Is this a timeshare offer?

[maxiesmom]

Today in the mail I received something from the Sheraton Vistana Villages Orlando. It is an offer for 5 days in a 1 bedroom villa for $269. Plus I would receive a $100 Darden gift card.

Anyone else get this? If it is a timeshare offer, how much time do you think I would waste having to see presentations or fending them off? Is this something that screams Stay Away???

 

[disneysteve]

It sounds like a timeshare offer. There should be fine print that states the terms of the offer.

I would absolutely positively not do it under any circumstances. The only timeshare presentation that I would ever do is DVC. They are super nice, low pressure, and give you free ice cream .

We made the mistake of doing the Marriott timeshare thing a few years ago. We are Marriott Reward gold members and stay with them all the time. I figured it would be okay but it was horrendous. They're lucky I didn't strangle the guy. I did write a very nasty letter to Marriott and I think I got some extra reward points for our trouble.

 

[maxiesmom]

I have read the enclosed letter multiple times, and no where does it mention having to go to any meeting or presentation. It states it is a preferred invitation and gives me an invitation number to reference when booking. I recently signed up to Starwood, I wonder if it has to do with that?

 

[maxiesmom]

Just did a search and it does sound like a timeshare offer. However, some say you are not forced to attend any presentation. That they will offer, and that you would have to go to get the gift card, but it is not mandatory. I wonder if that is true? If so, it sounds like a great deal.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

We had a great deal with Hilton.

Right up until the presentation. Boy was she obnoxious. Like DisneySteve, I wanted to strangle the "guide." We couldn't wait to get away from her. Grrrrr

It really wasn't worth the good deal we got on the room. That woman put me in a bad mood that lasted a while. The only way I got out of the mood was to go to Disney.

 

[CarolynFH]

They may not tell you until you call to make a reservation that you'll be required to attend a presentation. If you make the reservation anyway and then don't attend the presentation, you might be charged "rack rate" for the stay. So if you decide to pursue this, listen carefully to what they say when you call, and be prepared to decline the offer if a presentation is required and you don't want to go to one.

 

[danielocha30]

It looks like a timeshare sales pitch, if you decide to do it you will "loose" at least half a day with their "presentation" and be mentally prepared because they start tempting you with awesome deals, and playing with your mind, they are very good at this, this offers are very good values if you're brave enough to go with a mind set on not buying and have the time to "invest" on their presentation, beware most of the time the person who is with you have no idea what you were promised in exchange and it can be embarrassing to ask for your reward, yeap I have done this in the past, and will never do it again I rather pay and be on my way to the parks than get this cheap deals and risk to get my vacation ruined by the salesperson

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

I would absolutely positively not do it under any circumstances. The only timeshare presentation that I would ever do is DVC. They are super nice, low pressure, and give you free ice cream .

We have done the presentation at Sheraton Vistana Resort, the Villages sister property. It was fine. In and out in 90 minutes, and they gave us a free continental breakfast. No hard sell and they took our "no" pretty easily.

Now Westgate, on the other hand ......those guys are a special kind of awful.

OP, I would take that offer in a heartbeat. If you have to do a presentation, be polite and firm in your "thanks but no thanks" and you shouldn't have anything to fear.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

It looks like a timeshare sales pitch, if you decide to do it you will "loose" at least half a day with their "presentation" and be mentally prepared because they start tempting you with awesome deals, and playing with your mind, they are very good at this, this offers are very good values if you're brave enough to go with a mind set on not buying and have the time to "invest" on their presentation, beware most of the time the person who is with you have no idea what you were promised in exchange and it can be embarrassing to ask for your reward, yeap I have done this in the past, and will never do it again I rather pay and be on my way to the parks than get this cheap deals and risk to get my vacation ruined by the salesperson

Not all timeshare sales pitches are created equal. We had totally different experiences with Westgate and Sheraton. Westgate dragged into 4 hours and they left us marooned a mile from our car, while we were in and out within the promise 90 minutes with Sheraton. Neither one "ruined" our vacation, though Westgate certainly left a sour taste in our mouth. In both cases, we got some great incentives that made the time well spent (which was not time take away from the parks.....both scheduled into our designated resort days and wrapped up before the teenagers even rolled out of bed).

 

[HopperFan]

I got today too. It's in the trash in many pieces. My guess is when you call to book they have to tell you then.

 

[B's Marie]

We got this too, and will be going... when we made the reservation, they said we did not need to go to any presentation, they hoped the resort would "entice us to come back and consider."

 

[7165red]

I not would go because of the pressure from the sales department. There may be an exception to the rule. I went on one and it was awful. These sales people have to come back with a sale. As the saying goes "There is no free lunch"

 

[Pixie_Dust]

If it was from Starwood, our experience on Kauai was that I asked and was told it "absolutely was not" a timeshare, and absolutely not required, but when we got there we were repeatedly pressured to attend a presentation. The timeshare woman seemed miffed (don't they always? We still paid a small fortune for that room, but had to hear insinuations that we were trying to get something for nothing - I wonder why they think being snide would ever work?), and claimed we'd get enough xtra starwood points for a free night at one of their premium hotels, which was a lie. I doubt those points would have covered a free night in the middle of nowhere. So glad we kept saying no.

 

[Judyat]

We did a Westgate presentation a few years ago. While at times it got a little intense we were able to walk away at the end and enjoy the rest of our vacation. Just have to keep saying no.