Need A Reminder?

Earlier this month, I strongly urged all timeshare owners; new and existing, to have all of their timeshare documentation reviewed by a timeshare savvy attorney.

Need a reminder as to why this is so important?  Check this story out:

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/7_on_your_side&id=9003521

Need a referral?  Drop me an e-mail.

Celebration/Festiva/RCI Continued

Well, it seems that the previous blog has received so many replies and updates, that some browsers, mine included, were not showing all the updates.

If you are not able to see all the comments, try clicking "Load More."  If that does not work (and it didn't work for me), try another browser.

Once I switched from Internet Explorer to Safari, I was able to click on the "Load More" link and everything showed up.

Feel free to comment either on the old thread or on this one...I'm monitoring both closely.

Demanding More From Timeshare Resorts

I heard today from a new owner who was frustrated.  He had purchased at Island One Resorts more than three months ago, but hadn't received anything from either the resort or the exchange company.  Nothing had been processed and he had no access to any benefits.

This is not, unfortunately, unusual.  It was routine at the last timeshare resort that I worked at for the paperwork to sit, unprocessed for 5 or 6 months, even though the owner had paid a full downpayment, or in many cases, paid in full, including RCI membership fees.

In addition to not being fair...something which everyone, including my mother tells me was never promised to me...this strikes me as being just plain wrong.

The timeshare owner has 14 days or less, depending on local laws, to cancel or rescind the timeshare purchase.  We all know this isn't really enough time to properly digest and comprehend everything, but that's an issue that will be covered in April in an exciting, new initiative I'm proposing.

Shouldn't the timeshare resort be held to the same time period?  It's time for timeshare owners to start demanding more rather than sitting by and letting things be as they always have been.

Box, What Box?

Lately I've been reading and writing about the wonders of marketing partnerships as they relate to timeshares. I believe that in one of my recent columns I was talking about tying timeshares into products that "fit"; such as suitcase retailers, ski shops, etc.

In reality, what you need to do is design your own potential owner base by partnering with those entities that mirror what you want your owner base to look like. Sound confusing? It's simple.

Do you want your owner base to have similar lifestyles, habits, income, etc. to yourself? Great (or not so great). What do you do for fun? Where do you shop? How do you entertain? With whom do you associate?

Example. I'm from Chicago. There is a wonderful, upscale accessory and home furnishings store headquartered in Chicago. They've been in existence for more than 30 years I believe, and I would venture to say that they have done extensive market and psychographic research to determine exactly who their customer is. I'll lay you odds, that store's customer is timeshare's customer.

So what is a marketer to do? Think outside the box. You've heard me say it again and again and again… JUST BECAUSE IT HASN'T BEEN DONE BEFORE IS EXACTLY THE REASON TO GO AFTER IT. Call their marketing department. Make some inquiries. Ask. You never know until you ask.

There are three things that stop most people in the timeshare industry from thinking outside the box and if you fall into this category, I will warn you now you will not be happy with me:

1)       Fear of the unknown

2)       General laziness

3)       Not enough belief in your own product

I'll spare you a lecture on the first two… most of my columns address these. But the third is greatly overlooked. If you don't believe in your own product, you will be less likely to tell others about it. Just like a salesperson that truly does not believe in timeshare and suffers low sales because of it, if you do not believe in your own product, you are defeated before you even start.

Marketers in general have long been guilty of focusing on the marketing rather than the product. How much do you know about your own product? How much do you believe in the product? If you had to go out and give a non-sales presentation about timeshare to the general public, what would you say? What would you know? Would you come across as enthusiastic? Do you own a timeshare of your own, or merely take the perks of the industry?

Speaking as a former salesperson/manager, I consider there to be three things essential to purchasing timeshare: a willingness and/or desire to vacation, half a working brain and a willingness and ability to spend some money. So where would you find those people? I'll bet you that some of them would be found shopping the aisles of my favorite store in Chicago.

Marketing is not a one size fits all, one try and you hit the jackpot business. No marketing source, no OPC location, no mini-vacation hits all the time. The best would probably garner a 30% success.

You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by trying something different with a small percentage of your marketing budget.

It Was A Cold Call That Got You Into This Timeshare

Earlier this week, RCI issued this advisory:

pgs.rci.com/landing/resaleadvisory/index.html#T

While I applaud the fact that RCI or any timeshare related company is trying to warn consumers, I don't know why all of these warnings are so soft.

The advisory gives this advice:

1)  get the offer details
2)  be very skeptical of any upfront fees
3)  be wary

No, no and no.

It should be as follows:

1)  if a phone call, hang up
2)  if a direct mail piece, throw out
3)  if an e-mail, delete

No reputable company that I know of cold calls.  NONE.

If you don't initiate contact, then they are no good.

Since I repeat the samee thing over and over again, as do other companies and individuals who hear from consumers after they've been ripped off for thousands of dollars, let me put it in terms you, the frustated timeshare owner, can understand:

REMEMBER HOW YOU GOT INTO THIS TIMESHARE IN THE FIRST PLACE?  RIGHT, SOMEONE CONTACTED YOU FIRST.  AND NOW WHERE ARE YOU?


 

It's Time To Dump The Property Tour

A few weeks ago, I met an old timeshare associate of mine for coffee.  Not that he was old...but old in the sense of a long time :-)  I met this man back in 2000 when I began selling timeshare full time and began on this long, strange trek of mine in earnest.

We talked about how very little had changed from 2000 to 2013.  You can walk into any timeshare resort anywhere in the world and it's almost verbatim.  The same hackneyed "10 Step Sales Procedure" is still being used.  (Details of this 10 Step Procedure can be found in any of my three books; "Surviving A Timeshare Presentation...Confessions From The Sales Table", "Timeshare Vacations For Dummies" and "Timeshare Management-The Key Issues For Hospitality Managers"-all of which are available on my site http://www.timeshareinsights.com)

In particular we talked about what a waste of time the "property tour" was.  If you've been on a sales presentation you know what I mean.  The salesperson drags you out of the sales center and shows you every single detail and amenity of the property...usually saying something inane such as "here is our pool" as you pass by many sunbathers looking annoyed.  As if you've never seen a pool before and have to be told what it is.

Back when I was a sales manager, I took a group of new salespeople to the model and asked them what they would say to the clients when they were inside the model.  Sadly, some salespeople pointed out the toaster and refrigerator as if these were miraculous inventions only available at the resort!  And this continues to this day as I'm certain you,my readers can attest to.

What's even sadder than this is when clients who are staying on property are subjected to the full blown property tour!  Back in the days when I objected to dragging my clients out in the 92 degree heat to see a room that was identical to the one they were staying in, I was told that is was necessary for the client to "experience the room in a clean condition without any suitcases around."  What's even sadder is when my clients or I pressed the issue we were told that "Florida law requires you to see the property before we can ask you to purchase."  But that's a topic for another day...

No one buys timeshare because the model is nice or the model has a hot tub.  People buy timeshare for what it can do for them and the value proposition.  If someone wants to see the entire property...I'm all for that.  I'm even cool with taking the new owners around for a tour and a meal after they purchase.

But dragging clients around and pointing out features that they may not ever use, since most people buy timeshare with the intent on trading it, is something that needs to be retired.

What do you think?

New Timeshare Site

I'm pleased to announce the launch of a new timeshare site:  http://timeshareadvisor.com.

While the site is currently in Beta, it's still worth a look.

Think TripAdvisor but focused solely on timeshares.  No, they don't sell any timeshare, they don't rent any timeshare, they don't sell mini-vacs.  They are interested in your unbiased reviews of timeshare destinations...not sales...not exchanges...just the facility and the experience itself.

Consumers who submit reviews and photos earn "points" and there are periodic drawings for prizes.  No, these are NOT RCI or other points, these are timeshareAdvisor points.

Timeshare Advisor is interested in unbiased, honest review and good reviews do not receive more points than bad reviews.

Eventually, resort managers will be able to submit information (not reviews) about their own property.  Consumers are encouraged to provide feedback on the resort write ups in order to keep the site current and of course, honest.  I just sent in some comments myself.

As I said, the site is still in beta, but you should check it out.

Let me know what you think.