What is an off property timeshare consultant? 

To put it in a nutshell, these are the people lurking around hotels, shopping malls, resorts, and calling you on the telephone to try to convince you to attend a timeshare presentation.  The OPC (off property consultant) I ran into during my stay in Vegas was very successful in coercing my husband and I into attending a “brief” presentation for some property down the street.  A few words about a great, new, up-and-coming area along the strip and two Lance Burton tickets later, we were in the van on our way to make the worst purchase of our lives.

What is the job of off property timeshare consutants?

OPC’s are hired by development companies and are told to undertake whatever means are necessary to ensure that the development office is full of potential buyers all day long.  The OPC is going to tell you exactly what you want to hear, and will be purposely vague when it comes to the details of the presentation you are about to attend.  They will often refer to their offer as an “investment opportunity” (which is something we all know timeshare definitely is NOT), or even lead people to believe that they are part of a focus group and will not be shown any product to buy.

How are off property timeshare consultants paid?

OPC’s are paid based on how many people they refer to a timeshare presentation each day.  Being paid per person is good for the OPC, but not always good for the timeshare salesperson.  Off property timeshare consultants have been known to convince people to show up by lying about their marital status, employment, yearly income, and other qualifying characteristics just to get people in the door.  There have even been incidents of OPC’s giving fake wedding bands to potential customers to make them look like they were an of-age family looking to purchase vacation ownership.

As you can see, the timeshare system is broken.  Many timeshare salespeople are tired of being referred unqualified or uninterested applicants, and this is evident in the way many people are treated at timeshare presentations.  The salespeople can not trust their floor reps, and the developers can not be trusted at all.  This is just another great reason to buy on the resale market and avoid all of the hassle and cost involved with buying timeshare straight from a developer.  Beware of any OPC, do not take any tours, do not get sucked into the game that the developers have already stacked against the consumer.