The Westgate Experience
On April 3, 1998, I went for a timeshare tour at Westgate Resorts, Orlando, Florida. We didn't go on the tour just for the tickets, like many did. We actually wanted information on the system. Westgate promised us a 90 minute tour and proceeded to use up 3 hours of our valuable vacation time. They did so in an extremely pressureful and insulting manner. I have never been talked to like that by a salesperson in my entire life. My boyfriend and I made every attempt to be polite and civil and we were yelled at and abused in return.
I have reported the experience to the Better Business Bureau and all other appropriate agencies. The responses are listed below. In general, neither the Better Business Bureau nor the Attorney General of Florida showed any interest in persuing what Westgate did. I therefore put my experiences on the web so that others could hear my story.
Read Lisa's Experience with the Westgate Resorts Sales Pitch
Please email if you have questions or comments. I wrote down every phrase I could remember as soon as we left the building, in the car in the parking lot, so I am quite sure that what I have stated above is exactly what was said. None of this is an exaggeration in the least, it is exactly what happened, exactly as it happened.
When I first posted my content, I thought it was the worst 3 hours that could happen to a person. Was I in for a shock. Many other people have shared their own stories after reading mine, and I have to admit that the "experience" others went through at Westgate Resorts are FAR worse than mine. What's ironic is that I hadn't posted any other stories until the Westgate employee wrote me and accused me of making mine up. He said he'd never heard any other complaints. So I've put up some of the other stories I've gotten over the years, to show him this is a widespread issue.
Interesting Factoids about the Westgate Offer
Westgate Resorts, Florida
Typical Starting offer (to M.K.): $24,000 (1 week)
Typical Final offer (to I.L.): $5,600 (1 week)
Sales Team's reaction to requests for a few days to think about it: they exploded in anger and yelled
Highest Price I found on current EBay to OWN a prime week at Westgate Florida: $1,500 (1 week)
(many sales went for much lower)
Recently quoted Westgate Interest Rate (to G.B.): 17.75%
Standard credit card interest rate: 15%
"High" condo interest rates during the War in Iraq: 5.79%
Yearly Payment for your Westgate Timeshare at their rate (30 yr loan): $4,291.90/yr
Current Maint + Taxes Additional Charge (G.W.): $585/yr
Total yearly cost (for one week stay inc taxes): $4,876.90/yr
June week at Disney's Grand Floridian, the top rated hotel/spa in Orlando: $2,688 (1 week)
Current eBay listing for rental at Westgate Florida in June: $450 (1 week)
Note this is less expensive than the MAINTENANCE charge the owners pay
Most owners who write in never even got to their Westgate timeshare because of timing issues, or went once and had problems with broken windows / dishwashers / sinks. $24k is a lot to pay before you have proven you will use it and enjoy it more than once. If you're intent on the image of luxury that Westgate offers, consider Ebay. Even if you choose to buy, you can save $22,500 by buying your Westgate week on eBay. You get your timeshare and STILL could:
Now multiply these savings times the number of people who sign the contract in a Westgate seminar each day.
My Complaint to the Better Business Bureau
I contacted the BBB on May 24, 1998
June 3, 1998: The BBB writes a letter to Westgate asking for a response
June 5, 1998: Westgate says I should have just walked out without the tickets
Central Florida Better Business Bureau Website
NOTE: I did continue to get email messages about this after 2003, but I am just too busy to keep the site updated. I think the email collection below quite fully details how bad the timeshare situation is.
First-Person-Account Emails with Similar Westgate Experiences
2003
Apr 23: M.J. says his experience was a repeat of those listed here
Apr 18: S.C. had his deeded timeshare rented out to someone else
Apr 13: G.B. had his direct questions on resale value dodged
Mar 31: M.K. was told to 'leave the kids' in a nursery, then was abandoned <-- READ THIS ONE
Mar 31: I.L. was quoted $19k a week ... then they dropped it to $5.6k ...
Mar 19: C.R. went through several hours, then waited another 1.5 for her friend
Mar 18: W.H. "Sales people will tell you anything to get a sale."
Mar 14: C.S. stayed there and was very disappointed
Mar 7: J.B. bought on resale from someone else, paid 1/4th the cost
Feb 26: M.D. never got her payment book and had trouble reaching them
Feb 16: C.D. was there for 3 hours, not the 90 minutes promised
Feb 15: A.S. is an owner whose 30th anniversary was full of harassment
Feb 11: S.L. has been trying to cancel/sell since purchase in Jan 01
Feb 10: A.L. discovered she could rent her villa for only $350/4 days
Feb 7: G.W. bought and still spends 1/2 day per visit in sales meetings
Feb 4: A.B. is contemplating bankruptcy because her credit card is wrung dry
Feb 2: B.M. explains how to cancel cleanly
Feb 1: A.E. had the same good cop / bad cop routine for 3 hours
Jan 26: B.O. referred friends for a wedding night - they were sent to a motel
Jan 21: J.M. gets charged late fees even when sending payments early
Jan 20: N.S. spent almost 5 hours on her honeymoon, losing a full day
Jan 17: D.R. is told Westgate will rent their units out for them for income
Jan 13: L.W. had her credit rating harmed due to Westgate's mistake
Jan 10: M.C. was told to put up flyers to earn money back
Jan 10: L.F. was told 1 1/2 hrs, was there for 4 hours
Jan 10: G.L. went through this with her husband and child
Jan 9: E.L. buys her timeshares on eBay much more cheaply
Jan 6: E.S. had her kids stranded at the hotel room <-- READ THIS ONE
Jan 5: M.F. was there for 3 1/2 hrs, caved in and is stuck
2002
Dec 30: W.M. had trouble getting his tickets
Dec 24: T.T. bought just to get out of the room
Dec 17: D.T. is trying to cancel after giving in to pressure
Dec 17: R.L. says this technique is common and dishonest
Dec 16: T.M. was pitched at while renting from an owner
Dec 5: C.F. says they bought and are stuck
Nov 22: J.F. is still paying for Westgate
Oct 19: K.J. was sold a unit that someone else already owned
Oct 17: K.T. can't find any way to sell their unit
Sept 15: S.B. wants to report to the BBB
Aug 20: S.M. had a three hour tour
Jul 8: K.P. bought and regrets it
Jun 17: T.E. is stuck with a unit they can't sell
May 30: J.C. a timeshare lover, Westgate was the only one this rude
May 20: C.T. says she felt like a "hostage"
Apr 4: S.S. tries to cancel and is threatened with a suit
Feb 18: H.W. ends up buying and running into trouble
Jan 7: L.Y has 2 hours end in rudeness
2001
Sep 30: B.T. went through four hours
2000
Apr 4: K.S. went through 3 sales pitches
Feb 24: S.O. bought under pressure and then couldn't sell
1999
Nov 17: W.B. was sworn at on the phone
May 25: C.G. was told 'unlimited people' and lost 9 months
May 21: K.B. sat for six hours, no food, no bathroom break
Apr 29: B.D. went as an exchange and was pitched at anyway
Mar 17: B.M. says they were "extremely rude"
Jan 4: T.T. is stuck with a unit she cannot get rid of
1998
Dec 2: J.R. warns the industry is often like this and worse
Sep 24: S.W. tried to get a refund on his deposit
Sep 7: P.B. explains how the economics just don't work
Jun 18: B.A. says they were "belligerent and haughty"
May 19: J.J. used a friend's timeshare and was pitched at
Apr 3: Lisa's Account of the Westgate Resorts Sales Pitch
Westgate Employees Speak Up
Apr 25 2003: A Second Discussion with the Salesperson
Apr 24 2003: A Salesperson says the Smart People Buy
Oct 17 2002: A Westgate Employee Accuses Me of Slander
Slander is Spoken Malicious Lies, Libel is Written Malicious Lies. This is Neither.