Global Travel Network - has anyone used this? Pros and cons?

Global Travel Network - has anyone used this? Pros and cons?

I received a postcard to attend an informational meeting with the promise of two free airline tickets, a two-night stay at a hotel (mentioned Hyatt and Marriott) and a $25 dining card, and a $200 gas card. It was promised not to be a time-share sales pitch. It wasn't but it was REMARKABLY similar to one we heard a few years ago (at that one we at least received a free night at a nice hotel in the Wisconsin Dells). This one was entirely sleazy. The owner was present and distasteful. The pitch was endless. The free gift was a scam in itself in that we must spend money to receive the promised free stuff. Don't attend if you are approached.

My wife and I had been contemplating buying a timeshare resale on ebay when we received the Global Travel Network postcard offering a free trip, with airfair, etc. We knew it would be a sales pitch but we wanted to expose ourselves to as many options as we could before we decided what vacation club to join. YES! The presentation was long but interesting. A very different approach than timeshare. Basically, you get access to all of the properties in their network and timeshare weeks that owners trade in through RCI, etc. The plus for us was... No yearly maintenance fees. You do not own deeded property. You just get points (Stars) you can trade in each year for timeshare weeks anywhere with almost any company.

Long story short, we ended up buying 4 points (4 Stars) and have been very pleased. I just booked Dolphins cove near Disneyland, 2 bedroom condo, full week and it cost me 2 stars and $159.00. NO MAINTENANCE FEES.

Anyhow... We are very happy. Yes, the presentation is a sales pitch like any other sales pitch but we where in the market for a good plan for our family and this fit us better than a traditional time share. Much less expensive as well. The free gift was just OK but I kind of went in knowing that.

Good Luck in your Search.

If you are only going for the free gift, then i would tend to agree. However, if you are slightly interested in learning about a travel club, then the presentation was valuable. (For me anyways). When my wife and i went, they offered a new gift they had just introduced and was not on the postcard. (A week long condo stay in one of their properties). We took that. We actually loved it. It did cost us the tax and booking fees but it was pretty cheap considering we stayed for a full week. I think it was around $150 or $160ish for the total fees. We stayed in Colorado for our trip. Family loved it.

Oh. We did have to pay the fees up front. I was a little leery about that but I can tell you that we got the vacation and loved it. It was a good value.

I hope others have the same experience I did. Our sales guy was named Jason. So try to get him if you can.

rickyb40 wrote:

I hope others have the same experience I did. Our sales guy was named Jason. So try to get him if you can.

I won't go so far as to call you a Global Travel Network shill, but in researching that company I found many complaints:

http://www.ripoffreport.com/directory/Global-Travel.aspx

Actually, via further research, it looks like Global Travel Network is a ponsi/pyramid scheme .... they work by recruiting others to sell their travel rip-offs.

I found the same stuff. I did the same searches but if you look at it all you will realize that there are two companies with the same name.

I can assure you that I am not shill. I am a real customer. I have just become pretty happy with my membership and want to do a little good PR in return for how well I was treated. Here was my journey on researching Global Travel.

1. I went to the presentation and came home to do my own Google searches. I almost didn't buy becuase of the negative stuff I found. Then I found 2 real member posts in different forums that where positive. These two posts helped me realize that there was a big difference in a a negative review from someone who just went to the presentation and someone who actually purchased. I wanted to know what a real member had experienced. Was the membership really worth it. Most (if not all) of the negative posts are from people who never purchased. I wanted to find reviews from people who purchased. Those where hard to find.

2. I also figured out there is a different company (A network marketing company) with the same name and they are all over on the internet becuase they are a bunch of network marketers trying to make a buck. These are two very different companies. Also, what they are selling is very different.

3. I found different reviews for different offices of this company all over the place. I actually called the mother company and talked to their customer service. I found out that each office is independently owned (Kind of like a franchise). This cleared up some of the confusion or me and explained why there where different websites for the same company.

4. I brought all of the stuff I was finding back to my sales guy (He gave me his cell number. I am sure he regretted that until I became a customer.) I was calling him 2 - 3 times a day when i would find bad stuff. i would say "What about this.. And what about that." He always took time to explain and his explanations made sense.

5. The BBB had a decent review of them. Seems like the had some complaints and dealt with them.

I know this post really does make me look like a shill or I work for the company or something. All I can tell you is that I am a happy customer. I spent a good 3 days solid researching before I purchased. In the end, I felt like this company was getting an undue bad rap from people who didn't like the sales presentation. When I was searching, I wanted real reviews from members. That is why I decided to post. I agree.... The sales process sucks. It its what it is. Long presentation with all of the sales tricks in the book. I don;t fall for that stuff. I left the presentation and did my own research. I ended up purchasing and I am happy.

It is expensive but I feel it is worth it. It is not as expensive as owning time share. It will probably take you 18 months - 2 1/2 years to recoup your up front cost in trip savings. I plan to break even in my next 2 trips. We have already saved alot but it's a wash becuase of the up front cost. But we are new members and will have the membership for the rest of our lives.

I probably won't come back and post again. on this. Don't want to beat a dead horse. Just keep your eyes open. There are two companies with the same name, look for real member reviews and not just people who don't like sales presentations or people who think their free stuff was not good enough.

Here is my final advice:

1. If you go to the presentation just for the free trip... You will be disappointed. Don't go.

2. If you are sort of interested and want a cheaper alternative to timeshare, then go. You'll enjoy the free trip and the presentation. Just realize you will have to cough up some money for the free trip. It's not much but you will have to spend some money.

3. Go in knowing they are trying to sell you something and they will try really hard to do it. Just like a car salesman. As far as I can tell, there is no way around this. If you want to learn about what they have to offer, you have to go sit through the sales thing.

4. I purchased and I am happy with it. I wish it was cheaper but I feel it was worth what I paid.

5. You can negotiate with them. I got some free stuff and worked the price down. Just like buying a car.

I hope this helps someone who is really looking.

rickyb40 wrote:

I found the same stuff. I did the same searches but if you look at it all you will realize that there are two companies with the same name.

I can assure you that I am not shill. I am a real customer. I have just become pretty happy with my membership and want to do a little good PR in return for how well I was treated. Here was my journey on researching Global Travel.

1. I went to the presentation and came home to do my own Google searches. I almost didn't buy becuase of the negative stuff I found. Then I found 2 real member posts in different forums that where positive. These two posts helped me realize that there was a big difference in a a negative review from someone who just went to the presentation and someone who actually purchased. I wanted to know what a real member had experienced. Was the membership really worth it. Most (if not all) of the negative posts are from people who never purchased. I wanted to find reviews from people who purchased. Those where hard to find.

2. I also figured out there is a different company (A network marketing company) with the same name and they are all over on the internet becuase they are a bunch of network marketers trying to make a buck. These are two very different companies. Also, what they are selling is very different.

3. I found different reviews for different offices of this company all over the place. I actually called the mother company and talked to their customer service. I found out that each office is independently owned (Kind of like a franchise). This cleared up some of the confusion or me and explained why there where different websites for the same company.

4. I brought all of the stuff I was finding back to my sales guy (He gave me his cell number. I am sure he regretted that until I became a customer.) I was calling him 2 - 3 times a day when i would find bad stuff. i would say "What about this.. And what about that." He always took time to explain and his explanations made sense.

5. The BBB had a decent review of them. Seems like the had some complaints and dealt with them.

I know this post really does make me look like a shill or I work for the company or something. All I can tell you is that I am a happy customer. I spent a good 3 days solid researching before I purchased. In the end, I felt like this company was getting an undue bad rap from people who didn't like the sales presentation. When I was searching, I wanted real reviews from members. That is why I decided to post. I agree.... The sales process sucks. It its what it is. Long presentation with all of the sales tricks in the book. I don;t fall for that stuff. I left the presentation and did my own research. I ended up purchasing and I am happy.

It is expensive but I feel it is worth it. It is not as expensive as owning time share. It will probably take you 18 months - 2 1/2 years to recoup your up front cost in trip savings. I plan to break even in my next 2 trips. We have already saved alot but it's a wash becuase of the up front cost. But we are new members and will have the membership for the rest of our lives.

I probably won't come back and post again. on this. Don't want to beat a dead horse. Just keep your eyes open. There are two companies with the same name, look for real member reviews and not just people who don't like sales presentations or people who think their free stuff was not good enough.

Here is my final advice:

1. If you go to the presentation just for the free trip... You will be disappointed. Don't go.

2. If you are sort of interested and want a cheaper alternative to timeshare, then go. You'll enjoy the free trip and the presentation. Just realize you will have to cough up some money for the free trip. It's not much but you will have to spend some money.

3. Go in knowing they are trying to sell you something and they will try really hard to do it. Just like a car salesman. As far as I can tell, there is no way around this. If you want to learn about what they have to offer, you have to go sit through the sales thing.

4. I purchased and I am happy with it. I wish it was cheaper but I feel it was worth what I paid.

5. You can negotiate with them. I got some free stuff and worked the price down. Just like buying a car.

I hope this helps someone who is really looking.

Let me ask you this and I would like an honest answer .... did they sign you up to sell their travel product = multi level marketing. If the honest answer is yes then I rest my case. I just cannot see a customer going to the lengths and in such great detail as you did to praise a company if there wasn't something in it for you.

We went to their presentation last year while in Branson. We own Wyndham point and just wanted to see what this was + the free show tickets. They started out at $4500.00 and we bought in-for $2500.00. We went back, talked it over and decided that it was too much. I went back the next day to cancel out agreement and ended up talking to the manager(?) He asked what I was willing to pay for the program. I told him $1000.00 and he said OK. So we kept it but have not used it yet.

Honestly, I am not being paid. I am regular member. I purchased 4 stars with them and got 4 expressway points as a bonus when I purchased. And, believe it or not, I really did just want to spread some good will. If you are referring to the network marketing company, this might be a different deal. I am not a member or a customer of the network marketing company. This travel membership I have is not from a network marketing company. So this might be a case of mistaken identity. I am a member of Global Travel Network who is a local reseller (here in Utah) for a larger company called Global Discovery Vacations.

I am not taking this much time for the company. i am doing it for others who want to purchase like I did. i had a hard time finding reviews from actual members. There is another post here from a person who purchased in Branson. Sounds like the same company I bought from so i would be very interested in their experience after taking their first trip. I'd just like to hear more actual member reviews instead of people who just don't like the sales presentation. When I was looking to buy and doing my research, I just wanted member reviews and instead could only find people who didn't like their free gift or sales presentation. I don;t like sales presentations either. I consider the, a necessary evil. I also don't like car sales people but I just had to go sit through hours of BS with my Mother in law to help her buy a car. The truth is... their little tricks to get you in the door stink....But, as a result, that does not mean that I hate Honda cars. I still own one even though I can't stand their sales people. I guess that's the real point I wanted to make. I like my membership in-spite of the dirty little sales tricks. I hope this helps clear this up and answers your question. If not, I really don;t mind posting again. I am not sure you are looking to buy or not but I was considering timeshare from ebay before this but what made this more appealing was the lack of maintenance fees.

I was called by this company regarding getting rid of my timeshare. Does anyone have any experience in this regard?

ernestc36 wrote:

I was called by this company regarding getting rid of my timeshare. Does anyone have any experience in this regard?

Wow!! It looks like you guys have a nice debate going on here about Global Travel network. Well I hope that my review can help out as a tie breaker or maybe simply as a little clarification. I just went to one of their timeshare presentations, and actually came back not more than three hours ago, took a bath and wanted to see what this Global Travel Network thing looks like online, and what others are saying about it. And from the look of things, I think I am well served. As you can all guess, I have not bought anything yet.

Ok long story short, I went to the presentation, it lasted longer than they promised and I am still pissed off about that, at the end, they tried to force me to buy a one time offer package which I very politely denied and stuck to getting my free package. After they realized that I will not be buying no matter which of the sales agent spoke to me or whatever manager, they finally gave me what I was there for and I left. Come to think of it, I feel a little guilty now since I left with a pretty valuable free package. I don’t have much to say about the company, but I would like to say that I got what I went for, so I say go to the presentation. If I could rate them as of now, I would give them a 4.5 on 5.

sarahj129 wrote:

Wow!! It looks like you guys have a nice debate going on here about Global Travel network. Well I hope that my review can help out as a tie breaker or maybe simply as a little clarification. I just went to one of their timeshare presentations, and actually came back not more than three hours ago, took a bath and wanted to see what this Global Travel Network thing looks like online, and what others are saying about it. And from the look of things, I think I am well served. As you can all guess, I have not bought anything yet.

Ok long story short, I went to the presentation, it lasted longer than they promised and I am still pissed off about that, at the end, they tried to force me to buy a one time offer package which I very politely denied and stuck to getting my free package. After they realized that I will not be buying no matter which of the sales agent spoke to me or whatever manager, they finally gave me what I was there for and I left. Come to think of it, I feel a little guilty now since I left with a pretty valuable free package. I don’t have much to say about the company, but I would like to say that I got what I went for, so I say go to the presentation. If I could rate them as of now, I would give them a 4.5 on 5.

Just curious ..... why would you rate them 4.5 out of 5 because you got what you went for even though they tried to FORCE you to buy a one time offer and p-ssed you off about how long the meeting lasted.

Hey Sarah how did you like the presentation, and what was the promised package? I just want to know if the presentation sounded genuine to you and if let’s say hypothetically that you actually wanted to buy a travel package or a membership, whatever. Would you have bought what they were trying to sell to you? That is of course if you had the money. And would you say their travel package is cheap or expensive. I want to hear what you have to say about all of that because it can also be a nice base to judge whether Global Travel Network is really some bullshit. And since you have just had an experience with them, I figure you should be in a good place to tell us all your thoughts.

Like I said in an earlier post that we did buy from them but have not used it. We do get emails from on specials that they have I looked at them and thought that they were good deals if you were going to that resort.

Would you like to buy my stars? Can't really use ours anymore. I think we have a lot of stars since we have never used it.

THANKS!!

tarab93 wrote:

Would you like to buy my stars? Can't really use ours anymore. I think we have a lot of stars since we have never used it. Email me at: tbollwinkel@hotmail.com

THANKS!!

I would be interested. I sent you an email. Please respond.

When I went to the presentation for GLOBAL TRAVEL NETWORK, my husband and I were surprised to find that we actually left with our vacation with no obligations! We went on the all inclusive vacation for such a low price! It was so wonderful! We got so pampered! we stayed at a five star resort and loved every min of the vacation we have so many pictures that i try to live that moment for ever. I recommend all of my friends family and co worker to check out GLOBAL TRAVEL NETWORK!!!

Thank You The Duffels Family

Any one give them their timeshare in exchange. Did they ever transfer the deed so your maintenance fees stopped