Bonus time is an extra benefit offered to the owners at many timeshare
resorts. It is not offered by all resorts. We own at San Luis Bay Inn and
Gaslamp Plaza Suites which both offer bonus time. This article will
describe bonus time as it works at both of our resorts. I assume that it is
very similar at other resorts where it is available.
Bonus time is a valuable benefit to the owners both directly and
indirectly. It does not affect your "use" week at all. The direct benefit
is that the owner can rent time on a daily basis at their home resort(s).
This rate is generally much cheaper than what is available to the general
public. The indirect benefit is that the resort can fill otherwise vacant
units with the revenue going to the Home Owners Association. This
additional revenue is used to defray operating costs resulting in lower
maintenance fees for the owners.
The conditions and cost regarding bonus time are set by the Home Owners
Association at each resort. Some resorts will require a minimum stay
requirement ( i.e. 2 nights ) while others may have different conditions.
The length of time that you can reserve ahead is set by the HOA. You can
generally reserve bonus time 14-21 days in advance up to the last minute.
Some resorts will accept walk-ins. Availability is the only restriction on
obtaining bonus time. Some times of the year it may not be available at
all. San Luis Bay Inn belongs to a group of 18 resorts which allows an
owner access to bonus time at all the resorts within the group. Bonus time
at Gaslamp Plaza Suites is limited to the owners at that resort only. The
cost of bonus time is usually at least 50% cheaper than the rate charged to
the general public. A studio costs $45.00 /nt at San Luis Bay Inn and
$25.00 /nt. at Gaslamp Plaza suites. There is no tax on top of this rate.
We use bonus time very extensively and consider it to be almost as valuable
as our "use" week. The resultant savings certainly more than offset our
annual maintenance fees at both resorts. We are fortunate in living nearby
to many of the resorts in the San Luis Bay Inn group and only 25 miles from
Gaslamp Plaza Suites. Others may not be able to take as much advantage of
bonus time but it is important to know that it exists and how to use it. We
use our bonus time differently at each resort. One way that we use it is
for short 2-3 day getaways to Palm Springs which is only 2 hours away.
There are 4 resorts there that we can choose from. We prefer the Resort SPA
where we stay quite frequently. Our last stay was in a very large 1 BR unit
overlooking the golf course. We stayed for 3 nights at $49.00 /nt with no
tax. The rate to the general public was $120.00 /nt + tax. We have stayed
at San Luis Bay Inn while traveling from San Francisco to San Diego. Nice
midway stopping point. We also often stay at Silverlake or Palm Springs
when coming back from Las Vegas or Laughlin, NV. We also use bonus time at
the Gaslamp Plaza Suites which is located in the heart of downtown San
Diego. We use it for a different purpose. We live just 25 miles from the
resort. We use bonus time to stay the night downtown after a shopping trip
or visit to the theater etc. This makes for a very relaxing day and evening
and we get to play tourist. We usually rent a studio suite for $25.00 /nt.
Can you imagine staying downtown in a deluxe suite for $25.00 /nt. We also
take advantage of the resort's many activities such as "Jazz night". Also
when we have out of town guests we will rent a 1 BR ( $35.00 ) or 2 BR (
$45.00 ) and do the town. These are all examples of how we use our bonus
time to its maximum benefit.
Not everybody has the opportunity to use bonus time or it may not be
offered. If it is offered, you may want to plan your trips to take
advantage of it. You can realize substantial savings and the opportunity to
stay in accommodations far superior to a regular hotel. Bonus time is not
always available. Don't make any assumptions though. We were able to get
bonus time for 2 rooms at Gaslamp Plaza Suites on Saturday Night during
"Street Scene". "Street Scene" is one of the biggest annual events in San
Diego. We were wait listed and they got some last minute cancellations. So
there is always hope.
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