When we arrived in Cabo on March 3 (see previous post), we were warned about all the timeshare salespeople in the airport. We knew to go outside and find the bus company where our reservations were made. So, we did a great job avoiding them in our first hour. Unfortunately, we didn't realize how easily we would get suckered into timeshare sales experiences!!
When we checked into the hotel, we were told to go with "Pablo," who would "give us some information about the resort." Before we really knew what was happening, we were agreeing to a timeshare tour at our hotel (half is a hotel, half is a timeshare). Unfortunately, the $150 resort credit to the restaurants seemed really hard to pass up. The "75 minute" sales experience took more like 2.5 hours, but in the end we did manage to leave without buying and get our $150 credit. What we didn't realize is that getting the credit required you to speak to another "timeshare sales person." So, again, we were somehow convinced to check out another resort on day 2 in Cabo! This time, the woman offered to pick us up at the resort and bring us to downtown Cabo (about 5-7 miles) and she would give us parasailing and a boat ride to the famous Cabo Arch. We had wanted to see downtown, so we decided to suck it up for another 2 hours for the free ride, free breakfast and downtown tour packages.
This sales pitch was not bad at all. The salesman was pretty cool, telling us about his scuba adventures and not pushing too hard on the sale. Plus, there were some morning rain showers that would have kept us from the beach anyway. We made the mistake of walking around downtown instead of using the parasailing/boat trip after the sales experience, so we only had time for 1 adventure before heading back to the hotel. We decided on the boat trip to the arch and Lover's Beach. This was not the best idea. There were tons of flies that bothered us on the beach, making our 1.5 hour adventure torture! On the upside, we did get to see a bunch of colorful fish as the boat had a glass bottom! At the end of timeshare #2 sales pitch, we knew the drill and planned not to go to a third. But, the sales lady pulled out the big guns and offered us $125 cash. Everyone knows cash is king - so we took the bait and signed up for timeshare sales tour #3 on Saturday, which was the day of our friend's wedding.
The morning started out rainy, so we felt pretty good about our decision to do the timeshare tour. Unfortunately, the sales guy was the biggest jerk right from the beginning. We had been the 9am tour the first two days and decided to do the 11am tour on day 3. We think our sales guy didn't make the morning sale. Once we sat down to breakfast, he finally managed to get his "game face on," giving us fake laughs, smiles and stories. The tour was typical, aside from the comment in the elevator that "at this resort, you never have to see cleaning people because there are underground tunnels for them." Take about marginalizing the locals!! (BTW- just about all the timeshare condos were owned and operated by Americans). He gave us the toughest sell at the end and brought in even more of a jerk at the end to try and get us to buy. We kept our eye on the prize -$125 - and stuck it out. At the end of this pitch, there were no ladies waiting to try and sign us up for another, so we had finally reached the end of the road. It was good, because we were pretty tired of dealing with salesmen (all were men), but not so good because it was cloudy all day Sunday too!
Looking back on a timeshare sales experience, it isn't so bad until the last 30 minutes or so when they try to get you to buy. Colin was pretty annoyed at how calculated and fake everything was, but you are just chatting during breakfast (where they establish rapport), you're touring really nice condos for the next hour or so, and then comes the sales pitch. The topic of finances are their forte. They can set up any kind of payment plan you want to get monthly costs down. No matter what your financial reason for not buying, they always crunch a bunch of numbers very quickly showing you just how "cheap" the investment is. It probably makes sense for some people, but something about giving money to wealthy Americans who take all the beach property on other country's land makes me sick. It means I would own a condo on the beach 1-2 weeks per year (along with potentially 51 other owners), making me a part of this "system" of taking over other people's best property. The best vacation experiences for us is on the beach, but it's sad to think we are destroying the natural habitat and causing local economies to rely on our tourist dollars. The condos were amazing, but where did all the marble on counters and in bathrooms come from? How much money did the locals make to build the units? How much do the locals get paid relative to the timeshare sales people? What kind of money are the timeshare companies making?? These are questions I could have asked during the tour, but where would it get me aside from staying longer on the tour? Condo units are still going to be built all along the isolated stretches of beach because that is what tourists want.
Dealing with the sales pitch at the end was nerve wracking. It did feel like we were working for our money (especially on the third pitch). We heard that cash is not a typical incentive. Would I do it again? Probably for cash. But, I have to work on the reasons why I don't want to buy and find the answer that gets me out of the conversation the fastest.
In the end, we left Cabo not having to pay for a meal at the resort (aside from our first dinner), getting three free buffet breakfasts, going on a glass bottom boat tour to the arch and Lover's Beach, and making $125 in cash. Not a bad deal since we didn't miss out on any sunshine during the three tours! Had the weather been really nice, I may not be saying the same thing.
