# Timeshareguru and DRI?



## Walt (Feb 5, 2009)

Timeshareguru and DRI 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you saw my post on my Ocean Front Unit problem with DRI and KBC, you may know that _*I was not given a Ocean Front Unit on 1/10/2009*_. Yet, timeshareguru was renting out Ocean Front Unit for 1/04/2009, 1/09/09. 

Who is this guy? Does he have an in with KBC so that they hold open Ocean Front Units for him? How is making money renting out unit close to the MF of about $1050 per unit?

Is DRI allowing the Timeshare Guru to have a rental Business at the KBC at the expense of the Owners that own 1 or 2 weeks?  How can he rent Ocean Front when KBC is saying there is no Ocean Front Category? 

I made my reservation 1 year in advance of 1/10/2009. And I was not given a Ocean Front Unit at Check in. Yet, he is able to rent out Ocean Front?

Walt  

http://timeshareguru.today.com/

TimeshareGuru

Kaanapali Beach Club 1BR SV / OV / DOV Spring Break 2009! Maui - Westin also!
Published by purefct under DRI, Westin Edit This

Description — Diamond Resorts (formerly Sunterra Embassy Suites) Kaanapali Beach Club (DR KBC) Maui Hawaii for 7 nights - Offering 1BR Scenic View, Ocean View, and Deluxe Ocean View for most available 2009 Jan-Apr dates!! There is one Spring Break week at a higher rate. Please inquire about my rates for other units and dates (See below for my pre-reserved inventory, but I’ll gladly check any available dates!). I can provide Studios, 1BR and 2BR units at the Westin Kaanapali, sometimes the Marriott also!

Contact — Peter 714-328-7121, for photos see CaPe Computers and click on “Timeshares”, see below as well as a partial pre-reserved inventory at Pre-Reserved Units!

I’m a Platinum Elite owner and can place requests for you such as early checkin and room preferences! There are requests, not guarantees, but are often honored! The least honored request is for corner rooms (more successful when reservation is made 10-13 months in advance), *but I have very good success with early checkin and ocean front units for the DOV reservations!* You will be my named guest, which means you do not need to attend a timeshare presentation. Please also see my FAQ section just below the pictures!

AVAILABILTIY ON 12-Nov-08:

Kaanapali Beach Club
- * SV = Scenic View, OV = Ocean View, DOV = Deluxe OV which is in the ocean front section of this ocean front resort!
Prices for reservations less than 60 days in advance:
- Most of Nov-Dec! SV $650 PCa
- Most of Nov-Dec! OV $850 PCa
- Most of Nov-Dec! DOV $1,200 PCa
- 01/10/2009 - 01/17/2009 1BR DOV $1,200 PCa 
- 01/11/2009 - 01/18/2009 1BR DOV $1,955 PCa drops to $1,200 on 13-Nov-08
- 01/12/2009 - 01/19/2009 1BR DOV $1,955 PCa 
- 01/13/2009 - 01/20/2009 1BR DOV $1,955 PCa 
- 01/14/2009 - 01/21/2009 1BR DOV $1,955 PCa 
- 01/17/2009 - 01/24/2009 2BR OF Presidential $6,500 PCa - The ultimate 2BR Ocean Front Unit!
- Please Call for Availability!
- 2BR 22-29 Nov-08 $1,600 PC Thanksgiving!
- 12/19/2008 - 12/26/2008 1BR OV $1,095 (PC) - Christmas!
- 12/20/2008 - 12/27/2008 1BR SV RENTED!
- 12/20/2008 - 12/27/2008 1BR OV $1,095 (PC) – Christmas, 1 unit RENTED! 1 unit available!
- 12/20/2008 - 12/27/2008 1BR OV $1,195 (CH) - Christmas, 2 units RENTED! 3 units available!
Prices for reservations more than 60 days in advance:
- Most of 2009! SV $1,100 PCa
- Most of 2009! OV $1,450 PCa
- Most of 2009! DOV $1,955 PCa
*- 01/04/2009 - 01/11/2009 1BR DOV $1,200 (PC)
- 01/09/2009 - 01/16/2009 1BR DOV $1,200 (PC)-* 01/16/2009 - 01/23/2009 1BR SV $1,100 (PC)


----------



## Bill4728 (Feb 5, 2009)

TUG's own Fern Modena is the Timeshare Guru. She owned a web site for many years called the Timeshare Guru.

But it looks like someone else is now using that name. 





			
				Timesharegurutoday.com  said:
			
		

> I’m Peter Chocholak, the Timeshare Guru!  I rent and sell timeshares worldwide with primary vacation opportunities in Maui, Kauai, Williamsburg, Sedona, Lake Tahoe, Mexico, St Maarten and Aruba!


----------



## Walt (Feb 6, 2009)

*Peter Chocholak appears to be MNOP Timeshares.*

Walt  


http://www.linkedin.com/pub/dir/peter/chocholak


MNOP wrote this in Redweek.com

http://www.redweek.com/forums/messages?thread_id=14892;page=3;query=



jayjay wrote:

... What may have worked for you in the past will no longer work for you in the future as any type of travel, including timeshare travel, is in the tank. People are concentrating on the big 3 for survival (roof over head, food, transportation to work) not travel and/or renting/buying timeshares...

MNOP wrote

Just the opposite is true, although I suppose it is perspective. I own about 350 annual weeks right now and make a living at selling/renting. Granted, 2008 will not be a very good year, but I'm still making money and not losing. Didn't hurt that Jan-Mar 2008 was my best quarter ever before everything went chaotic. But I digress ... While this is a terrible time to sell your timeshare it is even more a fantastic time to buy. OK, a lot of people have better uses for their money. *Even I am a bit tight on cash, but that's a little more due to the roughly $150,000 in maintenance I'm going to pay in January, not as easy to pay the big bill in advance as normal. *That doesn't detract from the fact that if you buy good timeshares now for a third of what they were selling for a year ago, you will sell the unit (if you desire) in 1-3 years and make money on it even if you don't rent it for the maintenance. I've gone into closing on eight timeshares this month and if my stocks don't sink me I hope to buy 5-15 timeshares/mo until the prices rise. 

http://www.redweek.com/forums/messages?thread_id=14892;page=4;query=



MNOP wrote

My apologies for my mis-statement. I've booked about 350 weeks in 2008 from my owned units (I've made more than 350 bookings, not all are 7 night stays, not all the units are owned by me), *the vast majority are sub 60 day reservations with Resort dicounted point reservations and a significant portion are "free" upgrades due to my Platinum Status with DRI and WVR. *This of course means I "own" less than 350 weeks but since so many of my contracts are points based rather than unit based it makes it a bit difficult to define (350 studios off season at undesireable resorts are easy to compare to 350 2BR units in HI, but how many units/weeks is an 80,000 point DRUSC contract worth? - 80 studios off season sub 60 day, or not quite two 2BR Presidential units at DRI KBC?).* Technically I own 2.3 Million pts WVR, 350k pts DRI on a few dozen contracts, about 50 DRI contracts in weeks, about 20 units in misc resorts, 7 of which provide about 600,000 RCI Points.* Nearly all my ownership not in points are lockoff units, also allowing me to "create" more weeks than I own. *My effective booking of 350 weeks does in fact set my weekly unit cost below $500,* although it is possible I'm off in my $150k statement - if anything, I've overstated my annual maintenance. I have indeed pre-booked units which go unrented and have fixed week units which at times go unrented but I am very paranoid about this and lost weeks are very rare for me. 

carvana wrote:

Your business model is to buy timeshares in the resale market and resell them at a profit in 1 to 3 years. The average $428 MF suggests the timeshares are somewhat less than average in quality and yet you manage to resell at a profit. You indicated you have eight timeshares sales that will close this month. Is that typical? You may consider it proprietary information that you prefer not to disclose but I think it would be very helpful to the many members of Redweek to know what venue (internet? - if so provide links) you use to purchase, rent, and resell these timeshares. 

I suspect you buy foreclosed timeshares in bulk at a significant discount from resorts using an in-house closing firm and have a sweekheart deal with the resorts allowing you to utilize their services in renting and marketing the resorts. Right?

MNOP Wrote:

Quality is in the eye of the beholder. Are DRI Greensprings, Powhatan, *Kaanapali Beach Club,* Sedona Summit, and Scottsdale Villa Mirage lower quality? They are all superior to most timeshares, but not the best. I believe my ownership definition in terms of weeks rather than units makes a big difference in the maintenance calculation.

*My business model is to buy timeshares and rent them, selling units is secondary.* My point about reselling at a profit in 1-3 years pertains to buying units now during this crisis, treading water renting them out, and selling for a profit when the economy improves. Some people buy stocks, others buy real estate. Some real estate people specialize in residential, others do commercial, you might consider timeshares!

I'm not selling 8 units per month (I wish!), I'm buying. This is a pretty bad time to sell. I troll listings and do what I've despised others for doing - rediculous low ball offers. I also bid on multiple auction sites. I have not moved to forclosed bulk purchases yet as I'm more focused on buying and renting than buying and selling. I just sell when the price is right ... none in the last two months.* Since most units I buy are high point value or lockoff, my ave maint per unit is more like $900-$1,100. I just lower my cost per "week" to under $500 thru resort discounts, upgrades and splitting lockoffs*
.
I haven't been crass enough to suggest an owner pay me to buy their timeshare but a few I've taken for $0 purchase. I bought a DRI Powhatan wk 22 and 50 from an owner for $0 and sold the Wk 22 for $3,000 and Wk50 for $1,000 earlier this year. My last sale was a DRI Powhatan Wk27 for $7,500 two months ago, although I don't expect that to happen again for some time. I have indeed begun to close my own units in some cases. I can do it faster and of course for a lot less money. 

MNOP Wrote:

It is certainly time consuming and beginning Apr-08 I'm making money but I'm not getting paid for my time much. There are certainly economies of scale, and a balanced combination of direct and resale purchases, along with strategic partnerships with certain other owners is important. I know a few other large owners and agencies, the owners claim (not currently) to be charging more than I do for units. Some of it might be their superior sales skills, some exagerations, some could be they market in different locations than I do.* One guy I know owns/owned 1.3 million DRI Club points as wwell as DRI weeks units. But last year he said DRI pressured him to sell units and downsize. In retrospect they might have done him a favor*!
And yes, this is a full time job and I admit I'm not taking as many vacations as I used to. I even have an admin and I work a lot. I'm looking forward to the return of pricing we had in 2007! 

MNOP Wrote:

hey,

i'm sorry we can't reach a concensus. I really wish the anti investment people could at least admit there are many ways to make money with timeshares especially when buying resale, just as I can admit it is very difficult when buying direct, and of course there are less valuable timeshares. It doesn't matter whether we are discussing making money or saving money from renting hotels. I'll leave you with one example.

In 2008 the maintenance for a DRI 19 resort trust contract was $0.0803 per point. There are also Club dues of about $300/yr. If I was paying for 11,500 pts and in Club that amount would secure one 1BR DOV *at DRI Kaanapali Beach Club. Main/Dues = $1,225 for 2008. You almost never see a 1BR DOV for rent anywhere near that amount, and I have very few offers in 2008 below that amount for a 1BR DOV. I usually rent the unit for $1,700 even though I advertise in the $1,900-$2,100 range. Sometimes I'll go lower $100 if I can use a 1BR OV to upgrade from. If I can book the 1BR DOV less than 60 days in advance, I get a 50% point reduction anf then I can spread the $300 dues between two units. This lowers my cost to $615/unit if I rent two units sub 60 day. I have never rented a 1BR DOV for less than $1,200 and almost always I've rented them for $1,300. that's about $600 gross to cover my time, overhead, and aquisition costs (cost of capital). True, I rent a lot of lower point units, but the concept is the same and that $300 Club fee is for my entire account rather than a small franction of what I own.*
Other timeshares are more valuable with higher margins, and of course others are less valuable with lower margins. I stay away from a lot of timeshares because I don't see how I can make money on them. OK, there are timeshares which are bad investments. But there are also timeshares which are great investments, not for the sole purpose of making money but for the enjoyment, rich features vs a hotel, and saving rent/hotel bills.

Any investment requires common sense and care. Please don't say timeshares are a bad investment just because some timeshares are a bad investment.


----------



## Walt (Feb 6, 2009)

*Question On Points*

*Platinum Membership*• 50,000 SunOptions

• FREE Space Available Villa Upgrades, no limit
• 50% Discount on Bonus Time
• SunOptions Purchase Discount
• $20 Reservation Protection Plan ($75 as of 5/07)
• Elite Member Priority Services
• Club Select Discount Fee $99/$59
• SunQuest Group Tour Advance Notification 

Timeshare Guru wrote

I’m a *Platinum Elite owner *and can place requests for you such as *early checkin *and *room preferences!* There are requests, not guarantees, but are often honored! The least honored request is for corner rooms (more successful when reservation is made 10-13 months in advance), *but I have very good success with early checkin and ocean front units for the DOV reservations!* You will be my named guest, which means you do not need to attend a timeshare presentation. Please also see my FAQ section just below the pictures!
====================================================


So it takes 50,000 points to become an Platinum Elite Owner. At the KBC I could have bought 7000 points for $33,000 or a 1 time offer of $19,000. At this price 50000 points would cost over* $135,700.*

From what Guru wrote about buying resale, I'm sure he did not pays this amount. If you can only buy Points from DRI, (so they say), *how did he become a Platinum Elite Member for less?*

I saw this on Ebay. 

Buy Now For $250

This auction is for 5,000 Sun Option Points. 

(This U.S Collection membership does transfer at no additional cost to you!)
These are not deeded Sunterra points and do not come with any benefits like the ones you purchase directly from Sunterra. You are able to use these points at any of Diamonds Resorts that participate in Club.

*So is there any value here?*

Also.

The problem I, and I would hope, most owners (both weeks and points) have with Timeshare Guru is that *he is running a rental agency at the KBC at the owners (both Weeks and Points owners) expense. *

He is using the Platinum Elite Membership *to give perks to non-owners.* 

Non Elite owners are *not able *to name the unit the can get into. He said *renters* that paid for DOV units *have always gotten Ocean Front*. Non Elite Deluxe Ocean View Owners *may or ma*y not get the *Ocean Front *Units they paid for. Non Elite owners would have to *pay extra for late check out.* Non Elite owners do not get a *early check in.* He is even saying in most cases the *renters do not have to pay for parking* unlike owners at other DRI Resorts who trade into the KBC.

Walt


----------



## lv_maui (Feb 6, 2009)

*This Peter C. also posted this in a DRI forum*

From the Forum (I blanked out the phone number he gave):

_Hi,

I'm Peter Chocholak xxx-xxx-xxxx and I'm working to collect members unhappy with DRI maintenance increases and the poor reasons provided to justify the increases. Also impportant is the deterioration of club benefits and DRI actions which are resulting in deterioration of owner resale value. I'm working to collect owner contact info and information, especially documentation, which will support a lawsuit.

Any owners interested in faxing / mailing / e-mailing documents or also e-mailing a description of events during phone calls to DRI are welcome to contact me. I also created Yahoo Group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/drilawsuit to join and discuss!

I can use help, any owners willing to contact / interview lawyers, orchestrate groups to bring our displeasure to the attention of politicians, or simply provide advice are appreciated!_


----------

