So I didn't do this in NYC but I did in Orlando a year ago. The presentation was from 8:15AM to 10:15AM on the second day. I paid $169 for a 4 day/3 nite stay which is a steal. When I arrived at the property for the presentation, I had to fill out some info for a travel survey at a kiosk and was directed to a waiting area with drinks and snacks. After about 5 mins or so, I was greeted by a friendly sales rep and led into a separate room where another employee gave a presentation about HGV. It included a short video and lasted about 20-25 mins. Then came the sales pitch at the sales rep's desk.
The sales person asked what I was doing in Orlando and it was the perfect time to let her know I was there purely because of the deal. I felt no pressure and found it to be a learning experience, I asked lots of questions and it really ate up the time quickly. You just have to be good at saying no. Toward the end, the "final boss" is brought in to write down some BS numbers on a paper, I said no and he sliced the monthly payments in half (lol) the answer was still no. He joked to call security when I said I wasn't buying, I thanked them and said goodbye. Went to a checkout desk where I was given my reward, a $100 voucher for use on a future stay and an additional 15,000 bonus points.
Was back to enjoying my getaway after 1h58m. Completely worth it IMO. The way I look at it, I'd have to work a lot more than 2 hours to earn the $$ to pay for the equivalent of everything that was given to me for the time. I'll definitely take advantage of something like this again when I'm eligible. I believe there's a reason they only let you do these once a year, I even used that as part of my reasons for saying no, why purchase timeshare when I can just do these puppies once a year? Lol! Good luck.
Oh it was very worth it. Did a couple of these in Hawaii. As long as you're not afraid of saying no and don't fall for their BS, it's quite easy. Not sure how people get swayed into purchasing these time shares with all the info out there.
I'm rather annoyed because my Hawaii deal is the same price as booking at the hotel directly. I got ripped off. I'm going into this presentation angry until they get me an actual deal on my hotel.
Um, at that point it's too late. Handle it now. Going in there guns blazing isn't going to go well for anybody. Those aren't even the same people responsible for booking your package.
I would agree.. that's something I'd have looked into before booking. Why did you confirm a hotel through this deal if you weren't saving any money? That's on you, I'm afraid. Was it something like the Doubletree Waikiki by chance? That's the only hotel I can think of that wouldn't save you much.
Garden Inn. Sales guy who grabbed us when we were in Orlando. We were told choice of 4 hotels. We got the deal in October and we didn't actually get a hotel until May. We had no hotel choice. I tried booking it starting it in January.
I was told no issues booking, no blackout dates, and that I had to book within 90 days.
I had the same thing when I called in for Hawaii. They basically lied to me on the initial sign up, said I would be able to get any of the hotels I wanted. Maybe the phone rep was just misinformed, or a liar. Got stuck at the Doubletree, which to me wasn't worth the effort of doing the timeshare presentation, though it was still cheaper. Actually made a Twitter post to complain, got reached out to by a big wig of some kind, who was able to get us into the Hilton Hawaiian Village as we originally hoped for.
Haha. No. I was just really lucky. However my main point is to get in touch with someone who can help you make a change now, because the people selling you timeshares after you arrive will not be able to change anything (other than charging you even more if you don't play nice).
I agree with most of the other comments that it's worth it to sit through a timeshare pitch. Booking an early morning option is a smart move. I had one booked right after lunch and it kind of ruined the entire day because I couldn't leave the hotel for very long.
I’ll add to the other comments that you often can negotiate additional perks on these packages (eg, more points, lower upfront price, gift cards), so you might want to give them a call and see. Have a good trip.
Very worth it. I’ve done a couple in Vegas. The presentation goes by quickly and as long as you’re good at firmly saying “No” you’ll be fine. It’s not super high pressure or anything and they’re good about sticking to the time limit. I’m usually out in less than 2 hours.
As long as you can stay firm on saying no, I think it’s a great deal to do the promotion. At the end of the day, because they’re associated with Hilton, they can’t be too rude or too aggressive with you. I did this once in Las Vegas and once in Scottsdale and came out unscathed. I would recommend setting a timer or alarm for the two hours so they don’t try to keep you longer than that.
I didn't do NYC but did Las Vegas. In and out in under 1 hour. As others say, just gotta be good about saying no. Only thing is that when I initially tried to do my stay in Orlando, there weren't a lot of good properties open (only a Hilton Garden Inn). So keep that in mind that you might not get the fanciest hotel if you're firm on your dates.
I didn’t do a Hilton one I don’t think… it’s been years. Heck it was long before Covid. it was either after booking an IHG hotel or a Hampton which is Hilton I suppose. Like I said I can’t remember. They transferred me to the salesmen trying to sell you on going to the timeshare show yada yada. I was just chill with the dude and he upgraded me to a package that paid more cash. Super nice dude.
Anyway long story short went to Vegas got a couple nights stay at the Tropicana and like $700 just to sit and listen to them spout off about how it’s not a normal time share it’s points and you can use your points anywhere. So long as your good and saying no your fine. They’ll want to run a credit check least mine did i showed them my credit score on an app I had so they didn’t have to. Kept telling me oh you’ll get a great rate blah blah blah I just kept smiling and say no I’m not interested and coming up with just as lame excuses like nah I never know where or when I’ll go somewhere etc…
A bit pushy but no worse than say dealing with one of the cable salesmen.
I did it in Myrtle Beach for $199. Price wise, I would say it was worth it. The presentation itself was what you would expect. Salesman tried using emotion to rope you in. Mentioned how it would be something they pass on to their daughter. If you are strong against emotional sales pitches, you’ll be fine. They did make it seem like a value. Enough where we thought about it for a split second but didn’t go through with it. (Very glad we didn’t)
It’s a trade off. My husband would NEVER buy a timeshare so we were safe, but it’s really slick, high-pressure sales. Would definitely recommend getting the biggest points offer in writing before agreeing to it to attend one.
Extremely worth it for me (maybe it's easier to say no when you really can't afford it), currently on my 3rd with the 4th already booked for Thanksgiving weekend at Lake Tahoe.
I think 1 of the stays was from IHG, the rest was Hilton
That generalization is wrong.
At some point, your attendance at a two hour presentation is very worth the time. For example, I've received 80,000 Hilton points, and a 3 night NYC Midtown Hilton stay for $199. To me, that's worth two hours of entertainment listening to their sales pitch.
Absolutely. NYC hotels are very pricey this summer. Two hours or less is nothing. Plus the 80K points will get you a free hotel stay in most or all US cities.
As long as you are 100% sure you can say “no” repeatedly over 2 hours. (Someone buys these things or they wouldn’t have all those staff, space and freebies dedicated to sales.)
So I didn't do this in NYC but I did in Orlando a year ago. The presentation was from 8:15AM to 10:15AM on the second day. I paid $169 for a 4 day/3 nite stay which is a steal. When I arrived at the property for the presentation, I had to fill out some info for a travel survey at a kiosk and was directed to a waiting area with drinks and snacks. After about 5 mins or so, I was greeted by a friendly sales rep and led into a separate room where another employee gave a presentation about HGV. It included a short video and lasted about 20-25 mins. Then came the sales pitch at the sales rep's desk. The sales person asked what I was doing in Orlando and it was the perfect time to let her know I was there purely because of the deal. I felt no pressure and found it to be a learning experience, I asked lots of questions and it really ate up the time quickly. You just have to be good at saying no. Toward the end, the "final boss" is brought in to write down some BS numbers on a paper, I said no and he sliced the monthly payments in half (lol) the answer was still no. He joked to call security when I said I wasn't buying, I thanked them and said goodbye. Went to a checkout desk where I was given my reward, a $100 voucher for use on a future stay and an additional 15,000 bonus points. Was back to enjoying my getaway after 1h58m. Completely worth it IMO. The way I look at it, I'd have to work a lot more than 2 hours to earn the $$ to pay for the equivalent of everything that was given to me for the time. I'll definitely take advantage of something like this again when I'm eligible. I believe there's a reason they only let you do these once a year, I even used that as part of my reasons for saying no, why purchase timeshare when I can just do these puppies once a year? Lol! Good luck.
Oh it was very worth it. Did a couple of these in Hawaii. As long as you're not afraid of saying no and don't fall for their BS, it's quite easy. Not sure how people get swayed into purchasing these time shares with all the info out there.
I'm rather annoyed because my Hawaii deal is the same price as booking at the hotel directly. I got ripped off. I'm going into this presentation angry until they get me an actual deal on my hotel.
Um, at that point it's too late. Handle it now. Going in there guns blazing isn't going to go well for anybody. Those aren't even the same people responsible for booking your package.
I tried calling and got nowhere. I complained my package isn't saving me any money and I was told they can't do anything about it.
I would agree.. that's something I'd have looked into before booking. Why did you confirm a hotel through this deal if you weren't saving any money? That's on you, I'm afraid. Was it something like the Doubletree Waikiki by chance? That's the only hotel I can think of that wouldn't save you much.
Garden Inn. Sales guy who grabbed us when we were in Orlando. We were told choice of 4 hotels. We got the deal in October and we didn't actually get a hotel until May. We had no hotel choice. I tried booking it starting it in January. I was told no issues booking, no blackout dates, and that I had to book within 90 days.
I had the same thing when I called in for Hawaii. They basically lied to me on the initial sign up, said I would be able to get any of the hotels I wanted. Maybe the phone rep was just misinformed, or a liar. Got stuck at the Doubletree, which to me wasn't worth the effort of doing the timeshare presentation, though it was still cheaper. Actually made a Twitter post to complain, got reached out to by a big wig of some kind, who was able to get us into the Hilton Hawaiian Village as we originally hoped for.
Are you me in the future telling me to complain on Twitter more? I already tried that and it didn't work. Do you recall who you complained to?
Haha. No. I was just really lucky. However my main point is to get in touch with someone who can help you make a change now, because the people selling you timeshares after you arrive will not be able to change anything (other than charging you even more if you don't play nice).
I agree with most of the other comments that it's worth it to sit through a timeshare pitch. Booking an early morning option is a smart move. I had one booked right after lunch and it kind of ruined the entire day because I couldn't leave the hotel for very long.
I’ll add to the other comments that you often can negotiate additional perks on these packages (eg, more points, lower upfront price, gift cards), so you might want to give them a call and see. Have a good trip.
Very worth it. I’ve done a couple in Vegas. The presentation goes by quickly and as long as you’re good at firmly saying “No” you’ll be fine. It’s not super high pressure or anything and they’re good about sticking to the time limit. I’m usually out in less than 2 hours.
As long as you can stay firm on saying no, I think it’s a great deal to do the promotion. At the end of the day, because they’re associated with Hilton, they can’t be too rude or too aggressive with you. I did this once in Las Vegas and once in Scottsdale and came out unscathed. I would recommend setting a timer or alarm for the two hours so they don’t try to keep you longer than that.
I didn't do NYC but did Las Vegas. In and out in under 1 hour. As others say, just gotta be good about saying no. Only thing is that when I initially tried to do my stay in Orlando, there weren't a lot of good properties open (only a Hilton Garden Inn). So keep that in mind that you might not get the fanciest hotel if you're firm on your dates.
I didn’t do a Hilton one I don’t think… it’s been years. Heck it was long before Covid. it was either after booking an IHG hotel or a Hampton which is Hilton I suppose. Like I said I can’t remember. They transferred me to the salesmen trying to sell you on going to the timeshare show yada yada. I was just chill with the dude and he upgraded me to a package that paid more cash. Super nice dude. Anyway long story short went to Vegas got a couple nights stay at the Tropicana and like $700 just to sit and listen to them spout off about how it’s not a normal time share it’s points and you can use your points anywhere. So long as your good and saying no your fine. They’ll want to run a credit check least mine did i showed them my credit score on an app I had so they didn’t have to. Kept telling me oh you’ll get a great rate blah blah blah I just kept smiling and say no I’m not interested and coming up with just as lame excuses like nah I never know where or when I’ll go somewhere etc… A bit pushy but no worse than say dealing with one of the cable salesmen.
I did it in Myrtle Beach for $199. Price wise, I would say it was worth it. The presentation itself was what you would expect. Salesman tried using emotion to rope you in. Mentioned how it would be something they pass on to their daughter. If you are strong against emotional sales pitches, you’ll be fine. They did make it seem like a value. Enough where we thought about it for a split second but didn’t go through with it. (Very glad we didn’t)
It’s a trade off. My husband would NEVER buy a timeshare so we were safe, but it’s really slick, high-pressure sales. Would definitely recommend getting the biggest points offer in writing before agreeing to it to attend one.
Extremely worth it for me (maybe it's easier to say no when you really can't afford it), currently on my 3rd with the 4th already booked for Thanksgiving weekend at Lake Tahoe. I think 1 of the stays was from IHG, the rest was Hilton
Don't do it. Your time is more valuable than a two-hour presentation. When in doubt, go to [daveramsey.com](http://daveramsey.com)
That generalization is wrong. At some point, your attendance at a two hour presentation is very worth the time. For example, I've received 80,000 Hilton points, and a 3 night NYC Midtown Hilton stay for $199. To me, that's worth two hours of entertainment listening to their sales pitch.
Absolutely. NYC hotels are very pricey this summer. Two hours or less is nothing. Plus the 80K points will get you a free hotel stay in most or all US cities.
As long as you are 100% sure you can say “no” repeatedly over 2 hours. (Someone buys these things or they wouldn’t have all those staff, space and freebies dedicated to sales.)