In Reply to: Bali Timeshare Schemes-questions posted by pauljen on Monday, 28. March 2005 at 11:26 Bali Time:
I don't own any, but I have two [separate] friends who have had timeshare in Bali for several years, at different hotels, and they both seem happy with their investments.
I've been a couple of times to presentations out of curiosity and I've never felt harassed or threatened. I've worked in sales and marketing and I understand what they are saying and doing and why. I generally gently pull the leg of the lead-in guy in a friendly sort of way and when one of the top guns moves in he realises pretty quickly that he hasn't got a sale and that's that.
Personally, I like the freedom to pick and choose my holiday times and accomodation and don't like to be locked in to a permanent arrangement. For instance, I never fully book my accomodation in with my package when I go to Bali. But for someone who likes to go back each year to the same place at the same time, then it may work out OK.
Every type of business activity has shonky operaters and sales people, but there is nothing shonky about the timeshare concept, provided it is presented honestly. There have been a variety of examples posted on this Forum where people have had a fair deal and/or free holidays. It's a true saying that "there's no such thing as a free lunch", but the special offers and gifts are built into the final price that the buyers pay. This concept is exactly the same as the many special offers and advertising gimmicks that are prevalent in probably most forms of commerce.