JR warns the industry is often like this and worse
Westgate Timeshare Resort Issues
Date of Incident: 12/2/1998
I read your story on Westgate with much interest. I own a marketing company and I used to market to Timeshares & Campgrounds. I know your story inside out, and it is just not Westgate, it is the industry in general. You would not believe the "behind the scenes" work that went on there. I could have told you your own story, and you would have been nodding your head all the time saying "yea, that's what they did. Yea, that too."
Westgate contacted me about buying my product to add to their package. I was doing research on them when I ran across "your story". I market the best travel package in the country. I sell to the resorts & travel agents. We do it over the internet, EVERYTHING is up front (what a novel idea) including our prices. It is a timeshare alternative. You get your choice of over 2000 weeks of resorts, any time you want (we go at least a year in advance). If you see a resort, you book it, it is yours. The price is $1495 for two weeks a year for fifteen years. It is a one time fee. NO ANNUAL MAINTENANCE FEES, NO DUES. Resorts call me from all over the country for my package. They are going to use it as an "exit program" . They will charge $2995 for two weeks, or $2495 for one week. They will "drop" as much as a thousand dollars (in minutes!) if you "buy today" and pay cash. Of course, they will still finance. $1495 is the cheapest that this package can be sold to the end user for, but rest assured, the timeshares do not even come close. I do not sell retail, but I sympathized with you and your boyfriend after reading your story. If you are at all interested, you can e-mail me back and either give me your phone number, and when you can be reached, or you can call me at 888.836.7882. I am gone all the time, though, so sometimes it is hard to reach me.
I can send you the same package and brochure that I send to resorts. I can also give you my two web pages for you to look at. I am the CEO of DreamScape Marketing and the Director of Marketing for Qualycon. I do not know where you are from, but I am going to Florida from December 11th until the 21st to see resorts (one of which is Westgate) to demonstrate my product to the resort owners and developers. I am meeting with the owner/developer of Westgate and I am going to show him your letter. Unfortunately, they have been very successful with this "high pressure" sales pitch so they don't change it.
It used to be worse. When my girlfriend and I went to one in Cabo, The 2nd guy (called the TO for take over) told my girlfriend how could she be with such a loser mooch like me who came just for the free week-end (which they invited me to, by the way) who thought soooo little of her that I wouldn't by a $13,500 timeshare to secure our vacations for life. I wanted to blast the punk. I could have, too. He was a dinosaur with a painted smile. How can people be so phony & rude? There is never an excuse for rudeness in a sales situation. Of course, the "3rd" guy came in and "dropped" the price from $13,500 to $8,000 but we could only "own" it for 3 generations instead of lifetime. What is a generation? 150 years? Besides that, were talking Mexico here. It could be gone in three months with a change in "el presidàento." Then he asked me how I had the nerve to stay in their condo for the week-end and not buy. People like me made him sick. Not sick enough, as he was still breathing when we left.
Hey, it could have been worse. Ever try to get a Kirby salesmen out of your house? I am starting to ramble. Your story got me going. We do have an amazing product, though. It is so good that five major cruise lines came aboard last month. They are Carnival, Norwegian, Royal Caribbean, Premier, and Celebrity. We have signed contracts with them, and they are going to put their discounted cruises on the internet. We also added Europe last week, and the Airlines will be on by the end of the year. Get back to me if you are interested. I would love to send you my web page so you can play with it. Your questions will be "how come this is so cheap and how do you do it". That is explained in my "Resort Book" so they will know the answers when their clients ask them that. Unlike the resorts though, you do not have to buy today and you can "check us out". I encourage it.
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