TIMESHARE PRESENTATIONS FOR BIG PAYOUT

Would you spend 90 to 120 minutes of your vacation to significantly reduce the cost of your trip? Katy and I do, every chance we get with a timeshare presentation offer.

As timeshare developers add properties to their inventory they need buyers quickly and in large numbers. From years of experience the pros in the industry know what pricing works, what pitches to use on the potential buyers and what incentives they need to entice you to listen to their spiel. And they even know what percentage of potential customers will actually buy in their project. It really is a numbers game.

My opportunity as a frugal traveller is to pick the ones I want to listen to, at a time convenient to my vacation plan, with a nice big incentive of points, miles or cash. And most important to me, is to deal with reputable companies. And I always get the first appointment in the morning so it doesn't mess up my vacation day.

I like to deal with the big operators that would not dare push a customer too far with a hard sell and intimidating closing tactics. I have listened to timeshare presentations from Hilton Vacation Clubs, Marriott Resort Properties and will also go to Sheraton and Hyatt presentations as they are the least likely to high pressure you.

They usually limit you to one presentation per year and they do keep records. In Hawaii this past November we tried at the Hilton, but were turned down as we had been in May. I forgot.

The offers seem to come in two basic forms:

1. An incentive offered without a current stay required. You walk into the lobby of the hotel and somebody offers you points, miles or food credit for 90 minutes of your time. Rarely do these offers come by mail. The offers typically pay at the rate of $100 per hour in my mind for the both of you ( if married or partnered up, you both must attend). My last payday was at the Marriott Frenchmen's Reef in St. Thomas for a $100 food credit. Hamburgers were $14.95 so it came in handy. No high pressure and a little over one hour.

2. The second type tends to offer a higher reward and offers you the opportunity to stay at a property close by or the actual property being offered for sale. I've done these at the Hilton in Lost Wages, Nevada, Hawaii several times, the Caribbean and just got targeted for New York City which I scooped up in a minute.

The current offer was the Hilton Club at 57 Ave or Street, I can never remember. The deal was two nights at the Hilton provided, 25,000 Hilton Hhonors points or $125 food credit at a high end restaurant on site. And if we check in between Sunday and Tuesday we get a $100 Saks Fifth Ave gift certificate.

I look at this as a free stay in Manhattan as the 25K Hilton Hhonors points are worth .007 each to me or $175 and the $100 gift card, well Katy will like that one. The price was $299. A room at the Hilton costs more than that for one night.

How do you get targeted? Do a Google search for Timeshare offers, or I will provide links to current offers on the sidebar at a later date. Just ask me.

If you don't get something right away, don't worry, they have your name and address and will be in contact when they need you to view a particular property.

OK , now the tough part for some of you: SAYING NO.

It is not that hard to do when you have this fact: Timeshares sell for considerably less on the resale market. The guy that buys from the developer pays top dollar and usually takes a hit when time to sell. We are FRUGAL. We aren't going to buy. We just came to look, learn about the project and collect the premium offered. You'll here about all the incentives you get for "buying now" like free points etc, but you are getting free points for just listening.

If you are weak in the knees, maybe this is not for you. If they do somehow, someway, that I will never understand, get you to sign on the dotted line, remember you are typically entitled to a THREE DAY RIGHT OF RESCISSION. But you won't need that to turn off the presentation. These reputable companies will not push you that hard. Remember stay with the big companies: Hilton, Marriott, Sheraton and Hyatt to avoid high pressure.

Look for the opportunity to take a presentation early in the morning, and enjoy the presentation and pitch.

And lastly, in all fairness to the hotels, these timeshares do make sense to a segment of the population. I like my quarteshare or 13 week block. But I only paid $39,000 or $3,000 PER WEEK on the resale market.

Be an informed looker.


EASY ONE DAY MILEAGE RUN

It was a long day yesterday, but I needed the break.

Up at 4:30AM for 7 AM flight SAV-MEM, one hour connect then MEM-SFO, one hour connect then SFO-MEM (same plane, love it), one hour connect then MEM-SAV and home by 11:30PM. I watched an old Kevin Costner movie "No Way Out" slept when needed and was just quiet all day.

I've now done my part for the Northwest (Delta now) Great Race Promotion. Four teammates fly 25,000 collectively and get a 20,000 mile bonus each. I could have made it more complicated and picked up a few more miles, but only had one day to complette it and it worked out fine. My cost was $231 less a $200 customer service issue voucher or $31 net and $77 for a two day car rental (ugh) which garnered 5000 more Delta miles.

So one day out of my life for $108 and 50,000 miles. That is a round trip ticket to Europe worth $1000.

People can't believe I'd fly to San Francisco for an hour. I can't believe they wouldn't.