Time Share Presentation with Starwood/Sheraton

[septembergirl]

Hello:
We are considering staying with Starwood for a discounted rate + tickets but would have to sit through a presentation. I have been researching like crazy and think I have already procured a really great deal but by accepting this offer, we could save an additional $330. I have done timeshares before and know the the advertised 90 minutes is a bit of a myth so I know I would be giving up more like 3 hours of vacation time. Does anyone have any experience with Starwood presentations and do you think it would be worth it to give up part of my vacation to save $330?
Any thoughts would be so helpful!
Thanks!

[forever a child]

Hello:
We are considering staying with Starwood for a discounted rate + tickets but would have to sit through a presentation. I have been researching like crazy and think I have already procured a really great deal but by accepting this offer, we could save an additional $330. I have done timeshares before and know the the advertised 90 minutes is a bit of a myth so I know I would be giving up more like 3 hours of vacation time. Does anyone have any experience with Starwood presentations and do you think it would be worth it to give up part of my vacation to save $330?
Any thoughts would be so helpful!
Thanks!

Yes, I did this in 2006! I purchased a 4 night package for $200. It included an option to tickets (I can't remember all the tickets choices...I think WDW was only a 1 day option.) We choose Seaworld which was a 2 day ticket for my self and DD. My DD had never been to Seaworld.

We invited another mother & daughter to go with us. They had never been on a non-family type of vacation. We drove and they brough A LOT of stuff but it was their mini van...so oh well.

Well, we stayed at the Courtyard. Which was nice because we wanted to stay close to Seaworld. They would have put us up in a nice place but all were full by the time I set our dates. Oh that reminds me...we had only 12 months to use it by...so make sure you know when it expires. But we were happy at the courtyard. So it was a very nice stay.

I scheled the timeshare presentation as one of the earliest times. Around 7am or 7:30ish...I dont remember exactly. They had a van that came and picked me up and too me to where the presentation was and then of course you break off into 1 on 1 with the sales person. If you are married..you HAVE to bring your spouse! That may be the only negative for a married couple. I am single...so it was just me. I have no interest in a non-disny time share...so I got out soon as I could afterwords.

Would I do it again. YES! It was a great savings and nice time and the couple hours I gave up were worth the savings for this budget minded single mom! By the time I got back to the room, the others were just beginning to get up...so they didn't miss out on anything, LOL.
Have fun!!!:mickey:

[forever a child]

I should mention that our Seaworld tickets were include in the $200 price and we got a few other perks like Planet Hollywood discount and quick service seating...whatever that is called. They treat you VERY nice while you are there for a timeshare visit.:thumbsup:

[faline]

It's probably just me, but you couldn't provide me with enough to get me to sit through a time share presentation!

[ElenitaB]

I did this with Sheraton in 2004 and would have to say that it was one of the most uncomfortable situations I've ever put myself in. I walked out of there in tears... talk about a hard sell! I was very interested in their timeshare but was not willing to disclose to them th reasons I was not willing to commit to a considerable investment at that time. I was considering it but that was not enough. They were set on hearing YES. Saying "no" and being polite just did not cut it with these people. Oh, and I guess being a single mom didn't qualify me for their "quality" accommodations for our stay as they put us in the Buena Vista Suites.

[PAYROLL PRINCESS]

I just tell them my BIL sells time share so if I were to buy, it would be through him. That's a bit of an lie; he is now my EX-BIL and he sold time share 20 years ago. But they don't need to know that. You just have to know your properties in order to bluff well. And I don't feel bad about it because as others have mentioned, some of these places are very hard sell!

[Tiggerlovr9000]

Yes it was worth it for us. They fed all 5 of us breakfast and then 3 park tickets. We must be weird because we think its fun to look. We have bought sample weeks twice and since there is no commitment after that it was easy. Actually have some points I have to use by March so we are going to California in Feb. Yay!!!:mickey:

[Kenny1113]

I had a similar expirience to elenitab. I don't remember what company it was, but it was very uncomfortable. I left there so irritated it took a couple of hours to calm down and enjoy my day. I went with the intention of not buying, liked what I saw and heard told them I was interested but would not make a decision that day. At that point they just got down right nasty. I would not do it again, but hey it doesn't hurt to try once.

[princessgirls]

My husband and I have sat through two time share presentations...here are my thoughts...

First Presentation: RCI on the Big Island of Hawaii, the resort was so far from everything. Such a hard sell, left there in tears after spending 4 hours with these people. Hated it Hated it Hated it!!! We were on our honeymoon and fell victim to the millions of time share people hawking you. We did get our helicopter tour for buy one get one free and in 1996 that tour was running at $275. Sorry to have wasted 4 hours of my honeymoon. Learned that you get nothing for free...
Second Presentation: The lure of Free airline tickets in 2000. We had a five month old baby and one on the way. After they cashed the $1200 check we find out that we can only use this great week of timeshare at the resort we bought it at. Our homestate of New Jersey. GREAT...I was really really mad, and called the manager of sales EVERY DAY to find me a beach resort in Florida for a week in October. The tragedy of September 11 happened, and that very week I got a call that they were wide open and would put us up in a resort on The Gulf Coast of Florida. We took it.
I was 8 months pregnant and we had a one year old...we arrive at the resort and I lost it. Apparently the word RESORT was used very loosely. This was no more than a seaside motel. We did have a great week, but another time share lesson...
I will NEVER sit through another one of these things again. I vacation differently and do not see the value. I would buy into the DVC because we love Disney and we could package some of the other things on, like the meal plan.
I think BEWARE...timeshare can be an ugly world, and NOTHING is free.
Julie:mickey:

[septembergirl]

Wow! I seemed to have hit a nerve! I have sat through time shares presentations before with DH - just not during my Disney vacation! At Disney, time is money so that is why I am wondering if it will be worth it. I know that my husband can very firmly say NO and keep saying NO until we can get out of there. I don't want any unpleasantness messing up my vacation though! It's just a really good deal for my large family so I am tempted to risk it. I figure even if they keep us 3 hours, we will still be saving over $100 dollars an hour! Also, the presentation is onsite and we can let the kids sleep in (teenagers) while we go first thing in the morning as mentioned earlier. I don't know...

[DizneyRox]

Went to one, won't do that again. That was before the economy took a nose dive, I can imagine the hard sell turned into the harder sell.

I forgot how long our 90 minute "presentation" was, I think it was most of the afternoon. We got grief from the moment we got there, and it didn't stop until after we got our tickets.

[diz_girl]

It's probably just me, but you couldn't provide me with enough to get me to sit through a time share presentation!
:ditto:

However, I did go to the DVC presentation last August on Long Island, but DVC is different, they don't do hard sells. And I planned to buy anyway.

Like DisneyRox said, timeshares are a hard sell, but I would think that given the current Florida real-estate situation, it would be really bad now.

Expect it to be extremely unpleasant and take up much more time than you think. You will feel that they won't let you leave without signing a contract.