Ever listen to a Time Share Presentation ~to get free hotel or other freebie?

[angiepangie8]

Has anyone listened to a time share presentation in order to get a free night stay at an Orlando or nearby hotel (or) some other freebie?

What Time Share was it?
Where did you stay?
Was it worth it?
Thanks

 

[DawnM]

No, not worth it. Hated it. They said it would be 90 minutes, it ended up being almost 4 hours and some heated discussions and then we were told we had to go 5 miles down the road and stand in a line to get our re-imbursement. Adding that on was another hour.

I will never do it again.

Dawn

 

[Twingle]

We did one at the Vistiana (sp?) near Disney. It was to get cash, not a free night.

We were told it would be about 90 minutes, we were there over 3 hours and the guide was beyond angry when we decided not to purchase.

Nope, not worth it to us - will not do it again.

 

[Andy B]

On our first trip in 1996 we went to one at Orange Lake, we were due to stay there anyway a few days later but got free Sea World tickets for going, we were tempted but didn't have the resourses to pay and didn't think we would be going back enough to justify it, not too sure now.

 

[Disney Brat]

We did listen to a time share presentation, not in Orlando though, in Vegas. They promised that it would only be 90 mins, but four hours later we were leaving. We got free show tickets, and $100 food credit at the Luxor. I hated the presentation, felt very pressured and were made to feel bad for not buying into it. But the one good thing was that we ate at a very fancy resturant, where Criss Angel was eating, so we got to meet him....so when I think of it now, it was definatly worth it...lol

 

[ADP]

I used to listen to them all the time when they were offering some great give-a-ways, but it seems lately they've really trimmed back what they are offering.

There used to be a day when you could get free Disney hoppers, free Circque tickets, $100 cash, etc. Now all I see is $40 vouchers, $50 off a Disney park hopper, free midevil times tickets. To me these deals are not worth the 2 hours of torcher.

 

[FayeW]

We did one at Cypress Point. We got $100 off our park tickets. We were there probably 2 hours, including the breakfast (they don't count the time you are eating in your 90 mins, so if you want to be out in 90 mins, eat before you get there!)

We were staying at the resort with a week we bid on at skyauction. It is pretty hard to sell people something when they are already staying there for less than 1/2 the cost of the yearly maintenance!

We had no problem saying no. I didn't mind doing it and I would say it was worth it. Just go in with the attitude that you are leaving in 90 mins. Tell them you have someplace to be and keep checking your watch. Remind them of how much time they have left, if you need to.

 

[tinaninea]

We did one that had 2 presentations. The first was for some sort of club membership to get discount hotel reservations, vacations, etc. It was for 3 nights at daytona beach. We didn't have to do it until our last day there and we had not the best room with the most beautiful ocean view! I fell asleep at night to the sound of the waves. Anyway on presentation day, we were scheduled to make our way to Orlando for part 2 of the trip. So we went to the presentation. It was in an office building and we sat at a table with a salesperson while one man at the front explained the discount membership thingy. Exactly 90 minutes! At the end our salesman asked us a few questions. We are young and I'm in school. He was super nice to us, said "I know you can't afford this and you're not ready for it, lets get you on your way!" An additional 10 minutes. Well worth it. And we were feeling pretty good about ourselves.
Part 2 - Checked in at Summer Bay, went to Disney. Day 2 @ Orlando- Presentation day... I thought it would never end. At least 4 hours and a totally insane salesman later, it was over! I thought this man was going to force us to sign the papers. At least the supervisor he sent over at the end could hardly speak english, so we just had to say no a thousand times in 10 minutes before she let us go. Not at all worth it!!!

 

[Brian Noble]

No. Life is far too short.

 

[angiepangie8]

Thanks for the feedback everyone! I was considering looking into doing this per a friends advice who had done it. She mentioned it to me about a year ago and now and I think it was Fairfield but I'm not certain if I am remembering correctly. It was her second time doing this and the second time she and her husband actually did end up buying.

Now after reading the above advice~ I think that maybe we should just look for some value priced hotels just outside of WDW on the night B-4 our WDW Resort Check in.

Any good ideas of where might me a less expensive place to stay b-4 overnight to get some rest B-4 our big Day at WDW. It would be nice if they had a free breakfast so we can just eat and go bright and early. Also we have DS~8 and DD~5 too so a pool or playground might be nice.

Any ideas?

 

[angiepangie8]

No. Life is far too short.

ok ~bad idea

not gonna do it

 

[Brian Noble]

There are literally tons of them. What do you have in mind as a budget, and what time of year?

 

[muffyn]

Thanks for the feedback everyone!
Any good ideas of where might me a less expensive place to stay b-4 overnight to get some rest B-4 our big Day at WDW.

Any ideas?

you can try priceline, we have gotten some very nice deals there.. OR you can try renting a condo for the night. there ARE some 2-3 bedroom condos for only $59 a night (VRBO.com)

also to your original question. we bought a 7 nite 2 bedroom package for silver springs off of Ebay ( we knew exactly what we were gettign into) for $249
. we had to do the 90 minute tour.... they weren't too high pressure, the trick is NOT to say anything that could keep them giving excuses to try to SHOW you why YOU are wrong & they are right that you should own the property. push the point you are NOT interested, you don't have vacation time, etc etc. they eventually give up... they keep coming up with lower & lower pricing,, but stretched out to infinity for payments on it to keep the monthly payment down. ( I was stunned to see just how many people signed)

btw, we did own a time share once, but never could justify the price of even paying the maintenance dues, as rental homes are so much more affordable.

 

[bstnsprts]

There not really that bad unless you allow it to be that way. Have your breakfast, then as soon as the sales person arrives take out your watch and let them know they are on the clock. Next let him know you have absolutely no interest in buying. Most of the time they are working two families at once and after that you won't see munch of them at all. Now, I would not due any overseas, but we do have laws here that these companies must follow. The Marriot, Hilton, ect. are not going to risk there reputation using high pressure sales tactics. If this happens ask for a supervisor and report it right away. Now I'm not telling you that these sales people are going to be happy with you, but you can't let that bother you. It's all part of the game. Their trying to sell you an over priced time share, and your taking advantage of what they need to offer to get people to purchase these. You can make some real easy money for just a couple of hours of your time.

 

[iloveokw]

We were already Vacation Club Members so I thought "this is a no brainer - they won't talk us into it". HA - that is what they DO for a living. We did the Hilton Grand Vacation club deal near Sea World - we signed and then came to our senses and cancelled in time. It took longer than they said and my husband said "NEVER AGAIN"!

 

[browntrout]

We did the one at Cypress Point 4 years ago. It was sort of funny I'm the spender and my wifes the conservative one. They had her hook line and sinker within 1/2 hour. it took me a few minutes to talk some sense into her and once they realized there's no way I would sign it went fine. We got a $75.00 gift certificate to Downtown Disney and the free breakfast. All in all it wasn't bad I would do it again. As was said previously why in the world would someone spend tens of thousands of $$$ on a place they're staying in for $80.00 a night???

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Most timeshares will state a 90 minute requirement to get whatever they are offering

However... When you get there you will be invited to go into a lounge for snacks, coffee, etc.

When you are finally taken to the salesperson is when the clock starts. You will be invited, after a movie or something, to tour the property. Ths will be in a golf cart. You will be far from the sales office when the 90 minutes is up.

Once you get back you will still have more to go through, possibly a "manager" coming in to offer a better deal than the original salesperson.

Actual total time from arrival to departure will be closer to 2.5 hours rather than 90 minutes. Add in travel time both ways and how much time will you be spending?

Calculate your vacation time and hourly cost.

Take the total number of hours from the time you leave home until the time you return. Then subtract out the time sleeping or otherwise spent in your room. This gives you actual vacation time in hours.

Then take the total cost of your trip, transportation, tickets, lodging, meals, etc. Divide this by the number of hours. This gives you a cost per hour for your actual vacation time.

Now look at what you are getting, and consider how much it is really costing you.

BTW, almost any Disney ticket you get from a timeshare promotion (especially if you get a voucher) is NOT upgradeable; I know this as I am involved in selling tickets at WDW.

 

[angiepangie8]

There are literally tons of them. What do you have in mind as a budget, and what time of year?

We are going in June

I think we will just try to find a nicely priced hotel, under $100 if possible. ( I really like the $59 price tag that Muffyn mentioned. I will have to check out priceline.

We would like to be as close to WDW as possible so that we can get checked in to the POP as early as possible the next morning and still make it by rope drop to MK.


Thanks for all the feedback!

 

[Brian Noble]

The Extended Stay Deluxe LBV will be right around $100, is nice, and is close.

My advice: don't squeeze every last penny out of this night. There are some real dog hotels out there.

 

[tgropp]

We did it twice . Once in the early 90's we went to the Radisson on 192. It was well over the 1.5 hours and I could see what they were up to, very high pressure and then different agents lowering the price, so I told them that we were interested but I would have to phone my lawyer at home and see if I could buy into it even though I had filed for bankruptcy and whether the other creditors would approve of it. I was gone in 10 minutes.
Two years ago while staying at a friends timeshare at Ocean Pointe Marroiott in West Palm Beach they would phone up every day and ask. After the fourth day they offered $200.00 so we went. Right up front I told him that we would not be buying and he was quite good about it as it was an interesting presentation. We knew that we would be buying DVC instead.