Hilton/Marriott VC Presentations

[walter]

As a DVC member, has anyone taken advantage of any specials by these two other VC and any comments? Someone gave our name to a rep from both of these companies, but the deals for for listening to their presentation do not seem so enticing. Does anyone know the difference between DVC and the Hilton type of program? Thanks

 

[WDWguru]

NOooo!! Don't go to the dark side! Seriously, though... we stayed away from the DVC presentation for YEARS because we were scared of the high pressure presentation. When we finally did it, we were so impressed we were lulled into trying the Hilton one when we were in Vegas. MISTAKE! Talk about the epitome of high pressure! When we said no, they kept us another HOUR and passed us on to three additional people before they'd let us go.

Not to knock the Hilton plan itself - it's a points system somewhat similar to DVC but much less flexible, but just wasn't for us. I'd recommend researching the program on the TUG site and buying resale if you decide it's for you. I don't care what incentive they were offering for doing the presentation, I wouldn't do it. And you can certainly find resales MUCH cheaper than buying direct from Hilton.

I'm sure Dean will post here with some additional info on Hilton's program - he's the resident timeshare expert!

 

[Dean]

I don't know that much about the Hilton. As with DVC, don't confuse the buying aspect with the using aspect. We own at a couple of Marriott's as well as a couple of other II resorts and are pleased with our options at present.

 

[Richyams]

We got a card in the mail from Marriot. It offered three nights for $99 in a one bedroom at their Vista Grand???(I am not sure of the name). It was just barely off property. The room was small like the BWV unit. It was a pleasent resort, but no real personality.

The 90 minute presentation took about 60 minutes and was ABSOLUTELY NO PRESSURE. None at all. Already owning DVC, we leasently said 'no'.

The card came at a time when I had relatives visiting WDW in a couple months, it came in handy.

I tell you, even though it was very close to WDW property, as a matter of fact, kind of near OKW, when you left the park to go back to the hotel, it was like driving to another state. It definitely feel OFF PROPERTY.

 

[sparkspeak]

I looked into the Marriott program before buying DVC. There are lots of extra costs so be careful making comparisons.

 

[Dean]

The extra costs with Marriott are relatively few and include the cost of II membership, lockoff fee if applicable, Florida Club if applicable. Still it's generally much cheaper to own Marriott over the long haul than DVC. DVC is better for WDW, Marriott is better for most other options. They complement each other nicely, that's why I own both.

 

[KNWVIKING]

We did the Marriott a couple years ago, 4 nights At $199.00,( actually $125.00 because of a $75.00 credit they threw in) at the new resort on the southern end of International Drive- near Sea World. It was a nice resort,they were still adding to it,limited dining on property, but hands down better then the Westgate we stayed at a year earlier. The sales pitch was what we expected. First 30 minutes or so the salesman chit chatted, becoming your newest best friend. The ploy is that you'd never say no to your best friend. We explained from the beginning we were DVC to which he replied that the Marriott program works hand in hand with DVC. After three NO's he finally got the message and suddenly I don't think he wanted to be my friend anymore. I did like the Marriott plan and their resorts but it just wasn't a financial option with two boys in college.

 

[ralphd]

Marriott is one of the better timeshare options. They have nice resorts in good locations. The annual fees are still higher than the average, but are not unreasonable for the quality. The sales presentations are low pressure and they give Marriott points for attendance.

ralphd

 

[Cruelladeville]

Marriott does have some differences from DVC that we were unprepared for, namely, that in order to stay at any other Marriott resort, it costs money, it's not free, like DVC is. For example, Grand Vista is just around the corner from Cypress Harbor (both Marriott resorts/timeshares), and it was going to cost me $69, I believe, to make a ressie. That was a real shock! Nevertheless, once you resign yourself to the quirks, it can be very nice. We got our two bedroom unit in the summer for $10,000 at Grand Vista, far cheaper than a comparable unit at Disney. It has to be said, though, that the people who had purchased directly from Marriott two years earlier paid $18,000, so DVC is a far better "investment" in terms of regaining your money when you sell. Marriott is a good value only if you don't plan on selling until you have gotten a lot of use out of it.

 

[Bubbleboy]

My wife and I had a chance to visit and listen to all three presentations this past April. We exchanged into Marriott Cypress Harbour and listened to their presentation. The following day was with DVC. Two days later we sat through Hilton's presentation. Here is what we found.
Marriott. Very good in exchanges with other resorts (Both Marriott and II). Impressed with Cypress Harbour and Grand Vista, however not so impressed with Royal or Sabal Palms. Sales rep was not willing to discuss EOY option.
Hilton. The point system is similar to DVC and offered flexibility at your own resort, however lots of misc. charges for exchanges within Hilton as well as II. Lots of pressure to buy (Been to 8-10 presentations and this was the most we received to date). Could not get a straight answer on how the third party exchange system works in my benefit.
DVC - Point system allows flexibility through out Disney. Able to purchase the the required amount of points so that we could have a very nice trip every other year. Located on Diseny property. Concerned with 40 year lease.
Family discussed options and decided DVC fit our travel plans the best. We currently own a EOY condo in ME that gets us two exchange weeks in return, so a condo that was good on external exchanges was not a high priority. The prices and maintenance fees were all roughly the same and so price was not an issue. It ended up coming down to were we wanted to stay and who we wanted to deal with. Disney and DVC were heads above the rest and made our decision to buy very easy.

 

[KNWVIKING]

Question for the old timers:

Basically DVC sells itself,there is no sales pressure from the guides. How was it back in the early days of DVC when they resorted to offering AP's ? Were the guides more hardsell then ?

 

[jcanary]

We bought within the first year of the original DVC. There was never any pressure. We had been at the Poly and we decided to check it out. We loved it. we sat down got all of the numbers and then went home and thought about it for a month and then contacted our guide and bought. We received the free passes which was a nice incentive, but it was the accomodations and the fact that we just dropped about $8.000 on the one trip we were on, which could have used that to buy vacations for 50 years. We have always been happy. Just waiting to buy more points.

 

[Richyams]

They have always been ZERO pressure.

I think that some have used the interest rate as a closing argument, but never had I heard that they were forceful or in any way bad or uncomfortable.

We went looking to buy, so pressure was kind of moot. We has been to a presentation in St Maarten the previous year and wsere subjected to a hard sell presentation. We turned them down and went home and looked into timeshares some more, we found some information and basically lost interest.

When we went to WDW in '92, we started asking in Disney had a timeshare. We were told "NO" a few times, believe it or not.

We in front of the main gate at the MK when I asked someone else, he told me to hold on and went a made a phone call, ten minutes later there was a van pulling up to take us to OKW. Hard selling wasn't really needed with us.

 

[Regina]

Old timer here!

In 1991, I saw a mention of the Disney Vacation Club in a magazine and called to inquire about it. Guess what? I'm from NY and they couldn't tell me a thing over the phone.

We had a trip planned for early December, so we took the tour. Mind you, OKW (or DVC as it was originally called), hadn't even opened yet.

After the presentation, we sat down with our guide. Once we made our decision to join, they sent in two other CM's to talk to us. Their job was to make certain that we did not feel pressured. It actually was pretty funny. Here we're ready to sign, and we have 3 CM's who have to make 110% certain that it's not due to any sales pressure.

Now back to the topic. A few years ago, we took advantage of a cheapo Marriott deal. It included passes to Universal. Once we told our guide that we were DVC, he understood that it was highly unlikely that we would join their system. No pressure.

 

[KNWVIKING]

I think I've read of 4 different incentives Marriott has offered to get people to their property. I wonder how they decide what offer to make to what individual.

 

[JudithM]

We bought DVC in 1993. I have always said the sales presentation was the least pressured sale we have ever been part of. We took the tour about seven months before we purchased. At the time we took the tour we were not financially prepared to make the purchase. That was fine with the guide. She kept us informed about changes like price increases.

When we purchased DVC, it was theeasiest closing I've been to - Disney does not let you sign anything without fully understanding it plus if there are any laws/rules specific to your state, then another CM came in & explained that information.