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Re: Vida Vacations & Grand Mayan lies (by Rain Z.):

A very good question, one that Many have been been asking ourselves as well, how did it happen? Vidanta’s member service also kept stating that, you signed the contract out of your free will; no one forced you into a contract. The short answer is: Persuasion, defined in social psychology as an active method of influence that attempts to guide people toward certain attitude, idea, or behavior by rational or emotive means. Persuasion relies on "appeals" rather than physical coercion. When persuasion tactics combined with fraudulent information, it is common to trap people deeper and deeper into lies upon lies, as evident in many of the negative experience that people have shared.

Here comes the long answer if you wish to have a better understanding of the situation. Hopefully we could also raise more awareness so that fewer would fall for the trap. Why were they able to keep people in there for so long? Were people just being foolish, weak, ignorant, and irresponsible as the con artists would like us to think upon the discovery? Part of falling for any lie could be attributed to the victim of being unsuspicious and vulnerable, which is something the presenter tried hard to cultivate. It is also true that under certain circumstances, some of us are more susceptible to lies. But as much as human are fallible does not make it right to defraud them.

Upon a lot of late night thinking and research, it becomes clear that persuasion tactics based on social psychology was exploited throughout the process. Persuasion usually uses appeal, rather than physical coercion to manipulate or influence people’s attitude and induce actions, which makes it even more difficult to resist than physical restraints since it is subtle and well planned. Those are powerful psychological maneuvers that would work on most people, simply because we human beings share common psychological tendencies to connect, support, and to avoid conflict, objection or discordance. The key elements in the tactics started as soon as travelers check in at the resort

1. The update was usually scheduled on the 3rd day of the vacation when people are the most relaxed and well into their vacation mode, but not yet not thinking about returning to business at home. They’ve loosened up to the extent that they tend to trust other people who are enjoying or working at the same resort, even more than usual.

2. The sales person are now introduced as a member advocate. The first thing she said was “I’m not a sales, I do not make any money by giving you the member update. I’m merely doing this to help you understand your owner benefits. It is my job to make sure you are receiving the highest quality of service during your vacation.” They appear very friendly, amicable and talk really fast, conveying the idea that they are the authorities and experts in this matter.

3. The update starts with a full buffet breakfast, during which the agent make small talks about her personal lives, ask about your personal lives, hug your children, compliments your family. Unfortunately, this initial bonding and building of trust paves the road to further delivery of false information. During the breakfast, she talks enthusiastically about the company’s great success and the huge projects underway that boost the value of customer’s investment tremendously.

4. After a full meal, customers are physically and mentally further relaxed into their vacation mode. For the past two or three days, this is the point they start their day at the pools or beach, and they become even more susceptible to peripheral process which involves less active information processing and decision making. Similar to what we experience after sitting in front of the TV for too long, the audience tend to passively accept whatever was presented to them, and stop making good judgments.

5. From there, the presentation was filled with inflammatory speeches, deceptive calculations, and false statements. Before this part, without the lies, the persuasion tactics can still be considered ‘marketing’. But after the big pile of lies that specifically target and influence the audience's financial decisions, it becomes fraud.

6. If questions were raised, objections were made, or the audience wanted to leave, the sales find other “managers” to ask the audience please stay and listen further, otherwise you’ve just wasted your precious vacation time. It is in most people’s social nature to want to be polite, cooperative and trusting, especially when they are at a supposedly relaxing environment with their families. By taking advantage of such nature, they were able to keep their audience longer and longer.

7.Then the long hours spent at the presentation further tie down the audience by appealing to their urge to gain something good out of the lengthy and exhausting process. It becomes harder and harder for the customers to break off, now that they are even more emotionally attached.

8. The sales room have no internet. They are no longer using the word “timeshare”, not once in their conversation. They refer to it as something completely different and of great reputation. They keep saying the words “private residence club", “vacation home”, etc, so that even if you search online after the presentation, the warnings and negative time share experience do not show up easily.

All of the individual elements may seem trivial or non-compelling if you break them down and study them one by one, but when intricately designed and put together, it created a mental trap no weaker than physical restraints, if not more powerful. It appeals to human’s common vulnerability, taking advantage of the love for our family, the social need to belong and concur, and the reluctance to break off with superficial friendliness. It is why after discovery, many customers were so angry, feel betrayed, fooled, highly pressured, and could not make sense of how that could have happened.

It may seem obvious in hindsight, but when in the middle of it, the audience was at vulnerability and the company controlled the information and the whole process. That is also why a lot of kind people that had similar experience gave the advice “Do not go to the update!” instead of “Go, get your reward, then go away”. Because someone who had been through it know it was powerful manipulation that most people, in that particular moment, will have trouble getting themselves out.

So if the customers were not physically forced or restrained, does that make the whole thing legitimate? Not with the false representation in the process to lure customers into a contract — whether by words or by conduct, by false or misleading allegations, or by concealment of what should have been disclosed—that is intended to deceive another so that the individual will act upon it to his loss.

Many of us from the US or Canada do not encounter such fraudulent and exploitative behaviors often. Our legal and value system have good protection against such behaviors and punish fraud severely. While travelling in a foreign country, our inexperience works against our better judgments, which is a lesson many learned the hard way.