With the popularity of timesharing growing at record rates, and with better and better incentives to entice you, many of you reading this blog may end up at a timeshare presentation this year.
There are many questions to ask the salesperson or sales manager if you do get interested in purchasing at a timeshare resort, but this one question will get, and keep, the salesperson real very quickly when used early on and often.
Is that in writing or can you give me that in writing?
First and foremost you must understand that just because the salesperson says something does not mean the company will back it up. I know that seem obvious but you’re under so much pressure and so much information is thrown at you during the presentation it’s easy to become overwhelmed.
Some salespeople excel in pitching “fading or fadeable heat”. Fadeable heat is industry jargon for lies (heat) that you won’t remember (fadeable). So many facts, figures and emotions are thrown at you in a typical timeshare presentation that by the time you decide to purchase you’re too tired and worn out to remember all of the “facts” you were told.
Plus the person that goes over your contracts, in many instances, will gloss over important points you may have been told that aren’t necessarily true because they are on commission as well and don’t want to blow the sale.
If you get used to asking the salesperson “Is that in writing” from the beginning, it will force the salesperson to be more honest in his presentation. You want to do this on the important claims by the salesperson and not on every little detail.
For example, if the salesperson says that the resort is a RCI Gold Crown resort, there’s no need to ask for that in writing since you can look in the current RCI directory or for a plaque on the wall for verification.
If, however, he says that you can buy one week and “it trades two for one” in RCI or Interval International, I’d want to see that in writing were I to buy.
If true, what you will most likely find in the documents is that for each week you give up to exchange, RCI or Interval International will match with a bonus week. This is very different than “it trades two for one” and is commonly misused in the timeshare industry.
The difference is that the week you own has a certain trading power that can be enhanced enormously if you know how. My guide “The Insider’s Secrets to Exchanging Your RCI Timeshare” explains this in detail and is something you must have if you own a timeshare.
The bonus week comes from the exchange company and has no exchange power. Big difference! Bonus weeks are usually at lesser-demanded resorts and during non-peak travel times. A bonus week at a fantastic beachfront resort in Hawaii or the Caribbean is rare indeed.
Plus, you pay more than the exchange fee to use a bonus week and there are conditions tied to using it.
Many salespeople don’t know this, or prefer not to know it, and simply say your week exchanges two for one. If you learn how to use a bonus week properly they can be a good value, but to simply imply that they are just like your exchange week is very misleading.
Become a smarter consumer by asking if a promise or claim given by the salesperson is in writing and then take it a step or two further by digging down to what the promise really means. If you’re considering a purchase, make a list what you were promised in writing and make sure each one is verified in the contract.
