If any of you are seriously contemplating a timeshare purchase, there's an invaluable resource out there, which will save you thousands of dollars! It's call
TUG - Timeshare Users Group, a membership group of individual owners. The main web site provides access for non-members, to excellent Advice articles as well as many Bulletin Board Forums, just like these at DIS, on the topics related to timeshare ownership, usage & travel. Don't head for timeshare without it!
For those who choose to join TUG ($15/first year), there are also over 1800 timeshare resorts worldwide, descriptively reviewed & rated (on a scale of 1-10) by regular people who have owned, traded in or toured them. We have owned multiple timeshares (purchased cheaply on resale) and traded quite often. We love it! We would not buy nor accept an exchange week until we've read the TUG reviews! Setting reasonable expectations is important to us. Please consider giving my name as a referral, if you choose to join TUG, as it extends my membership for 6 months free.
Also, the front page at TUG has a link to promotional owner referrals, available to anyone. So if you'd like to tour a resort on a discounted stay, check there to see if your desired resort has a current promo.
We own with Fairfield, which has a Gold Crown resort in Kissimmee, Fairfield at Cypress Palms Resort. I'd be happy to forward your name & info for a call-back from their sales staff. I would caution anyone who wants to do this to be prepared for high pressure. As much as we thoroughly enjoy our Fairfield timeshare ownership, their developer sales tactics are as bad as most, if not worse.
And I do NOT recommend buying timeshare from the developer, only resales discounted at 50%-75% off, except in very limited, very specific circumstances. JMHO.
I hope this info (especially TUG) helps someone.
Lisa P.
potter@a-o.com
p.s., I forgot to mention... DVC offers the lowest pressure tours but no freebies, no promo rentals. Marriott is probably the next lowest pressure. Other resorts will vary pretty dramatically with the individual salesperson you get and their idea of their chances at persuading you to buy. If you get a salesperson who is confident of the product's ability to sell itself, they will be easiest to deal with.
Remember that these folks live on the commissions and experience has shown them that more pressure does work, by the numbers. The less you say, the shorter your interview answers, the less info they have on you, the harder it is to hook you. So expect them to act like an attentive friend... until they understand you won't buy. We start by letting them know that we've owned many timeshares and always buy them for under $3,000 resale. Mentioning that we're members of TUG helps too... many of them read TUG and know we won't be pushovers.
Happy timesharing!!!
