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Are you afraid to take advantage of a timeshare offer? I participate in timeshare offers at least once a year. I have only said yes once. At the timeshare presentation in Honolulu, the salesperson politely reminded me that I had participated in over 20 offers with HGV in seven years.
As I waited on the van to the airport, a woman sat beside me and wanted to know how I liked the property. She caught me off guard. Then I realized a timeshare pitch was coming. Of course, I listened. I also knew I wanted to travel to Los Cabos again. For $474, I could enjoy La Pacifica for three nights. I paid $406 for a two-night stay in Open Season. She mentioned I would not be on the resort side, but I was okay with accommodations on the hotel side. Even though I purchased the package in June, I did not reserve my stay until September. Besides, I had one year to book. Then, I received a confirmation from the Hampton Inn Los Cabos for the exact dates I booked in April.
The Hampton Inn Los Cabos is budget-friendly, and the view from the rooftop pool is incredible. However, I did not pay $474 to stay in a property I could have booked for less than the timeshare offer. When the customer service representative said, “The hotel sold out,” I became angry. When I booked in September, no one shared that information. Of course, I waited for someone to contact me after sending a message through Twitter (X). The representative confirmed no availability on the hotel side at La Pacifica. However, someone in the marketing department found a one-bedroom on the resort side. If you do not know the magnitude of this reservation, look at the rates on the Hilton website.
I made my round-trip reservation to La Pacifica with Transcobo ($40). I flew in early and booked one night at the Hampton Inn Los Cabos. Besides, Southwest changed my flight, and I took advantage of a nonstop flight from Chicago on a Saturday instead of a layover on Sunday. Of course, this was a Baller move because I did not pay the price difference. Although I enjoy staying at the Hampton Inn, the hotel has signs of wear and tear. The rooms are clean, the rooftop pool has great views, and the complimentary hot breakfast is back. I enjoyed dinner at Carbon Cabron. Uber was unavailable the last time I was here, but I used Uber ($5) instead of a taxi ($15) for my eight-minute ride to La Pacifica. Before calling an Uber, I grabbed lunch from Ufficio at El Merkado to take to the resort.
Sometimes, I schedule my appointment the day after arriving at the property. I want to get it out of the way and enjoy my vacation. There are other times I want to enjoy my vacation and then schedule the presentation the day before I leave the property. For La Pacifica, I attended the presentation the day before. Please remember that you agreed to participate in a presentation when you accepted the timeshare offer. Be prepared to sit through a 60 or 90-minute presentation. You booked your reservation at a reduced price. As always, set your timer when the presentation begins. Finally, check out my post on seven ways to say no to the timeshare offer before taking your vacation.
I sat through the presentation, asked questions, and collected 75,000 Hilton Honors points, but I upgraded to a two-bedroom for $13,000. I now have a portfolio to fit my travel needs. Timeshare ownership is not about vacationing once a year. In 2021, I booked eight times: Las Vegas (3), Myrtle Beach (2), Honolulu (1), Los Cabos (1), and New York (1). I also collected over 100,000 Hilton Honors Points. I used 60,000 points to offset the cost of a Hilton hotel in Puerto Vallarta and 30,000 points for a Hilton hotel in Virginia Beach. If you are not ready for the sales pitch, avoid the promotions.
I have been waiting almost a year to take advantage of the newly acquired Diamond Resort properties. Well, HGV has launched its new program. If I remain an HGV Club owner, my access is limited to the original properties in the portfolio. Because I took advantage of a timeshare offer and upgraded to HGV Max, I can reserve stays at more than 80 new resorts in 20 new markets. I will also receive discounts on Hilton properties. However, I cannot book until six months before check-out. Because some properties are within hours of each other, I look forward to more road trips. Visit my website to read more about my travels.
