How often can you do the presentation?

[ride2slide]

I read on TUG about folks that do the presentations at about every resort they go to. Since I'm fairly new to Timesharing, I think I would enjoying seeing the different resorts and hearing about what they have to offer. Getting deep discounts for show tickets, dinner and free short stays is appealing to some extend. At what point do you say that it isn't enough? I personally have only done three and they went way longer than promised.

A friend I sometimes travel with is wasting her precious vacation time to view a low demand resort in the dead of winter and doesn't even get to stay in the resort those 2 nights, instead, they put her up, down the road in a Ramada? It is probably 1000 miles from her home so she is making a real effort to get there to see it and she doesn't even get to stay in it??? She is flying in near me and I'm doing the driving. I booked myself a comped room at a Casino down the road. Turns out she had to pay $50 but gets a $150 Am Exp card to do the tour plus the Ramada room. To me, that is not enough. I know that she was planning to be within a couple hours of the area anyway, but why would you not stay at the resort that they have you previewing?

 

[Rent_Share]

It's not abnormal to be put up in a hotel, after they show you the unit it's part of the script to lie to you how with a developer purchase you can stay in a 2 bedroom Suite for less than the hotel room would cost. Let's leave out maintenance Fees, Interest, Lost Earnings on "Invested"(Wasted) Capital.

Learning by touring and doing presentations (BEING LIED TO) is probably the worst way, in my case to learn about timeshare systems, the only thing I would get out of that experience is divorced.

The absolute last one we attended (DRI Lake Tahoe) in addition to the standard $ 100, I held out for a 3 day 2 night package in an ACTUAL timeshare unit (Studio) [there were three within reasonable drive to distances (<400 Miles)]with no additional presentation required at the destination with lodging. Upon checking in they tried to coerce us into attending, even though the paperwork I had In my hand was clear that I was not required to attend a presentation since I had met that requirement in South Lake Tahoe.

After the actual presentation experience, and a similar to worse prior experience at Maui (It may have still been Sunterra at he time) I have promised never to book another one, and my wife says fine because if I do, she's not going. On our most recent trip to Maui we went out of our way, not to do business with any ticketing / reservation agencies affiliated with the OPC trade

 

[theo]

To each his / her own...

People sometimes have some odd notions regarding "savings", "bargains" --- and the value of their time.

Personally, I would not waste a moment of my limited time on this earth listening to lying sales weasels, regardless of the supposed "value" of the trinket, bauble, lodging, or discount coupon offered in return.

The resorts at which I own weeks are all sold out, with the developers and their sales weasels long gone.
If I somehow found myself at some other facility where the sales force is still "working" the product, my stance and response would be "I bill my time out at $180 / hour. If you want to consume ninety minutes of my valuable time just for me to summarily reject your "offering", the cost to you will be $270, payable in cash and in advance --- and you can keep all of your vouchers, trinkets, coupons and the cheap motel room.
So, do we have a deal here? No? I didn't think so. Bye then, gotta go --- on vacation, don't ya know."

 

[DeniseM]

+3 Sales presentations are a waste of precious vacation time, and you can't believe anything you hear.

 

[csxjohn]

I went to my only TS presentation in the 70's. We "won" a Fla vacation in a motel for a week and had to attend one. At the time it sounded like an interesting concept but we did not want to get tied down to a single vaca spot every year.

No exchange companies were ever mentioned so maybe they didn't exist at the time.

Then about 15 or so years ago friends got involved in timesharing and we bought our first unit in Poincianna Fl and free membership in Donita's Vacations Unlimited who was later bought out by Dial An Exchange.

In all our years of exchanging we never accepted the bribes to sit through a sales presentation. Our time on vaca was too valuable and we liked the way we were doing it anyhow.

Fast forward to last year when we were invited along with my daughter and her husband to a Wyndham vaca they had purchased through some program that I can't think of the name right now but they had a few points to use and Wyndham was hoping to hook them in during those stays.

A fellow came to the room to give a "survey." My wife and I listened from our bedroom while this liar proceeded to tell them that Wyndham is such a large and successful company that they don't need our money, he just wants to share opportunities with us.

It was interesting listening to him squirm a little when they said they were happy with what they could get with their points. I think he wanted to hear that they couldn't get what they wanted so he could go into his sales pitch.

When it got to the point that they couldn't afford any program he told them that they could get their money back from what they purchased. This caught them off guard and they agreed to meet with him in his office to explore that possibility.

After he left, we sat and talked about the entire presentation lie by lie and the kids agreed but weren't sure about how they could get their purchase money back.

We all know, and I explained to them that they would be asked to buy a points package and it would be reduced by the $1,500 or so they has already paid.

I had printed a couple threads from here on TUG that I had shown them before we went and brought them back out while discussing the meeting.

I didn't have to do much convincing, they just did not show up for the appointment and even though the salesman had their cell number he never bothered to call. I 'm sure he knew the gray haired old guy in the other room had steered them clear of his lair. (Ha, a liars lair.)

Anyhow that was enough to convince me that the price would have to very high for me to to through any of that nonsense while on vaca.