I've done the timeshare thing twice... once when I was 16 w/ my older brother for free Universal tickets, and once about 18 months ago in Orlando in exchange for 3 nights in a 1 bedroom for around $50/night and 2 2-day Universal tickets. Neither were HGVC or even branded for that matter. The time I went w/ my brother the salesmen (plural) were persistent to the point of rudeness. We had to say "we're done, sign off on our tickets or we'll call the BBB". The second time last month we had a much nicer salesman, only one "closer" who was also much nicer, and actually got out in only 90 minutes. I've received the e-mails from HGVC for Las Vegas + 10K HHonors points for $99/night... seeing as I can usually get the LV Hilton for not much more than $100/night, I'm not too interested. If I got the Manhattan offer, however, I might be interested in doing it again since my wife has never been to NYC.