The Missing Value Proposition. Is It Dead?

There are many changes that the timeshare industry can and should implement sooner, rather than later if it going to remain both profitable and relevant in the 21st century. 

I’ve discussed many of those changes in this blog and in media appearances through the years. 

But in my opinion, the industry’s lack of focus on the value proposition of owning-at a price that’s higher in most cases than 20+ years of renting hotel rooms for the average family-is the one thing that continues to trip them up. 

Many timeshare resorts like to talk about the ‘value’ of regular vacations and then bolster that discussion with lovely photos of families enjoying a seemingly care free swim in a pool, lounge on the beach. sweat free game of sand volleyball or meals whipped up in the timeshare kitchen. And there’s nothing wrong with any of that. I don’t think you can find a person that’s opposed to vacations or even one that doesn’t agree that vacations are useful, maybe necessary. 

But here’s where that thinking goes awry in my opinion. That vacation, that sand volleyball game, that picture perfect meal?  They’re all available to anyone without the pesky purchase price of $20,000+, the annual fees of $1,000+ (payable whether or not you vacation in any given year) and the various other fees associated with using a timeshare. 

Whether from the resort itself, individual owners or a third party platform, vacationers have a plethora of timeshare rental options available to them. And those options are available to them every single year, with absolutely no limit or restrictions. I know people who rent timeshare accommodations every year or even multiple times per year, pre COVID  at least, and have absolutely no interest or intention of ever becoming a timeshare owner. Can you blame them?

No 4 hour sales pitch. No buy in cost of $20,000+. No exchange company membership fee. No exchange fee…which, if you haven’t checked lately, is insanely costly. No 1 in 4 usage restriction. All the space. All the amenities. All the fun. And yes, all the memories and benefits of a vacation. 

The industry experts will of course be quick to counter these statements by saying that renters aren’t guaranteed these timeshare accommodations. Fair enough. Neither are owners!  Unless we’re talking about a fixed week/fixed unit plan, which only a tiny fragment of consumers have, owners aren’t guaranteed anything either!

Which brings us back to the missing value proposition of owning. Unless/until the industry changes the very nature of the timeshare product and makes those accommodations, those beaches and yes, those kitchens exclusive for owners, I’m not sure how it’s going to survive. 

Agree?  Disagree?  Respectful comments and discussions are welcome. 

It’s Totally Arbitrary

If you’ve been a timeshare owner for any length of time, you’ve inevitably been on the receiving end of upgrade sales pitches. 

Whether it’s because the once week based timeshare is now selling points, or the resort has been acquired by another, change is a fact of life in most cases. 

What unsuspecting owners don’t know is that the offers they receive are totally arbitrary. 

Let me explain. 

If a resort transitions from selling RCI affiliated weeks to RCI affiliated points, there’s nothing that prevents the resort from merely converting your week into the correct number of points that RCI has assigned. But, inevitably, you’ll be told that’s not possible. You must first buy more in order to make the conversion. And how much more?  Again, arbitrary. Whatever you’ll accept as ‘the rules.’

Current Diamond Resorts owners are being fed this right now due to Hilton’s acquisition. Every day, I read social media posts and emails from people who were told varying stories about how much more they’d have to purchase in order to become an HGV member. 

Besides the fact that no one should be relying on anything that a salesperson says, and they’re all salespeople, regarding the Hilton/Diamond deal until after official word comes down from Mount Hilton, the very fact that just about everyone gets a different story and a different number of points that they ‘have to buy in order to stay part of Hilton’ is again, indication that it’s all arbitrary. Made up. 

Because for some strange reason, consumers see things clearly when talking about anything other than timeshare, let me put this into an iPhone analogy. 

Each time Apple comes out with an iOS upgrade, people who own Apple devices can simply hit a button and download it. The exception, there usually is, is if you own a much older device that won’t support the new iOS. If you’re still using an iPhone 6, you’ll understand. 

Apple doesn’t require you to purchase a new iPhone or iPad in order to be ‘eligible’ for the new operating system. 

My point is that timeshare owners need to know this before listening to the spiel. Just as there’s no MSRP or Kelly Blue Book value for a timeshare, the ‘required’ figure is arbitrary. 

The industry has so much to gain by making things, starting with prices, more transparent. 

(My apologies if this post was a bit muddy. I’m blaming a week plus of COVID fog 😵‍💫)