Chances are you received in the mail or have been approached with a great offer to stay at a luxurious resort for an unbelievably low fee. The small catch is that you agree to attend a 45 minute sales presentation. Seems innocuous enough, right?

An offer like this usually involves a timeshare. This program will usually allow you to purchase a weeks vacation at that specific resort or allow you to possibly trade with another owner and visit some other exotic destination. Determining if the program is financially feasible and makes sense is up to you.

I have attended three presentations in the course of about twenty years. You sit down with a sales advisor who has offered you a beverage and a snack and begin to make small talk. They are all basically the same starting with: Do you like to vacation? What do you like to do on vacation? If you could go anywhere on vacation where would you go? Blah Blah Blah.

See a pattern here. They are throwing you some very easy to answer questions, all designed to get you in the frame of mind to say “yes”. They have this down to a science. Effectively using questions to sell a prospect is an art form. You won’t have any idea that your wallet is missing.

Everything goes really well until you decide this program may not be for you. The sales person you have been speaking with will usually bring their boss over. Its the typical good cop, bad cop routine. They know that if you do not sign the contract within the next ten minutes, they will never see you again. At this point they are not afraid to belittle you or humiliate you into signing a contract. The video below is an excellent example:

I think the timeshare philosophy is much like the airlines. If they make you mad or upset, there are 200 million more prospects out there. I once told the presenter we were sitting with that I wanted some time to think it over and I would call him in the next few days. His reply “when you call, ask for blue boy, I will be the one holding my breath”. Touche!

If you need a short getaway, consider the great advantages offered by the Desert Cities. There are some fantastic resorts in this area and the best thing is that they have some wonderful offers and rates to get you to come down to the desert in the summer. It’s only about a two hour drive from the Los Angeles area, but once you get there you can easily forget all about your motivation for the trip to begin with.

Your first comment is “who wants to go to the desert in the middle of the summer”? Well, I cannot argue with the heat factor. Temperatures can easily hit 105 to 110 degrees. However it is a “dry heat” right? But believe me the pool is refreshing, the golf is superb, and the ice in the drinks along with the accommodations is very cool and incredibly comfortable. Plus the other great benefit is that this time of year, most people have the same idea and think that the last place they want to be is the desert. This is the most compelling reason to come, no crowds. And if your coming from LA, you know crowds.

We chose the Marriott Resort in Palm Desert, for a two night stay. Our package included golf for each day at an unbelievable rate of approximately $144/night. I have paid more than that just to play golf at other golf courses. They also have a newly remodeled Spa offering a full compliment of services.

One thing not mentioned in any of the material about the Resort is the friendliness of all the employees. From the golf shop to the lounge to the snack bar at the pool, everyone seems genuinely glad your here. I casually mentioned to the hostess that I had never seen the General Manager at any hotel that I have stayed. A couple of minutes later she spotted him, informed him of my remarks and he came over and spent 15 minutes with us in casual conversation. Now he probably has the responsibility of over 1000 employees with 800+ guest rooms and here he is chatting it up with us!

There are many top notch locations here in the desert to relax and unwind. Since its only a quick drive from Pasadena, find one and give it a try.