Have you ever sat through a time share presentation? I have many many times. Sometimes, people traveling with me think I'm crazy for wasting 90 minutes of my trip when I know a time share isn't for me. Don't get me wrong, this post isn't about whether time shares are good or bad, it's about how to use the presentations to get free trips and more. It's not for everyone. You definitely can't be afraid of confrontation and have the ability to just say no firmly, multiple times.
However, time share presentations have earned us literally thousands of dollars in vacation savings. So, it was definitely worth it to cost conscious travelers.
Here's my best recommendation for how to handle time share presentations.
First, let them know right up front you aren't interested in time shares. They will of course not care and let you know how you get whatever they are offering whether you are interested or not. They need these presentations to have plenty of people so they look more popular. I feel like it lets the presenter off the hook a bit as well. They still have to go through everything as if you had your wallet out on the table already, but usually this lowers their pressure sale.
Secondly, in any tourist area you'll usually find people offering time share tours or presentations. I have learned to not accept their first offer. Very often you'll get better offers after saying no the first time. I've seen the offers go from a free dinner (We don't accept these, just not worth it) to $200 worth of expeditions just from saying no the first time.
Lastly, this is where the confrontation comes in... Some times the time share promotion bosses will try hard to make you angry. Once they learn you did just come for the free vacation offers they may want to make sure you never do it again. They do this by trying to insult you saying stuff like "you must not have enough money because anyone else would recognize this great deal and buy it". From there, they'll try and waste your time by going over the promised sixty minutes or whatever it is for the presentation. At this point, you have to start being vocal. I just look at my watch and say OK, I've heard your presentation, I've said no. Now it's 15 minutes past the time you said I'd be here. I'd like my reward now. If they keep me sitting there much longer after that, I start to get a bit louder so others can hear me. I may even mention out loud that this is a horrible deal. They usually start trying to rush you out at this point.
A lot of people just candle handle the level of confrontation required to get out of a time share presentation on time with their reward. I've come to enjoy it, especially times when I catch them lying, which frankly is often. Do your homework before going and then when you hear them exclaiming that their time share is a good investment, you'll know they are trying to con you. Time shares may be good for a lot of people if it fits their vacation style, but it is basically never a good "investment". But they will say so in order to get you to buy. That's when I get a bit more aggressive back. I turn it into a game and when they are rude or trying to sell me lies, it just makes it more fun for me.
There are times when we do buy something from a time share presentation, but only when it makes perfect sense to us and we did our homework in advance to know it was a good company. Hilton has good presentations with good offers. When we buy offers like this, it's never a time share commitment. We just occasionally agree to buy a specific week in one location when it's a great deal. We saved nearly $1,000 on a week in a two bedroom condo in Hawaii from Hilton and it was a great experience. We even did another presentation from them while there. (A lot of times this is required to get the deal). That timeshare presentation rewarded us with tickets for a helicopter tour saving us well over $100 each.
If you are looking to save some money on your vacation, and can put up with a bit of hard sell, why not take their money! Once you do this once or twice you seem to get on some list and suddenly you'll start getting offers via email, snail mail, etc. I like to have fun with it, sometimes I'll let them believe it's my first presentation ever. I find they are more likely to lie to me to sell me something if they think it's my first time. Other times I feel froggy and I tell them I've been to dozens of these and never bought anything just to see how they respond to me. They'll either rush through the presentation to get me out of there or they'll try really hard to anger me so I don't come back. I make sure and enjoy it either way!
Hope you enjoyed this. I don't post much as I like to just curate and find great work to promote. Drop me a comment about your travel post if you feel it isn't getting the recognition it deserves and I'll offer advice as to why it's not and get you some upvotes if it is deserving.