Timeshares, we all have heard of them. Most have heard bad things about them. I owned one forty years ago when I had young kids. I paid $6,800 for one week in Florida. We used it twenty-years and it worked out to $120 per night. Couldn’t get hotel for that price. Gave it to my ex-wife so I no longer owned it.
So, this year we rented the same vacation villa for $99 per night when we visited Disney World. We love the condo, the pools, the location, the restaurants and amenities on site. A great deal for $99 per night. Then they offered us $200 to attend their sales presentation. Only 90 minutes of our time. That is where it went off the rails. First of all, my wife and I knew there wasn’t a snowball’s chance on a Florida beach we were buying. The sales guy wasn’t aware of that. He hadn’t been told that some tourists weren’t gullible.
They fed us breakfast, they gave us the tour, we saw the kids arcade, water park, paddle boats on the lake, bar and restaurants. They said no pressure, if it wasn’t for us to not even consider buying. They wouldn’t even tell us the price, just said that it would pay for itself. We would save so much money, our vacation would be almost free. It was a legacy to hand down for generations. Then a closer stepped in and was going to clinch the sale. She said to forget that “pinky” promise we made before we came that we would not buy.
All of this fanfare and we were shown the price. $39,900 for one week per year. Why, this was an investment better than any we had ever seen. We should pull our money out of whatever we were vested in and place it with them. And maintenance and taxes were only an additional $1,500 per year.
I am a farmer and I have hauled a lot of manure and have never seen this much shoveled out in such a short time. I replied that my investments made over 14% last year and that $40,000 would generate $5,600. Add in the $1,500 maintenance fee each year and I was throwing away $7,100. I could rent the condo for $700 a week and have $6,400 to spend on vacation a week without risking a cent of my principal. Poor sales kid was speechless. They called in the boss.
This guy was certain he had us with a $10,000 price reduction. We didn’t even flinch. Then because, I had once been an owner he said he would sell us this unit for the incredible price of $15,000. We still didn’t blink an eye. He lowered his voice and said that for this hour only and never again offered, we could steal it for the measly sum of $8,900. Three strikes and this guy’s pitch was over.
By this time, we were three hours into the presentation and my wife had a spa appointment, she had booked the day before, in half an hour. So, we stood up to leave. A short woman with long black hair stormed onto the scene. She was the clincher, all business, she was going to save the day, she was their last hope, she would make the sale. When she realized we were leaving she became rather insolent, demanding extra time to speak to us. I said we have a prior engagement and we were going. She looked right at me with fire in her dark eyes and scolded me for scheduling something the day of the presentation. I replied that her 90-minute presentation ended an hour and a half ago and walked away. Still part of me wished we could have stayed to have seen just how low they were willing to go.
We will go back again, we love the facilities. For $99 a night it is a great deal. And after all, they will pay you $200 to sit thru the ordeal.
