Vacation Galleria (AKA Travel Services Network)
Patrick E
Minnetonka Minnesota? Didn't see much on them in USENET, so thought
I'd post what we found out.
Vacation Galleria appears to be a reincarnation of another travel
membership vendor that went by the name of Epic Resorts and operated
from the same location. There is a letter to the contrary on the net
(http://www.thetimesharebeat.com/2002/ts/may/0510-02t.htm) but if
Vacation isn't Epic, then Vacation Galleria also took the furniture,
sales tactics and table settings from Epic.
They called offering a "prize" for their grand opening, in this case a
guaranteed trip to either Orlando or Florida, that would be available
any time within a year but only for a Tuesday-Thursday vacation. They
also said the award included a $250 shopping spree that could be
doubled by agreeing to come to a presentation within the next two
days. Suspiciously, they mentioned that the spree was free as long as
we paid the shipping charges.
When you arrive, your identify is verified and then you are introduced
to a sales rep. After he asks you some background questions (almost
identical to those asked by Epic when we visited a couple of years
ago), there is a 45-minute presentation on their product. Basically,
they offer a lifetime vaction package where you page 6 or 7 grand up
front and a annual fee of $160 to get discounts on various vacation
services and 4 weeks of time at a condo of your choice for which you
will allegedly pay 25-50% less than than going rate.
After the presentation, the sales rep walks you through the exact same
model condo that Epic showed. There is no real indication of how the
model relates to the condos that are available for discount rates as
part of the package.
The product was almost identical to the letter to the offer made by
Epic, with the notable absence of referring to vacation resorts owned
by Epic. The sales materials even looked the same, along with the
silver, gold and platinum plans they offered. Once we indicated a
lack of interest a couple of times, we were pitched by two additional
persons - one reportedly a local manager and the second a district
sales represententative. They gave up a bit easier than Epic, but the
approach was identical, including offering reduced versions of the
product until they were down to a one-year trial version.
The "free" prize? The shopping spree is a total sham - the shipping
fees offered through the vendor (World of America Catalog - AKA
freegiftsAmerica.com) were approximately the same as what the products
in the tiny catalog cost at Wal Mart or Target. And the kicker is
that you can order only once.
The "free" trip consists of a form that you have to mail into another
vendor, along with a $50 per person refundable deposit. According to
the folder, once you mail in the form, you will get something back
allowing you to book a vacation that includes air fare and
accommodations at an unnamed hotel. The trip must be booked 60 days
in advance and can only be cancelled by writing at least 30 days
before the trip. We may try it, although Vacation Galleria is
currently in legal action with
Minnesota(http://www.mnd.bbb.org/commonreport.html?compid=2000657).
There is a short article about Vacation Galleria at
http://www.thetimesharebeat.com/2002/ts/may/0510-02t.htm.
(this post represents my opinion only)