How Timeshare Companies Use High-Pressure Sales Tactics

Anybody who knows the truth about timeshare ownership understands that an honest sale of a timeshare is nearly impossible. That’s why unethical timeshare companies and their sales representatives use a wide array of pushy, manipulative, and sometimes even illegal timeshare sales strategies. According to the thousands of first-hand accounts in timeshare company reviews, it’s to your advantage to understand how timeshare companies use high-pressure sales tactics so you can be prepared to face them. 

You might be thinking that since you’re an intelligent, discerning consumer, there’s no way that such aggressive sales tactics would work on you. Unfortunately, there have been legions of other smart people who thought the same thing. Those people are now saddled with annual maintenance fees, special assessments, and other costs. It’s sad to say it, but just being smart won’t save you from a predatory sales strategy.

The best way to protect yourself is with knowledge. In this article, we’ll take a look at many of the unsavory tactics used by timeshare salespeople to get people to buy — or even buy more — timeshare products. We’ll also look at techniques you can use to avoid falling victim to these timeshare sales pitches. 

Finally, if you are one of the many who are stuck in timeshare due to these sales practices, Centerstone Group would like you to know that you’re not alone. We specialize in finding clean, legal exits from timeshares in many circumstances, including those where you were unfairly tricked or pressured into vacation ownership.

What Are the Common High-Pressure Timeshare Sales Tactics in Presentations?

The timeshare industry is built on an aggressive initial sales pitch, and the common tactics they’ll use range from pressuring you about your finances to outright lying. In most cases, you’ll already be on vacation somewhere, like Hawaii or Las Vegas, when you see an advertisement. That ad will offer free gifts or incentives, like gift cards, show tickets, or a snorkeling tour, in exchange for going to a meeting that is supposed to last an hour or an hour and a half. Sometimes, their “gifts” are free vacations — stays at timeshare resorts — that obligate you to attend a sales pitch meeting.

Thinking that there’s no way you’re going to purchase anything anyway, you decide to go, listen, and get your free perks. Unfortunately, you will likely be unprepared for the torturous sales process awaiting you:

• The sales presentation will last much longer than promised: Timeshare presentations are notorious for going much longer than promised. While you may technically be free to leave, you don’t want to lose your free gift. You might have been promised a 90-minute meeting, but it’s more likely you’ll be stuck in that room for hours. (If you think you’d have no problem leaving, think again. It’s common practice for sales teams to confiscate your ID card when you check-in, and they don’t readily give them back.)

• Salespeople will pump you for your financial information: They give you a ton of forms to fill out, and they will certainly run a credit report. But you can also expect frequent, highly personal questions about your money and vacation habits, and the sales staff won’t stop asking until they get the information they want.

• Sales reps will lie to you: Sales staff will tell you that a timeshare is a great real estate investment (even though it’s not). They might tell you that it’s extremely easy to cancel if you change your mind. (It’s not, and the time for doing so runs out very quickly.) They might also tell you that you can resell your timeshare and make a profit. (Resale is almost impossible. Even renting it out is difficult — and some developers have an outright ban on renting.)

• You will be “worked on” by many salespeople: You will most likely be facing an entire sales team rather than one person. If they sense you’re not responding to a particular person or tactic, they’ll switch to one that works better for them.

• Price won’t be mentioned until the very end: Salespeople will force you to wait through a long presentation before they get to the price of a timeshare, and they may even adjust that price depending upon the financial information they discover about you, according to at least one report.

How Can Buyers Protect Themselves From Misleading Sales Pitches?

When you’re up against such underhanded timeshare sales tactics, it might seem like there’s nothing you can do to stop yourself from being victimized. But as with many other things, knowledge is power. Here are some tips you can use to protect yourself from misleading sales pitches:

• Don’t go for the “free gift”: As the saying goes, there’s no such thing as a free lunch. The same is true for show tickets and other vacation experiences. You will pay a price to any company offering you these things — from the time spent sitting through a presentation to being pressured to sign a timeshare contract. When compared with the cost of a contract or even your precious vacation time, those “free gifts” aren’t worth it.

• Don’t believe “limited time offers” or urgent appeals to act quickly: Salespeople want one thing: for you to sign a contract that day. They might tell you that if you don’t sign immediately, you’ll lose access to some kind of limited promotion. This manufactured sense of urgency is nonsense. It’s another strong-arm sales technique to rush you into making a bad decision.

• Be confident and comfortable saying “no”: Don’t even walk into a timeshare presentation unless you’re sure you have the ability to refuse to make a purchase and to stick to it under incredible pressure. You also need to be able to insist that you get your identification back before the end of the 60- or 90-minute presentation, so you can leave as scheduled without them having extra time to bombard you with more sales pitches. Remember that you don’t owe the company or the salesperson anything, no matter how nice they may seem.

Is There a Way to Exit a Timeshare Purchased Under Pressure?

Yes, if unethical or pushy timeshare sales tactics cause you to sign a timeshare purchase agreement, you have options for getting out.

First, the law of most states allows you to cancel your timeshare agreement for any reason within a certain amount of time. This process usually involves writing a timeshare cancellation letter to a specific address and making sure that it’s delivered correctly using registered mail. Note that the time span for canceling a timeshare isn’t very long — typically between 3 and 7 days — and the timeshare developer will not comply if you make even the tiniest mistake in the process.

If you are within your rescission period, you can reach out to Centerstone Group for free guidance on how to navigate the timeshare cancellation and avoid common traps.

Second, if you were lied to in the sales presentation, that’s even worse than the standard sleazy timeshare sales tactics. Your timeshare contract could legally be determined to be the result of something called fraud in the inducement. 

While this is a serious situation, Centerstone Group can help you here as well. Often, the best place to start is our proprietary pressure campaign and the threat of legal intervention. If we determine the situation requires legal action, we can refer you to a timeshare attorney.

But even if neither of the above situations applies to you, don’t lose hope. Centerstone Group has helped thousands of timeshare owners get out of their unwanted contracts. Those owners have found themselves in a variety of situations, and Centerstone Group has a wide range of tools to fit every case.

Be Prepared for How Timeshare Companies Use High-Pressure Sales Tactics

Developers and their sales reps have a huge toolbox of aggressive strategies that they’ll use against you to try to close a deal. Now that you know how timeshare companies use high-pressure sales tactics, you’ll be better prepared to protect yourself. But even if you’ve already signed on the dotted line, you don’t have to go it alone.

Centerstone Group can help, whether you need guidance on the rescission process or you were a victim of fraud. But those aren’t the situations where we can get you out from under an unwanted timeshare. We have a number of strategies available for safe, legal, and ethical exits, including timeshare transfers and proprietary pressure campaigns.

Unlike timeshare developers, we’ll answer all your questions and concerns and won’t put any pressure on you. We also invite you to read our customer testimonials from the Better Business Bureau (BBB), where we are an A+-rated company and have 4.78-out-of-5 stars.

Contact us today for a free consultation and case evaluation.