I'll give my opinions:
4) Finally, I didn't intend to turn this into a full blown discussion on other timeshares but if it's ok to actually do that on this forum I'm ok to continue!
I don't think there is any rules against having a thread talking about other timeshares. This might not be exactly the right place, but since we are comparing it to DVC it's probably close enough.
1) You know what I really need? A terminology guide for utterly, completely clueless timeshare newbies. DVC seems so simple compared to a lot of these. Fixed weeks. Floating weeks. Cashing in your week for points. Maybe i'm making it too complicated. Is it as simple as you choose to use your home resort by x time or cash it in for points and then use those points to book elsewhere via exchange by y time or lose the points?
From what I learned, pretty much every system does it different. Some use weeks, others use points. As others mentioned, I learned a lot on the Timeshare Users Group board as I looked into several different systems. IMO - Disney's is actually quite simple and elegant - the idea that you use points, you can bank from a year before, borrow from a year after, and home resort advantage are all very clear - though lots of people get quite confused as you can easily see by browsing this board.
3) Speaking of which, are you typically forced to book in weeks in most time shares? We tend to be more 9-11 night travelers. Also, with us being 2 adults 0 kids does that open up certain options that could help with being more flexible?
A lot of timeshares are traditional 7-day week ownership. Though most run Sat-Sat or Sun-Sun they vary by location. I notice since DVC did it, more of them are going to a point system though - where you "own" a week at your home which is worth X number of points, and then you can trade that week into the system for various values at various resorts as they are available. I know this is how Wyndam works - I looked at that one pretty extensively - and I also think HGVC (Hilton) works this way as well. I real trick here is in knowing what kind of availability there is.
As I said earlier, my experience outside of DVC was with RCI Points. RCI is a timeshare exchange system that you can also exchange your DVC timeshare in to if you want (but why in the world would you since the value given back is so much less than the true value - but I digress.) The normal RCI system allows you to exchange a week of your timeshare for a week of other timeshares that might be available. This is limited to full weeks as far as I know. RCI has a secondary "points" system which I belong to. This costs additional money to "buy-in" your timeshare, like a few thousand dollars - in my case I bought a timeshare that was already IN that system, so I saved that money as well as the timeshare purchase. Again, the timeshare you own is given a value of points. (And this can vary quite a bit, I intentional bought one that had a high value of points / maintenance fees. (anything near 0.01 cents MF per point is considered good. I'm paying about $865 a year in MF, and get 74,000 points, so 0.012 cents per point) I've seen ones as high as 0.03-0.04 cents of MF per point, which of course makes those points cost you more). Once you are in the points system, you can use your points for both "weeks" and also for "days". In this case, the point system works very similar to the DVC system, you get priority at based on:
1) your home week - so you still have first priority on the week you own
2) home resort - gives you priority for other weeks at your home resort
3) home timeshare system - in my case I own in Vacation Villages, which has about 15 resorts
4) The rest of the RCI system - at I think it's 303 days or 10 months advance you can access all units in the system.
In the RCI points system you have access to both the "Week" system and the "point" system. Some resorts are only in the "Week" system so you can book a week there for Z points. Others can be booked by days, so you can book only 1 or 2 days if you so wish, or also can book 9 or 10 days. (We have not done more than 7 so far.) Similar to DVC, weekend days are more 'expensive' than weekdays, and popular times of year are given higher point values than less popular ones.
Quite honestly, I've been in the RCI points system for about 3 years, and been DVC for almost 4. I figured out DVC pretty well in the first few months, and I STILL don't fully understand the RCI points system 100%. I was a bit disappointed, though not that surprised, that a lot of resorts in the RCI system are almost impossible to get. However, I found that the variety of resorts was plenty big enough that I am not unhappy with the options we have had. There's also fees for just about everything (annual fees to belong, fees to actually book, fees for cancellation insurance...etc.) but as I said in a previous post, I still feel that the value we have gotten has been great.
My advice returns to the TUG boards, look into the various timeshare systems and find what's right for you. If you are interested in having a "home" you use frequently, then the exact resort you buy should be high consideration. If you want in for both your home resort but also trade in, then the system it is in becomes more and more important. (Hilton for instance has around 100 resorts that you could access without ever having to deal with RCI.) And if you only want it for the exchange, then be extra diligent into what you are getting into. In our case, we bought ours on purpose for the exchange only. We've never used our "home", and the one time we stayed in Orlando, we stayed only a mile away but still didn't use our "home" because I found a better price elsewhere. Make sure you understand the fees that get charged depending on what you do with it. I did a TON of research over several months before I settled on the one I did. I can't remember, but pretty sure i bought it through e-bay but as I said in a PP I essentially paid $0 for it.
, though I think the risk factor is quite different.
