Cheap room and timeshare presentation

[shadowpumpkin]

Has anyone here ever done a timeshare presentation in and around Disney for a cheap room rate? We are planning on staying onsite at Disney, but received a 4 night, 5 days offer for 1/5 of what we would pay at WL. Now I know it is not a Disney property (it is Marriott Grande Vista by Sea World) and we'd have to painfully endure the presentation, but could it be worth it? We are driving anyway so we'd have a car to drive over to the park. This is our 1st trip with the kids, age 4 and 1. We are only planning on going to MK 2 days and DTD 1 day, the day we would do the presentation....would you dare do it?

 

[Neet]

I have done this before and there was a time I swore I would never do it again because it was agonizing sitting through the presentation knowing that we were not planning on buying anything.

Well, never say never! We are planning to do a timeshare presentation in exchange for a cheaper stay in a condo. We have 4 kids and this trip is going to be expensive for us. One hotel room would not work for a family of 6, especially with kids ages 18, 12, 8, and 5.

This time when we do the presentation, I am not going to ask questions because that makes them think you are interested in purchasing. There may come a time when we decide to purchase a timeshare and I am sure I will remember the presentations I have attended. The salesmen know that the majority of the people who come through are just there for the incentives. The person may not purchase immediately after the presentation, but could very well return at a future date.

So, I say go for it. There was a thread here where someone spelled out the things to do or don't do if you decide to go on a timeshare presentation. It had some good tips. If I can find it, I will post a link here.

Neet

 

[Tykatmadismomma]

Here is my suggestion for getting out early of a presentation, If you have a little one still Breastfeeding take advantage of that when they try to talk you into buying. DD was just a few monthes old and we had a jerk who wouldnt take no. Well she was getting very fussy so I just discretly started nursing He couldnt get us out of there fast enough!!

 

[cirquelovers]

My mother did that one year so she could join us on vacation and said she'd never do it again. The presentation was only supposed to be 1 1/2 hours, it took her 3 1/2 to get out of there. She had to go through three different managers trying to hard sell her to buy! Sdaly she's a little old lady living on her social security and not exactly rich but they kept trying.

I have no experience personally, just thought I'd tell you about my moms experience, your maileage may vary

 

[dennise]

We did one last year at the Fountains, it was a beautiful resort. We told our salesperson we had no intention of buying. she was very pleasant, but she still had to get her manager to offer us a deal. We refused, we were even offered free points to try it out, but we declined. We were out of there in less than the 90 minutes, no pressure at all. ON the other side. we did one a number of years ago at Westgate, I would never to theirs again, very high pressure. We are doing one this year at Calypso Cay. We have stayed at the Amerisutes at Calypso Cay for the past three years, very good location. Hopefully it will not be high pressure, but with a timer watch we will be out in 90 minutes. I would check to see if Marriott is a high pressure organization, but even so, you are free to leave after the 90 minutes. Good luck!

 

[kilarney]

If you only commit to a 90 minute presentation, what's wrong with noting the time at the beginning and telling them you are going to leave after exactly 90 minutes? Surely they can't require you to stay longer.

 

[Belle1962]

Marriott-I would do in a heartbeat--I have done their timeshare presentations--very low pressure. WESTGATE--RUN RUN RUN.

As far as time--the presentation is 90 minutes. What they do to get 'extra time" is 1) your official time does not start until your meal is over--so while you are chatting over breakfast/lunch with Mr./Ms. Nice the clock is not running. After the presentation they will have 2 - 3 (Westgate had 3) people who have to "signoff" on your form. They will each try to sell you.

My own personal tips:
Do not eat. Look at watch as soon as they sit down at the table with you. Be polite (yes most of these people are heavy salepeople but they are salespeople This is how they make their living and support their family.) Be upfront. (I am not interested in buying but I exchange to this area frequently so iI wanted to see the facility. repeat several times your lack of interest if necessary) Give them a 30 minute warning--"I see we are almost done. Will there be anyone after you that I have to see? Maybe we should head over there now so we don't run over the 90 minutes." Don't think a cranky kid will get you out of there any faster. They seem able to tune out the kids and will keep on pushing. Don't ask questions a simple "nice" or short comment as you tour is all that is required.

 

[2xDisneyDad]

We did this a few years back at Grande Vista and thought it was very low pressure. It is also definitely one of the nicest timeshares down there, IMO. Had a lot of kids activities as well, everyone enjoyed themselves!

So I would say go for it.

 

[spartn1]

We can say no, and are looking for someplace to stay for 6 days in June.

 

[Mouse Skywalker]

Greetings Everyone: I'm moving my post over here because it seems like more people are posting. So do people think the Marriott sales pitch is not so bad?

I'm looking for some advice. I got a call from Marriott offering me a deal because I'm a Marriott Rewards partner. It's a 2 bedroom villa in Marriott's Grande Vista or Cypress Harbor for 5 days/4 nights for $398 and they give $100 to use for park passes, etc. But you have to sit through the 90 min timeshare pitch on your last day.

Does anyone have any thoughts on how high pressure the timeshare pitch is? We were already planning a trip to Orlando this summer, and were considering trying out Discovery Cove. So this would be good for that. I'm hesistant about the sales pitch though. It's a chunk of vacation time for the pitch, and I don't want to end our vacation on a down note if they make us feel bad about the pitch.

However, it's a good deal on the room, would save us a little money, and we could put that money towards Discovery Cove (which is sooooo pricy).

I'd love to hear the experts thoughts here.

 

[vero]

Hi, can someone tell me please how you can get one of this timeshares offers? Sorry for my poor english. Vero.

 

[carlbarry]

When you go to one of these presentations, please remember one thing: NEVER BUY TIMESHARES RETAIL! Much lower prices are ALWAYS available as resales! Do yourself a favor and keep chanting that silently while the salesperson is talking.

 

[lovinpoohbear]

I did the Marriott 90 minute tour of Horizon. It was low pressure and they did not keep us longer than 90 minutes. This was in November of 06 and if I can remember they gave us either a 100 or 150 gift card to DTD. Marriott has a good reputation and they told us that even if we didn't want to purchase than that they would hope we would consider them for the future.

 

[powellrj]

we did a Marriott one several years ago and would do another one. It was very low pressure and it was interesting!

 

[carlbarry]

Some companies are better than others. Fairfield/Wyndham are known for grueling, three hour sessions.