Telemarketer - 4 night MVC for $199 - scam??

[mdurette]

I received a call from a telemarketer last night. Stated they are calling Marriott Reward Members and offering them 4 nights at Grand Vista for $209. I mentioned I am familiar with the property as I have stayed there a few times. She then offered same deal for a handful of other MVC properties. Also, price would drop down to $199 if I booked before end of year or after April. All deals required a $199 deposit now. All get $50 gift card.

This is something I may be interested in because Surf Watch was one of the other properties, but I told her I have a rule that I don't purchase anything from telemarketing calls because there are too many scams in that world. (like a cheap vacation for a TS tour isn't a scam:rofl But, one I can deal with!

I asked her to email me details, she just sent a bunch of links of the offered MVC properties. Her email address was xxx@vacationclub.com She had my email on record.

I'm thinking this is a legit offer that I may contemplate if she can book what I want and not provide me with a certificate for future use. She is calling back tonight. Anyone with a similar call or have you ever taken Marriott up on one of these offers?

 

[DEScottzz]

I accepted one of these deals about this time last year, for travel in November. We went to Newport Coast. I think they charged $100 more for that location.

It was just what you said... a cheap vacation in exchange for a a timeshare tour and presentation.

 

[mdurette]

Did you book what you wanted at the time or where you required to purchase and then book what you wanted.

Do you recall if there are blackout dates? I'm tied to school vacation schedule.

Also....these studios only, that would be a deal breaker for me.

 

[Finntastic]

We did this 2 years ago in mrytle beach. we paid 299 as we stayed in april so it was a bit more. the sales pitch we low key, but we did purchase a encore package which was 2300 for i week at MOW, a cruise(booked for jun 2016(canada-new england) and 75000 points. enjoyed both stays very much. encore ibelieve had no black out dates. you will get gorgeous view because they want you to buy! 199 deal also included breakfast for 2 and tickets for small attractions.

 

[mdurette]

Well....she called back tonight on my home and cell phone. But, I couldn't take the call at the time. Good thing though is I got the number on the caller ID and when looked it up, it is MVC....so I can feel a bit more comfortable knowing it is not a scam.

 

[Saintsfanfl]

Not vouching for this particular individual but it is pretty common for the marketing group to offer cheap short stays as a promo for a presentation. It's been happening for a long time.

 

[NYFLTRAVELER]

Its a good deal.

 

[SueDonJ]

I got a call a few weeks ago with the same type of offer, 4 nights at various properties for a good cash discount. It requires a sales presentation and payment in full upon booking with no cancellation/re-scheduling.

The rate was better than the cash discount price I already have for a 5-night stay in late October at Barony Beach, and she was able to add a fifth night to the 4-night package to help me book the same dates, but there's a chance I may have to reschedule so I'm keeping the reservation I have.

Great deal - I told her I appreciate the offer and want to be called with similar offers in the future.

 

[beckster914]

Yes, we recently accepted a similar offer. They were only calling select members and offering deals at certain timeshares. It cost $99 down for 3 nights but then cost will vary depending on resort chosen. So the sales woman basically told us that we could travel any time, pick any view we wanted, and that the deal wouldn't expire. Knew it was too good to be true but for $99 but why not? So when our vacation planner called, she told us the deal expired in 8 months, the units are non-view so most likely garden or whatever the lowest category is. And we had to choose from the resorts and weeks that were leftover. For some reason they are not allowed to email the list, so we had to go over all the resorts offered on the phone, and then see which weeks were available at our desired resorts. We ended up with 3 nights in a 2 bedroom at Crystal Shores in November for $399 and added 2 more nights on ourselves. I believe it's a good deal as Crystal Shores rents out for $369 a night the days we are there. But we will of course have to attend a 90 minute presentation.

 

[shoeie]

Interesting. In 5 years of ownership-we have never received such a call/offer.

Wonder why?

 

[taffy19]

I had a call like that recently but it was for my husband. I believe that it was for Las Vegas but my husband told me that he wasn't interested from the other room. I don't remember now if it was a man or a woman who heard his response but that ended the call rather quickly. I would have liked to have heard more choices but I didn't count.

We are getting a lot of calls lately but have no idea how legit they are?

 

[mdurette]

Interesting. In 5 years of ownership-we have never received such a call/offer.

Wonder why?

I don't own....they picked up my info from being a regular Marriott Rewards member.

 

[jcjl1]

Reservation

I was asked if I wanted to speak with a rep for a similar offer after I made my reservation for my free night using the Marriott Rewards Card. Although the offer sounded great, I didn't take it because it had a six month expiration.

 

[Wahoo Josh]

We are going on one of these next week

Oceana Palms - 2BR unit 4 days 3 nights for $349. (Thursday - Sunday). Our presentation time is already booked.

It also resulted from a cold call from MVC. I was offered 14 resorts at various price points, paid the $199 deposit, then booked the specific stay and paid the balance.

The cold caller had me on record as owning at the Manor Club (correct) and Legends Edge. However, I rescinded on the Legends Edge purchase back in 2004. They even refunded my deposit twice......

 

[Fasttr]

However, I rescinded on the Legends Edge purchase back in 2004. They even refunded my deposit twice......

And they say developer purchases are not a good investment.


.

 

[kds4]

I received a call from a telemarketer last night. Stated they are calling Marriott Reward Members and offering them 4 nights at Grand Vista for $209. I mentioned I am familiar with the property as I have stayed there a few times. She then offered same deal for a handful of other MVC properties. Also, price would drop down to $199 if I booked before end of year or after April. All deals required a $199 deposit now. All get $50 gift card.

This is something I may be interested in because Surf Watch was one of the other properties, but I told her I have a rule that I don't purchase anything from telemarketing calls because there are too many scams in that world. (like a cheap vacation for a TS tour isn't a scam:rofl But, one I can deal with!

I asked her to email me details, she just sent a bunch of links of the offered MVC properties. Her email address was xxx@vacationclub.com She had my email on record.

I'm thinking this is a legit offer that I may contemplate if she can book what I want and not provide me with a certificate for future use. She is calling back tonight. Anyone with a similar call or have you ever taken Marriott up on one of these offers?

It was thanks to one of these calls that we ended up becoming Marriott owners. We took an offer to go to Harbor Lake for 5 days/4 nights back in 2009. After taking in all the information presented and liking what we saw (other than the $36k price tag for a 3BR MGV week), we quickly purchased our first week; a 3BR Platinum L/O MGV on the resale market for a fraction of that amount and have never looked back. Along the way we bought and sold additional weeks, purchased points (both developer and resale), and even found our way here to TUG.

While it hasn't been a perfect ride, 6 years later we have been and continue to be extremely happy Marriott owners (overall). So, thank-you Mr./Miss Telemarketer.

Never thought I'd actually utter those words ... :rofl: