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The Marriott Vacation Club???

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  1. #11

    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    HK
    Posts
    307

    I'd attended one of these whilst actually on holiday in Phuket. I didn't buy in, but was given a voucher for a few days stay at the Allamanda.

    However, I never got round to using the voucher as there were too many restrictions, plus the cost of issuing plane tickets were not as good a deal as buying whatever holiday packages that were on special offer at the time.


  2. #12

    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Posts
    32

    Attended one of these too. Ok enough but yes, quite pressured. The manager was called over at one point, we didn't want to sign up straight away, he was called over to see if he could persuade us otherwise...and I felt he was a bit heavy duty, he was nice at first but I felt he ended up taking not a very nice tone...

    I don't think there's a huge amount of difference between signing up straight away and signing up after a few days thought - if you have the money for it, it's not a bad deal...but feeling like you're on the spot with a large sum of money like that is quite uncomfortable...


  3. #13

    Join Date
    Dec 2002
    Location
    θ–„ζ‰Άζž—
    Posts
    47,964

    >> I felt he was a bit heavy duty

    Did he bring out photos of his kid swimming with dolphins? The closer who was brought in was similar to what you described.

    I was also turned off by the fact that they did not have copies of the contract available to take with us and read / consult with someone more legally minded.

    He was enough to keep us from using the coupon for the Phuket holiday as my opinion was .. do we really want to go and have to deal with someone like him at the other end?

    My major concern is that since this is not your traditional timeshare.. there is very little protection the case of a bankruptcy either by the owner of the property of Marriot themselves.


  4. #14

    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    DB
    Posts
    3,699

    Interesting dynamics to observe, how the closer is brought into the picture as supposedly a manager who has some experience of one of the locations you specificy as wanting to visit early in the presentation. Clearly, though, he's meant to close the deal as he can offer a further discounted rate.

    I can see how people are bamboozled into things, there is a fair amount of pressure involved and a whole machinery working around it. All in all an interesting experience but one to be wary of.


  5. #15

    $292000

    went today - was 2.5 hours in length. Cost )if you purchase) was $292,000....


  6. #16

    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Posts
    1,165

    this vacation club is totally different from the hotel itself...

    vacation club is not worthy...

    if u go on a holiday, why not just rent a hotel at the last minute.


  7. #17

    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Tung Chung, Lantau
    Posts
    41

    they were smoother than a ping pong ball in phuket (we got 1 fluffer, 1 main sell, 2 closers and more small talk than you can shake a stick at), and that really turned us off.

    for our troubles, my partner and i received a 2 nights' voucher for one of their locations in khao lak and promptly started planning a vacation around it (expires 31 july). turns out it wasn't free. with admin costs, etc, it's only slightly cheaper than the 5* hotel we booked for the other 4 nights in laguna. meh. live and learn.


  8. #18

    Some further points... they are trying to get the 'today' package sold by saying that the 'after today' package has less to offer for almost the same money. The irony is that once you say "no" to today they give you no follow-up information to take with you (they know their only chance to convince is there - on the spot?). If the product really was that good they could surely give some information to take with you. We said we would do some internet research - something they said was only the place for negative feedback. How come they claimed "98% happy feedback" from those who pay?

    We found mentions of "$0" for a room silly (you would have just paid $292,000). No mention of duration in years. process of booking rooms suspect (our original invitation was mixed up with someone else's holiday reservation + our name was spelt incorrectly at their location).
    Seems that the basic income for participants is $30,000/month - but (if you at this lower end of salary) does that really mean you can afford $292,000 (think of the flights and food that will be needed once you get to a room somewhere).


  9. #19

    The membership provides pretty good value for people who travels. The cost of the membership might seems high at the first look. But think about annual 30,000 points you get for being a member, you can use the membership year after year. A night a JW Marriott Hotel in Hong Kong uses 3,500 points, a week at Marriott in Hawaii uses 23,000 points. If you do travel frequently and use the Marriott network of hotels around the world, you will find your membership worth the cost.

    While I agreed that the sales presentation was a bit high pressure, you can always say no if you don't need the membership they offer. I bought it not because I don't know how to say NO, but because I find value in being a member.

    There are 2 sides to the same coin and I like to look at the both sides and make my own choice. Make no mistake, I am not here to promote the membership. I am just making a fair and honest comment.

    Last edited by asiaboss; 24-06-2010 at 04:52 PM.

  10. #20

    I bought it on 2008. Totally disappointed. The saleslady was bluffing saying that, ow we will remind you every year to use it and you just need to make a phone call and we will arrange everything to you. Bullshit! Actually I felt regret once I purchased it because there were so many good offer out there without having to invest on this thing, but I was totally stupid that I did not read the contract which stated that I could cancel the plan before the specific date. Of course the saleslady would not bother to inform me that I could do so during the presentation. And right now, when I wanted to find out how to use it because my points are almost expired and when I called them, no one picked up the phone or even bother to call me back. Anybody interested in buying points? I will sell it to you on discount price!