Group RCI Introduces Endless Vacation Rentals

[cirkus]

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/070814/nytu095.html?.v=93

 

[Timeshare Von]

Oh JOY!!!!

 

[PerryM]

Reality: timeshare rentals is now big business...

This is too good to be true; be still my beating heart.

Here is the article:

PARSIPPANY, N.J., Aug. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Group RCI, one of the Wyndham Worldwide (NYSE: WYN - News) family of companies, today announced the launch of Endless Vacation Rentals, a global one-stop shop for travelers to rent a wide variety of vacation rental accommodations at available properties worldwide. With the introduction of Endless Vacation Rentals, the landscape of the global vacation rental industry will be changing for the better.

Travelers who book with Endless Vacation Rentals will now have access to one of the industry's largest collections of global vacation rental accommodations and will be able to complete a rental transaction as quickly and easily as booking a traditional hotel room.

The new program offers travelers a connection to over 60,000 leisure real estate accommodations, from an established hospitality provider, all with no add-on booking fees. In addition, a rating system is in place to provide quality information on most properties. There is also a staff of experienced and knowledgeable vacation guides, available by phone to assist travelers throughout the rental process. Travelers can make a reservation by visiting the new website at www.EVRentals.com or call 1-877-STAY-EVR (1-877-782-9387).

Endless Vacation Rentals has a wide selection of ideal vacation accommodations, whether travelers want to explore the treasures of Italy, enjoy the renowned attractions and theme parks of Orlando, experience the fall foliage in New England, ski the majestic peaks of Canada, or relax and rejuvenate in Mexico or the Caribbean. Many of the vacation rentals offered make it possible for travelers to benefit from more space, privacy, and comforts-of-home-conveniences. A typical one-bedroom villa includes a fully equipped kitchen, living room, and in some cases, private balcony or fireplace. In addition, many have amenities such as swimming pools, children's activity programs, golf, tennis, and more.

Through Endless Vacation Rentals' new website, EVRentals.com, travelers can:


-- Search properties by destination and view photos of properties
-- Access the company's signature Quick Vacation Search where consumers
can check availability by their selected destination and month of
travel in just one click
-- Book online in real-time with no add-on booking fees
-- Take advantage of Last Minute Vacations(SM)
-- Review top 20 destinations for tips and things to do
-- Have access for specified periods to over 60,000 vacation rental
accommodations
-- Sign-up to be among the first to know about new resorts, specials, and
more!

"Unlike other vacation rental programs that are mostly listing agents for individual property owners, our new Endless Vacation Rentals program gives travelers access to one of the largest global inventories available and allows them to complete their vacation rental transaction as easily as booking a hotel online -- without the hassle of having to make arrangements with or send money to individual property owners," said Ken May, chairman and CEO of Group RCI. "Endless Vacation Rentals offers support and provides travelers the peace of mind that comes from dealing with a trusted brand and a leading hospitality provider."

To learn more about the Endless Vacation Rental program or to make a reservation, visit www.EVRentals.com or call 1-877-STAY-EVR (1-877-782-9387).

================================

The Genie is out of the bottle - you can join RCI Points which spawned the above or you can get heartburn - the choice is yours.

Since we turned in 140,000 RCI Points just the other day for airline tickets to Maui RCI will have to rent about $1,800 worth of timeshares to pay for our tickets. Then there is the rental car I’m going to make today…

I guess there is a method to their madness.

Say what you want about RCI, they have a business plan and seem to be steamrolling the rest of the timeshare exchange industry into the ground. Let's see if RCI keeps renting cheap or were they just blazing the way for a HUGE new source of income.

RCI knows that it can do this without any problems from owners - if you have doubts about that I have a tinfoil hat that I will gladly send you.

II, where are you?

RedWeek – hope you don’t give up your exchange company with this news.

All of this is possible because a Point System uses a currency that allows members to not just exchange timeshare reservations but other vacation related products, like airline tickets.

P.S.
What would be the sign of a timeshare glut - a "Bubble" - waves and waves of timeshare rentals?

 

[aliikai2]

This is going to be great

Have you looked at their pricing?? $1199 for a week in a 1 bedroom at the PK

http://www.wyndham-vacations.com/main.taf?p=1,2,1&destid=6&month=03&year=2008



or $431.20 per night for a 1 bedroom GM prepaid or $479.36 non-prepaid.

Grand Mayan


This may well be the greatest thing ever to happen to timeshare, when I or you can use a link to RCI's rental site to let them learn about the unit that we are renting to them for a couple of hundred $$ less, think of the creditability!!!!


jmho, Greg

 

[Linda74]

If they are successful, we will all see less availability when we trade...(What else is new). I was amazed and some of the properties in Italy, and the relatively inexpensive prices they rent for. Also, they did not look like properties I had seen in the RCI directory, so they must be getting inventory from other places.

 

[PerryM]

All this is perfectly legal....

If they are successful, we will all see less availability when we trade...(What else is new). I was amazed and some of the properties in Italy, and the relatively inexpensive prices they rent for. Also, they did not look like properties I had seen in the RCI directory, so they must be getting inventory from other places.

I once explained how RCI can legally move a week to RCI Points – the abbreviated version is very simple:

ALL RCI RESERVATIONS ARE REALLY RCI POINTS.

Think of it – RCI needs to integrate Weeks, Points, Rentals and Travel Agent trades – how do they do all this? Simple – as soon as a week is space banked it dissolves into RCI Points. Each Week reservation looks normal but just under its “skin” is the RCI Point value of the reservation.

Since what is deposited are RCI Points then they can be used and moved around the various RCI companies - its just a currency. Here’s a sample:

I deposited 4 SA weeks last year and have 180,000 RCI Points – those 4 SA weeks were claimed by some RCI Point owner OR RCI Week owner.

I exchange 140,000 RCI Points for 2 AA airline tickets to Maui; RCI pays AA $1,800 for them.

140,000 RCI Points now flow over to the rental side of RCI.

The rental side claims 140,000 worth of reservations from the ENTIRE RCI system. They could be:

60,000 for a 2BR Red Ski Week
25,000 for a studio Orlando week
55,00 for a 2BR Maui week
Total: 140,000 RCI Points claimed.

Can RCI claim ALL 3 hot prime weeks – probably not – if they did there would be too much grumbling in the RCI Week camp. These 3 weeks must at least net $1,800 rental cash and if RCI can get more they keep the money.

One of the above weeks, the 2BR Maui week came from RCI Weeks – perfectly legal. RCI Travel sent an invoice to RCI Weeks for 55,000 RCI Points which was that reservation.

RCI Weeks is limited to those units space banked but since RCI only works with RCI Points they mean nothing as to which system claims it.

RCI Points, Rentals, and Travel all deal in RCI Points and can take the equivalent number of RCI Points from Weeks if needed.

The system I just described is one I created – I have no idea if RCI does this. If they had half a brain they would.


Just as you use US dollars to buy and sell things so does RCI use RCI Points internally to buy and sell things - all perfectly legal.

Since debits = credits the total amount of RCI Points in the Week system might be 500 M RCI Points - the actual reservations can float around from company to company - ONLY the total number of Points is important.

 

[abc31]

:annoyed:That was nice of them to sucker some of us into paying $149 for "guest memberships" so that our friends and family could have access to extra-vacations via our accounts. This was supposed to save us from having to pay $59 per guest certificate. They marketed this just months ago while they were working on a system to allow anyone to have access to their rentals.

But worst of all, I just did my 1st 2 rentals. I was so happy with the way it all worked out. And here comes RCI with their rental website to wipe out all us little guys. Am I out of business already???

 

[PerryM]

:annoyed:That was nice of them to sucker some of us into paying $149 for "guest memberships" so that our friends and family could have access to extra-vacations via our accounts. This was supposed to save us from having to pay $59 per guest certificate. They marketed this just months ago while they were working on a system to allow anyone to have access to their rentals.

But worst of all, I just did my 1st 2 rentals. I was so happy with the way it all worked out. And here comes RCI with their rental website to wipe out all us little guys. Am I out of business already???

I would not worry about RCI rental competition - if anything more attention will be focused on renting condos (timeshares) instead of hotel rooms.

This could easily draw a lot of attention to timeshare rentals - a good thing for us.

 

[bnoble]

I'm with Perry. This is nothing new---they've been renting units to the public for years now. The areas/dates I checked suggests that this is a subset of the EV inventory, priced at about a 25% premium. Why anyone is surprised that they are repackaging and marketing the same idea in a new way, well I don't know.

But, if more people learn just how horrible hotels are, and how much more pleasant condos are, well, that's good for timeshare.

 

["Roger"]

I was checking out the United Kingdom (briefly) and there is a lot of fun stuff not available as an exchange. I presume it comes from their English Country Cottages inventory. (As such, it might be available through Points, but I have never tried pursuing that route. They have claimed in their emails that such connections are being established/strenghtened? whatever.)

 

[Walt]

Is RCI going to change it's name?

And did you notice the telephone number?

Snap Travel 1-800-338-7799
RCI 1-800-338-7777

Walt


http://www.snaptravel.com/about.asp
Who is SnapTravel.com?

Who is SnapTravel.com?

SnapTravel.com is owned and operated by RCI Holiday Network, Inc. Resort Rental, LLC (Holiday Network) which is an affiliate of Group RCI (RCI) formerly known as Resort Condominiums International, LLC offering vacation rental accommodations perfect for a couple, a family, or a group of friends. SnapTravel.com provides the personal touch with customer service representatives available to help you plan and book vacations toll-free at 1-800-338-7799, via participating travel agents . SnapTravel.com also offers the convenience of full searching and booking capability via the Web at snaptravel.com.

 

[PerryM]

Too many timeshare too? Two of us agree...

I'm beginning to believe my own predictions - "We may be in a Timeshare Bubble". I.e. a glut of timeshares out there and many folks not using them but renting them out themselves, exchanging, and the exchange companies renting them out since they have too many of them or folks want airline tickets instead of exchanges. (They too have too many timeshares)

This will be interesting to watch - but why buy when you can rent the same timeshares for the MF or less?

Don't shoot the messenger (me) or RCI who has awoken to the same conclusion - gluts mean lower prices.

How long before the Drive By Media learns of this too and singles out the timeshare industry for a bunch of hit pieces - it may already have started.

This just means that if a glut of timeshares exists the natural result will be lots of rentals - this happens in commercial real estate all the time - can't sell a building so rent it - so does everyone else and cheap rentals is the result.

Conclusion:
Rent, don't buy timeshares and take advantage of the glut.

 

[timeos2]

Too much so lets build more. Great idea!

This will be interesting to watch - but why buy when you can rent the same timeshares for the MF or less?

Don't shoot the messenger (me) or RCI who has awoken to the same conclusion - gluts mean lower prices.

How long before the Drive By Media learns of this too and singles out the timeshare industry for a bunch of hit pieces - it may already have started.

Perry - Great observation. There is absolutely a glut of timeshares for sale at seriously depressed pricing. There are tons for rent - especially the not quite prime and outright dog times that plague so many more seasonal areas. Yet the developers not only keep building but raising the price on new units. Tie that in with the new unit sales process that results in far too many sales to the uninformed and unqualified and it is an industry ripe for a hard fall. I've always felt that the RCI push to rent - much as I hate it and even knowing that they are playing loose with what is really surplus and what is merely easy for them to rent - has to do with the overwhelming volume of poor inventory they have to take in and try to get some return from. They've opted for the steal the good stuff and try to force the members into the poor weeks method but I have no doubt that overall they are buried in inventory they do need to sell off.

Until the pressure sales tactics start failing and people wise up to the value of resale the cycle will continue and those who paid big or who bought only to trade are not going to like the end result. We may already be witnesses to the collapse of timeshare trading as it once was.

 

[Dave M]

It's easy to see why RCI continues to focus more efforts on generating rental income. That's where the money is!

Take a look at some stats: In 2000, RCI had 2,101,189 exchanges. (II had 634,217). Four years later, RCI generated 3,104,788 exchanges. (II had 858,000.) (Those stats come from RCI annual audits and this 2006 thread.)

However, in 2006, based on info RCI provided to Timesharing Today, RCI exchanges declined to 2,539,963! That's an amazing decline (18%) in an industry (timeshares) that is still growing rapidly! (II was up to 925,500 exchanges.)

So RCI is moving away from exchanges. That's probably partly by design and partly because of unhappiness by RCI members. We can discuss whether the changes are a cause or an effect, but the numbers demonstrate where RCI is headed.

 

[PerryM]

Bubbles burst....

Perry - Great observation. There is absolutely a glut of timeshares for sale at seriously depressed pricing. There are tons for rent - especially the not quite prime and outright dog times that plague so many more seasonal areas. Yet the developers not only keep building but raising the price on new units. Tie that in with the new unit sales process that results in far too many sales to the uninformed and unqualified and it is an industry ripe for a hard fall. I've always felt that the RCI push to rent - much as I hate it and even knowing that they are playing loose with what is really surplus and what is merely easy for them to rent - has to do with the overwhelming volume of poor inventory they have to take in and try to get some return from. They've opted for the steal the good stuff and try to force the members into the poor weeks method but I have no doubt that overall they are buried in inventory they do need to sell off.

Until the pressure sales tactics start failing and people wise up to the value of resale the cycle will continue and those who paid big or who bought only to trade are not going to like the end result. We may already be witnesses to the collapse of timeshare trading as it once was.

There are at least 3 of us now that see this trend.

What should you do if there is, indeed, a "Bubble"?

• Well, buying a timeshare to use for a long time is one way to ride out this storm.
  
  
• Stop playing around with timeshares and use them - don't exchange them, don't rent them out, but do rent instead of buy.

When do "Bubbles" burst? No one can predict that...however:

The very day of the Internet Bubble, Jan 14, 2000, a fellow stock trader called me and bragged how he took a stock, CSCO, and rode it up from when it was worth pennies and he had 100% of his retirement funds in the one stock. I pleaded with him to sell half and diverse in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, but he said the market would never go down but up.

Well on that day CSCO closed about $54 (todays prices- did go above $80 3 months later) and early Oct of 2002 he called me and told me he sold all his stock at $11 - of course that was almost the day of the low and it today is worth $30.56.

Don't try to pick the top of a Bubble or when it finishes deflating.

I don't think we will ever know when and if a Timeshare Bubble bursts but when every Friday has the entire Timeshare Industry raising prices you know this is a rigged market.

Don't assume resales will fair any better - they could easily be affected even more.

Just buy a timeshare as it was intended - actually vacation there and you will do fine.

 

[timeos2]

Just buy a timeshare as it was intended - actually vacation there and you will do fine.

Oh my. If only this one simple rule was ingrained in every potential timeshare buyer/owner 3/4 of the Boards at TUG and other TS sites would basically be quiet. Instead of the whining and hand wringing poor trades, high costs and supposed dirty deeds we'd simply be discussing how great the last stay at your resort was and how it has improved as the owners work to continue to make it better for themselves.

Amen and here's hoping people listen and believe what you wrote.

 

[lawren2]

It's easy to see why RCI continues to focus more efforts on generating rental income. That's where the money is!

Take a look at some stats: In 2000, RCI had 2,101,189 exchanges. (II had 634,217). Four years later, RCI generated 3,104,788 exchanges. (II had 858,000.) (Those stats come from RCI annual audits and this 2006 thread.)

However, in 2006, based on info RCI provided to Timesharing Today, RCI exchanges declined to 2,539,963! That's an amazing decline (18%) in an industry (timeshares) that is still growing rapidly! (II was up to 925,500 exchanges.)

So RCI is moving away from exchanges. That's probably partly by design and partly because of unhappiness by RCI members. We can discuss whether the changes are a cause or an effect, but the numbers demonstrate where RCI is headed.

Interesting numbers Dave.

I'd like to remind the membership that Skyauction winners since 1999 were being sent RCI Confirmations and I have always felt that those, among others, were counted as exchanges.


2005 is when it became obvious to people who are obsessive/compulsive searchers with strong traders that the exchange inventory for RCI weeks was suffering.

RCI has always maintained that only 10% of the membership had or used internet access. We also know that the internet timeshare boards reflect a small segment of timeshare owners.

I find it very difficult to believe that everyone woke up in 2005 and said "Wow. I won't deposit my week with RCI. I will trade within a mini-system or rent and use the rental fees to pay for a vacation I'd like to go on or I'll just use my week going forward."

RCI has been skimming for well over 2 years and is now in the process of moving dramatically into a public rental forum to improve the bottom line.

 

[thinze3]

I am an RCI member and have noticed a steady decline for years. The units that I would be willing to trade into, are constantly available as rentals, but won't come up as exchanges. RCI makes a different excuse everytime I call.

Monday I called RCI again to argue this point. "Why do you have this week available for rent, but I cannot trade into the same week." (I have an ongoing search for 2008.) The RCI representative told me that those are weeks that RCI purchased by various means, including with cash, deals with developers and with RCI points.

Of course my Resort is not a member of the RCI points system. Oh well, I deposited my 2008 week with Redweek. Next year I will convert that resort over to II and try something new.

 

[PerryM]

Eureka!

I am an RCI member and have noticed a steady decline for years. The units that I would be willing to trade into, are constantly available as rentals, but won't come up as exchanges. RCI makes a different excuse everytime I call.

Monday I called RCI again to argue this point. "Why do you have this week available for rent, but I cannot trade into the same week." (I have an ongoing search for 2008.) The RCI representative told me that those are weeks that RCI purchased by various means, including with cash, deals with developers and with RCI points.

Of course my Resort is not a member of the RCI points system. Oh well, I deposited my 2008 week with Redweek. Next year I will convert that resort over to II and try something new.

Eureka! Finally someone with some common sense.

This is exactly what folks should do if they don't like a service/product - stop using it!

I know a lot of HOAs are just affiliated with RCI and those that have added II or someone else find tremendous apathy - the 30 minutes needed to join and learn the other exchange is beyond many members desire to change.

Suing or getting an Attorney General interested in the case is a tremendous waste of time and all of it is paid for by the members and the final result is 5 years behind RCI's current plans.

If you don't like RCI just stop using it.

 

[Mimi]

We bought to use our weeks. RCI will never see another deposit from us. II is not much better. If we need to deposit, Trading Places will get our business, since TPI comes through with Hawaii trades when we need extra weeks. When our memberships are up, we will pass on RCI and II. :annoyed:

 

[AwayWeGo]

We Picked Up Some Of The Wisdom Of T.U.G. & Then Outsmarted Ourselves.

Oh my. If only this one simple rule was ingrained in every potential timeshare buyer/owner 3/4 of the Boards at TUG and other TS sites would basically be quiet. Instead of the whining and hand wringing poor trades, high costs and supposed dirty deeds we'd simply be discussing how great the last stay at your resort was and how it has improved as the owners work to continue to make it better for themselves.

Amen and here's hoping people listen and believe what you wrote.

Hey, at our house we're only just up to the 5-year mark in timesharing & already we can see that our timeshare life was simpler (& arguably more enjoyable) at 1st when we just vacationed at our own outstanding deeded timeshare than it became later on when we caught the exchange-points-rentout bug from exposure to TUG-BBS.

That's not to say we haven't enjoyed great exchanges. (We have.) Or that we haven't "come out ahead" in advantageous switcheroos involving renting out our deeded timeshare weeks & staying in somebody else's timeshares for way less via Last Call & Instant Exchange or both. (We've done that too.)

What we haven't done since getting into exchanging & points & renting-out & all that is just make a simple, straightforward reservation (owned or points or weeks, mox nix) & go on vacation. That would be just too simple, I suppose. However that may be, we have only ourselves to blame. So it goes.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​