Timeshare Sales Scams on St. Maarten — What You Need to Know Before You're Approached

Some friendly and deeply suntanned kids on a scooter approach you and start a conversation about your holiday. Puzzled about their interest in you, but charmed by their charisma, you engage in some chit-chat.

While the young man fumbles around on his scooter a few meters away, the girl pulls out a piece of cardboard and hands it to you. "I just have one left — why don't you see if you get lucky?" she says with a charming French accent. You pull back, because you don't want to buy a lottery ticket.

"No," she laughs. "It's free."

You are now holding a scratch card with several panels. You go for it. And there it is — a hotel bed icon. Your lucky day.

The girl screams: "Jacque, come, you need to see this! They won — they won the big prize!" She jumps up and down. Jacque runs over, equally impressed. "First time I see this," he says breathlessly.

You still don't know what you have won. "An almost free vacation," explains the girl, turning the card over to show you an address. "You just have to go to this resort and talk to them for a while. After that you get your free stay. I'm so happy I could do this for you!" She hugs you.

So lucky. Such nice people. This island really is the greatest in the world.

Or might this all be too good to be true?

How the Scam Works

The girl and Jacque are OPCs — Off Premise Consultants — working for one or several resorts selling vacation club memberships. Their job is to approach couples who are new to the island and convince them to attend a 90-minute sales presentation. If they succeed and the couple shows up, they receive up to $120. A managing company with them under contract collects another $100. OPCs are trained to identify the right target demographic — the resorts know precisely who they want to sell to.

Making conversation with strangers is legal. Offering scratch cards is not — it has been prohibited by local law on the Dutch side for decades. It doesn't matter: every panel is a winner. The song and dance routine is a carefully rehearsed performance designed to establish that you are suggestible. Walking into the resort with that scratch card tells the sales team exactly that.

Timeshare and vacation ownership marketing is completely illegal on the French side of the island.

The Grand Prize

After ninety minutes of your vacation time, the prize you have won is a partially subsidized — but not free — two or three-night stay at another resort of the brand, most likely in Orlando. Where you will be required to sit through another mandatory sales presentation.

The Timeshare Exit Scam

A more recent threat targets existing timeshare owners who want to exit their contracts. A whole industry has grown up around this — companies charging large upfront fees of several thousand dollars, promising to negotiate an exit from your timeshare obligation, and delivering nothing. If you own a timeshare and want out, do not pay anyone upfront to help you exit. Consult a licensed attorney in the jurisdiction where the timeshare was purchased.

Is Attending a Presentation Always a Bad Idea?

Not necessarily. The timeshare and vacation club product itself is often legitimate — several reputable organizations run point-based systems giving access to a worldwide network of properties. There are genuine resale opportunities on the market at prices far below the original retail cost, and post-Hurricane Irma renovations have brought new inventory to some island resorts.

If you are genuinely interested in vacation ownership, the resale market is the place to start. SellMyTimeshareNow lists hundreds of Sint Maarten timeshare rentals and resales at legitimate market prices — a considerably more transparent entry point than a 90-minute sales presentation that began with a scratch card on a sidewalk.

A Note on the Product Itself

For several years, St-Maarten.com ran its own tour incentive program — offering genuine rewards including a full week of free car rental, restaurant dinners, jewelry, and excursions to visitors who attended a presentation. At peak the program generated around 100 tours per month. The feedback was consistently positive, and a meaningful share of participants were existing timeshare owners on the island who returned specifically to purchase additional weeks. These were not people who felt pressured or misled — they were visitors who had fallen in love with the island and wanted more time here. That experience shaped our view that the product, when sold honestly and to the right audience, has genuine value. It is the marketing methods — not the vacation ownership concept itself — that deserve scrutiny.

The program is not currently active. The timeshare industry has contracted significantly since its peak years, and the economics no longer justify a formal incentive structure. But the experience of running it honestly for several years is the basis for the balanced view taken in this article.

The Honest Bottom Line

The scratch cards are still out there. The OPCs are still working. The only thing that has changed since this scam first appeared on the island is that the product being sold has evolved from fixed-week unit ownership to point-based membership programs.

If someone approaches you with a scratch card, you have already won — the right to walk away.