Has anyone gotten free vacations through timeshare presentations?

[JAHokie46]

Either Orlanda for the purpose of going to Disney World or anywhere else in the U.S.

I understand how they work... and that you are required to go to a high pressured sales meeting/presentation/tour for 2-3 hours, and I know some people have had great experiences and some people bad.

I just don't know how to find these free vacation packages. I've tried googling but that mostly brings up timeshare sales companies or sites . I think I may have checked Wyndham, but that requires you to be 28 years old. We're not quite there yet. And I couldn't find much else. I'm not really interested in the "only pay $60/night if you attend the presentation", just the ones where it's actually free.

We neither have the money or interest in buying, we're just trying to actually find out websites/companies/promotions that are legit in giving the free 2-3 or 4-5 day vacations in exchange for our participation in a sales promotion.

Any help is greatly appreciated!!!

 

[raysnkaysmom]

From my experience.... it's usually just cheap.. AFTER you attend one of the presentations... they sometimes give you a 'free' vacation... where you still pay taxes..
Other than that...not sure

 

[TNKBELL]

Here's a link to a site where they have very affordable vacations(starting at $15 per night) with a timeshare presentation.
Link:
http://www.stayhereplayhere.com/Orl...operties.htm?gclid=CJOsv5fh0ZUCFQwuHgodfA0giw

 

[pixiewings71]

We have always got them from filling out sweepstakes in our local mall. Or by signing up for freebies at a baseball game. We've never had to pay for our "free" vacations but we always go within driving distance. We get these all the time.......in fact we made a small purchase with Shell Vacations (we did the Explorer club to try it out) and we have received 1 free vacation already this year and we just got another offer last night in the mail. They are out there, try signing up to win a car and you'll get a call.

 

[DVC-Don]

One of my BiL's went to a timeshare presentation in the Boston area this past summer just to get free round trip airline tickets. Turns out there are a lot of restrictions like dates had to be presented 45 to 60 days in advance in writing and he needed at least one back up date. Turned out he just gave up and bought tickets on his own.

 

[disneymom2003]

We have done this a few times. It has been very cheap but not free. We only stay at nice resorts (Marriott Weston, and the next one Hilton) We went to Hawaii twice. First time Marriott resort in Ko'Olina. Beautiful resort. 5 nights. $299. per person for the 2 of us. This was for a one bedroom villa. We will be going back to Orlando next spring. 5 of us. We are all over 18 so that is 5 adults. Hilton resort 1 1/2 miles from WDW. $99 for 4 nights in a 1 bedroom villa. Yes you have to listen to their presentation but it is worth it to us for such a great deal to stay at a fabulous resort.

 

[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.

 

[mommisanchez]

We did it in Key West, they offered a bogo for a cruise to a Fort that was 150 each. It was nice, no pressure.

 

[HM]

We've done Marriott a couple of times. WONDERFUL. I would suggest them, as they are low pressure. We did end up buying in Hilton Head years after one of our tours. Their trips are usually around $250 for a three night stay and tour.

We have also done Fairfield in Williamsburg. AWFUL. The trip was $99 and the room and meals we got were very nice (others at the office were not as fortunate in thier hotel though). However, the tour itself lasted three hours and I ended up in tears when we refused to buy and they got all mean on us.

 

[lisadr]

Just a quick note. Most of those timeshares require you to make a certain amount of money per year just to attend. Some are 50K and up. I guess they caught on to people looking for free vacations, and don't want to waste their time if you can't afford to purchase one-lol.


Good luck either way.

 

[Crystal0608]

I did one this summer for a 2 night/$100 weekend at the beach. The presentation wasn't bad, but the room they put us in was bad-1/2 a/c on roof/ 1/2 city view. We didn't use the pools b/c they walked tours through there ALL day. Not worth it for this specific Westgate....but I have done plenty of presentations for $60-$100 worth of cash/tickets. If its a rainy day or just want some freebies its a good deal- you sit in a/c, get free soda/snacks and later go out w/o paying anything. Just be prepared to say no A LOT & get smart comments, I just smile & keep saying no thank you.

 

[pixiewings71]

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.

This is not always the case. When we actually made our decision to purchase some trial points our whole presentation took about 2 hours. Start to finish. We did not tour any properties because there were none available to tour and they had NO clue we were able to purchase anything. In fact, when we went in we went in with the "no thanks" tattooed on our foreheads. LOL We had no intent to purchase but the Explorer points were at a GREAT deal and gave us a lot of options so we went for it. We have received another free hotel stay and $100 in Best Buy gift cards since we joined, they want us to join for real instead of just being in the Explorer club. That visit took us about an hour and we got a 100% free hotel stay, it was 4 days/3 nights at a hotel near DL. We had to pay for food and gas to get there since at the time we had AP's. Just be aware that they can go over and they will try to pressure you into buying. Just be firm with your no thank you's and you will be fine. Oh and fyi, we just got another free vacation offer in the mail, free hotel we just have to get there.

 

[Castlelvr]

I've done this many times with much success. Maui, 5 nights at the Ritz Carlton to view the Maui Marriott for $350; Las Vegas for a weekend free a couple of times; Palm Springs for a weekend for $59 and now I am doing Orlando soon for 4 nights at the Hilton Grand Vacation Village for $350 for a 2b/2b condo. You do have to sit through the presentation, but I think it is highly worth it. I was told that I get so many offers because I belong to so many frequent flyers - so maybe you should just sign up for all the frequent flyer plans you can. You just have to be able to say NO!

 

[JAHokie46]

Thanks for all the responses!

So far out of the few I've seen the highest income requirement is $60K and we are set there. The only other restriction I've seen (at Wyndham) is age.

I'll be on the lookout for any "contests" for free car/vacation/other stuff. With the Marriot ones... do you just go to the Marriot Timeshare website, call, and ask about any timeshare presentation promotions?

Any other suggestions on how to actually find timeshare promotions?

 

[S. C.]

Old thread

 

[Danibelle]

Thanks for all the responses!

So far out of the few I've seen the highest income requirement is $60K and we are set there. The only other restriction I've seen (at Wyndham) is age.

I'll be on the lookout for any "contests" for free car/vacation/other stuff. With the Marriot ones... do you just go to the Marriot Timeshare website, call, and ask about any timeshare presentation promotions?

Any other suggestions on how to actually find timeshare promotions?

yes, very old thread