I agree. STARWOOD VACATION OWNERSHIP IS THE BIGGEST RIP OFF IN THE UNITED STATES. I "own" over $100k of their time. Yes, two weeks (counting the "lockoff" separately, I "own" three weeks of time in the company's premier property in Kaanapali, at the Villas on Maui, Hawaii). Here's how they get your money upfront: While vacationing there (we were on our honeymoon), they pressure you into going on a "vacation presentation." They claim it takes only "about an hour" of your time. It took more like two hours. We were so impressed we bought "site unseen" (the development was a steel frame under construction). They bring you to the best model unit in the facility, oceanfront, masterfully decorated and situated. Then they bring you to the sales office with the HARD sell. The sales people are nice but the ones who have the ability to make the deal are agressive and rude. Well, long story short, I have lost thousands of dollars of vacation time because what they don't tell you at the blissful sales presentation is the land-mine of pitfalls, tricks, rules, and ripoffs built into their system. One example (and I have many): We vacationed there after reserving our little condo almost a year in advance (if you don't do that they give you a nice view of the parking lot and highway REGARDLESS of what you paid for). One day into the vacation, my mother died and we had to return to California. What happens to the rest of the week? POOF! They take it and re-sell the room at their sole profit and YOU LOOSE. Other tricks? Yes. The booking system is confusing and complicated. Do not believe it to be as easy as the salesman describes. Many of their booking staff in Florida are young, inexperienced and argumentative. When you ask them to work with you they tell you No, No, No, we cannot do that. THEY actually play victim. The homeowner's annual "maintenance" fee coupled with the cost of airfare and on-site expenses (one small example: they don't let you bring your own alcoholic beverages to the pool area- claiming Hawaii State Law... you have to purchase their $9.00 watered-down drinks). It would literally be more cost effective to spend your money on a week at the Ritz Carlton and be treated like a king. Other tricks? Yes. If you do have to unfortunately cancel with relatively short notice (regardless of the situation- turned out to be a serious health condition) they make you re-book the week before December 31st of that year. Then, IF and only IF they can accomodate you, you guessed it, PARKING LOT view! (I bought all ocean-view property!, or so I thought). Another trick? Yes. I was so happy the day we bought our first unit, we talked our friends into going on the sales presentation. They, like us, bought an ocean-front unit. After two years (they are obviously smarter than me) they realized it was an incredible rip-off and talked me into buying it from them at a discounted price. Thinking I was buying my third week of ownership, I went through with it only to find out in the small print the developer reserves the right of first refusal for re-acquiring their property. I forgot that part of the sales presentation ... oh actually it did not come up. So now, I've been working with Starwood Portfolio Services in Kissimmee Florida trying to get the unit put into my name on their MyStarCentral website but I have hit nothing but roadblocks and resistance for many weeeks. The staff will NOT return calls, they transfer you all around the company, and of course for those of us on the west coast, they clost at 2PM our time. Starwood has a terrible website feedback system. You are basically talking to an anonomous website and get ABSOLUTELY no response. Finally, DO NOT BELIEVE the salesman when he explains the convenience of the exchange company (They use Interval International). It is a bigger nightmare than Starwood itself. Their employees are even ruder. I realized that one of my weeks I "banked" had an expiration date while I tried to book it. Of course that was something I learned on January 21st, two weeks after I unwittingly let it lapse. The Interval employee started "lecturing" me that they didn't even have to hold it that long at all, they were doing me a favor... Oh my Lord, what has this country come to? I consider myself a reasonably smart guy, career job, Doctorate degree, but I was such a sucker. I was never told that the weeks exchanged had an expiration, but of course it's MY fault (according to Interval) because it's all explained somewhere in the printed materials... I have another week I banked with Interval last year, and in January 2009 I requested a vacation in June 2009 (this week). Guess what, I have yet to hear from them. So, if you have continued to read this far, thank you. I am not just one sad case, rather I believe after figuring out all of their tricks and scams, they are masterful at taking your hard-earned cash and then sending you into a maze of rules, regulations, fees, penalties, limits, and any other word I can think of that is the anthesis of the "heavenly" vacation you thought you were buying during that "one hour" sales presentation. At least the cup of coffee was good. Don't do it!
