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$40 deposit and appointment mandatory?

U

ukpete82

Guest
Joined
Nov 15, 2023
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Resorts Owned
Hilton, Marriott
Hello first timer and first post.
I just checked into the Polo Towers HVC in Las Vegas and the lady made me get an appointment and $40 deposit for it. Is this always their policy? I thought I was able to checkin here without hassle of having to sit through timeshare presentation at Elara?
 
ukpete82 said:
Hello first timer and first post.
I just checked into the Polo Towers HVC in Las Vegas and the lady made me get an appointment and $40 deposit for it. Is this always their policy? I thought I was able to checkin here without hassle of having to sit through timeshare presentation at Elara?
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That is a Diamond/HVC property versus HGVC but the only time that there is a mandatory meeting in HGVC is when you are on a marketing package or doing a marketing event, otherwise, they are not required.
 
This specific reservation was done via points
 
As long as there is no marketing package involved, then there is no requirement for a sales meeting
 
They lie and tell you it is mandatory when it isn't. You can say no. Also always say no to the deposit. Most resort systems will waive it and if they don't, then you don't have to go. If you were there on a marketing package, they wouldn't have you put down a $40 deposit since if you no show for the presentation they will just charge the credit card you used to purchase the marketing package.
 
Polo Towers is renowned for their high pressure sales pitch (and the incredible lies told). They have very affluent salespersons. I've heard of some making close to $1 million in years when the economy was doing better.
 
Pennytx said:
Just cancel the appointment
Call the credit card company and have it reminded
If your not on a package
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I think the problem is with the presentations and the $40 deposit, aren't they pre gifting? Meaning, if you don't show they can charge you for the full amount of the gift? I know that is why Marriott takes a card when they pre-gift. Though they aren't charging anything to the card.
 
cd5 said:
Polo Towers is renowned for their high pressure sales pitch (and the incredible lies told). They have very affluent salespersons. I've heard of some making close to $1 million in years when the economy was doing better.
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I bought Polo Towers on Ebay back in 2007. Never went on a presentation there until they were bought by Hilton and I wanted to know about it. The presentation was ridiculous, we left and told them this is not what we signed up for. So, we went upstairs for a quick "no thank you" to what they were offering. We rarely go back to LV, but now use it with DEX, good trader.
 
dioxide45 said:
I think the problem is with the presentations and the $40 deposit, aren't they pre gifting? Meaning, if you don't show they can charge you for the full amount of the gift? I know that is why Marriott takes a card when they pre-gift. Though they aren't charging anything to the card.
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I have attended many sales meeting but never paid a deposit....refuse to and will never let them hold my driver's license, other than briefly at check in. There have been instances where they wouldn't give people their driver's license back until after the sales meeting (at check in, to prevent people from getting up and leaving).
 
HuskerATL said:
I have attended many sales meeting but never paid a deposit....refuse to and will never let them hold my driver's license, other than briefly at check in. There have been instances where they wouldn't give people their driver's license back until after the sales meeting (at check in, to prevent people from getting up and leaving).
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Yeah, I tell the Wyndham folks they can't charge my card for a deposit. They just waive it and grovel to be sure to tell me I have to show up. I suspect they get in trouble if they don't take a deposit and the guest no shows. I've never had them try to take my license and try to keep it.
 
Cabo Azul is the only place I have been charged a reservation fee. $25.00 in Feb2024. The next year they wanted to charge me for an owner’s update and I said, “No.” They did not charge me this time.
 
h2oflyboy said:
Cabo Azul is the only place I have been charged a reservation fee. $25.00 in Feb2024. The next year they wanted to charge me for an owner’s update and I said, “No.” They did not charge me this time.
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They will always ask for a deposit to "guarantee you will show up". If you say no deposit, they will still proceed with the appointment.
 
WorldT said:
They will always ask for a deposit to "guarantee you will show up". If you say no deposit, they will still proceed with the appointment.
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For an owners update we’ve never had them require a deposit and we’ve owned with Hilton since 2002.

We have been asked to put a deposit down when attending a cold presentation with resorts or resort groups where we are not owners, but we haven’t done one of those in over a decade.
 
Is this $40 dollars deposit something new started by Hilton and is this legal ?

Is this deposit process written anywhere in your owners documents?
 
pedro47 said:
Is this $40 dollars deposit something new started by Hilton and is this legal ?

Is this deposit process written anywhere in your owners documents?
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It is a request. You can always say no.

Since both thr $40 and attending presentations/updates are not requirements during your trip (you can simply say no to both), there are no legal issues that apply.
 
Holiday Inn Club Vacations does this. They take a $30 deposit, or at least that’s what it was last time we went. We’re legacy owners at a resort that they took over the management of, and they like to pressure us to switch over to their system. We say no at check in after arguing with the concierge for a while, and then they start calling the room and offer to waive the fee. Most years we use it as a trader and we aren’t interested in putting any more money into it.
 
If not mentioned here already, the $40 is their commission. I'm pretty sure the person who books the update meeting keeps the deposit, it's their commission and incentive to make reservations. In the 90s I worked the concierge desk at a beach resort in Fort Lauderdale. We had deposit voucher books for everything imaginable. If a guest wanted to go to Mai Kai restaurant and show we booked them a reservation and guest paid $12pp deposit and I gave them a voucher receipt. The $12pp went right into our pockets. The voucher receipt I gave them was deducted from their bill. We earned deposit reservations for everything. Jungle Queen deposit was $4pp. Everglades tour was around $10pp, fishing charters paid big commission reservation deposits. And it was legal and allowed by our hotel. It was our concession and compensation to operate the desk.
 
MickeyMan said:
If not mentioned here already, the $40 is their commission. I'm pretty sure the person who books the update meeting keeps the deposit, it's their commission and incentive to make reservations. In the 90s I worked the concierge desk at a beach resort in Fort Lauderdale. We had deposit voucher books for everything imaginable. If a guest wanted to go to Mai Kai restaurant and show we booked them a reservation and guest paid $12pp deposit and I gave them a voucher receipt. The $12pp went right into our pockets. The voucher receipt I gave them was deducted from their bill. We earned deposit reservations for everything. Jungle Queen deposit was $4pp. Everglades tour was around $10pp, fishing charters paid big commission reservation deposits. And it was legal and allowed by our hotel. It was our concession and compensation to operate the desk.
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So if we refuse to pay the deposit, as we often do for Wyndham presentations, the body snatcher gets nothing?
 
MickeyMan said:
If not mentioned here already, the $40 is their commission. I'm pretty sure the person who books the update meeting keeps the deposit, it's their commission and incentive to make reservations. In the 90s I worked the concierge desk at a beach resort in Fort Lauderdale. We had deposit voucher books for everything imaginable. If a guest wanted to go to Mai Kai restaurant and show we booked them a reservation and guest paid $12pp deposit and I gave them a voucher receipt. The $12pp went right into our pockets. The voucher receipt I gave them was deducted from their bill. We earned deposit reservations for everything. Jungle Queen deposit was $4pp. Everglades tour was around $10pp, fishing charters paid big commission reservation deposits. And it was legal and allowed by our hotel. It was our concession and compensation to operate the desk.
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I have paid the $40 dollars and then received the same $40 dollars kept in an envelope when I finished the presentation. I don't think that is a commission. What you were getting back in the day was something entirely different in my opinion.
 
The sales and marketing company will give you the money back but, the OPC definitely is keeping that as part of his/her compensation
 
It's Diamond- NOT HGVC. If asked, tell 'em to pound sand. If you DO attend, I hope they make it worth your vacation time.

Jim
 
The worse are the ones that want to debit your Credit Card. The debit takes place almost right away but it can take some time for the Credit to hit the Card.
 
HICV (Holiday Inn) pressures everyone at checkin before giving the keys to your unit. People are tired after traveling and say ok just to get to their room. They put a $30 hold on the credit card used at checkin. If you cancel later they keep the money. The "presentation" is very high pressure.
 
I'm an owner with Wyndham and I have been in Williamsburg, VA and Las Vegas this year. Both times I encountered very high pressure to pay for the "required update". In Williamsburg they pretended I needed to agree to and pay $40 for the update before I could get my parking pass. In Las Vegas they tried reverse psychology telling me they know they've had a bad reputation and have made significant changes and the meeting was only for me and I'd get a lovely gift for only 20 minutes of my time. The guy in Las Vegas was VERY charismatic and pushy and told me that he would let me slide on the $40 fee to reserve my spot but if I didn't show up it would come out of his paycheck. I do not like playing games or wasting my time on vacation so i don't go to the updates. If you like to get the "free" gifts go for it - but know they will do everything they can to make you stay as long as possible and they can outright lie to you about the plans. Also - be very careful about the free gifts and read the small print on any gift card - they often have limitations and hidden fees that can bit you in the butt if you arne't aware of the limitations.
 
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