Wow. I didn't know people actually did this!!

[DisFlan]

A thread on the Budget board just absolutely floored me. "Timeshare tours for cash".

People do tours for $70 or $100 or gifts and free meals, etc., and they may do them numerous times each trip and plan the ones they'll do next time. Just for the money or goodies. Some of them even complained about the quality of the free meals.

I know tours can be a PITA and sales people can be pretty scuzzy, but does anyone but me think this is just flat out dishonest??

Maybe I've just never been desperate enough for a $100 and a mediocre meal while I'm on vacation. But I could sure think of better ways to help pay for my trip.

DisFlan

 

[dianeschlicht]

I think it's pretty tacky too, but I have been known to take the timehare tour given by the resort we were staying in on Hawaii so I could get the discounted tours! Pretty tacky to plan your trip with timeshare freebies though.

 

[tjkraz]

I wouldn't do it myself, but hey, different strokes...

 

[lllovell]

Its a sale technique for them obviously (I must get 2-3 faxes a day from someone in Orlando offering me free room and board) so I don't see it being tacky. If you are willing to play by the rules they set forth, then you can certainly collect the "prize" that they guarantee you for doing so. Its a calculated risk on their part (very calculated) and they know a certain percent of people are coming for the "freebies" but if they sell one to that group, then they see it as being ahead.

I don't find it tacky or bad. I find it too troublesome to participate in, so we don't, but I know plenty who have and I don't have a problem with it.

 

[DisFlan]

"Tacky" is a good way to put it.

I can see it if I was actually staying at the resort. We've done a couple of tours that way. But we did actually think we might be interested. In the end, we weren't. And all we got was a tour.

Maybe I'm over-reacting and the timeshare people don't mind this. I dunno. It just struck me as wrong.

The place we never toured - and bought - is DVC.

DisFlan

 

[SueOKW]

i'm sure many people look at it as a game, and others look at it as one of the only ways they could afford a trip. If they have the time and the patience, I say they are welcome to the rewards!

 

[tamu91]

Why you'd want to spend hours in a timeshare presentation while in Orlando is beyond my comprehension $100 is not worth that kind of aggrevation.

 

[Disney1fan2002]

Its a sale technique for them obviously (I must get 2-3 faxes a day from someone in Orlando offering me free room and board) so I don't see it being tacky. If you are willing to play by the rules they set forth, then you can certainly collect the "prize" that they guarantee you for doing so. Its a calculated risk on their part (very calculated) and they know a certain percent of people are coming for the "freebies" but if they sell one to that group, then they see it as being ahead.

I don't find it tacky or bad. I find it too troublesome to participate in, so we don't, but I know plenty who have and I don't have a problem with it.

A sales technique that everyone who buys pays for!

We bought a timeshare on Cape Cod, when we came back from Disney, thinking that Disney was way too expensive to buy into (this was in 1997 ). Our big mistake was telling the saleperson how we looked at the Disney Vacation Club, but felt it was beyond our means. well, he whips out the big Interval Exchange book, and explains that being with II we could trade to anyplace in the book..and then shows us OKW and Boardwalk (the only 2 in the book at the time). well, we were SOLD!

We bought, the saleman got to RING the bell and we have owned since. We trade it out to the Poconos usually, because after 5 years of trying to trade with Disney, we gave up, and just bought into Disney. I found out, our resort is a joke with trading against DVC. No way in heck will we ever get a Disney trade.

Anyway, long story cut shorter (you're welcome).....the 1st year we stayed there, we went to an owner's meeting. We were told that what we paid for our timeshore, we would be lucky to make back 40% in resale. (we were basically being told if your thinking of getting out, forget it, LOL) He then broke down what our purchase cost included, and promotions (free dinners, airfare, discout room rates) came out of the purchase price, and we could not get that back in resale.

I told my Dh, you know the saying "what you don't know can't hurt you? well, this is one of those times where I was better off not knowing."

Boy was I depressed!

 

[lllovell]

I see your point and this is what gives timeshares their "shady" reputation. They are using any means possible to sell you, then telling you what they sold you is worth way less than what you just spent - sounds somewhat like bait and switch...but you end up with the same accomidations.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Disney1fan200, It didn't take us long to figure out that ploy either. We took the DVC tour and had never looked into a timeshare before, so we came home and went to a presentation we had an invitation to close to home. It was very different from the DVC tour we had been on and was very high pressure. We too talked about looking into DVC, and they tried to tell us how difficult point based timeshare would be to use. That made no sense at all to me!!! They also told us we could trade into DVC easily every year for less dues than owning DVC. Well, we were pretty sure that would not be true, so we went back and purchased DVC and never looked back. I have thought about buying a cheap resale somewhere for trading purposes though. Our friends did that with a resort in Stowe, and they have used it for very good exchanges for years. I believe they have only actually stayed tyere twice.

 

[Laurajean1014]

My DH and I have been asked dozens of times, but we never wanted to waste the time.

My boss does it all the time for the freebies.

 

[ColoradoBelle1]

I don't think it tacky at all. Unless it is the high pressure sales tactics used by many timeshare salespeople. The 'offer' is: give us 90 minutes (which ends up being 3 hours) and we'll give you discounted tickets or lodging or something. So a couple gives 3 hours for $100 bucks $17 per hour. In the old days you got such tacky stuff that I couldn't believe people actually did it.

But I've now done it twice in Orlando...2 years in a row. First time it was Westgate. I had driven from Tampa to MCO to pick up my sis flying in. She ended up calling me to advise the plane would be 3 hours late. I went into McDonald's for coffee and the timeshare booth right in McD's (!!!!!) said: you might as well take a tour since you have nothing else to do. So I did. Got some free Universal tickets. This last time I bought a 3 night package off of Sky Auction. The price included having to take a Fairfield tour, but also included tickets and a meal voucher to Rainforest Cafe. And I really wanted to see Bonnet Creek. I told them up front I was comparing it to Disney and I did...When they saw that I KNEW my prices, they dropped theirs by at least half. But I didn't like the tactics they used. The rules state taht you can't visit any one resort more than once a year...so as long as you abide by THEIR rules and it is them making you the OFFER, I don't think it is tacky at all. But taking up too much time from your vacation? Well YEP, now that I have a annual pass...I know where I can spend 3 extra hours!!!!

 

[tinker925]

Disney1Fan2002, my sister owns at "The Cove" on Cape Cod and I know of another couple too and they have traded several times to Boardwalk and OKW through Intervale International, don't give up hope!

 

[tjkraz]

One more thought, just for the heck of it. I'd be willing to be that only a TINY, TINY percentage of people who go to timeshare presentations do it with the intent of buying. And I'm sure the salespeople know it. But they are also confident in their ability to turn a skeptic into a customer.

Even if you walked up to someone and said "there is ZERO chance that I will buy anything from you today", I bet they'd still encourage you to attend.

 

[lllovell]

One more thought, just for the heck of it. I'd be willing to be that only a TINY, TINY percentage of people who go to timeshare presentations do it with the intent of buying. And I'm sure the salespeople know it. But they are also confident in their ability to turn a skeptic into a customer.

Even if you walked up to someone and said "there is ZERO chance that I will buy anything from you today", I bet they'd still encourage you to attend.

Sure! Which I am sure is why they added these incentives. They ARE at the expense of people that do actually buy though if they are for something other than an empty room being used. Timeshares in general are buyer beware though.

 

[mbb]

One more thought, just for the heck of it. I'd be willing to be that only a TINY, TINY percentage of people who go to timeshare presentations do it with the intent of buying. And I'm sure the salespeople know it. But they are also confident in their ability to turn a skeptic into a customer.

Even if you walked up to someone and said "there is ZERO chance that I will buy anything from you today", I bet they'd still encourage you to attend.

I agree.

We told them that, they said, "nooo, come to the presentation!!Hey, if nothing else, you'll get $90".

So we did...we didn't buy, and got to have another Character Breakfast.

Works for me

 

[stacy6552]

So would it be wrong of me to take the tour just to get away from the kids for an hour while they watch them.....?

 

[crisi]

Yep, people do it. Doesn't seem dishonest, its "playing their game."

Personally, by the time we spend the 90+ minutes on the presentation, plus the drive, we've spent way over the value of anything they can give us. But I value my vacation time pretty highly. But we have more money than time on vacation. For a lot of people, they have more time than money.

 

[cruise-o-matic]

Yep, people do it. Doesn't seem dishonest, its "playing their game."

Personally, by the time we spend the 90+ minutes on the presentation, plus the drive, we've spent way over the value of anything they can give us. But I value my vacation time pretty highly. But we have more money than time on vacation. For a lot of people, they have more time than money.

ditto......

My vacation time is too valuable to me.

 

[Disney1fan2002]

So would it be wrong of me to take the tour just to get away from the kids for an hour while they watch them.....?

Are you talking a DVC tour? They are the only ones I've come across who watch the kiddos. When we toured the Cape resort, out DS was 16 months old. He came along with us, they had no childcare to offer.