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"Our dilemma is that we hate change and love it at the same time; what we really want is for things to remain the same but get better." -Sydney J. Harris- The cover story for the January 2002 issue of Development Magazine was titled "Timeshare Gets Religion". In actual fact the "story" was not a story at all but a Q&A session between Jason Tostevin on behalf of ARDA and a young British Chap by the name of B.J.Cunningham. Mr. Cunningham had given a speech at the ARDA Spring Conference in Orlando in April about his ideas on Corporate Religion and branding and followed that with a talk at the Trustee Retreat in Chicago. Mr. Cunningham's look at "branding" is uniquely different. He is looking at the industry as a brand and I quote; "I don't mean that Marriott's business is the same as Disney's, is the same as a small developer in Arizona. What I do mean is they're all operating in the same industry." "If you think of timeshare as a brand, what does the mention of the word timeshare bring up in the mind of consumers?" In response to another question B.J. stated: "I think there's a huge gap between what the timeshare industry is selling and what the customer is buying. And I think there's a huge perception gap inside timeshare - in fact, I think it's the one critical idea that could change the timeshare business."
A few days ago I just happened to be in Washington D.C. attending the ARDA Leadership Summit and had signed up for the ARDA International Foundation Think Tank, which had been put together by my old friend Darla Zanini (Executive Director of the Foundation). The front of the show was a parade of industry big shots - Bert Blicher, Tony Genth, Bob Miller and Howard Nusbaum. Now those in attendance did not need the bios (included in the handout) to know that these were the big guns and their very emergence onto the stage got our attention. One by one this group began to set the stage and then finally Howard introduced the main act, the thought-provoking crew: Ann Barker from the Ragatz organization, Howard Bendell with Interval International and (you guessed it) that chap from England, BJ Cunningham. Ann presented an overview of the timeshare consumer and public perception about our industry which had been gleaned from Ragatz Associates studies (Timeshare Purchases & Public Image Surveys) and Howard gave us a glimpse into the future founded on a II funded study performed by YP&B/Yankelovich Partners. These provided those in attendance with fresh insights about prior successes and failures and the opportunities which may be the coming things for our industry. Then it became Mr. Cunningham's show, which started with the statement: "The facts don't matter, all that matters is what we believe." Quickly followed with the propositions: "How do you want to be seen - How do you see yourself - How do others actually see you?" and the Sponsoring Thought that the Timeshare Industry needs to develop Unity - Vision - Change if we are going to (individually and as an industry) actually address those propositions. Mr. Cunningham indicated that we (as an industry) could change from believing ourselves as having a product that no one wants to buy thus, we have to sell at an extremely high cost, to a product that people actually want to buy. He puts forth that what we think calls forth what we say and dictates the actions we take. The Think Tank assignment began with this idea: ARDA research shows that timeshare’s sponsoring thought needs to change from selling a gimmick or high pressure idea that people do not want, to selling a product that consumers understand and want. If those of us inside the industry do not change our own basic views about the value of the product, how can we expect to achieve continued expansion and growth in the business and the industry as a whole? I am sure that ARDA will detail, in a future edition of Developments, all that came from this Foundation Think Tank and that those who have a real interest will purchase the Audio Tapes which were (or will be) produced of the session, thus I will not delve further into the meat which came from the participants, however, I will leave with this ... Final thought From BJ: "That hard sell approach breeds contempt for consumers, and I don't see a future in it. [Using that approach] is a bit like playing cards on the Titanic; whether you win or lose, the ship is going down." From the group that shared a table with me at the workshop: "We must develop unity
in the vision that change can be achieved if we strive toward achieving
a mutually beneficial relationship between ourselves (the timeshare industry) and our prospects / consumers / customers
that is facilitated by a bridge of respect." |
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Jerry Sikes, RRP / CHA, is President of Professional Resort Operators, Inc., Scottsdale, Arizona. He has 35 years in the Hospitality Industry / 25 years in Timesharing, and is the current Co-Chairman of ARDA Arizona as well as Chairman of the Arizona Timeshare Management Association. Jerry is a frequent guest speaker regionally and nationally on all aspects of Timeshare Management and a frequent contributor of articles for industry publications. Email: boyjerry@cox.net Phone 480-947-3300 Fax 480-947-6853 Web site: http://www.protimeshare.com |
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"Change the timeshare
business"? We have worked very hard for well over 25 years to perfect this business (particularly
how we market and sell it) and here comes this guy from across the pond with the audacity to indicate that it needs
changing! Where does he come off? Cunningham went on to state: "The people who stick with the kind of caveman
idea of, if I get you into my cave and hit you with my club enough times, you'll buy it. The only reason they lose
is because it cost so damn much to get someone into that cave, and that bat is very expensive."