“We are all adult learners.
Most of us have learned a good deal more out of school than in it.
We have learned from our families, our work, our friends.
We have learned from problems resolved and tasks achieved
but also from mistakes confronted and illusions unmasked. . . .”
- Laurent
A. Daloz -
When Mrs. Gerry and I were planning our recent visit to Las Vegas we determined
to see at least two of the major shows found only in that town. We already had tickets to see Celine Dion
at Caesars and thus we began to check out the list of others opportunities. Most such lists are broken
into categories and one of those categories is always magic. My fellow Kentuckian, Lance Burton has been
the headliner at the Monte Carlo Resort & Casino since June of 1996 and is considered the best magician
in Las Vegas; no question and no doubt. At his show you always get two for one. The first takes place onstage;
with Burton creating some of the most amazing illusions in the world of magic and the second takes place
between the performer and his fans, a connection almost magical in quality.
Each year for the last 27 years Las Vegas plays host to the World Magic Seminar, founded by Siegfried
& Roy. Over 1000 magicians attend this seminar to learn how to prefect their craft
for the experts. On a semi-annual basis Las Vegas
also hosts the ARDA Convention that, while not known
as a magic convention, many of those attending are themselves superb illusionists. As you are aware, the American Resort Development Association (ARDA) is the entity that blankets the timeshare and/or vacation ownership industry and those who
practice the professional segments therein.
One of the most prevalent illusions being presented by members of ARDA is that of flexibility.
This illusion typically takes two forms, first that said flexibility can only be obtained by or through involvement
within a ‘points’ plan and second, that it is not obtainable within a traditional ‘weeks’ plan.
The spring issue of Vacation Ownership Magazine that was widely distributed at the ARDA Convention
contained an article (pages 42 & 43) Courtesy of RCI. That article began with the following
statement: “RCI owes its very existence to the concept of flexibility in vacationing.” The article went
on to say: “In the traditional timeshare model, a consumer owned a week of vacation accommodations.” The
March issue of Developments, in its celebration of ARDA’s 35th Anniversary, stated the following:
‘The industry also had to find a way to answer the recurring consumer objection, “why would I want to go to
the same place every year?” The advent of RCI in 1974 and Interval International in 1976 provided answers. Exchange
added a huge level of feasibility to the product concept and enhanced the credibility of those projects within
the exchange networks.’
Ragatz Associates (a marketing research subsidiary of RCI) has been practicing within the timeshare
industry for many years and one of their most recent studies of timeshare owners indicated that “overall flexibility:
ability to use different locations, unit sizes, times of year’ as a “very important” motivation for their purchase.”
Scottsdale Camelback Resort (SCR) is typical of traditional ‘weeks’ plan timeshare resorts in many instances
and not so typical in several others. The resort was a purpose built property and offers 3 different types and
4 different sizes of units for maximum flexibility. Every unit at SCR met or exceeded the 1992 standards
set by RCI for consideration to qualify for RCI’s Gold Crown Status and the 5 Star Designation
from Interval International. Historically, over 70% of the units occupied by guest at SCR were by inbound
exchange owners whose ownership was at different locations and 100% of all times of the year are ‘Red” or high
season. Consequently, it is not an illusion that SCR, a typical traditional ‘weeks’ plan resort, is exactly
the type of resort that provides the ‘very important’ motivation indicated by those owners who responded to the
Ragatz Associates study. Just under 99% of the traditional weeks deposited with either RCI or Interval
Internal (for any time of the year) are claimed by their members for the full 7-day vacation. The resort,
which accommodated its first guests in early 1983, initiated its resale program in 1991 and the overwhelming majority
of those resales have been purchases by exchange guests that make up the class we know as ‘timeshare smart’. They
all knew that at SCR, flexibility is not an illusion, it is a fact!
The aforementioned article in Vacation Ownership Magazine Courtesy of RCI. went on to state: “with
consumer vacation trends increasingly favoring more frequent vacations involving shorter stays, the week-based
form of timesharing, including RCI’s 1-4-1 exchange (a system in use today that governs like-for-like exchanges),
does not allow timeshare owners to realize the fullest possible value of their timeshare ownership.” The illusion?
A lack of flexibility. The article went on to state: “In December of 2000, RCI, the company that pioneered the
concept of timeshare exchange 30 years ago, unveiled a new, and innovative timeshare exchange concept called RCI
Points, which was designed to improve flexibility in vacation ownership, provide RCI members with added value and
more vacation options, and increase customer satisfaction.” and “RCI points allows timeshare owners
who own a weeks worth of points and who take a four-day vacation to retain three vacation days worth of points
to utilize on another occasion.” The illusion? More flexibility.
At the most recent ARDA Convention in Las Vegas, ARDA and its ARDA International Foundation
unveiled an executive summery of the new research project, the Economic Impact of the Timeshare Industry on
the U.S. Economy that was compiled by PriceWaterhouseCoopers. This Executive Summery indicated
that at the year end of 2002 there were 1,590 timeshare resorts in the U.S. and the owners of those timeshare resorts
took 4,888,000 timeshare trips. Each one of those traveling parties contained 3.6 people and their party spent
7.6 nights in the resort destination area. The reported 7.6 nights typical vacation was not an illusion,
it is a fact! The fact is that those destinations what attract family groups ranged upward to 10 nights, not the
‘3 or 4 day shorter stays’ indicated in the feasibility illusion.
Additionally contained in the aforementioned article in Vacation Ownership Magazine was and article concerning
Fairfield’s FairShare Plus program (page 64). That article contained the following statement: “In 1991,
Fairfield forever changed the industry with the launch of FairShare Plus – a revolutionary program based on a yearly
allotment of points that can be spent in increments for custom-sized accommodations at any time of the year and
for varying lengths of stay. The bottom line: Greater Flexibility.” To illustrate this ‘Greater
Flexibility, the article contained their illusion Basic Timeshare Ownership vs. Fairfield’s FairShare
Plus. I have added My SCR for
comparison.
The Fact, not an Illusion: Under any points based program, including the FairShare Plus depicted above,
the supposed flexibility benefits are restricted to the number of points currently owned by the individual member
within that plan. There are only two true facts about points programs, the first being that the value of the points
is totally controlled by the provider and second, the system is designed to create the necessity for the members
to purchase, accumulate, or rent, more and more points to fulfill their needs.
- *My SCR provided a deeded and recorded interest in real estate to the owner
that is fully transferable by that owner to another as is any fee-simple deeded real estate.
*My SCR The owner has the absolute assurance that their one time purchase (in
1982 or in any of the following years) and all the benefits therewith will be available to them at no additional
required investment.
*My SCR The owner made a onetime purchase of the size of unit that fit their
requirement with the assurance that it would always be available without concern about the ever-changing points
requirement creating a need for additional investments.
*My SCR If the owner maintains membership in one or more exchange firms, they
can request the opportunity to travel on any dates. If they want to travel to SCR on dates other than those they
own, they can affect an internal exchange. These benefits are always based on availability exactly like the same
benefits under any points-based plan, including FairShare Plus.
*My SCR Each owner has the option of maintaining a paid membership in either,
or both, RCI and/or Interval International. These owners’s are automatically members of the Scottsdale
Travel Club without the requirement for any additional fees. The same situation applied to internal exchange.
*My SCR Each owner has the option to benefits
such as Cruise, etc via membership in the exchange firms. Each owner has the opportunity to search out the best
Airfare, Car Rental or other travel related deals using their cash or credit cards.
*My SCR Every owner, by virtue of that ownership is a VIP. They are not required
to purchase their way into that status by acquiring differing levels of memberships.
Final Thought
The wonder of magic tricks ranges from the simplest slight of hand to the most amazing grand illusions.
From one end of that spectrum to the other, the successful magician depends upon acquired skills, developed contraptions
and other props to lure you into a state of naive acceptance that what you are observing is real. The magic shows
are intended to fool and delight the audience, leaving them in a childlike state of mind that all good magic creates:
pure wonder.
There is a major difference between being fooled and being made a fool of. The magician objective is to entertain
you, those who would attempt to make a fool of you are doing so to profit by their duplicity and your naiveté.
The great magicians fully understand that their success depends upon the one-sidedness of their prestidigitation.
It cannot work both ways, if you and they know the trick. Those who consider you a fool think that they can have
it both ways. The two following quotes fully demonstrate that fact.
“Research by Ragatz Associates has found that timeshare owners take more vacations and longer
vacations.”
