# A Place at the Beach III  owners beware Destiny



## shar (Jun 6, 2010)

Last week I contacted DAE to place one week I own in their spacebank.  I have done this in prior years and had not problems.  I then called APATB to inform them that I had contacted DAE and they were approved by me to have my week for their spacebank.  There was a new young lady there and she was trying the best that she could but did not know much about how all this worked.  Apparently no one else from the management company was in the office and she went to an employee of Destiny resorts for help. Unfortunatley he did not know the exchange process but took on the role of "boss" in this exchange process.  James Wilson with Destiny who told me he was the Sales and Marketing Manager was denying initially my placement with DAE as he had never heard of them and that no one who worked for SPM had heard of them either.  My question to him was what does sales and marketing have to do with exchanging?  He claimed to have 15 years in the timeshare industry , but had never heard of Dial an Exchange.  When I told him I had placed this unit with DAE in the past , he said it didn't matter as they were not registered and he was trying to figure out how to handle it.

After multiple conversations including with the Association President and email from SPM, Destiny has nothing to do with the exchanges and Mr. Wilson should not have been involved in this at all. SPM was well aware of DAE although Mr Wilson claimed that was not the case. Deanna Hull is still handling week resales at the resort. Anyone who wants to own a week  or sell a week should be referred to her although this is apparently not happening. To me it appears that Mr Wilson is trying to make himself into a manager in areas that he has no knowledge or right to be involved in at this time.

I suppose that having a blue or white week and the ability to trade it through Destiny may be an advantage for some people, but I also think that red week owners will actually get a "downgrade" with these points.  

Also checked and RCI does not have a points grid for this resort, so I question exactly what is going on here as far as points are really concerned.  Seems to me the owners should have this all in writing , but apperas that Destiny does not want to provide based on Destiny's comments on another thread. I like to see programs in writing where I can study exactly what is being said and not just believe a TS salesperson no matter how low pressure they present themselves. If it is a good program I will be the first to promote it.  So far my experience with a Destiny employee has been anything but positive.  


Shar


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## Carolinian (Jun 6, 2010)

Destiny came on these boards, made a few vague assertions, and has not been back since.  This is outrageous behavior by their employee.  It will be interesting to see if Destiny comes back on to explain.  They need to give this guy the sack.  Fortunately, SPM is a highly competent management company and I am sure that they have got the situation in hand to prevent any repetition.

RCI is promoting these Destiny people with HOA's.  HOA's should be highly suspicious.


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## allsmiles277 (Jul 10, 2010)

*Not impressed with SPM so far !!!!*

I think SPM is not a very good management company so far. I think they are spineless weasels !!! The Board at APATB III seems to be rattled by simple questions. I have called SPM many times and left voicemails for Lance McCall and never get return calls. I have been an timeshare owner at APATB III for a few years and wanted to run to be a Board member. Timeshare owners get 1/52 of a vote so owners of year round units get 1 vote. It may be eons before you see a timeshare owner on the Board !!!!


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## destinyresorts (Nov 21, 2010)

*I am back with head held high...*

Caolinian,

Not that I owe you any responses as trying to communicate with those who "think" they know what they are talking about compared to those of us who "do" know what we are talking about can get very frustrating. But believe me, I am anxious to engage you in real, open, honest, factual debate about all of the assertions you have made. 

My mother passed away on May 30th. I was away for two months dealing with her estate and family issues. Since then I have literally been traveling non stop catching up on company business. 

It is my desire and goal to catch up on this thread and the others that deal with APB, Destiny Resorts, our upgrade program etc. when time permits. 

This is just a note to let you know I am back and available AT ANY TIME to discuss any issues, concerns and or challenges you or others have for me. If those involved keep an open mind you will see that what we are doing is in the best interest of most, not all, owners and certainly in the best interest of the resort association.

I have placed a new Guest Relations/Sales team on site at APB and we expect great results for the owners and association in the coming year.

Please keep in mind that our presence on the property does not cost the Association one dime. Quite the contrary, we create revenue and cash flow for the association and pay for our presence on site.

I look forward to our conversations.

Steve


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## destinyresorts (Jan 14, 2011)

*Wheres the talk?*

I have been back in the loop for several months and have not heard word one from anyone...and interestingly enough not one word from Carolinian...I am available at ANY time. Following is a post I just placed on the other APB thread I know about. It is a new year and we have a great team on site at APB. There will be many weeks sold this year to benefit the Association and the owners as a whole. 

I posted a reply to most if not all of your concerns and questions on both of these threads several months ago after an absence due to family issues. To date I have not heard from anyone.

If ANYONE would like to contact me here or directly I welcome the call/e mail, the questions and ANY challenges you may have.

To make it simple, this program is the best and the ONLY viable option weeks resorts who have rising annual owner defaults and owners who are disappointed with the performance of their antiquated weeks timeshare has to try and breathe new life back into the resort, the weeks they have to sell and to try and rejuvenate the remaining owners.

I am not and my company is not Festiva nor do we operate like Festiva.

For individual owners who are seeking more use options and better performance from what they own, this program is the only viable option in the market place. However, we do not high pressure people in any way. If you see personal and family benefits from this program...get involved. If you do not...don't. If you do not take a look at what the real benefits and advantages are, and I do not mean from people on this thread WHO THINK they know what they are talking about, you will never know if the program will benefit you or not. It is that simply.

I do not mince my words or hold my tongue. I am honest and represent this product and all services offered by my company honestly and forthrightly and I challenge any or all of you for that matter to prove me wrong if that is your ultimate goal. 

The funny thing is, I created this program with the genuine desire to HELP resorts that are struggling to stay afloat and help them avoid HOA increases or special assessments. Additionally, as a weeks owner myself, I created this program to genuinely help weeks owners who want more use benefits and exchange options and overall better performance from their timeshare. 

There is of course a cost to this program. If you are driving a 20 year old Ford that is not performing as well as it did when you drove it off the showroom floor, you cannot just take it back to Ford and expect them to give you the newest model with all the new bells and whistles. It costs money to develop new products and it costs money to upgrade to them. We price this as close to the nub as possible and still make a small but reasonable profit and pay the Association money as well. 

As I have mentioned before, I am a 28 year timeshare owner myself and have made well over 200 exchanges for myself, family and friends. I exchange just like all of you do. I KNOW the timeshare product as whole from its inception through its rough times, growth spurts up to todays products.

I stand behind this program and my products as I KNOW the benefits and performance enhancement it offers rivals even the biggest and best brand name timeshare products on the market, but at a fraction of the cost.

I hope to hear from some of you. I do not get on her as often as I would like, so if I do not respond here write to me at my private e mail steve@destinyresorts.com


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