Hotel Deals Roach Motel - Talk about anything hotel-related here
Dec 3, 2013, 7:57 am
#241
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: RDU
Posts: 1,473
Sit through timeshare pitch for free stays as hotel loyalty currencies devalue?
Would any of you recommend sitting through a timeshare pitch for free or heavily subsidized hotel / resort nights? As hotel loyalty programs continue to devalue their currencies, I'm interested in alternative ways of obtaining free or heavily subsidized hotel / resort stays.
Would be nice to broaden my portfolio of free, or nearly free, lodging options.
Some questions:
1) What are the least unpleasant outfits to deal with? e.g. where the pitch either isn't super hard sell; or it's hard sell for a few hours and then they leave you alone for the remainder of your stay.
Seems like Wyndham, Hilton and Marriott may have timeshare properties. Are there others? How do they compare?
2) What are the most effective ways to decline buying a timeshare that will cause the least amount of drama or grief--e.g. not having to be ultra-rude to a persistent salesperson. To be polite but firm and not open oneself up to a whole new line of argument from the salesperson, what can one say? One idea that comes to mind: I use loyalty program points and Priceline bids for all my hotel and resort stays.
3) How does one find good timeshare free stay deals exactly? The closest I've come is receiving junk mail with pitches. But not knowing if the source is legit, I instinctively toss these in the trash. I'd rather contact a trusted source, being the one to initiate contact.
4) What timeshare properties in Orlando specifically are top notch in terms of stay experience and offer either free or highly subsidized stays? Would prefer being close to the Disney World theme parks and/or Downtown Disney. Maybe no more than a 20-30 minute drive to the Parks.
Disney has a ton of timeshare properties (Disney Vacation Club - DVC). But sadly they offer hardly anything to sit through a sales pitch. Last time I checked they offered perhaps a $50 gift card for spending an entire morning being pitched to.
5) Also might prefer to pay at least something vs. a 100% free stay; call it a Points (in this case cash) and Pitch approach where there's less of a Reciprocity Principle that a salesperson can leverage to guilt you into doing something you don't want to do. Has anyone found paying a heavily subsidized rate vs. only sitting through a pitch and paying no cash makes a difference when it comes time to decline?
6) Any other tips or gotchas not covered by the above questions?
Would be nice to broaden my portfolio of free, or nearly free, lodging options.
Some questions:
1) What are the least unpleasant outfits to deal with? e.g. where the pitch either isn't super hard sell; or it's hard sell for a few hours and then they leave you alone for the remainder of your stay.
Seems like Wyndham, Hilton and Marriott may have timeshare properties. Are there others? How do they compare?
2) What are the most effective ways to decline buying a timeshare that will cause the least amount of drama or grief--e.g. not having to be ultra-rude to a persistent salesperson. To be polite but firm and not open oneself up to a whole new line of argument from the salesperson, what can one say? One idea that comes to mind: I use loyalty program points and Priceline bids for all my hotel and resort stays.
3) How does one find good timeshare free stay deals exactly? The closest I've come is receiving junk mail with pitches. But not knowing if the source is legit, I instinctively toss these in the trash. I'd rather contact a trusted source, being the one to initiate contact.
4) What timeshare properties in Orlando specifically are top notch in terms of stay experience and offer either free or highly subsidized stays? Would prefer being close to the Disney World theme parks and/or Downtown Disney. Maybe no more than a 20-30 minute drive to the Parks.
Disney has a ton of timeshare properties (Disney Vacation Club - DVC). But sadly they offer hardly anything to sit through a sales pitch. Last time I checked they offered perhaps a $50 gift card for spending an entire morning being pitched to.
5) Also might prefer to pay at least something vs. a 100% free stay; call it a Points (in this case cash) and Pitch approach where there's less of a Reciprocity Principle that a salesperson can leverage to guilt you into doing something you don't want to do. Has anyone found paying a heavily subsidized rate vs. only sitting through a pitch and paying no cash makes a difference when it comes time to decline?
6) Any other tips or gotchas not covered by the above questions?
Dec 3, 2013, 8:15 am
#243
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: RDU
Posts: 1,473
Good blog posts on free timeshare stays as alternative to using points?
Any good blog posts on the topic before my questions disappear into this generic thread? My thread was specifically intended to address free, or inexpensive, timeshare stays as an alternative or complement to using points for free hotel and resort stays.
Certainly not looking for Roach Motels. But, rather, clean and well run higher-end resorts.
Certainly not looking for Roach Motels. But, rather, clean and well run higher-end resorts.
Would any of you recommend sitting through a timeshare pitch for free or heavily subsidized hotel / resort nights? As hotel loyalty programs continue to devalue their currencies, I'm interested in alternative ways of obtaining free or heavily subsidized hotel / resort stays.
Would be nice to broaden my portfolio of free, or nearly free, lodging options.
Some questions:
1) What are the least unpleasant outfits to deal with? e.g. where the pitch either isn't super hard sell; or it's hard sell for a few hours and then they leave you alone for the remainder of your stay.
Seems like Wyndham, Hilton and Marriott may have timeshare properties. Are there others? How do they compare?
2) What are the most effective ways to decline buying a timeshare that will cause the least amount of drama or grief--e.g. not having to be ultra-rude to a persistent salesperson. To be polite but firm and not open oneself up to a whole new line of argument from the salesperson, what can one say? One idea that comes to mind: I use loyalty program points and Priceline bids for all my hotel and resort stays.
3) How does one find good timeshare free stay deals exactly? The closest I've come is receiving junk mail with pitches. But not knowing if the source is legit, I instinctively toss these in the trash. I'd rather contact a trusted source, being the one to initiate contact.
4) What timeshare properties in Orlando specifically are top notch in terms of stay experience and offer either free or highly subsidized stays? Would prefer being close to the Disney World theme parks and/or Downtown Disney. Maybe no more than a 20-30 minute drive to the Parks.
Disney has a ton of timeshare properties (Disney Vacation Club - DVC). But sadly they offer hardly anything to sit through a sales pitch. Last time I checked they offered perhaps a $50 gift card for spending an entire morning being pitched to.
5) Also might prefer to pay at least something vs. a 100% free stay; call it a Points (in this case cash) and Pitch approach where there's less of a Reciprocity Principle that a salesperson can leverage to guilt you into doing something you don't want to do. Has anyone found paying a heavily subsidized rate vs. only sitting through a pitch and paying no cash makes a difference when it comes time to decline?
6) Any other tips or gotchas not covered by the above questions?
Would be nice to broaden my portfolio of free, or nearly free, lodging options.
Some questions:
1) What are the least unpleasant outfits to deal with? e.g. where the pitch either isn't super hard sell; or it's hard sell for a few hours and then they leave you alone for the remainder of your stay.
Seems like Wyndham, Hilton and Marriott may have timeshare properties. Are there others? How do they compare?
2) What are the most effective ways to decline buying a timeshare that will cause the least amount of drama or grief--e.g. not having to be ultra-rude to a persistent salesperson. To be polite but firm and not open oneself up to a whole new line of argument from the salesperson, what can one say? One idea that comes to mind: I use loyalty program points and Priceline bids for all my hotel and resort stays.
3) How does one find good timeshare free stay deals exactly? The closest I've come is receiving junk mail with pitches. But not knowing if the source is legit, I instinctively toss these in the trash. I'd rather contact a trusted source, being the one to initiate contact.
4) What timeshare properties in Orlando specifically are top notch in terms of stay experience and offer either free or highly subsidized stays? Would prefer being close to the Disney World theme parks and/or Downtown Disney. Maybe no more than a 20-30 minute drive to the Parks.
Disney has a ton of timeshare properties (Disney Vacation Club - DVC). But sadly they offer hardly anything to sit through a sales pitch. Last time I checked they offered perhaps a $50 gift card for spending an entire morning being pitched to.
5) Also might prefer to pay at least something vs. a 100% free stay; call it a Points (in this case cash) and Pitch approach where there's less of a Reciprocity Principle that a salesperson can leverage to guilt you into doing something you don't want to do. Has anyone found paying a heavily subsidized rate vs. only sitting through a pitch and paying no cash makes a difference when it comes time to decline?
6) Any other tips or gotchas not covered by the above questions?
Dec 3, 2013, 2:00 pm
#244
Original Member, Moderator: Hotel Deals and MilesBuzz
Original Poster
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Washington, DC
Posts: 14,257
Any good blog posts on the topic before my questions disappear into this generic thread? My thread was specifically intended to address free, or inexpensive, timeshare stays as an alternative or complement to using points for free hotel and resort stays.
Certainly not looking for Roach Motels. But, rather, clean and well run higher-end resorts.
Certainly not looking for Roach Motels. But, rather, clean and well run higher-end resorts.
Also, for a better understanding of what belongs in Hotel Deals, please read this: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hotel...m-read-me.html
Lastly, if you would like your topic moved to another forum - such as TravelBuzz or Information Desk, send me a PM and I will take care of that for you.
Thanks,
MileageAddict
Moderator
Dec 3, 2013, 2:39 pm
#245
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: RDU
Posts: 1,473
Thanks MileageAddict. Ended up creating a post about Orlando / Disney World at the Orlando sub-forum, linking back to this thread:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/orlan...l#post21896709
Still interested in the general concept of / general advice about occasionally using promotional timeshare stays to supplement a hotel points portfolio for free stays. Would love it to be moved to wherever appropriate. Almost posted to MilesBuzz but that seemed to broad a sub-forum.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/orlan...l#post21896709
Still interested in the general concept of / general advice about occasionally using promotional timeshare stays to supplement a hotel points portfolio for free stays. Would love it to be moved to wherever appropriate. Almost posted to MilesBuzz but that seemed to broad a sub-forum.
Roach Motel is simply the toungue-in-cheek name for the Hotel Deals thread that is for posts that are quasi-related to this forum but are not specifically a deal. Please read the first post in this thread for a detailed explanation.
Also, for a better understanding of what belongs in Hotel Deals, please read this: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hotel...m-read-me.html
Lastly, if you would like your topic moved to another forum - such as TravelBuzz or Information Desk, send me a PM and I will take care of that for you.
Thanks,
MileageAddict
Moderator
Also, for a better understanding of what belongs in Hotel Deals, please read this: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hotel...m-read-me.html
Lastly, if you would like your topic moved to another forum - such as TravelBuzz or Information Desk, send me a PM and I will take care of that for you.
Thanks,
MileageAddict
Moderator
Dec 15, 2013, 4:06 pm
#247
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Norway
Posts: 12
Like http://www.ratestogo.com/?curr=AED maybe?
Dec 31, 2013, 9:06 am
#248
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: NYC
Programs: UA Club Card, UA & DL Platinum; Hyatt's Gold Passport, AVIS President's Club, AA, GOES
Posts: 268
The Melrose Hotel - WDC - Internet rate for $79.00
Feb 16, 2014, 12:45 pm
#249
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 78
I've seen lots of posts asking about the reliability of these rates, but only a few concerning how to find them. If there is a better place i could post this, please move this post, or let me know. (I've read the last couple 'years' of this thread to make sure this hasn't been covered repeatedly.)
What are some tips and/ or tricks to finding this mistake rates?
Here is what I've gathered from monitoring the current found deals:
Pick some locations you may be interested in traveling to.
Try to make some bookings either 6-12 months out, or the very last minute.
Try picking different room types, offers, and number of guests.
Try doing a search on kayak or hotels combined.
Post findings on FT
Any other tips or ideas I am missing?
What are some tips and/ or tricks to finding this mistake rates?
Here is what I've gathered from monitoring the current found deals:
Pick some locations you may be interested in traveling to.
Try to make some bookings either 6-12 months out, or the very last minute.
Try picking different room types, offers, and number of guests.
Try doing a search on kayak or hotels combined.
Post findings on FT
Any other tips or ideas I am missing?