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Earlier today, I had to call IHG on the phone to make sure my husband could check into his hotel this weekend using my free night certificate. I didn’t want him to have any surprises at check-in since I wouldn’t be with him and I may be unreachable on my own trip.
When the call was over, the rep asked me if I’d be willing to stay on the phone for an extra few minutes to hear about this special promo going on right now. If I listened to the promo for 5 minutes, I’d get 500 IHG points. Sure.
The Offer
The offer was what I expected–a reduced cost stay at one of their timeshare locations (Holiday Inn Club Vacations). Initially, the offer was for a 3-night stay in a one-bedroom unit for $279. After touring the resort during the stay and listening to the timeshare hard sell, we’d get $179 back, making the cost of the 3-night stay just $100.
But then, when the rep saw I was an IHG credit card holder, he sweetened the deal. I’d get a 4-night stay (0ne additional night) in a 1-bedroom unit for $279 and I’d get $280 back after taking the on-site tour. So essentially, I’d earn $1 for staying 4 nights in a Holiday Inn Club Vacations location. Locations include:
- Branson, MO
- Cocoa Beach, FL
- Galveston, TX
- Gatlinburg, TN
- Lake Tahoe, NV
- Las Vegas, NV
- Myrtle Beach, SC
- New Orleans, LA
- Orlando, FL
- Williamsburg, VA
Why I declined
Honestly, if you can stand a 2-hour timeshare presentation on property and not fall for the temptation to buy a timeshare, this isn’t a bad deal. Especially for IHG cardholders. It’s hard to beat 4 free nights at a vacation resort.
Leana and other readers have enjoyed Holiday Inn Club Vacations at Orange Lake. I’ve stayed at the Cape Canaveral location, and the beach is great. Gatlinburg is on my wish list.
HOWEVER, I declined for 2 reasons:
- I hate sitting through timeshare presentations
- We already have too many trips planned!
Yes, I’m guilty of planning too many trips. My husband and sons want to travel less. Since both my husband and I would be required to attend this timeshare tour, the free nights are not worth the time for us.
If this offer appeals to you, I don’t see the same offer online. The only offer I see online is for a getaway that includes a timeshare tour but you’d stay at a “normal” IHG property. But, I bet if you call IHG to check on a reservation, you’d likely be offered the same deal I was.
Author: Nancy
Nancy lives near Dallas, Texas, with her husband and three kids. Her favorite vacations include the beach, cruising and everything Disney.
Is there any reason why your posts are not displaying the full rss feed so that I can read them in feedly? Didn’t know if that was an error or a change you guys made for some reason? It just started happening a couple days ago if that helps narrow down the problem. Thanks!
@Lisa Ah yes, sorry about that. We (and many other blogs) had to make that change because a certain big bank changed its rules on what we can and cannot include in emails. 🙁
Is it possible to at least keep the feedly feed fully in tact? I very rarely click through after only receiving a paragraph in feedly, to have to then reload the entire page through a browser. Personally, not as much concerned about the emails being cut off. I’d like to continue to keep up with the site, but that just makes it a pain to click through and wait for loading, ads, etc. that I generally find myself not even reading the site anymore. Like I used to read Gary at view from the Wing, but he went with the truncated feedly posts and I just don’t even bother with his site anymore. Thanks for considering at least fixing the way feedly displays.
@Lisa If there was a way to keep the Feedly feed fully in tact, we totally would. Unfortunately, I think it has to be the same way for both. 🙁 Trust me, we don’t like the change either. I hope you will continue to read the blog.
Did you have a year to do the trip?
@Holly Yes!
Thank you!
I seem to get these IHG timeshare offers by email, and occasionally via postal mail, at least once per quarter. Haven’t taken them up on it yet since they never seem to have availability for the deal at the times I want to travel (and honestly, maybe only 2 or 3 of those locations interest my family).
I actually own a Westin timeshare that I purchased on the resale market many years ago. It’s at a ‘mandatory’ property (meaning I receive 95% of the benefits as owners who bought new from the developer) with some of the lowest maintenance fees in the system. We’ve only stayed at our home resort once, the rest of the time we have obtained outsized value staying in 2 BDR villas in Hawaii, Atlantis, St. John, Mexico, etc. for some great family vacations. It’s similar to the miles/points world if you know what you are doing. Westin was recently grandfathered into the Marriott Vacation Club system so now we have even more options. Some great resources for research (which is a must before even thinking about buying a timeshare!) are tugbbs.com and maxingmarriott.com.
@Erik I’m glad you’ve gotten good use from your timeshare!
Your sons want to travel less? That’s pretty rare. While it wouldn’t work for a timeshare why not do some mother-daughter trips?
@Christian Yes, they are older and don’t want to miss out on social events at home, plus they both want to work summer jobs. The timeshare tour must include both spouses. My husband just thanked me for not jumping on this offer.
One wonderful thing that helps resist the temptation is that many timeshares can be had for free or pennys on the dollar on the resale market and trade very well with exchanges. Timeshares are a wonderful way to travel, and can even allow access during high demand times at significant discounts. However they require work, and flexibility to obtain maximum value.
@Mowogo I agree that you can get a lot of travel out of a timeshare and timeshare exchanges. But with the yearly maintenance fees, the math doesn’t work out for me. Plus, they are hard to sell, even at a penny.