When Alwyn was on Subic for the bike festival, he was asked by a representative to fill up a form for a raffle. The representative said the prize is a free hotel accomodation.
Lesson # 1: If you didn't purchase anything, be mindful of the raffle tickets being offered to you.
Alwyn and 2 of his friends completed the form. After a few days, he received a phone call saying he won the raffle and he can claim the free accomodation prize. He was given the address of the office and also some contact numbers.
When he told me about the phone call.. Only one thing is running on my mind.. "SCAM"
Lesson # 2: If you're in doubt about something, search the internet.
So I tried to search the internet for Subic Holiday Villas. Yeah they have a website and all that, but here's the question on my mind, "Why would they give free hotel accomodations if nothing was purchased?"
Alwyn asked me to go with him to the office. He said there's free meal. I was hesitant to go with him but I went with him anyway.
We found the office and we were asked to sign a guest info form. I told Alwyn not to put any personal information. We were informed that we need to stay for a minimum of 1 hour and 30 minutes for the presentation to claim the gift certificate.
I asked what the presentation was all about and the receptionist said it's about vacation.
We were called inside their meeting room and we were served lunch. Still hesitant to eat the food on the table but we ate it anyway.
One of the representatives approached us and introduced himself.. Khen. He started asking if we already went on vacation, where do we always go, how much is our budget for a vacation.
Then he introduced this private hotel in Subic wherein you must be a member to avail the discounts and to be able to use the hotel services.
Here are some information that was provided:
1. You can only stay in the hotel for a week every year. Which only gives you 43 years equivalent to 43 weeks.
2. There's a monthly maintenance fee that will costs from PhP 7,000 ++ depending on the type of room you will avail.
3. There's a one time membership fee (Not sure how much it will cost but the representative gave me an estimate of PhP 300,000 to PhP 400,000).
4. You will be able to get discounts when you go to their affiliated hotels on other countries (Yeah you might be interested with the discount but still think about the monthly maintenance fee and the one time membership fee, calculate if it's still practical or if you still save money with that setup).
I'm not really interested in becoming a member of that private hotel. I can go to any hotel I want but right now I have much more important things to take care of.
When it was already an hour and a half, I asked Alwyn if we can go. We informed the representative if it's still going to take a long time because we have an appointment and we need to be there on time.
The representative asked us if there is a possibilty for us to be members. I asked what if we said No, can we go back in case we change our minds? The representative said no, we won't be able to do that because it's just a one time offer. If we say Yes then we need to give a deposit.
And they say on their text message that there will be no financial obligation what so ever.
So said "You're not that pushy huh?" and I answered "No, not interested" He asked why and I said because I have other priorities.
I repeatedly answered no to every question he asked regarding our interest with the membership, until we came to the point that he called his manager because I really wanted to go home.
His manager talked to us and told us she'll check first if we reached the 1 hour and 30 minutes minimum meeting time. We did reached it and we were given the free hotel accomodations. 60 days to make reservations and we have 6 months to use it.
Lesson # 3: I knew it! I knew they're going to offer something! Because they won't give something free without anything in return.
Lesson # 4: If someone asked you to fill up a form for free prizes, say no! It'll just be a hassle to you! :p
5 comments:
Hi, thanks for posting this. Just received a phone call this afternoon that my dad won a raffle, but since my dad is already abroad that time, they wanted to transfer the free hotel accommodations that he won to me. Lucky me. I really had to check if it's for real. Thanks! Now, I don't have to go to Subic for a 1 hour sales talk.
If you are planning to go on a vacation, you should be aware of the expenses that you will be spending. Expenses would include for food, accommodation, and transportation. You should get a comfortable place to stay-in in order for your family to enjoy the night together.
Thanks! This is very helpful. :)
hi, we just received the same offer from Subic Holiday Villas from a "raffle" my husband supposedly won at a convention; i knew instinctively something was fishy about the while thing, so I searched the internet, and I found your blog...Thanks a lot for your story. Sorry you had to go through it, though!
Grote post ..! Ik ben het eens dat dit hotel is een van de beste hotels in de buurt. Ik hou van de beschrijving hier. Je hebt het heel goed gepresenteerd. Wanneer ik zal reizen naar deze plaats ik zal zeker verblijven alleen in dit hotel. Bedankt voor het aandeel. :)
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