Ever done a time share presentation for a cheaper vacation?

[Disneyfan1977]

Has anyone ever done a time share tour to get a cheaper priced vacation. There are several deals on ebay now and we really want to go on vacation and not break the bank.

If you have done one of these tours what was it like? I will not be buying a time share. Do your kids go on the tour/presentation with you?

Any insight would greatly be appreciated. Thanks

 

[SnowWhite12]

We have done it twice. First time was before we had DD, but second time, we took her with us. I just refused to leave her at their play center, which probably would have been okay, but I didn't feel comfortable enough with it. Both times the tour took 90 minutes. First time was a place in Mexico, and the guy was really pushy, but we just kept saying no. Second time was in myrtle beach. We ended up buying that one but cancelled within the 5 day window. (still regret cancelling----it truly was a great deal, but DH decided we didn't need it at this time). That place was totally fine with people saying no thank you, and we saw them saying bye to those people immediately (in a very nice way, I might add). My parents have done several to Branson, and father-in-law to various places in Florida. It is a pain to do the 90 minute tour, but totally worth it, as long as you are getting lots of free stuff or really cheap (room, food, etc.). We may even do another one this Spring. If you have a local Bass Pro Shop, they usually have a booth set-up with good deals for them.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

We actually got 2 promotions in the mail around the same time. I combined them and got to stay 8 nights in orlando for $400.00.

One was for the Sheraton, the other the Marriott. DH and I decided, we don't think we'll ever do it again. Timeshare is not for us. We've crunched the numbers a million times and just don't see the benefit so for someone to bs us for 1 1/2 hours , again would be pure torture.

Though we did have a cheap vacation along with some nice accomodations. Because with each presentation we got 2, free 1 day passes to WDW. It was worth it at the time, but we won't do it again.

 

[PelletierBears]

We've never done it to get a cheaper vacation but we did get nabbed at one of the Disney parks to tour a timeshare a few yrs ago. As soon as I gave my $$$ and signed the agreement I regretted it. I forget how much it was but it was enough that I didn't want to lose it... so at least $40. The agreement was to go on this tour, free breakfast and get not only your $$$ back but $100.00 in cash as well.
The "breakfast" was mini muffins like you buy at a wholesaler like BJ's but the tour was interesting, the tour guide very nice & our kids made to feel very welcome. After the tour when we met with the sales rep the push got strong and since our intention was to NOT buy a timeshare (just wanted to $$$ back!) he was not happy with us. At end when the sales manager came out to pressure us he turned nasty when we wouldn't budge and actually asked which of us was the cheap one! Even after we finally went to collect our $$$ they tried one last time to get us to sign on to a future vacation with them (the down payment being the $$$ you would be getting of course!). The women actually snarled at me when I gave her a firm NO. So a 90 min tour actually took half a day during most of which my kids were bored and my husband and I stressed. WE WILL NEVER DO IT AGAIN! Afterward I felt a bit upset with Disney...why on earth would they let non-disney (I assume) organizations like that solicit their guests. I'd rather tour a DVC!

 

[daleswife]

We did a time share presentation in 1999 when we were on our honeymoon at disney. We went to this place so we could get tickets to US for $25 each...LOL....Just told them NO we are not interested in your condos....show us to our tickets please...the guy was kinda ticked, but oh well, he must hear that quite a lot....

 

[Ennazus8810]

Did it while we were already in Las Vegas. Spent 3 hours at a timeshare for 150.00 gift certificate in food and casino credit. Well worth the 3 hours.

 

[LMC]

Done one and will never do another one. We got I think $100 for what was suppose to be and hour and a half of our time but we were there over three hours. I finally got up and had to be very rude to them. I knew we were not going to buy a TS and we did it for the cash to use on vacation. It was not worth over three hours of our time (me, dh, two kids) What I'm saying is the time we lost in the WDW parks was more valuable to me than the $ they gave us. And, we had to basically escape captivity and then were let out of the building about two football field lengths from our car. We didn't even know which direction we were parked in. THEY WERE VERY RUDE PEOPLE. I'd get my cash or tickets up front then when your designated time is over, leave. If they won't give you your freebies up front, turn around and walk out.

 

[disneymom2003]

Yes. We've done it twice. First time was in Hawaii. Ko'olina resort. It was truly beautiful. 5 nights $299. per person ( me and hubby) rental car included. The lady kept us 10 minutes for the presentation and said" you don't really want to buy a timeshare right now do you?" We said "no" She said " I am going to let you go. Will you give me a good review when you get home?" We said "YES" We also got a gift certificate for a nice restaurant.

The second time was also Hawaii. The island of Kauai this time. 5 nights at once again a BEAUTIFUL RESORT for 4 of us. Cost $799. for a 2 bedroom villia. Once again to notch. This time we did stay the 90 minutes but said we did not want to buy and left.

For us this is not a problem and would definitely do it again.

 

[mrs.beast]

we did a marriott for 199 i think and got 4 or 5 days in newport beach and they gave tickets to disneyland, or 100 to the local mall. no pressure and we would do it again.

 

[JennCa]

Did one in Maui at the Embassy, can't remember the deal but it seemed worth it. I hope to never do one again, made my vacation slightly off since we were a bit on edge. They weren't nasty, but very high pressure and we kept bumping into the lady throughout our trip. It lasted the amount of time they said it would and my daughter was there watching a movie where we could see her.

There are other ways I would save money. The salespeople are quite effective, many people buy timeshares that didn't mean to!

Jenn

 

[toddlerhouse]

We did it once in Myrtle Beach. We "bought" the time share so we didn't have to deal with any high pressure issues. We got the champagne and all the praise... cancelled when we got back to the hotel. The salesperson didn't have a chance to give us a hard time.

 

[jamounger]

My personal best timeshare tour vacation was Aruba for 4 nights at the Marriot for 169 dollars and it included 100 dollars to use at one of the jewelry stores. We used frequent flier miles that we got for switching phone companies to fly there with. Added 3 more nights at the Holiday Inn(booked with their membership program and were upgraded to oceanview). We even did a couple tours at some of the other resorts and got casino money that we won some extra money with. With our casino winnings we ate dinner at the best brazilian steakhouse on the island. It was a lot of work but good times were had by all as it was also a kid-free vacation

 

[powellrj]

If you watch who you go with, it can be a really good deal. We have done Marriott and would do them again. If you do eat, that time doesn't count towards your 90 minutes, so we always refuse the food!

Keep with the major companies and you should be fine. I love the $199 Marriott deals, but we haven't gotten one in awhile.

 

[tomscarpt]

We did one in orlando.Took the tour for tickets to the dinner show $50.00 back then we got 4 total.The tour was not bad nice condo's lasted about 90 minutes .But here's were they got us the answer was no before we even left when it got time to leave and go into another room.(They seem to have alot of rooms shuffling people around) They tried to convince us one more time with the big boss .This was there plan "B" aproach !!! After another hour of we cannot wait to get out of here and willing to just leave with nothing.They got the hint we did get our tickets but waisted 1/2 of a day.Last one for us they were high pressure towards the end of the tour.
By the way the show was great by then we forgot all about the time share presentation.

 

[jimaok]

My wife and I have atended 2 timeshare presentations. The first was Marrott's Orlando resort. 90 minute presenatation- $100.00 Disney dollars pretty good deal- Didn't buy- wasn't presured. 2nd was for DVC- 90 minute presentation- 2 VIP fast passes to any Disney ride- Didn't buy (but probably will in the future)- was worth it.

Advice- Know something about the place you are going to. Are they hard sell? or just present their info? Marriot and Disney just present their info. If you have no intention of buying repeat to yourself (and spouse) before you go in your not going to buy. Don't let the salesman know that you're there just for the freebe- it's an insult to let him know you're wasting his time. Listen to their presentation- you'll learn something- ask questions. Believe me if you do that the 90 minutes will go fast. Tell the salesman you need to discuss it and you don't want to make a hasty descision. Marriot and Disney are very classy- they do not push (they even give you muffins, juice, coffee and soft drinks) Good luck and have fun.

 

[Mickeyherewecome123]

We did it in Wisconsin Dells once and I would do it again. We got a three night stay at a really nice resort with an indoor and outdoor waterpark for 90.00. It was well worth it. The only thing I will tell you is they said we would only be there for 90 minutes and we endedup being there for like 3 hours. THey were very nice but pushy. We did not buy the timeshare and we knew we weren't going to, we just wanted the discounted trip.

 

[maymom96]

Doing timeshare presentations was how my family was able to go to Disney in 2007. The first presentation was for our hotel. It was a high pressure, good cop/ bad cop situation. We even gave a sob story that my husband lost his job and we can't afford to do anything. We were called horrible parents and spent half the day there.
The second and third presentations were for tickets to disney. It wasn't as high pressure but we were still there for a while.
The last presentation was on Cocoa Beach at the Ron Jon resort. We were straight forward and honest with the guy. We told him we had to come for the presentation for our hotel. He understood and we were in and out. But we would have loved to buy into this time share.
In Hilton Head, we went on another ts presentation so we could go to Dufusky Island. My husband instantly said no but my sister showed some interest. So we spent some time there.
The key is to be honest (it took us 4 presentations before we finally figured out the answer for getting in and out). Show no interest, ask no questions, keep checking your watch, eat no food and make little talk. The sales person will try to become your best friend. They will ask you about your family and find some way to make a connection with you. Don't fall for it. Tell them that by FL law, you only have to stay 90 minutes and their time starts NOW.

 

[nelson84]

Yes we did it twice, you only have to spend 1.5 hours there and they feed you. Then you say "NO" and then theybring in the heavy and they reduce the price and offer an unbaleiveable deal, e were offered a timeshare free, all we had to do was pay the maintenance fees and the closing costs. I still said "NO" and they left me alone and gave me $100 and free hotel and a cruise for $200.

 

[raysnkaysmom]

Has anyone ever done a time share tour to get a cheaper priced vacation. There are several deals on ebay now and we really want to go on vacation and not break the bank.

If you have done one of these tours what was it like? I will not be buying a time share. Do your kids go on the tour/presentation with you?

Any insight would greatly be appreciated. Thanks

Havent read all the responses... but I will say I've done these about 75% of my trips. Yeah..its time consuming, and a bit high pressure... but in my opinion, totaly worth it. The kids can go with you, or stay in their kid room (video games and such). They feed you breakfast (worth the 2 hrs right there with food prices!!!) and you can usually be out of there by 9-10am.

To save money on tickets or hotel stay, I think they are absolutely the way to go....

 

[ScottOKW2K]

We've done presentations twice - once for Marriott, and the other for Cypress Pointe, both in Orlando.

The Marriott one I WISH I could do again. Their promo was for 4 nights for like $499, but it included 2 full Discovery Cove tickets. We paid to upgrade to a 2 bedroom, but once you discounted the price of the DC tickets from the package we were paying about $80/night to stay at Cypress Harbour.
I'd do this promo again in a heartbeat. Their presentation was low key and professional.

Cypress Pointe - we were staying there on cash and they offered us $150 in Disney Gift cards as an incentive. Took about 2 hours, and the salesperson was pleasant and low pressure.

So far our two experiences have not polarized us against doing this again in the future. However, the incentive would have to be worthwhile and I would probably limit myself to something like a Marriott, Hilton, etc. Would NEVER to a Westgate - heard too many horror stories about them.