On a recent trip to Florida, I went to a couple of different timeshare presentations. One of them was horrendous and I was stuck there for at least three hours, but I learned my lesson and managed to get out of the other timeshare presentations much more quickly. So here are my tips for getting out of the presentation in the minimum amount of time.
First of all, realize that you aren't going to be able to avoid the presentation completely if you've showed up for the free gifts. Usually the fine print in your "invitation" will indicate that the sales presentation will take no more than 90 minutes. If you have been to one of these before, you know they run for much longer. Three hours is not uncommon.
The best way to make sure that you get out of the timeshare sales presentation in the minimum amount of time is to keep your mouth shut! That's right. Do not argue with the salesperson about how horrible timeshares are, how expensive they are, or how much cheaper they are to buy at resale. You will just wind up extending how much time you spend with him or her. They have a set spiel to run through and the majority of them just won't deviate from it. So the more often you interrupt, the longer it will take.
Don't show any interest. You will be asked lots of leading questions, usually about your "dream vacation". Act non-committal. Use phrases like, "Oh, I don't know," or "I've never really thought about it."
All of the questions are designed to get you to agree that timeshares are better than 1.) owning a vacation home; or 2.) vacationing in hotels. Here you can make a little push back. You can't imagine vacationing without daily housekeeping. You have never even thought about owning a vacation home. And you don't make vacation plans far in advance (which is really needed when you use timeshares) and you hardly ever get to go on vacation anyway because of work.
Just keep in mind that these should be minor objections. Don't get into an argument about how far in advance you need to plan your vacation if you buy a timeshare. The salesperson will lie and say that you can plan at the last minute, but this only true if you travel off-season to places no one wants to visit! So when they object to your objection, just shrug it off.
Eventually the 90 minutes will have gone by. At that point, start looking at your watch, start looking at your spouse, and then tell the salesperson you have another place that you need to be. If you have someone who can arrange to call you, do that.
Now, it is just a matter of sticking firmly to the fact that you need to leave and you would like your free gift and you have fulfilled your obligation. If you've kept your responses boring and non-committal enough, the salesperson should be dying to get rid of you anyway. And that's how you get out of a timeshare presentation. Good luck!