This may take some time for me to reply to the above posts but I will do my best to do so timely and as comprehensively as is possible and reasonable. The problem is it takes 10 times as long to write out replies to some of these questions, accusations, statements and issues and they are layered and hinge on a variety of factors etc. It is not as black and white or cut and dried as some of you might like or think.
However, I must first get some thoughts off my chest and as I mentioned in an above post I invite and in fact challenge ANY of you to sit down and go line item by line item over anything or topic you wish regarding timeshare, my company and the services it has provided etc. as long as you look at the WHOLE picture and ALL sides of the story. Listen to and look at what this program actually does and then decide...I DARE YOU!
Not trying to be rude, but the bottom line fact is that most of you have no freakin idea what you are talking about when it comes to the realities of weeks timeshare, it's history, how it REALLY works or the inner workings, relationships, contracts and needs and remedies for grossly mismanaged and failing timeshare resorts and the of HOA's that run them let alone what company's such as mine offer and provide.
You would all agree that there are no television or radio show starring the average arm chair quarterback football fans...there is a reason for that...while they have a love of the game and third party working "knowledge" of how it works in brevity...they have no REAL idea what they are talking about. They watch the game from the sidelines and think because they have thrown a football or own a football or played in high school that they have some idea as to what really goes on within the day to day management of the team or what happens on the playing field. It is not that simple. That's why most of the commentators are former players or coaches. Likewise you people can sit on this forum and spew whatever rhetoric you choose but at the end of the day you do not have all THE FACTS, you DO NOT have ALL sides of the story and you DO NOT have the level of actual knowledge you need to spew some of the crap you spew...but such is life...I have to "listen" to yours and you mine if we want to interact I guess.
Neither me or my company created the weeks timeshare system which is and will continue to decline in almost every area from rising annual maintenance fees, to declining owner-bases, to unsellable inventory etc. until soon hundreds if not thousands of resorts will go bankrupt. There are two main reasons for this...one is that peoples vacation habits, needs and desires have changed over the past 38 years since weeks timeshare was introduced to this country. The problem is the weeks timeshare industry has not changed one iota, and self righteous ignorant HOA board members and pencil pushing property management companies are more of a problem than a help when it comes to trying to find some happy medium with regards to sales and other revenue programs which are THE ONLY solution to these resorts problems.
The second main reason is piss poor management by people who while they deserve a thank you and a degree of appreciation for taking on the task of being a volunteer HOA board member, for the most part do not have any real idea of the depth and breadth of the issues and items listed in paragraph 3 above.
As I have mentioned, I have been a timeshare owner for a long time and have represented this industry for a long time and at the end of the day I could care less what any of you think of me or the services I try to provide. I KNOW without a shadow of a doubt that I always want a mutually beneficial outcome to any relationship I enter into.
To that point, A Place At The Beach III made over $40,000.00 in the short time my team tried to make a difference there. The Board and SPM threw road block after road block to any real progress being made. They did not renew the contract because the then Board President and I talked on the phone and we agreed that neither of us wanted to continue the relationship. SPM can spin it anyway they want.
Seascape made over $30,000.00 in a very short period of time as well. I made some bad employee hiring decisions including antB05 and we did not get the ultimate support we needed from staff and dealing with unrealistic expectations from the Board and staff just simply was not worth continuing.
Like any other program, system, approach etc. they all need revamping and eventually overhauling at some point.
As the old saying goes, "the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray".
The RCI Points program and the program we offer weeks owners and resorts IS a sound and viable program that has and will continue to be A remedy not THE ONLY remedy for weeks based resorts looking for some relief from the looming implosion they are almost all facing. BUT...ONLY if the HOA and whatever yahoo property management company they hire to "manage" the property will listen to and work with company's such as mine. Property Management companies cannot and will not save failing weeks timeshare resorts. Talk about scams...HA...do some research on what property management companies charge these ailing resorts promising to fix everything...only to see another 10%-20% of the owner base default the next year. But that is another thread...
So here are the answers you requested...
I would ask the company rep the following questions:
1) Are you an RCI conversion broker or are you offering your own small points club?
My company is an RCI Points Master Converter as defined by the contract with RCI. We market only RCI Points based inventory from affiliated RCI Points based resorts. I might also add that RCI is not "pushing" my company or any other.
2) How much are your ''conversion costs''? How much of that, if any goes back to the resort?
In the industry companies charge anywhere from about $2995.00 to well over $10,000.00 for a conversion or upgrade/enhancement to a weeks owner.
My company's average price was $1995.00 and never more than $2995.00.
Of that approx. 50% goes to cost of sale meaning marketing costs, gifting, etc. as most of our activity was done via "road shows" where we would take the team to a concentration of owners in a certain city. A VERY costly undertaking for hotel rooms, car rental, airfare, food per Diem etc. The cost to the resort for our services both on and off site is ZERO! I pay approx. 25% in overall commissions in order to attract the best people I can so that we do not have high pressure sales or misleading sales tactics used...and we do not use either. The resort makes approx. 7-10% per conversion or sale. RCI gets $300 per deal for membership enrollment to RCI Points.
3) Do you trash the weeks-based ownership system in your presentations? Do you claim that points is a superior system to weeks, that ''timeshare is going to points and you had better convert now while you have the chance'' or that ''RCI is going to end the weeks system''.
No we do not trash the weeks system. It was and is a good system for the most part. I was a weeks owner of 4 weeks for over 20 years...BUT...for most weeks owners the weeks they own are simply NOT performing the way they used to and there are a hundred reasons why that is. Our program breathes new life into those poorly performing weeks without the owner having to spend $20,000.00 on the new and improved points based products out there.
Those statement have NEVER been uttered from my lips and anyone who says I said it is a liar...plain and simple. The fact is that most companies are moving to some form of points based program because they are for the most part better in that they provide more flexibility and better use options than traditional weeks based products. The sky is blue whether your favorite color is green or not. It just IS. Likewise points simply ARE more flexible, easier to use, offer more options and in the long run are cheaper as you can manipulate them to more weeks use per year...if you learn how to do so.
There will always be RCI Weeks resorts. And for a percentage of people it works great and there may be no need to change or upgrade. However, there is NO real market for weeks based timeshare sales. That is why combining my program with the resorts weeks inventory makes that inventory more attractive to the average consumer and makes it sellable. IF the board and property management company gets the hec out if the way!
4) Do you try to scare owners about rising maintenance fees or special assessments? Do you mention these topics in your presentations?
We do not scare owners into or about ANYTHING. I cannot speak for other companies, but we do tell the owners what the truth is and how each work. The fact is that most...not all...weeks resorts HOA fees are rising at alarming rates. The catch 22 if a tough one for ALL involved. As the owner base gets older and either does not travel or find their week(s) not flexible enough for them they default. When enough owners have defaulted the board has no option but to raise the HOA fee to keep the resort afloat. That cycle repeats itself year after year. All the while the property management company's who are paid lofty sums to MANAGE the property make almost no dent whatsoever in selling the increasing number of defaulted weeks. As the HOA fees rise other owners who want to keep their timeshares decide the HOA fees are to high and they start to default...it is a vicious but true cycle and reality.
My program provides a viable remedy for existing owners AND their families to get use from the weeks timeshares for little money. Combining my program with the resorts weeks makes them more marketable.
5) Do you falsely portray points as a ''new improved version'' of timeshare, when in actual fact the very first timeshare, Hapimag, was and is a points system and it is actually the weeks-based system that is the newer, improved version?
LOL...you are laughable at times Carolinian...The Modal A was for the most part the first automobile of any consequence, but the 2013 models are certainly the new and improved versions of the automobile...this is what I mean by ignorant and a waste of time...but...here goes...
My teams do not make any false statements to clients whatsoever first of all. Second, we market RCI Points based products from RCI Points affiliated resorts. RCI Points and points in general ARE the new and improved version of timeshare. Weeks timeshare was the industry mainstay for over 25 years. RCI Points is without a doubt THE most flexible, broad reaching and flexible points based system in all of timeshare. Period!
6) If you have a small points based club, do you get people who convert to deed their weeks over to you or to some other entity?
NO! My program creates an annual account of 10K RCI Points then allows the weeks owner to turn their week into more points via a program benefit called Points For Deposit. It is their initial week(s) combined with my program that makes the program attractive to weeks owners. NOTHING regarding their week or their obligation to the HOA changes with my program.
7) Since RCI is apparently pushing your company, what does RCI get for that?
RCI is not and does not push my company or any other service provider company like mine. We have a good working relationship with RCI and RCI KNOWS and sees the short and long term benefit to weeks based timeshare owners and resorts my program and the RCI Points product offer.
8) Do you claim that you are going to help sell HOA or developer inventory (this proved a big fib with Festiva based on the threads about them)? If so what is your actual record of selling HOA or developer inventory (give specific resorts and number of units sold please)?
I am not Festiva. Each resort contract is different. IF the resort has defaulted inventory and wants us to try and sell it we certainly will...PROVIDED that the resorts provides us with the appropriate access to on site owners and guests and supports our efforts on our road shows. I have had a contract with the largest property management company in this industry for over 10 years and we have sold over 2000 intervals for four of their resorts in that time. One resort from the north mid west had several hundred weeks that needed to be sold and because the HOA fee was reasonable and the weeks were worth a reasonable number of points via PFD we sold all intervals for them.
Had the Board at APATB III supported us and SPM would have gotten out of our way we would have been very successful selling their weeks.
9) Do you sell or convert small points packages? This was the very issue that led to so much turmoil with Sunterra, the growth of websites like
www.sunterror.com and
www.sunterrafied.com (both now down, and they may have been .co.uk rather than .com), and ultimately the fall of Sunterra. Small points packages tend to be useless and cause great turmoil with owner dissatisfaction.
I am VERY familiar with the Sunterra model and history. We sell whatever number of points necessary to meet or exceed the clients needs and long term exchange desires. Our product is derived from what is called pure points. We start with as little as 10K points and can grow from there.
Timeshare is an incredible product as a whole, but the past is littered with tried and failed resorts and products. That is why I sell ONLY RCI Points based inventory. While not perfect, it IS the best product for almost any timeshare consumer and will be standing long after other branded points systems come and go. Continued on next post.
PS..After this post I will no longer be on here as Im sure MR DRUMMOND WILL POST A NASTY REPLY. JUST WANT TO MAKE CONSUMERS AND RESORTS KNOW.
