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ask-redweek-timeshare-sales-presentations (by Jenny S.):

I just attended a timeshare sales pitch for Marriott this weekend. I haven’t ever attended a timeshare pitch before. Everything seemed friendly enough at the start. It seemed like a great program with options for properties around the world through the point system. However, when I began asking detailed questions on how the program works, the sales team became hostile. I was told the points never expire, so I asked to confirm that all points earned year over year can be accumulated and used all at once later. The answer is no- they are only good for 2 years unless converted to hotel points to be used for that purpose vs. vacation timeshare rentals. When asked about the conversion factor in actual dollars, they refused to answer. In the presentation, they show various properties around the world, and the number of points needed to rent. The locations outside of the US require an exorbitant amount of points. Once they realized this, the sales team attempted to quickly delete these locations from the presentation. When I pressed them on the fact it seemed it would be more economical to just pay for a Marriott hotel at those locations (and had those prices pulled up in my Marriott app), they suggested a timeshare purchase “was not for me.” The staff was not able to tell me the difference between a Deed on a standard property and the Warranty Deed provided with a timeshare. They also took serious umbrage to the fact I asked about language in the contract that may prohibit me from renting to others. These were all major red flags for me. I’m no expert or real estate agent, but as a consumer, I expect to have valid and legitimate business transaction questions answered. Case in point, when I asked why the financing interest rate was 12.99% rather than a standard mortgage rate of approximately 4%, I was told it was because the amount borrowed was smaller than a standard mortgage, so the company had to make money somewhere. Finally, I asked to review specimen contract language up front. The sales team leader stood up and asked me to leave. I was told that there was no specimen language to review because “all the contracts are numbered and only people that agree to lock into the contract and pay the thousands of dollars deposit are allowed to review.” They went further to say that “if I thought they were tricking me and if I didn’t trust Marriott as a company, then timeshare rental was not an option for me.” ON WHAT PLANET?? The last time I checked, Marriott is a for-profit organization. If blind trust without any opportunity to review contract language coupled with turning over thousands of dollars on the spot is the only way they are willing to conduct a real estate transaction, then they are right, it’s not for me.