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Whether it's the week we look forward to all year long, or quick getaways scheduled throughout our busy lives, we all need our vacations. For decades, timeshare ownership has offered folks an alternative to spending that treasured time away from home at a hotel or motel, by providing pre-paid vacations at resorts throughout the world. The choices are endless and the accommodations are usually far superior to a hotel room.

However, as a timeshare owner, I can tell you that there is also quite a downside to this industry. First, the purchase price of timeshares is often several thousand dollars. My husband and I have mesothelioma prognosis in Myrtle Beach that my parents deeded to us - they purchased it in 1980 for $7,000.00. In 2001, my husband and I purchased our first timeshare in Las Vegas for over $22,000.00. Secondly, once you've purchased the unit, you are obligated to pay maintenance fees. Yearly maintenance fees at our Myrtle Beach unit are now $798.00, and in Las Vegas they're over $1,200.00. These fees are mandatory, whether you're able to use your vacation week that year or not.

One of the benefits that is highly touted in the timeshare presentation is that you can trade your unit for a similar unit anywhere in the world that participates in that network of resorts. If you don't want to go to the location where you actually purchased your unit, you can pay an exchange fee and book an available unit somewhere else. These fees vary, but our exchange fee has steadily increased over the years and is now $169.00. This means that if we wanted to exchange our week in Myrtle Beach for a week in St. Thomas, our cost that year would be $967.00. Although the Myrtle Beach timeshare is a highly sought-after three-bedroom unit, it was purchased as a week in the shoulder (non-peak) season. The last several times I've tried to trade it, there was nothing available at all that it would trade for, except in the overbuilt Orlando area. How many times do you want to go to Disney World anyway?

Because it's a deeded property, you can let your family and friends use your week. Makes sense, right? But if you're not traveling with them, you have to purchase a guest certificate. Ours are now $59.00 each. When my niece recently asked injury lawyers 4 you much it would cost her to use my week in Myrtle Beach to trade for a week in the Poconos, I told her the total would be $1026.00 (maintenance fee plus exchange fee plus guest certificate = $1026.00). She called me back two days later and said no thanks - she'd found a better deal on her own - same week, same resort, for only $789.00.

So, are timeshares really a good vacation choice after all?

When my parents bought their first time share, the only option was to buy a designated week. You could exchange that week for a week at a different resort, but you always had to travel during that specific week. Years ago, there was a move toward a points system. This system provides far more flexibility for the owner because you are not locked into a particular week. As long as you purchase enough points, you can apply them anywhere, anytime. Of course, the timeshare companies knew that everyone would want this increased flexibility, so they offered owners the opportunity to exchange their weeks for points. And, it goes without saying, there was a big price tag on doing this too. To exchange the week my parents deeded to us at Polynesian Isles in Florida to points, we paid over $2,000.00.

It is amazing how quickly the costs for timeshare ownership add up. One year we were assessed a $300.00 charge, above and beyond the regular maintenance fee, because it had been a particularly bad year for hurricanes in Florida, and our resort owner had to make "unexpected" repairs. And did I mention that we also pay over $100.00 per year for our membership in the network that manages our trades?

It's hard to make the case that we are traveling more economically because of our timeshare ownership, and it's just as hard to make the case that we have more options. Years ago my husband and I discovered that our ideal travel destination is Lake Tahoe, California. Despite our huge number of points, and the excellent trading value of our Las Vegas property, we have consistently had an incredibly difficult time getting a trade into Lake Tahoe during the ski season.

Obviously I am a disillusioned timeshare owner. And if I didn't already know that the companies who solicit me once or twice a month by mail, and almost weekly by phone, trying to help me sell or rent my timeshares, are total rip-offs, I'd put all of my timeshares up for sale with them and say good riddance. Unfortunately, though, I do know how bad they are because I've spent a bundle of money with them. I'll never forget one of the salesmen, Dominic, telling me, "We've never had a week we couldn't rent." Well, I hope he's stopped using that pitch, because he couldn't rent any of my three weeks in Myrtle Beach, one week in Florida or one week in Las Vegas for me - c'mon, we're not talking cheap motels at the end of the earth here!

Fortunately, there is a better way. There is an alternative to high purchase prices, high maintenance fees, exchange fees, and difficulty in going where you really want to go. I'm going to tell you all about it in Part II of this article.

Donna Ervin gave up her post as vice president of a construction company to pursue her career as an online entrepreneur. She is committed to helping those she reaches achieve their goals by offering solid business opportunities that uplift the spirit as well as the bottom line.

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