I use affiliate links on my blog. When you click on my links, I may make a commission. Thank you!
When you are in Las Vegas and walking down the street, you will constantly be stopped by someone wanting to sell you something. One big thing that goes on is a company called Westgate stopping you to try and get you to sit through their timeshare presentation. They will offer you free gambling money, tickets or dinner in Las Vegas in exchange for sitting through their 90-minute presentation.
It sounds like a great deal, but should you really do one of these timeshare presentations? We have done two of them and I would never do one again. The first one we did was over ten years ago and I am not sure what company we did this one with, but it was a terrible experience and we said we would never do it again, but somehow this last time we were suckered into it while walking down the Las Vegas Strip. At least this one didn’t make us get on a bus and go to another facility to check out their rooms.
We already had show tickets in Las Vegas so we decided that we loved the idea of $150 in free gambling money plus two free buffets. Of course, this only works at their hotel. They also promised us that this would only last 90 minutes. We went upstairs with the people from Westgate, after leaving behind our alcoholic drinks that they said would be waiting for us when we got done. They took us upstairs where we waited for about ten minutes until we started the demonstration.
Basically, a guy gave us the option to grab drinks, chips and sandwiches that looked like they had been sitting there all day long. We sat down and it was time for the pitch to start. Of course, this is his job and he needs to sell it to us to pay the bills. This took well over an hour and he just kept talking and talking. Honestly, at the start of the demonstration, I was kind of interested. By the end, he had me so annoyed they could have offered it to me for $1 and I would have said “no.”
When you go into a timeshare presentation with Westgate, they will tell you that it will take about 90 minutes. Instead, you will listen to a huge pitch, they will then have you look around a suite and then go back to sit down. They will try to sell you and then keep going down on the price further and further, making sure to take plenty of time between pitches. By the end, my husband and I were both telling them that there was no way we were interested but it still took a while to convince them to give us our free gambling money and let us go on our way. We were there over three hours total.
First off, I would probably never buy a timeshare, but I was willing to listen. Once we explained that we never just buy something on impulse, they got pretty upset about that and couldn’t understand at all why we would want to research a purchase before we made it. They even told us if we left, they wouldn’t sell to us, but I am sure if I came back to them they would gladly take my money. If you go to Consumer Affairs.com, you will understand exactly why they don’t want you to do any research on their company.
So should you ever sit through a Westgate timeshare demonstration? If you live in Las Vegas and have three hours to kill, yes that is how long it took after the promised 90 minutes, then sure go for it. If you are visiting Las Vegas, do not let them trap you and convince you to go in and listen to their pitch. We were not impressed.
How can you get out of a Westgate timeshare pitch if they try to talk you into it? Here are a few tips for you. First off, they want a couple and you both have to be there. They also want a certain combined income, so just tell them you don’t make very much money at all and they won’t want to talk to you. Another way is that if you have done a Westgate timeshare presentation in the past, they don’t want you again, so make sure you tell them you have already heard the pitch and aren’t interested. Make sure you use these tips and stay as far away from the Westgate timeshare people as you can on your next trip to Las Vegas. Personally, I will never do any timeshare presentation again.
Leave a Reply