# Does Starwood Employ Plants on TUG?



## jerseygirl (Feb 20, 2010)

I've spent quite a bit of time lately wondering why Starwood doesn't participate on this board -- have an ombudsman if you will.  It sure seems to me that both angry owners and Starwood would benefit by more open communication.  

Anyway, I did some quick research about corporate presence on message boards and discovered that there is an entire industry devoted to online reputational management!  Who knew?

For example, it costs a measly $3000 to buy 50 "promotions on 3rd party websites" from this company:  

http://www.reputationdefender.com/myedgepro

Among other services, this company ensures the presence of positive comments about your brand name, products, or services:

http://www.easysubmission.net/reputation_management.php

Apparently, one of the "buzzwords" of the industry is innoculation.  According to http://www.reputationmanagementconsultants.com/online-reputation-management/, innoculation focuses on suppressing negative listings by surrounding them with positive, authoritative listings.

Obviously, I'm not accusing Starwood of employing these techniques .... if they are, they may want to rethink their provider .  I just found the existence of this relatively new cottage industry very interesting and thought I'd share.

And, it looks like the pay is decent ... those of us who spend a lot of time on the internet might want to get involved.  (If I suddenly turn into the biggest Starwood promotor on the board, you'll know I've been bought.  )

Anyway ... just today's food for thought ....


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## zinger1457 (Feb 20, 2010)

Haven't read too many positive responses about Starwood recently.  If they are using this kind of service they should ask for their money back.  When I went through the owners review at the Westin Riverfront the salesman talked about TUG, made it sound like all the sales force regularly read it.  The FlyerTalk Forum does have a regular Starwood contributor and he seems to provide a useful service to the Forum, it would be nice if they had someone here doing the same thing.


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## DeniseM (Feb 20, 2010)

Hi jerseygirl - I wasn't aware of the sophistication level of this industry, but as a moderator, we certainly do see a lot of suspicious posts that could be the very thing you are talking about.

Back 6 mos. ago or so, when we had the Starwood lurker posting who revealed confidential info. from SDKath's Starwood Acct., I did a little research and there are more than a dozen Starwood employees registered with TUG.  I can tell because they either registered with, or log on from their Starwood IP.  However, except for the one mentioned above, none of them have posted.

I would think that anyone who actually worked in this "disinformation" industry, would be clever enough to conceal their true identity - but many of them are not.  The posts just don't ring true.


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## Twinkstarr (Feb 20, 2010)

jerseygirl said:


> I've spent quite a bit of time lately wondering why Starwood doesn't participate on this board -- have an ombudsman if you will.  It sure seems to me that both angry owners and Starwood would benefit by more open communication.
> 
> Anyway, I did some quick research about corporate presence on message boards and discovered that there is an entire industry devoted to online reputational management!  Who knew?
> 
> ...



Personally I would think you were taken over by aliens if you turned into the biggest Starwood promoter on TUG.:rofl:


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## jerseygirl (Feb 20, 2010)

Twinkstarr said:


> Personally I would think you were taken over by aliens if you turned into the biggest Starwood promoter on TUG.:rofl:



LOL!  Thanks, I needed that today!   

But ... I do love visiting WSJ and HRA ... really I do!!!


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## jerseygirl (Feb 20, 2010)

DeniseM said:


> Hi jerseygirl - I wasn't aware of the sophistication level of this industry, but as a moderator, we certainly do see a lot of suspicious posts that could be the very thing you are talking about.
> 
> Back 6 mos. ago or so, when we had the Starwood lurker posting who revealed confidential info. from SDKath's Starwood Acct., I did a little research and there are more than a dozen Starwood employees registered with TUG.  I can tell because they either registered with, or log on from their Starwood IP.  However, except for the one mentioned above, none of them have posted.
> 
> I would think that anyone who actually worked in this "disinformation" industry, would be clever enough to conceal their true identity - but many of them are not.  The posts just don't ring true.





I'll bet you do see a lot of interesting stuff Denise.  Wow -- more than a dozen Starwood employees registered .... but none have posted (except that one)?  That's wild. 

Of course, many more are probably registered from home PCs.  I know there's lots of snooping I wouldn't dare do from my company computer!  

You would think Senior Management would want to IMPROVE relations with owners by participating.  When the right person does it (e.g., Craig from II), the members are respectful AND the company benefits by stopping misinformation, building stronger relationships, etc.


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## Ken555 (Feb 20, 2010)

DeniseM said:


> I would think that anyone who actually worked in this "disinformation" industry, would be clever enough to conceal their true identity - but many of them are not.  The posts just don't ring true.



The firms who offer their services to provide positive posts about their client on forums such as TUG will never use the client's IP range, nor register with their client's email domain etc. They will appear as generic as possible with registration details in order to provide as independent as possible toward the forum moderators. These firms are experienced in this manner.

I suspect that the Starwood employees you found previously on TUG were simply staffers (probably salespeople) who have no concept how to hide their info, and were online without corporate approval. 

I wouldn't be at all surprised to find some professional firms providing this service to their timeshare customers, but... I tend to doubt the timeshare industry (and their management) is sophisticated enough to appreciate the marketing benefit such actions would have on their brand, given the marketing and sales process inherent in the timeshare industry. That said, Starwood would do well to hire one, since they've got two black eyes right now.


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## jerseygirl (Feb 20, 2010)

Ken555 said:


> I wouldn't be at all surprised to find some professional firms providing this service to their timeshare customers, but... I tend to doubt the timeshare industry (and their management) is sophisticated enough to appreciate the marketing benefit such actions would have on their brand, given the marketing and sales process inherent in the timeshare industry. That said, Starwood would do well to hire one, since they've got two black eyes right now.



Well said Ken.  And, although I have no respect whatsoever for the management of SVO, the parent company is a fortune 500 company that uses sophisticated marketing techniques (have you ever stayed at a W ... I couldn't come up that many "W" words if you paid me!).  How can they not have an interest in turning the tide here on TUG ... the largest online community of timeshare owners?

I can only think of 3 options under their control:  

1)  Make drastic changes to their current policies so as remove all the reasons for complaints (doubtful)
2)  Participate -- be transparent -- help us understand why they do the things they do
3)  Hire a reputational management firm (IMO, seems most in line with the management style at SVO)

With their financial performance, if I were Frits D. van Paasschen, I'd have four words for them:  FIX IT OR ELSE (with "it" being their reputation on TUG -- I realize that much of their financial performance is related to the economy).  I would not sit back and do nothing about the negative product publicity on the largest online community of product users.  Surely they must realize the impact it has on sales and recission rates.


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## stmartinfan (Feb 20, 2010)

I heard agencies propose this kind of on-line boosterism more than five years ago, when I worked at a major consumer goods company, so it's been around for a while.  It usually doesn't seem to work that well because they don't charge enough to have people really spend enough time on a bulletin board like this to create a believable identify before they start to post things.  So they appear with 1-2 posts, and then make some lame statement that people recognize quickly as spam. 

I'm sure there are companies and industries that do invest enough to make it believeable.  There are also firms that monitor for critical statements and errors of fact, and then post with corrections, identifying themselves as a company representative.  In those cases, I'd think they may head off negative buzz when they legitimately correct erroneous postings by someone, or provide a solution to a problem someone's posted.

Still, it's a good reminder that you need to view with some skepticism postings on public bulletin boards.


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## GrayFal (Feb 20, 2010)

How interesting!

I do know that a Starwood employee reads these boards and has contacted more then a few board members who are then highlighted as happy Starwood owners in the monthly e-newsletter (which for some reason I no longer get - me, a former star!  )
But that contact was above board as far as I can tell.

You just never know who is 'out there'.


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## jerseygirl (Feb 20, 2010)

stmartinfan said:


> I heard agencies propose this kind of on-line boosterism more than five years ago, when I worked at a major consumer goods company, so it's been around for a while.  It usually doesn't seem to work that well because they don't charge enough to have people really spend enough time on a bulletin board like this to create a believable identify before they start to post things.  So they appear with 1-2 posts, and then make some lame statement that people recognize quickly as spam.
> 
> I'm sure there are companies and industries that do invest enough to make it believeable.  There are also firms that monitor for critical statements and errors of fact, and then post with corrections, identifying themselves as a company representative.  In those cases, I'd think they may head off negative buzz when they legitimately correct erroneous postings by someone, or provide a solution to a problem someone's posted.
> 
> Still, it's a good reminder that you need to view with some skepticism postings on public bulletin boards.




More than five years ago -- wow -- I could have been a pioneer!   

Good information ... I'm sure you're correct if one goes with the "budget package."  But, seeing what I've seen on TUG over the last 8 or so years, I think I could make a go of it on a medium-term basis.  Start slow ... build a rapport -- maybe even ask for help (ingratiate myself with the old-timers, the regulars) ....    

Starwood -- My price is high, but I can be bought!  I'll even change my name and my avatar (I've never even held a gun ... just think Fargo is one of the funniest movies of all time).


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## jerseygirl (Feb 20, 2010)

GrayFal said:


> .... I do know that a Starwood employee reads these boards and has contacted more then a few board members who are then highlighted as happy Starwood owners in the monthly e-newsletter (which for some reason I no longer get - me, a former star!  )
> But that contact was above board as far as I can tell....



Gee, I wonder why I've never received one of those calls?  

Edited to add:  Pat, you're still a star in our eyes!


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## Twinkstarr (Feb 20, 2010)

Ken555 said:


> I wouldn't be at all surprised to find some professional firms providing this service to their timeshare customers, but... I tend to doubt the timeshare industry (and their management) is sophisticated enough to appreciate the marketing benefit such actions would have on their brand, given the marketing and sales process inherent in the timeshare industry. That said, Starwood would do well to hire one, since they've got two black eyes right now.



I'll 2nd that. 

And the funny thing is management probably doesn't think they've got 2 black eyes right now.


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## DeniseM (Feb 20, 2010)

Just an update - philyphan does still lurk on TUG and has logged on within the last month.

And at the moment there are 16 individuals who have logged into TUG from a Starwood IP since this version of TUG started in 2005.

Two of them posted anonymously in 2006, but not since.  The other 14 are lurkers.  One  posted a question asking people to compare Starwood to other companies, but their other posts were not Starwood related and there were only a few (less than 10.)

There are only 4-5 who have been on TUG during the last year.

Only 3 during the last month.

Besides philyphan, there is one other lurker who visits TUG often, but has never posted - this particular person only logs onto TUG from their SW IP.


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## DanCali (Feb 20, 2010)

jerseygirl said:


> With their financial performance, if I were Frits D. van Paasschen, I'd have four words for them:  FIX IT OR ELSE (with "it" being their reputation on TUG --



I bet Sergio Rivera knows of SVO's reputation on this board.

Do you really think that FVP is aware of Starwood's TUG reputation?


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## DeniseM (Feb 20, 2010)

I sent Serge a link to the SW Management Poll on TUG, and I think at least one other Tugger did, as well.


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## Fredm (Feb 20, 2010)

Ken555 said:


> I tend to doubt the timeshare industry (and their management) is sophisticated enough to appreciate the marketing benefit such actions would have on their brand, given the marketing and sales process inherent in the timeshare industry.



Oh, I would not shortchange the timeshare industry.
The branded developers are very sophisticated in their approach to marketing and sales.

There is nothing casual about a timeshare presentation.


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## nodge (Feb 20, 2010)

jerseygirl said:


> For example, it costs a measly $3000 to buy 50 "promotions on 3rd party websites" from this company:
> 
> http://www.reputationdefender.com/myedgepro



I wonder how this "service" squares with this recent change to the FTC guides governing bloggers and "word of mouth marketers" (i.e. people who post stuff on message boards like TUG because they were paid, either directly or indirectly, to do it)?  

_"The revised Guides specify that while decisions will be reached on a case-by-case basis, the post of a blogger who receives cash or in-kind payment to review a product is considered an endorsement. Thus, bloggers who make an endorsement must disclose the material connections they share with the seller of the product or service."_

The fine imposed on the blogger for failing to disclose this connection in their blog?  $11,000 PER POST!

I'd be very careful before signing up to work as a "secret poster" for any of these "reputation rebuilding" companies. And, for that matter, if I were an employee at a company I'd also think twice before deciding to post a positive review about the place I work for (i.e. like the guy/gal at SVO who removed our negative posts on SVO's youtube page apparently did when he/she substituted in the comment "I really enjoyed staying at SVR" before removing that comment too a couple of days later) on places like youtube and tripadvisor just to please my boss, etc.

I think I'll just stay with calling 'em as I see 'em.

-nodge


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## jerseygirl (Feb 20, 2010)

DanCali said:


> I bet Sergio Rivera knows of SVO's reputation on this board.
> 
> Do you really think that FVP is aware of Starwood's TUG reputation?



Maybe I'll print out some of the finest threads, someday when I'm bored, and send him a little scrapbook.


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## jerseygirl (Feb 20, 2010)

nodge said:


> I wonder how this "service" squares with this recent change to the FTC guides governing bloggers and "word of mouth marketers" (i.e. people who post stuff on message boards like TUG because they were paid, either directly or indirectly, to do it)?
> 
> _"The revised Guides specify that while decisions will be reached on a case-by-case basis, the post of a blogger who receives cash or in-kind payment to review a product is considered an endorsement. Thus, bloggers who make an endorsement must disclose the material connections they share with the seller of the product or service."_
> 
> ...



Man ... you take the fun out of everything.  I was already trying to figure out how to spend my millions.   

Was this law passed due to stock manipulations?  It's been widely known for years that there are boiler rooms pumping up stock prices through emails, message boards, etc. .... and then profiting on day trades.  Although I certainly respect the validity of the law as it applies to all endorsements, I doubt we'll see a lot of detection and enforcement when it comes to things like timeshares or websites like TUG.  

Brian could add a little check box at the bottom of each post, where one has to check either:

__  I am not affiliated with this company in any way.
__  I am merely an owner discussing my own experiences but am not paid to do so.
__  I am under contract with www.reputationdefender.com and am being paid to say these nice things about this company.


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## l2trade (Feb 20, 2010)

*Paid posting sample*

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
   
This is what my Avatar and signature could look like.  Starwood, do you want to work with TUG folks to improve things for all owners?
   

Look quick and don't blink because this is just a glimpse of what could be instead. 

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

LMAO Jerseygirl.  If they are paying for a plant, they ain't getting their money's worth yet.  :rofl: 

Seriously, I'm all for and would welcome an official Starwood ombudsmen.  If Starwood does this, I promise to play nice.


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## DeniseM (Feb 20, 2010)

Ahhhh...........  Now that's just sweet!


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## jerseygirl (Feb 20, 2010)

Very nice L2Trade!  Love the avatar and all the cheers!  

You know, there was a time when I truly did love Starwood.  Back when  ....


Maintenance fees and related increases made sense
What seemed like reasonable reserves were being collected to cover things like refurbishments (and, heck, that's what the budgets said!)
I was treated fairly whether I used my week or traded it 
I received a welcome call as a resale buyer  
I had my own personal sales rep and was invited to bring "as many units as I wanted" into the network if I just bought just one teeny, tiny EOY unit for $4500.  Of course, even then, Starwood and I didn't necessarily agree on the relative value of SOs on a resort-by-resort basis -- and I didn't see the value in paying $ to get lesser trades through SOs than I was getting via II -- but there were no hard feelings -- my sales rep even sent me a Christmas card -- and I felt no need to discourage others from the retro process if it made sense for them.

If only Starwood understood the value of having customers who are advocates!


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## Politico (Feb 21, 2010)

jerseygirl said:


> Have I ever mentioned that my favorite brother-in-law is a federal judge in Illinois?  I'm not worried ..... he owes me for all those wonderful timeshare vacations I've given him over the years.
> 
> But, Politico ... I thank you very much for pointing out the finer points of the law at hand.  And, I'm with you ... can we please get back to discussing why Starwood doesn't care about its reputation on TUG?



I think Starwood is reluctant to add a rep. on TUG because the rep. would be in a tough spot advocating for the company in a number of situations.  for example, there are too many cirucmstances where it makes a lot more sense to purchase resale rather than from the developer.  We discuss those situations over and over here and resolve them in favor of resale or recission. So, that would be tough fo rthe rep.

Perhaps more appropriate is having a rep. specifically for certain types of complaint resolution and to explain changes to the program and new intitatives.


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## jerseygirl (Feb 21, 2010)

Politico said:


> I think Starwood is reluctant to add a rep. on TUG because the rep. would be in a tough spot advocating for the company in a number of situations.  for example, there are too many cirucmstances where it makes a lot more sense to purchase resale rather than from the developer.  We discuss those situations over and over here and resolve them in favor of resale or recission. So, that would be tough fo rthe rep.
> 
> Perhaps more appropriate is having a rep. specifically for certain types of complaint resolution and to explain changes to the program and new intitatives.



You're right Politico.  It would be difficult (and probably unfair in many cases) for most of us to change our position on resale vs. developer.  But, it would  be great if they had a rep for the circumstances you described.

The old Equivest/Fairfield-Wyndham/Finally Festiva was in a boat load of reputational trouble on the internet ... and the new owners (Festiva) finally got proactive and established an owners' committee to discuss grievances, necessary changes, etc.  You wouldn't believe the differences in the tone of the emails from the Yahoo group (I got out while I could, but I'm still on the listserve for curiousity's sake).  As much as I love TUG, I have often considered establishing a different website just to discuss Starwood issues not related to buying and selling.  An owners' group, per se.  Perhaps if it could be respectfully established, Starwood would actually participate.

Any thoughts around this?


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## Transit (Feb 21, 2010)

jerseygirl said:


> can we please get back to discussing why Starwood doesn't care about its reputation on TUG?



     Starwood and other developer's game plan *still* is to continue to soak vacationers in awe at timeshare presentations. Pack them in with freebies ,tell them half truths and hope they will go for the big package. The pyramid needs new ground stones to keep climbing. New purchases is where the money's at and wide eyed vacationers are still their # 1 victims. Starwood's reputation in the hotel industry is stellar in the eyes of most travelers. They present a perfect vacation experience and once you've purchased your a captive audience with not much recourse. Tug represents a small percentage of owners.The majority of owners do not complain so in reality Starwood still has a great reputation. There is no reason to defend their rotten reputation here. They are smug and content.


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## mkfisher (Feb 21, 2010)

Transit said:


> Starwood and other developer's game plan *still* is to continue to soak vacationers in awe at timeshare presentations. Pack them in with freebies ,tell them half truths and hope they will go for the big package. The pyramid needs new ground stones to keep climbing. New purchases is where the money's at and wide eyed vacationers are still their # 1 victims. Starwood's reputation in the hotel industry is stellar in the eyes of most travelers. They present a perfect vacation experience and once you've purchased your a captive audience with not much recourse. Tug represents a small percentage of owners.The majority of owners do not complain so in reality Starwood still has a great reputation. There is no reason to defend their rotten reputation here. They are smug and content.



I have recently connected with a Starwood insider who confirmed that plants on the TUG sites are standard issue operations.


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## Twinkstarr (Feb 21, 2010)

Transit said:


> Starwood and other developer's game plan *still* is to continue to soak vacationers in awe at timeshare presentations. Pack them in with freebies ,tell them half truths and hope they will go for the big package. The pyramid needs new ground stones to keep climbing. New purchases is where the money's at and wide eyed vacationers are still their # 1 victims. Starwood's reputation in the hotel industry is stellar in the eyes of most travelers. They present a perfect vacation experience and once you've purchased your a captive audience with not much recourse. Tug represents a small percentage of owners.The majority of owners do not complain so in reality Starwood still has a great reputation. There is no reason to defend their rotten reputation here. They are smug and content.



Very good point, the sales office was very busy when we were at SBP last summer. Now whether they were making sales is a different story, but the traffic was impressive. Had a tough time getting the parking pass without signing up  for an update and 2 phone calls to the room about it.


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## jerseygirl (Feb 21, 2010)

> Starwood and other developer's game plan still is to continue to soak vacationers in awe at timeshare presentations. Pack them in with freebies ,tell them half truths and hope they will go for the big package. The pyramid needs new ground stones to keep climbing. New purchases is where the money's at and wide eyed vacationers are still their # 1 victims. Starwood's reputation in the hotel industry is stellar in the eyes of most travelers. They present a perfect vacation experience and once you've purchased your a captive audience with not much recourse. Tug represents a small percentage of owners.The majority of owners do not complain so in reality Starwood still has a great reputation. There is no reason to defend their rotten reputation here. They are smug and content.


.  

I agree with most of what you're saying Frank, but I still think a lot of purchasers, after falling for the pitch, have a moment of doubt and do a quick internet search.  The posts here on TUG (not even counting the RESCIND ones) would give me pause ... 

But, you're certainly right that they apparently don't care.  Based on my life's work and studies, I just can't get my arms around that.  Geez, even Festiva started to care!  And, if the number of surveys being reported on the Marriott boards are any indication, Marriott cares too.


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## Transit (Feb 21, 2010)

mkfisher said:


> I have recently connected with a Starwood insider who confirmed that plants on the TUG sites are standard issue operations.



That may be true but none are openly defending Starwood's reputation or are helpful like the Starwood lurker on FT. Even if they are supposed to be discreet plants none are offering valuable insights that are not provided by regular forum members. If they have an agenda it's not assisting owners here or defending Starwood's reputation. Maybe just spying on Nodge.


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## pedro47 (Feb 21, 2010)

I think every timeshare developer, HOA has someone to review various website like TUGS and Trip Advisor.  I would want to know the good, the bad and ugly about my organization performance.


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## jerseygirl (Feb 21, 2010)

pedro47 said:


> I think every timeshare developer, HOA has someone to review various website like TUGS and Trip Advisor.  I would want to know the good, the bad and ugly about my organization performance.



Me too ... the question becomes why aren't they trying to do something about it (or are they?).


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## thinze3 (Feb 21, 2010)

As a Marriott "outsider" I have read many disgruntled opinions about Starwood's recent changes, but I have also read many posts of the Starwood owners who still love their timeshares. Not once did I ever suspect any poster as being a Starwood insider.

Don't think that these hotel chain based timeshare companies don't read the reviews and bulletin boards. They also have a little pull if they see something they don't like. I stayed at a spanking brand new Marriott Springfield Suites several years ago and had nothing but bad things to say when I left. All I heard all night long were truckers jake-braking through downtown Fort Worth and trains stopping and starting. The beds and pillows were both uncomfortable to boot. I complained to the manager and to Marriott directly.

When I got back to Houston, I wrote a discouraging review about the hotel on Yahoo. My post was the very first review. Within days the post was removed without any explanation from Yahoo. Yahoo then would not allow any written reviews on this hotel for months.


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## jerseygirl (Feb 21, 2010)

Thinze --

That's interesting about Marriott and Yahoo.  Thanks for adding to the discussion.

PS  I love downtown Fort Worth -- in fact, I love everything Fort Worth.  For many years, my dd considered it home ( we lived there from when she was 2 until she was 8).  Despite my best efforts, she morphed into a jerseygirl (hence my TUG name) due to spending her more formative years there.  I'd give anything for her to get that little drawl back!


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## DanCali (Feb 21, 2010)

jerseygirl said:


> And, I once came in first in the 200m Butterfly at the Regional Championships (proudest sports moment!).



I didn't know women competed in butterfly... It's not an Olympic event for women, is it (that's pretty much when I follow swimming...)?


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## DeniseM (Feb 21, 2010)

DanCali said:


> I didn't know women competed in butterfly... It's not an Olympic event for women, is it (that's pretty much when I follow swimming...)?



Here is a picture of jerseygirl that was snapped right after the event - (I guess you can see why it's not an Olympic event?    )


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## TUGBrian (Feb 21, 2010)

non useful posts deleted...back on topic.

to put this to rest completely (other than discussion similar to the original actual question)

Yes, starwood employees read TUG.  I however have yet to see any sort of evidence that any post here in disguise to promote starwood.


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## sjuhawk_jd (Feb 21, 2010)

thinze3 said:


> As a Marriott "outsider" I have read many disgruntled opinions about Starwood's recent changes, but I have also read many posts of the Starwood owners who still love their timeshares. Not once did I ever suspect any poster as being a Starwood insider.
> 
> Don't think that these hotel chain based timeshare companies don't read the reviews and bulletin boards. They also have a little pull if they see something they don't like. I stayed at a spanking brand new Marriott Springfield Suites several years ago and had nothing but bad things to say when I left. All I heard all night long were truckers jake-braking through downtown Fort Worth and trains stopping and starting. The beds and pillows were both uncomfortable to boot. I complained to the manager and to Marriott directly.
> 
> When I got back to Houston, I wrote a discouraging review about the hotel on Yahoo. My post was the very first review. Within days the post was removed without any explanation from Yahoo. Yahoo then would not allow any written reviews on this hotel for months.



Major hotels chains are big clients of Yahoo! and Tripadvisors for placing sponsored links and online affiliate marketing programs. Negative reviews are disappearing from tripadvisor as well (from reviews as well as from within forums that tripadvisor hosts).


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## amundson (Feb 22, 2010)

Lots of complaints on here about Starwood so I would say a valid and possibly better question would be does Marriott, Hyatt, Hilton, etc have plants on here that make negative comments.


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## bizaro86 (Feb 22, 2010)

> Lots of complaints on here about Starwood so I would say a valid and possibly better question would be does Marriott, Hyatt, Hilton, etc have plants on here that make negative comments.



I doubt it. Someone who is turned off by the negative comments on the Starwood board isn't likely to go spend big $ buying retail with another company. In fact, Tuggers in general are probably not a great market, since as a group we're too savvy, and more likely to buy resale. 

Michael


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## nodge (Mar 10, 2010)

*Keynote speaker at ARDA convention next week*

Hey Gang,

The annual ARDA convention/boondoggle is returning to Las Vegas next week!  I figure I’d get my message across with a good ol’ fashioned quiz this time.  Here it goes . . . .

Who is the keynote speaker at this year’s ARDA convention?

     A.       A corporate efficiency guy to talk about ways for timeshare developers and managers to improve efficiency and reduce costs without compromising quality;

     B.       A customer service guy to talk about how happy owners make happy repeat customers; 

     C.       An environmental guy to talk about the latest “green” techniques for effective timeshare development and management;

     D.       A software guy to talk about all the latest off-the-shelf on-line reservation booking systems; or, 

     E.       A “social media” guy to talk about improving sales through effective “word of mouth marketing” campaigns.  

Check your answer here . . . or if you think about where I've posted this information you'll probably be able to accurately guess the answer.

Also, I see that SVO is one of the “main sponsors” again this year.  For someone claiming poverty with us owners, it sure likes to throw its, er “our,” money around.

-nodge


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## lamarjames (Mar 11, 2010)

This may be a little of topic, but I am more concerned about Starwood members being unaware of the TUG website.  I just returned from 2 weeks at KORV during which I attended the HOA meeting (as well as the Q & A session on the tax appeal).  I was shocked at the significant number of people who I talked to that had no idea who Jeff was (when voting for HOA  board member), wanted to establish a forum for Starwood members to discuss relavent issues (again unaware of TUG), and continually requested from Starwood, the HOA board, and KORV/N more open communication and transparency.  Knowing that there could never be common ground with Starwoods on the resale issue, it would, IMO, be of benefit to have an open (moderated) communication forum that would include Starwood members and SVO (if that is the right term).  Again, as a secondary issue, how do we (TUG) obtain/involve more Starwoods members with this website.


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## DavidnRobin (Mar 11, 2010)

This transparency issue is key - as stated often here.  We were hoping to do so by getting a HOA BOD member who could champion this idea.  That failed... next?


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## jerseygirl (Mar 13, 2010)

DavidnRobin said:


> This transparency issue is key - as stated often here.  We were hoping to do so by getting a HOA BOD member who could champion this idea.  That failed... next?



I've come to the conclusion that we need an owner's group (separate website) that only discusses current Starwood issues, such as:


Maintenance fee increases
Delinquency problem -- apparnet lack of activity on foreclosures
Owner rental program for delinquent units
How the Starwood-reserved weeks for "anticipated SPG conversions" are chosen and balanced
II rule changes

We would need to stay completely away from the "buy developer vs. buy resale" issue as that would assuredly prevent Starwood from participating.  This would, unfortunately, require moderation -- posts from owners would need to be screened prior to publication to keep the discussion "on topic." 

I have no website design experience but I'm prefectly willing and able to work on organizing the information (provided our esteemed moderator would permit us to use much of the information gathered here).  And, I'm a fairly "quick study" (could learn to maintain a website once designed, I think!)  If anyone is willing to "partner up" on the website design, please get in touch via PM.


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## pointsjunkie (Mar 13, 2010)

i was at WKV for almost 3 weeks and spoke to many owners and none of them new about TUG. I gave them the info and then went ahead and educated them on the best way to use their timeshares. so many people are clueless on how to get the best value for their vacation ownership.


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## Darwin (Mar 17, 2010)

Facebook has a WKORV and Starwood vacation owners group.  WKORV only has 5 members and SVO has 81 members.


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## Cathyb (Mar 17, 2010)

How do I connect with the SVO one?  I don't use Facebook but am 'registered' (my daughter put me in)  I need baby steps


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## DanCali (Mar 18, 2010)

Darwin said:


> Facebook has a WKORV and Starwood vacation owners group.  WKORV only has 5 members and SVO has 81 members.



I'm afraid Facebook is beyond where I care to go... I'm relatively young and tech savvy but the most I got into social networking is linkedin. Myspace and Facebook just don't appeal to me. 

IMO - a Yahoo group or a dedicated website are probably more appropriate.


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## Darwin (Mar 18, 2010)

Cathyb said:


> How do I connect with the SVO one? I don't use Facebook but am 'registered' (my daughter put me in) I need baby steps


 
Log into Facebook, then click the groups tab and search for what ever group you are looking for, next ask to be included in the group.

I like Facebook for getting updates on my family and friends lives.  But I find most spend alot of time playing games on Facebook.

Darwin


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## Cathyb (Mar 18, 2010)

*Darwin*



Darwin said:


> Log into Facebook, then click the groups tab and search for what ever group you are looking for, next ask to be included in the group.
> 
> I like Facebook for getting updates on my family and friends lives.  But I find most spend alot of time playing games on Facebook.
> 
> Darwin



Thanks!  I read you have to be real careful what you say as future employers could go into Facebook and 'check you out' after your interview if you a a possible hire!


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## DanCali (Mar 18, 2010)

Cathyb said:


> Thanks!  I read you have to be real careful what you say as future employers could go into Facebook and 'check you out' after your interview if you a a possible hire!



Precisely why I think it's wise to stick to LinkedIn and keep it professional... I'm probably missing out but you never can be too careful.


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## Darwin (Mar 18, 2010)

Cathyb said:


> Thanks! I read you have to be real careful what you say as future employers could go into Facebook and 'check you out' after your interview if you a a possible hire!


 
Agree.  But the internet is full of information about a person.  You would be surprised.  Just google your name and see what that brings up.


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