Beware Of The Mayan Palace. Beware Of Their Time Share Scam!!!

[mikenk]

I agree that once the contract is prepared for signing and offered, everything is honest from that point forward. This includes the follow on upgrade / sales presentations; they always have something new to try and get into my back pocket; I have no problem with any of that; I can take it, leave it, or make counter offer. The approach for these updates have all been quite different depending on the sales person - but never a canned pitch as in the rant videos.

However, before I bought resale, I got the privilege of listening to a couple of the high pressure initial sales presentations, they were blatantly dishonest regarding the "guaranteed" rental revenue. It was obviously canned and meant to deceive - definitely a scam by my definition. The sales premise is the people will never actually read the sales contract; just sign, pay, and go on. It obviously works and seems to be perfectly legal as the contract in any business is the binding agreement - not non documented promises. Unfortunately, people seem to go brain-dead during timeshare presentations; the vida sales approach preys on these people - which I do feel is morally wrong.

A couple of years back, I was talking with a number of owners around the pool bar, they had all bought retail through the process, they all understood they paid too much, but yet all were OK with it. The common theme was "it has forced us to take vacations and we always have a great time - so be it." The age of the internet has certainly raised the awareness of the sales tactics, but as long as the great majority just move on, I doubt anything will change. Certainly Vida management is aware of the internet backlash; it will be interesting to see if anything changes.

Mike

 

[ondeadlin]

Unfortunately, people seem to go brain-dead during timeshare presentations; the vida sales approach preys on these people - which I do feel is morally wrong.

Mike, I give you credit. Unlike a lot of folks who really enjoy the Maya/Vida properties, you're ultimately willing to admit that there's something morally wrong about their sales tactics.

Basically, they're stealing from people. It doesn't matter if they're doing it with a gun or with fast talking, they're stealing. Maybe not in a legal sense, since you're correct, the fine print of the contract is ultimately what governs, but they're using people's trust in what they're saying to take their money, and that's stealing by any definition. In fact, if it was taking place in the U.S., it's almost certain they would be shut down for consumer fraud, no matter what the contract says.

Given that, I'm genuinely surprised people can vacation there. I would not. No matter how great the vacation experience is outside of the sales center, it's all built on the initial scams - which are ongoing.

A couple of years back, I was talking with a number of owners around the pool bar, they had all bought retail through the process, they all understood they paid too much, but yet all were OK with it.

They're making the best of a bad situation. The best question to ask anyone in this situation would be this: If I could get your initial purchase price back (not the annual fees, which obviously paid for the vacations), would you want it back? My guess is the answer would overwhelmingly be yes.

 

[rpennisi]

...Given that, I'm genuinely surprised people can vacation there. I would not. No matter how great the vacation experience is outside of the sales center, it's all built on the initial scams - which are ongoing....

All timeshare presentations here and in Mexico that I have been to lie about their product to get you to buy it, some more than others.

But not going to Mayan resorts deprives you of a very enjoyable vacation. Just say no to the presentation pitch, or just say no no matter how hard if on a presentation it sounds too good to be true.

Ron

 

[rpennisi]

...Unfortunately, people seem to go brain-dead during timeshare presentations; the vida sales approach preys on these people - which I do feel is morally wrong... Mike

But this is what happens when people only want to escape the sales barrage that frequently goes on for hours with multiple sales persons. People get worn down and give up.

I know it has frequently been mentioned that this is sales tactic whether timeshare, auto, etc. But I get the feeling it is more like endless relentless police-like interrogation...just give me the papers and let me sign so I can get out.

P.S. I have never been interrogated by the police, just going by the movies and tv.

Ron

 

[mikenk]

They're making the best of a bad situation. The best question to ask anyone in this situation would be this: If I could get your initial purchase price back (not the annual fees, which obviously paid for the vacations), would you want it back? My guess is the answer would overwhelmingly be yes.

Actually, we did discuss that. I asked whether they regretted the purchase, they all said no. They just assumed it was the price of admission into any timeshare, which actually might have been true at the time as they had mostly bought seven years or so ago - before the timeshare bubble broke.

Now to be honest, I didn't tell them what I had paid on resale versus what they paid; that might have changed their answer, but the bottom line, they all felt their vacation experiences were worth it.

It would be quite interesting to see a real survey of all Grand Mayan owners as to their level of satisfaction with the resorts. We all know TUG people do not represent the mainstream timeshare owner. I have no idea what the results would be but I would think most have long since forgotten what they paid and how painful the sales process was.

Mike

 

[mikenk]

Given that, I'm genuinely surprised people can vacation there. I would not. No matter how great the vacation experience is outside of the sales center, it's all built on the initial scams - which are ongoing.

I can appreciate your viewpoint.

Here's a somewhat different perspective. We have close friends who have gazillion RCI points. We bring them to The Mayan properties, they take us to various timeshares across the USA. Realistically, we have never had anywhere close to the vacation experience with them as they do with us - not the same level of accommodations or service. They have actually apologized for that as they fully realize it.

So, yes the Vida sales process is bad, but the ones that do buy are given ongoing great vacations. Would they trade that for a easygoing sales presentation and decades of mediocre vacations in a deteriorating timeshare. I realize there is no good answer to this, but judging a resort system simply by the sales process does not make sense to me - although I am sure I am in the minority on TUG from that perspective.

Mike

 

[Pizza67]

To be honest (and to be able to go back in time), I would have purchased multiple resales at the Mayan Palace level and then use those to upgrade. That seems to give the most bang for the buck. Also, depending on what your goal is, you would need to upgrade through the company in order to obtain any of the perks/addendums.

Even though we started retail, and this was our first timeshare, we very much enjoy these properties and have also enjoyed many exchanges. Timesharing is what you make of it.

 

[aliikai2]

All of retail timeshare sales should also be included in your " I couldn't go there as they are stealing."

The most often used lie is the purchasing prepaid vacations :ignore:

Or how this ownership will save you thousands in the upcoming years by holding inflation in check???

The Vida group gets it's fair share of bad press for aggressive sales staff, and lots of folks that don't even go to Mexico love to come over and dump their 5 cents worth on them.

As to your would you want your money back comment, I would guess that over 90% of all timeshare owners would take that...

fwiw,

Greg

Mike, I give you credit. Unlike a lot of folks who really enjoy the Maya/Vida properties, you're ultimately willing to admit that there's something morally wrong about their sales tactics.

Basically, they're stealing from people. It doesn't matter if they're doing it with a gun or with fast talking, they're stealing. Maybe not in a legal sense, since you're correct, the fine print of the contract is ultimately what governs, but they're using people's trust in what they're saying to take their money, and that's stealing by any definition. In fact, if it was taking place in the U.S., it's almost certain they would be shut down for consumer fraud, no matter what the contract says.

Given that, I'm genuinely surprised people can vacation there. I would not. No matter how great the vacation experience is outside of the sales center, it's all built on the initial scams - which are ongoing.



They're making the best of a bad situation. The best question to ask anyone in this situation would be this: If I could get your initial purchase price back (not the annual fees, which obviously paid for the vacations), would you want it back? My guess is the answer would overwhelmingly be yes.

 

[rpennisi]

Greg,
I'll go one step further. I bought both of my MP on Ebay. One was a 2 bedroom, the second a one bedroom. My plan was to stay for a month a year using the vacation fair trade options on both. However, with grandchildren and family obligations, we really can't get away for a month at a time.

I shouldn't have bought the second since I have too many deposits for RCI these days.

Ron

 

[Georgemcg4526]

@mikenk As you know... every story has two sides, I used to believe in Santa Claus too, and defended his existence for as long as I believed in him, but guess what... I was wrong.

-We are not implicating anything, the video clip simply states that Sinaloa is the home of one of Mexico's largest drug cartels as a reference. Nevertheless we would really like to know how anybody in his early twenties can fund a multi million dollar investment, specially when he struggled financially all his life to get by, as Daniel himself implies.

-We know as a fact (through inside sources) that Vida Vacations has an entire department dedicated all day to post positive comments to counter all the negative comments that they get.

-The real name of the so called "Member Services department" is VLO department and we also know as a fact (through inside sources) that they work in conjunction with the "sales sharks" as you call them.

I became a member with Grupo Mayan many years ago and made several upgrades, before I realized how I had been lied to and deceived over and over again.

The resorts are great, don't take me wrong, it is the sales tactics that they use to deceive thousands of innocent victims, their advantageous membership contracts, and the whole operation which is what we do not agree with.

I'm glad to hear that you feel they have honored everything that they promised you, as I hope they explained to you that all contracts after 2010 are only good for 10 years, and after 10 years you will no longer be a member but a certificate holder of just bonus weeks, but I'm sure you read all the documents and have no high expectations after the 10 year period is up. (This will be explained more in detail in our documentary.)

We will publish the 8 parts of the documentary, but one at a time. Once everything is exposed, we guarantee you that you will no longer believe in Santa Claus either.

If you would like to watch the complete version of part one, contact us at george.mcgarrett@outlook.com

We will be glad to give you a direct link for it.

Best Regards,

George McGarrett

 

[Georgemcg4526]

@traveler36 We have indeed spent a lot of time, effort and resources to help other members open their eyes as of this organization, but there isn't only one reason to it, there are several, and they are all well substantiated as you will find out soon.

We agree they have great resorts to visit, but the principal of lying and deceiving, distorts what they are really selling which is just a right to use contract, meaning just a "timeshare".

Traveler 36 your knowledge of the whole sales process beyond most members comprehension, your very well structured verbiage known by company insiders only, and the way you defend the company as instructed by their training manuals, tells us a lot.

Keep up the good work

George McGarrett

 

[Georgemcg4526]

@drguy I'm glad you admit that you've caught them misrepresenting you, so that everybody is aware.

It sounds like you've spent time with Mr. Chavez and have witnessed his hard work, which we do not deny, however, working hard is one thing, and growing rich by deceiving hundreds of thousands of people is a complete different story.

Like we've said before, once you watch the full documentary we guarantee you will be shocked as we were.

Best Regards,

George McGarrett

 

[MuranoJo]

George,

You've obviously put a lot of work into these videos (or whoever the source may be) and trying to gain exposure for them. But I'm curious--what's your objective in all of this?

To seek revenge (due to buyer's remorse for agreeing to multiple upgrades, only to find out later that it's only RTU)? You should have known this before even the first upgrade.
To rouse some sort of class action lawsuit? (Good luck.)
To tie Grupo to drug cartels?
To warn other potential victims about the sales practices? (No lack of that information already out there and ongoing.)

So what's our call-to-action? View the full videos and come back here and post, "Oh, yeah, their sales teams lie and deceive to make a sale?"
I hardly think that's going to be anything new or revealing. (Nor that unusual in the industry overall.)

 

[traveler36]

Georgemcg4526 ???

George, if that is your name, you seem to think that because I disagree with you I work for the Vida. I don't. I'm 75 years of age, a retired lawyer and businessman who lives in Arizona. I'm done working for anyone. I just don't agree with your conclusions.
Your presentation focuses on negative aspects of Vida resort ownership. I am aware that some sales presentations are not completely honest and I do not like that at all. I get your point here. But your presentation is not balanced. It does not give equal time to the positives of being a Vida member. I have been a member for 6 years and have paid attention to the pros and cons. For me the positives of being a member far outweigh the negatives. My wife, friends and I vacation twice a year at the Grand Luxxe in Nuevo Vallarta for one reason - we think it is one of the greatest vacation spots in the world. It has great accommodations and service and the grounds are beautiful. Apparently many other people think so too.

You are on a mission to 'expose' Vida's bad practices. OK. No problem. The problem comes that you label people on this site who disagree with you as the enemy and call them employees or collaborators of Vida. It would be far better if you hang up the conspiracy theory and accept that fact that not everyone agrees with you. It is healthy and productive for people to disagree. Don't rain on it.

 

[mikenk]

@mikenk As you know... every story has two sides, I used to believe in Santa Claus too, and defended his existence for as long as I believed in him, but guess what... I was wrong.

-
I'm glad to hear that you feel they have honored everything that they promised you, as I hope they explained to you that all contracts after 2010 are only good for 10 years, and after 10 years you will no longer be a member but a certificate holder of just bonus weeks, but I'm sure you read all the documents and have no high expectations after the 10 year period is up. (This will be explained more in detail in our documentary.)

We will publish the 8 parts of the documentary, but one at a time. Once everything is exposed, we guarantee you that you will no longer believe in Santa Claus either.

George, I am guessing you never read your contract when you were a member. I absolutely understand what my contract says and I got things modified (through addenda) to be acceptable. You could have to but my guess is you didn't.

In actuality, the Vida contracts allow significant customization to allow people to create their contract to best suit their lifestyle. You have to be willing to negotiate and challenge. My guess is you did not know, or do this.

My problem with your rant videos is the ones I saw are full of half truths, part speculation, lots of innuendos, and intended to misrepresent the real situation - actually not much different from the Vida sales presentations.

Yes, the Vida sales process is brutal with many things misrepresented, however the resulting contract and addenda are honored. I doubt if I will see that in any of your videos. It is up to the buyer not to sign things they don't agree with and the contracts are actually quite easy to read - if you choose to do so.

Also, it is a fact that Vida memberships are one of a very few that offer (or have offered and honor) no mandatory maintenance fee and other perks that add up to great vacation values. I doubt if any of that will be in your videos.

The bottom line for me: I don't intend to watch any of your videos until I see any hint of something that I don't already know, any hint of real proof of your allegations, or any sense of fairness.

Making statements to watch all the videos and I won't believe in Santa Claus anymore doesn't work for me. I would suggest you list all your allegations one at a time with the proof for open discussion. This is a great forum to do so.

Mike

 

[Georgemcg4526]

@muranojo Indeed we have and will continue putting a lot of work and effort on this matter, just as we keep growing as an organization with the people that are seeking the same objective:

To not let the bad guys keep getting away with it.

Just as there are a lot of people that choose to look away when things are not right, there are a lot of other people that choose not to ignore, we fall in this second category.

We are not seeking for revenge, we are seeking for justice.

Getting rich by taking away the hard earned money from the people that deposited trust in a company and their individuals that are trained to sell a product with lies and deceptions, in our opinion is not right.

We are also very well aware of the extensive legal reaches that the company has at their disposal, so just as any other just cause (historically speaking) the voice of the people and their opinion is their most important strength.

After watching the whole documentary everyone will have their own opinion and choice as far as what they want to do, if the path is to start a collective lawsuit to get their money back, and for new prospects not to buy from them... let it be.

The bottom line is... Money is all that this company cares for.

Best Regards,

George McGarrett

 

[drguy]

The bottom line is... Money is all that this company cares for.

Best Regards,

George McGarrett

Sounds a lot like Citibank, B o A, Wells Fargo, Dow Chemical, Monsanto, SuperValue, Exxon...Isn't that why corporations and companies were originally invented? Tactics may be questionable, but are they much worse than the salespeople that sold me a Land Rover? Prius? Dodge Journey? My clothes from Dillards?
I get it. You don't like the capitalist system. Okay.

 

[saywhat]

Both sides of this conversation are right. If George feels strongly enough and wants to crusade he may prove helpful to those who are not willing to let getting screwed go so easy.

 

[Monica]

Ever heard of personal responsibility?

@muranojo Indeed we have and will continue putting a lot of work and effort on this matter, just as we keep growing as an organization with the people that are seeking the same objective:

To not let the bad guys keep getting away with it.

Did you get scammed? And do you think they are the only timeshare company doing heavy handed antics?

Where does one's personal responsibility play into your revenge?

We're owners, and have been since 1999. I wouldn't trade all of our units away for anything! We use them all of the time. We bought 1 from the resort, the others resale. We learned about resale by doing our due diligence. Good gosh, it's like hardly anyone takes responsibility for their own actions...it's always someone else's fault (isn't it).

No everyone is "scanned". Get a life.

 

[Monica]

You apparently have an axe to grind, george

You sound like someone with a huge block on their shoulder. Did you get fired or something.

 

[ondeadlin]

All of retail timeshare sales should also be included in your " I couldn't go there as they are stealing."

This is simply not true in anything but the most superficial way. It's like saying a speeder and an arsonist are both criminals, technically true but showing no ability to recognize the significant difference and impact of the "crimes." There is no comparison to how you are treated in a Marriott/Starwood/Hyatt presentation and how you are treated in these presentations. There is no comparison to the level of lies and misrepresentations. None.

And I'm sure on some level you know that.

The fact you need to force the comparison tells me that on some level you feel the need to justify your support of this scam.

 

[Karen G]

Please stick to the topic

Please keep comments on the topic of this thread, and please don't resort to personal attacks on posters with whom you disagree.

 

[saywhat]

Did you get scammed? And do you think they are the only timeshare company doing heavy handed antics?

Where does one's personal responsibility play into your revenge?

We're owners, and have been since 1999. I wouldn't trade all of our units away for anything! We use them all of the time. We bought 1 from the resort, the others resale. We learned about resale by doing our due diligence. Good gosh, it's like hardly anyone takes responsibility for their own actions...it's always someone else's fault (isn't it).

No everyone is "scanned". Get a life.

If you were one of the many who bought MP based on the "investment pitch" and had no use for it you would be pissed too and not just say "ahh schucks they got me".

Being overwhelmed by the beauty and size of the mayan system is easy. Who would think that such a place would be employing such sc#"bags to sell their product. So telling those who wish to voice their outrage to grow up is to me being blind to the truth that of what's happening to countless families.

You're ok with being lied to.....others not so much.

 

[drguy]

If you were one of the many who bought MP based on the "investment pitch" and had no use for it you would be pissed too and not just say "ahh schucks they got me".

Being overwhelmed by the beauty and size of the mayan system is easy. Who would think that such a place would be employing such sc#"bags to sell their product. So telling those who wish to voice their outrage to grow up is to me being blind to the truth that of what's happening to countless families.

You're ok with being lied to.....others not so much.

Huh???
They specifically state at closing that if rental income is needed to pay for the unit, you should not do it. Guess that I don't understand why that is a scum bag comment for them to make to a potential owner. Yes, they exaggerate, but so do many of the cosmetic companies in the US that promise to eliminate wrinkles with the use of their $100+ jars of wrinkle cream. Or Botulinum Toxin A, which lasts a few weeks by paralyzing areas of the human body.
Disney claims to be the "Happiest" place on earth. Now that is a crock of @#&* if I ever heard one.
To each, his/her own. We all make choices. Some good, some bad, some even ridiculously bad and others blissful.

 

[saywhat]

Huh???
They specifically state at closing that if rental income is needed to pay for the unit, you should not do it. Guess that I don't understand why that is a scum bag comment for them to make to a potential owner. Yes, they exaggerate, but so do many of the cosmetic companies in the US that promise to eliminate wrinkles with the use of their $100+ jars of wrinkle cream. Or Botulinum Toxin A, which lasts a few weeks by paralyzing areas of the human body.
Disney claims to be the "Happiest" place on earth. Now that is a crock of @#&* if I ever heard one.
To each, his/her own. We all make choices. Some good, some bad, some even ridiculously bad and others blissful.

Agreed. The fact that people don't read the contract is just plain stupid! By the time it gets to that they're just worn out. Like i said, they get lulled into thinking the whole show is on the up and up and thus are much easier to "trick F##k" as the manager on the video so eloquently put it. That's how they are trained, total disregard for the people they're selling zero ethics.

So blowback like what George is doing is inevitable. I don't know why you all are so against his outrage? You might not like what he's saying, but it doesn't make him wrong, just search this blog and most of what he's covered so far is contained there.