone and looked at resale value, and quickly brought up this point. It was like the air left the room and the sales manager came over and immediately try to pitch me a "returned" unit for well over market asking price.

My wife and I bought a disney vacation club ts on secondary market, to basically lock in our costs at a lower rate since we go every year anyway. The only way I would buy at Jockey Club, would be to own a unit I could then turn back over to management firm to rent out on my behalf. With the colapse of the condo market in Vegas I have seen great deals for 130K in that building.

 

Getting a bit off topic:

Is it worth it to sit through a time share presentation in Vegas just for the freebee?

 

I've never done it but I guess it depends on what your time is worth. I personally don't get enough time off work to go sit in a room and deal with high pressure sales for 2-4 hours while on vacation.

 

i'm a bit guilty, too, but yeah, it's off topic. i'd also be interested in hearing firsthand from a JC timeshare owner about the experiences and cost.

and for those who didn't actually read the OP's writing, he is looking for info about the Jockey Club from a JC timeshare owner.

 

Really depends on what you are getting and how much you value your vacation time.

Plus some of these can be misleading where they might say "you only have to sit through a 60 minute sales presentation" but they end up driving you out to the middle of nowhere with no way to get back (except for an expensive cab ride) until they take you back to your hotel... which might not happen until after the 60 minute sales presentation plus another hour or two or three worth of sales time.

In the end it will all be what you get for your time. Like, I wouldn't give up 1-2 hours of my time for a pair of tickets I could probably get at the half price ticket outlet for $20-30

 

The devil is in the details, they look for a lot of ways to thin out the buyers and the lookers, and the devil in the fine print to get the comp you are going there for.

Mrs Funkhouser and myself went to the PHo one around 4 or 5 years ago back when when Westgate was marketing the tower. It was a pretty sweet deal to lure you in, $300 in casino freeplay, snacks / food, and if I remember correctly we were getting our @ss handed to us that weekend so we needed a respite.

I bit on the TS fishermans offer, and it ended up sucking 3 to 4 hours of our day. They also hook you into putting down a $20 deposit to make sure you show up for presentation. (My guess its cover the commision of the time share barkers on the street and make sure they don't put BS names like Jack MeeHoffer as attendees.)

I really wanted to get a good look at the rooms in the tower. Wife was checked out after 90 mins and growing restless. Now I am used long negotiation sessions every year as I cut deals from my Ice Cream suppliers for the old Good Humor truck annually. These TS guys high pressure sales tactics were no match for me! Hell I spent 4 hours in the Bleu Ball Dairy cooler working out a .15 each price on the chocolate dixie cups back in 2003.

SO the real question "Is it worth it?" Not really IMHO, its like 2 to 3 hours in a vietnamese prison camp circa 1973, Save your vacation time.