For What?

I founded Timeshare Insights on three basic principles:

1) to write about the timeshare industry
2) to educate and assist consumers
3) to be a catalyst for positive change in the timeshare industry

I did not want to sell, rent, buy, broker, list, transfer or represent any timeshare or any timeshare company. I still don't. I did not want to merely whine and bitch about the various things in the industry that needed to change. I still don't. I did not want to continue with the outdated status quo within the industry. I still don't.

Yet, here we are many years later and I've come to some sobering realizations:

1) the scammers and borderline scammers continue to rake in millions of dollars
2) the whiners and naysayers continue whining without changing anything, their main reason
for being in around at all seems to be to whine
3) while the industry has taken some baby steps, continues to cling to outdated marketing and
sales techniques and continues to think of itself as something different and I dare say better
than any other product/service out there
4) the general media is not interested in focusing on anything positive about the timeshare
industry or the timeshare product
5) the vast majority of timeshare owners are lazy and not really interested in being helped or
even finding out more about the great product that they purchased

So I find myself with a business model that just isn't working.

And I ask myself, for what?

Great Information Shared

Thanks to everyone who came out last night to the Florida Hotel at the Florida Mall to participate in Dial An Exchange's Vacation Ownership Education session.

Lots of interesting stuff presented, most of which centered on the fact that owners had choices, responsibilities and of course that timeshare provides great vacation opportunities.

I'm pretty confident that Fermin Cruz, Ed Hastry, Jason Tremblay and myself opened up a few eyes during the presentation. Always surprised to find out that timeshare owners still don't know that they have a right to find out who the HOA President is, that in many cases the real estate taxes they pay are tax deductible, that there are more than only one exchange company and that they should do some homework before trusting any company with their vacation asset.

More education tomorrow at the Orlando chapter of the National Timeshare Owners Association meeting and a full article will be running in the next issue of TimeSharing Today.

Questions about timeshare? We're your resource.

DVC to Change Benefits for Resale Purchasers

If you're thinking of buying a membership into DVC (Disney Vacation Club), best to complete the paperwork prior to March 20th.

After that, consumers who purchase on the resale market will NOT get all the benefits that other DVC members get. They'll be cut out of using points on Disney Cruises, Adventures by Disney and at a host of Disney owned hotels.

They'll still be able to trade into the 11 DVC resorts, which an overwhelming majority of them do, as well as use RCI, the World Passport Collection and the Buena Vista Trading Company.

I'm curious to see which timeshare company will be next in limiting resale purchasers' rights. WAY back in 2001, I believe there were some restrictions placed on resale RCI Points, but those have fallen by the wayside.

We still have yet to address the issue of "new" vs. "used" and put some common sense rules in place along with some measures to narrow the gap between the primary and the secondary market.

Anyone?

A Clarification For Those Confused Souls Out There

This morning I received sixty-seven (67) e-mails from consumers asking for help in selling their timeshare.

And while I should be answering those e-mails right now instead of writing a post, I need to clarify something to the one out of sixty seven who stated that since Timeshare Insights charged for their services, that it was a "scam."

First of all for anyone who has read one tenth of what I've been writing for years now, they would know that I think that upfront fees for selling timeshare are NOT the way to go. For a variety of reasons that I won't go into right now.

Secondly, the word "scam" is harsh and in most cases, unwarranted, even for those firms charging upfront fees. In most cases, there is nothing illegal about it. Even the "transfer companies", whose business models I abhor, are not doing anything illegal. They are simply preying upon people's lack of knowledge and fear.

Lastly dear confused consumer...yes, Timeshare Insights charges for their consulting services. MODULE 1-designed to find out if timeshare would benefit you, MODULE 2-which timeshare would be the best fit for you and MODULE 3-help with a timeshare that you no longer use or want each carry a very nominal $250 fee.

What you get for that $250 is clear cut, unbiased, independent, solid advice. If you choose to work with any company that we may refer you to, we don't get a kick-back or a referral fee. That's how you can be assured that the information we are providing you with is unbiased.

What we find more often than not is that people reach out to Timeshare Insights AFTER spending thousands of dollars in "listing fees", or in "transfer fees" only to receive the annual bill the following year as the "transfer" never took place. That's when the allegations of "scam" come into place, but woefully misdirected.

Timeshare Insights draws upon experience and contacts. Yes, there's a fee associated with that. Are you serious about wanting personalized, independent information? Timeshare Insights does that.

For anyone who is expecting free service...remember that if if sounds to good to be true, it is and FREE is one of the four words I tell consumers to run away from.

The end.

And The Featured Speakers Are...

Here is the list of the featured speakers at the Orlando chapter meeting of the National Timeshare Owners Association meeting being held on Sunday, January 30th:

Ed Hastry-Founder and President of The National Timeshare Owners Association
Karen Donohue-Trading Places Exchange
Judi Kozlowski-President of the Licensed Timeshare Resale Brokers Association
Fermin Cruz-VP North American Operations for Dial An Exchange
Woody Cary-TriCom Management Company
Peter Emry-Cash Out A Timeshare
Sarah Goodwin-Platinum Interchange

And oh yes, Lisa Ann Schreier, Founder and Director of Timeshare Insights...but you knew that already didn't you?

From now until January 30th, the NTOA is offering a 10% discount on their annual memberships and memberships are required to attend this or any meeting.

Hope to see you all there.

What You Can Do

Last week I received yet another postcard from yet another company with the nifty headline of, "Feeling shackled to your timeshare? We hold the key to your freedom!" Yeah, right.

Regular readers will know my thoughts on these transfer or relief companies and if you were fortunate enough to see my hidden camera report on what goes on at these meetings, you know that it makes no sense at all to pay someone thousands of dollars to get out of a full-paid timeshare.

I'll be doing a feature article during the annual ARDA convention on Donate For A Cause and periodically we'll be discussing other options if you have a timeshare you no longer use or want.

But back to the postcard. On the reverse, they clearly show an ARDA logo. ARDA, for those of you unfamilar with it is the American Resort Development Association...the governmental organization in charge of all timeshare things.

I've had numerous discussion with people at ARDA and their feelings seem to be the same as mine...they do not want to do business with these type of organizations. So, I went to ARDA's website, http://www/arda.org and clicked on the Membership tab.

I scrolled down and not very suprisingly did not see this companies name on any of the membership lists.

So what did I do that you can and should do when you discover similar "errors"? And by "errors' I mean "violations." Called and e-mailed and reported it. Done...very simple

Hopefully, this will shake up someone at ARDA to do some follow up and perhaps go after these companies legally, but at the very least I certainly hope that if you discover that some company (that you shouldn't be doing business with in the first place as they contacted you out of the blue) is using an ARDA logo without permission, you don't fall for whatever they are selling.

Remember our mission for 2011? Educate Yourself, Open Your Mind, Get Involved. This falls into all three of those.

2011 Is The Year To...

Today's post is brief and to the point.

All of you out there, timeshare owners or not should make 2011 the year you:

Educate youself, open your mind and get involved.

Together, we can bring about positive change.