Sheraton Vistana Resort - Owner Update

[botham]

My wife and I have just returned from SVR and accepted the $75 bribe to attend the Owner Update.

Some of the people, purporting to represent Vistana were despicable.

For an organisation claiming to be 5*, you'd think they'd offer a better breakfast and on proper plates!

Anyway, back to business, we were told we had a fixed week in low season (we have a floating week and can go whenever we like). We were also told we could only stay at 6 resorts (there's actually a choice of 21). We quickly disliked the pitch and opted out.

Then came the sales manager, who tried a different tack and we told him, NO, then a survey to see how we'd been treated, with a final offer.

They claimed our week had a resale value of $28,000 and that is what new purchasers are paying. They offered us I believe 40,000 options for about $9k, with maintenance of around $300.

I explained that with very few resorts in Europe, we have to fly long haul to use our ownership and they tried to persuade us that exchanging through II or to SPG pints was good use of our ownership. We pay around $1000 p/wk for 32k SPG points. Many City hotels cost around 20k so we get very little for our money.

I wonder who these guys are and who they represent, certainly not the owners.

 

[dioxide45]

I wonder who these guys are and who they represent, certainly not the owners.

These guys are the sales department and they represent Vistana. Their goal is to try to get you to buy more timeshares from them so they can earn a commission and feed their families. They do not represent owners. The HOA represents the owners and have no relationship with sales. What you went to is a classic sales presentation.

 

[Sea Six]

I've said it on here many times - the sales people at SVV and SVR are the WORST from any resort. Rude would be a kind way of describing them. Those are the only 2 places where I will never subject myself to an owner's update.

 

[x3 skier]

I took the sales pitch last week as part of a promotion and it was better than others I've attended. No pressure and over in the stated 90 minutes. I had zero intention of buying, made it plain and got my 11500 Starwood Points. As in others, positives emphasized and negatives glossed over. I didn't really care about the spiel or want to prolong the story so I didn't question anything presented.

Relatively painless and while I was there, my friend was spending her time at the gym which she said was ok.

Cheers

 

[VacationForever]

We went to the SVR sales presentation in exchange for close to $300 discount in theme park tickets. Off the bat, we told them we aint buying. It got really nice thereafter, all about "our feedback" of SVR for them to pass back to management.