A little knowlodge can be very dangerous
Well no one knows everything - I certainly fall in that group! Most of us learn something new every day.
As for RCI they are the biggest and thus the easiest target. Heck, I rail against the big boys all the time in other fields and I'm not too happy with RCI either. But I don't think they are the devil. They are in a cut throat business that is in a sea of change - for that matter what business isn't right now - and they are able to take steps most companies can't afford to. One difference with RCI or, in the bigger picture Cendant, is that they are an optional, luxury type provider. No one is forced to use any of their services unlike your local power company or some rather well known software vendors who can in fact manipulate the whole market due to monopoly powers. RCI is dominant but not a monopoly. They could have been if the one time swallowing of II had occurred but the government correctly prevented that.
Yes RCI is a fierce competitor and they are changing the rules in timeshare exchange to fit what they see as the future. Don't use them if you don't trust them or feel they are on the wrong path. I don't think it's fair to paint them as dishonest unless we had verifiable proof. As great as the few inside sources we do have may be we don't know what bias or agendas they may have or what level of corporate information they can gain access to. And I repeat that what may seem obvious on the surface to an outsider is all too often incorrect.
As for other exchange companies being gobbled up the ones listed aren't exchange based but resort operators and / or developers some of which have internal trade systems. They were some of the very systems that threatened the old RCI model and seem to have helped push them into a points system of their own to remain competitive. In the end the model Boca sees may be much closer to the final result. If cash is the "points" used you don't need a broker any longer. If renting and shear numbers of different available unit types are going to rule then the Cendant move to buy up many sources makes perfect sense. But now I'm making assumptions based on an outside view of an organization I know nothing about. Dangerous territory for anyone to tread. I'm reminded of a classic Don Martin cartoon in MAD magazine of a dinosaur who dies, is buried and found thousands of years later. The "experts" of the modern day recreate his skeleton in the funniest way and display it as an example of what the beast looked like. That type of flawed expertise is far too common yet often believed by the masses who simply have no other source for their "facts".
Well no one knows everything - I certainly fall in that group! Most of us learn something new every day.
As for RCI they are the biggest and thus the easiest target. Heck, I rail against the big boys all the time in other fields and I'm not too happy with RCI either. But I don't think they are the devil. They are in a cut throat business that is in a sea of change - for that matter what business isn't right now - and they are able to take steps most companies can't afford to. One difference with RCI or, in the bigger picture Cendant, is that they are an optional, luxury type provider. No one is forced to use any of their services unlike your local power company or some rather well known software vendors who can in fact manipulate the whole market due to monopoly powers. RCI is dominant but not a monopoly. They could have been if the one time swallowing of II had occurred but the government correctly prevented that.
Yes RCI is a fierce competitor and they are changing the rules in timeshare exchange to fit what they see as the future. Don't use them if you don't trust them or feel they are on the wrong path. I don't think it's fair to paint them as dishonest unless we had verifiable proof. As great as the few inside sources we do have may be we don't know what bias or agendas they may have or what level of corporate information they can gain access to. And I repeat that what may seem obvious on the surface to an outsider is all too often incorrect.
As for other exchange companies being gobbled up the ones listed aren't exchange based but resort operators and / or developers some of which have internal trade systems. They were some of the very systems that threatened the old RCI model and seem to have helped push them into a points system of their own to remain competitive. In the end the model Boca sees may be much closer to the final result. If cash is the "points" used you don't need a broker any longer. If renting and shear numbers of different available unit types are going to rule then the Cendant move to buy up many sources makes perfect sense. But now I'm making assumptions based on an outside view of an organization I know nothing about. Dangerous territory for anyone to tread. I'm reminded of a classic Don Martin cartoon in MAD magazine of a dinosaur who dies, is buried and found thousands of years later. The "experts" of the modern day recreate his skeleton in the funniest way and display it as an example of what the beast looked like. That type of flawed expertise is far too common yet often believed by the masses who simply have no other source for their "facts".
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