[ 2012 ] Optimal Owner Care

[Jazzman]

Does anybody know anything about Optimal Owner Care? I do know they don't charge an upfront fee and there cut for the rental is 35% according to there website.

 

[jhac007]

Don't be surprised if they come back at some point and have some "management adjustment" you will be required to submit. No....that's not an upfront fee!!!!!!!
I saw where the one person had already gotten $3000 toward his MF's. If his unit(s) were that hot...think what he could have gotten by renting himself.


Jim

 

[bruce727]

They called me today too. They were quick to mention no 'upfront fee'. Kind of makes one curious about possible 'later on' fees

 

[FractionalTraveler]

Anybody who just calls you unsolicited sounds like a scammer to me.....

 

[Beefnot]

How do you define a scammer? Industries/companies that solicit some portion of their business through cold calls? Or those that defraud customers by not delivering the services promised?

 

[FractionalTraveler]

How do you define a scammer? Industries/companies that solicit some portion of their business through cold calls? Or those that defraud customers by not delivering the services promised?

Both examples!

 

[Beefnot]

So insurance companies, financial services companies, survey companies, THE RED CROSS, etc. are all scammers because they use cold calling as one means of soliciting business?

 

[Rent_Share]

So insurance companies, financial services companies, survey companies, THE RED CROSS, etc. are all scammers because they use cold calling as one means of soliciting business?

ABSOLUTELY PARTICULARLY THE RED CROSS AND ALL NON PROFITS AND POLITUCAL ORGANIZATIONS EXEMPT FROM TELEMARKETING REGULATION

 

[Beefnot]

But they still cold call. Is cold calling in and of itself a scammy endeavor? No.

 

[tmata]

Optimal Owner Care Cold Calls...

Hi everybody,

My name is Travis and I actually work for Optimal Owner Care. I'm pretty new working for them. I do a lot of the cold calling myself. The reason why we do the cold calling is because we have found that a lot of timeshare owners are spending points that they don't need to to because they do not know how to optimally manage their accounts.

In 9 out of 10 cases we can show owners how to take the save vacations for fewer points, and in some cases we can show owners how to take the same vacation for half the points... From there we can help owners rent out their unused points thru our partners such as Orbitz.com. The income the owners make off the time share would go directly back to them and they can use that income to offset their maintenance fees, or they can use it to cover airfare, rental cars, hotels, cruises or even entertainment.

When you do receive one of our calls it's just an appointment setters like myself that are trying to set up an appointment with you at a time of YOUR convenience for one of our representatives to call you back and show you a 30 minute presentation on your computer. You never have to leave the comfort of your own home. They stay on the phone with you throughout the presentation and explain to you in great detail what we do and how we can help and answer all your questions. There is no obligation from there to join with us, but you will hang up the phone a little more educated about your timeshare and ways of managing it better.

We really do want to help people manage their timeshares better. If anything I would say check out our website or even give us a call with your questions. We would be glad to answer them for you.

 

[presley]

Nicely done! Have someone join and make an inquiry post and wait a few days before joining to promote your business. I always wondered why so many shills would be so obvious with their all in one day joining and posting. Stretching it out a few days has definitely fooled some of the readers here.

 

[rrlongwell]

Nicely done! Have someone join and make an inquiry post and wait a few days before joining to promote your business. I always wondered why so many shills would be so obvious with their all in one day joining and posting. Stretching it out a few days has definitely fooled some of the readers here.

Oh, give the person a chance, maybe it is as it appears. If it is so, maybe he would tell everyone how to place their timeshare for rent directly through Orbitz, etc. Or, in the alternative, fess up to how much they charge for that type of advice.

 

[presley]

Oh, give the person a chance, maybe it is as it appears.

TUG Guest, you are right. I feel so ashamed now.

 

[RX8]

A couple of questions

Hi everybody,

My name is Travis and I actually work for Optimal Owner Care. I'm pretty new working for them. I do a lot of the cold calling myself. The reason why we do the cold calling is because we have found that a lot of timeshare owners are spending points that they don't need to to because they do not know how to optimally manage their accounts.

We exclusively work with Wyndham timeshare owners. In 9 out of 10 cases we can show owners how to take the save vacations for fewer points, and in some cases we can show owners how to take the same vacation for half the points... From there we can help owners rent out their unused points thru our partners such as Orbitz.com. The income the owners make off the time share would go directly back to them and they can use that income to offset their maintenance fees, or they can use it to cover airfare, rental cars, hotels, cruises or even entertainment.

When you do receive one of our calls it's just an appointment setters like myself that are trying to set up an appointment with you at a time of YOUR convenience for one of our representatives to call you back and show you a 30 minute presentation on your computer. You never have to leave the comfort of your own home. They stay on the phone with you throughout the presentation and explain to you in great detail what we do and how we can help and answer all your questions. There is no obligation from there to join with us, but you will hang up the phone a little more educated about your timeshare and ways of managing it better.

We really do want to help people manage their timeshares better. If anything I would say check out our website or even give us a call with your questions. We would be glad to answer them for you.

With all due respect, something just doesn't smell right. Some questions please

(1) Are you endorsed by Wyndham?

(2) Your website states that you have rented out millions of points over the last three and half years. Why is it that your website was created only four months ago?

(3) With your cold calling, do you comply with the Do Not Call lists?

(4) You list "partners" on your website, are these contracted partners or simply someone that you do business with? If a "partner", they can CONFIRM this if we call them?

(5) You don't rent anything out on your website, you only use other sites?

 

[RX8]

A cold call should be a RED FLAG to raise your guard

But they still cold call. Is cold calling in and of itself a scammy endeavor? No.

I don't think anyone would argue the fact that the Timeshare industry is RIDDLED with scammers. For that reason alone, people should be skeptical of ANY cold call about their timeshare. If that cold call also came in VIOLATION of the do-not-call list, count me in as one that will assume them to be a scammer.

Those that let their guard down eventually end up writing a post here asking how they can get their money back.

 

[WEN-D]

Open-Minded

I just wanted to create a profile and contribute to this post because I also work with Travis. I have been with the company for about a year and I just wanted to say, It is not rocket science what we do, we just take extra points (which you all know many owners have), get them booked in advance at key locations/dates and then rent them out to people who don’t own timeshare who would like to have access to timeshare condos instead of studio hotel rooms.

As far as the questions from user rx8, I don’t necessarily have all the answers but I will answer to the best of my ability.

1) We are not specifically endorsed by any developer that I know of, but work in compliance within the developers’ rules and regulations.
2) I know we have been in business like 4 years (check it out on the BBB), but our website is new/recently revamped.
3) Yes we comply with all state and federal laws/rules/regulations.
4) Honestly, I’m not 100% sure, but I suppose they would confirm if you call them. I imagine they would sue us or at least have us take down the partners claim on our homepage immediately if it were not true.
5) We help our clients manage their ownership, but we do facilitate the biggest percentage of the actual rentals through our various partnership channels (mainly online travel agencies) that already have a big reach to potential renters.

Look I know there are a lot of scam companies out there, it is the biggest obstacle we face as a company being lumped in with them all (and I get hung up on a lot as a result). The reality is though, that there are good and bad elements in every single industry that exists, not just timeshare. Not every car salesman is trying to sell you a car that they know is going to fall apart as soon as you drive it off the lot. I can assure you that we are on the “good guys” side of the timeshare world, just like the TUG website is.

Actually, the management here is a very, positive and spiritually minded group. Prime example, they are currently holding this live 7-week course in our conference room every Thursday night for all employees to participate in: http://evolvingwisdom.com/nealedona...hgod/enroll?awt_l=7z2kk&awt_m=3ZMk1tNmLaap_W1

Also, someone in management usually always speaks out regularly in our meetings with some positive message about how we all get what we give in this world and reminds the employees that our company is built on these principles. Basically they are always just saying what comes around goes around so always put out positive energy and intentions, not only at work, but in everything you do. I know not everyone is going to believe me when I say all of this, but all I ask is that until you find an actual client that we ripped off or scammed, please just be open minded to the idea that JUST MAYBE there is actually a way for a company to make honest money in the timeshare industry where everybody wins and nobody gets hurt/scammed. In our case, it is a way where the owner wins because they make money by renting out there extra points, our company wins because we get a percentage of that money, the online travel agency that the rental was booked through wins because they also get a percentage of the rental, the renter wins because they get to stay in a multi-room condo for a great value, and the timeshare developer even wins because they get non-owner renters staying in their resorts that they can then try and sell a timeshare too as well.

 

[RX8]

2) I know we have been in business like 4 years (check it out on the BBB), but our website is new/recently revamped.

I don't know if you are legit or not. However, there are some discrepancies about how long you have been in business. You say four years.

(1) Website created four months ago. No record of any prior website.
(2) Your corporation was created 15 months ago
(3) Your BBB file was created 2/23/12
(4) Your real estate license, while legit and active, was created a couple of weeks ago (3/5/12).
(5) Very little info on the web. What is there is all recent, including a craigslist posting 3/6/12 for employees to "get in on the ground floor of an emerging internet giant".

I'm sorry, I just can't buy into the fact that you have been providing services in this industry for the last four years.

 

[WEN-D]

Our owner did indeed start on a very small scale 4 years ago with just him and his business partner. In 2010, they had a falling out and that is when he started his own separate company (OOC), as you mentioned. So even though he and the employees he brought with him had already been doing the same exact thing for 4 years, the OOC corp itself was not setup until 2010. However, because of the history there, that is why the BBB approved displaying the original start date of 2008 because that is how long the owner has been able to prove that he was conducting the same business model. And since there is still an ongoing court case due to the falling out between him and his old partner, I am not able to go into any more detail about any of these matters. But I will say that all of your questions surrounding dates has to do with this pre-existing situation. I understand your skepticism, but all I ask is that anyone reading this give us the benefit of the doubt until you can find a disgruntled client.

 

[Beefnot]

Decent response.

 

[LannyPC]

1) We are not specifically endorsed by any developer that I know of, but work in compliance within the developers’ rules and regulations.

This statement, along with your co-worker Travis' remark about doing cold calls, brings up huge questions for me. You specifically call Wyndham owners, knowing what their points portfolio is like and how these owners have been using (and not using) their points. So since "[you] are not specifically endorsed by any developer (including Wyndham)", how do you get these owners' detailed information including their phone numbers?

I have no association with Wyndham right now but I would almost be willing to bet the farm that Wyndham has a policy of not sharing owners' information with third parties.

And when you do call these owners and identify/introduce yourself and/or your company, do you clearly and quickly point out that you are not with Wyndham and that you have no affiliation with Wyndham, or like a lot of these travel clubs that cold call people, do you try to piggyback Wyndham's name identifying yourself in an effort to gain the owners' trust?

 

[theo]

Excellent points and questions...

This statement, along with your co-worker Travis' remark about doing cold calls, brings up huge questions for me. You specifically call Wyndham owners, knowing what their points portfolio is like and how these owners have been using (and not using) their points. So since "[you] are not specifically endorsed by any developer (including Wyndham)", how do you get these owners' detailed information including their phone numbers?

I have no association with Wyndham right now but I would almost be willing to bet the farm that Wyndham has a policy of not sharing owners' information with third parties.

And when you do call these owners and identify/introduce yourself and/or your company, do you clearly and quickly point out that you are not with Wyndham and that you have no affiliation with Wyndham, or like a lot of these travel clubs that cold call people, do you try to piggyback Wyndham's name identifying yourself in an effort to gain the owners' trust?

I too no longer own within Wyndham, but I think that the points and questions presented above "cut right to the chase". I look forward to seeing a clear, detailed and substantive response from the business reps...

 

[Beefnot]

And when you do call these owners and identify/introduce yourself and/or your company, do you clearly and quickly point out that you are not with Wyndham and that you have no affiliation with Wyndham...?

Tough crowd. Ok, what if the answer to this question is yes? What is the next angle to attack? Is there anything that they can say to make you say "ok, maybe these guys are legit"?

 

[RX8]

Too many discrepancies

Tough crowd. Ok, what if the answer to this question is yes? What is the next angle to attack? Is there anything that they can say to make you say "ok, maybe these guys are legit"?

They claimed initially to be in business for four years. When called on the fact that everything about them is NEW, they claimed that they previously did business with a partner on a "very small scale" beginning four years ago. Per their explanation, they can't, or won't, tell us the name of the business they operated under before this one. They simply want us to trust them and give them a chance, in part because their employees attend weekly spiritual meetings.

Add to that the good observation raised by another poster questioning HOW they get their cold calling list just adds to the concern.

After everything is unwrapped, what we really have is a NEW company with no track record other than a couple of "testimonials" on their website (which is only four months old), making cold calls to timeshare owners. Even this company stated that there are a lot of scammers out there. There is nothing here to give me a good feeling about them.

If you are comfortable with what this company has said about themselves, feel free to use their services - that is your choice. Maybe ONE long time Wyndham owner here will come on and say that they used their services and are legit. Until that happens, I think all of these questions raised are legit questions.

 

[WEN-D]

ALL talk is cheap...Action speaks loudest

I tell you what, I am not going to continue to reply to anything more RX8 says since I actually have a lot of work to do and replying all day on this bulletin board does not help me earn money to support my family and children, and obviously RX8 has a whole lot of free time on their hands to try and negatively tear down peoples livelihoods with nothing but negative assertions and assumptions.

[DELETED - Advertising/soliciting business is NOT permitted on TUG. Nor is posting your commercial contact Info. If you want to advertise, please contact Admin to PAY for it. - DeniseM Moderator]

Otherwise, I wish you all well but I must get back to work and am done posting here.

 

[theo]

Methinks thou dost protest too much...

Actually answering the very few specific questions posed would have taken less time, fewer words and less effort than defending declining to do so.

Just sayin'...