Anyone done the Wyndham vacation timeshare presentation?

[Carpediem]

In a moment of weakness today, the Wyndham phone rep talked me into taking a $99 (total, not per night) 3 day/2 night vacation to one of 15 or so destinations in exchange for attending one of their 2 hr timeshare presentations. Obviously, I have ZERO interest in a timeshare but I thought maybe we could stomach a presentation for 2 hours for a cheap vacation. Now, I'm thinking of just cancelling the whole thing.

Has anyone attended one of these 2 hour sales fest and lived to tell about it? How painful was it? Would you ever do it again?

[RetiredHappy]

Go over to tugbbs.com if you want to learn more about timeshare and NOT to buy when attending these sales presentations. Most Wyndham resale contracts can be had for $1.

[Carpediem]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RetiredHappy Go over to tugbbs.com if you want to learn more about timeshare and NOT to buy when attending these sales presentations. Most Wyndham resale contracts can be had for $1.

Thanks. Like I said, I will never ever EVER buy a timeshare no matter how good the sales pitch is.

[Dtail]

We are going to a Hilton 2 hour presentation in Feb, as a 3 day part of our 10 day stay.
I have done it before and am quite should we say adamant about not buying.
Last time I just said I never had any interest in buying and just wanted the discounted hotel and nothing you will say will make me change my mind.

[SecondCor521]

My Dad bought a Wyndham timeshare for $16K and sold it back to them three months later, unused, for $50. Their contract sales rep straight up lied to get my Dad to buy. I don't really like the company.

[RetiredHappy]

The saying goes.... "when the lips are moving..." it means that they are lying. We own a ton of timeshare (Marriott/Westin systems) and they perform as advertised but we knew what we wanted when we bought them.

[Doribe]

I've done a few of these. I make sure they stay within the specified time.

You have to decide if your time is worth it.

[PaunchyPirate]

After seeing how much money they milked out of my parents, I could not sit for 5 minutes of a Wyndham presentation. Any other time share vendor, I would leave after 6 minutes.

[Carpediem]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dtail We are going to a Hilton 2 hour presentation in Feb, as a 3 day part of our 10 day stay. I have done it before and am quite should we say adamant about not buying. Last time I just said I never had any interest in buying and just wanted the discounted hotel and nothing you will say will make me change my mind.

Did they require you to pay for your discounted hotel at the time you agreed to attend the sale presentation?

[Aerides]

I would not want this hanging over me during a stay, and would only consider it if it's early - like right after check in on Day1, or right after breakfast on day2. No afternoons, or lunch, which split up your day and kinda block most of the day. (I wouldn't want to get out of the pool or come off the beach early to sit in a conference room...and I wouldn't want that on my mind as a boring obligation the whole stay).

I would also be wary of reps stopping by and bothering me during the stay. It would be near something I was wanting to see, in a place I really wanted to go, and a Wyndham doesn't sound like either of those.

[RobbieB]

I went to one "free dinner"

And that's all folks!

[Sunset]

We were in HI years ago for a week and attended a 1 hour presentation for $100 .
After they went overtime to 1.5 hours, DW told them they took too long and we had to leave.
At the time it seemed smart, but now I sit here and think how crazy to do that for $100.

I get those Wyndham offers, but the little fine print says if you don't show up, they will charge you a huge amount for the 3 days.

[Bamaman]

I was reading about the timeshare industry this week. We see so many of the timeshare sellers owned by megacompanies like Hilton and Wyndham.

There was a new industry sprouting up getting time share contracts cancelled, and the owners free of the obligations.

Unfortunately, Hilton & Wyndham are going after these timeshare breakers legally one by one, state by state with hundreds if not thousands of lawsuits. They're breaking any company that attacks their business plan with massive lawsuits that there's not enough money to fight.

What's so bad about time shares is that they're not at all a good deal. And they can come after your estate because the obligation is eternal--even after the owners die.

[Carpediem]

After sleeping on the Wyndham offer, I think I'll cancel and get a refund. They said I have 7 days. As Aerides mentioned, I already have this feeling of dread hanging over me.

[RetiredHappy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bamaman I was reading about the timeshare industry this week. We see so many of the timeshare sellers owned by megacompanies like Hilton and Wyndham. There was a new industry sprouting up getting time share contracts cancelled, and the owners free of the obligations. Unfortunately, Hilton & Wyndham are going after these timeshare breakers legally one by one, state by state with hundreds if not thousands of lawsuits. They're breaking any company that attacks their business plan with massive lawsuits that there's not enough money to fight. What's so bad about time shares is that they're not at all a good deal. And they can come after your estate because the obligation is eternal--even after the owners die.

I am very well-versed with timeshares because we travel about 3 months a year and stay in luxurious suites with full kitchen, living room, dining room, with views of golf courses and the ocean. The issue is for MOST timeshare the value of developer purchased timeshare drop to pennies on the dollar the moment the buyer walks out the door.

The "new industry" that you mention are all scams. They prey on the poor timeshare owners who want out and take thousands of dollars upfront, and at the end of the day, the owners are several thousand of dollars poorer and still own the same timeshare. There is not a single timeshare cancellation company that is legitimate.

The timeshare industry has continued to evolve over the past 3 decades and most big name timeshare companies now have free exit programs as long as they are paid up, and that includes contracts bought from the resale market. Wyndham/Worldmark/Shell is now one company and they have programs called "Transitions" and "Ovation" which timeshare owners can simply hand their timeshare back to them. Wyndham "generously" provides 3 years of future use points after developer-bought timeshare get handed back to them.

Marriott and Vistana (Westin/Sheraton) are now all part of Marriott Vacation Club International (MVCI). Marriott has a program where they actually resell desirable deeds and they take a cut of 50% from the sale. They accept all deedbacks on fully paid up timeshare.

Hyatt and Welk timeshare systems are also now part of MVCI. The consolidation is good for the industry because the big companies are actually putting programs in place to get timeshare owners out of their ownership as long as they are fully paid up.

Even lowly Westgate (has a nickname of Wastegate), accepts deedbacks on fully paid-up timeshare for free or a couple of hundred dollars.

For the consumers who want to get their feet wet, our advice is they need to buy resale and many timeshare, even the good ones, can be had for $1. They may lose many of the developer-purchased perks but it sure beats losing tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars buying from the developer. There are some specific timeshare that lose very few perks when being resale, for instance, Hyatt resale weeks and with the Hilton system.

It is the smaller independent timeshare systems which is really problematic. Timeshare owners cannot get out of it as they usually do not have deedbacks. Our advice is that if they do not mind taking a potential hit to their credit rating, to just stop paying maintenance fees and walk away.

For anyone who is interested to learn more about timeshare, go to tugbbs.com. We are a bunch of very friendly folks. There are lots of information on the site about various systems.

BTW, timeshare companies don't come after the estate, this is one of the scare tactics of "timeshare exit" companies uses in their commercial. Timeshare exit companies are the scammers.

[Carpediem]

Just to close out this thread, I called Wyndham and after repeating the reason for cancellation - "We're not interested in the package and want to cancel" - about 7-8 times, they finally cancelled it, refunded my $99, and sent a confirmation email. I think if I had played along with the sales rep, they might have *given* me a free timeshare! LOL Thanks for all the feedback.

[TrvlBug]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RetiredHappy I am very well-versed with timeshares because we travel about 3 months a year and stay in luxurious suites with full kitchen, living room, dining room, with views of golf courses and the ocean. The issue is for MOST timeshare the value of developer purchased timeshare drop to pennies on the dollar the moment the buyer walks out the door. The "new industry" that you mention are all scams. They prey on the poor timeshare owners who want out and take thousands of dollars upfront, and at the end of the day, the owners are several thousand of dollars poorer and still own the same timeshare. There is not a single timeshare cancellation company that is legitimate. The timeshare industry has continued to evolve over the past 3 decades and most big name timeshare companies now have free exit programs as long as they are paid up, and that includes contracts bought from the resale market. Wyndham/Worldmark/Shell is now one company and they have programs called "Transitions" and "Ovation" which timeshare owners can simply hand their timeshare back to them. Wyndham "generously" provides 3 years of future use points after developer-bought timeshare get handed back to them. Marriott and Vistana (Westin/Sheraton) are now all part of Marriott Vacation Club International (MVCI). Marriott has a program where they actually resell desirable deeds and they take a cut of 50% from the sale. They accept all deedbacks on fully paid up timeshare. Hyatt and Welk timeshare systems are also now part of MVCI. The consolidation is good for the industry because the big companies are actually putting programs in place to get timeshare owners out of their ownership as long as they are fully paid up. Even lowly Westgate (has a nickname of Wastegate), accepts deedbacks on fully paid-up timeshare for free or a couple of hundred dollars. For the consumers who want to get their feet wet, our advice is they need to buy resale and many timeshare, even the good ones, can be had for $1. They may lose many of the developer-purchased perks but it sure beats losing tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars buying from the developer. There are some specific timeshare that lose very few perks when being resale, for instance, Hyatt resale weeks and with the Hilton system. It is the smaller independent timeshare systems which is really problematic. Timeshare owners cannot get out of it as they usually do not have deedbacks. Our advice is that if they do not mind taking a potential hit to their credit rating, to just stop paying maintenance fees and walk away. For anyone who is interested to learn more about timeshare, go to tugbbs.com. We are a bunch of very friendly folks. There are lots of information on the site about various systems. BTW, timeshare companies don't come after the estate, this is one of the scare tactics of "timeshare exit" companies uses in their commercial. Timeshare exit companies are the scammers.

This... We own several timeshares and make use of them. They are NOT investments but another way of taking vacations. We love ours and know the system well to be able to take vacations in luxury resorts for "pennies on the dollar"...example, staying in an oceanfront $5K+/week 2 bedroom condo for the equivalent of $700 for the week. Not bad.

We are at the point in our lives where we'll get rid of some as our vacationing style has changed. Will give hem back at no cost to us. The ones we own that have some value, we'll sell. And yes, they can't come after your estate. This is just a scare tactic the scam timeshare exit teams use to get your hard earned money. TUG (Timeshare Users Group) is a great resource for anyone wanting to learn more about timesharing. That's where I got educated about timeshares.

[brett]

No experience with Wyndam. Our Australian friends are very happy with their Wyndham membership but it could you completely different.

In Thailand we got 7 nights, a dinner, a lunch etc at a 5 star resort for $90 USD simply by agreeing to attend a two hour lunch presentation. We had no intention of buying. Besides, major red flags when I subsequently looked up the company on the web.

Attended one in Daytona Beach while we were staying in a condo. It was a PITA but we came away with $100. for our trouble. Checked the pricing on a resale site. Their lowest price unit was selling for $8K. Same for same on the resale site was $2,500.

[ER2B]

We sold our worldmark time share to a reseller. Got half what we originally paid. We used it several times so we broke even. Most of the units are on the west coast and we're here on the east. Didn't account for travel cost. Facepalm. You learn you learn.

[Sunset]

I had a great timeshare, bought on the secondary market for just over $1K, we used it for years. Each was a separate house 3 br and 2 bathrooms.

After many years , and after the place had rundown a lot due to owners skipping out, I gave it back and just had to pay the legal fee of $250.

I feel I got my value out of it.