Have you ever received one of those timeshare “vacation deals” phone calls or emails? You know, the ones that promise lodging and park admission for a fraction of the normal cost if you attend a timeshare presentation. If so, you may have wondered about them and whether they are worth following. Well, I’m not ashamed to stand up and say, “I did it!” My mom and I went on vacation together, and for the first three days we took advantage of one of those too-good-to-be-true timeshare vacation deals. Here are my experiences:
Last spring, my grandmother received an unsolicited phone call from a group offering cheap Orlando hotel rooms and Disney park tickets. My grandmother had always wanted to go, so she called my mother and asked her to look into it. My mom found out that this company (Vacation Showroom, Inc.) was offering a $99 per person “vacation package” for stays in one or all cities (Orlando, Ft. Lauderdale, Williamsburg, and Las Vegas). The stay in Orlando promised 3 nights in a hotel just 5 minutes from the Disney parks plus one day pass to the park per person. She was also informed that she would have to pay a $30 reservation fee, that the Orlando location would cost an additional $29 per person, and that she was to attend a timeshare sales presentation breakfast. Thinking it would be an inexpensive way to take my grandmother on vacation, she bought it herself. It cost her $228 to buy the package. Unfortunately, my grandmother passed away before this trip and I went in her place.
The package promised “quality” accommodations within 10 minutes of attractions, such as AmeriHost, Ramada Plaza 1000 or Radisson Barceló. We were unable to specify one of these hotels; one would be selected for us based on availability at the time of booking. It turned out that we booked at Amerihost, which of the three hotels was the closest to Walt Disney World. I did some research before the trip and confirmed that Amerihost offered free transportation to Walt Disney World. The reservation agent mentioned that we would need to confirm our late arrival (8:00 pm) on the morning of the check-in day. Obediently, my mother called before we left for the airport to confirm our arrival. So far, so good.
Our flight arrived in the early afternoon and we took a cab to the Amerihost; We did not rent a car, as the hotel had a shuttle to Walt Disney World. Arriving at the hotel, we wandered around a bit trying to find the check-in desk for the vacation package, which turned out to be WAY at the back of the hotel. We wasted a good half hour on this. Finally, my mom checked in with the Vacation Showroom timeshare people and received a hotel voucher. Voucher in hand, we headed to the hotel check-in desk to get our room, and fell asleep. Unfortunately, this was not to be. When it was our turn to check-in, we were informed that even though we had confirmed our stay that morning, the hotel was overbooked and we could stay at Ramada Plaza 1000. We both said in unison, “We don’t have transportation!” . But the hotel staff would not budget. After much complaining and haggling, they finally agreed to give us transportation to and from the Ramada. We were directed to go back to the Vacation Showroom office to book our timeshare presentation meeting (required to get park tickets) and then go to the Ramada.
So we took our luggage back to the office, signed up for the timeshare presentation ($20 deposit required), and one of the employees gave us a lift in a van ($5 tip). It was a good 20-25 minute drive to the Ramada. When we checked in, we found out that not only was there no transportation to Disney, but the restaurant had just closed and there wasn’t even a restaurant within walking distance. So we trudged to our room, ordered sandwiches from a delivery place, and fell asleep exhausted. Not an auspicious start to our journey.
The next morning we showed up at the Vacation Showroom office at opening time (8:00 am) to inquire about the return transportation that we were promised. My mom strayed so I gave it a try. After a lot of insisting, the representative said that she would arrange transportation for us. It turned out that she had called a car company in town, and upon dropping us off at the Amerihost, the driver insisted on $40 for the ride. No way! I went in and spoke to an employee at the check-in counter and they paid the driver. However, we did give the driver a $5 tip.
Finally, we signed up with Amerihost. A “smoking” room was the only room available, but we took it so we could continue on with our day. Unfortunately, by the time we got our luggage up to the room, the last shuttle of the morning had left. We asked at the concierge desk about transportation to Animal Kingdom, and were told their driver could take us both for $20. Eager to hit the road, we agreed. The ride was fine, and we gave another $5 tip.
The timeshare presentation was the next day. While we both dreaded this, we knew it had to be done to get the park tickets. So we showed up at the hotel lobby at the appointed time and were taken to the Silver Lake Resort. There we await the presentation of the timeshare. As it turned out, individual sales reps came out and yelled individual names – one sales rep for each part. Oh! We thought we would be in a safe group setting.
Our timeshare sales representative led us into a large meeting room where 40 small tables and chairs were set up. A very sparse “breakfast buffet” was set up along the side – it was the usual continental breakfast, and not very appetizing. After chatting about his family and accidentally spilling his coffee on my mom, he started talking in general about how valuable vacations are and the value of saving money on them. We all knew this, but hey, whatever. After about an hour of this, he gave us a tour of the two and three bedroom condos at Silver Lake Resort. They looked good, nothing to compare to the Disney Vacation Club resorts, but still good. Then it was time for the hard sell. He pulled out his calculator and told my mom what her monthly payments would be when she bought the timeshare. My mother asked questions very politely and expressed genuine interest, but she was very adamant that she couldn’t make a decision right away. She pushed more, and more, and more. When my mother didn’t move, she got frustrated (she actually put her head in her hands and blew out a big sigh!). Eventually after another hour she got mad, no kidding. She made it clear that we had wasted her time. Say oh! She held us up an hour longer than we were told she would take for the timeshare presentation. When she finally gave up and let us go, I smiled and thanked her for her time. She turned around abruptly. And because she was over the allotted time, we got back to the Amerihost late and missed the shuttle. We spent another $25 to get to Epcot.
The good news? We got both park tickets a day after the presentation. Well, they were actually coupons, but we had no problem exchanging them for actual tickets at Guest Relations at the parks.
In total, the experience cost us $346 when you add transportation costs. At regular rates, it would have cost $69/night to stay at Amerihost, plus $53 x 2 for tickets, for a total of $313. Also, we wouldn’t have had the hassle of overbooking (regulars were given rooms), the mess of transportation, nor the wasted half day and aggravation of the timeshare presentation.
It was worth it? If we had taken advantage of the accommodations in the other cities (two nights each in Ft. Lauderdale, Williamsburg, and Las Vegas at no extra charge, if you don’t count the timeshare presentation that comes with each visit) and had our own transportation, maybe, but that’s a big maybe. Otherwise? NO WAY! We hate the hassle, we hate the lack of control, and we hate the high-pressure timeshare sales presentation. This was not a deal. And while I wouldn’t call it a scam, I don’t think “exaggerated hype” is too far off the mark.
My advice? Stay away from timeshare presentations unless you have time and money to waste.
Copyright © Jennifer Marx, PassPorter Travel Press. All rights reserved.