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Subscribe to RSSGet ready for the hard sell if you’re vacationing in Mexico. The nation’s biggest hotel chains are aggressively pushing travelers to join their “hotel membership clubs,” the latest iteration of the vacation timeshare.
Mexican salesmen approach tourists at the airport and in hotel lobbies under the guise of helping them get a taxi or offering concierge services. They offer free car rentals and discounted snorkeling trips to anyone willing to sit through a 90-minute sales pitch, which is akin to buying a new car.
“It’s high-pressure sales 101,” says Ed Perkins, a contributing editor for SmarterTravel.com. “Some of these are borderline scams. All this stuff is really time-shares in drag.”
In the past few years, tourists have been approached with these hotel club programs in Mexico, on Caribbean islands and in Hawaii.
Last year, Gabe Saglie was offered a free whale-watching cruise at the Westin Hotel in Maui if he attended a sales presentation. As senior editor of Travelzoo.com, which publishes travel and local deals, Saglie had heard of the programs — complete with the uncomfortable pitches — and said he wasn’t interested.
“It wasn’t a smart use of my time on my vacation,” he says. “I like the freedom of going to different places. But for some people, it works. If you go to these places often it can be a value."
Don’t be surprised to see these pitches become even more prevalent during the difficult economy. Mexico has been particularly affected in the past two years, suffering tourism hits from the swine flu outbreak, drug cartel violence and the economic recession. Occupancy rates have dipped 30 percent to 60 percent.
"They basically have rooms sitting empty and real estate sitting empty, so Mexico is pushing them extremely hard," says Jeff Lugosi, who follows Mexico's travel market as senior vice president at Colliers PKF Consulting USA in Los Angeles.
Salespeople for the Mexican hotel chain Park Royal Hotels & Resorts now hit up travelers in Cancun, Cozumel, Mazatlan, Los Cabos, Ixtapa and Puerto Vallarta to join its Royal Holiday club. They tell tourists that for about $16,000, people can buy points good for future trips at the hotel chain’s all-inclusive hotels in Mexico, trips on cruise ships and affiliated hotels across the world.
The program is the opposite of a traditional hotel loyalty program, which give points to members when they stay at the hotel and let them cash them in for rooms, upgrades and frequent flier miles.
Perkins warns that any program that asks you to pay for something in advance should raise a red flag for tourists — especially if it’s during a high-pressure sales pitch. “Anytime you’re talking about ‘investing’ $5,000, $10,000, $15,000, the chances are at best it’s a bad buy and at worst you’ll find it’s a disaster,” he says.
In these hotel clubs, people do not buy any assets, and they could end up buying something they may not use or they may not like, Perkins says. The club may also limit where the travelers can go or change the rules or fees at any time.
Park Royal Hotels & Resorts officials were unavailable to comment. The company’s Royal Holiday club lets members roll over unused points from one year to the next and exchange them for free hotel rooms. Food and drinks at the all-inclusive resorts can cost an additional $60 to $80 per person per day. As incentives to join, the Park Royal offers potential members financing for the fees and may throw in $1,000 toward airfare.
Perkins advises travelers to avoid the sales presentations altogether and not be lured by the freebie incentives to attend. The presentations may drag on longer than you want if you politely say “no.”
“You’re on vacation to relax, and it’s not worth the aggravation and pressure,” he says. “Even if you like the idea of a timeshare, that’s not the way to buy it.”
More on Overhead Bin
Jennifer Alsever is an msnbc.com contributor.
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You need to distinguish this type of "timeshare" sales tactic from legitimate (OK, stop laughing) timeshare companies (Disney, Marriott, Wyndham). At least with most of them, you actually are buying a deeded piece of property for your 'points'.
I don't think tomorrowsnews has ever been to Puerto Vallarta. It's nothing like he describes.
Why do you think that American timeshare is the only legit ones?
I wonder why travelbitt's positive comments have been left in place since December and all the negative comments have been removed. Time share and these vacations travel plans are all rip offs. You just have to compare numbers and opportunities that are available in the New York Times Travel Section and you have no difficulty making up your minds where your best value and interest lies.
Of course you are not going to get a chance to think about this in a high pressure boiler room with the clown working on you.
If they were great deals then they wouldn't have to pressure you. The weak minded fall pray to these scams which covers the majority of the population (ref. Obama is president) You could put a box of tampons on the Democratic ticket and it would get votes.
It takes a special kind of crazy to turn an article about hotel time-shares into a political diatribe. Moron.
It doesn't belong here, but you started it. A box of tampon's is exactly what the field of Republican Presidential Candidates look like.
Actually, if you took a tampon, dressed it up in an Uncle Sam suit, and had it start spouting a bunch of nonsense about Obama's birth certificate, most Fox News viewers would probably vote for it.
....Obama found a birth certificate?......
He's shown us more proof of citizenship than any other President (or Presidential candidate, for that matter) in U.S. history.
At least he's not an anchor baby like Romney. ;)
If you are meaning that they are all tampons cuz someones is pulling their strings, I agree
What partisan BS you spew, Kevin. I've been traveling to Mexico and the Caribbean for decades and no matter who is POTUS, the tourist time-share gauntlet has always been a part of arrival. Like most things, the profit is in volume - the faster they grab your attention, the more possibility of a sale. It's easy enough to get through - you just keep walking and smiling until you're where you want to go.
This is a timely article, we just got back from Mazatlan, don't ever want to go back to Mexico. Timeshare salesmen were everywhere, on the streets, in the Restaurants, in the supermarket, in the resort lobby. They made our trip very un-enjoyable. We are leaving on a cruise in a few days, one of the stops is Cancun, Mx. we won't get off the ship, the Mexico tourist industry gets no more of our travel money.
They'll find out quickly that these high pressure sales pitches will hurt their business alot more than help it.......most people are too smart to think that investing any money in Mexico (for example) at this point in time is anything but ludicrous.....
Some things don't change: When we were on vacation in Cancun, Mrs. Lion and I were accosted by a small army of timeshare touts. That was in 1984.
We gave the whole slimy lot of them the cold shoulder. Anything that marketed that aggressively and that deceptively just screams "lousy deal."
I love my timeshare in Mexico use it and have traded it all over the world. If you are interested it is better to go to a resort of your choosing. At the airport you can get nice gifts and spend a day at a luxurious resort. That is better than waiting and going to the presentation at the resort you are staying at. Some are hard sell some not. If you are truly not interested don't talk to them, its a free country. Negative articles only hurt the travel industry.
Your commission check is in the mail.
You sound suspiciously like you sell these things for a living.
Funny how it seems you signed up with Newsvine just to post that one comment, travelbitt. Say, is that a picture of the beautiful Mexican coast in your avatar? You know, the same coastline I could see from a timeshare you just happen to be selling a slice of?
Well at least I have a avatar! Its not from my time share, I also own a condo and the view is from there. I I don't sell timeshare. I imagine there are millions of people that enjoy there timeshare without selling timeshare.
We have been traveling for years to Cancun & Hawaii with timeshares we've purchased. We love them and have traded for places in Europe as well as other places in the states. While they're not for everyone don't paint with a black brush on all timeshares.
Nothing is ever really free, and if it sounds like it is too good to be true - well, you know the rest.
We attended a sales pitch while vacationing at a resort in the Bahamas, knowing there was no way we'd buy. The time we spent was worth the $200 meal coupon we got!
I absolutely cannot see the logic of a time share. Please, someone explain it to me.
When I first purchased my timeshare I went to Vallarta every year so it was a way to stay in a 5 * resort for less. Now I belong to R.C.I and exchange my time all over the world. I get to stay in places like country's in Europe for a fraction of what it would cost otherwise. If you cannot take a vacation every year you can bank it for awhile but you still have to pay the maintenance fees. It is definitely not for everyone.
who in their right mind is still going on vacation to Messico?
I just got back from the Mayan Riviera and it was Awesome! If you are not going to do some research and just watch the news, stay home. That leaves more room at the pool bar for me.
People who know better than to believe every half-crocked, fear-mongering story they hear...
That's why I didn't go to the west coast. Follow the pattern and do your homework.
Got suckered into one of these "short presentations" a few years back for free 1 hour massage for wife and I. Never again. It was a miserable experience--the guy would not take no for an answer. Finally we got up and started to storm when yet another rep. from same company stopped us on the way out and asked us to rate the experience. Use your imagination on what my response was.
The massages were nice but not nearly worth the almost 3 hours of aggressive hard-selling. Plus we stayed pissed off for a while. We definitely paid for the massages. No happy ending.
I've always wondered what would happen if you told the presenters that you were very interested in signing up, but weren't sure how your recent bankruptcy filing might affect things. Could be entertaining.
I was so pissed off and upset in Florida after a presentation that I almost hit another car while driving. Ofcourse the car was in the blind spot, but the normal me would never miss to look there before I change lanes. That brought me back to my senses. I realized what these guys had done to me. Luckily nothing happened but don't drive after those presentations because they upset you terribly. and if you are upset and driving, its dangerous. Its very tough to realize that you should not drive when you are irritated and upset so your friends should warn you.
Actually I signed up because I saw the news story on twitter and because I have spent a lot of time in Puerto Vallarta, I thought I would explain how different people have different experiences. I thought maybe it would be a good place to exchange ideas. I don't sell time share any more than the person who likes the Disney timeshare. Yes, that is a picture of Puerto Vallarta. I don't like the aggressive sales people either that's why I said if you are not interested in buying timeshare don't go to a presentation. Just a note: Sometimes people think they are in Puerto Vallarta when they are really in Nuevo Vallarta. The travel agents tell people they are going to Puerto Vallarta and they only fly in there and get bused to another state.
Even Timeshares bought in the US totally and completely sucks. Unfortunately, I got one from Hilton Grand Vacations at the behest of my now ex-wife. I can't get out of it at all. They keep changing the rules for how you can use the points. It is actually going down in value due to the shenanigans of the execs at Hilton!! If you try to call Hilton they will not take it back at all. You can't sell it anywhere. Further, they have HOA fees that cost over $1,000. Yes there is an "Association" but it is all stocked by Hilton people. You know those "freebees?" they are paid for by the other suckers that bought into the timeshare via the HOA fees!!
DO NOT BUY TIMESHARES EVER!
Sorry to hear you had a bad experience. It goes to show that bad things can happen to people no matter what country they purchase in.
What you are stating is definitely true it is cheaper to get a package if you are the type of person that usually takes vacations, like all inclusive beach packages to the U.S. Mexico or the Caribbean all the time. They give you those cheap packages ( below cost I might add ) because they want new blood for timeshare ) They are usually the most aggressive. You may be comparing apples to oranges also as some of those packages are only 3* for that price. If you travel the world and like to have different experiences then putting your timeshare in an exchange company can get you very good value for your money. A person definitely has to weigh these things before making a decision.
Just say "No thanks", and walk on.
And it's not just Mexico, you get swarmed at restaurants in Orlando FL and Myrtle Beach SC. Do NOT attempt to engage in conversation to explain your reluctance. Just walk away.
Never heard if it in Costa Rica, be surprised it is not so hot or crime ridden as Mexico
Timeshare is not a crime. Actually I feel safer in Puerto Vallarta than in some of the cities in my own country. Most of the crime in Mexico centers around the boarder towns with the U.S. Janitor how do you know that Mexico is crime ridden? Have you ever been to Puerto Vallarta? Just wondering.
glad i'm in a legit travel company. i get to travel the world at wholesale.
A couple of years ago our family took a vacation to Puerto Vallarta. We were continually accosted by timeshare reps. They were extremely aggressive. They were on the streets, in restaurants, at our hotel, everywhere. We actually did not have a single meal in a restaurant without being approached. Their tactics were tricky. In restaurants, they would often be dressed like they were hosts or managers, with name tags and everything. They would come and ask how we liked the food etc. and before we knew it, we were again being hit up with another sales pitch. My husband and I wished that we had T-shirts that said, "I am not interested in your timeshare presentation." They offered us cash, free stays, cruises, you name it, to try to get us there. We were offered a swim with dolphins at least 5 times. I started to feel really sorry for these poor, pimped out dolphins. To conclude, we will NEVER go to Puerta Vallarta again. I hope that the powers that be will learn how much their tourism stands to decline if these practices continue.
Lucky you ddawes. I travel the world but definitely have to pay for it, but I am pretty good at finding deals. Like you, I make my money in the travel industry but with a travel website.
travelbitt, have you heard of worldventures?
I don't know much about worldventures. Maybe a little off topic but they are MLM and while there is nothing wrong with MLM, as in theory it is a great way to make money. I personally have never been good at it and I did try different companies in the past. I think you have to be a very special person to be successful. If you are thinking of becoming involved just make sure that you really do your homework.
A timeshare is completely different than a travel or vacation club first of all. Secondly, not all timeshare is deeded, even with the brand names. The comments make it perfectly clear that what is needed is more consumer education and more transparancy in the timeshare industry.
The other thing that the article didn't cover is where is all the inventory coming from? Consenus is that the inventory for these clubs is coming from timeshares...which begs the question is it from the resort or from the individual owners?
Most of these travel/vacation clubs have too many unanswered questions for me to approve of them.
Timeshares or travel/vacation clubs should not be purchased under duress. Take time to ask questions, get answers and decide for yourself.