What a Timeshare Sales Presentation Is Really Like !

For anyone who has not had the pleasure of experiencing a Timeshare Sales Presentation, here’s how one might go !

So you’ve accepted the free dinner, free accommodation, exclusive gift, or tickets to an attraction, and now all you have to do is sit through a “short presentation”. Sounds reasonable ? After all, you wouldn’t expect this freebie for nothing !

The Timeshare rep has done the easy bit, they have got you through the door by luring you in with a free gift, cash, tickets etc. You are, more than likely, already in a pretty good mood. After all, you’re on holiday, the sun is shining, you’re relaxed and you’re about to be handed a free gift, what could possibly spoil this? Well, here is how that can quickly happen…..

At the presentation, you will more than likely encounter an excessively friendly sales rep, who is unusually interested in all aspects of your life and whose incessant questioning seems far more personal than it should be. The relentless enquiries have one purpose only: to get a feel for your lifestyle, your interests and, hopefully, information about your bank balance and annual income.

Timeshares are, ultimately, an impulse purchase. No-one ever goes on holiday with the desire to spend their entire life-savings, or take out loans to fund something they didn’t want and be locked into annual maintenance fee payments. Timeshare agents know this, so don’t be surprised if your salesperson is overly focused on closing the deal and reluctant to let you leave the sales pitch. They know that, after you walk out the door and collect your free gift, you’re not coming back for round two.

On your way to tour the immaculately presented timeshare unit, it will be explained to you that you are under no obligation to buy, that this is simply a tour of the accommodations on offer. You will also be asked several manipulative questions like “Don’t you enjoy taking your family on holiday?”, “If you could purchase all your future holidays at todays price, wouldn’t you be interested?”. These questions are being asked, not to help you better understand your own holiday needs, but are designed to trap buyers into agreeing that you should take more holidays and it’s better for you and your family to do so.

Whilst exploring this gloriously staged timeshare unit, your sales agent will show you how luxurious and exclusive it is and how much you and your family will enjoy every single holiday you take, not to mention all the wonderful benefits at an amazing price ! What they fail to mention are the hidden costs.

At this point in the presentation you will probably still feel quite relaxed, as the pitch so far has been relatively easy going. Although the accommodation and surroundings look wonderful, you can even picture yourself holidaying there, you are determined you will not purchase anything before you have gone away and had a long hard think about it.

A warning: the next stage of the presentation may leave you feeling a little like a hostage being held captive, and the only way out is to sign on the dotted line !

If you are managing to hold your ground and continue to resist, in comes the manager. They will be armed to the teeth with a hard-sell. They will offer you everything they have in the vault, including extra gifts, VIP passes and huge discounts, to mention just a few.

A lot of what you hear at this stage is possibly untrue and some of the tactics they use from here on in may be fraudulent. An example of this is telling you that your timeshare will yield extraordinary monetary profits, there is a high resale value and buyers are queuing up to buy them. You will be led to believe that you are making a real estate deal, an investment that you can later cash in on or pass on to your children.

If you have made it to the final part of the pitch, this is where it can get a little scary and intimidating. Many of our customers have complained of experiencing very underhanded tactics. One customer explained how she and her husband were held for 4 hours, during which they were subjected to some very poor consumer practices. After not drinking and eating at all during this time, they were offered alcohol ! Their experience lasted a total of 8 hours and, by the end, the pair were exhausted, tipsy, feeling unwell and were now, unfortunately, timeshare owners. Incredibly, this is not uncommon.

Your sales rep will undoubtedly lie to you multiple times, they could become aggressive, we have heard of this happening on too many occasions. The sales rep is solely focused on his or her problem of needing to close the sale and they have no genuine interest in you or your financial commitments. They may also have spent several hours trying to coerce you into purchasing. It is important to remember that you are in charge, you can leave when you want to and you do not have to stay longer than already agreed.

The timeshare industry has changed dramatically since its creation. Corporations have turned it into a money pit of ever increasing maintenance fees and assessments. The points program is a complicated system where they can change the number of points required at their discretion. Customers on the points system often complain that they cannot use their points when and how they want to.

Mis-selling of holiday products is unfortunately common practice within the holiday industry and these types of crimes often go unreported by the most vulnerable in our society and criminal convictions are few and far between. If you have purchased a Lifestyle / Concierge service, a Timeshare or a Holiday Points based product from a resort or company and feel unhappy with the service or feel you have been mis-sold this product, please get in touch with us to discuss how we may be able to help you with a possible Timeshare Termination.

Please contact our friendly team on: 0121 272 3100 or enquiries@praetorainlegal.com