Vacation Time: Great Deal or Ticket to a Time-Share Pitch?

The travel website My Holiday Break advertises a variety of vacations packages at incredible prices.

How does this service get away with offering such low prices?  According to the front page of the My Holiday Break site, “Resorts cut price to gain ancillary income or sell rooms in large blocks to companies that need space to house their customers. Some do drastic price reductions just to keep the hotel or resort full.” What the site doesn’t make as obvious is that these vacation packages are also a vehicle for aggressive time-share pitches.  That information is hidden on a separate page in their Terms and Conditions.  For one vacation package to North San Diego, the Terms and Conditions reveal a host of catches, including:

• This offer is available to couples, (either married or cohabiting), and single ladies.
• Guests are responsible for room taxes, transportation, incidentals, etc.
• On the second day of their stay, they must attend a 90 minute presentation at Welk Resort – San Diego on Lawrence Welk Drive in Escondido, California.  If they’re part of a couple, both members of the couple must tour together.  In the case of a single lady, she may tour alone.
• In the case of a couple, (either married or cohabiting), at least one member of the couple must be at least 27 years of age. The couple must have a combined income of at least $75,000 annually.
• In the case of a single lady, she must be at least 27 years of age and have a personal income of at least $75,000 annually.
• Guests must present valid, state-issued photo identification and a major credit card, (Visa, Master Card, American Express or Discover), when they arrive for their tour. Debit cards are not an acceptable substitute.

Granted, some 27 year-old single ladies making at least $75,000 annually may not mind forking over their credit cards or sitting through a sales pitch while on vacation.  But if those things are part of the deal, why not say so up front?