My husband and I unfortunately bought into Global Vacation Club about two years ago and have been on a couple trips with them. When we joined, there were no complaints posted on the web and only one resolved complaint with the BBB, so we felt optimistic about our decision. We initially had lots of ordeals with this company with upper management having to get involved.in their defense, they tried very hard to make right on some of the "baloney" we were sold at the presentation. They taught us how to work the program and to be realistic about what/where to expect. Granted, our expectations came from the salespeople at the presentation telling us we would be staying in 4 and 5 star accomodations with a 95% chance of going anywhere we requested with the exception of Key West and Sanibel Island. We started requesting vacation spots immediately and most places we requested were cancelled after extensive waiting time due to no availability. We did manage to get to Grand Cayman Island with the help of upper management getting involved. It was a lovely trip. I gave my parents a trip to Destin, Florida and they said it was "nice." To our dismay, we just returned from Nuevo Vallarta, and we actually checked out of the Mayan Palace after two days because we were treated like such second class citizens because we were not owners. Global claims the Mayan is an example of the best they offer. Needless to say, this is truly disturbing for us. Objectively speaking, from what I know now... I would not join if you are considering it or can still get out of your contract. What they promised has just not panned out and, quite frankly, this program makes it harder to make travel plans because it is so limited and you are at the mercy of customer service agents you don't know, and who are just trying to get your request "off their list" with little concern for your personal travel tastes and needs. Here is a synopsis of our experience:
1. They downright "lie" at the presentation about the services they can realistically offer. Whether the salespeople know they are lying, I don't know. I think they are just trained to say stuff and they haven't used the program themselves.
2. The "travel gifts" they promise for attending are so restrictive with deadlines and required deposits that it was impossible for us to redeem them.
3. They were deceptive about the financing terms, which upper management resolved for us.
4. They do seem to make it hard to cancel the way they schedule the presentations.
5. They appear to have a "prop" computer showing resorts that you could be vacationing at. After you buy and you actually go to request some of the resorts, you are told it will be nearly impossible to ever go there by the agent they assign to you. Or they won't know availability till some far away date.
6. The resorts have been 3 star that we have experienced - no 4 and 5 star. I am not saying they are bad places... Just average. And that is not what they promise at the presentation!
7. You will likely be harrassed by timeshare people when you actually get to your destination because they know you are not an owner. You are just filling up an unused timeshare unit. My personal opinion is it is a big scheme to lure in new timeshare bait, and give the impression the place is filled up when it's not.
8. Buying club is an absolute JOKE! Trust me - we tried several times and found what we wanted less expensive at the normal stores like Sears, Best Buy, etc... Sure, they will match the price, but why would I want to wait for it to be mailed when I can go down the street and get what I need for the same price.
9. We have come to the conclusion we will never get to go anywhere tropical during the holidays or the dead of winter (in Ohio) with this program. Another lie! There has never been any avilability, except in equally cold areas. I know we only got Mexico during this Spring Break because of the bad economy and the State Department Warning.
9. On the positive side, Innocent Customer Service people are very nice.
So overall, not sure what we are going to do about this. I will call the guy suggesting to people to consider a class action law suit. It was alot of money afterall, and their business model does not seem to work - along with salespeople who will say anything to make a buck.
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