New Timeshare Exchange Company [Proposal]

[TimeshareBarry]

I am a long-standing Timeshare Owner (over 35 years) who owns more than 15 weeks of Timeshare. Yes most of my family & friends think I am crazy, but there is 'method in the madness'. All my weeks are 'Peak Weeks' in 'High-Demand' locations, and I actually generate positive cash-flow and revenue (i.e. profit) by renting these out via AirBnB, Host-Away, TUG, etc. as well as my own direct rental website. To me there is a great opportunity here to buy or acquire peak weeks at high demand location at very low cost (sometimes zero dollars), but it is a risky business, as if I don't manage to rent these weeks, I am still 'on the hook' for those dreaded maintenance fees, and that is a big negative here. Hence I have been exploring ways of mitigating that risk, which caused me to take a good, long look at the Timeshare Exchange Business and the existing Timeshare Exchange Companies.

So here's my question to all Timeshare Owners.

Would you consider joining a Timeshare Exchange Company that offered the following benefits?

1) A choice of a (i) A Subscription Free Membership (i.e. you'd pay only for successful exchanges), or (ii) A Low-Subscription Fee and a Low Exchange Fee, or (iii) a Moderate Exchange Fee and Zero Exchange Fee (you'd get to change your Selected 'Plan' each year).

2) The Exchange System would be based on a 'Points System' whereby you'd be allocated 'Exchange Points' when you deposited your 'interval', and charged 'Exchange Points' when you withdrew an 'interval'. Intervals could be in days or weeks. Some Intervals may require payment of a separate 'Housekeeping Fee' (but this would be disclosed upfront on the Exchange Website when searching for potential exchange inventory). At some resorts, only Week Intervals would be available. Exchange Points allocated to an Interval would depend on the Interval Demand Season, Location, Resort Quality, Unit Size and Deposit Time and Withdraw Time (i.e. Intervals Deposited well in advance would be allocated more Exchange Points, and Intervals Withdrawn closer to their Occupancy Date would require less Exchange Points). The Exchange Points allocation system would also be 'Supply/Demand and Rating Dynamic' meaning that the Points Allocated to an Interval may change over time based on Supply/Demand and Rating changes, with a goal of maximizing occupancy rates (and would be algorithmically determined), but once an interval had been deposited, the Exchange Points credited to the member would not change.

 

[DeniseM]

Hard NO - unknown exchange companies will not be affiliated with the top resorts and therefore will not receive bulk deposits from the top resorts.

And if you are promoting something like that - don't do it on TUG.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

I would want zero fee upfront and want to see what's available online before I make an instant exchange.

 

[TimeshareBarry]

I am a long-standing Timeshare Owner (over 35 years) who owns more than 15 weeks of Timeshare. Yes most of my family & friends think I am crazy, but there is 'method in the madness'. All my weeks are 'Peak Weeks' in 'High-Demand' locations, and I actually generate positive cash-flow and revenue (i.e. profit) by renting these out via AirBnB, Host-Away, TUG, etc. as well as my own direct rental website. To me there is a great opportunity here to buy or acquire peak weeks at high demand location at very low cost (sometimes zero dollars), but it is a risky business, as if I don't manage to rent these weeks, I am still 'on the hook' for those dreaded maintenance fees, and that is a big negative here. Hence I have been exploring ways of mitigating that risk, which caused me to take a good, long look at the Timeshare Exchange Business and the existing Timeshare Exchange Companies.

So here's my question to all Timeshare Owners.

Would you consider joining a Timeshare Exchange Company that offered the following benefits?

1) A choice of a (i) A Subscription Free Membership (i.e. you'd pay only for successful exchanges), or (ii) A Low-Subscription Fee and a Low Exchange Fee, or (iii) a Moderate Exchange Fee and Zero Exchange Fee (you'd get to change your Selected 'Plan' each year).

2) The Exchange System would be based on a 'Points System' whereby you'd be allocated 'Exchange Points' when you deposited your 'interval', and charged 'Exchange Points' when you withdrew an 'interval'. Intervals could be in days or weeks. Some Intervals may require payment of a separate 'Housekeeping Fee' (but this would be disclosed upfront on the Exchange Website when searching for potential exchange inventory). At some resorts, only Week Intervals would be available. Exchange Points allocated to an Interval would depend on the Interval Demand Season, Location, Resort Quality, Unit Size and Deposit Time and Withdraw Time (i.e. Intervals Deposited well in advance would be allocated more Exchange Points, and Intervals Withdrawn closer to their Occupancy Date would require less Exchange Points). The Exchange Points allocation system would also be 'Supply/Demand and Rating Dynamic' meaning that the Points Allocated to an Interval may change over time based on Supply/Demand and Rating changes, with a goal of maximizing occupancy rates (and would be algorithmically determined), but once an interval had been deposited, the Exchange Points credited to the member would not change.

I am a long-standing Timeshare Owner (over 35 years) who owns more than 15 weeks of Timeshare. Yes most of my family & friends think I am crazy, but there is 'method in the madness'. All my weeks are 'Peak Weeks' in 'High-Demand' locations, and I actually generate positive cash-flow and revenue (i.e. profit) by renting these out via AirBnB, Host-Away, TUG, etc. as well as my own direct rental website. To me there is a great opportunity here to buy or acquire peak weeks at high demand location at very low cost (sometimes zero dollars), but it is a risky business, as if I don't manage to rent these weeks, I am still 'on the hook' for those dreaded maintenance fees, and that is a big negative here. Hence I have been exploring ways of mitigating that risk, which caused me to take a good, long look at the Timeshare Exchange Business and the existing Timeshare Exchange Companies.

So here's my question to all Timeshare Owners.

Would you consider joining a Timeshare Exchange Company that offered the following benefits?

1) A choice of a (i) A Subscription Free Membership (i.e. you'd pay only for successful exchanges), or (ii) A Low-Subscription Fee and a Low Exchange Fee, or (iii) a Moderate Exchange Fee and Zero Exchange Fee (you'd get to change your Selected 'Plan' each year).

2) The Exchange System would be based on a 'Points System' whereby you'd be allocated 'Exchange Points' when you deposited your 'interval', and charged 'Exchange Points' when you withdrew an 'interval'. Intervals could be in days or weeks. Some Intervals may require payment of a separate 'Housekeeping Fee' (but this would be disclosed upfront on the Exchange Website when searching for potential exchange inventory). At some resorts, only Week Intervals would be available. Exchange Points allocated to an Interval would depend on the Interval Demand Season, Location, Resort Quality, Unit Size and Deposit Time and Withdraw Time (i.e. Intervals Deposited well in advance would be allocated more Exchange Points, and Intervals Withdrawn closer to their Occupancy Date would require less Exchange Points). The Exchange Points allocation system would also be 'Supply/Demand and Rating Dynamic' meaning that the Points Allocated to an Interval may change over time based on Supply/Demand and Rating changes, with a goal of maximizing occupancy rates (and would be algorithmically determined), but once an interval had been deposited, the Exchange Points credited to the member would not change.

Hard NO - unknown exchange companies will not be affiliated with the top resorts and therefore will not receive bulk deposits from the top resorts.

And if you are promoting something like that - don't do it on TUG.

Hi Denise. I welcome your skepticism but your comment is effectively anti-competitive and entrenches the duopolistic position of the two dominant exchange companies (i.e. II and RCI) and is an innovation killer. If the purpose of TUG is to advance the benefits of Timeshare Ownership then you should be encouraging and not throwing 'cold water' on innovating ideas. The purpose of my post is to gain TUG Member Feedback as to an idea I am toying with. Unfortunately if other members are as negative, pre-judgmental and closed-minded as you appear to be, then posting hereon is probably going to be a waste of my time, but I am hoping that will not be the case. Thank you anyway for your response.

 

[VacationForever]

I am totally uninterested in such an exchange company. It takes decades for where RCI and II to get to where they are. Since I am only want to exchange into other high end brands where they do bulk deposits, why in the world would I go outside of II.

You ARE wasting your time.

 

[DeniseM]

Facts: Marriott, Westin, Hilton, Hyatt, Disney, and the other big systems are affiliated with II and RCI. There are already several other minor exchange companies and they get deposits from lower level resorts. I don't see any demand for another minor exchange company.

 

[bnoble]

Would you consider joining a Timeshare Exchange Company that offered the following benefits?

No.

There are already a good half-dozen smaller timeshare exchanges that operate at low cost and have flexible exchange rules. Some of them have some specific niches within which they work well, but none of them offer enough inventory for me to consider paying attention to them. Timeshare exchanges depend on the "network effect"--the value to each existing member goes up with each new member who joins. Conversely, a new exchange has almost no value to the early adopters.

The only way out of this is to seed the exchange with developer inventory. What developer is going to throw inventory into an unproven exchange system with no established user base? Possibly even worse: the user base chose the exchange because it was cheap. But the point of seeding by a developer is to generate a new stream of tour traffic. There is a reason that e.g. Vidanta saves their top-end deposits for more expensive exchange systems.

 

[TimeshareBarry]

I am totally uninterested in such an exchange company. It takes decades for where RCI and II to get to where they are. Since I am only want to exchange into other high end brands where they do bulk deposits, why in the world would I go outside of II.

You ARE wasting your time.

Thank you for your option. As one of the founders of Netflix said 'There are only bad ideas, until they are good ideas'.

 

[TimeshareBarry]

No.

There are already a good half-dozen smaller timeshare exchanges that operate at low cost and have flexible exchange rules. Some of them have some specific niches within which they work well, but none of them offer enough inventory for me to consider paying attention to them. Timeshare exchanges depend on the "network effect"--the value to each existing member goes up with each new member who joins. Conversely, a new exchange has almost no value to the early adopters.

The only way out of this is to seed the exchange with developer inventory. What developer is going to throw inventory into an unproven exchange system with no established user base? Possibly even worse: the user base chose the exchange because it was cheap. But the point of seeding by a developer is to generate a new stream of tour traffic. There is a reason that e.g. Vidanta saves their top-end deposits for more expensive exchange systems.

Fair point. 'Critical Mass' is a very relevant point and there would need to be incentives and/or strategies to get Owners and/or Developers to contribute inventory to such a new exchange company. Let's assume for a minute that such strategies existed and were viable. Given that assumption, would you be interested in participating in an Exchange Company that offered much greater flexibility and at lower cost than what is currently offered by all other competitors?

 

[hapstersmom]

No. No track record, odd scheme, no resort affiliations means I am at the mercy of you getting a substantial membership to get any trades I might want. I'm fine with my access to II and RCI, I do very well with my trades there.

 

[TimeshareBarry]

I would want zero fee upfront and want to see what's available online before I make an instant exchange.

That sounds very reasonable, and yes, this system would offer a 'free' membership category with access to view inventory prior to deposit.

 

[djyamyam]

Would you consider joining a Timeshare Exchange Company that offered the following benefits?

1) A choice of a (i) A Subscription Free Membership (i.e. you'd pay only for successful exchanges), or (ii) A Low-Subscription Fee and a Low Exchange Fee, or (iii) a Moderate Exchange Fee and Zero Exchange Fee (you'd get to change your Selected 'Plan' each year).

2) The Exchange System would be based on a 'Points System' whereby you'd be allocated 'Exchange Points' when you deposited your 'interval', and charged 'Exchange Points' when you withdrew an 'interval'. Intervals could be in days or weeks. Some Intervals may require payment of a separate 'Housekeeping Fee' (but this would be disclosed upfront on the Exchange Website when searching for potential exchange inventory). At some resorts, only Week Intervals would be available. Exchange Points allocated to an Interval would depend on the Interval Demand Season, Location, Resort Quality, Unit Size and Deposit Time and Withdraw Time (i.e. Intervals Deposited well in advance would be allocated more Exchange Points, and Intervals Withdrawn closer to their Occupancy Date would require less Exchange Points). The Exchange Points allocation system would also be 'Supply/Demand and Rating Dynamic' meaning that the Points Allocated to an Interval may change over time based on Supply/Demand and Rating changes, with a goal of maximizing occupancy rates (and would be algorithmically determined), but once an interval had been deposited, the Exchange Points credited to the member would not change.

Unless you have significant "seed inventory" and a constant supply of non-member inventory, your proposal won't fly. As mentioned by others, the big two have regular developer inventory from the major hotel chains as well as established regular individual membership inventory from years of tenure.

Even the above big two have taken major hits to inventory as the hotel chains have developed their own in-house exchange or point programs. And they don't do it solo either as they need to dump inventory to the big two.

The other second tier exchange companies all have excess resort inventory from specialized relationships or geographical niches (e.g. TP Maui - Maui Lea, HTSE - Lawai Beach Resort, Trading Places - Maui Schooner, Kahana Villa, IPV,etc, SFX - various San Fran resorts, Platinum Interchange - Jockey Club, GPX - GPR group of resorts). Those exchange companies that didn't get enough seed inventory didn't have the momentum to generate individual member deposits and died out or got swallowed up by others.

Even private exchange home programs (like Thirdhome) all have developer inventory as seed inventory (their various "affiliate organizations).

If you only have member inventory, don't even bother. This isn't one of those "if you build it, they will come" scenarios. It's more like, "show me the money!"

 

[4TimeAway]

That sounds very reasonable, and yes, this system would offer a 'free' membership category with access to view inventory prior to deposit.

If you have money to start something like this, you're better off buying an existing company to make it better.

If you don't have the money..... you'll end up burning someone or many people.

I just don't see the margins in the business and wouldn't waste my time. YMMV.

 

[TimeshareBarry]

Unless you have significant "seed inventory" and a constant supply of non-member inventory, your proposal won't fly. As mentioned by others, the big two have regular developer inventory from the major hotel chains as well as established regular individual membership inventory from years of tenure.

Even the above big two have taken major hits to inventory as the hotel chains have developed their own in-house exchange or point programs. And they don't do it solo either as they need to dump inventory to the big two.

The other second tier exchange companies all have excess resort inventory from specialized relationships or geographical niches (e.g. TP Maui - Maui Lea, HTSE - Lawai Beach Resort, Trading Places - Maui Schooner, Kahana Villa, IPV,etc, SFX - various San Fran resorts, Platinum Interchange - Jockey Club, GPX - GPR group of resorts). Those exchange companies that didn't get enough seed inventory didn't have the momentum to generate individual member deposits and died out or got swallowed up by others.

Even private exchange home programs (like Thirdhome) all have developer inventory as seed inventory (their various "affiliate organizations).

If you only have member inventory, don't even bother. This isn't one of those "if you build it, they will come" scenarios. It's more like, "show me the money!"

Comments note. Thanks for you input.

 

[TimeshareBarry]

If you have money to start something like this, you're better off buying an existing company to make it better.

If you don't have the money..... you'll end up burning someone or many people.

I just don't see the margins in the business and wouldn't waste my time. YMMV.

Thanks for your comments.

 

[escanoe]

I am a long-standing Timeshare Owner (over 35 years) who owns more than 15 weeks of Timeshare. Yes most of my family & friends think I am crazy, but there is 'method in the madness'. All my weeks are 'Peak Weeks' in 'High-Demand' locations, and I actually generate positive cash-flow and revenue (i.e. profit) by renting these out via AirBnB, Host-Away, TUG, etc. as well as my own direct rental website.

I take you at your word but am surprised with your experience that you only created a TUG account this week.

Some thoughts:

1) Exchange fees are ridiculously high in RCI and to a slightly lesser extent in II. I would prefer a model where exchange fees are considerably lower, even if this involved paying a higher membership fee for those that were heavy exchangers.

2) I agree with you that RCI and II basic have a duopoly. The lack of competition has caused them to be fat and lazy and not need to invest in digital technology to lower exchange (transaction) costs.

3) I believe if a company developed a good digital exchange that resorts would affiliate and bulk deposits would follow.

4) Before #3 happens, RCI or II (or their larger parent companies that own Wyndham and Marriott) would likely buy their emerging competitor.

5) For those that have followed my posts on TUG, you know my high hopes to see more competition injected into the exchange business in the short term involves a desire/belief that Hilton Grand Vacations will expand Destination Exchange into a full-fledged, available to the public exchange. It would be smart for them to do this rather than propping up Wyndham's RCI platform and bleeding dollars they could capture. And with them controlling HGVC, Diamond, and Blue Green they can create their own demand and supply of bulk deposits.

 

[TimeshareBarry]

I take you at your word but am surprised with your experience that you only created a TUG account this week.

Some thoughts:

1) Exchange fees are ridiculously high in RCI and to a slightly lesser extent in II. I would prefer a model where exchange fees are considerably lower, even if this involved paying a higher membership fee for those that were heavy exchangers.

2) I agree with you that RCI and II basic have a duopoly. The lack of competition has caused them to be fat and lazy and not need to invest in digital technology to lower exchange (transaction) costs.

3) I believe if a company developed a good digital exchange that resorts would affiliate and bulk deposits would follow.

4) Before #3 happens, RCI or II (or their larger parent companies that own Wyndham and Marriott) would likely buy their emerging competitor.

5) For those that have followed my posts on TUG, you know my high hopes to see more competition injected into the exchange business in the short term involves a desire/belief that Hilton Grand Vacations will expand Destination Exchange into a full-fledged, available to the public exchange. It would be smart for them to do this rather than propping up Wyndham's RCI platform and bleeding dollars they could capture. And with them controlling HGVC, Diamond, and Blue Green they can create their own demand and supply of bulk deposits.

Thanks for your constructive feedback. I have been a TUG Member, on and off, for many years (actually decades), but have had different user names/e-mail addresses from time-to-time.

RCI has not done any real innovating since they introduced their 'Points System', which was based on a system tested by RCI South Africa, in the mid 1990's, which was based on some Points Vacation Clubs in South Africa, who in turn borrowed this concept from Hapimag in Germany, who were the real pioneers of the 'Points System' (dating back to 1963). See https://www.hapimag.com/en-gb/company/about-us/

Anyway the world has changed a lot since Jon and Christel De Haan started RCI exchanging Condominium Units with shoe-boxes as filing cabinets back in 1974, but the two behemoths have grown fat and lazy, protected from competition by their dominance of the exchange business and the perceived 'critical mass' barrier that most who have responded to my post seem to be dissuaded by.

Fortunately the world has changed and continues to change, and the availability of Rapid Web-Based Development Tools and AI Coding is changing the cost and speed with which new Database Application can be developed and deployed. So this lowers the barriers to entry. Additionally, as you note, there are a lot of Vacation Clubs now both in the US, Europe and other Developed economies that could enable cross-club exchanges that would effectively negate the need for traditional Deposit/Withdraw type Exchange Systems like RCI and II, which were both modelled on the older traditional 'Week-for-Week' trade (and on top of which RCI simply layered their Points System). There are also a lot of other opportunities which I'll not go into here, but put simply, with the right 'mouse-trap', I see the potential for a more robust and lower cost Points-Based Vacation Trading System ... but talk in cheap ... so let me leave this unfinished ...

 

[escanoe]

As much as I hope for a better, more modern, more affordable alternative to RCI and II — probably the the best thing to result from a strong competitor entering the market would come from the current two companies being forced to get their act together.

While my heart is with @TimeshareBarry on this thread, my view is it will take a large, well-resourced company to have the resources (not just cash) to pull this off.

I am resigned to the fact that for the foreseeable future all major exchanges will be owned by mini-systems. Not good, but it is the world as I see it.

Thanks for your constructive feedback. I have been a TUG Member, on and off, for many years (actually decades), but have had different user names/e-mail addresses from time-to-time.

RCI has not done any real innovating since they introduced their 'Points System', which was based on a system tested by RCI South Africa, in the mid 1990's, which was based on some Points Vacation Clubs in South Africa, who in turn borrowed this concept from Hapimag in Germany, who were the real pioneers of the 'Points System' (dating back to 1963). See https://www.hapimag.com/en-gb/company/about-us/

Anyway the world has changed a lot since Jon and Christel De Haan started RCI exchanging Condominium Units with shoe-boxes as filing cabinets back in 1974, but the two behemoths have grown fat and lazy, protected from competition by their dominance of the exchange business and the perceived 'critical mass' barrier that most who have responded to my post seem to be dissuaded by.

Fortunately the world has changed and continues to change, and the availability of Rapid Web-Based Development Tools and AI Coding is changing the cost and speed with which new Database Application can be developed and deployed. So this lowers the barriers to entry. Additionally, as you note, there are a lot of Vacation Clubs now both in the US, Europe and other Developed economies that could enable cross-club exchanges that would effectively negate the need for traditional Deposit/Withdraw type Exchange Systems like RCI and II, which were both modelled on the older traditional 'Week-for-Week' trade (and on top of which RCI simply layered their Points System). There are also a lot of other opportunities which I'll not go into here, but put simply, with the right 'mouse-trap', I see the potential for a more robust and lower cost Points-Based Vacation Trading System ... but talk in cheap ... so let me leave this unfinished ...

 

[b2bailey]

By saying you would allocate points as a basis for exchanges -- you automatically remove the 'thrill of the chase' -- for folks like me who wait and watch for exchanges that are an up tick from what we own.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

In the old days, even the "name brand" timeshare operations sold individual weeks. If you wanted to go anyplace else, even to another property of the same "brand". you had to go through an exchange company. In some cases the developer had worked out preferences with the exchange company, so that owners at one of their resorts would get first crack at inventory from other resorts in the same family.

When these resort operators created their internal trade systems or clubs, I believe one big motivator was to capture for themselves the money that was going to the exchange companies. First, owners would pay an added fee to be part of this new internal exchange system. That was like the annual membership fee charged by the exchange company. Some them also charged a fee for trading into another resort - so now they are capturing the exchange fee as well. Owners still had the option of trading through RCI or II, but then they would pay another exchange fee on top of that. Some systems (such as Diamond) included membership in an exchange as part of their internal Club membership.

When Diamond created DEX, they just took this one step further. Now Diamond became the exchange company, and Diamond was collecting all of the revenue generated by owners wanting to make exchanges. I expect that if DEX gets solid footing (and it appears to be), other timeshare systems are going to do the same thing.

Of course, some (perhaps, most) of the inventory that DEX gets is coming from outside exchange companies. So they haven't been cut out of the loop entirely.

But in starting up a new company, I think you need to have a clear idea of how you can fit within that terrain. There might be a niche to fill for an exchange company that can bridge among a network of independent resorts - so that the resorts in the group can function like a club of their own. And in the process they could recover for their top line some of the money that their owners are spending on exchange companies. A close analogy might be the VRIety program that used to operate among the resorts operated by Vacation Resorts International. (This program get merged into Trading Places.)

 

[TimeshareBarry]

By saying you would allocate points as a basis for exchanges -- you automatically remove the 'thrill of the chase' -- for folks like me who wait and watch for exchanges that are an up tick from what we own.

The Points 'Charged' for Interval 'Withdrawal' would be dynamic and 'Yield Management' determined, with the purpose of maximizing occupancy rates, so astute Members who were prepared to 'roll the dice' and wait closer to occupancy dates (or book lower demand inventory way in advance), could still find really good 'bargains' ('dynamic yield management pricing' would actually enhance these opportunities). Most airlines and event some hotels use 'Dynamic Yield Management' pricing models to fly their planes at near 100% occupancy ('an empty seat is lost revenue'). Last year I snagged a one-way flight from Atlanta to Denver on Frontier for 27c (excluding taxes, baggage and upgrade fees). With taxes the flight came to about $30.

 

[TimeshareBarry]

In the old days, even the "name brand" timeshare operations sold individual weeks. If you wanted to go anyplace else, even to another property of the same "brand". you had to go through an exchange company. In some cases the developer had worked out preferences with the exchange company, so that owners at one of their resorts would get first crack at inventory from other resorts in the same family.

When these resort operators created their internal trade systems or clubs, I believe one big motivator was to capture for themselves the money that was going to the exchange companies. First, owners would pay an added fee to be part of this new internal exchange system. That was like the annual membership fee charged by the exchange company. Some them also charged a fee for trading into another resort - so now they are capturing the exchange fee as well. Owners still had the option of trading through RCI or II, but then they would pay another exchange fee on top of that. Some systems (such as Diamond) included membership in an exchange as part of their internal Club membership.

When Diamond created DEX, they just took this one step further. Now Diamond became the exchange company, and Diamond was collecting all of the revenue generated by owners wanting to make exchanges. I expect that if DEX gets solid footing (and it appears to be), other timeshare systems are going to do the same thing.

Of course, some (perhaps, most) of the inventory that DEX gets is coming from outside exchange companies. So they haven't been cut out of the loop entirely.

But in starting up a new company, I think you need to have a clear idea of how you can fit within that terrain. There might be a niche to fill for an exchange company that can bridge among a network of independent resorts - so that the resorts in the group can function like a club of their own. And in the process they could recover for their top line some of the money that their owners are spending on exchange companies. A close analogy might be the VRIety program that used to operate among the resorts operated by Vacation Resorts International. (This program get merged into Trading Places.)

Spot on. I'm not going to go into too much detail here, but there are actually huge chasms of opportunity opening up, and they go well beyond just timeshares. One just needs to think a little outside the proverbial box.

 

[escanoe]

I'm not going to go into too much detail here, but there are actually huge chasms of opportunity opening up, and they go well beyond just timeshares. One just needs to think a little outside the proverbial box.

This is part of why I am not expecting too much. My guess is when exploring economic opportunity the chasms of opportunity well beyond timeshare exchanging will be more fertile for business opportunities than dealing with the timeshare sector where navigating entanglements can be challenging.

 

[4TimeAway]

Third Key was well connected and it is unclear how successful they are. I think a player like that could introduce a TS level, but the brand is upscale and there is risk in that.

 

[bnoble]

I expect that if DEX gets solid footing (and it appears to be), other timeshare systems are going to do the same thing.

Already done. Marriott owns II. Wyndham's umbrella company owns RCI.