Tips for Timeshare Owners

1. Make sure you reserve your week before the end of the year so you don't lose your week.  Ideally, you will be reserving as far ahead of time as possible.

2. Be current in your maintenance fees.

3. Be organized about your weeks. Keep an Excel file with information on how you plan to use each year's week. This is very helpful if you own multiple weeks. Or if you don't use a week for a year and you have several weeks at your disposal to trade. It is also nice to see a history of how you used your weeks (and when).  Include expiration dates of weeks banked.

4.As soon as you reserve a week you plan to use (or get confirmed on an exchange) BOOK your plane tickets.  The earlier you buy, generally, the better the price. If possible, I recommend buying on Southwest Airlines, because they have no change fees, and even if the price goes down after you book, you can call and get a credit.

5. Don't forget to reserve a rental car (if needed). Again, the earlier you do this, the better the price.

6. Set up reminders of when to reserve your week. I like to reserve my week exactly 1 year in advance (because this is the earliest I can do so).  I put a reminder in my phone, or an event on my Google Calendar on the exact day I need to reserve. Especially if you own a high demand week (ex. week 51 or 52, Christmas vacation) ....you should reserve as soon as possible.

7. While on vacation, using your week/exchange, take advantage of activities and free events. Many resorts have free events for owners (welcome reception, wine & cheese socials, etc.).  Be sure to check out the Activities Department and meet the people on staff. We often find resorts have free DVDs and board games available to use.  I find that at these owner events, you can meet the person running the resort sometimes, or at least other owners, and share information about the resort or location.

Using TripAdvisor to your Advantage

TripAdvisor is written by travelers FOR travelers. And Trip Advisor is a great resource for researching your next timeshare exchange request.  Here are some tips for using Trip Advisor...

Reading Reviews

Look for trends when looking through the reviews for a resort.  If there is a single complaint about a strange smell, you should be much less concerned than if you see several different complaints. Trip Advisor can be very overwhelming, if you let it.  It is necessary to learn how to navigate all the reviews.  Realize there will be negative review for every property...even the best property. Look for a consistent theme.

Be aware of the date of the reviews. Both the season and the age of the review can change its impact.  For example, the ocean can be different at different times of the year (seaweed, wind/waves, etc.). Also, older reviews may have been remedied...especially if a property has undergone a renovation or upgrade.

Consider reviews by people similar to you. For example, a family with children may have a different experience than a couple traveling without kids.

Also consider setting a time limit when reading reviews.  For example, allow yourself 10 minutes to scroll through and read random reviews on one property, and avoid the temptation to read every review. 

Look at the Photos

Make sure you look at the photos other travelers have taken. They can be very revealing about a property, especially the ones that were recently taken. The photos used by resorts for marketing purposes are staged and could be taken a long time ago.

Post a Question

If you have a concern, you can ask a reviewer a question (sometimes, if they have allowed this in their profile).  You can also post a question to the general public within Trip Advisor.  I recently did this before going to the Marriott on St. Kitts, and received lots of helpful feedback, ranging from activities for teens to grocery store and restaurant tips.

More tips...

There is a City Guides App you can use on your mobile phone. And when you are researching you can click the "save" button and check your "Saved Trips" later. 

Check out other review sites

Trip Advisor is a great place to hear recent reviews, but there are other sites for research: Fodors, Frommers, Zagat and Lonely Planet.

Good luck in your research!