Customer Reviews

Timeshare Vacations For Dummies (Dummies Travel)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

This book has some good basic information on what timesharing is, and the different types of timeshares available (deeded versus right-to-use; fixed versus floating; etc.)

However, the advice about what to actually buy leaves a lot to be desired. For example, she specifically advises buyers that good deals may be had in developer ("new") timeshares in overbuilt areas, that is, areas with many, many timeshares. In fact, overbuilt areas generally give very low trading power and are therefore a poor value. In particular, the author presents Orlando as the best place to buy a timeshare. In reality, Orlando timeshares are a glut on the market and (unless you own a Christmas or Spring Break week) rarely receive good trades. The author gives an example of how you can't trade into a top Orlando resort with a non-Orlando timeshare that cost only $1,000 resale. Well, I've done it -- repeatedly.

Some of the advice here makes me question how extensive the author's knowledge of timeshares is. For example, she says it is often a good idea to buy a 3-bedroom unit that "locks off" into three 1-bedroom units. However, there are few, if any, timeshares that work this way; "lock-off" units almost always convert into two units, not three, and usually only one of the two units is a one-bedroom, rather than a studio. Also, the author says (p. 23) "Private sleeping capacity is just that: separate sleeping rooms." This is misleading; private sleeping capacity is based on each couple sleeping privately, not each individual. So, if a timeshare unit sleeps six separately, that means it has three private sleeping areas that each hold two people, not six private sleeping areas.

The internet has an active timesharing community, full of people who respond very strongly when they feel that a timeshare salesperson -- which this author is, or at least used to be -- is giving out misleading information. That is why this book is getting criticism here. The criticism is coming from the online timeshare users' community, not from timeshare salespeople.

My advice? This book is OK if you just want some info about timesharing, but before you plunk down serious money to actually buy a timeshare, [...]

For anyone who is looking for more info about timeshares, this book is the last place that you should look. Like others have pointed out, it is biased towards buying from the developer and mentions Orlando timeshares as being good buys, when Orlando is probably the most overbuilt area in the world. If there is anyone who really wants to learn about timeshares, spend some time researching online at good sites like tug2.net

I found the book fairly informative and basic for those of us completely new to timeshare. I have to think some of the reviewers here never read this book, because the author indeed goes out of her way to reference informative webpages (including tug2.net mentioned here and others) for further information.

Did a good job of breaking down the "lingo" that I had a hard time slogging through online. A good place to start, but not the be-all and end-all if you really need to learn about time shares, but I don't think it was meant to be. But this book is certainly a good jumping-off place.

Another book on the topic, though well written, does not cover buyer's point of view, as the author was/is involved in rendering services to the timeshare industry. It does not help the consumers in making a sound decision in buying or not buying a timeshare, and, like others have pointed out, it is biased towards buying from the developer. Most of the material in the book belongs to appendices, so only 30-40% of the book contains some advices. BTW, you get much more and accurate information on www.tug2.net.
What is missing is the buyer's perspective: there is no counter arguments, no market analysis, no comparative analysis of different alternatives, no detailed info about timeshare scams or legal protection. Indeed, this book is a waste of $$$ and time. Though Ms. Scherier's worked many years in the industry, her inexperience and little understanding of the economics is remarkable as she misrepresents the facts on many occasions. What is striking is the blindness of Wiley Publishing, especially the editors of this book; they checked the grammar, the syntax, the form, but obviously they did not check its content. Really a disappointing job.

This book is not the place to start, but the place to bypass on your quest for good information about timeshare ownership. Points and recommendations in the book go against experienced conventional wisdom that can found at already mentioned sites such as timeshare users group. Get good information for free, don't pay for the information found in this book.

I won't be buying this book. I am a timeshare enthusiast and participate for the past 4 years in an excellent online Timeshare Users' Group (TUG) forum (tips/tricks/advice by consumers/owners who know how to get great value out of TS). This author visited our forums and could have learned lots from the consumers' perspective; but I believe she ignored our input(IMHO). She appears to instead have missed the mark (IMHO)and written from the developer's perspective.....what a shame/loss; it could have been a helpful book. Resale timeshares can be a great bargain (She misleads this point). She's also bad at the math of timeshare economics. You'd be better off spending 30 minutes at TUG's free advice article "Timeshare 101".

This book was a waste of $$$ and time. I wonder how many timeshares she owns? Many of the Dummies books are good, but not this one. The one thing that a sales person will tell you at a timeshare presentation is "IT WILL MAKE YOU TAKE VACATIONS". I dont think you need to buy a timeshare to make spending time with your family a priority in your life, but it helps. A timeshare if purchased resale (at a fair price), a place where you want to visit over again and has good trading power, will give you many years of memories and opportunities, that may or may not otherwise have come your way, at an affordable price.
One of the bad raps, of timesharing is that people dont take the time to research their options, they buy poorly, dont use their timeshares and let them go to waste. I agree with the previous reviews, that TUG and timeshare forum is a good starting place to educate yourself. They are the pros and they are probably your neighbors. Tug is a good site to check out even if you just want to find out about a city and where the good places to eat and visit.

I've read several For Dummies books in the past and found them useful, but I think the editors got "taken in" by the author of this very misleading book. What purports to be a book benefiting the consumer is, in fact, a thinly veiled advancement of the very worst self-interested ideas of resort developers and retail timeshare salespeople (of which the author of this book is one). Her conflict of interest jumps out all over the place. Let me give you two specific examples to show why this book must be avoided by anyone thinking of buying a timeshare intelligently.

First, savvy timeshare owners know that you should virtually never buy a timeshare new, as they trade at discounts of 60 per cent or more in the (large) resale market. Nowhere in the book does the author mention that as much as 60 per cent of the cost of a "new" timeshare interval is the developer's marketing costs (all those free theme park tickets, etc.), so if you sell your timeshare you stand to lose a lot of money. Whenever this author mentions resales, it's usually to say something negative. Instead, she offers this howler from page 181: "Timeshares can and do increase in value," she writes, "however, but inflation may negate any gains you make."

Second (and this is not an innocent mistake on the part of the author), on page 135 she tells readers that if they buy at a "standard" resort they can't ever exchange into a more upscale (five-star, gold crown, etc.) resort. "You can always trade down," she writes, "but you cannot trade up." Say what? That is a complete falsehood, and is just what sleazy salespeople say to get people to overpay for fancy timeshares. I own two weeks at "standard" resorts and exchange them all the time into top-rated 5-star places like Sheraton's Vistana or the Star Island resort in Orlando.

The For Dummies people have accomplished nothing with this book other than to allow this timeshare salesperson and consultant to appear more credible by becoming a published author. Readers should run, not walk, from this misleading effort.

It always fascinates me to see how interpretations of the same literature can vary so radically. I too have purchase and read this "Dummies" book. I must emphasize "Dummies" book. In my opinion, Ms Schreier has done exactly what you might expect. She has offered a basic, statistical observation of timeshare that is easily understood by the novice. Lots of information and a thorough explanation of pros and cons of the industry. In fact, I might also add that in my opinion, she has spoken from both sides of the table.....from the salesperson's perspective and equally so from the purchaser's perspective. Hats off to Lisa Anne....a job well done.....nothing boring or dry, just an honest quick reading piece of research that all should benefit from.

For those that are looking for a more in depth study on the subject, this may not be for you however for the rest of us this is a great read.

As for the fellow that seems to be promoting himself and boasting his 25 years of experience in the business....what can be said? Rather than telling publishers of your greatness and using this book as your platform as how not to do it, perhaps you should find a better source of promotion like direct contact and aggressiveness in that direction.

When I discovered that this book was written by the same person who wrote "Surviving a Timeshare Presentation", I really knew I had been taken. This should be "Surviving a Book Sale", because both books are weak with substance and are written by someone who probably couldn't give it away as a sales person. Why do non-producers become Authors? One of the books had a sticker on the front that said "Personally autographed" and on the inside cover, she had scribbled "Lisa". Give me a break. If you want to learn about Timeshare, take a presentation with a reputable company and ask lots of questions. They will answer them for you and they will even do the math correctly when they show you the purchase options.