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New Commerce and the Timeshare Buyer from The Resort Trades

Jason Tremblay — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:02:41 +0000

The following article by Jason Tremblay is published here with the permission of The Resort Trades. Please visit their website to read more: www.theresorttrades.com

New Commerce and the Timeshare Buyer

The next timeshare buyer may never stop at an OPC kiosk. He or she may ignore the invitation that came in the mail offering a free weekend at a desirable resort, and is likely to let the sales calls from the developer go to voice mail … and stay there.

In a marketplace that is changing faster than most businesses can keep pace, the next wave of timeshare buyers will buy or rent in different ways, for different reasons, and via different transactional processes than any segment of shoppers – for any type of product – has done in the past. From shopping to reading books to selecting restaurants, consumers are making buying decisions in ways the business world has never before experienced. In the U.S. alone, some 80 percent of people have personal Internet access, with many others making use of an employer, friend or relative’s Internet service. But that barely scratches the surface of what new commerce means to timeshare. Just as the business world begins to get a handle on e-commerce, along comes “m-commerce” (buying on a mobile device) and “t-commerce” (buying on a tablet device). While at first glance these may all seem to be the same process, they are in fact, each a distinctly unique shopping and buying experience.

M-commerce, and to a lesser degree, t-commerce, gives consumers the capability to simultaneously interact with a business both in person and online. Buyers can use online coupons, tickets and discounts directly from their phone at an event, service location, or storefront. The potential to deliver targeted coupons and invitations to consumers because the consumer’s mobile phone has communicated that he or she is in the neighborhood of your resort is not futuristic stuff; it is already a reality.

Consider the dramatic consumer pattern changes that were evidenced in holiday shopping this past year, 2011. Where once the dawning of Christmas morning brought holiday shopping to a quiet pause, today’s connectivity has given rise to stores and businesses where the doors never close, the virtual sales staff never clocks out, and the transactions never stop. On Christmas Day alone, the dollar amount of purchases made over mobile devices was up nearly 173 percent over the sales transaction numbers for Christmas Day 2010. A total of 7 percent of all purchases made online on that day were t-commerce transactions, made specifically on iPads; 6.5 percent were m-commerce, made on iPhones. And these numbers only look at a portion of what was happening, with Android and other devices not accounted for in this research.

A website that offers an effective and enticing user experience is critical for most types of business. But almost overnight the visibility and usability of your site has become only a piece of the marketing paradigm. Some online businesses are reporting as much as 50 percent of their transactions occurring via a tablet or mobile device, a serious challenge when you consider that the functionality of many websites does not translate well, if at all, for mobile or tablet users.

And as much as the user experience is different from one type of Internet access device to another, so are the metrics for measuring their effectiveness. In the same way that page views and clicks must be measured for computer users, so must a consumer’s swipes and taps (what many refer to as “smudges and swipes”) be measured in t-commerce.

Yet the shifting sands of commerce involve more than the technology by which clients and prospective customers will reach us and we will reach them. Consumers do not use their phones and tablets in the same way they use desktop computers, nor do they access them under the same circumstances or for the same reasons. New commerce technology takes business into consumer’s lives at the most intimate of levels. Your next timeshare buyer may be curled up in bed surfing your inventory via a tablet. He or she may be accessing your mobile site while sitting in the doctor’s waiting room. Your opportunity to sell to this buyer may happen at midnight or on Christmas morning and the odds are high that neither you nor your sales team will have the opportunity to be personally involved with the transaction until it has reached its final stages, if then.

Business focus must be as much on creating a “personal” experience for consumers as on the technology behind the experience. Measuring clicks, taps, smudges and swipes is not enough. Business cannot lose sight of the human element. While the future of timeshare sales may lie in electronic exchanges in which the seller and buyer never make eye contact and never shake hands on their deal, this heightens the requisite that businesses find ways to make online engagement feel sincere, warm, personable and trustworthy.

As the technologies of new commerce evolve, timeshare sales, resales and rentals find themselves uniquely positioned. While there is strength and market depth in selling additional timeshare to those who already own the product, the vast breadth of the buying market for timeshares lies in consumers who have never owned a timeshare. In a world where there’s very little new for most consumers, timeshares are uncharted waters and a foreign, or at least misunderstood product in the eyes of most potential buyers.

As author and visionary Seth Godin recently blogged, “… teaching people to buy anything for the first time is a revolutionary concept. Campbell’s soup is almost never bought for the first time. It is a replacement purchase. No one switches to Campbell’s either. They buy it because their mom did.”

No can of soup, timeshares are much more a can of worms, and the timeshare industry has its work cut out for it. The industry’s future must be pinned on selling a reinvigorated timeshare product via an assortment of new commerce technologies to both the returning market and the revolutionary first time buyer.

(from Volume 26, No.2 February 5, 2012, The Resort Trades)

Timeshare Owners Explain the Challenge is Ways that are Easy to Grasp and Hard to Ignore

Jason Tremblay — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 12:51:51 +0000

In the May/June edition of TimeSharing Today Magazine, one reader’s heartfelt letter to the editor expresses the number one challenge of the timeshare industry better than any words I could write. Here is an excerpt from that letter. To read it in its entirety, pick up a copy of TimeSharing Today or visit their website at: www.tstoday.com

“The first problem…

My partner and I have reached an age when traveling is difficult. Our children have no interest in receiving our time share weeks along with the ever increasing maintenance fees. …

I contacted a couple of our timeshare resorts offering to deed our weeks back to them at no cost but they were not interested …Why don’t they devise a plan to help people in our situation instead of whining about the revenue they are losing?”

The Timeshare Industry Taking Responsibility

In an economy that is upside down in more ways than one, people are walking away from home mortgages where the debt has become greater than the market value of the home, or the monthly payments are too much to shoulder. They are doing it with their homes and they are doing it with their timeshares when they reach the point where they feel there is no other option.

While there is possibly a buyer for every timeshare out there and resources like SellMyTimeshareNOW.com do everything possible to connect timeshare sellers and timeshare buyers, it’s simple logic that the fewer buyers there are for a particular timeshare week and destination, the more challenging it becomes for sellers to find a buyer.

The vacation ownership industry does not need timeshare relief, timeshare bailout, or a timeshare rescue. But the call is there for a responsible plan that the timeshare industry creates and makes available for those individuals who no longer want to be timeshare owners.

5 Things the Timeshare Industry May Not Have Recognized About Baby Boomers

Jason Tremblay — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 15:54:24 +0000

In the US, a record number of people turn 65 this year. They represent the oldest group among the Baby Boomer generation, and are the first Boomers to reach the official retirement age, yet with many of them having no plans to retire in any traditional sense.

Some will continue to work fulltime because the economy is pushing them to it; others will work part time or launch that dream career they were afraid to gamble on when they were younger. And yet there are many who feel their economic situation is sufficiently stable to permit them to kick back and let someone else deal with the daily grind while they focus on less stress, more fun, and a time to finally do many of things they have always wanted to do.

Dr. Auliana Poon, head of Tourism Intelligence International, describes the age 65’ers, saying, “They are more aware, active, Internet savvy and environmentally conscious and are also adventurous (soft, medium and hard) and willing to learn and experience new things unlike the senior citizens of the past.”

But don’t try to make too many generalizations about Boomers. They range in age (currently) from 44 to 65, and there are credible differences in those who grew up in the 1950’s compared to those who grew up, or were teens, in the 1970’s and even early 80’s. The over-fifty timeshare buyer has always been important to the vacation ownership market, but the timeshare industry has to resist the temptation to ‘clump them all together’ as a demographic or to view them as a stereotype.

5 Facts about Boomers that Impact Timeshare Sales

Boomers have money to spend. According to USA Today, “People 50 and older will inherit an estimated $14 trillion to $20 trillion during the next 20 years.”
Boomers represent the fastest growing demographic in social media. Social networking among 50-plus Internet users nearly doubled last year, going from 25 percent to 47 percent.
Boomers buy technology, with estimates indicating they spend more on techie toys and electronics than does any other segment of American society.
Boomers represent the first generation to be a target market “since birth.” Prior to there being televisions in every home, buying decisions regarding consumer goods in a child’s life were generally made by the parent. But with television advertising, companies could speak directly to children, tempting them with Barbie™, G.I.JOE, and the fastest sneakers on the block. Boomers have been making consumer buying decisions longer than any other demographic.
Boomer research published in the book Boomer Consumer: Ten New Rules for Marketing to America’s Largest, Wealthiest and Most Influential Group by Matt Thornhill and John Martin, points out that Boomers see old age as commencing at around age 73, meaning that they do not perceive themselves to be “old.” The challenge for timeshare sales and timeshare resales companies is to be certain that their own marketing departments don’t see this segment of the population as old either.

Timeshares are Bulletproof Says Hotel Interactive at VOIC, Vacation Ownership Industry Conference

Jason Tremblay — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 13:00:41 +0000

This week after being part of the VOIC (Vacation Ownership Industry Conference) in Orlando, Florida, Glenn Haussman, Editor in Chief for HotelInteractive, offered some very interesting (and affirming) observations about the timeshare industry, which he describes as “bulletproof”. Haussman is a knowledgeable resource in the hospitality industry, and it is good for many timeshare developers, management companies, and timeshare owners to hear his assessment, as some have wondered if they have actually been dodging bullets.

Haussman says that despite the troubled economy, the timeshare industry has been, “the one major bright spot for the past two years.” He points out that in a time of ‘staycations,’ timeshare owners have taken advantage of their pre-paid vacation experiences.

Howard Nusbaum, President and CEO of the American Resort Development Association (ARDA), added to the good news message saying, “Timeshare occupancy and rate have not been hurt. … There is a resilience because of the prepaid nature of timeshare. No matter what has been going on, we continue to grow.”

Timeshares Bulletproof, but with an Achilles Heel

While Howard Nusbaum noted that many of the factors that have hurt other aspects of the vacation industry, such as the Energy Crisis of the 1970’s; the Gulf War in the 1990’s; and the 2001 terrorists attacks of September 11, have failed to impact timeshare sales or timeshare vacationing. But what has hurt the industry, he points out, was the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the tightening of the credit market which makes it harder to finance the consumer purchase of new timeshares, harder for timeshare companies to maintain marketing and sales staffs and harder for developers to build new, enticing timeshare resorts to attract buyers.

Overall, this week’s VOIC event has been remarkable and is yet another example of the timeshare industry working together, partnering, and supporting one another as it evolves to better serve consumer needs.

Timeshare Scam Advice from Maryland Attorney General

Jason Tremblay — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 13:27:25 +0000

The office of the Maryland Attorney General, Douglas F. Gansler, has published its latest edition of The Consumer’s Edge, focusing this issue on good advice for buying timeshare. The article, titled, “Timeshares: a Break from Reality?” takes timeshare buyers and prospective buyers through points they should consider before making the decision to become a timeshare owner.

The two-page report is easy-to-read and packed with clear, concise definitions and insights written to help consumers better understand the product they are buying. Here are some of the points made by the Attorney General’s report:

Do your homework so that you know what you are buying and that the timeshare or vacation ownership product you select is truly the right one to meet your needs.
Look at the total cost of your timeshare purchase, including mortgage payments, travel costs, maintenance fees (that are likely to increase over time) your finance cost, and your taxes if they are not included with your other fees.
Visit the timeshare resort where you plan to buy.
Learn the differences in timeshare intervals and deeded timeshare. Become knowledgeable about fixed or floating timeshare, timeshare points, vacation clubs, biennial timeshare, fractionals, and lock-offs.
And perhaps most important of all, don’t expect your timeshare to appreciate in values, or even to hold its value. Timeshare –like a resale automobile— consistently sells for less on the resale market than when purchased as new timeshare. As Attorney General Gansler, explains, “Timeshares are an expensive purchase and should not be considered an investment. Consumers need to do their homework before signing any contract.”

“Timeshares: a Break from Reality?” is a strong, informative report that is bound to be helpful to any consumer who is considering buying timeshare and even to many timeshare owners who don’t fully understand the product they have purchased. Best of all, the Attorney General’s report doesn’t represent that timeshares themselves are inherently a bad buy nor does it attempt to paint the entire industry with a single brush, declaring timeshare scam and timeshare fraud.

Critical Questions to Ask When You Buy Timeshare or Timeshare Resale

Jason Tremblay — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 14:00:32 +0000

People who are buying homes and residential real estate right now are doing so because this is an excellent time to buy. And many consumers are finding the same to be true when it comes to buying timeshares, timeshare resales, or other vacation ownership real estate.

Timeshare companies and timeshare developers who sell new timeshare are working hard to earn the timeshare sale … you may find them more negotiable than ever. But the best deals are usually available in buying timeshare resales from belt-tightening, budget conscious timeshare owners, who are anxious to sell their timeshare in order to get out from under annual timeshare maintenance fees and/or property taxes.

So if you are interested in taking advantage of the better-than-ever deals available in timeshare and timeshare resales, here are some important questions you need to ask before you sign on the dotted line.

Applies When You Are Buying Timeshare Either New or as a Timeshare Resale:

Make sure you know the resort name and exact location. Pay special attention to timeshare resorts that have been built in phases because the description of the Phase I property could be very different from Phase V property. Know the specific address of the timeshare unit or the timeshare property usage you are buying.
Know the annual maintenance fees, how much they have increased over the years, and the date of the last increase.
Find out what the property taxes are, if they are included in your maintenance fee, and how and when you pay them if you are responsible for making the payment yourself.
In a points based system, know the number of points you are buying.
Know whether you are buying a fixed or floating timeshare interval.
How many rooms are in the unit, what is the square footage, and can you see a floor plan?
Find out both how many people the unit sleeps as well as the number of bedrooms. These will not be the same number!
Ask about the view from your unit. Are you beachside? Have a scenic view of the mountains? Or are you staring at the parking lot? Desirability of view can affect the value of the timeshare.

Applies Specifically When You Are Buying Timeshare Resale:

Learn what, if any, privileges of timeshare ownership cannot be transferred in a timeshare resale.
Know how you will handle the timeshare title transfer, the escrow account, and the closing contract.

Applies Specifically When You Are Buying Timeshare New From the Resort or Developer:

Know the exact sales price you will be paying and the duration and interest rate of the timeshare mortgage if you are using developer financing.
Know if you can transfer to another financing source without paying a penalty on developer financing and if there are time limits for doing this.
Find out if there are perks, loyalty programs, or benefits you can take advantage of because you have purchased a new timeshare at the developer’s full price.

And while all of these are critical questions to ask before you buy timeshare or a timeshare resale, based on the situation, there may be many other important questions to ask as well. To make sure you wind up owning a timeshare that fits both your vacation needs and your budget, do three simple things:

Take your time, don’t let anyone rush you.
Do your own research so that you know exactly what you are buying and the terms of the sale.
Do not “settle” for a property that is almost-right. There are too many great deals in timeshare sales and timeshare resales for you to buy anything less than a timeshare that is ideal for you and your family to enjoy for many happy years.

Foreclosure on Massachusetts Timeshare Property

Jason Tremblay — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 04:01:12 +0000

In a blog post called, “They Wouldn’t Have this Problem if They’d Bought Timeshare Resales” which was published last March, we looked at the problems at the Navigator Beach Club timeshare in Dennisport, Massachusetts.

While the timeshare resort was in its construction phase (it currently stands uncompleted, with all work at a standstill) units were sold to buyers as timeshare intervals. People reportedly paid up to $16,000 for what they believed, and what was represented as, “timeshare”. However, the developer, Robert Reposa, failed (according to an investigation by Team 5 Investigates at theBostonchannel.com)to file the necessary paperwork with the State of Massachusetts.

Massachusetts law requires developers to form entities and file deeds. Neither of which was done in the case of the Navigator Beach Club timeshare resort. In the mean time, the owner fell behind on the $2.2 million mortgage and construction, which was scheduled to be completed 2 years ago, fell behind, and finally screeched to a halt.

Last week, a foreclosure deed was filed on the property in the Barnstable County Registry of Deeds. The Massachusetts Attorney General has declined comment on the matter as an active investigation is underway.

Other Options in Massachusetts Timeshare Resorts

Unfortunately, the timeshare buyers at the Navigator Beach Club will probably have to wait this one out in court. We hope this matter is quickly resolved and that all of the people who paid for timeshare at this Massachusetts timeshare resort receive their money back. Nothing will compensate them for the time they must spend in addressing this or the disappointment and stress this matter has, no doubt, caused.

There are many other options in Massachusetts timeshares, and you don’t have to wait for them to be built or wonder if the deal is authentic. You can take this risk out of buying timeshare when you purchase timeshare resales—at completed and operational resorts—directly from timeshare owners. To learn more about the opportunities in timeshare for sale by-owner, visit www.SellMyTimeshareNOW.com or call 1-877-815-4227.

What Do Timeshare Owners Really Want?

Jason Tremblay — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 04:01:45 +0000

Yesterday we told you about data compiled by Ypartnership/Yankelovich, Inc. 2008 National Leisure Travel MONITOR (sm) for Interval International. The research was released in a report titled, “Future Timeshare Buyers: 2008 Market Profile” and was presented last week at the 10th Annual Vacation Ownership Investment Conference recently held in Orlando, Florida.

According to the findings of this study, timeshare owners and timeshare buyers want new and different experiences. Peter C. Yesawich, co-author of the annual survey with Yankelovich, Inc, and chairman and chief executive officer of Ypartnership was quoted by Hotels Magazine as describing people interested in buying timeshare as those who want to “live life to the fullest.”

Yesawich sees timeshare buyers as desiring, “personalization and customization … more brands, more types of products, and more consumer choices overall so they can select what best fits their needs.”

Hotels Magazine describes prospective timeshare owners as, “individuals chasing originality, expressed by their pursuit of new experiences. They prefer traveling to places that are more than just entertainment, where they can also get a sense of participation, and spending their money on life-enriching experiences.”

Clearly fifty really is the new thirty. But are timeshare resorts and timeshare developers prepared to keep up with the changing demands of consumers, especially in these days of tight credit and decreased spending?

Timeshare Developers and the Vacation Ownership Industry are Ready

Howard A. Bendell, director of market research and analysis for Interval International, sees the findings of the report as being very important to the timeshare industry and timeshare developers. Bendell says, “timeshare developers are in the perfect position to offer these consumers exactly what they want: personalization, customization, and originality – in the form of vacation experiences that are tailor-made for the individual every year.”

Clearly if you are buying timeshare, viewing you expenditure as one that has value to you over a lifetime, you are concerned that your vacation needs and interests will no doubt change in upcoming years. As Bendell observes, “… families can create a different experience each year through a myriad of resort offerings and by using the ability to exchange their resort time.”

The study also backs up a finding that has been evidenced in the past: timeshare buyers are willing to pay more – as much as 20 percent more – to get what they really want. Buying timeshare that offers products and services customized to your specifications is what Bendell describes as a good value proposition.

With the economy rocking and reeling these days, and even timeshare developers and big hoteliers feeling the effects, it is good to know that overall there is a bright outlook for the industry. According to facts presented by Hotels Magazine, there are now more people in the US who want to buy timeshare than who already own it. This translates to a potential to at least double the number of timeshare owners in the future, if timeshare developers listen to the market and are ready to respond to the call.

To learn more about the timeshare and vacation ownership report, read yesterday’s post on The Timeshare Authority:

Timeshare Owners Boring? Not a Chance; They’re Thrill Seekers

Timeshare Owners Boring? Not a Chance; They’re Thrill Seekers

Jason Tremblay — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 04:01:16 +0000

Hotels Magazine just published a very interesting article based on a newly release report titled, “Future Timeshare Buyers: 2008 Market Profile“, which includes data collected for the Ypartnership/Yankelovich, Inc. 2008 National Leisure Travel MONITOR (sm).

For so many years, we have been told that the average timeshare buyer is a middle age, middle to upper income, and middle-of-the-road type individual buying timeshare for vacation security. But this study, developed exclusively for Interval International, paints a very different picture of today’s timeshare owner and timeshare buyer.

The study collected data during January and February of 2008, and included a sampling of the population of US adults who are active (current) leisure travelers. All of those participating in the timeshare profile study had taken at least one trip of 75 miles or more from their home that required overnight accommodations, for the purpose of vacation or leisure.

Much to the surprise of even seasoned experts in the timeshare resort industry, the people who expressed an interest in buying timeshare were not your security seeking, ‘take me to the same place every year,’ types. Instead, they show a, “greater zest for life, are more interested in trying new things, and taking risks.”

“What’s perhaps most interesting,” said Howard A. Bendell, director of market research and analysis for Interval International, “is that while the demography of potential timeshare buyers is largely reflective of Boomers, the psychographics are more akin to attributes more often related to Generations X and Y.”

You Already Knew This about Buying Timeshare

If you are a timeshare owner who falls into the Baby Boomer profile, you know that the label, ‘boring’ does not fit you. You didn’t buy timeshare because you wanted to experience the ‘same ole thing’ every year; you are likely to have bought it because your life is so busy and so full that you recognize timeshare as a way to ensure your vacation, even during your busiest times. According to Hotels.com, “This group can also be characterized as individuals chasing originality, expressed by their pursuit of new experiences. They prefer traveling to places that are more than just entertainment, where they can also get a sense of participation, and spending their money on life-enriching experiences.”

So all you Boomers, who have shied away from buying timeshare because you feared it was too staid, and just not cool enough for you, there is no reason to hold back any longer. The research is in, and it says that timeshare owners are not sitting back in a rocking chair, but are instead vital, proactive people, who are serious about living their life to the fullest.

Check in on The Timeshare Authority Blog tomorrow, for more facts from the “Future Timeshare Buyers: 2008 Market Profile”.

Sell Timeshare – What Are My Options?

Jason Tremblay — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 04:01:24 +0000

Okay, summer is over, and perhaps you failed to use your timeshare once again. If you have a timeshare that you are not enjoying, and you are not interested in using it as a timeshare rental, then you should consider selling it as a timeshare resale.

But do you understand your options for reselling your timeshare?

One choice is to work with a timeshare broker, a real estate professional who will handle your timeshare resale for you. You will be using a licensed real estate broker, and you should expect the broker to charge you a commission when your timeshare sells. Commissions for timeshare resales are typically higher than real estate commissions for selling a home, so expect to pay as much as 15 to 30 percent in sales commission.

For Sell by Owner Timeshare Resales Advertising

Your other realistic option for selling your timeshare is to let Sell My Timeshare NOW advertise your timeshare for you. Using the vast exposure of the internet, your timeshare ad can be seen by interested timeshare buyers all over the world.

The job of a timeshare advertising company is to position your timeshare resales ad so that it draws global visibility in a worldwide marketplace. And nothing does that better than internet advertising does. Where once your daily newspaper or even television was a good way to attract many buyers, today’s tool of choice for maximum exposure advertising is the internet.

This short video can help you learn more about your options to sell timeshare efficiently …