“Perhaps that suspicion of fraud enhances the flavor.” — C. S. Forester

Day after day, the Waterwood, Texas infomercial seems to run in continuous loop on one of the televisions at my gym. This is where Erik Estrada (aka Ponch from CHiPs) hawks home sites for a developer by enticing buyers to come take a look for free. Here’s the pitch from their website:

Timeshare ShuttleYour FREE Two Day Trip Includes…
– Airfare for two on a commercial airline
– Deluxe Hotel accommodations
– Ground transportation
– A private, no sales pressure tour of our incredible home sites

Perhaps this is a bad example… because how many of us really want a FREE trip to Texas??

I’ll use my brother as a better, albeit not perfect, case in point. He once flew to Las Vegas at the invitation and expense of a company selling timeshares. His wife joined him and they got airfare, two nights stay at a casino, tickets to a show and a few food vouchers. He went on the required two hour tour but knew going in that he didn’t have any plans to purchase a week’s worth of real estate. But the weekend was free for him aside from the money he lost at the craps tables since it was at the expense of the timeshare company.

My brother is not alone. Geoffrey E. Matesky wrote this amusing account of his “discount” vacation called The Timeshare Promotion. He writes, “My wife and I decided to take this February’s vacation as outlaws. We posed as an ordinary couple with an infant son on a one-week getaway in Orlando, Florida. But unbeknownst to the throngs of NASCAR dads, trophy wives and whining toddlers on winter break, we were running amok as charlatans and grifters, a modernday Bonnie and Clyde, and Clyde, Jr.”

“But alas, our ruse was far more subtle; we had booked a week at a luxury Orlando timeshare resort for the incredibly low price of US$ 42 per night (travel not included), but with the agreement that we’d allow them to try and sell us one. The whole time, however, we really had no intention whatsoever of buying one. All we did was visit Mickey on the cheap!”

“Most of us have heard of this scheme. You sign a contract agreeing that during your stay you will attend a brief presentation (usually a brunch meeting) where it is presumed that you will be mercilessly solicited. You are under no obligation to purchase anything however, and if you can make it through the presentation without inadvertently buying a timeshare, you’re home free.”

As you know, I would never buy a timeshare and you shouldn’t either. However, that aside, would you ever take a company up on the freebies knowing full well that you have no interest in buying their goods? What would you do? Or better yet, share with us what crazy things you have done? Comments welcomed below.