My father-in-law has a couple of time shares. They’re the ones where you get a dedicated week, and there are no points or exchanges, but you do get a deed. One unit he has for 52 weeks, and the other for about 14 weeks picked strategically through the year. The first one works out because he’s retired, and so he and my mother-in-law can just pick up and go any time. The second works out because the weeks are for all of the popular, never-miss vacation weeks, and at least one of his kids will always want the unit if it’s available.
Personally, I’m now bored of going to the same place with the in-laws after 10 years, so that’s not a strategy I would never choose. There’s a big world out there, and my time off is usually pretty spur of the moment, so I tend to prefer hotels.
I have Disney too (but I wouldn’t consider it a larger timeshare)…
There are well respected timeshares and not well respected timeshares. There are ones that you can’t get rid of once you buy them at any price, and ones that you’ll save a little buying resale - but maybe not that much. Right now, there are a lot of bargains out on the resale market. Surprisingly, when you can’t pay the mortgage on the house, you can’t pay the mortgage on a timeshare.
We own Disney to go to Disney - and for that, Disney’s timeshare works very well. Its about the only AFFORDABLE way to stay on property in a room that puts the kids in a different bedroom so my husband and I can indulge in … it isn’t that affordable, but multi room units on property tend to go for quite a bit of money.
My sister owns, I believe, Marriott - to trade. She has a lot of options within the Marriott system (its points based) and then if they don’t have what she wants, she can trade through II. Again, better for them than a hotel room because timeshare units are usually multi room - and they have kids.
You HAVE to do your research. You have to know if your resort is tradeable - with a bad trader, timeshares on Key West won’t ever even show up - even if they are available. (And good luck getting a nice place in Hawaii or Colorado). AND its a commitment - a lot of money to get in, and then yearly dues. MOST people are probably better off with a hotel - unless you have a very timeshare amiable vacation pattern.
Oh, and I could sell our DVC today for more than what I paid for it, after ten years of use. They don’t ALL become worth nothing when you buy them.