DeniseM

You are absolutely right! I should have looked it up before I posted!

TravelLawyer

Just following up...I was finally able to speak with a manager and got the date that I originally was promised...all the way out in January 2006. Now I'm just waiting for my confirmation in the mail in the next 7-10 days.

HomerJ

...once you arrive at the property. Princeville in January 2006...what should we expect regarding the presentation? Time? Proceedures? Are they pushy? etc etc etc...any help much appreciated

jpevnick

Thanks to a very nice FTer, I just got the invite for one of the offers. This may sound crazy, but I want to schedule around 1/1/07. Right now they're only taking reservations through Aug 06. Any experiences on waiting several months before using the invite?

Thanks

DeniseM

Starwood tends to have low-pressure sales, but it really depends on the sales Rep. The first sales pitch we went to was very low-key and we didn't feel pressured at all. A year after we purchased, we went to an "owners update" while visiting our resort, and it was very high-pressure and the guy was a jerk - he made it clear to us that we were wasting his time.

The presentations are usually 1-on-1 with a sales Rep. in a small office and are supposed to be 90 min. long. If you want to be sure you get out on time, "schedule" some kind of an activity 30 min. later so you have a good "excuse" to leave after 90 min.

However, unless your Pkg. info. says in WRITING that you MUST attend a sales presentation, then it isn't required. If not required, they will probably offer you a $100 GC for attending.

TravelLawyer

My offer didn't require a presentation. The sales rep specifically told me over the phone that I can choose to go or not go and that if I go, I can ask what promos they are offering for the presentation itself.

CPRich

I think you have 18 months to actually use it, but a limited time to put down a deposit. We put down something like $300 and then waited a few months to work out vacations, flights, etc., and booked then. I think the invite, at least the one I received, states how long the invite is for and I think I remember it only being for a few weeks.

Da5id

What is an owners update? We own at Kierland and if they aren't prepared to offer any more trips to say Kauai, then we really have nothing to talk about.

jocelynt

[QUOTE=HomerJ]...once you arrive at the property. Princeville in January 2006...what should we expect regarding the presentation? Time? Proceedures? Are they pushy? etc etc etc...any help much appreciated

Hi, just got back from using the offer at Princeville. Once you arrive and check in at the front desk and head to your room within 10 to 15 minutes you will receive a call from the vacation desk stating that they have a gift for you that you should come by to pick it up. The timeshare that they are trying to sell now is for the Maui resort. When my husband and I were there the salesman would speak to you and find out what your vacationing habits were and try and figure out how much it could save you in the long run. Then right after that his boss comes in to close the deal. They were pretty pushy when my husband and I were there. They pretty much tried to pormise us the world. Stating that we will be receiving a GOLD Starwood Card that read Owner on it. That it will open more doors for us when we would check in at the hotels that are not their timeshare. The project is not going to be complete until the mid of 2008 but they would like you to statt paying for it immediately. They will also show you the most expensive that they have to offer and if that didn't interest you then they would finally offer you the 1 week timeshares. Hopefully that helps you to be prepared.

Shibang

I'm pretty sure they try to tailor the right offering to you depending on what they find out about your travel and spending tendencies. They started by presenting my wife and I the 1 week a year offer at the new Maui Westin and then followed that up with a 1 week every other year package. They didn't even bother with the most expensive option. If anyone is interested to know the pricing that was offered to us in July (I believe it's gone up by now) so you can prepare yourself, feel free to PM me.

Sam P. Goodman

Just got back from taking advantage of this Princeville offer (that I received thanks to a fellow FTer--thanks!). The offer was a great deal as we ended up spending ~$100/night when the lowest available rate on SPG.com was only $425/night! When we checked in with the vacation desk to get our gift certificate, they offered us another $100 or 10,000 pts. to attend the sales presentation for Kaanapali North. We jumped at the points. We'd attended the presentation twice before (once in Maui) and had never been even remotely interested in buying. The sales guy must have been pretty darn good, because we went from 0% chance of buying to actually buying.

Now, I can refer people for the offer too. I think I have about 5 or 6 spots on my referral sheet open so I'll refer anyone who's interested on a first come, first served basis. If you want the offer, PM me your name, address, and phone number and I'll fax it in in a few days.

DeniseM

An Owner's Update is just another sales pitch to get you to buy additional weeks. You get 4,500 starpoints for attending. In the past, once you became an owner, you weren't eligible for the preview packages any longer.

HomerJ

...I will post a visit report and how the presntation went after our January '06 visit.
Cheers Homer>

jakemtl

Got called last week for the offer at the Sheraton Maui. Asked her about the Princeville and she emailed me 2 options - Sheraton Maui (749 for 5 nights) and Sheraton Kauai (598 for 5 nights). I guess the Princeville offer is over or perhaps I am not eligible fore it. I now need to call back, thinking of going in Mid-February. A couple of questions for you all before I call back:

- Which hotel is nicer - the Sheraton Maui or Kauai?
- The fine print on the email invite say's "Holiday and special event periods are excluded." Have any of you had difficulty booking specific dates? Mid-Feb is around spring break so I am wondering if that will block me.
- Do you think spending the cash on this offer is better than using 50k points for 5 nights (I was planning on doing this before I got the call).
- I would actually like to tack on a night or 2 to my stay. Can I do this using points?

Thanks!

Mahalo

jakemtl:

Yes, I believe the Princeville offer is over since many probably booked this and they have a fixed number of rooms reserved for this promo. I wasn't able to get this offer either.

I would say that the offer is great if you do want to stay at one of the 2 hotels still offered. I prefer to use my starpoints and stay at the Princeville. I never stayed at the Sheraton Kauai but did visit it. I can only say that the Princeville is a true luxury collection hotel and the Sheraton Kauai looked pretty standard.

I've stayed at the Marriott several times in Kaanapani where the Sheraton Maui is located and I believe all of the chain hotels (Westin, Sheraton, Hyatt and Marriott) located back to back to back are all pretty nice with excellent pools and a great location.

My understanding is that the offer also comes with a $180 Avis voucher and a $100 hotel credit (you can ask if they might offer the 10,000 starpoints instead of the hotel credit). A car is essential in Maui and Kauai so this voucher would lower the cost of the offer. I would prefer the 10,000 starpoints and this would be worth about $200 - $300 depending on how you used it so is this a good offer? I sure think so. Good luck on your decision.