My wife and I went last Sunday at Vistana. We "had" to attend for 90 minutes because we bought resale. It started out nice but went downhill rapidly. Ending up by calling us cheap and said we bring down the "property values" to other owners. They did offer us $8,ooo on our even year ownership bring the price down to 14,000 for 78,000 points... we said no thanks. For that abuse we got $50 ... not worth it and never again
I think it's amusing that they hound you to death to attend a presentation, even offering cash/points incentive to attend, and then get
incensed when you don't buy. Here's an idea: Don't offer incentives to attend. I guarantee you that you'll cut down on the number of people who have zero interest in buying.
I'd also appreciate if they'd take my refusal/silence more gracefully. If I don't show up within two hours of my arrival to accept my "gift bag," it's because I know that it's a disguise to hound me into attending a sales presentation. Oh, and calling me REPEATEDLY just makes me more resolute to ignore you.
I also think it's highly amusing that they call resale owners "cheap" and accuse them of devaluing the property. As a resale owner at one of the most expensive TSs in the system, I could not disagree more. When you have owners who don't want to own anymore (or cannot because they simply cannot afford it), there are currently two options available to them: 1) default; 2) sell to a resale buyer. Because #1 directly impacts the MFs, and in turn the resale value, I find #2 a much more palatable option. If Starwood would offer to purchase deeds from owners who want out, then there'd be a third option, which would give Starwood much more control over the current market price. They choose not to.