# Time-Share Promotion Tours In Las Vegas



## MULTIZ321

A friend of mine is going to Las Vegas in early June this year. He asked if I knew of any time-share promotion tours he could take that offered nice perks and/or cash for doing the presentation.

I told him I didn't know but would ask my Tug friends.


Thanks

Richard


----------



## dougp26364

I had sort of hoped that others might answer your question as it's been over a year since we've been to Vegas and more than a couple of years since we've taken a timeshare tour in Vegas. 

In general, most of the show tickets they'll offer you are to shows that you can get at the BOGO outlets like Tickets2night. That cuts down on the value considerably. A few will offer you dollars good in the casino in addition to show tickets but, you REALLY have to watch those offers. A few years ago Club Del Soliel (now they're selling Tahiti Village) offered us show tickets and $200 in casino gambling money. I asked if it was good for any machine in the casino and was told yes. In reality, it was good only on the PROMOTIONAL machines and those machines almost never pay out. A few years before that they offered us $80 in gambling money and that turned out to be for the promotional $40 for $20 machines where you win a booby prize if you don't win any cash. Most people don't win cash. 

There are some that offer casino chips that can be cashed in at the casino cage and others that offer chips that can be used at the tables but can't be cashed in. Anytime they offer you "casino" chips or money, be very careful about what you're getting. 

Keep in mind that it's been at least 3 years since we've done a tour in Vegas. For the most part, I avoid the timeshare street people like the plague. With the changing economy and the reported drop in tourism to Vegas, maybe the offers have been sweetened a little bit since our last go round.


----------



## roadtriper

MULTIZ321 said:


> A friend of mine is going to Las Vegas in early June this year. He asked if I knew of any time-share promotion tours he could take that offered nice perks and/or cash for doing the presentation.
> 
> I told him I didn't know but would ask my Tug friends.
> 
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Richard



Richard, if he is traveling with a female companion it will be very easy to find Timeshare offers, it's damn hard to avoid them!  they usualy offer show tickets, Dinners etc.  if traveling alone or with other guys they probably wont approach him/them.   they are usualy manning Information desks/kiosks and usualy are wearing Black suits with Gold Name Badges. the shoping areas in Paris, Caesars, Miracle mile shops etc. are full of them. also entrances into a lot of properties etc.   the only offer I know of from personal experience is Summer Bay and they offer a $75 gift card. that was for an "Owners Update" but I assume they would extend the offer to non owners as well. IMHO...  I have better things to do with my time while in Vegas, the offers usually aren't worth the time and Agravation.     RT


----------



## MULTIZ321

dougp26364 said:


> There are some that offer casino chips that can be cashed in at the casino cage and others that offer chips that can be used at the tables but can't be cashed in. Anytime they offer you "casino" chips or money, be very careful about what you're getting.
> 
> Keep in mind that it's been at least 3 years since we've done a tour in Vegas. For the most part, I avoid the timeshare street people like the plague. With the changing economy and the reported drop in tourism to Vegas, maybe the offers have been sweetened a little bit since our last go round.



Doug,

Thanks for your reply.  

Re the chips that can be used at tables but can't be cashed in - does that mean that if you win at the tables, the winnings can't be cashed in?


Thanks again,

Richard


----------



## zazz

I have been on a few in Vegas.  They are at the entrace to just about every casino.  Here are my thoughts. 

Grandview's tours suck.  I got jack out of it and its a good distance from the strip so the ride alone will eat up time that doesn't count as part of the time you get to spend with them.  They are the clowns that hang out on the sidewalk outside of Paris and at the Ferrari rental place 

Tahiti Village is all over the place.  I see them all over the place.    I was able to negotiate a decent gift from them.  Two sets of show tickets (comedy club and Jubilee), coupons for Spice Market buffet and $75 in coin.   It was actual money can could be used in real machines. 

Marriott was decent gifting as well and a very low pressure presentation as far as I was concerned.  Last time I was in town, they were staked out at the Venetian shops.

Westgate wasn't very good, but I visited them at their older property Flamingo Bay.  You might be able to score decent gifts from them since they are pushing that PH tower pretty hard.  Conveniently, they are in the PH casino.

Those guys that offer you the $200 are usually offering those BS credits that can only be used at certain machines in the casinos.  I got those at Grandview.  The machines that you could use them on didn't pay out on anything other than 7-7-7.  Everything else was zippo.  So they are complete crap and will waste your time. 

Based on what I know I think you can deal with Tahiti.  Just hold out for what you want, whether its extra buffets or casino cash.  Just make sure you aren't getting bogus credits.

I hope my info is accurate.  Its been a while for me since I have sworn off presentations.  I don't have the time or the energy.  So when we enter casinos, my wife runs up and enters ten paces in front of me so I don't have to deal with it.


----------



## dougp26364

MULTIZ321 said:


> Doug,
> 
> Thanks for your reply.
> 
> Re the chips that can be used at tables but can't be cashed in - does that mean that if you win at the tables, the winnings can't be cashed in?
> 
> 
> Thanks again,
> 
> Richard



If it's a table game, winnings are paid in real chips that can be cashed in. Hilton use to give real casino chips that could be cashed at the casino cage without having to gamble.


----------



## Phill12

MULTIZ321 said:


> A friend of mine is going to Las Vegas in early June this year. He asked if I knew of any time-share promotion tours he could take that offered nice perks and/or cash for doing the presentation.
> 
> I told him I didn't know but would ask my Tug friends.
> 
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Richard



 I was fed-up with the lies and hassles and waste of my time about eight years ago and have not been to another tour.  

 If your friend is only looking for the freebies and really no interest in the resort I hope he knows how to say no and walk out.

 Most of these tours turn into hard sell and tick most people off. I was ticked off (keeping it clean) for three days after going to our last one on our vacation. 

 The hassle and waste of vacation time just to get some junk gifts or like Vegas where you get fifty dollars or some tickets to shows you wouldn't pay to see just not worth it.

 Only way we would ever go on another tour is if we really had interest in the resort and even then I would tell them we are also checking out couple others so no decisions would be made today no matter how good the offer.

 When we were younger we would do a tour on vacation and go home with gifts that would be sold at our garage sales for under $5.00 and then had trouble dumping most items.:annoyed: 

 PHIL


----------



## ScoopKona

Nothing they give you is worth the aggravation. Tell your friend to go on vacation. _Really go on vacation._

Why on earth would anyone want to sit through the equivalent of an IRS audit in exchange for fifty bucks worth of cheap buffets and show tickets?

Gambling aside, Las Vegas is a very inexpensive place to visit. Everything is nearby, and nothing costs very much. Resist the urge. You know that saying, "Time is money?"

Time is not money. Time is far more valuable than money. There is nothing more valuable than time -- we don't get very much of it. Spend it wisely.


----------



## dougp26364

ScoopLV said:


> Gambling aside, Las Vegas is a very inexpensive place to visit. Everything is nearby, and nothing costs very much. Resist the urge. You know that saying, "Time is money?"



When was the last time you were in Vegas? We stopped going to Vegas mult. times per year and, this year don't even have a trip planned because Vegas went high dollar on us.

Shows are $100+++, buffett's are close to $30 pp for dinner, Starbucks are twice as expensive on the strip as off (Cafe Americano was over $4 for a tall), cab fares are amongst the highest in the country, clubs want a cover charge to get in and then charge $100 for a $20 bottle of booze if you want a table, restaurants are high end and the $6 prime rib dinner has gone the way of the dodo bird et......

Vegas USE to be a cheap place to vacation. Now, even getting a free drink while gambling can be a challange on the strip. Maybe if this economy bankrupts Harrah's and MGM and breaks up their nice little party, things might get back to business the way it was before corporate greed but, for now, they're building billion dollar babies and expecting either joe average to pay for all of this or, muscle out joe average in favor of a whales only Vegas.


----------



## ScoopKona

dougp26364 said:


> When was the last time you were in Vegas? We stopped going to Vegas mult. times per year and, this year don't even have a trip planned because Vegas went high dollar on us.
> 
> Shows are $100+++, buffett's are close to $30 pp for dinner, Starbucks are twice as expensive on the strip as off (Cafe Americano was over $4 for a tall), cab fares are amongst the highest in the country, clubs want a cover charge to get in and then charge $100 for a $20 bottle of booze if you want a table, restaurants are high end and the $6 prime rib dinner has gone the way of the dodo bird et......
> 
> Vegas USE to be a cheap place to vacation. Now, even getting a free drink while gambling can be a challange on the strip. Maybe if this economy bankrupts Harrah's and MGM and breaks up their nice little party, things might get back to business the way it was before corporate greed but, for now, they're building billion dollar babies and expecting either joe average to pay for all of this or, muscle out joe average in favor of a whales only Vegas.



One of the things that gets me about internet fora is the mentality, "Because I had this experience when I did this or went there, that's the experience that _everybody_ is going to have, also."

I see this often, and it defeats the purpose of exchanging ideas on a forum.

You bet Vegas can be expensive. If you go to Cirque shows every night, insist on seeing Cher or Barry Manilow live, eat at the 5-star restaurants and go to the same clubs where movie stars go, you had better be rich. 

I would never go to Las Vegas on vacation, even if I didn't live here. I'm here because family issues forced me to move here. Quite frankly, I don't like Las Vegas.

But if for some reason I had to spend a week in Las Vegas with a family of four, this is what I would do:

1) Rent a 2-bedroom timeshare. $300
2) Rent a comfortable car for a week. $150 (Bring a GPS)
3) Eat breakfast in the room most days. (Buy your groceries wherever you like -- I prefer Smith's but a lot of people swear by Food 4 Less.) At least once go to the Village Market Buffet at Paris, because it's the best breakfast buffet. (~$150)
4) Go to the fantastic and inexpensive lunch options that Vegas offers -- like the $2 shrimp cocktail at Golden Gate, or the $7.77 brunch at The Plaza. (I took a friend there a couple weeks ago. He said it was the best fried chicken he ever had.) Head to Green Valley for some Settebello pizza. Lunch for four for the week shouldn't run any more than $200.
5) The really good dinner buffets have long lines because the locals know where the values are. Park someone in line at Studio B, for instance, and do whatever gambling you must. I wouldn't go to too many buffets, though. $120 for dinner for four. Free beer and wine. Worth every penny.
6) Go to Binion's Ranch Steakhouse at least once for dinner. You can get a 20-ounce USDA Prime prime rib and a big glass of wine for $30. It's falling off the sides of the plate and perfectly cooked. $120+tip. Great view, too. Every table has a strip view.
7) Go to Carluccio's Tivoli Garden on a Wednesday night to hear Wes Winters on the piano and enjoy old-school Italian American cuisine. $80+tip
8) Go to an In-N-Out for dinner once. I love In-N-Out. When you order french fries, somebody pulls a potato out of a bag and cuts it right there before frying it. It's the only quality burger chain in America. $30
9) Go to a Roberto's Taco the rest of the time. Inexpensive, quality Mexican food. I can feed four people for $15-20.

As for shows, pick up a What's On Las Vegas, a copy of the Review Journal, and make use of the coupon books that are usually located near bus stops, next to the catalogs you don't want your kids to see. Clip the 2-for-1 coupons and use them. You won't see Cirque on the cheap. It's impossible. They sell out at full price every night, so there are no discounts. Same with Cher, Barry, etc. 

Many casinos still do free shows, or will give you free show tickets when you sign up for their player's club. (I haven't gambled a nickle in this town, but I'm a member of every player's club. Steve Wynn doesn't need my money. I need _his_.)

Some of the most fun things in Vegas are also free/cheap -- like the Bellagio fountain show and their garden, the Treasure Island Pirate show. Red Rock Canyon. The Cactus Garden at Ethel M's candy factory.

Total cost for the week: less than $1,000 (add on whatever shows you want).

You can have "inexpensive" or you can have "convenient." The days where you could have both are long gone. (Edit: And they're never coming back, even if the MGM/Harrahs/Wynn empire collapses.)


----------



## dougp26364

I see that most of what you've written about is off strip. That's great if you get off strip but, every city I know offers bargains away from the main tourist area's. With Vegas, most people go for the strip. There use to be great deals like what you've mentioned on the strip. You use to be able to go to Vegas without renting a car. Now, to keep things affordable, you really need a car. Vegas is not the affordable vacation destination it was just 5 years ago. Maybe with the downturn in the economy the casino's will get back to offering something more than $100 table service to get into a club, expensive shows and over priced restaurants and shopping.


----------



## AwayWeGo

*Cheapo Vegas Dot Com.*




dougp26364 said:


> Vegas is not the affordable vacation destination it was just 5 years ago.


Click here for Cheapo Vegas. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


----------



## ScoopKona

AwayWeGo said:


> Click here for Cheapo Vegas.



Great website. I've enjoyed their restaurant reviews immensely. Their buffet picks are generally spot on. 

My only bone of contention was their panning Sterling Brunch. I know of no place else on earth where all-you-can-eat Maine lobster, Key West shrimp, Washington bay oysters, French champagne, caviar, sushi, truffles, New Zealand roast lamb and freakin' foie gras runs $80.

Edit: Thought of something....



dougp26364 said:


> I see that most of what you've written about is off strip. That's great if you get off strip but, every city I know offers bargains away from the main tourist area's. With Vegas, most people go for the strip. There use to be great deals like what you've mentioned on the strip. You use to be able to go to Vegas without renting a car. Now, to keep things affordable, you really need a car. Vegas is not the affordable vacation destination it was just 5 years ago. Maybe with the downturn in the economy the casino's will get back to offering something more than $100 table service to get into a club, expensive shows and over priced restaurants and shopping.



I don't go to the strip, except for Bally's for the occasional Sunday brunch and MGM for their concerts. The bands I tend to want to see play the MGM.

I loathe the Las Vegas strip. I don't see why people go there. It has about as much soul as a middle-America strip mall. Corporate Vegas killed anything that was fun about this town. We need more Bob Stupaks and less Steve Wynns. (Locals will never forgive him for tearing down their beloved Desert Inn.) 

What do these massive, soulless resorts have to offer? (I really would like to read replies from people who enjoy the strip.) Is there something I'm missing? Or is it simply differences in taste.

The restaurants are generally no better than T.G.I.McFunster's. (There are a handful of exceptions that provide me a reason to live.) The shopping is (by and large) the same crap that people can get at home. And gambling just is not my thing. I think gambling is a tiresome activity. If there was no money involved, nobody would play these games. Besides, ask anyone -- ANYONE. The best places to gamble are in the slightly seedy Fremont area. Either way, you're going to lose. But you won't lose nearly as fast at Binion's as you will at Mandalay.

I have never been to any of the clubs -- I'm a jazz and blues guy at heart. I can't see the attraction. Partying with people who look and act like Paris Hilton is my idea of hell. Oh, and it's not $100 table service anymore, it's gone up -- hundreds at some places. Who pays $500 for a $30 bottle of vodka? I don't care how well DJ Def Junk spins music that makes my eardrums bleed. Nothing is worth paying 1600% mark up on a bottle of Absolut. And you're expected to grease every palm from start to finish.

Bland, watered-down corporate garbage because that's what people seem to demand in a resort. If people weren't flocking to them, the developers wouldn't continue building these hulking monstrosities.

As far as I'm concerned, Las Vegas has exactly three things going for it:

1) About 30 truly world-class restaurants. Best of all, I can get a table at any of them, any night of the week (except New Year's eve.) Try to get a table at Nobu in New York. It can't be done. I can ring up the Hard Rock right now and enjoy sushi tonight.

2) There is more musical talent here at any given time than anywhere else on Earth. I love the concerts here. I hate what they're doing to my knees. But I love the concerts. The audio quality is generally better at these small venues. (Except at the House of Blues, where I suspect the audio engineer is totally deaf.) Steely Dan at the Pearl was an incredible show.  Joe Jackson at Green Valley was just as good. Passed him in the casino. Cool. I get to see all my old favorites, all the new bands, and bands _I haven't even thought about_ in 20 years. I saw the GoGos here once. Why not, I liked a couple of their songs and the tickets were cheap. It ended up being a great show.

3) Spring and fall are comfortable, breezy and a genuinely pleasant. All eight weeks of it. The other 44 weeks are either too damned hot or too damned cold.


----------



## AwayWeGo

*Me Neither.*




ScoopLV said:


> I loathe the Las Vegas strip. I don't see why people go there.


_Build It & They Will Come,_ I suppose. 

It's going on 3 years since our last Las Vegas vacation -- click here to find out about that -- & I'm starting to feel the pull once again.

It's not that The Strip is so awesome.  It's more that the whole Las Vegas experience -- on- & off-Strip -- is so out of the oridinary & so different from our conventional day in & day out routine here at home that it makes for a memorable & semi-exotic fun getaway. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


----------



## FlyKaesan

I have been to Vegas 5 times in less than 4 years but this year was different.
It was less crowded and it wasn't as much fun as before.

Is it me, or is it Vegas?


----------



## FlyKaesan

ScoopLV said:


> What do these massive, soulless resorts have to offer? (I really would like to read replies from people who enjoy the strip.) Is there something I'm missing? Or is it simply differences in taste.



Well, I like the lights and seeing tourist/people while in Vegas.  I like to watch shows and music.  Good buffet places and canyon I can drive and hike to.
I don't see that too much in east coast where I live.
I am not sure if I want to live in Vegas but it is fun place as long as you don't gamble.


----------



## AwayWeGo

*No Need To Choose.*




FlyKaesan said:


> Is it me, or is it Vegas?


Might be a bit of both, no ? 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


----------



## Karen G

FlyKaesan said:


> I am not sure if I want to live in Vegas but it is fun place as long as you don't gamble.


I love living here--I'm in Henderson & not exactly in Las Vegas, but I can see the Strip from my house.  After living in the rain for 25 years (Seattle), I absolutely love seeing sunshine every day.

There is so much great entertainment from which to choose, and I think it's fun to live in a place where people from all over the world want to come.

Sure, it gets hot in the summer, but that's what air conditioning is for. Even then there are still times during the day/evening when you can get outside and walk--something that is less pleasant to do in 40 degrees and rain.  

The mountains and desert scenery are beautiful and recreation opportunities are abundant.  We've found a fantastic church that we love and made lots of great friends. It has turned out to be the perfect place to retire for us.


----------



## UWSurfer

I'm in Vegas at least once a year for a trade show.   It's part of my work "routine" and something that gets old by the third day.   However, my Mom LOVES Las Vegas and we just got back from taking her there for her 70-th Birthday. 

After coming here for more than 25 years for work, this was the first time I actually vacationed in Las Vegas.  We stayed at the HGVC Flamingo, saw Jersey Boys (the story of Franky Valli), had dinner at Hugo's Cellar (4 Queens Casino) and otherwise just hung out and popped in and out of the strip casinos.

Quick impression...not bad.   I liked the view of the Flamingo's massive pool complex but was much more at home in the slightly secluded HGVC pool area.  It felt more like a private club with "older" & heavier folks there (like ME!) than the young-in's hanging out three deep at the big pools.   We REALLY enjoyed the view from the 10th floor and being central on the strip.   I never realized how nice Imperial Palace can look at night if it weren't for our unit there. Yesterday I got up early and ENJOYED walking up the strip to the Wynn and then across the street at the fashion mall and back down to Ceasars, crossing back at O'Shea's.  It was quite nice at 7 am with all the other runners and people getting their excercise before the mobs.  Funny, I saw a crew of electricians wading in the treasure island water with wetsuits, towing inner tubes with tools to service several of the lights which are in the water.  You don't see that every day!!!

As someone who doesn't really "like" the strip, I enjoyed my time there at this central location.   I'd even do it again sometime in the future!!!


----------



## FlyKaesan

AwayWeGo said:


> Might be a bit of both, no ?
> 
> -- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​



Yeah, I think you are right.  I guess I am getting old....  I can't wait until I retire...
I probably visit Vegas few more times before I retire but I wish to goto St. Martin at least once before I retire.


----------



## pgnewarkboy

I think Vegas is a great place for a short vacation.  When the mob ran it,  it was also a much cheaper place to visit. If you were a "civilian" and didn't get involved in the wrong things you could take advantage of terrific deals all the time.  As it turns out the corporate suits steal far more from the average person  then the mob ever did in vegas.


----------



## kimaeshawyt

*REPLY TO: tour in vegas*

Hello I just been in las vegas before and I get the nice room for my vacation. Its so fantastic. Try It! They giving big savings for tour. Good luck. 

EDITED by BevL - see below


----------

