RCI vacations - A Warning

This is a friendly warning to anyone who likes to travel. Heed this advice - it will save you valuable time and possibly thousands of dollars.

The first time we got hit was at the last place you would expect - a 5-star, adults-only, all inclusive resort in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico called Aventura Spa Palace. It was an amazing resort where the people treated us like royalty. After we checked in, we were kindly asked to enjoy a drink while our concierge was contacted. They would be the one who showed you around the massive resort and take your bags to the room. So far, nothing out of the ordinary.

As we sat there enjoying our cocktails, we were approached by a "greeter". This individual was extremely friendly. They began asking us some questions and made small-talk while we waited for our conierge. It turns out they were "pre-qualifying" us for the timeshare presentation they would soon suck us into. Typical qualifications are married homeowners over 21 with a houshold income of $50,000+. They cleverly extracted our age and homeowner status as if they had done this 1,000 times before. After a few minutes, the greeter offered us a $100.00 voucher, good at any of the local spas, and other activities not included in the all inclusive price. All we had to do was spend 90-120 minutes at a presentation by an unamed third party who would show us around the resort. Sure, we said. Sounds like fun.

The first 30 minutes was exactly as they had described. They took us for an extended tour around the massive resort, and showed us some of the large 3-bedroom suites on the way. We later found out that these 3-bedroom suites are owned by timeshare holders.

Once back in the presentation room, the hard sell began. We were asked a series of questions about how much we spent on this vacation, and the salesman used those numbers to compare their offer of a lifetime ownership in the RCI program. A few minutes into the sales pitch, I busted him on something most people don't catch. We were in an all-inclusive resort, and yet the offer they were making us was for the accommodations only. There were also taxes to be paid, or other service charges, including monthly maintenance fees.

There were about 30 couples in this presentation room, so it was hard to have an intimate conversation with the salesman, which is part of their game. Their starting price for their "VIP" package of 4 weeks per year at any number of resorts was over $24,000. For a couple that travels maybe once a year (which they knew, because they asked), this was ludicrous. They did manage to sell at least two of these VIP packages to some very wealthy looking suckers, I mean customers.

The salesmen quickly showed us the next package, which offered less days, and certain other exclusions I won't get into here. The price dropped in half to $12,000. This was still not even remotely interesting to us, as we simply don't vacation enough to take advantage of their offer. The salesman proceeded to drop it again to around $8,000. We still weren't biting.

This is where it started getting interesting. Much like a car dealership, the salesman called overhis "manager" to speak with us. This guy had used care salesman written all over him. The haircut, the$3,000 suit, the rolex watch, the shiny shoes, etc. He started off friendly enough and asked if the salesman did a good job of explaining the incredible deal we were being offered. Of course he did. "Bob" now began his hard sell. Why were we interested? What could he do to get us to take advantage of this timeshare? I quickly ran out of patience with him, as it was extremely cold in this giant room and I was having a hard time hearing him over the other conversations and occasional grand-standing when they announced the most recent sucker to buy in. I flat out told Bob that if he wanted to continue talking to me, we had to go somewhere warmer or the conversation was over.

This annoyed Bob, but he obliged. (He was actually sweating, as Bob was a large man.) Bob showed us yet another lower offer. This one was only about $6,000 and we could buy in with just $600 down. No thanks we said - still not interested. Bob dropped it again. This last offer was for two weeks we could use in the next 18 months (only at a select few locations), and he even threw in coach airfare to sweeten the deal. All this for only $4,500. This was actually not a bad deal, but I was a but annoyed with his pushiness at this point.

Bob's attitude quickly changed from friendly to downright cocky and pushy. The more he pushed, the more fun I had messing with him. I would feign interest, only to change my mind minutes later. Bob was getting very angry with us at this point. Verbally angry. He could not understand why we could spend over $6k for this one week (we flew first class), and would not bite on $4,500 for two weeks + airfare. I explained that we weren't in a position to do this right now, even if we were interested (which we were - a little). I just shelled out a ton of money for the ring, wedding, and honeymoon - all in the last month. I was tapped out to below my comfort level for a while. (See another blog of mine regarding keeping three months of reserves at all times.)

At this point Bob must have considered us a lost cause. During our conversation he cockily blurted out that he made a few hundred thousand dollars with RCI and was their top closer. At that point I said "then you don't need our measly $4,500 Bob." He quickly escorted us to the gift desk and left in a huff. Total time - THREE hours!

I was pretty annoyed with this whole ordeal and began warning other couples as they came in off the shuttles. "Keep saying no - the price drops dramatically" I informed them. I also warned them that 90 minutes is a flat out lie.

Heed this friendly warning the next time you travel. It's not worth whatever "free gift" you are offered. If you think it may be, simply ask them to allow you access to a computer so you can google their company for complaints. That is a conversation stopper, I guarantee it.

-NK5
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