#consumerwarning

— Advertising Accuracy, Escalation Limitations, and Refund Rigidity

Summary

This post is shared as a consumer warning based on my direct experience with AvantStay. Prospective guests should carefully evaluate how the company responds when a property no longer aligns with or offers its advertised features and whether escalation within the organization meaningfully changes outcomes. Based on my experience, it does not.

Background

I booked a property managed by AvantStay via VRBO that was explicitly advertised as ski-in / ski-out. This was not a secondary amenity or a footnote — it was the title and defining feature of the property, and the primary reason the property was selected.

We planned this trip for months. It was positioned as a once-in-a-lifetime family experience, and we saved deliberately to make it happen.

Subsequently, a ski patrol strike resulted in the mountain being closed. As a direct result, the property no longer functioned as ski-in / ski-out, eliminating the very feature the booking was based on.

What Happened

The reservation was made through VRBO.

VRBO reviewed the circumstances and agreed to refund their portion of the booking, acknowledging that the property was no longer as advertised.

AvantStay, as the property manager, declined to offer any refund, credit, relocation, or accommodation of any kind.

This decision stood even though:

The defining characteristic of the listing was no longer available

The change was outside the control of both parties

The third-party booking platform independently recognized the mismatch

Attempts to Resolve the Issue

I engaged with multiple members of the AvantStay support organization and escalated the issue through management and executive channels. At each level, the response was nearly identical — appearing standardized, scripted, and policy-driven.

From the first support representative, to management, to executive-level contacts, the message never changed:

“We do not make exceptions.”

No additional review occurred. No discretion was exercised. Escalation did not alter the analysis, the tone, or the outcome.

We explored multiple compromise options, including:

Moving to another AvantStay-managed property at a resort that still offered ski-in / ski-out access

Partial refunds or credits

A 50% adjustment acknowledging the material change in circumstances

Each option was summarily rejected using the same templated language.

What made this especially notable was that every other merchant involved — equipment rentals, lift tickets, travel arrangements, restaurant reservations, ski lessons, and even VRBO itself — demonstrated flexibility and good-faith accommodation. AvantStay was the only party that offered ZERO flexibility.

Customer Experience Impact

Beyond the financial implications, the interaction itself was deeply frustrating. The repeated, canned responses felt dismissive and belittling, as though judgment and context were intentionally removed from the process. Rather than engaging in problem-solving, the experience felt transactional, rigid, and indifferent to guest impact.

The contract we entered into was for a ski-in / ski-out experience. Once that condition no longer existed, the purpose of the trip fundamentally changed. AvantStay showed no willingness to acknowledge that reality.

Key Concerns for Consumers

Advertised features may become unavailable without corresponding adjustment

Escalation paths that do not materially change review or outcome

Heavy reliance on templated responses in situations requiring judgment

Strict policy enforcement even when third-party platforms acknowledge a material change

Corporate ownership structures that prioritize policy adherence over guest experience

Why This Matters

Ski-in / ski-out was not a peripheral amenity — it was a value-defining characteristic and the title of the listing itself. When that feature is unavailable, the product delivered is materially different from what was marketed.

Consumers should be aware that AvantStay’s resolution framework may not account for this distinction, even when the issue is elevated internally.

Recommendation to Prospective Guests

Assume limited or NO flexibility if a core advertised feature becomes unavailable

Capture and retain listing details at the time of booking

Consider third-party booking protections

Evaluate whether rigid, corporate policy enforcement aligns with your risk tolerance

Consider properties hosted by individuals rather than larger management firms

Pattern and Broader Context

It appears this experience is not isolated. A comment on a now-removed AvantStay Instagram post described a family facing a documented, life-threatening medical emergency involving their child — with the same outcome: zero flexibility.

Additionally, AvantStay appears to actively remove negative comments from social media, including removing entire posts rather than individual comments, and blocking users (including myself) from commenting or mentioning the brand. From a consumer perspective, this raises concerns about narrative control and transparency.

Public records further reinforce this pattern. AvantStay’s Better Business Bureau profile reflects dozens of consumer complaints over recent years, many of which echo similar themes.

Closing

This post reflects my personal experience and is shared for consumer awareness. Others may have different experiences. The intent here is transparency and informed decision-making — not exaggeration or speculation.

Consumers deserve to understand how companies respond when reality diverges from marketing.

VISIBILITY:

#ConsumerWarning

#ConsumerAwareness

#CustomerExperience

#CustomerRights

#BuyerBeware

#ConsumerProtection

#TravelWarning

#VacationRental

#ShortTermRental

#TravelPlanning

#TravelResearch

#BeforeYouBook

#DoYourResearch

#ReadTheReviews

I was asked by a friend to work at one of these events while they were short staffed. These guys are the worst sort of people. The whole day consisted of working innocent people up into a frenzy and then pushing expensive (>$5000) products on them once they were in a suggestible state.

Everyone that went into their 'Property Investor Summit' had to sign a confidentiality agreement, though because I was a late hire they didn't ask me.

The 'summit' started at about 8:30 in the morning on a Saturday. They kept the doors to the main area closed while they counted the number of people waiting outside. When they knew how many people had turned up, they removed the excess chairs to give the impression of a 'sellout event'. Sounds pretty tame, though it got much worse.

There was a 'VIP' area, which was just marked with red tape on the floor at the front and center of the stage. The people that got to sit in this area had paid ~$40 for the privilege of being sold to, plus a DVD full of advertising.

Once everyone had sat down, the event began with a 'celebrity' property investor, Steve McKnight, talking about wealth. Except he didn't just talk about wealth. He talked about your feelings about wealth. He made people close their eyes and meditate on how it would feel to have all that wealth while he played music. He talked about how it's right to want all this wealth because it's about helping your family. It's about stopping your family from suffering because you don't have enough money. He flashed up some wealth related catch phrases and got people to repeat them back to him, he talked about personal empowerment and people just-like-you who have achieved so many great things. This went on for just over an hour.

A little way into the presentation the other hires and myself were taken out the back to talk about 'selling'. We were given the details of the product, and given a run through of the selling process. It was disgraceful. The $5000 'property apprenticeship' had a 24 hour cooling off period. 24 hours. These people didn't even have enough time to come down from their 'guaranteed wealth' high before they had a chance to get any money back.

When I asked the organisers whether 24 hours is enough time for this, my question was brushed off with a rubbish explanation about how it's OK because people 'don't try to get their money back'.

When we returned to the presentation room, the property guru, Steve McKnight, was talking about investments, and flashing up some testimonials for people whose lives had changed. Then he went through all the values of his product - The property apprenticeship. Arbitrarily assigning made-up dollar values to the services within. The final figure was $20 000. "$20 000!" he said, "Isn't that a small price to pay compared to how much you'll earn!". Then he took off more than half. "Because I believe in all of you, and I want to see you succeed, I'm going to give it to you for $9000!".

But he wasn't done, he said "Actually…. If you buy it today, it's yours for $4990!". He went on to justify the price some more, saying things like "I could've made this free, but then you wouldn't value it, the reason it's this price is so that you understand how valuable it is". Unbelievably, he followed up with "Do you think I need the money?"

His last incentive was that the first 25 people to join the life changing apprenticeship will get a DVD and book pack. I saw this pack, the book and DVD were both unrelated to property investing and very related to Global1s other speakers - the first 25 people got some more advertising.

As soon as he was done people were falling over themselves to get down to the back of the room to get signed up. I emphasized to those that came to me that there is only a 24 hour cooling off period, and that if they decide to pay by direct deposit they can go home and think about it before transferring the money. This approach almost worked with one lady who didn't have enough money on her credit card and needed to ask her husband, who had to work that day, to transfer more money to it.

The lady was anxious to put down her details before she missed the opportunity to hand over $4990. One of the regular Global1 staff heard this going on and informed her that if she didn't pay by credit card, she wouldn't get the 'first 25' benefit. When she realised she would miss out on the 'fantastic book and dvd pack' she decided "I can pay today, I can pay today'.

The next session was by Rowan Burn of Market First. More of the same, talked for 2 hours about ambiguous property concepts without any real detail, until it came down to joining his program. We were taken out the back again to learn about how to sell this product, and I was happy to see that the cooling off period was 90 days, and the value of the product was $3000.

Then we learned that the membership is actually free, and is talked up to be an expensive product until he 'decides' to hand out free membership vouchers to everyone in attendance. The trick here is that everyone who puts down their details for the free membership gets an one on one appointment with one of his sales reps in the following days. In this session they're sold a higher level membership for around $5000. They said back stage that their conversion rate is about 33%.

I felt terrible about the entire day, though I still got paid for it, so now I'm trying to alleviate some of that guilt by writing about my experience here. I don't want other people to go along to these events unprepared. If you do decide to attend a Global1 event, understand that you are there to be sold to, understand that they will try to make you feel a certain way to get you in the mood to buy. They'll use music, meditation, repetition, parroting, catch phrases, seating arrangements so that you'll buy their expensive products. Most of the event wouldn't be so bad, if they weren't rushing you into purchasing a product you might not be able to afford, without the opportunity to back out later on.

Guys!! If anyone of you are interested in buying Sharan Hegde's 1% club membership - DONT GO FOR IT. first you'll attend the masterclass and they'll charge you 550 for it. After the session ends, smartly he'll manipulate you to buy the membership which would cost around 13-14k. I think the actual amount is 25k but in masterclass they provide you a coupon and it will cost you 14k. They'd say coupon is just valid for xyz minutes . Barely you'll get any time to think and process. NOW. Here's the real scam. While selling you this membership, he won't mention anything about refund policy. He'll say "the best part of this membership is , within 7 days , if you don't like the session, you can opt for a refund request."

Now . within this timeframe, even you go for a refund request. His team will not co-operate. they'll say "we are unable to process your refund request as it falls outside the scope of our refund policy". Now this is the real scam. What policy???? Where did this come from???? You'll ask them about this and they'll lie to you saying - "this policy was mentioned in the masterclass". But in reality - IT WASN'T EVEN DISCUSSED. You keep trying and they gonna reject your request. Either they won't be replying to you. Or they'll respond too late.. While you are in this timeframe , for you each and every second would be important , now they'll take advantage of this situation. Meanwhile you'll be desperately waiting for them to reply.

At the end your money is gone and you'll be only left with modules and tools which I think are available on the internet. for that u need to do some research stuff.

See!! MIGHT BE the membership would have been useful IDK..BUT..-- what was astonishing to me that you don't tell do's and don'ts AFTER one has enrolled into your membership right? You need to disclose all policies and important links and highlights BEFORE the enrollment process.

So think before spending . 14k is a big amount. So connect with people who are actually a part of the 1% club. If you get atleast 10 good reviews about it. Then go for it. Else don't!!

I want to share my experience with Corey Creech, who sometimes goes by "Corey, the Ascending Master" and claims to be a life coach. Unfortunately, my encounter with him was far from professional, and I feel it's important to warn others about his dubious practices.

Tarot Reading Disaster

One of the services I opted for was a tarot reading. From the outset, it was clear that Corey Creech didn't have a clue what he was doing. His interpretations of the cards were vague and generic, lacking any depth or insight. It felt like he was making things up on the spot rather than providing a genuine reading based on any real understanding of the tarot.

Negative Vibes

From the very beginning, I got a bad vibe from Corey Creech. His demeanor and the way he conducted his sessions felt off. Instead of feeling guided and supported, I often felt uneasy and suspicious of his intentions. This negative energy made the experience even more unpleasant and unproductive.

Public Perception

There are negative reviews on platforms such as Ripoff Report, where clients have expressed dissatisfaction with his services, describing them as superficial and unhelpful. One review specifically noted that Corey provided unstructured and superficial sessions, failed to deliver the promised clarity or guidance, and appeared more interested in self-promotion than addressing client concerns​ (Ripoff Report)​.

Conclusion