If you're comparing our products to others you may have seen, please make sure you're not comparing apples to oranges. Many other vacation certificates contain hidden timeshare requirements, even if they say otherwise.

Here's some warning signs to look for in evaluating a promotional product. If you see any of these, chances are some type of required sales promotion is involved.

• A requirement that end-users must mail in an expensive deposit (usually $100 or more) prior to taking the "free" vacation. This fee is usually refunded only after they attend a high-pressure sales presentation
• A requirement that end-users be a married couple, traveling together
• Any type of requirement that end-users have a certain minimum income, or be at least 25 or 30 years of age
• A requirement that end-users must travel a minimum distance to stay in the hotels. Statements like "Vacations must be taken at least 100 miles away from home" are common
• A vague statement that suggests upgrades or extensions may be available. To receive these, consumers normally have to sit through multiple presentations

If I don't see these signs, does that mean the incentive is timeshare-free?

Unfortunately, no. Federal law does regulate timeshare promoters, and vacation incentives that require sales presentations are supposed to provide full disclosure. However, there is a world of difference in this industry between the way things are supposed to be and the way they really are.

In evaluating promotional products, some common sense is also needed. Recently we received an email from someone stating that they were weighing an offer from another company who promised a similar product in large quantities, with pricing as low as 7 cents ($.07) per certificate! We responded as tactfully as possible, stating that it is impossible for a company to make any type of profit selling something for the cost of printing. Therefore, it was safe to assume that they were obviously making a "back-end" commission from a timeshare promoter.

With pricing beginning as low as 40 cents each, we believe our hotel stay certificates are extremely competitive. But we refuse to allow timeshare companies to intrude on a consumer's vacation, and the majority of our distributors support us in this decision.