Timesharing, it ain't what it used to be!

Ok, admit it, you have been on one of their special deal vacation trips, or you own one but don't like to admit either in public. After all us Weems kids were outta da house, all of a sudden the parental units began taking all sorts of trips to destinations us chill'n have never seen.  They have been to Branson Missouri numerous times, Nashville, Atlanta and all parts in between.   Several years went by before I finally asked the question, "how the hell can you afford these trips when you never took us anywhere"?  The answer my friend was blowing in the wind, "Timeshare vacation specials" was the answer.  These had run their course, as my short tempered Pop had gotten tired of saying "NO"!

Our first experience with timeshares was in New Orleans, during the Worlds Fair.  Back then, we lived from paycheck to paycheck.  Attending a "World's Fair" was something that was on our bucket list.  We rode the gondola ride across the mighty Mississippi, and even paid to see the exhibit that the Pope had sent over.  That was probably the only exhibit that broke even.  The Riverwalk Mall is now where the fair sat those many years ago.  We were at the Jackson Square, and we were approached to take a "free" buggy ride.  Being low on entertained dollars, why not?  Off we went, eventually ending up on the far side of Esplanade.  We were dropped off at a start up timeshare on a side street on the backside of the French Quarter.  It was raining, so we went ahead and stepped inside.  We heard the usual spill, then were shuffled off to the sales room.  A sales person would suddenly stick his head in the door, interrupt our little meeting, and yell "unit 6, week 32 sold!"   We both went OMG! How do we get outta here!  We said no the required numbered of times, then we were escorted to the front door and handed the free "art work" gift we had heard something about.  Those two cheap posters became out umbrella on our way back to the square.  We swore, never again!

 We  were committed to give our children trips that were beyond our families reach when we were growing up.  Through last year, we have taken them on an annual vacation trip.  Many of our trips have included Orlando as a destination.  There is so much to do down there that we have never been bored going.  Well, the spousal unit takes a phone call from Hilton, offering us a vacation trip to Orlando.  We thought what the heck, and combined it with hotel honor points to stretch it into a week.  Changing rooms and hotels would be no biggie.  We get the paper work, and discover that it turns out this was a timeshare trip, of shit, memories of New Orleans!

We enjoyed our stay, and did the "tour" on the last day before departure.  Turns out, the industry was getting away from lifetime set weeks and was moving to a point system which added more flexibility.  They got us, hook, line and sinker.  I liked it so much that I have bought additional points on the "aftermarket".  The timeshare salespeople call them "black market points"  because they get cheated out of a sale.

We have used our timeshare for around ten years and have enjoyed it each time.  The spousal unit has a love affair going on for the "Redneck Riviera".  This year we  used the RCI exchange to stay in the Destin and Panama City area, her slice of heaven.  The units we stayed in offered a "free week" for a 90 minute tour of Wyndham Vacation Club.  Wyndham has bought out Fairfield and several others, and they had lots of units in this area.  We swallowed the bait and got hooked.

We are now the proud owners of a Wyndham Vacation Plan.  I tried to low ball them as much as I could, to minimize the initial investment.  The initial deal was WAY out of the ballpark.  Later I went to the aftermarket to add to out annual point allotment.  The deal included the "free week", two RCI exchange weeks for $249 each, and an allotment of "bonus points".

I began working on 2014 vacation plans.  I discovered that the "free week" was good for a year, but the reservation window was within a 45 day window from the date of the inquiry and subject to availability, in other words no long term plan for this free bee, plus nothing available on the Florida panhandle, bummer!  I called the RCI number for the RCI exchange weeks today, September 1, 2014.  I go through five minutes of telephone prompts and eventually get Segar Singh, the only Indian answering the phone today.  In his proper English, he informs me "oh, that office isn't open today or tomorrow".  I am informed that Tuesday would be my best bet.  After examining the certificate, the Florida panhandle is not available except in the fall, bummer number two!

I guess I can wait till Tuesday.  Like they say, time sharing, it ain't what it used to be!  You put lipstick on a pig, its still a pig!  We thoroughly enjoy our Hilton timeshare, and we will soon be enjoying our Wyndham timeshare, but for some reason, I feel like I have just gone through the process of buying another used car.  To you timeshare sales people out there, "a spoonful of sugar sure helps the medicine go down!"