SmartMoney.com publishes a 10 THINGS article series by Jena McGregor and AnnaMaria Andriotis. They recently wrote an article on the 10 Things All-Inclusive Resorts Won’t Tell You. All-inclusive resorts provide accommodations, food and drinks and some entertainment options at their resorts for one price. Many people enjoy them because they don’t have to think about where to eat or find entertainment choices since they are provided by the resort.
More all-inclusive resorts are maintained as hotel resorts rather than timeshares. The business model is more appropriate for hotel rooms without kitchens to provide dining choices on their resorts. Timeshare resorts do have restaurants, shopping and entertainment at their resorts as well, but they are priced separately from annual maintenance fees.
Here is a summary of the 10 Things All-Inclusive Resorts Won’t Tell You:
1. “‘All inclusive’ doesn’t include everything.”
2. “There’s a lot to know about our service before you arrive.”
3. “Booking flights can be tricky.”
4. “Our hurricane guarantee doesn’t guarantee much.”
5. “Your travel agent gets incentives to book with us.”
6. “We might try to sell you a timeshare.”
7. “We typically cater to specific groups.”
8. “We’re not always the cheaper option.”
9. “‘Open bar’ isn’t as great as it sounds.”
10. “We can be bad for the local economy.”
For potential vacationers and timeshare owners, pay particular attention to item number 6 on the list. In order to reduce costs, hotels will allow timeshares to be marketed at the hotel, or they may have a timeshare division themselves. Although they may offer something for free for your attendance, just remember that it’s your vacation time that they’ll be taking from you. From personal experience, this can last up to 3 hours even though they promise only 90 minutes.
