Ever notice how there are very little, if any DVC members complaining on social media? or how you never hear from people who are subjected to a 3+ hour high-pressure sales pitch at DVC?
Well, in a word, Disney "gets it."
And while it is true that DVC has "the Mouse" which no one else does, it's important to remember that Disney could easily slip into standard operating procedure for other timeshares, but they don't.
I witnessed an example two weeks ago.
I work part-time at The Walt Disney World Resort as a Park and Events Guide. I was scheduled to help out at a DVC "Sunset Mixer" for DVC members.
One hour of snacks, drinks, trivia games, mingling, entertainment and ABSOLUTELY NO WHIFF OF A SALES PITCH AT ALL. As a matter of fact, no one from DVC even showed up until the last 15 minutes and then merely to announce the new property and say she'd be around in the lobby to answer any questions.
Compare this to theh "owners update" or "resort update" that every other timeshare holds for their "valued owners." It's not meant to introduce owners to each other, foster fun times, reinforce the value of vacation or anything other than to sell more timeshare.
And that is one little reason why DVC is as successful as they are and has so many happy owners.
Monday, June 24, 2013
Monday, June 17, 2013
Latest ARDA Research Shows...Lots of Marketing Money Is Being Thrown Away
According to the latest ARDA research released, here's a snapshot of the average timeshare owner in the United States:
Median Age: 51 years old
Median Household Income $74,000
Own Primary Residence 89%
Do NOT Have Children at Home 64%
Today is June 17th...for an experiment, I'd love for everyone to go to a timeshare resort this morning and see how the average customer in the sales center compares to these figures.
I've said it before and I'll say it again...the timeshare industry KNOWS who their market is and KNOWS what the average timeshare owner looks like.
So why are salesrooms across the country full of people in their 30s and 40s with 3 or more children living at home? Why are some resorts focused on people in their late 60s, 70s and 80s? Why is the industry satisfied with a closing rate of 10%?
Do they like throwing marketing money down the drain? Do they enjoy jacking the price of the timeshare up each year in part to compensate for these marketing costs?
If you know what your average owner looks like, wouldn't it make sense to market to those people?
Median Age: 51 years old
Median Household Income $74,000
Own Primary Residence 89%
Do NOT Have Children at Home 64%
Today is June 17th...for an experiment, I'd love for everyone to go to a timeshare resort this morning and see how the average customer in the sales center compares to these figures.
I've said it before and I'll say it again...the timeshare industry KNOWS who their market is and KNOWS what the average timeshare owner looks like.
So why are salesrooms across the country full of people in their 30s and 40s with 3 or more children living at home? Why are some resorts focused on people in their late 60s, 70s and 80s? Why is the industry satisfied with a closing rate of 10%?
Do they like throwing marketing money down the drain? Do they enjoy jacking the price of the timeshare up each year in part to compensate for these marketing costs?
If you know what your average owner looks like, wouldn't it make sense to market to those people?
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Sunchaser, Northwynd, Fairmont, etc.-A Bad Timeshare Situation in Canada
I recently became aware of a situation in Canada affecting thousands of timeshare owners.
Long story short---developer went bankrupt, new owners came in, found the place in horrible shape and is now offering two options:
$4,000 in assessments per interval to fix it
or
$3,000 to get out
On top of it, they gave owners almost no time to make the decision.
As I said, this is the very short version of a very long story.
I contacted some of the people on their Facebook page that they set up and told them that I would make this forum available to them in the sincere hopes that the more coverage this received, the better chances the owners would have for a fair and equitable solution.
Today, I heard from an owner that RCI will honor a membership (complete with all benefits such as Getaways, etc.) even if the member chooses to walk away from their timeshare.
This is troubling on an entirely different level.
Thoughts? Rebuttals? Setting the record straight?
Long story short---developer went bankrupt, new owners came in, found the place in horrible shape and is now offering two options:
$4,000 in assessments per interval to fix it
or
$3,000 to get out
On top of it, they gave owners almost no time to make the decision.
As I said, this is the very short version of a very long story.
I contacted some of the people on their Facebook page that they set up and told them that I would make this forum available to them in the sincere hopes that the more coverage this received, the better chances the owners would have for a fair and equitable solution.
Today, I heard from an owner that RCI will honor a membership (complete with all benefits such as Getaways, etc.) even if the member chooses to walk away from their timeshare.
This is troubling on an entirely different level.
Thoughts? Rebuttals? Setting the record straight?
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