TS tour ethics

[ebram]

Let me explain my situation. I have 6 TSs which I bought resale or directly from the HOA. I paid a total of $3000 for all (including closing costs). In the next few weeks I am going to a TS with a saturday checkin. I got a call last week from a developer inviting me to tour a differant TS(although same managment) in the same city. I asked if the sat and sun after I have to checkout from my TS was available. It was and I booked extending my vacation with the freebies to boot. I am starting to feel guilty. Also should I avoid my "owner update"(which will be in the same sales area) or take that along with the goodies too. If I do they will probably recognise me when I take the minivac tour. Will this be a problem. Has anyone done this?

[Keitht]

The developer has asked you to attend. Assuming the invitation doesn't have any conditions detailed within it with which you can't comply, I would say go. You are doing absolutely nothing wrong.

[Glitter Brunello]

Yes, if you aren't excluded b/c you are an owner of an affiliated resort, then by all means, go. Generally, affiliated owners are considered hotter prospects, so I doubt you're exempt from the offer, but you it wouldn't hurt to check.

edited to add: I think I am going to add "timeshare tour ethics" to my list of oxymorons...

[shopgirl]

We have gotten our best timeshare education from tours. I learned about points more recently and knew I wanted them. I also learned about TUG from a Fairfield presentation on Maui, where Fairfield has no timeshares. Anyway, the guy was very nice, knew we were not interested in what he was selling and just spent some time on small talk. I mentioned Timesharing Today, he mentioned TUG and talked about owning many timeshares over the years and the difficult adjustment of moving to Hawaii after loving his trades there.

Rick hates it when I ask a lot of questions, which I do not have to do anymore because I know more than they do. The more questions you ask, the more determined they are to sell you. The Sunterra presentation on Maui required me to pretend to not know much, but I wanted to know more about Sunterra. I asked questions directly related to Sunterra and the guy got a little disturbed when I kept telling him that dividing the number of years by the sales price is not the way to determine the true cost of the purchase. I kept reminding him to add in the MAINTENANCE FEES.

I was nice the entire time, though, and was feeling a little guilty because I talked one couple into rescinding their purchase while waiting in the lobby for my husband and mother-in-law to find a parking place. There was a fire in the parking garage and the fire trucks were not allowing anyone into the resort while the fire was being put out. I was bored. This couple was waiting for their friends to come out of the tour. I told them about resales and they walked over to the desk to rescind while I was sitting there (they promised not to tell them it was because of the information I gave them). Then their friends came out and asked where they went, I told that couple about TUG and gave them my email address. They are still looking for the perfect timeshare for purchase. The other couple bought a Marriott resale.

[Jya-Ning]

read the small print. If it requires you to have intention to buy, and you have no intention to buy, that is one thing. But if it does not require, although it tells you that is a sell presentation, it is a sell presentation, you come to the presentation, even if you don't plan to buy, you may in the future buy some. Don't know why there is a conflict.

As to owner update, it is called owner update, so really no issue.

If they have problem to give out the gift to non-buyer, they need to change rule to say gift to buyer only.

Your issue is not if it is ethnic or not, but is it worth to go to that presentation, and has great chance to meet some sales person that intend to hurt your feeling.

Jya-Ning

[iconnections]

Originally Posted by shopgirl

We have gotten our best timeshare education from tours. I learned about points more recently and knew I wanted them. I also learned about TUG from a Fairfield presentation on Maui, where Fairfield has no timeshares.
IGNORE THE TITLE. I THINK MY CAT WALKED ON THE KEYBOARD

Cindy, I am with you and would love to take tours too just to see the resorts and hear what the resort developers have to say but I can't get my DH interested. I would even be happy just to stop by and ask the front desk about rentals or exchanges and to find out where they would put the exchangers but he won't stop unless I make a real pest of myself. He always comes back to me and says that he doesn't want to make exchanges so why waste our time and look? I guess, I do because I belong to the timeshare forums.

We did see the Westin pool and grounds in Maui as we stopped in the bar and had a drink there. I would have loved to have taken a tour at that resort and see the condos inside as they are beautiful, judging from the brochure I got. I also wanted to see the Whaler Inn, The Embassy and Napili Way but he never puts me on the car rental so I cannot drive and they won't even let you tour alone. We did the Waikiki Beach Walk as I really wanted to hear more about these points and he went along reluctantly.

I have done all the Marriott updates in Hawaii and to some of them just by myself. The Marriott is smart because you never know what may happen from an update.

[falmouth3]

We saw the Embassy on Maui even though my DH said I should get it out to my head that we will go on a TS presentation. However when the "concierge" at Kahana Falls said we'd get $150 off our already booked snorkeling trip, I made my husband make the decision and he went for it.

It was one of the more difficult presentations we went to, but I still really enjoyed seeing the place. And getting that $150 didn't hurt too much either.

Sue

[maiwah]

Hmmm... I never quite feel guilty about attending timeshare preview with no intention to buy. I think the rep who booked the appointment was always really, really happy. It justified his/her job. I wonder if # of appointments booked have any impact to their salary. Secondly, it is just like window browsing in a store, or try out sample at supermarket. these expenses are general marketing expense. It is cheaper than what they have to spend advertising on TV. Hey, not everyone watching the TV commercial ended up buying, right? Just feel good about helping their marketing to justify their existance. Now, I don't know how to comment on the fact that you talked people into rescinding right at the sales office.

[CC_dad]

Originally Posted by Jya-Ning

As to owner update, it is called owner update, so really no issue.

If they have problem to give out the gift to non-buyer, they need to change rule to say gift to buyer only.

Your issue is not if it is ethnic or not, but is it worth to go to that presentation, and has great chance to meet some sales person that intend to hurt your feeling.

Jya-Ning

I agree with Jya-Ning ... they try to say it's an owner update and give you a check list of topics you are interested in hearing about. Then the salesmen shows up without that checklist and proceeds to look over you ownership transcript (and they even printed out my current points status). After drilling me about why I wasn't interested in owning that resort vs. the resort(s) I own at, the salesmen said you know the drill ... if you don't have any other questions and aren't interested in purchasing, we're done (it only took about 30 minutes).

I will most likely stop going to these at FF, since I'm not interested in additional points now and - as Jya-Ning mentioned - I don't appreciate them insinuating that certain benefits are subject to change in the future. I tell them they're only hurting their own sales by taking away owner benefits and owners will be less likely to buy or trust them in the future. I don't give them Trip Rewards referrals because I feel that the resorts sell themselves and I wouldn't appreciate cold calls from people I don't know.

I went to a presentation on Kona at Shell and was out in about an hour with $200 cash. I kept grilling the saleman trying to compare what he's stating vs. what I know about RCI and FF's system. They didn't even bother showing me their models. I actually wanted to see them, but didn't want to buy from them.

[4ARedOctober]

TS Tour - ethics =

ox·y·mo·ron (ks-môrn, -mr-) KEY

NOUN:
pl. ox·y·mo·ra (-môr, -mr) KEY or ox·y·mo·rons
A rhetorical figure in which incongruous or contradictory terms are combined, as in a deafening silence and a mournful optimist.