GeoHoliday: is Jockey Club (Las Vegas) a good buy?

[jerrry94087 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close jerrry94087]

Just went to Vegas, and few days ago sales reps convinced me to buy a timeshare.

Company: GeoHoliday
Location: Jockey Club, they have 65 properties in many countries, no exchange fees between them.
Points: 25000 points every other year
Weeks: 25000 nominally buys 1 week, but they added an option that if I book less than 45 days in advance price per week drops to <5000 points per week. This makes it ~2.5 weeks per year.
Price: $12900
Maintenance Fee: $480/year
Freebies: 6 roundtrips anywhere in US, 3 nights in a resort in Hawaii with airfare, once time 50000 points, + 7 night Carribbean cruise out of Florida.

Jockey Club used to be top notch in Las Vegas. Frank Sinatra owned a penthouse in it. But now, with the construction of the City Center, focus shifted and many existing owners sold or abandoned ownership. Jockey Club jacked up MF to ~$1000/year. And even more owners dropped. There are periodic auctions selling units that were defaulted on for as low as $850, but with ~$1000 MF/year (1 week per year). So owners, I guess, were pressured to find some options how to deal with the problem, so they sold all available inventory to GeoHolidays for inclusion in their resort pool.

I calculated, if to subtract freebies from the price, price is ~$7000, that's what I really paid.

$480 maintenance fee for 2.5 weeks per year is pretty cheap compared to all other timeshares I saw. This plus all free things convinced me.

I am still in the cool down period and can rescind.

Does anybody have an experience with GeoHoliday?
Is this a good buy?
Did you ever see people selling GeoHolidays points on the secondary market?

It seems to me that this is pretty reasonable price. But I am writing here asking for your opinion, also want to share my experience.

[Carolinian Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Carolinian]

Any developer purchase is overpriced compared to the resale market. I would rescind and find something you like on the resale market. Take a look at the prices on eBay, for example.

Also, Las Vegas is on the verge of getting overbuilt in timeshare, which would hurt its trading power.

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

Just went to Vegas, and few days ago sales reps convinced me to buy a timeshare.

Company: GeoHoliday
Location: Jockey Club, they have 65 properties in many countries, no exchange fees between them.
Points: 25000 points every other year
Weeks: 25000 nominally buys 1 week, but they added an option that if I book less than 45 days in advance price per week drops to <5000 points per week. This makes it ~2.5 weeks per year.
Price: $12900
Maintenance Fee: $480/year
Freebies: 6 roundtrips anywhere in US, 3 nights in a resort in Hawaii with airfare, once time 50000 points, + 7 night Caribbean cruise out of Florida.

Jockey Club used to be top notch in Las Vegas. Frank Sinatra owned a penthouse in it. But now, with the construction of the City Center, focus shifted and many existing owners sold or abandoned ownership. Jockey Club jacked up MF to ~$1000/year. And even more owners dropped. There are periodic auctions selling units that were defaulted on for as low as $850, but with ~$1000 MF/year (1 week per year). So owners, I guess, were pressured to find some options how to deal with the problem, so they sold all available inventory to GeoHolidays for inclusion in their resort pool.

I calculated, if to subtract freebies from the price, price is ~$7000, that's what I really paid.

$480 maintenance fee for 2.5 weeks per year is pretty cheap compared to all other timeshares I saw. This plus all free things convinced me.

I am still in the cool down period and can rescind.

Does anybody have an experience with GeoHoliday?
Is this a good buy?
Did you ever see people selling GeoHolidays points on the secondary market?

It seems to me that this is pretty reasonable price. But I am writing here asking for your opinion, also want to share my experience.

Hi Jerry,
I stayed at the Jockey Club recently and did the tour.

Maint fees at the Jockey Club are actually quite reasonable - under $600 for a 1BR and under $700 for a 2 bedroom - your salesperson lied to you.
So if you decide to stay your week at the Jockey Club, you are paying almost double the MF to do so then an owner there.
This is how Geo makes their money....by charging owners a much higher fee then what they pay. Geo has to pay the Jockey Club Home Owner Association the yearly Maint Fee for the units they own - so Geo pays Jockey Club $567 per 1BR and charges you $960


If you want to belong to a Vacation Club - yes, you can buy GeoHolidays resale - just goggle "GeoHoliday resale"

You have just paid 12.9K to vacation every other year and pay $960 to do it.
That is what u r guaranteed. If you can work the system and get a few 5,000 point weeks, that would be good but there is no guarantee that where u want to go will be available at 45 days.

Most people have to request time off at their jobs more then 30-45 days ahead - can you and your wife do that?
So you both take off the first week in June....45 days before you start looking at their cancellation/left-over inventory...can u find someplace u both would like to go with reasonable airfare or a drive to location?
It is a crap shoot.

All around the Geo showroom they have pictures of beautiful resorts - I recognized quite a few - they are not owned or managed by GeoHoliday - they have some units there that their members can use and reserve thru the club.

Since u r within your period to cancel - I would suggest you do so.
Follow the direction EXACTLY and do not let them talk u out of it.
If it is such a fabulous deal and u decide to buy - trust me - it will all be available to you in a month or 2 weeks.

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

$480 maintenance fee for 2.5 weeks per year is pretty cheap compared to all other timeshares I saw.

Reminder - This is NOT what you bought. There is a POSSIBILITY that this could happen but your only guarentee is one week every other year for $960 plus the 12+K purchase price.

[JoAnn Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close JoAnn]

We bought @ the Jockey Club in 1983 and paid $5,000 per week (foar a 1 bedroom) then and that was from the developer so I would say you paid too much. One of our weeks was Memorial day and traded well because of that. A couple of years ago I sold one of our weeks for $1000. I would certainly look for a resale. All those freebies sound good, but....are they?????JMHO

[jerrry94087 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close jerrry94087]

Thanks!

I just rescinded.

Jerry

[katiemack Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close katiemack]

Good for you Jerry....and do make sure you have dotted all the i's and crossed the t's....rescinding can be tricky! Have a clear paper trail, and also request all postage to be tracked.

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

Thanks!

I just rescinded.

Jerry

Good call Jerry - even with a resale purchase, I still think that the MFs are high.
Yes, I know there are no "exchange fees" but $960 for a 1BR week is pretty high.
Better to shop around.

[jerrry94087 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close jerrry94087]

Looks like old owners either sell or bail out on the Jockey Club, and move to the new City Center timeshares next door.

So management sold the inventory to this crooked Canadian company GeoHoliday. It tries to bundle this property with their other properties as an additional option, and sell them all together. And they lie just like other timeshare salesmen. They hired some of the best liars and cheats in the industry.

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

Looks like old owners either sell or bail out on the Jockey Club, and move to the new City Center timeshares next door.

So management sold the inventory to this crooked Canadian company GeoHoliday. It tries to bundle this property with their other properties as an additional option, and sell them all together. And they lie just like other timeshare salesmen. They hired some of the best liars and cheats in the industry.

It is very common for people to sell their timeshares at a loss - in fact most people do - as they don't retain value.
I think of them like a car - you have them, you use them for a number of years and then u get rid of them.
So the fact that owners who bought in 1985 want to sell 20+ years later really is not unusual.

Unfortunately, there are many unscrupulous salespeople who will say ANYTHING to make a sale. In your case, by pushing the last minute vacation option rather then focusing on what you REALLY were buying, they gotcha!

By education yourself about a product when u do buy - either from a developer or resale - you will have made an informed decision.

[ArtsieAng Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close ArtsieAng]

Good call Jerry - even with a resale purchase, I still think that the MFs are high.
Yes, I know there are no "exchange fees" but $960 for a 1BR week is pretty high.
Better to shop around.

I agree....$960 is high for a 1 bdrm. I'd shop around.

[eal Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close eal]

I have been a Geo member since 2001 (with the Canadian company, I believe there are two separate ones, Cdn and US). I pay just over $600 in mf's for a 1-bedroom unit, with a choice of about 70+ properties around the world. Geo works in a very similar way as the Royal Holiday Club except that they are far more efficient and helpful, from what I understand from RHC posts here.

Timeshare salespeople everywhere are very low on the evolutionary scale, but the company itself has served my family well over the past 9 years.

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

I have been a Geo member since 2001 (with the Canadian company, I believe there are two separate ones, Cdn and US). I pay just over $600 in mf's for a 1-bedroom unit, with a choice of about 70+ properties around the world. Geo works in a very similar way as the Royal Holiday Club except that they are far more efficient and helpful, from what I understand from RHC posts here.

Timeshare salespeople everywhere are very low on the evolutionary scale, but the company itself has served my family well over the past 9 years.

I was also quoted the $960 USD for a yearly 1BR maint fee.
Even with the bad USD, it doesn'r make up that MF difference.
Interesting!

[LandShark Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close LandShark]

Extreme Caution Recommended

I recently attended one of the GeoHoliday seminars at the Jockey Club in Las Vegas, and I feel that it is important to put a warning out there to all who may be interested. We were accosted by one of their prospectors while walking down Las Vegas Blvd. At first, it seemed harmless enough, and I have always been sort of curious about these timeshare tours, but have never been eligible before (married and/or cohabiting). Having just moved 1200 miles for a good job opportunity, I am certainly in no financial position to commit to something like this, so I figured I was not a good prospect. I was reluctant at first, but after suffering some heavy casino losses, the $40 cash (the initial offer was $20 but was raised to $40 when I said I was not interested), free vacation, and $200 free slot play they offered for my time seemed appealing. After all, I had failed to turn a profit at the roulette and blackjack tables, so this seemed like a safe bet. What I didn’t know was that this was the beginning of a good cop/bad cop sales strategy. Having been in sales myself for 4 years, I was able to recognize a lot of their tactics. The prospector told me that they would only need 90 minutes of our time, and that he didn’t really care if we had any intent of buying…he apparently gets compensated just by getting us in the door (he was trying to be the “good cop”). This was one of the 2 true statements he made…after an arduous experience, the $40 cash payout was also legitimate, but even that was based on his lie to his own company that we had placed a “deposit” down with him. We were lead about 400 yards from the main strip to a side entrance to the Jockey Club. Upon arriving, we were greeted by an interesting cast of characters wearing Hawaiian shirts and leis. The first red flag was the consent form which asked for a lot of personal information, and stated that the presentation would be 120 minutes. They basically asked my girlfriend and I for proof that we are a couple since we are not married. The only thing we could come up with was a major joint credit card (which they asked for anyway). We were already uncomfortable, so we flashed the cards and purposely covered up the numbers. After some time in the waiting lobby, we were introduced to our salesperson. We exchanged pleasantries, and at first the conversation was really interesting. He told us that he was tired, and ready to get off of his shift, so he would try to speed things up for us and get us out of there (good cop again). He was also a former athlete (I’m an ex college football player), so we shared some common ground. About 45 minutes into this deal, we were led into a small auditorium. Before the promotional video started, one of their marketing guys put on a comedy routine that was almost worth the time we spent there. He systematically went around the room and tried to discover where everyone was from, then formed some anecdote about that location. It was genuinely funny stuff, and if I had spent most of my time there listening to him, it would almost have been worth it. Throughout the entire meeting, they kept saying “there is no pressure to buy, you can take it or leave it”. That would turn out to be the biggest lie of the day in the end, but we will get to that later. The video was interesting…it had a late 70’s to early 80’s flair to it (big hair and bigger mustaches). I would not be surprised to learn that the video had been used for so many years and that it actually resided on a VHS cassette. After the video, we were led back to the table with our salesman. After more friendly banter, he switched straight to the hard sell, which he had stated earlier that he wasn’t going to do (the bad cop routine). He began speaking loudly, pounding the table, and talking faster than most humans can conceivably comprehend. My girlfriend actually called him on it, and he became noticeably irate. At this point he started throwing all kinds of “package” offers at us, and began to pull in other salespeople including their “Director”, who wore a nice suit, way too much gold, and spoke like Vito Corleone (bad cop number two). I know there are some who may have found these guys a little intimidating, but I found them comical. However, I must admit that I was at this point rapidly growing uncomfortable, and was figuring out how best to go about fighting my way to the nearest exit if things went south. They kept claiming that they couldn’t push us into anything. The salesman even went so far as to say “Look at this guy (me)…if I wanted to push him into anything, I’d have to go get my gun from my car!” Here we have a man trying to sell something and referencing a firearm in his vehicle (which I’m sure is registered and he has a permit for). Very classy. At this point, the salespeople walked away to allow my girlfriend and I to “talk” about it…for all of fifteen seconds. However, that was long enough for us to look at each other and say “No (expletive deleted) way!”. Here is the deal from my perspective: After doing some research, GeoHoliday is a seemingly legitimate company that engages in slimy, high-pressure sales tactics. Overall, the concept is pretty good…but the restrictions and pricing would only make sense for a high net worth retired couple. There are a number of destinations accessible through this company, but after my experience mixed with further research I found the following to be of concern:
1. They try to make you purchase on the spot. There is no time to do research and think about what can amount to a large capital purchase. Forcing a snap decision on something of this magnitude raises a huge red flag, as no respectable organization will do this.
2. Several internet reviews from members state that the accommodations are “dirty, cockroach-infested, run-down, smelly, etc.” Many of these properties are former foreclosures that have fallen into disrepair.
3. If someone has enough leisure time to go on vacation 4-5 times per year, this model can work. However, that person would need to have a great deal of accumulated wealth and no job, as you need to be extremely flexible to go where you want while working within the plan.
4. In addition to #3, you would have to establish a breakeven point on your membership where you must travel X times per year to get value out of the plan. This will force you to spend additional money on food, airfare, transportation, etc. that may be outside of your budget.
After throwing several offers at us including a “lease” that would allow us to try the service out with a minimum capital commitment (not sure why anyone would do this...it’s nearly worthless). When we had finally rejected all offers, our salesman and his “director” feigned disbelief that we could pass up such a wonderful offer, and we were told that there was one more person who would sign off on our gifts and get us out of there. Gone was the friendly demeanor our salesman had initially displayed…he was left slumped in his chair, hands in his pockets, and rolling his eyes. This guy deserved an Oscar for his opening performance. We were then passed to yet another “manager” who would sign off on our gifts. This gentleman sported the same Hawaiian shirt as most of the staff, with the exception that the top three buttons were undone to show off his ample chest hair and collection of necklaces. Again, classy. Even this guy began to throw offers at us, and by the time he reached his second “package” that he was scratching off on the fly, I could see that my girlfriend had hit her limit. Now, I was in quite a predicament…I was already a little upset as we had hit the 2 and ½ hour mark, but now that she was visibly upset, I had to do something quickly. I stopped the third salesman as he was going into yet another ploy, and I told him that we were done. We would not be buying that day, and we were brought in under false pretenses and promises of gifts. This man who represented the last line of defense for this sales force then became frustrated, huffed, puffed, and scratched his name onto our gift approval. We collected $40 in cash, $200 in free slot play (which it turns out is the standard offer for signing up at Hooters Casino…we were duped into believing we were receiving something of value), and our vacation voucher. After this experience, I do not think I will be redeeming that voucher, as I wish to break off any contact with this company. I now receive daily calls from an “unavailable” number, and although I do not answer I believe I know exactly who is calling, as nobody that I wish to speak with hides behind a caller ID block, for business or personal reasons. All in all, the next time a random person approaches us in the street and asks if we are married, my girlfriend and I agreed to respond “no, we’re just (expletive deleted).”

[Larry Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Larry]

Message ??????

Just went to Vegas, and few days ago sales reps convinced me to buy a timeshare.

Company: GeoHoliday
Location: Jockey Club, they have 65 properties in many countries, no exchange fees between them.
Points: 25000 points every other year
Weeks: 25000 nominally buys 1 week, but they added an option that if I book less than 45 days in advance price per week drops to <5000 points per week. This makes it ~2.5 weeks per year.
Price: $12900
Maintenance Fee: $480/year
Freebies: 6 roundtrips anywhere in US, 3 nights in a resort in Hawaii with airfare, once time 50000 points, + 7 night Carribbean cruise out of Florida.

Jockey Club used to be top notch in Las Vegas. Frank Sinatra owned a penthouse in it. But now, with the construction of the City Center, focus shifted and many existing owners sold or abandoned ownership. Jockey Club jacked up MF to ~$1000/year. And even more owners dropped. There are periodic auctions selling units that were defaulted on for as low as $850, but with ~$1000 MF/year (1 week per year). So owners, I guess, were pressured to find some options how to deal with the problem, so they sold all available inventory to GeoHolidays for inclusion in their resort pool.

I calculated, if to subtract freebies from the price, price is ~$7000, that's what I really paid.

$480 maintenance fee for 2.5 weeks per year is pretty cheap compared to all other timeshares I saw. This plus all free things convinced me.

I am still in the cool down period and can rescind.

Does anybody have an experience with GeoHoliday?
Is this a good buy?
Did you ever see people selling GeoHolidays points on the secondary market?

It seems to me that this is pretty reasonable price. But I am writing here asking for your opinion, also want to share my experience.

I don't know what you paid but if you bought from GEO I am sure you paid way too much and hope you rescinded.

I own at the Jockey club and you sent me a message yesterday or the day before. I thought it was a PM and was going to answer you today but I don't see it anymore so I'm thinking it was an instant message, which I don't do
( sorry but I find them to be intrusive and annoying when I am doing something else) and didn't have the time to respond when it was sent.

If you want to send me a PM I will answer all of your questions as best I can.

Again, hope you rescinded on time!!!!!!!!!!