We recently attended a vacation package offered by Fairfield Resorts to travel to Fort Lauderdale, FL and in return listen to their sales pitch. The Reservations were made with a $149.00 deposit which would be refunded at the close of the "Tour" (Sales Pitch). I was under the impression that we would be staying at the resort upon arrival but found that they cannot accomodate all of the people they lure in for the sales pitch and therefore put you up in a hotel. You are then responsible only for the taxes and parking at the hotel. That was fine with me since my total was $36.18 in exchange for 2 nights for 2 rooms.
We were sent to the Howard Johnson Plaza Resort on Deerfield Beach. I wouldn't recommend this hotel to anyone, but since I wasn't really paying for the stay I have no ripoff report to file for them. We didn't stay in the room very much anyway as we wanted to get in as much tourist time as possible.
We went to attend the "Tour" on Sunday at 11:30am. We had a very nice young woman who was completely thrilled to meet us and show us all of the wonderful things that The Palm-Aire had to offer. The presidential suites were gorgeous and no detail had been left out. When I asked if they had any of the regular condos/suites avaialable they said they were all booked but they had kept the 2 presidential rooms we were shown as showcases. We then went down to talk numbers, our agent was very detailed in explaining the point system and I consider myself pretty smart so I thought I had asked all the right questions up till this point. She gave us the price and we were open to the staggering $47,000 that she proposed. The manager came over and immediately crossed out her numbers and gave us a $16,000 discount for choosing a VIP Package. He also included a 308,000 point bonus if we signed up that day. Then he filled in the other numbers, Taxes and maintenence.
The Taxes were $240.00 per year and the Maintenence was $107.00 per month. Now having accounting background I wanted to do the math.By my calculation that would be $1524.00 Per year after it had been completely paid for. We own a 3 bedroom 2 bath home in TN and our taxes are far beyond that so I asked and was told FL Taxes are much higher. This is also when we found out that CENDANT Corp sets the tax amount that you pay based on the number of points you purchase, AND they can raise your amount anytime they choose. I also asked how many units were in the buildings, there are 398 units. Now I did the math for 398 (units) X 52 (Weeks) X $100 (Minimum Property Tax Per Unit) Assuming that they sell everyone a one week stay, and everyone pays $100 yearly property tax, they Should collect $2,069, 600.00 just in property taxes for the Palm-Aire, and that isn't including anyone who is paying more than $100 like we would have ($240.00).
Now I have not been able to contact the Broward County Tax Office yet, but I will, and I'll be very interested in getting the tax records to see just how much they are paying for the Palm-Aire Property. Keep in mind that for the same propery we would have had to pay $107 per month for Maintenence. We respectfully declined the offer and the Sales manager was very rude and asked to stop wasting their time. We were then taken to a "Survey" Room where another young lady asked us about our experience and was equally exuberant about the property. She then offered us a 1 year trial of the package for $195.00 I said no thanks. Even after the year if we were to purchase the same fees would apply. We were given our $149.00 back and sent on our way. It wasn't really a bad experience but buyer beware, they sell you when you are in their sight and don't want you to leave and get more information, know what you are paying for before you sign.
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