If you’re a timeshare resort or HOA and
your owner communications merely consist of the annual maintenance fee bill,
you’re missing a great opportunity and potentially creating a problem. If you’re an owner and all you receive from
your home resort or HOA is the annual maintenance fee bill, you need to demand
more.
THE OWNERS PERSPECTIVE-DEMAND MORE
Even if you never go to your home
resort, never attend owners’ meetings (an issue for another day), you must
demand that your home resort provide you with regular, non-sales oriented
information about the resort and all matter of timeshare related issues. Why?
Simply because timeshare in 2014 is significantly different and more
complex than it was in 1984, 1994 or even in 2004.
Sure, you need to know what the annual
fees are and how much they’ve gone up…but you are due an explanation, aren’t
you? Some of the other key issues your
resort should volunteer:
· Major improvements at the
resort such as pool resurfacing, roof repair, addition of wi-fi, etc.
· Key personnel changes at the
resort. You should not have to search to
find out who to contact about specific issues or concerns
· News about current and
ongoing issues of concern to timeshare owners such as scams, owner meetings and
of course the date of the next HOA
meeting
Unfortunately, the current economic
climate has made it easier and easier for unscrupulous individuals to prey on
misinformed timeshare owners. You need
to know from the resort that they are not calling owners and offering them a
“way out” or any other offer that comes your way more and more often.
THE RESORT PERSPECTIVE-OFFER MORE,
WITHOUT FEAR
Even if you’ve never done so, you simply
must start communicating with your owner base on a regular basis.
For all the reasons I covered above,
plus one overriding benefit…UNEDUCATED OWNERS ARE COSTING YOUR RESORT THOUSANDS
OF DOLLARS EVERY DAY.
Whether you have owners who are no
longer using their timeshare and therefore think it is acceptable to not pay
the annual fees, or worse, owners who pay a company to take the timeshare from
them eventually resulting in unpaid fees…your owners need to understand the
implications, benefits and responsibilities of ownership. Ownership is a good thing…if anyone feels
that it isn’t, or that the cons outweigh the pros, they need to be educated. They also need to know that they are indeed,
an integral part of the resort’s well-being and that their actions affect
thousands of other owners.
At too many owners meetings that I
attend, HOA managers and directors tell me that they aren’t
offering their owners information about potential scams because they are afraid
that it will open the floodgate to owners wanting out. It’s just not true. Most owners are very happy with their
timeshare and are not looking for a way out.
And let’s not forget that owner
communications can focus on the good news…and there’s lots of it if you know
where to look. Don’t forget that there
is a big difference between sharing information (a great thing) and selling (a
not so great thing.)
Here are some examples of information
sharing:
·
Upgrades (hopefully not
downgrades) in exchange company rating
·
New exchange company resort affiliations
·
Upcoming projects
·
Any challenges the resort
may be facing
A quick word about that last point. Don’t be afraid of telling your owners of any
challenges you may be facing. A typical
resort has thousands of owners from diverse backgrounds and each with a world
of experience. They can be your greatest
asset. The solution to a potential
challenge may very well come from your owners!
Recently, I’ve heard from owners who
receive word about the annual HOA meeting less than 2 weeks out. Frankly, this is unacceptable. HOAs need to get the word out about the
annual meeting as soon as a date is set, which for most well run HOAs will be
months ahead of time.
Organizations such as the NTOA and TATOC and
a growing number of reputable timeshare resale companies (as well as ARDA and ARDA-ROC) do a terrific job in bringing the good news
about the industry to the forefront, as well as alerting owners to potential
issues. Individual timeshare owners need
to hear this news from resorts as well.
Remember that your resort is not a bunch
of buildings. Your resort is made up of
individuals. Just as consumers initially
purchase because of the individual salesperson and not the concept of
timeshare, they return and exchange into your resort because of the people that
make up the resort.
Unsure of where to start? Send me an e-mail at lisa@timeshareinsights.com. I’ll be happy to
review your current communication pieces at no cost and help you get started on
the road to better communication
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