Just back... if on budget do timeshare pres!

[NotGrumpy]

Hi all,
I thought this may be of interest to some of you budgeting gurus. I know most of you know about timeshare, but may not have experienced it.

My husband and I are from Australia and our exchange rate is very poor against the US dollar. This may be one of the reasons why timeshare makes a difference.

If you have time to spare (yes it does take 1/2 a day), you may be able to earn $80 (yes US) or get free tickets. We were offerred Disney Dollars and tickets to Universal Studios as well as many of the dinner show packages.

Although tedious, usually you get a breakfast out of it and if you are all interested in property/real estate then it is somewhat interesting.

We were "conned" into the timeshare presentation we had to do, but if I we went to Orlando again I think I would PLAN a timeshare presentation to earn/save some dollars.

HTH

[ncbyrne]

The only timeshare presentation we did on our last trip was the DISNEY presentation. We spent a couple hours previewing the Boardwalk property and sitting in an office listening the the sales pitch. I only agreed to do it because I read on these boards that someone was offered a free lunch at one of the Boardwalk restaurants for taking the tour. Well, we didn't get lunch, or any other incentive. We did NOT sign on the dotted line, but it was a fun way to spend a few hours on our last day. Not all presentations give you freebies...but if you really know in advance you are NOT buying, be sure you know in advance what you're getting or you will waste your time.
BTW....did you buy?

[NotGrumpy]

No we didn't buy any timeshare. I don't think we were at all tempted as we have many other investments which we need the funds for (ie the opportunity cost was too high!).

And in addition to that, the quality of the fittings was not what I was use to. It wasn't a Disney timeshare thing, it was off-site.

Apparently the company that runs out of Belz gives a pretty good deal (freebie).

As mentioned before, as long as you are fully aware of what you are getting yourself in for (ie a sales pitch which lasts for 1/2 a day) then go for it. It's a good way to save/earn some $$.

[ritu_card]

Hi Notgrumpy,

Did you by any cahnce attend Westgate Resorts time share presentation. They have offered me 4 night sata nd 2 Disney Parks tics and local coupon book for $170 for attent\ding their presentaion. I like to know how was ur experience if you went with WESTGATE RESAORT. I checked their website ...the ersort looks very luxurios..............but i am still not sure if we should spend 90-120 min listening to their hard sell presentation.

Thanks.

[ducklite]

Originally posted by ritu_card
Hi Notgrumpy,

Did you by any cahnce attend Westgate Resorts time share presentation. They have offered me 4 night sata nd 2 Disney Parks tics and local coupon book for $170 for attent\ding their presentaion. I like to know how was ur experience if you went with WESTGATE RESAORT. I checked their website ...the ersort looks very luxurios..............but i am still not sure if we should spend 90-120 min listening to their hard sell presentation.

Thanks.

Last I heard, Westgate is one of the highest pressure of all, and they will keep you there for up to three hours, and really give you a hard time about leaving.

Marriott is supposed to be a lot like DVC, much less pressure.

Anne

[ritu_card]

Thanks for the info.

Would you have Marriots website where they have offered their timeshare offer. Or a ph number wuld be good too.

Thanks again.

Ritu

[robinb]

Ritu,

check out http://www.tug2.net/ads/mpromo.shtml which is the Timeshare Users Group's owner referral page. You go on the tour and get the goodies and the owner gets a kickback from the timeshare company. There are many Orlando timeshares to choose from.

[ritu_card]

Thanks Robin.

[leebee]

Both of my sisters (and their husbands) did the Marriott timeshare pitch- one bought, one didn't. They did them at separate times, so we all got to go on vacation. I think we paid $300 for four or five nights in a two bedroom luxury villa, with q-sized sofa bed in living room. Each time, the couple who booked was given two one-day passes to WDW, which Disney exchanged for a discount on the park hoppers they were buying. The timeshare talk was advertised as 90 mins, and by FL state law (hope they're better than their election laws!) you only have to stay for the talk for the advertised amount of time and no longer. Talk was scheduled for 7 am and we were all on our wat to WDW by 9am. Good deal!! And really no hard sell!

[2minnies]

We had the same experience with Marriott....no pressure and out quickly. Beautiful resort.

[stlrod]

Ritu,

I am a Marriott owner. Go to www.mvci.com They may list specials there. Marriott at one-time required owner referalls (I don't think they do anymore.) If so, e-mail me your name and mumber and I'll have a Marriott represenative give you a call. Marriott is not no pressure like DVC but it is low pressure.

Rod

[ritu_card]

What is DVC??

THANKS

[leslieh]

We did the westgate lakes 2-3 years ago. We already own at Disney Vacation Club (great) and needed the free stay. It was an owner referral deal. The pressure was terrible. THe guy was a jerk, we were there over 3 hours. He knew we werent interested but just kept going on and on and on. But the place is very nice. Friends bought a resale/foreclosure from them. My cousin owned Westgate towers and was so mad she let it go back without payments.
Weve done a few others in the area with no problem. Blue Tree, etc.

[BethR]

Hi ritu_card!

DVC is the Disney Vacation Club - a Disney Time Share.
Hope that this helps! :)

[ritu_card]

Thanks Beth and Leslie for the info.

HUMmmmmmmmmmm...i am really confused here................earlier westgate offerd me the pacage(4nig stay, 2 Disney tics and coupon) for $170. i called them to cancel as I got the messages about their being pushy..........and the the guy at WGate came down to $140 and then to $99. Looking at the price and the pakage the offer sure does sound very attractive but still don't know what to do.PLEASE HELP SOMEONE TO DECIDE.........what would you do in this situation.

If we tell the person who gives the tour that we have a appointment at certain time and we have to be there......do they still keep on going with their hard push. i mean if we tell tham that we only have 90 min and then we willHAVE to leave ..do you think this will work.

This is really driving me crazy to choose................the offer is too good but then can't decide if it is worth spending 2 hrs with those sales men. Please Help!!!

Thanks,
Ritu

[stlrod]

Ritu,

Only you can decide what will work for you. I think you have just gotten a taste of the tactics that will be used. You called to cancel. Did you cancel? If not, then you're probably going to have a hard time getting out of there at the conclusion of 90 minutes. Like others, I have heard nothing but horror stories about Westgate presentations. The salespeople have been trained to deal with every objection or excuse. The only thing that might work is walking in with a stopwatch and showing it to the salesperson the moment he or she says Hello and then letting him know he has 90 minutes or whatever time frame you committed to. That should set the right tone for the next 90 minutes.

[MCazer]

Do this... go in with a stop watch, Really I mean it.

Tell them you know that they can only keep you there 90 minutes by law. When the stop watch has hit the 80 minute mark, tell them you want them to validate your stay. Which they have to do, or they can supposedly charge you the full amount.

It may also be good to have a video camera with you. This you can turn on and point at them if they don't finish up. Be prepared to say NO, then be prepared to say NO to the next guy they bring out. They then try to sell you a resale. Or have you put money down as a hold on a future sale.

My husband ripped up the papers in front of the man, and told him, that he really didn't want him to walk into the room with all the others "future" owners and badmouth them.

It worked. They signed and we walked out. They are tuff, very tuff and this was Westlake. Nice place though.

Good Luck!

[ritu_card]

Thanks for the suggestion.................Guess i will have to do something like that

Ritu

[silly sally]

Hi Everyone

How is everyone today? I am great. I have a question. I was going to stay that the westgate. I myself think it looks like a nice place to stay. I love the hot tub in our bedroom. It just looks nice. OK, here it is i am going to pay full price, because i have chosen to stay here. I do not want to do a presentation. I just want to go and relax for a couple of days and then go to the timeshare i rented at Vistana resorts. Will anyone bother me at either one of these places. I really want to go and relax and not be bothered by anyones sales pitch. I can see if you want to do it, but i don't. Will they leave me alone?:smooth:

[lawgs]

just tell them at check in....you do not want to get a call from them about a "sales tour" since you are not there on any promotion......

they usually try to "present" the resort to anyone who stays there...

we always get an invite for a tour when we exchange into other resorts......sometimes we do them sometimes we do not...depends on what they are offering...

they even do this at our home resort ....orange lake country club...

just be very firm that you are here to relax and do not want to be "invited" to take a tour

[catwho]

Please, if you are going to do time share demos just for the tickets, don't. The people who are doing the time shares most always earn a *very* small salary and commission or commission only. When you sit through a 2 or 3 hour presentation knowing that you aren't in the market for a time share you are wasting time that they could be selling to someone who may legitimately be wanting to buy a time share or who could be talked in to it.

Please don't come down on me for this plea. I have a friend that sells time shares and when she spends half a morning doing her sales pitch to someone who only wants the incentives, it actually costs her money. They are people too trying to make a living. Some are pros and can spot the "moochers" in a heart beat and will soften their sales pitch and shorten the program to get them out of their offices and others are selling time shares because they are taking any job they can get.

Sorry to offend. This is just a sore spot with me.

:earsgirl:

58 more days!

[tink2dw]

I would NOT recommend
Westgate Vacation Villas (not Westgate Lakes)

http://www.disboards.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=14259

[Luv2Roam]

I'll "mooch" off Disney as much as possible. Do they offer anything for going through a DVC presentation? We don't need passes. We just bought AP's.

[ritu_card]

Thanks everyone for your support and suggestions.

Finally we have made resevations in a 3* Hotel thrur Priceline(got it for $22+ $5). Thanks a lot Robinb for the link to bidding.

I am still working with the westgate resort to cancel my resevation with them for next week. The person in charge of handling the cancellation has been out of her office (as said by one of the representative)since morning and it is making me nervous. I hope she is not ignoring me and hope get a call from her soon as only she can credit my $170 back to my credit card.

Anyway thanks a lot for all ur help.

6 more days to go!!!!!!!

[joshua4]

We did this a few years ago at Westgate to get the cheap condo. My husband and I went to the am presentation (you both have to go). We told them from the beginning that we only had a babysitter until 930 (which was 90 minutes later). At that point, we said we need to go "now" politely. She tried to get us to stay. I reminded her (with a smile on my face) that Florida sales presentation law was very clear about necessary disclosures and that I am sure that she did not want me to place a call to the Secretary of State's office with a complaint. (Helps to be a lawyer sometimes). That worked nicely.

By the way, the 2 bedroom condo we had was really nice. The grounds were ok as well (lots of pools, ducks for the baby to throw bread at, etc.) and at the time it included free breakfast by the pool most mornings.

Good luck with whatever you choose!

[robinb]

Ritu:

Good luck in getting your refund! Let us know how things go.

You got a great rate using Priceline :D. Which hotel did you end up with?

[susy]

With all the good rates out there, I wouldn't bother with a timeshare! A friend of mine did it back in Sept at Calypso Cay. They went up to orlando (from s fl) for the weekend to visit her family (down from Mass). They got an offer for a "free room", so they took it. Well..... that was $8,000 ago!!!! Mind you, they didn't even have the money to go into any parks and they don't have money to go into any parks this May when they stay at their new "timeshare". They think they made a great deal (with payments over $200 a month). After all ,they get to stay in a luxury resort for a week a year for the rest of their lives!!! In my opinon that money would be better off in a mutual fund every month. With a family income well below 50k , only one car (that barely works), and a home in desperate need of repair, I feel my friends were "swept away" by the beautiful models and how much "sense " the salespeople made . My point is simple. If you need a free room , you can't afford a timeshare. It is a luxury. Take those stopwatches. These people are good at what they do.