Let’s be frank here, folks. I have no interest in purchasing a vacation timeshare. None. Zilch. Nada. I likely wouldn’t sign a contract if you told me I could have a share of the property for free, as long as I paid for the annual upkeep and maintenance. Horror stories are everywhere of people who feel that they were “tricked” into making a purchase and who weren’t allowed to change their mind after the fact. But this isn’t the main reason why I have zero interest.
For me, I just have no desire to vacation in exactly the same place twice. It’s the same reason that I think the whole concept of “vacation” homes is rather silly. Life is just too short to NOT mix it when given the chance. There are certain cities like Orlando and Las Vegas that I will surely visit again at some point, but when I do go there- I will stay in different hotels, eat at different restaurants, and see different things.
Because of all of this, I wasn’t especially intrigued when a timeshare rep called us earlier this week offering five nights in a posh Orlando resort for the low price of $299, as long a we were willing to sit through a 90 minute “tour of the property”. This is, of course, the code term for agreeing to let yourself be subjected to some the most intense sales pressure on the planet, while they try to convince you to purchase something that you already know that you don’t want.
I will admit that a part of me was a little bit intrigued to see the crazy sales tactics in action. I recently read an article from sales guru Mark Silverman, where he detailed the tactics that he used to “warm up” consumers to build rapport, and to give them the “illusion of choice”. I am fascinated to see these dudes at work, in much the same way that I hope to one day get selected for jury duty. Its also interesting to think that they will have total confidence in the ability of their tried and true techniques to turn my skepticism around. Of course, it isn’t really skepticism in my case, I truly have zero interest.
If you take the timeshare presentation out of the equation, the deal being offered is actually pretty sweet. The resort itself looks beautiful, very close to Disney, and has some nice features. The $60/night rate is considerably lower than even anything Disney has, even the “value” motels, and this one comes with a $50 resort credit. The question is, how much is it worth to you to subject yourself to their sales pitch.
When all is done, you find yourself with a bit of an ethical question. Is it wrong to accept their offer of a discounted room, when you know going in that there is no possible away that you would say yes to their presentation? Technically, you have met your end of the bargain just by attending the presentation and dealing with their high pressure tactics, so you are under no obligation to buy anything at all.
The mega-corporations selling timeshares are going to be making their millions regardless of whether or not you buy. They have already had to deal with the fact that most people have heard what a horrid investment timeshares truly are (they lose 40% of their value immediately). The discounts wouldn’t be offered if they didn’t have a solid conversion rate on convincing folks to buy at these tours, but they surely write off a certain percentage of visitors as “no chance”, when calculating their numbers. Considering the way that these companies take advantage of people, I don’t think anyone should feel bad about taking these discounts and running with them.
But, that isn’t what we did. The lady that we talked to ended up giving us 48 hours to accept her offer, make a 50% deposit, and to choose our week in 2014 to visit. Breaking out my decoder ring once again, this likely meant that she had a monthly sales quota to meet. We are still planning on taking the kids to Florida next year, but we haven’t yet worked out the timing and logistics of everything. If we do decide to go the route of sitting through a timeshare presentation to try and score a big discount, I have a feeling that the same (if not a better) offer will pretty much always be available.
We are dedicated to helping to helping families get and stay out of debt.
The authors featured on this site are not financial experts, but are instead normal folks just figuring out how to make ends meet. The opinions and advice featured on See Debt Run have worked well for our families, but may not work for yours. If you choose to incorporate any ideas included on this site into your own financial planning, you do so at your own risk. We do NOT take any responsibility for the decisions you may make, even if they were based on something you read on this site.
Articles may contain affiliate links | Site Designed by Nuts and Bolts Media | © 2023 See Debt Run