REFLECTIONS
“Everything that irritates us about others can lead
us to an understanding of ourselves.”
-Carl Jung -
Memories, Dreams, Reflections
In the days and weeks following the tragic death of soldier Pat Tillman I read
eulogy after eulogy by teammates, friends and journalist reflecting on how Pat had impacted their lives. Some of
those thoughts I included in With Regard to Understanding. Mostly when they and I held the mirror
before Pat’s image, the reflections we noted were positive. Over the last few days or weeks the news has been dominated
by the occurrences at Abu Ghraib with respect to the actions of other soldiers charged with the responsibility
to guard and/or interrogate those imprisoned therein. Those in official capacities commenting on these incidents,
for the most part, continue to insist that the actions of a few do not reflect true image of the military establishment
or the American culture. In my mind no matter how the mirror is held with respect to these incidents the reflection
is negative.
In the Timeshare Industry, resale's continues to be a major issue. According to the most recent studies upward
to 25% of the current sales volume comes from the secondary market and about 50% of that volume comes from those
who already owned a Timeshare Plan. The American Resort Development Association (ARDA) Resale Committee
recently completed a set of ‘Resale Guidelines’ that was adopted by the ARDA Board. These guidelines were
designed to provide guidance for, and control over, brokers or development firms (who are members of ARDA)
and protection for owners’ who have a need to resell their Timeshare Plan. If we were to look at the reflections
of our activity in the secondary market, what would we see?
The Cover Story in the May/June issue of Timesharing Today presented the Westgate Resorts policy
with respect to resale's with these headline: “Westgate Resorts Clamps Down on Resale's through ‘Outside’
Brokers.” At issue is the purported Westgate exclusive right to act as the owner’s sales agent and
a right of first refusal. According to the publisher and editor of Timesharing Today, the real issue is
not the exclusive agent right which is causing the problems but the demand for one-half of the commission earned
by a broker (other than Westgate) when a resale has been accomplished or the requirement that those Westgate
owners wishing to sell list their units with a ‘Westgate’ designated broker such as TimeshareResales
USA that requires those owners to list for their online auction at a fee ranging from $500 to $750. For the
life of me, I cannot imagine a way that any of the over 250,000 Westgate owners’ to hold the mirror (with
respect to this issue) in a way that does not reflect badly on David A. Siegel or his Westgate Resorts
organization.
In the same May/June issue of Timesharing Today the publisher and editor presented its first ever ‘Resale
Value Tracker ™’. The publication launched this service to provide its readers with valuable information about
timeshare resale selling prices. Owners, resale brokers and resort managers are invited to participate by providing
information about transactions that have closed. The magazine provided a form for submission via US Mail or the
information can be posted online at www.tstoday.com. The first two resorts represented in the tracker were Lawrence
Welk Resort Villas, Escondido, CA and Scottsdale Camelback Resort, Scottsdale, AZ. I am not sure that
this first report adequately reflects the entirety of current timeshare resales in the secondary market however,
the accumulation of this information over time surely will. Once again the publisher and editor of Timesharing
Today has demonstrated innovation and initiative within the timeshare community and a valuable service to their
readers. The reflection created by Shep Altshuler and Ray Jacobs remains untarnished.
I am an avid reader of the Street Talk section of the Timeshare Beat, truly enjoy the banter that
occurs as some of its threads play out. In my opinion Street Talk provides a vital avenue for commentary
about what's going on in the far reaches of our industry. However, every once in a while that commentary deteriorates
to a simple bitch sessions without any positive benefit except maybe the opportunity to get something off the contributors
chest. In my opinion (for what it’s worth) there is a major difference in bitching about something and actually
doing something about that which one finds fault with. Example: Beginning the week of May 7th and continuing through
May 21st Talk’s, the opportunity has presented itself to review the most recent ARDA Convention and Exposition.
By and large that commentary has been negative and a great deal of it has been justified however, much of it has
also been trivial. Comments about the absence of an RCI party, the band at the Interval International
party, or the entertainment at the Awards Gala are just a few examples of just bitching without any opportunity
to effect change.
One of my favorite comments from Street Talk was the following: “Except for the ARDY Awards
that recognize the best and brightest among you the ARDA Convention is not designed for sales and marketing
folks,” Most of you know that I am of the resort management and operations segment of the business and I can
assure you that, just like sales & marketing, the ARDA Convention and Exposition was not designed just for
me and my kind. In fact, one of the problems with putting on an industry convention is that it has to attempt to
be all things to all people and that’s just not possible.
Like many of you I also like to bitch and moan about what they do however, I would like to think that I have
earned the right to do so. Whomever ‘they’ are, ‘they’ don’t owe me anything. I get out of ARDA exactly what I
put into it. I attend the ARDA Leadership meeting in D.C. each year; I attend the committee meetings where
decisions are made about the ARDA Convention and its contents. I submit ideas for programming consideration, I
volunteer to moderate, facilitate or present at workshops or roundtable sessions. I fill out the session forms
giving my opinion as to the subject, the speakers and the environment for learning. I actually try to do something
about the ARDA Convention both before and after it occurs. What I do is participate, thus when I look into the
mirror I see someone that at least makes an effort toward improvements. I wonder how many of those grumbling can
say the same.
FINAL THOUGHT
For the most part we live in a free society where we are in control of our own destiny and fully responsible for
the image we reflect. The overwhelming majority of us are exactly what we choose to be. In my youth I worked in
a service station where I learned how to use a razor blade to cut a nick in a fan belt while I was checking the
oil in a car. The result was the opportunity to sell the customer a new belt and enhance the profits. This learned
skill was enhanced when I used my thumb to short stick the oil dipstick so that it indicated the need for a quart
of oil. I’m not bragging about these exploits just using them to indicate that I to knew how to shortchange the
client. I had a choice to make and I chose to not pursue that kind of income enhancements.
Every day in the timeshare and/or vacation ownership industry we have choices to make about the reflections
we wish to give to the consumer. Many choose to ‘pitch heat’ to enhance our personal productivity when it is well
known that the practice perpetuates a negative image for the industry. We choose to avoid telling prospects the
full story about our product because if they knew it all they might choose not to purchase what we are offering.
We tell prospects that the type of timeshare plan we are selling is the best. Not because we believe it is, but
because that's the plan our employer is offering this week/year. These are some of the images that 80% of those
we come into contact with have of our industry and ourselves. In the end many of us point out flaws in the images
of others so that they will not look closely at our own reflection.
