Author Topic: Does anyone do timeshare presentation for discount travel?  (Read 11568 times)

Giro

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Does anyone do timeshare presentation for discount travel?
« on: February 09, 2016, 02:28:35 PM »
I'm tossing around the idea to do a timeshare deal to get a really good rate on a Caribbean hotel.  Seems like the basic 2 hour required presentation.

Has anyone had good or bad experiences doing this that they would like to share?

Thanks!!

oldmannickels

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Re: Does anyone do timeshare presentation for discount travel?
« Reply #1 on: February 09, 2016, 02:32:34 PM »
I did it at a Marriott and redeemed the points for a free night on my Honeymoon. It's just a general sales talk and they do a pretty good job of describing it as a win / win situation. We just said no and left. I felt sad for the people that were really signing up. Bonus if they give you free food.

mnbandr

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Re: Does anyone do timeshare presentation for discount travel?
« Reply #2 on: February 09, 2016, 02:53:40 PM »
I've never done it but my Aunt does it all the time.  Just make sure you can say No.  My grandparents ended up with a timeshare because of it, just couldn't say no/were convinced it was a good deal.

DebtFreeBy25

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Re: Does anyone do timeshare presentation for discount travel?
« Reply #3 on: February 09, 2016, 04:00:47 PM »
My mother's done this several different times, but unfortunately bought a timeshare once. I've refused to do it because I believe you have to say no to at least 3 different people before they let you go. Obviously the sales reps are trained to overcome objections, so whatever you say is going to be twisted into a reason to buy a timeshare. If you do decide to go to the presentation, the best defense is to convince the sales reps that you truly don't have the money (even if that's a complete lie).

geekette

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Re: Does anyone do timeshare presentation for discount travel?
« Reply #4 on: February 09, 2016, 04:28:58 PM »
And when they say "two hours", take that as a minimum.

Tyler

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Re: Does anyone do timeshare presentation for discount travel?
« Reply #5 on: February 09, 2016, 04:38:26 PM »
I haven't done it for a hotel, but I did it for show tickets in Vegas once.  We drank their free water and relaxed our feet for an hour or so, and saying no was easy.

I like my brother's approach. When asked to sit in a timeshare presentation, he demanded $200 cash up front. They thought about it for a second and agreed. Easy money.

peoria

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Re: Does anyone do timeshare presentation for discount travel?
« Reply #6 on: February 09, 2016, 04:40:27 PM »
I haven't done it to travel somewhere, but have done it frequently to get free stuff when I travel. 

Most recent:
Puerto Vallerta - We received 4 scuba tours and 2 Extreme adventure tours ( zipling, atv riding, and rapelling) for a total of $100 for a 2 hour presentation.

We also received free breakfast, many bottles of water (I was collecting them for our week in mexico of not drinking tap water), some tequila tastings, cab fare to hotel from airport, cab fare to/from the presentation ( we took the bus and pocketed it), and choice of a bottle of tequila or Mexican blanket.

Las Vegas-  $250 visa gift card for a 2 hour presentation. Also got free breakfast.

I have no problem saying no, and most of the presenters are very friendly and are ok with you saying no.  You do still have to say no to their manager also, and maybe an exit interviewer also. 


Primm

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Re: Does anyone do timeshare presentation for discount travel?
« Reply #7 on: February 09, 2016, 06:05:35 PM »
I've done it for free accommodation, but there are only two companies round here and they both have a lockout of two years since your last presentation. So I can only do it once a year. Still a good perk though.

Ebrat

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Re: Does anyone do timeshare presentation for discount travel?
« Reply #8 on: February 09, 2016, 07:46:05 PM »
We did it once for a restaurant gift card at the hotel/timeshare we were staying at (MIL owns shares and let us use them).  We had to say no to 3 people who were increasingly persistent/aggressive.  The next time we got an opportunity to do one, we said no.  It just isn't worth it to me when I'm trying to enjoy my vacation.

wwweb

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Re: Does anyone do timeshare presentation for discount travel?
« Reply #9 on: February 09, 2016, 09:31:01 PM »
I've seen sensible, rational people go to these events with no intention of buying and walk out as the proud new owners a timeshare.  Those people had no intention of buying, but bought anyway - I'm not willing to risk making a large financial mistake to get a few reward dollars.

Primm

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Re: Does anyone do timeshare presentation for discount travel?
« Reply #10 on: February 09, 2016, 09:55:34 PM »
I've seen sensible, rational people go to these events with no intention of buying and walk out as the proud new owners a timeshare.  Those people had no intention of buying, but bought anyway - I'm not willing to risk making a large financial mistake to get a few reward dollars.

It's not just a few reward dollars in my case though, the last one I went to was two nights in the centre of a very expensive resort town (think upwards of $400 per night) with breakfast, and all I had to do was sit through the presentation and then just say no. I'd say that's worth it. I have absolutely no intention of buying one of these, and I can legitimately say I have no spare money. And I have no self-restraint whatsoever.

ahoy

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Re: Does anyone do timeshare presentation for discount travel?
« Reply #11 on: February 10, 2016, 12:08:13 AM »
I have done about 3 of these and this is time you will NEVER get back.  Your two hours will normally turn into at least 3 to 4 hrs.

I was in Playa Del Carmen last year and we seriously thought about doing one, but didn't get around to it (we were there 3 months as well, LOL).  We hadn't done one in about 10 years.   10 years ago the timeshare guy told us that we should never do one again!   He wouldn't give up and we wouldn't stop saying no.

My advice is: bargain hard.  In Puerto Vallarta (10 yrs ago) they were going to offer us a bottle of Tequila worth $10.  We kept saying no, and they eventually gave us $100USD in cash.  There were a lot of people walking out with their Tequila bottles and we walked out with $100.  Now days you can get more like $300+ if you bargain well.

I they say 2 hours, stick to 2 hrs.  Leave, make an excuse/lie or have some other appointment that you need to leave for.   And do not talk too much with them.  If you start talking and ask questions, you will be there forever.   DH and I learned the hard way on this, we just ask too many questions.   Just smile every so often and keep looking at your watch. 

While in Playa del Carmen we got to know an ex- timeshare rep pretty well.  He made huge amounts of money off the buyers, just from selling timeshares.   It was insane what he was making. 


ohmylookatthat

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Re: Does anyone do timeshare presentation for discount travel?
« Reply #12 on: February 10, 2016, 06:19:39 AM »
not worth it at all. what a waste

boarder42

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Re: Does anyone do timeshare presentation for discount travel?
« Reply #13 on: February 10, 2016, 06:28:26 AM »
Yep they are worth it.  Marriott is probably the lowest pressure.  we stayed 5 nights on our honeymoon at the marriott in kauai for less than 70 bucks a night at the 300+ per night room b/c we went to a presentation.  Told the agent we were on our honeymoon and likely werent interested in buying.  So she took 15 minutes explaining some awesome places to do and see and eat that the locals know about that we may not.  then we watched the video and left.  an hour and a half on our honeymoon traded for over 1k and some great advice.  so 333 bucks an hour.  curious to see where all you naysayers are brining in that kinda bank? 

norabird

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Re: Does anyone do timeshare presentation for discount travel?
« Reply #14 on: February 10, 2016, 03:01:11 PM »
I (without realizing) signed up for a timeshare hotel via Booking.com on a business trip last year--the rate was better than the conference hotel. The staff were all very confused about how I booked it! It was a Wyndham and my appointment was one-on-one, gulp, but I sat through it and got a $100 gift card for my trouble. Awkward, but worth the money. I actually just used the card as a gift for family who hosted me over Xmas, but it was nice to come out with something to show. I was able to escape with around an hour because I begged a prior appointment (which was true).

Jack

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Re: Does anyone do timeshare presentation for discount travel?
« Reply #15 on: February 10, 2016, 04:57:48 PM »
My wife and I went to Hilton Head with my parents a few months ago. (My parents got a three-bedroom suite for something like $40/night through some obscure veterans' program.) The place we were staying was normally a timeshare -- it was unusual that we were staying there without already being an "owner" -- and we got the "opportunity" to go to a presentation in return for a $100 gift card per couple.

Anyway, it was really easy to say no, and it didn't take too long either (maybe half an hour). It helped that my parents had owned a time share before (that they eventually sold at an almost-100% loss) and that even though I freely admitted I had money, when they asked about what sort of stuff I liked to do on vacation I kept talking about tent camping and hiking and communing with nature and whatnot instead of using any of the fancy amenities their timeshares offered.

I did notice that my parents insisted on a time limit guarantee up front (in this case, of an hour), which was smart. But really, the sales guy figured out pretty quick we were a lost cause and gave up.

I'm a red panda

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Re: Does anyone do timeshare presentation for discount travel?
« Reply #16 on: February 11, 2016, 06:59:42 AM »
I've seen sensible, rational people go to these events with no intention of buying and walk out as the proud new owners a timeshare.  Those people had no intention of buying, but bought anyway - I'm not willing to risk making a large financial mistake to get a few reward dollars.

I think those sensible, rational people spend their money in a lot of ways I don't though.  For instance- they can easily be talked into going out to lunch at work instead of saying "no thanks, I brought mine in."  Or they might run by starbucks real quick because it's only five bucks.  If I'm too cheap to buy a coffee, there is no way I'm going to suddenly think a timeshare sounds like a good idea.

That said, we've only done it once- when we could do it in the states BEFORE our vacation started. On vacation I rate the value of my time much more highly than the value of my time at home.

green daisy

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Re: Does anyone do timeshare presentation for discount travel?
« Reply #17 on: February 11, 2016, 07:28:35 AM »
My husband and I did one when we were newly married.  We got a night in a hotel, breakfast, and tickets to Busch Gardens.  We will never do it again.  The woman rode in our car with us from the hotel to the sales site.  She was super sweet.  When we did not buy the timeshare (after having to say no to 3 different people multiple times) we then had to ride back to the hotel with this formerly super sweet woman in our car.  She sat in silence for a bit while obviously seething mad.  Then she barked at us "Can I just ask you one question?  Why?"  Again we said that we just didn't have the money to spend on it.  We probably fit some sort of profile (young and stupid) so she thought we would be an easy commission for her.  She was unbelievably angry when it turned out not to be the case.  The free hotel, free breakfast, and free amusement park tickets were not worth the awkwardness that was that 10 minute car ride. 

Of course, we will never forget Rhonda and we laugh about it now. 

norabird

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Re: Does anyone do timeshare presentation for discount travel?
« Reply #18 on: February 11, 2016, 09:32:30 AM »
Poor Rhonda!

I really, really don't understand timeshare purchases.

Axecleaver

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Re: Does anyone do timeshare presentation for discount travel?
« Reply #19 on: February 11, 2016, 10:21:14 AM »
We did it when we were much younger, but our vacation time is worth more than the aggravation now.

rockstache

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Re: Does anyone do timeshare presentation for discount travel?
« Reply #20 on: February 11, 2016, 10:32:28 AM »
My husband and I did one when we were newly married.  We got a night in a hotel, breakfast, and tickets to Busch Gardens.  We will never do it again.  The woman rode in our car with us from the hotel to the sales site.  She was super sweet.  When we did not buy the timeshare (after having to say no to 3 different people multiple times) we then had to ride back to the hotel with this formerly super sweet woman in our car.  She sat in silence for a bit while obviously seething mad.  Then she barked at us "Can I just ask you one question?  Why?"  Again we said that we just didn't have the money to spend on it.  We probably fit some sort of profile (young and stupid) so she thought we would be an easy commission for her.  She was unbelievably angry when it turned out not to be the case.  The free hotel, free breakfast, and free amusement park tickets were not worth the awkwardness that was that 10 minute car ride. 

Of course, we will never forget Rhonda and we laugh about it now.

That would have been totally worth it to me for the story alone. But to each their own. :)

Zikoris

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Re: Does anyone do timeshare presentation for discount travel?
« Reply #21 on: February 11, 2016, 11:21:17 AM »
I've been offered, but never did it. I think I just hate people trying to sell me stuff too much. I seem to hate it more as time passes. It's gotten to the point that I order pretty much everything, even socks and underwear, online so I don't have to interact with salespeople. I go on vacation to have fun and relax - that would really ruin it for me.

JoJo

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Re: Does anyone do timeshare presentation for discount travel?
« Reply #22 on: February 11, 2016, 02:00:40 PM »
My parents did this and last time was 4 hours.  By coincidence they ran into someone they knew that got pressured into buying and were regretting it minutes later.  Too late to cancel.

boarder42

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Re: Does anyone do timeshare presentation for discount travel?
« Reply #23 on: February 11, 2016, 04:22:49 PM »
My parents did this and last time was 4 hours.  By coincidence they ran into someone they knew that got pressured into buying and were regretting it minutes later.  Too late to cancel.

They almost all have 7 day cancellations

Telecaster

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Re: Does anyone do timeshare presentation for discount travel?
« Reply #24 on: February 11, 2016, 04:31:46 PM »
My wife and I did a Windham presentation.  We got lunch (extremely crappy) and either $100 or $200, I can't remember.   

It was brutal.   The sales guy of course was super nice when he was trying to make the sale, and then turned into a raging dickhead when it became clear we weren't buying.  It was two hours, tops I would say. 

I guess it was worth it.  But I wouldn't do it again because I feel vaguely unethical about the whole thing.  I'm accepting a gift for a presentation knowing full well I won't be buying.  Doesn't seem quite right to me. 

RetirementDreaming

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Re: Does anyone do timeshare presentation for discount travel?
« Reply #25 on: February 11, 2016, 06:04:02 PM »
My husband and I did the Marriott in Kauai presentation.  We got 5 nights plus car rental.  We also did Hilton in the Monterey, CA area.  It included 3 nights plus $100 credit in the fancy restaurant.  It was easy to say No.  Both took less than 2 hours.

However, I do own a timeshare.  My parents "gifted" it to me.  My dad's health doesn't allow him to travel anymore.  The timeshare is 1.5 hours from our house.  We pay $1200 a year in fees and taxes.  We get about 12 nights a year in a 2 bedroom/2 bath hotel suite.  It is a nicer place then we would stay or could get for $100 a night but it has spoiled my husband.  He only wants to book a 2 bedroom suite anytime we stay in a hotel which is super expensive.  I would have never purchased it but we like it while the kids are young and it's close by.   Every time we are there they offer us $150 to listen to an owners presentation.  We have never done it but I imagine they want to sell us more time.   

jeromedawg

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Re: Does anyone do timeshare presentation for discount travel?
« Reply #26 on: February 12, 2016, 12:42:54 PM »
We did one in Vegas via Holiday Inn. Got $100 I think in cash after the presentation but it ended up being a cheap vacation. The presentation itself was relatively low-pressure. The tactic we employed was having my wife, who doesn't talk much, do all the talking while I just sat idly by as the quiet one who let my wife make all the decisions. The first lady tried to sell us on it and when she couldn't she got like 1 or 2 others to come in. One of the guys was like "so you let your wife make all the decisions for you?" because I literally was saying nothing the whole time and she was just saying "sorry, no" to everything. I responded "yep, I sure do" and didn't say anything else....LOL! It was pretty quick - we were out in under 2 hours if I recall. And yea there were some free snacks, which I think we took some extras of on the way out hahahahaha

StetsTerhune

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Re: Does anyone do timeshare presentation for discount travel?
« Reply #27 on: February 12, 2016, 01:01:11 PM »
My wife went to one from earlier this year. Pretended she wasn't married, it was $200 whether you're single or a couple, why waste twice as much time.  She LOVED it. She used to work in marketing, and thought it was incredibly "well done" and wildly entertaining. Of course "well done" means they're doing a great job of making something that's horrible sound great. I think the 2 hour presentation lasted 3.5, and she ended up telling them she "couldn't commit today", and then blocked their numbers whenever they called after that.

I looked into the concept a little after that and learned two things: 1. Don't give them your SSN, no matter what they say it's for. (luckily this was obvious to my wife) 2. Virtually any timeshare anyone is offering (for tens of thousands of dollars) is available for approximately $1 on Ebay.

charis

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Re: Does anyone do timeshare presentation for discount travel?
« Reply #28 on: February 12, 2016, 01:29:03 PM »
My husband and I did the Marriott in Kauai presentation.  We got 5 nights plus car rental.  We also did Hilton in the Monterey, CA area.  It included 3 nights plus $100 credit in the fancy restaurant.  It was easy to say No.  Both took less than 2 hours.

However, I do own a timeshare.  My parents "gifted" it to me.  My dad's health doesn't allow him to travel anymore.  The timeshare is 1.5 hours from our house.  We pay $1200 a year in fees and taxes.  We get about 12 nights a year in a 2 bedroom/2 bath hotel suite.  It is a nicer place then we would stay or could get for $100 a night but it has spoiled my husband.  He only wants to book a 2 bedroom suite anytime we stay in a hotel which is super expensive.  I would have never purchased it but we like it while the kids are young and it's close by.   Every time we are there they offer us $150 to listen to an owners presentation.  We have never done it but I imagine they want to sell us more time.   

FYI, you can rent a 2 bedroom suite from a timeshare owner for often less than $100/night.  We rented a huge, gorgeous 2br suite in Florida last year at a timeshare resort for a great price.

To the OP's topic, we've done a couple timeshare presentations.  I would never be worried about buying, the sales tactics would be laughable on this forum.   The first one was brutal because we were too nice - over 2 hours with 3 different salespeople. 

We got wise on the second one.  We told the salesman that a close family member just died and we were worried about paying funeral costs.  The guy abandoned us in the presentation room and we saw him through the window leaving with another couple. 
« Last Edit: February 12, 2016, 01:33:03 PM by jezebel »

CanuckExpat

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Re: Does anyone do timeshare presentation for discount travel?
« Reply #29 on: February 12, 2016, 03:36:47 PM »
Where do you guys find these time share presentations?
I have no problem being a jerk and saying no to salespeople for free travel. I'd like to take advantage of this.

I'm a red panda

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Re: Does anyone do timeshare presentation for discount travel?
« Reply #30 on: February 12, 2016, 04:07:09 PM »
Where do you guys find these time share presentations?
I have no problem being a jerk and saying no to salespeople for free travel. I'd like to take advantage of this.

Hotels near major vacation destinations.

Lordy

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Re: Does anyone do timeshare presentation for discount travel?
« Reply #31 on: February 12, 2016, 05:36:30 PM »
I was offered a $100 Visa gift card to sit through a 2 hour presentation on my first trip to Hawaii.
While $50/hour net is usually a good deal I decided that two hours in Hawaii are worth more to me.

I might do it if I would be stuck in Vegas on a rainy day or if I had lots of time to spare but I would never trade precious vacation time to pick up these dollars.

CanuckExpat

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Re: Does anyone do timeshare presentation for discount travel?
« Reply #32 on: February 12, 2016, 08:15:55 PM »
Where do you guys find these time share presentations?
I have no problem being a jerk and saying no to salespeople for free travel. I'd like to take advantage of this.

Hotels near major vacation destinations.

Ahh.. so you have to already be at the destination and then get invited. Good to keep in mind.
For the most part we've avoided touristy locations, but this might be a reason to add it back on. I like freebies.

boarder42

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Re: Does anyone do timeshare presentation for discount travel?
« Reply #33 on: February 13, 2016, 11:57:24 AM »
Where do you guys find these time share presentations?
I have no problem being a jerk and saying no to salespeople for free travel. I'd like to take advantage of this.

Hotels near major vacation destinations.

Ahh.. so you have to already be at the destination and then get invited. Good to keep in mind.
For the most part we've avoided touristy locations, but this might be a reason to add it back on. I like freebies.

No you don't. You can call Marriott vacations club. All you have to do is show interest once and they and other will continue to call you with deals. You just have to wade through the crappy ones and ask all the right questions.

Prairie Gal

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Re: Does anyone do timeshare presentation for discount travel?
« Reply #34 on: February 13, 2016, 02:45:10 PM »
We did one when we were in Hawaii and got two free tickets to a luau. it was worth it, and we had absolutely no intention of buying, so had no problem saying no. When I told the salesman how cheaply I rented my week for at the Marriott timeshare resort (on redweek.com) he couldn't even come close to showing me how buying would be cheaper, and let us go without much hassle.

startingsmall

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Re: Does anyone do timeshare presentation for discount travel?
« Reply #35 on: February 13, 2016, 09:37:06 PM »
We did it once in Charleston... on our honeymoon, actually.

We were young and short on funds and sitting through a short timeshare presentation (1-1.5 hours, maybe?) earned us a choice of tickets to 3 different activities/attractions of our choosing (we chose a plantation tour, a horse-drawn carriage, and the haunted jail, I think). I don't quite remember the details, but I remember being glad we did it... because none of those were things that we would have spent our own money on and yet they were all really enjoyable.

Now that we have more money and less vacation time, I'm not sure whether we'd do it again... it would depend on what they were offering. It's definitely not something that I would automatically dismiss, though. I'm VERY good at saying no, so no worries that I'll crack under pressure. (My husband, on the other hand, is a completely different story!)
« Last Edit: February 13, 2016, 09:40:54 PM by startingsmall »

Tuskalusa

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Re: Does anyone do timeshare presentation for discount travel?
« Reply #36 on: February 13, 2016, 09:47:38 PM »
I've done this a couple times with my mom, who purchased a time share with my dad a long time ago. Every couple years, Marriott invites her to some trip, and they try to convince us that her old purchase is outdated, and that we need more points to get what we want. What a racket. Get people to buy something, only to change the model every so often to make people buy more. Waste of my life to sit through that ever again.

ambimammular

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Re: Does anyone do timeshare presentation for discount travel?
« Reply #37 on: February 14, 2016, 08:01:44 AM »
Oooh I wanted to sit through a presentation so badly for the hundred, but also just to hear their selling tactics. My dollars are all earmarked, so it's not like they'd be getting any.

Unfortunately, they needed both DH and me, which left no one with our kidlets. I was kind of surprised they didn't have something planned for that... 

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!