Saying "NO" to timeshare

[michvin]

so we decided to try the Marriott Horizons resort in Orlando, about 5 minutes from Disney...we had "bought" into the "deal" last November, 4 nites, 5 days for $199..hey, who can beat that?

We do like to travel, but with my DH's marriott points from his traveling all the time, we stay in great hotels, on the concierge floor for free...so, for us a timeshare isn't what we are looking for for traveling....but couldn't pass up the deal. Plus, I tacked on 3 days at a Value with the free dining and one day at MK so we were in Orlando for a full week (we drove from PA) so this Horizons stay is our pre-disney time...
It is really, very nice here, the 3 pool areas are wonderful for the kids, although they don't have lifeguards. If you were someone who liked to come to Orlando and hop the different parks, it would be great. Our 90-minute presentation is in two days so we've been working out our plan to make sure they stick to the 90 minutes...we've got a 2 1/2 year old who will NOT go with anyone anywhere I am not so that should work....if not we have "plans" with friends locally that we need to get to ...if we bought any type of timeshare, it would be DVC...wish us luck on 'getting out'...but we are enjoying the place now.

 

[Camilo]

Bumping this thread with my experience from my trip last week.
Arriving in Kissimmee, there were lots of kiosks offering cheap tickets to Disney, Universal, Sea World, etc.

I got 2 tickets for U$ 20.00 (10 bucks each) at the exit of the Golden Corral restaurant in the 192 highway to watch the Westgate presentation a couple fo miles from there.

Went there at 8:45 AM, left at 10:15 (exactly 90 minutes after I started my tour). I passed the offer of free breakfast as I had already eaten in my hotel (also free).

I was honest with the guy from the beginning, explaining in a polite way that I wasn't interested and I was there just for the cheap tickets. After giving me a tour (very nice property, by the way) and having me to talk to 2 other managers, I was given the voucher, which I exchanged for the day passes at Sea World.

Was it worth it? Hell, yeah. With the money we saved (around 100.00) we bought lots of souvenirs at the Disney outlet, close to Sea World (t-shirts, a watch to my wife, some small toys, etc).

Will I do it again? Yes, for a theme park that doesn't require all day to be seen (Sea World, Animal Kingdom or MGM). If I go to Florida for 2 or 3 days, I'd probably NOT do it as these 90 minutes would make a big difference.

My experience was very positive. These are my .02

Tks, I really appreciate your reply.
I'll try to get Sea World tickets with them...

 

[riu girl]

A quick queston:
When doing a time share presentation, when you receive theme park tickets for doing the presentation. are the vouchers only valid on the day of the presentation??
And do the vouchers have to be used by the person attending the presentation or can they be given to a relative to use on another day?

Thank you

 

[Grumpy23]

Oh boy, we just went on our first presentation on Saturday morning at HGVC Tuscany. The woman in the beginning was as sweet as could be. We were actually interested in what they had to say, as we were curious if this were something we could afford. Two hours later, after we politely told her we didn't think the timing was good for us right now, with the cost, the woman had brought out timeshare pusher #2, to see what kind of a deal he could work for us, even though in the begininng SHE stated very clearly, what they offer, they offer, there would be absolutely no negotiation.

Hmm all of a sudden, #2 guy was throwing even better numbers at us trying to convince us what a mistake it would be if we were to say no, which we did, again. At that point, the woman rudely got up and left our table without saying anything...nice to meet you, etc. She just got up in a huff and left. Guy #2 said ok, we will go process the money we promised you ($100). Ten minutes later, timeshare pusher #3 comes to our table and again, tries to convince us what a mistake we are making by saying no to #1 person and #2. I finally told him no again, and said I am only trying to save you time, we cannot afford to do this right now, and he got huffy and said, "and I am only trying to save you money!!"

It was not a pleasant experience, even though in the beginning they promised us it would be, and that Hilton was not into pressuring people. All in all, I was left with a bad taste in my mouth. Out of the 3 folks who tried to convince us, only the second man was pleasant and understanding. The other two seemed very annoyed with us and did not treat us nicely after we said no. My husband said it almost made him not want to buy with Hilton now, even though we are Gold Hilton Honors members.

 

[lawgs]

grumpy

wonder what has happened to Hilton

they used to show a sheet saying something to the effect that "you would not be pressured"

heck, i even think they have a big wall with the "head" hilton guy promising no pressure....when you take a sales presentation at Hilton

it might be worth a call to HGVC HQ to see if the "mission" statement with regard to sales within the Hilton system has changed...

let us know what they tell you.....then we just might call them ourselves since we are HGVC members...


just found this on the TUG website....posted by Seth Nock

No one can predict the future. I don't believe there have been any special assessments in the past at that property, and don't expect any in the near future, but cannot guarantee that. Do you know the name of your sales rep? Please email his name (or your info) so I can forward it to Hilton management and they can look into the remark and make sure the sales agents are giving out accurate info. Hilton prides themselves on having agents who give out accurate information and make the experience a positive one. If this was an error, he sould be corrected.
__________________
Seth Nock
My Website

in another thread he also mentioned this....

Please email me sethnock@hotmail.com your name or the name of the salesperson so I can make Hilton corporate aware of this. They will inform the sales person of his error or take action if it is not an error. Hilton prides themselves on having honest sales people and would like to know of any who are not

seth is a reseller of HGVC by the way

 

[Camilo]

My voucher was good for up to 10 days and had my first and last names on it.
The person who handed me the voucher told me that I would need to show ID at the park. In MY case, ID wasn't requested at Sea World.

Camilo

A quick queston:
When doing a time share presentation, when you receive theme park tickets for doing the presentation. are the vouchers only valid on the day of the presentation??
And do the vouchers have to be used by the person attending the presentation or can they be given to a relative to use on another day?

Thank you

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

A quick queston:
When doing a time share presentation, when you receive theme park tickets for doing the presentation. are the vouchers only valid on the day of the presentation??
And do the vouchers have to be used by the person attending the presentation or can they be given to a relative to use on another day?

Thank you

Things may have changed but we toured Cypress Pointe Grande Villas in Jan.2000 and got 2 tix to Sea World. Plain tix with no names/dates on them. We somehow misplaced them and went home sad that we never got to use them. Unpacking, I found them in our luggage. We finally used them in Nov. 2004. I called Sea World beforehand and was told if they had no date then they don't expire. They worked fine.

 

[riu girl]

Thanks for the info.

 

[vegadog2]

Ya'all are really looking at this time share thing in the wrong way.1st off you are on vacation to have fun RIGHT!! SO WHY NOT HAVE FUN WITH THE SALES PEOPLE.
I am in sales and I listen to people say no to me ALL day long and along with that i also listen to problems sooo this is MY fun day and they give me a great deal on a room to do this WOW aint life GREAT.
My wife and i are staying at the WESTGATE TOWERS at the end of next month and i am REALLY looking foward to learning something new about the sales game OH YES sales is a game you just have to know how to play.

 

[lacrossemom]

We have sat through several Marriott presentations, and they have always been very low-key.

We also sat through a presentation at Massanutten in Virginia, and the minute they found out we were not interested, they turned on us. They actually got very nasty, and started raising their voices.

We also sat through one at Bonnett Creek in Orlando. First of all, we were not going to, but the sales rep at Universal Studios saw my husband's shirt from Grande Vista and begged us to come and hear about Bonnett Creek. Once at Bonnett Creek, we let the sales rep there know right away that we were not buying just checking out the resort. At the end of the presentation, we told her that it was a beautiful resort, and maybe down the road we would end of buying, but at the time we just could not do it. She proceeded to get her manager who came over and drew up another plan, we again told him the same thing we told her. He jumped up in anger, knocked his chair into another customer, and stormed off. Then they made us sit forever in the gift room, where another rep comes over and trys one more time. I finally got up and went to ask how much longer, the lady actually grabbed our paper, wrote on top of it no rep and threw it at me. Needless to say we will never buy fairfield.

Again I say, Marriott has always been low-key. The minute we tell them no, which has not always been the case, they thank us for our time, and escort us to the cashier. No manager, no gift room for another rep to try, etc...

 

[cnids00]

We'll be renting a friends points for our next stay which will be at Bonnet Creek.

Will they bother us to try and buy into them or will they leave us alone? We're there for a week and are curious to see if they will bother us during our stay, which in fact we won't be there as much as we're going to be in the parks most of the time.

We haven't signed up for any tour nor will we

 

[AllyBri]

The most valuable thing you have besides your family is time, you can never get time back. Why would you give that up for a few $$.

 

[powellrj]

I was wondering why someone would bump a 9 year old timeshare thread up.

 

[gwynne]

I was wondering why someone would bump a 9 year old timeshare thread up.

Yup. Thread from 2006. Post 112 here and their 1 other post in different forum both seem to indicate the poster is looking for some traffic to their fav blog post/subject.

 

[AllyBri]

relax, refresh, enjoy.

 

[Guittech]

We had a brutal presentation at Parc Soleil. We were staying as guests of my inlaws who have a compatible points plan, and they sent us to the "THese people want MORE points" area instead of the new signup area... the fact that we weren't already members was a big problem for them, the "breakfast" was essentially some doughnuts and mini cereals, and there was no friendly "This is an awesome place" spiel, just hardcore selling for an hour and half, while we smiled politely (we ARE Canadian after all) but refused. THen they sent us through another supervisor which took a half hour, until we could get our Disney gift card. UGH. They sales person went from high pressure to friendly to high pressure to "I am just SO DISSAPOINTED i Can't help you achieve your dream" dissapointment. Really soured us on the place, which was wonderful otherwise.

 

[oliviabrown]

A timeshare purchase is never a good idea. Some people buy them with the idea of a financial investment, but a timeshare is not a good investment at all. Besides, there are lots of fees involved. This is a good article that has good information about timeshares and how to use it properly: http://www.*************.com/blog/119-timeshare-sales/

 

[JimMIA]

A timeshare purchase is never a good idea.

No statement is always or never true.

Some people buy them with the idea of a financial investment, but a timeshare is not a good investment at all.

I would say that statement is usually true, although I do know some people who have done very well investing in timeshares as rental businesses.

 

[limabeanmom2003]

LOL! Imagine my surprise when I clicked on this thread and discovered I started it over 9 years ago! Update: I went on the 90 minute tour, it lasted 90 minutes and it was no big deal when I said no. We had a great time using the discount tickets! I'll never do one again though. My time is too precious. Something I've learned in the last 9 years!

 

[chalee94]

A timeshare purchase is never a good idea.

only the sith deal in absolutes!

(well, and jedi sometimes when they are talking about the sith... )

i have 2 timeshares and they have worked out great over the last decade or so. cheaper with more space than hotel rooms. there are a few limitations and risks but i did months of homework beforehand to make sure i knew what i was doing (and have never even gone to a sales tour - high pressure or otherwise).

timeshares are not for everyone. buying resale is virtually always a good idea if timeshares seem like they might be for you. but make sure you do your homework ahead of time to know the risks and have an exit strategy if your situation changes...