Timeshare pitch vacation offer worth it?

I'm very active in a lot of the credit card hacking forums and people are always talking about these offers because it's a good deal! Here's some takeaways that I'd share:

-You can usually plan on 90 mins - 3 hours as norm. Some people don't want to do this on their vacation and so they should not take advantage of the offer. Some people want to travel and have a limited budget and that requires them to get creative. It's all about your ROI and what you're comfortable with. 
-If you are not intending to buy, be firm about your intentions. Be comfortable saying "I'm here because this was part of the terms from my vacation. I'm not purchasing anything."
-Don't take your wallet with you under any circumstances!
-They often ask you what you do for your job or how much you're willing to spend. You can always say "I'm not working right now" or "I'm on vacation because I'm unemployed at the moment." That usually cuts off the conversation because you're income ineligible.

We did this early this year at the Westin Kaanapali. It was fine; the resort is nice (although the room we got was likely the worst one in the resort; dark and in a sort of musty corner of the property.) The timeshare presentation was about 90 minutes and they left us alone after they realized they wouldn't get anywhere with us. The one caveat is that you really can't cancel the trip reservation and I believe changing the dates or anything about the reservation incurs a fee. Also, you both have to go to the presentation. This became a problem for us because we needed to change our dates or cancel or just have one person go on the trip (childcare fell through) and we really couldn't change it (it would have incurred a hefty fee). So we wound up taking a "forced" trip to Hawaii that wasn't ideal. So...caveat emptor, read the fine print and make sure you're ok with it. If you can deal with the restrictions then it's a decent deal to stay mostly unbothered at a Westin in a good location in Maui, with rental car included. But don't expect a particularly nice room by Westin standards.

I did not do them as an adult, but my parents used to do them often to get free vacations, hotel/resort stays, tickets to shows, etc. so I set through quite a few of them as a child/teen.  The main advice for you is that if you are doing it to get the free vacation/hotel stay is that you agree with your husband ahead of time that you won't buy it --- just promise yourself that no matter what you will not buy it.  They are very convincing and I know some people who went to those to get a free vacation with no intention to buy and were convinced to purchase the timeshare.  ALL of them have regretted it.  It is never as good as it sounds.  Do you research ahead of time and promise yourself that you won't get it.  Those presentations are great since for 1-2 hours of your time you get free hotel stay, but it is only worth it if you are able to withstand the pressure and not let them convince you to get the timeshare.  My dad is impossible to budge so it worked well for them and we were able to get a lot of freebies that way, but a few times I saw my mom wavering at those presentations since the sales people are just that good and my dad had to tell her "no" even though both parents went into it agreeing not to get it.  Personally we did not do it, since even though I set through enough of them to withstand the pressure and be able to say no to the purchase offers and the supposedly "deal of a lifetime" offers, I don't trust my husband not to be convinced so it is just easier not to go to those. 

Hello,

I have 4 weeks of Timeshare. I hate them, I have lost so much money and you could never get rid of them.

I guess, it does work for people who like staying in the same place every year, at your home timeshare, because trying to exchange for other resorts is expensive and difficult to get what you want.

I have never travel for free to listen to one of this presentations, but believed me, they really want you to buy, so be prepare for that!!

Hi there! 

We did one for a trip to Arizona as well as a free cruise. I would say it’s totally worth it so long as you make it clear to the presenter that you only have time for the two hour presentation and that you have a booked activity that you have to be at. They are very good at trying to prolong the presentation and trying to convince to buy a timeshare, but if you stay firm and keep reminding them that it’s an interesting opportunity but you have a pre-planned activity you need to be at (which just so happens to start right after the presentation) then it’s worth it :) 

I agree with the person who wrote: "I would say it’s totally worth it so long as you make it clear to the presenter that you only have time for the two hour presentation and that you have a booked activity that you have to be at."

If they tell you that you have to listen to a 90-minute talk, then be prepared to leave at minute 91. It will be tough. You might think you are being rude, but think about the fact that they tell you 90 minutes and want you to spend three hours while you wait for their manager and their manager's manager to take their shot. Who is being rude?

Have you ever bought a car on a sales lot? Same thing.

We got a nice meal and learned a bit about timeshare and didn't buy.