Cheap Travel by listening to time share presentations

[champion]

What do you all think about travel hacking by going on deeply discounted vacations in exchange for willingness to sit through a time share presentation?

I'd love to hear people's thoughts on this concept.  It seems very Mustachian, potentially.  It's similar to travel hacking with credit cards.  You put in some work, you play with fire a bit (while being confident in your ability to award the siren song of credit, the sales pitch of a timeshare salesman, or the tangle of the fine print), and you can reap pretty big rewards for time spent.

Has anyone ever done this?  What was it like?  What are the biggest pros and cons?

- It seems that mustachians are constitutionally better prepared than most people to calmly resist sales tactics and get the good deal without being sucked in by the sales presentation
- But it seems like a realm full of shady operators and risks of hidden fees, etc.

Any thoughts?  Anyone have experience with this? 

[ohsnap]

We have done this.  The risks of "shady operators and hidden fees" will not have any impact on you, because you are IMPERVIOUS to their pitch. 

Yes, you might have to listen to the whole pitch, and have to stay the minimum time they required.  But after you've heard the pitch, and they start asking you questions, just keep repeating that you are not going to buy today.  You don't have to say "I can't afford it" or "I don't like this place enough" or whatever excuse, because then they go by their pitch book to counter your objection.

On our last one, we were in & out in less than 45 minutes.  We informed the salesperson that we really appreciated the great deal we'd gotten, but we were not going to buy, period.  She was very polite and just asked that we walk through the visitor's center with her.  After that was done...we were done.  You will find this to be the case for the more reputable, upscale companies such as Hyatt & Marriott.  More aggressive companies will try to make you explain to a "manager" - the closer - why you aren't buying.

We haven't done it frequently because my husband finds it painful, but it can be lucrative.

[robartsd]

DW scheduled one for our 10th anniversary. Scheduled Mon & Tuesday nights. They didn't have a presentation scheduled when we would be there so they offered Sunday night, when Sunday didn't work for us they offerred to extend to Friday. Went to presentation Friday morning after packing up. We had a good time. I don't know if I'd enjoyed it as much if it was just the typical 2-night deal, but I might try booking mid-week, off-peak if we do it again to try for extra nights free.

[Parizade]

I spent a few nights at the Trump Tower in Las Vegas with a friend. The rest of our group was camping in Valley of Fire, which was slightly more expensive than our deeply discounted luxury hotel experience. They came up to use the shower and pool in the evening so it was great fun for all. The timeshare pitch was laughable, such a ripoff. My sales guy started out saying "oh no pressure, we just want you to listen, you can say no." but when I actually said no he got nasty and insulting. So we left and hung out by the pool with our friends and had a great time.

I probably wouldn't do it again, but once was fine.