When we did a Christmas week stay at Powhatan Plantation in Williamsburg several years ago (I do not recommend this place for many reasons!), we had to get our parking pass from the other desk. We'd gotten there a full day after we'd planned to because of an epic storm. It was after 10 pm on Christmas Eve, and my husband and three young kids were in the car.
They began pestering me about attending a presentation/breakfast and I immediately said no. They didn't let up, I strongly said no, that I had three young kids in the car, and they continued. Then my husband finally came in to see what the hold-up was. I finally got the parking pass and we went to our room. It was a pain! (We ended up checking out the next day anyway because the room was just not what we expected and was not where we wanted to spend the holiday.) This was before we bought our own timeshare and were using my brother-in-law's. We asked him to complain to RCI about it. It was ridiculous.
At Flamingo Beach Resort in St. Martin, they had their activities booking desk and TS presentation desk together, so if you went there to get help with island activities, they'd pester you to attend the breakfast. We told the woman we'd never buy from a resort, only on the resale market (our second TS closing/transfer is almost complete!). She said no problem, you can still get breakfast and activity discounts. We initially agreed and then it rained for 1.5 days. When the weather cleared, we wanted to get out and hit the beaches, not deal with a TS presentation of any kind, and we canceled. She called us 2-3 times a day, even on our anniversary. We told her we'd changed our minds, we were going out for our anniversary, and we got the cold shoulder for a few days after that. We had to pass by her desk if leaving the resort through the lobby!
At my most recent stay at the Alpen Club in Bavaria, the manager was there when we checked in on a Saturday afternoon and invited me and my friend to breakfast Monday morning. We said we'd think about it, and they put us down for 9:30. We waited until the next day to tell them we wouldn't be available, and they left us alone. They gave us great service the entire visit, even scheduling a doctor appointment with an English-speaking doc for me when I got sick.
I think it varies greatly by brand and location. In Orlando (twice), the Bahamas and St. Croix, there was no mention of a presentation. Williamsburg, both times, there was. It's just something we have to deal with and firmly decline, requesting a manager or complaining to corporate or doing reviews that warn others to say no immediately. Goes with the territory, but it really is annoying about the parking pass! It's outrageous with the room key!
We're going to a Wyndham in Hawaii in April and won't have a car when we check in, so I hope they don't pull that stunt on us.
