![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Marriott-timeshare-300x168.jpeg\")
<\/a>It was 1993<\/strong>, the kids were young and we had no money, when we got a call from the Marriott Desert Springs Timeshare<\/strong> folks offering us a free weekend in the desert in exchange for a mere 90 minutes of our time to listen to a presentation on timeshares. Like everyone else, we had gotten of number of these calls over the last few years, but because we had no money and couldn\u2019t buy a timeshare if we wanted, we decided to take them up on their offer of a free weekend in the desert.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/salesman.jpeg\")
<\/a>“Trust me”<\/p><\/div>\n
We arrived and were warmly greeted while our two children we\u2019re quickly escorted off to a \u2018fun zone\u2019 to be entertained for the next 90 minutes while we were locked in a windowless room where sat a guy with bad hair, a mustache and dimples. Small talk and big smiles ensued while he extolled the virtues of the Marriott name and their foray into timeshares, bla, bla, bla. We finally regained consciousness when he told us that for a week every year, we only needed $18,000<\/strong>. We didn\u2019t even know how to spell $18,000! We looked at each other knowingly and in unison said, \u201cNo thank you, we really can\u2019t afford it\u201d and started to get up. We were quickly told to sit down and that with a small down payment we could make payment over time, enough time that we accepted.<\/p>\n As it turned out, it was one of the best investments we ever made, or had made for us. We\u2019ve spent a week every spring at our Marriott timeshare for the last 26 years. Our kids graduated from the kiddy pool, the teen pool, to Costas\u2019<\/strong>, the nightclub on property, to bringing their kids out. They know every inch of that property.<\/p>\n If you like vacations and you like clubs, Marriott has got a deal for you . . . bring cash!<\/p><\/div>\n About five years ago Marriott timeshares went to a \u2018point system\u2019<\/strong> and we were offered two rounds of golf to listen to the advantages of converting our \u2018week\u2019 into \u2018points’ and joining the Marriott Vacation Club<\/strong>.\u00a0 Who doesn’t want to be in a vacation club?!\u00a0 When we asked the salesman if we converted our week into points, would we have enough points to come out for our week every year like we’ve been doing? When he was finished calculating he looked up with a long face and said \u201cNo, you\u2019d be a little short\u201d and he knew he lost a sale.<\/p>\n Last week while at the Marriott Desert Springs<\/strong> for our week in the desert, we were again offered two rounds of golf to listen to a presentation on trading our two weeks (we bought another week on the \u2018black market\u2019<\/strong> a couple of years ago) for more \u2018points\u2019 in the new BONVOY<\/strong> program\u2019. We were told the program has really changed, that we wouldn\u2019t have to exchange our week for points. Our salesperson must have just come off his shift at an Indio used car lot. Big toothy smile, dyed hair and a too firm handshake. Lots of small talk until we asked for the bottom line. We were told we could turn in our two weeks, along with an additional $42,000<\/strong> and we\u2019d get . . . I didn\u2019t even listen after I heard the $42,000. \u201cBut you can put it on a 10-year payment program, and . . . \u201d he said as we headed out the door for the golf course. We gave him a hardy \u201cBon Voyage\u201d.<\/p>\n I feel like I\u2019ve earned an MBA<\/strong> in \u2018timeshare\u2019 (although it’s taken me 26 years), so if you have questions about \u2018weeks\u2019 or \u2018points\u2019 or fast talking salesman with bad hair \u2013 give me a call.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Bob Sparrow It was 1993, the kids were young and we had no money, when we got a call from the Marriott Desert Springs Timeshare folks offering us a free weekend in the desert in exchange for a mere … read more![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/vacation-club-300x140.jpeg\")
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