Holiday deal with compulsory informative presentation

Loscargem on 21/08/2014 - 14:48

Hi Ozbargain Community,

Just got $500 return flights to phuket for november for a much need vacation. Not exactly sure what todo for accommodation. We (me and my partner) have $1800 for 10nights accomodation and foods, spending etc.

When search for accomodation we came across this living social deal $199 for 7nights.

[Source] (https://www.livingsocial.com/escapes/1214566-phuket-for-199?…)

It however has these terms:

"Guests must dedicate at least 90 minutes of their stay to participate in an informative presentation on the benefits of vacationing with the Absolute World Group
Guests combined annual income must be superior to $70,000 equivalent"

Writing as I would like to hear peoples experience when it comes to these. I don't think that I get swindle easy, but I would not like my first holiday in a fair while to be ruined for the sake of trying to save $500.

Thanks for the help.

Travel

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Comments

  • tanoshiiki on 21/08/2014 - 15:04

    I would suggest Googling. Quite a few results…

    http://www.tripadvisor.com.au/ShowTopic-g297930-i9925-k39683…

    If you don't mind being sold to during your holiday, I would say go for it. But if you've come to purely relax and get away from it all, probably not the best deal to book.

  • oscargem on 21/08/2014 - 15:07

    Thanks @tanoshiiki. I have read a few. And definitely sounds like a hard sell. I just want to hear from some people that have sat through the presentations and enjoyed their holiday, or whether the people hassle them to they pay the money

  • slow on 21/08/2014 - 15:12

    I have been to a similar thing before, bit on the gold coast - it depend on how thick your skin is. They will be your best buddy and do a huge well rehearsed sales pitch, basically making out like it is an such a good offer that you would be crazy to refuse to buy whatever they are selling. Then when you say no they will get nasty (in a subtle underhanded way) and try and make you feel bad for wasting their time and accepting whatever they were offering when you had no intention of buying etc etc etc ….

    • oscargem on 21/08/2014 - 15:15

      Was this is asia?

      I have gone through this before in gold coast qld. I remember just saying very clear from the start that I would not be purchasing any thing. They still tried but I got over feeling bad. I just can imagine they might be much worse in thailand.

  • juventino on 21/08/2014 - 15:27

    If you have a good resistance, then go for it. As others have said, they'll stop short of forcing you to purchase a time share.

    Just bring a few dollars with you to the presentation and leave all your credit card. Forget all your financial details. It's hard to get you to sign up to anything if you don't have any money.

    But then, they might do sneaky things such as cutting your holiday short. It's overseas, you'll never know what will happen

    • mafmouf on 21/08/2014 - 16:06

      Your best excuse is yes you earn the minimum amount but already invested and have no money to purchase with. Wyndham Resorts tried really hard against me but I didn't even have money at the time. Not sure what they were expecting. If you have the will, take the deal and laugh in their face when you get out of the presentation.

      Most of these places have thought really hard about their techniques, and don't think for a second that you should invest if you haven't spend as much time researching on it as you would for a car or even house.

      Seriously, when I went to an equivalent timeshare event, they wanted something like $2k on the day deposit! This was for a $25k "investment." What? I was there for about 1 hour before they put a pen and paper in front of me. No thanks.

  • Davo1111 on 21/08/2014 - 16:08

    yeah, i don't really like the sound of that.

  • Smulder on 21/08/2014 - 17:34

    Put your name down for the presentation scheduled on the morning you are due to leave, then just don't turn up.

  • battler on 21/08/2014 - 17:40

    you have answered your own question:
    "I would not like my first holiday in a fair while to be ruined for the sake of trying to save $500"

    some users here might be able to suggest accom if you can tell us what you want to achieve: nightlife? quiet beach? shopping, etc
    perhaps 5 nights split Patong and Karon/Kata/Khao Lak.

  • battler on 21/08/2014 - 18:46
    +1

    http://www.scoopon.com.au/deals/60344/thailand-4-star-resort…

    This seems like decent value, leaving you plenty for spending $

    • oscargem on 21/08/2014 - 23:07

      Thanks. That looks good, but not to keen on patong, sounds like too much of a party town for us

  • donga100 on 21/08/2014 - 20:57

    I personally love these deals and often take advantage of them. I haven't been to this particular resort but I have been to the Marriott in Phuket for their timeshare presentation and it was fine. The people selling to you are all expats and although they attempt a hard sell you can still say "no" and be out within 2 hours (90 minutes is best case scenario).

    What ever you do, don't purchase from them. Timeshare can work for some people depending on their situation but even if it would work for you it is better to purchase second hand from ebay or similar for a fraction of the price the resort will sell to you for.

    For the record, I don't own any timeshare but I usually do at least one of these deals every year.

  • oscargem on 21/08/2014 - 22:19

    Thanks everyone for the feedback.

    I think we will try and avoid the deals.

    We are going 22nd November for 10days. Looking for quiet beach, no shopping, no partying.

    Thinking half time in Phuket somewhere, and then Phi Phi. Any recommendations or deals?

  • anna10 on 22/08/2014 - 07:33

    Donga, would plse share with me by pm if you like, how to get an invite? I know there is a certain profile, and being a couple is a requirement.

    • juventino on 23/08/2014 - 15:27
      +1

      there is no need for invite, they are advertising this all over the place. Scoopon, Groupon, LivingSocial Spreet you name it

    • donga100 on 24/08/2014 - 22:22

      Plenty are already published online. Wyndham for example, offer packages for married couples and singles who have a minimum combined annual income of AUD$65,000 per annum. You can only attend one presentation/holiday per year. Some are better value than others… I did a Fiji deal last year which was a little cheaper but in a 1br apartment. They were happy to extend the stay to 7 nights for a little extra.

      For others I normally just google the hotels and contact them directly. They almost always have a similar offer.

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