The last time you were vacationing with your significant other at a popular tourist destination, did you come across sales people on the streets or at your hotel lobby enticing you with free gifts? If you did, it is quite probable that they were trying to register you to attend a timeshare presentation.
First things first, what is a timeshare?
In very simplistic terms, timeshare is a form of ownership of property for a fixed period of time. Example: when you buy a house, you buy the property for an unlimited period of time (until you sell). When you buy a timeshare property, it is yours to use only for the amount of time that you buy each year (ranging from 1-4 weeks). The more weeks you buy the more expensive it is.
Timeshares are very profitable for their owning companies, and so they try to convince as many people as possible to buy them. The most common way they do this is by making people attend a timeshare presentation. Most times, in order to attend these, they provide free gifts and incentives, like free cash, free hotel package, etc. For this very reason, attending these presentations can be very rewarding based on the gifts they promise you. So the next time you are approached by a sales person trying to register you for a timeshare presentation, keep in mind the following points:
I have attended two such presentations: Westgate (Las Vegas) and Marriott (Honolulu, Hawaii). We received a free lunch and $200 in casino chips at the end of the Westgate presentation. The presentation itself was very unprofessional, unpleasant and lasted much longer than what had been promised. The Marriott presentation on the other hand was very professional, understandable and extremely low-pressure. Our sales rep was very friendly and did not use any unpleasant sales tactics. At the end of it, I received a free round of golf at the Ko Olina Golf Club (with cart, a $150 value), and my wife received a free lunch along with a day-long owner’s pass at the Ko Olina resort giving here free access to the resort amenities ($100-$200 value).
So the next time you are out on vacation with your significant other, consider attending a timeshare presentation from a well-established brand name. Not only will you walk out of the presentation knowing more about the timeshare concept, but you will have received some exciting free gifts for your time.
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Now I know where all these timeshare gyaan was coming from when Madam was talking about it like a pro when we were at your place!
haha….that’s right!! And there we were trying to act like we know all about it!
But it’s true..the Marriott presentation that we attended was really quite informative. The free golf definitely helped of course 
In order for me to consider this, I only need to be a COUPLE! (married or not!) lol!
correcto!! Not sure marriage is a requirement there
Maybe you could even try going there as a same-sex couple and see how they react :-))
Timeshares or vacation ownership programs by larger more reputable companies like Marriott or Hilton are a really great deal if you like to go on vacation and stay in nice rooms!!..If you don’t, it doesn’t make sense….Some larger hotel companies offer better flexibility and access to hotel rooms as well..If you’re the type of traveler that is OK with “just a place to sleep”, I would say a timeshare presentation on your vacation would be just a waste of time for anyone unless you really need the gift!..In most cases if you really need the gift it’s pretty much very likely that you don’t qualify to even go on a presentation!..Meaning you don’t make an income of at least$75,000/year!…In that case at the end of the presentation after a few hours of trying to find reasons not to buy, The so called “gift” that you came in for, well…..The company is not required to give you!..Then the presentation becomes a huge waste of time, especially on a vacation !….Don’t go to a timeshare presentation if you can’t afford it!…I wanted to purchase a fairly large program at Hilton and was told there wasn’t any appointments available..they were totally booked…Then a few minutes later a hear a guy telling his friend to go get a free gift for attending the presentation… Really made me mad….Very sad what people have to do (lie,cheat and steal) for $100.!Sad….It was obvious that these two men were married and they were both on a business trip of some sort!…One guy telling the other guy to lie and say he’s not married!.. Totally disgusting!!. To denounce your marriage for a little gift of $100…!!!They were even plotting to take their wedding rings off for the presentation!!..I wonder how their wives would feel if they only knew!!…Anyways I’m hoping that more people aren’t doing this because I need to get an appointment for this trip!….Vacations are important to my family!!!……
My husband and I don’t mind taking timeshare tours, we love getting the gifts. We saved $1,100 on our honeymoon in Hawaii. We live in Florida and would like to find out how to located other companies in our state that offers timeshare presentations with gifts. Do you know of a way to find this information? We have already done Wyndam, we are now looking for other companies. Thank you for any information you may have on this subject.
Lisa
If you are coming to La’s Vegas. Check out our Timeshare.
You don’t always have to be married to attend the presentations. I’ve been to a bunch and I’m single. There were a few in Orlando that I tried to sign up for and I got knocked back for being single, but for most companies they want us too
Westgate, in my opinion, is the absolute worst experience when it comes to timeshare presentations. I think I got stuck at the Orlando Westgate for over 3 hours and the sales guy was so pissed that I just wouldn’t cave in and buy!