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HomeBlogTop 10 Reasons to Join a Vacation Club

Top 10 Reasons to Join a Vacation Club

September 20

Written By Morritt's

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Top 10 Reasons to Join a Vacation Club

“The pandemic’s isolation taught everyone the importance of community, joining like-minded people to become part of something bigger than yourself.”

— Joseph S., Hilton Grand Vacations Owner and Journalist

The vacation club industry continues to grow every year. In fact, this industry has been celebrating years of growth, surpassing over $10 billion in sales. Here are the top 10 reasons why families, couples, and adults love their vacation clubs.

 

Morritt's resort building on the beach of Grand Cayman

1. It’s cheaper than a lifetime of vacations

When you join a vacation club, you’re essentially buying a lifetime of vacations in bulk. Break down the price of your timeshare versus the cost of your vacations over your entire life, and you’ll see that a timeshare is actually much more cost-efficient.

While vacation club maintenance fees do exist, these are important for updating the resort, taking care of the important amenities like pools, fitness centres, restaurants, and paying the resort employees.

People will buy timeshare over a second vacation home because essentially all of the upkeep is done for them. Bankrate.com estimates that the true costs of owning a second home are “steeper than you think”.

In the long haul, timeshare maintenance fees are much less expensive than a vacation home!

 

woman reading a book in a hammock on the beach

2. It encourages you to take an amazing vacation every year

55% of American workers do not take all of their allotted vacation time. The fact is that people who vacation regularly live longer, healthier lives.

Like gym memberships, vacation clubs force you to do something good for your health and wellbeing. They encourage you to unplug, and spend time with your family. Even better, you don’t have to think about where you’re going – an amazing vacation is guaranteed each year.

 


3. The industry has shifted to a “vacation club” model that is more flexible

A “fixed week” in timeshare means you own a specific week at a specific resort every single year. However, the industry has largely moved towards points-based membership for owners. With points, you are still guaranteed to vacation at your “home” resort every year – but you can also use your annual allotment for other resorts within your brand’s portfolio.

 

overhead view of beach resort with pool

4. Vacation clubs offer units with more space and privacy

You love your family, but you need space too. If you’ve ever vacationed with your grown-up kids, grandkids or extended family members, you know that it can be challenging. Large family vacations usually mean multiple cramped hotel rooms, which is never fun!

The majority of vacation clubs have two or more bedrooms, giving families room and space to truly unwind and relax. Most properties will also have amenities like swimming pools, hot tubs, a gym and beach access that tend to be of higher quality than what you’ll find at hotels.

 

overhead shot of resort with pool

5. You can rent out your unit on years you don’t use it

Some years we don’t have the time to take a vacation. This is completely normal and it’s something we understand. If there’s ever a year that you simply aren’t making use of your ownership, you can rent it out to help cover the annual dues.

 

coconut tree next to a colourful beach sign

6. There are added perks to being a vacation club owner

Vacation clubs often offer owners-only perks and benefits. For example, Morritt’s owners have access to the exclusive Golden Turtle Club; where they can enjoy discounts on a range of purchases and bookings, including flights through Cayman Airways, car rentals, boat trips and watersports activities through Red Sail Sports, various restaurants, Jacques Scott Wines & Spirits (conveniently located directly across from our resort) and high-speed internet, as well as access to bonus weeks either at our resort or through our exchange network!

 

group of friends in a pool clinking drinks together

7. You make lifelong friends

Vacation clubs bring people together. It is very common for guests to bond over similar interests and forge lifelong friendships. At Morritt’s, it is always heart-warming to see different families returning together as friends, and their celebration of being reunited again.

 

peering at a timber and stone lodge through some trees

8. You can trade your points or weeks on vacation exchange networks like RCI or Interval International

If you own a fixed week or have rotated through enough of your developer’s resort portfolio, you might be wondering if there’s any possible way to see the rest of the world with what you already own. The answer is – yes!

Vacation club members can become members of their resort’s affiliated exchange network. After signing up, you can deposit your timeshare points or weeks and exchange them an exciting vacation in a new destination. Whether you’re looking for a city break to catch up on your shopping, or an exotic resort vacation for some pampering, your points can take you there. You can even apply your points toward a cruise, hotel, tour, golf, or spa exchange!

(FYI for Cayman owners – your points are more valuable. This means you can receive multiple weeks in a new destination, in exchange for your one. If you only want to cash in a portion of your week for a partial vacation somewhere else, this option is available to you as well.)

man snorkelling in crystal clear waters with tropical fish

9. It’s more sustainable

Like Airbnb and Uber, vacation clubs also exist in the sharing economy. Actually, vacation clubs could be considered the original sharing economy!

In a sharing economy, vacations are more affordable and more sustainable. By participating in a vacation club, you are sharing your unit with someone else when you aren’t using it – cutting down on emissions and over-construction.

 

coconuts decorated with small paper umbrella ornaments

10. You can finance a timeshare purchase

You don’t have to pay all at once. Third-party timeshare financing companies are available. And, if you a buy timeshare resale, you’ll already be savings thousands of dollars on an incredible vacation product. And you can still finance it to ease the cost of the purchase.

Recommended Reading.

How to Save on a Caribbean Vacation Home 

Dreaming of a luxurious Caribbean vacation getaway? How about one that you can call ‘your own’?

A place in the sun, overlooking pink-white sands and sparkling blue ocean, is an aspiration many of us have. But it’s also a huge financial commitment – one that, given the high price tag attached, remains a pipedream for many.

Or does it? Having millions in the bank is no longer a prerequisite to claim a little piece of paradise. There are other options available – the kind that the vast majority of us regular folk can afford.

But where, how, why and when? Let’s take a closer look. 

 

Where? The Cayman Islands!

Nestled in the western fringes of the Caribbean – just northwest of Jamaica and south of Cuba – the Cayman Islands is long-established as a dream vacation spot. 

A safe and family-friendly destination, Grand Cayman – the largest of the three islands – is just a 90 minute flight from the US. 

With some 30,000 expats living on island; some 2 million vacationers visiting every year; and attractions such as Seven Mile Beach, Stingray City and the Cayman Turtle Centre – as well as a whole host of watersports, sunspots and pirate caves to enjoy – it’s no wonder that so many visitors come back year after year.

But – beachfront real estate aside – given the cost of a cruise or luxury resort stay, surely a visit to the Cayman Islands is more an anniversary trip or retirement vacation than an annual occurrence? 

Not when the price is just US$100 a month.

And yes – just two zeroes. 

 

How? Fractional Ownership

Fractional ownership – aka timeshares – have had a bad rep in the past. Or more specifically, timeshare salespeople have.

But you won’t find any high pressure sales tactics or buyer’s remorse here at Morritt’s. We let our surroundings speak for themselves. 

After all, who wouldn’t want year-round access to an oceanfront luxury resort, right in Grand Cayman’s exotic East End? Where you’ll find on-site restaurants; a spa; access to scuba diving, snorkeling and other land and watersports – as well as swim-up pool bars! 

That’s exactly what we offer our guests – access to all of this through affordable ownership. Plus, they never have to worry about maintenance, security or other costs – it’s all included. 

You don’t get that when buying a vacation home. 

 

Why? Quality Time for You & Your Loved Ones

For many people, from all walks of life, fractional ownership is a chance to experience luxury year after year: for themselves and their families. 

Family life, as demanding as it can be, is fleeting. One moment, the kids are heading out for their first day at school, and the next it seems they’re graduating college.  

18 summers. Each one counts. But the memories families make are there forever. This is what our guests tell us, year after year. It’s what keeps them coming back.  

From a practical perspective, fractional ownership guests have the opportunity to upgrade or downgrade the number of rooms they can access as their family grows.  

 

When? Right now!

No time like the present! Dollar for dollar, fractional ownership is a lot cheaper than any other vacation home option.  

But… what if you want to experience something different? A new destination or resort? Well, all Morritt’s owners can swap their weeks at locations all over the world, via our partner Interval international. 

However, we think you’ll like it here. After all, where else can you have your cake and eat it – in lush tropical surroundings? Where all you have to do after you arrive is check-in, grab your key and start enjoying your own piece of paradise. 

Ready to find out more? Visit our website and discover Morritt’s for yourself! 

January 13

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Which do you choose: Vacation Club or Cruise?

It’s that time of year when holidays are especially on our minds. As COVID seems to be fading in some parts of the world, many people are wondering about taking a cruise, but could there be a better way to spend your time and money? A staycation option perhaps? Let’s look at some deciding factors.

 

Health and safety

It’s certain that the cruise companies will be doing everything possible to follow COVID protocols, but that might not fill you with confidence if you’re in a closed space with a few thousand other people for a week or more. Even assuming high levels of cleanliness, how many people have touched that same door handle or rail before you? Let’s also remember that 284 people have fallen off cruise ships and another 41 from large ferries since 2000 – an average of about 1.5 people per month. There’s actually a website that keeps track of specific cases of overboard deaths (not including separate cases of suicide or murder).

 

Environmental concerns

The average cruise ship produces between 140,000 and 210,000 gallons of sewage per week, with a 3,000-person cruise ship pumping 150,000 gallons of that waste into the ocean. The ships do treat their wastewater, but satellite pictures clearly show the trails of contaminated water in their wakes. And let’s not forget their massive engines, which can produce sulfur dioxide fumes equivalent to 13.1 million cars a day!

 

A real experience?

Cruise ships tend to stop at the most touristy sites for a relatively short time so that you rarely get the chance to see the real island. You don’t know the best places to eat or the shops that sell the best quality gifts. You’ll probably miss the curious corners and secret nooks. Indeed, large cruise ships have been criticised for promoting the kind of mass tourism that has caused some places such as Venice to dramatically limit the number of visiting vessels.

 

An ethical choice?

The smiling personnel you see on a cruise ship seem happy enough in their jobs, but what about the people you don’t see belowdecks? The cleaners, the kitchen workers and the janitors are often employed from poorer nations and paid much less, spending months away from their homes and families. Just because you don’t see them doesn’t mean they don’t exist.

 

Pets unwelcome

The majority of cruise lines don’t allow pets onboard, so you’ll have to leave Rover or Mrs Pickles at a kennel or roaming wild until you return. They’ll be sad. You’ll be sad.

 

Choice of activities

Modern cruises do have many onboard activities. There are pools and gyms and places to play tennis or basketball. You can even do “rock climbing” or practice your golf swing. But at the end of the day, a ship is not an island – no matter how big. There’s no golf course. There are no actual hills to go walking or climbing in, nor is there a beach onboard, though you can probably see one through your porthole.

 

Food and drink

Let’s be honest: you’re not going to starve or be short of a cocktail on a cruise. But what about variety? Genuine BBQ ribs need to be cooked on a BBQ grill, not in a submarine kitchen. Your freshly made salad onboard may be made of ingredients that have been refrigerated for a week or more. And when cooks are making food for 3,000 people at a time, there’s just not as much love in the food as when a local is cooking just for you.

 

The coastal experience

There’s a big difference between looking at the beach from offshore and being on the beach looking out to sea. Even the most exclusive cabin onboard can’t replicate an oceanfront property with palms, the smell of flowers, the whisper of surf and the tranquil night (as opposed to the ceaseless rumble of diesel engines). Onshore, you can walk out of your property along the beach to eat with your feet in the sand and return home without fear of toppling over a rail into the sea ten metres below.

 

The Vacation Club difference

Don’t walk up the gangplank. Choose a fabulous property onshore and enjoy the genuine island experience. At Morritt’s, you’ll be close to dozens of fantastic places to eat and drink and a stone’s throw from many more fascinating things to do and see. Bring your pets. Be kinder to the environment. Have greater peace of mind about COVID measures. And best of all: return as often as you like to the experience that doesn’t need an anchor or a port.

May 18

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