Does a Free Holiday Really Exist?

With the holiday season right around the corner you could be noticing a higher volume of calls from unknown numbers. Upon answering these calls you will be told you have won a fantastic prize of a 7-night stay in a Luxury resort and all you have to do is attend a short presentation event at a location near you.

Sounds pretty good so far, after all there is no such thing as a free holiday. However why on earth would a “Free Holiday” put conditions on a prize ? And these conditions don’t just include attending a meeting, you will also be asked to prove you are a homeowner, living with your partner and have a joint income of over 25k a year.

The ‘Prize’ is used to entice you into attending their presentation evening, a few hours of your stay whilst they promote their Timeshare system. This may sound like a fair deal in return for a luxury 7 night stay, however, these “Presentation Evenings” can quickly turn into an severe sales pitch and after several hours of pressure, you might emerge as the new owner of a timeshare and no idea why you agreed to it.

Some of the techniques employed by your Timeshare Salesperson:

• Overstating the value and benefits of Timeshare ownership and not fully disclosing the true cost to the consumer by informing them of maintenance fees and restrictions to their Timeshare.
• Customers being kept much longer than the appropriated time and reports of people being ferried around between different locations.
• Your Timeshare Salesperson will argue forcefully against your protests not to purchase and have a counter argument prepared for any excuse you can think of to end the intensive sales pitch.
• Once the pitch is over and before you can escape you will be approached again and ambushed with multiple sales pitches.

Some things to remember if you do decide to purchase a Timeshare:

• Be sure to read the small print! And you have understood all aspects of your purchase. If you are still unsure seek independent advice.
• Are you in good enough Financial Health to commit to your Timeshare? You must also include maintenance fees as an extra cost annually, these fees are also subject to yearly increases.
• Consider whether or not you will be able to fully utilise your Timeshare to benefit from it. The Timeshare payments add up and often you are not able to use the facility as much as you would like.

It is important to remember that purchasing a Timeshare should NEVER be viewed as a financial investment. Timeshare is an investment in lifestyle, in future holiday’s and family time together. When viewed that way it can indeed be a good investment.