TLC Liquidators
For TLC Liquidators, the recession was the impetus for its business model.
The Las Vegas-based company was created to fill a need created by the large number of vacation ownership units foreclosed upon during the recession,” said Steve Pollaro, director of operations for TLC Liquidators.
“We are a liquidator. In other words, several years ago, when the economy got into trouble, a lot of good hardworking owners lost their jobs or incomes. A lot of the first things to go were the luxury items, and those included vacation units,” he said.
Pollaro explained that once developers sell out a vacation ownership property completely, the homeowners association uses dues from members to operate.
“If their member base all of the sudden drops, they can end up having trouble,” Pollaro said.
That’s where TLC Liquidators comes in. TLC has contracts with major vacation unit homeowner associations across the country to liquidate units that have been foreclosed upon or are otherwise returned to the associations.
“When they get the inventory back, they contract with us to find another owner for the property. All of these properties have been 100 percent paid. (So) we’re able to sell them for a fraction of the cost for someone who originally bought them from a developer,” Pollaro said.
“We have inventory that people can pick up for as low as $5,000,” he said of units that may have sold for $19,000 or more.
One of the major selling points for vacation unit owners is their access to RCI exchange points that allow people to earn points on their units but then exchange them to stay in other units around the world. Many people seek a vacation ownership unit where they can get the most amount of points for the least amount of money and fees, said Pollaro, who has spent more than 30 years in the vacation ownership industry.
“It allows us to offer a very good product to people that is affordable to them, and they get a good value for what they buy,” he said.
That takes salespeople. “We’re actually looking right now for additional sales agents. We’re an expanding company,” Pollaro said, adding that the Las Vegas-headquartered company has offices not only in Las Vegas, but also Reno, Colorado, Utah and in the Poconos.
“We’re a fast-growing company — there’s a lot of opportunity,” he said. “We provide a good service to the community, and we provide a lot of jobs.”
Right now the company needs four salespeople, and one of its distributors needs three salespeople, Pollaro said.
“In the next 90 days, we’re going to open up another sales office,” he said. At that time, “we’re going to need a minimum of 13 salespeople, and we’re going to need administrative staff.”
TLC looks for salespeople with a genuine quality about them, Pollaro said.
“You don’t have to have a time-share background. You just have to have the right attitude and right way about yourself,” he said. “The whole thing is to have the ability to be yourself, be honest, talk to the folks, look them in the eye (and explain the product). We have a product that doesn’t need to be embellished. It’s a great value,” he said.
Often, he said, those interested in TLC’s units are already vacation unit owners. “When they see, for lack of a better term, wholesale, they see the value of it.”
In addition, Pollaro said the business model also enables people who may not have been able to afford vacation ownership in the past to get in on it now
“The nice thing is we get people involved from all walks of life. It makes sense,” he said, adding many people can easily spend $3,000 or $4,000 on a vacation.
“Unless you’re going to go home and burn your suitcases, it doesn’t take much to make it pay for itself,” Pollaro said.
I wasn't thinking straight.
