Seeking advice on a timeshare membership

[what-a-long-strange-trip]

Hello,

I am seeking advice, thoughts, etc on the following timeshare membership opportunity. A friend of mine has brought to my attention that I can own a timeshare membership that is different than owning a typical timeshare.
He tells me that for a one time fee of $3,000 I would have the opportunity to select from a network of affiliated resorts (4 and 5 start resorts) all over the world and can go at any time. He told me a couple of other things that sounded pretty cool (ie: no trades, maintenance fees, etc).
I am highly considering this right now but wanted to do some due diligence. What I am wondering is...has anyone ever heard of this type of membership OR is this too good to be true???

I appreciate any feedback you can offer.
Thank you!

[mshatty]

Details, details, details!!

Give the name of the "company" and other details so we can advise accordingly. Your description sounds like a sales pitch that you need to be wary of.

[what-a-long-strange-trip]

Hi,

The name of the company is Global Resorts Network. I only left those details to avoid responders asking for more details later on. I simply want to know if this type of membership is something that is popular, accepted, and being utilized within the timeshare community. Also, if people have heard of this company and if it's a reputable co??

Your help is appreciated!

[tonyg]

Almost every membership or club like this promises the world but fails to deliver- either immediately or after a certain period of time. You own nothing and if they run off with your money, you have nothing. Use of the word "Global" should immediately ring a cautionary bell. It sounds great, but may be really something very small.

[1950bing]

If I had answered the exact same way the above did, I'd bet someone would jump all over me and call me stupid and that I don't know what I am talking about.
Anyway, it does sound odd. Check it and then check it out again.
How about going to one of the places first to see just what it is they offer?
Be careful.

[mshatty]

Here's a newspaper article that describes this company as a business opportunity. I get the sense that this is a multi-level marketing business. The article doesn't talk too much about the program's features, it's written from a point of view that you may want to sell the program.

[T. R. Oglodyte]

try doing a Google search on Global Resorts Network scam.

[BocaBum99]

Originally Posted by 1950bing

If I had answered the exact same way the above did, I'd bet someone would jump all over me and call me stupid and that I don't know what I am talking about.
Anyway, it does sound odd. Check it and then check it out again.
How about going to one of the places first to see just what it is they offer?
Be careful.

Bing,

As long as your posts provide objective analysis or just personal taste, then that is fully supported and embraced on this message board. It's okay to have a negative opinion on anything here as long as you respect that others may disagree with you. At the end of the day, we are all trying to help others make educated decisions. Kool-aid comes in all colors. The common theme here is that almost none of us likes its taste. It's just as wrong to pimp all that is timesharing as it is to trash all that is timesharing.

It's when someone has an axe to grind and verbally trashes the entire industry or cross section of the industry that others come to the defense of their ownerships. Or, if someone is too polyanna about a place or a vendor, then some level of proof is often times requested. What we are all seeking is the Truth, however we all define it.

I respect your desire to post on this board. It helps to add to our diverity of opinions. That you are developing a track record of posts here is very helpful to establishing your own credibility on these topics. So, keep posting. You are welcome here.

[acesneights]

The $299 to $699 sounds like RCI EH program but you pay $3000 instead of $99 to join. Plus $1000 goes to people higher in the pyramid.

RUN.

All the other discounts are available from the Entertainment books for $25.

Stan

[BocaBum99]

I give it a very low probability that this membership is worth anything more than a few six packs of beer. Maybe a keg at most.

Here's why.

There is a class of products in the timeshare industry that is a sort of "false vacation club." I say false because they aren't based fundamentally on underlying deeded property. They are based primarily on vacation sell off weeks that are aggregated by the company and only available when sell off inventory gets acquired. When that acquisition stops, so do the bargains. They will use popular resort names of timeshares and they will show you availability online for many different resorts. It will leave you with the impression that it is as good as owning a timeshare or a resort group. But, it's all done with smoke and mirrors.

These "false vacation clubs" often times position themselves as non-timesharing alternatives. On the surface, they look like they deliver very similar benefits to timeshares and at a fraction of the cost. But, when you look underneath the covers, you can see it for what it is, a scam to make your wallet a lot lighter.

These scam artists use the same timesharing sales and marketing techniques and they often times target timeshare owners. They offer a free gift of some sort to attend a vacation club presentation. The presentation spends a lot of time trashing timesharing and positioning themselves as a non-timesharing travel alternative. They make a comparison of a timeshare to their vacation club. They try to make their vacation ownership look like it is a lot more than what that owner's timeshare is.

One of the clever sales techniques they use is to say that they will offer you, say, 4 weeks of vacation per year for only the cost of the maintenance fees. And, if you choose not to use it one year, you don't have to pay at all. There are no maintenance fees. This is your first tip of a scam. Whenever something is too good to be true, it probably is. You just need to figure out their angle or scam.

In any event, they compare the club to a timeshare and price it as such as the opening price. $15000 for 4 weeks vacation instead of 1 week. Don't want to use 4 weeks per year? No problem. Just pay for one week for the cost of the maintenance fees.

So, how can this be? There are no maintenance fees because the club doesn't own these weeks. They are just sell off inventory that they are showing you that you can access via other means.

The sales presentation then asks if you own a timeshare. You do? No problem, they will take it in as a trade in. The price goes down $8k because that's what they offer you for your timeshare. Now you are down to $7k. Still to high? No problem, as today's purchase now incentive, they will drop it to $3000. Still to high? Okay, you get the last customer special. I need this deal and I am going to give you a smokin' deal, for just $1995, you can get out of your timeshare obligations, no more maintenance fees, and you can get up to 4 weeks of vacation per year only the for the cost of the maintenance fees. What a deal, right? Where do I sign?

Of course, you can get the same deal by simply signing up for an RCI membership and buy extra vacations or last calls. Many other exchange companies have the same type deal. So, at most, these "false vacation clubs" tend to be worth about the cost of a AAA membership. About $50 per year. I believe AAA is better because if your car breaks down, they will tow it for free, which is more than you'll get from one of these "false vacation clubs."

Get the details of the membership and we will help show you what is real vs. what is a scam.