• A few of the most common links here on the forums for newbies and guests!
  • The TUGBBS forums are completely free and open to the public and exist as the absolute best place for owners to get help and advice about their timeshares for more than 30 years!

    Join Tens of Thousands of other Owners just like you here to get any and all Timeshare questions answered 24 hours a day!
  • TUG started 31 years ago in October 1993 as a group of regular Timeshare owners just like you!

    Read about our 31st anniversary: Happy 31st Birthday TUG!
  • TUG has a YouTube Channel to produce weekly short informative videos on popular Timeshare topics!

    Free memberships for every 50 subscribers!

    Visit TUG on Youtube!
  • TUG has now saved timeshare owners more than $24,000,000 dollars just by finding us in time to rescind a new Timeshare purchase! A truly incredible milestone!

    Read more here: TUG saves owners more than $24 Million dollars
  • Sign up to get the TUG Newsletter for free!

    Tens of thousands of subscribing owners! A weekly recap of the best Timeshare resort reviews and the most popular topics discussed by owners!
  • Our official "end my sales presentation early" T-shirts are available again! Also come with the option for a free membership extension with purchase to offset the cost!

    All T-shirt options here!
  • A few of the most common links here on the forums for newbies and guests!
  • The TUGBBS forums are completely free and open to the public and exist as the absolute best place for owners to get help and advice about their timeshares for more than 30 years!

    Join Tens of Thousands of other Owners just like you here to get any and all Timeshare questions answered 24 hours a day!

what is the going rate for timeshare tours today?

dmarcin

TUG Review Crew: Veteran
TUG Member
Joined
May 31, 2006
Messages
27
Reaction score
0
Location
cottontown tennessee
Just wondering what are the developers offering you to take a timeshare tour and presentation in orlando and other places in the United States. Last and best offer in Gatlinburg I received was $125 and a dinner for 2 to tour Crown Point.
 
It depends on if you are going to a high volume TS resort location (they seem to pay the most) and how you negotiate. The most I've been offered is $100 and tickets to a show.
 
Were going to the Westin Kaanapali Villas in Maui, a studio for 4, in August for $649 dollars- 5 nights, six days, $185 towards an Avis car, and a $100 credit to be used at the resort.

When the Aloha Air crisis hit, Westin extended the deadline to use it by another year!
 
Studio for four -- sounds cozy! Walk down the main street in Lahaina and you will find a bunch of timeshare presentation deals.
 
We are going to the Wyndah resort in Orlando next week, so Hopefully they will offer us some good deals.
 
I've done several tours in Orlando in the past few months. Vacation Village at Parkway gave me an $80 Visa gift card (except that they only put $60 on the card, and I had to go back and complain to get the rest.) Westgate had "Buy 2, get 2 free" one-day Disney tickets, which have a retail price of $75 each. I also got "Touch of Magic Special" Disney tickets (2 days plus a water park, non-upgradeable) at a couple of presentations -- at OLCC, I got 1 ticket for $64; at Liki Tiki, I got 2 tickets for $106. I was able to sell these tickets on eBay and got around $125 each after eBay fees.

So, I'd say I was getting around $100 per presentation, but generally in the form of Disney tickets, not cash.
 
UGH! :eek: Timeshare presentations are the pits. We went on one presentation in the past two years in Orlando (we vacation at least 6 weeks a year in there), and we hated the entire experience. It was at Marriott Horizons and there were so many lies, plus the guy asked us why we came if we weren't going to buy. :rolleyes: I honestly felt like telling him off, and I came very close to it. The sales staff called our room every day, sometimes very early in the morning, to get us to go to a presentation. The amount they were offering kept going up. So we finally relented at $125, which consisted of $100 in Disney Dollars, which we knew we would use, and a $25 Marriott certificate that we used for a later trip.

I knew the guy was lying, but I didn't call him on it at the time. I came to TUG later that day, asked the hard questions of the Marriott experts, and I was definitely disappointed to find out he lied EVEN MORE than I suspected. His wife (or someone close to him) came here just to criticize my time on the boards, then she said "......THIS IS ALL THEY GET TO DO ON VACATION, GO ON TOURS AND COMPLAIN ABOUT THE REPS...." (direct quote), plus another salesman at the same resort who posts here occasionally was very harsh as well. I knew he was a salesperson by his posts, and he has since admitted that he is.

Our names make it obvious who we were, and maybe we should change our TUG name. Everyone at the resort's sales department knew who our salesman was. I guess they all watch TUG. I made the mistake of mentioning the guy by name in one of my posts because I didn't know there was an agreement with TUG to NOT mention names (BIG MISTAKE), which really didn't sit well with the salesperson, so he sent me a private message, defending his lies (as though you can defend outright lies). He actually insisted he didn't lie about anything, although there were THREE of us there, and all of us understood exactly the same thing, and he said my post has caused him much personal pain at work and at home. I don't feel that badly for him because his lies were blatant.

It was way too much of a hassle to go to that presentation. :rolleyes: The $125 wasn't worth the headaches. We unplugged our phones at the Marriott Grande Vista when we went last month, and that will be our normal routine from now on. I am not saying I won't ever go to a timeshare presentation again, nor do I criticize anyone who enjoys them, because I have enjoyed so many great presentations, and I used to get most of my timeshare education from them. Hey, that's SCARY. :hysterical: Thank goodness I found TUG (which I found out about from a Maui Fairfield timeshare salesperson, ironically:p ).
 
.... I am not saying I won't ever go to a timeshare presentation again, nor do I criticize anyone who enjoys them, because I have enjoyed so many great presentations, and I used to get most of my timeshare education from them. Hey, that's SCARY. :hysterical: ....
I find timeshare tours fascinating. I am a psychologist by profession, and I find it very, very useful to see persuasion and manipulation techniques up close like that. In one class that I teach, we spend a full week each semester analyzing how persuasion works, and I often use my experiences at timeshare tours as examples.

I also think that a substantial proportion of timeshare salespeople are sociopaths. Where else can I go to see a pathological lier in action, without risking life & limb?
 
judyS: Your comments are most interesting! What other characteristics do you find in a timeshare salesperson? Are they money-oriented? Selfish? Like the high life? Wear flashy jewelry? Divorced more than once?

We've found that most successful men salesmen were all of the above; however some of the women were actually nice people. Does that hold true in your observations?
 
:) Judy, I understand your fascination with timeshare salespeople. They are an interesting lot, and certainly worthy of a psychological study. Some timeshare salespeople are just downright nutty.

I have personally connected with more women salespeople on tours (especially the younger women) than I have with men, but I still find myself very guarded. The younger women don't seem as phony as the younger men. But the older gentlemen, over 60, are always so interesting! They are also very down to earth. The younger men are brash and confident, always insisting that we just gotta have whatever they are selling. I am always happy to see a woman or an older gentleman walk over to us, but then again, one of the pushiest salespeople we ever had was an old woman named Betty at OLCC in June of 1991. I will never forget it.

One of the most memorable timeshare tours was at Vistana in 1999, when the young timeshare salesperson started talking about his lousy relationship with his girlfriend. I was bored to death. :zzz:

For anyone reading this to think, ".......THIS IS ALL THEY GET TO DO ON VACATION, GO ON TOURS AND COMPLAIN ABOUT THE REPS...." That is not the point. We travel 7-9 weeks a year, and we attended one presentation in January of 2008, and the last one before that was in April of 2007. Geesh. :rofl:
 
TS tours and sales people

I also find it interesting how the person on the other side of the table can tell you such stuff.. I have mentioned TUG to a couple of sales people and they admitted knowing about it.. I bet they read this board to find a new way to sell you something they know we (TUGgers) don't want to buy retail most of the time..

Before the internet I was in timeshare sales in Mrytle Beach at Beach House G&R club. We were told things by the management we assumed to be true.. trading weeks, white week were just a good as red weeks, etc.. now with all the info online anyone can see what is real or a lie..

Glad I found tug in 99 and have been very pleased with my 2 SA timeshare units..

thansk to all the tug family for the education you have provided me...<a href http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/images/smilies/clap.gif[/url]>/a>
:clap:

have a good day
 
We got $100 Disney Dollars at Horizons Orlando last month. It wasn't a bad experience. I'm sure I made it last longer than it could have, because I was interested in hearing some of the amenities at other Marriott properties. My wife wanted to kick me. Either way, it was over in about 90 mins as promised. They offered me a EY at Hilton Head for 6000. He said it was cheaper than anything on the internet, and he was right at the time. He even mentioned TUG when I said I had to go look around! Either way 900+ MF's is too rich for my blood.
 
This is a bit off topic (meaning I am not going to refer to Orlando or USA)...

I found TS Presentations in Mexico (especially Cabo) to be very aggressive (meaning in getting you to attend one - not the presentation itself) and HIGHLY negotiable. We got them as high as $300 USD in car rentals, dinners, and activities. Just kept walking away and then asked what else they had... Very often they would ask for a nominal $20 deposit which will be refunded when you take the tour. I think they want to try to commit you to attend BUT I had plenty of counter offers from competing "vendors" immediately refunding my $20 and then upping the original offerings... Crazy fun game if you want to play it...

BUT, I learned the hard way... If you take a TS tour that requires them to take you there via a Cab. Make sure you have it down in writing that they must provide the return Cab ride at their cost. I omitted this and they stranded me at the place and I had to hire my own cab to get back... :wall: :wall: :wall:
 
Last edited:
judyS: Your comments are most interesting! What other characteristics do you find in a timeshare salesperson? Are they money-oriented? Selfish? Like the high life? Wear flashy jewelry? Divorced more than once?....
Well, I haven't seen that many timeshares salespeople, so I don't think I have a large enough sample to make many generalizations. The one thing I have noticed is that the long-time salespeople are very, very comfortable with lying, while the newer salespeople are often embarrassed if you catch them in a lie. I'm not sure whether the salespeople become more comfortable with lying as they get more practice at it, or if the only the pathological liars keep working at the high-pressure sales positions while the normal people quit (or at least go to a resort that doesn't require bald-faced lying.) It could be a bit of both.

.....
One of the most memorable timeshare tours was at Vistana in 1999, when the young timeshare salesperson started talking about his lousy relationship with his girlfriend. I was bored to death. :zzz:....
Yeah, on a recent tour I went on, the guy spent most of the time bragging about his teenage daughter, who apparently was an aspiring classical musician. She even had a website and everything. :rofl: Another salesman a while back mostly complained about how he hated the company he was working for and was only working there still because his pension would be vested if he stayed a few months longer.

This is a bit off topic (meaning I am not going to refer to Orlando or USA).......
BUT, I learned the hard way... If you take a TS tour that requires them to take you there via a Cab. Make sure you have it down in writing that they must provide the return Cab ride at their cost. I omitted this and they stranded me at the place and I had to hire my own cab to get back... :wall: :wall: :wall:
It's on topic! I would have talked about non-US tours, but I haven't done any in years.

How much was cab fare? I'd be a bit worried about relying on the resort for transportation. I might do it if my husband was with me, but not if I were alone.
 
I attended the marriott NPV presentation and learned a lot about Marriott - especially about their exchange priority as well as all of the fees to split a L/O or trade within the Marriott system of villas. I received $100 in marriott GC (was offered a mall gc, but I don't do malls so I asked for a Marriott GC).

I like presentations because it gives me a chance to learn more about the company and their system of exchanging. The salespeople are just trying to earn their money so I understand the pressure. But hey...when they call me and invite me for "education", I tell the salesperson upfront..."I was invited for education, not for a high pressure sell pitch, so educate me on why I should buy one of these things".
 
How much was cab fare? I'd be a bit worried about relying on the resort for transportation. I might do it if my husband was with me, but not if I were alone.

Cost was around $20... Not that much but they should have transported me back to where I was staying which is where they picked me up at.
 
We were offered $450 in Puerto Vallarta....

Seems Mexico TS' pay way more to get you to there property... But then again, I'm sure it's extremely profitable to run TS' charging US Dollars for the sales and MF's... But with the deflating US $$$ against other currencies... :annoyed: Maybe not...
 
... We unplugged our phones at the Marriott Grande Vista when we went last month, and that will be our normal routine from now on. ....

2nd thing we do at any resort is find and unplug the phones (1st thing is take pictures of the unit undisturbed).

We do TS tours all the time, we just call them before we arrive and arrange a time and agree on the 'gift'. That is that. No one calls our room anyways- all personal calls goes to our cell phones.

If we need to call housekeeping, the front desk, etc. we use our cell or we may plug the unit's phone back in just to place that call, then unplug it goes again ! Many years of TS'ing has trained us well !:D
 
...I like presentations because it gives me a chance to learn more about the company and their system of exchanging. The salespeople are just trying to earn their money so I understand the pressure. But hey...when they call me and invite me for "education", I tell the salesperson upfront..."I was invited for education, not for a high pressure sell pitch, so educate me on why I should buy one of these things".
The MO we started following the last two TS's is tell the agent upfront we are not purchasing. We say "I want to let you know upfront that we will not be purchasing today. We are here only for the 'gift' and possibly to learn more about the xxxxx <fill in the blank ... your resort, your system, etc.>. " On our upcoming tour (next Monday), we may add "We are also discussing filing bankruptcy with our attorney. We blew a our life savings on buying timeshares retail and travelling like kings. Also, the housing/credit crunch also taken its toll on us : ( "
 
Last year we attended three TS tours. This year we are going to do three as well - hell, we canNOT turn down freebies ! :D

We turn down any tours givign out less than $150 worth of gifts.
 
Last edited:
We just spent 36 minutes at a presentation at the Wyndham Kona. I think our salesman was new at the game. I started out by telling him that we won't be buying because I bought my 2 BR TS on eBay and it had gotten me to Hawaii twice and Scotland, among other places.

He asked about whether we would consider converting our unit to points if it were free - I don't know how they could do that since I own at Diamond (formerly Sunterra). Anyway, I said no since I was happy with what I own. He left twice to consult with someone and they apparently decided I was a lost cause. The salesman asked me "off the record" how much I could buy points for on eBay. Then he asked if I could find Hawaii properties there too. Poor guy looked like he was going to be sick.

We received $100 off an activity, but there was also some deal on an "Aloha" card, but I didn't inquire about how it could be used.

Sue
 
In Branson, MO it seems that the typical value is $50 to $60. In Vegas it's hard to really say since many of the show tickets can be had at 2/4/1 outlets or there are coupons available for 2/4/1 tickets on certain days of the week. Recently in HHI Marriott gave us $75 in Marriott dollars to be spent at specfic retailers, restaurants or tour operators. There was no cash value to these certficates and they had expiration dates.

Generally speaking, unless I have an interest in a particluar timeshare, I won't go on a tour. Sometimes I'll listen to the body snatchers just to see what they're offering but I don't give them a lot of time.
 
On HHI, Spinakker was offering $90 and a 3 day/2 night stay at a place of choice. Coral was offerering the same, only $100 instead of $90. From what I hear, the 3 day/2 night stays are just as much a scam as the TS itself. I guess it's more of a hassle than anything. They ask for $ upfront, and folks seem to be less than pleased with the units they're offering. We took the money from both, but threw the hotel stay in the trash. Due to our misleading salesman that sold us our 1st TS, I will ensure I drain as many freebies as I can from every tour I go on. I will lead them on then leave them broken-hearted. Give them a taste of their own medicine?:)
 
I was a suckah, one time in Kaui. Stopped at in "info booth", duh....
A high pressure sales lady actually told me I looked like an "island girl" (I'm freckled and Irish) offered everything but a private jet to us, and when I told her that we were not married, she said it did not matter. We were interested in the free kayak adventure since we rarely spend on the big excursions. Got there and they told us the offer was not available since we were not married. (our individual incomes would have qualified us, but I was married on paper to someone else..ooops).:mad:

Anyway, I went off them ala Linda Blair, and to this day, when I get angry, my fiance says "Don't go all timeshare on me"!
The 90 minutes are never worth the gift...the aftermath of anger ruins the rest of the day.
 
Top