Should You Invest in Fairfield Resorts, Inc?

As a young, recently wed couple, my husband and I are interested in traveling for the rest of our lives. Fairfield could offer us the opportunity to own a deeded part of one of their many resorts and enjoy traveling all around the world as much as we want. That's because we will have already fully paid for our vacations for the rest of our lives with that deed. Confused? Well, let me explain it more.

My husband and I had just finished eating delicious cheeseburgers and fries at Fudpuckers here in Destin when we made our way back to our vehicle. At the end of the walkway a nice young fellow in a small booth called our attention. You know who I'm talking about: those sometimes pesky salesmen-type people who prey on tourists. He made us an offer: visit a Fairfield Resort property this past Sunday in exchange for gift certificates to an activity of our choice and a free 3 day/2 night vacation to one of the destinations listed in their pamphlet.

Well, neither I or my husband cares anything about this type of thing. However, they were offering gift certificates to one of the deep-sea fishing charters that we both enjoy. So, we decided to go just to get those, and I have to say, I'm glad we went!

Here's some background information that I gathered on Fairfield Resorts from their website (www.fairfieldresorts.com). Fairfield began as a land development company in 1966 selling subdivided lots, whole ownership condos, and custom-built homes in large master-planned communities such as Fairfield Bay, Fairfield Sapphire Valley and Fairfield Glade. In 1977, as the timeshare concept became popular in United States, Fairfield began selling FairShare - a deeded ownership interest that provided an annual resort vacation at a specific location during a specific time period each year. In contrast to timeshares, FairShare owners could "exchange" these preset locations and dates through Fairfield's internal exchange program. While owners could visit other Fairfield resorts, most remained locked in to a specific annual vacation week, also known as fixed-week timeshare. In 1991, the company introduced FairShare Plus, a points-based system. It was becoming apparent that people needed more flexibility with their time off - in their vacation length, their choices of locations, when they traveled, and even the size of the unit they stayed in. FairShare Plus offered consumers greater flexibility through a yearly allotment of points that could be spent in increments for custom-sized accommodations at any time of the year and for varying lengths of stay. Today, FairShare Plus is the third largest timeshare exchange network in the world, and members can use their points both for resort stays and a wide variety of travel/leisure products including airfare, cruises, yacht rentals, accommodations and specialized leisure activities and attractions.

As we sat with the sales lady yesterday morning, she explained to us that we basically pick out our "primary" vacation location, and we are deeded a piece of that resort. We don't get a deed to the condo, but to the resort itself instead. We chose Myrtle Beach as our primary locale because it's near Wilmington, our home. Out of the possible packages, we chose the lowest costing one. For a small oceanfront condo in central Myrtle Beach with some 180,000 points every two years, it would cost a total of $10,000, or $145 a month with a payment plan of 10 years. Of course, on this tour, the prices weren't revealed to us until the very end, 90 minutes later.

Now, even though our primary locale is in South Carolina, we would be free to use our points to vacation in other Fairfield Resorts around the globe anytime we choose. For example, we want to go to Oaxaca, Mexico soon. Well, for a condo there for a one week stay, it would only cost us 28,000 points in the off season. Just an FYI: There are small fees, nothing more than $150, to vacation in a condo not in the US. It's an exchange program they have with RCI.

Also, we could spend some of our points on airfare to get there! In the end, we would still have points left over for yet another vacation that year! Even if we didn't have enough points, Fairfield lets you buy more or you can borrow from the next year. Also, you can choose to upgrade to a higher points package if you want.

As a member, you have access to exclusive last minute vacation deals. If a condo is empty, they are not making money. Therefore, they offer the condos at deeply discounted prices. One vacation we looked at was for a week's stay in Las Vegas. It would only cost us $150!

Fairfield does not allow the general public to rent a condo at their resorts. However, if you are unable to use your condo or have someone in your family who wants to use it, you are able to rent it to them using your points. Every 1000 points costs $5.50, so you can use that to charge your renters and even make a little profit!

Unfortunately, we did not go to this tour prepared or interested in becoming an investor of Fairfield Resort, Inc. However, after learning so much about it on Sunday, we are extremely interested in joining in the near future! Fairfield does not advertise on television or radio, so they rely on us to advertise for them. From the information I gained yesterday, I would strongly recommend investing with Fairfield! Just for paying $10,000 one time, we are able to travel anywhere we want for the rest of our lives without spending another dime!