The dreaded moment has arrived. The timeshare tour “hooker person” has given the spiel and is waiting for your answer–and in his mind, it’s a matter of “when” you’ll take the tour, not “if.” You look to your spouse/significant other/friend for moral support–no help there! So you politely take the plunge and say, “no thank you.”
EGAD!!! Did you really think saying “no” one time would be enough!?? Now, if you happen to be at a kiosk on the street or at a mall, and you can walk away at the same time, you might actually be okay. But if you are at the “parking pass desk,” forget it! It is now time to do battle! Here are some ideas that sometimes (the key operative word here is “sometimes,”) work if you honestly do not want to do a tour:
- “We’ll think it over. Why don’t you give us a call tomorrow once we’ve had some rest?” If you do this, make sure you unplug all your unit phones, for several days.
- “Oh, we were just at Wyndham Branson only a few weeks ago!” They will sometimes assume you did a tour there, but if they specifically ask, you’ll have to decide whether to lie or not.
- “We have guests coming, and don’t know our schedule, yet.” Unfortunately, they sometimes still want to “pencil you in.”
- “We have no intention of buying and don’t want to waste the time.” (They will probably counter with, “Oh, it’s just a short survey that will give us your input–it only takes 30 minutes.)
As you can see, these strategies don’t always work, but they’re the best excuses we have to try to keep things on a friendly keel. Remember, these people often do not understand the timeshare system, the high developer prices or what actually transpires during the tour. Their job (and salary) depends on whether or not they get you to sign up. We have often had to say “no” five or six times and endure belittling looks that indicated we must be crazy not to fall for this really good deal. We have also been asked, “why not?” (I really flipped out over that one. My answer was, “I don’t have to give you my reasons!”) If things get to that point, all you can do is repeat “NO,” try to refrain from sarcasm, and leave with some bad feelings to start your vacation.
I guess this is why we no longer feel guilty if we decide to do a timeshare tour just to receive the gifts. Numerous times we have stated that we had no interest in buying, and we were still hounded to “take the survey.” We have even discussed this with timeshare salesmen, suggesting that they cut out the gifts and lower the prices so that their product is more affordable. Unfortunately, the way the industry is now, 50% of timeshare company budgets go toward the promotions that lure people in.
Whether you admit to buying resale or not is your call. Some companies will penalize or restrict your use of your timeshare. We’ve heard of people going on timeshare tours that state their resale history up front or even wear t-shirts that say “only buy resale.” We try to low key it, realizing that being a timeshare salesman is not a great job and we’d rather not rub his face in the dirt. Also, we usually go into the presention hoping to learn more and possibly (though not probably) consider a future purchase.
Someone once posted online that they actually thought they had to do the updates when staying at a resort! Know that you don’t have to do anything that you don’t want to do. Also know that if you get talked into buying, you have so many days (depending on what state you’re in) to rescind the offer. Timeshare tours and promotions generally give timesharing a bad rep–and that’s too bad, because the product is fantastic!
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