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 STREET TALK
Week of October 3 - October 9, 2003
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"
The world's biggest after-hours timeshare
watering hole."
Street Talk is a compendium of tips, facts, gossip,
rumors, speculation and editorial comment.
This Column is Published Every Friday, with
frequent updates throughout the week
E-mail: news@thetimesharebeat.com |
Email: street@streettalkblog.com
click here for Street Talk International
Pending the final confirmation of the bankruptcy court, and the final disposition of funds
to creditors, etc., the Epic Resorts saga is finally over. Sunterra Corporation was the successful
bidder for the assets of Epic Resorts with an all cash bid of $25.0 million. The transaction is expected
to close by the end of October 2003. Epic's assets include management rights to the Epic Vacation Club and four
of the resorts, as well as inventory assigned to Epic Vacation Club, development land at the Hilton Head location
and unsold inventory at the resorts. A hearing to confirm the sale is scheduled to take place in the Bankruptcy
Court in Delaware on October 7, and after that Sunterra will give more details of this transaction and its
plans for integrating Epic into its business. That is news that Epic owners/members are nervously waiting to hear.
NOTE Oct. 6: There seems to be some confusion about what was purchased. Sunterra did not purchase
4 resorts, they purchased management rights to 4 resorts. The management contracts that they clearly have are Island
Links at HH, the Daytona Beach property, Scottsdale and the Las Vegas property. Also the Epic Vacation Club which
sorta includes a co-management ability at Palm Springs. They also purchased the unsold inventory at all 5 properties.
Remember, Tom Flatley owns the London Bridge Resort, so that could not be included in the sale.
Nicholas Benson, Sunterra's CEO, said Sunterra will continue to look for strategic acquisitions-- so
it looks like Sunterra is aiming to restore itself to its former pre-bankruptcy glory. We hope they do it smarter
this time.
- YOUR COMMENTS
- Oct. 3: --" An
interesting sidebar to this deal is
that it appears that all the cash will come from Sunterra drawing down its line with Merrill Lynch by another $25,000,000.
In the last 10Q, it appeared that a little over $50,000,000 was remaining available to Sunterra on that line. So
unless an additional credit facility has been arranged, Sunterra may be betting a significant chunk of its remaining
liquidity on this expansion. It better hope that the positive results reported in the August 10Q continue."
- AND: --" and
still commissions are owed to salespeople who
produced sales that Sunterra was PAID FOR! How pathetic that our system allows this abuse over and over again.
I am owed monies and want Sunterras name to be synonomous with " deadbeats" every time it is mentioned.
Salespeople, avoid this company at all costs, you've been warned, again..."
- AND: --" They
overpaid."
- Oct. 6: --" There
is no question they overpaid. This is
a foolish acquistion for a company that is barely out of bankruptcy themselves. They are using $25 million of their
cash to buy a company that has been out of business for two years. Epic has no current sales locations, no sales
people and no marketing in place. The owners of the Epic Vacation Club have to be so disgusted with everyone that
they will not make a very likely candidate to buy more timeshare interests. Also the resort locations are nothing
special and Sunterra has tons of their own properties to sell. This whole transaction makes no sense. It makes
you wonder what the real deal is behind the scenes."
- Oct. 7: --" It
sounds like an old Glen Ivy deal to me.
" Yes we'll take over these dead beat resorts and sell them for you in our club system at some offsite office
where the consumer won't know the difference, Mr. Banker. But in return we want the management contracts, the owner
base and of course you will buy our paper at no discount."
- Oct. 9: --" How
much would it cost to buy land and build
a resort from the ground up in Las Vegas or Scottsdale alone? That isn't cheap. Sunterra got them ready to wear,
PLUS the lucrative management contracts and the owner base. Even assuming the resorts will require some fixing
up, they didn't pay too much, they got it dirt cheap."
E-mail street@streettalkblog.com
 Marvin
Beard - September 11, 2003
we are sorry to announce
the passing of Marvin Beard, " The King of Timeshare" , in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina.
Marvin was a journalist for many years, having graduated from the University of Kentucky. He worked in many areas
with the Associated Press and newspapers. At one time he was a bureau chief for the AP.
He came to the Outer Banks in 1980 to be the editor and general manager for the Outer Banks Current. He started
Outer Banks Resort Rentals, a timeshare rental and resale business, in 1984. Eventually he became known as ``The
King of Timeshare.''
He served with the Marines during the Korean War.
An avid baseball fan, he participated in the Baltimore Orioles Fantasy Camp in 1993. He and his wife were supporters
for the local Dare Devil team and were a host family for the past several years. |
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| IN THE WESTERN Half of the USA: |
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ARIZONA:
LAKE HAVASU: According to an article in the
Havasu News, The London Bridge Resort is involved in another tax dispute with Mohave County. The
resort filed a lawsuit in Arizona Tax Court in February contending that the county assessor over-valued a nine-acre
parcel south of the London Bridge. The full cash value on Parcel No. 107-10-057 is listed at $3.6 million, with
overdue taxes on the property about $200,000 for years 2000, 2001 and 2003.
Deputy County Assessor Ron Nicholson told the newspaper that only about five acres of commercial property were
assessed for tax purposes, including much of the resort’s first floor and a nearby three-story building. He pointed
out that resort owner Tom Flatley recently acquired 6.5 acres of the English Village north of the bridge
for $4.1 million and that common sense would dictate that if property north of the bridge was sold for $4.1 million,
property south of the bridge, which has some very viable development, should be worth more, not less.
You may remember that in June a state tax court judge sided with the resort in its fight with the county over the
value of several timeshare units, a disagreement that goes back a couple of years and would have made developing
more timeshare on the property financially unfeasible. The county has not determined if it will appeal that ruling.
PHOENIX: And then there's this question, relevant
to the lawsuit against ILX (see last week's Street Talk). --" Are
the exit programs taking valuable inventory away from owners?
This is why California cracked down on Exit programs, because they were essentially options on ownership that wasn't
taken into account on the books like that. Especially with companies that are already selling future inventory
to clients to begin with." Ah, but then there's those magic words that cover so many situations: Subject
to availabilty. What a handy phrase. What do y'all think?
E-mail street@streettalkblog.com
HAWAII:
KAUAI: Starwood Vacation Ownership bought an 18.5-acre
parcel on the bluff overlooking Anini Beach on Kauai from Princeville Corp. for an estimated $15
million in August 2002. The parcel is zoned for 370 timeshare units or 740 hotel rooms. The project was originally
scheduled to begin construction this year. Starwood plans to sell two-bedroom timeshare units for $40,000 to $50,000
each. They are still in the design and development stage and have to apply for a development permit from the county
before they can go forward.
Meanwhile, the company is looking to convert the Sheraton Kauai to timeshare as well. Getting BIGGER.
E-mail street@streettalkblog.com
NEVADA:
LAS VEGAS: We hear that PMR's Cancun Resort closed their last OPC
location Sept. 30. True? Not? Now, let's see - when Charlie Levin started it up at zero in June of '02 we
hear he was doing over 250 tours a week by February '03. Now, with Joe Hutchings, reportedly at quadruple
the salary, they are back at zero. Something just don't add up. But then again, maybe they're doing telemarketed
day-drives or mini-vacs? Or?
- YOUR COMMENTS
- Oct. 3: --" True
about Cancun shutting down the opc line.
I think they will just be doing in-house sales from now on."
- AND: --" Did
Hutchings and PMR close their OPC locations
or LOSE their OPC locations?? Check again and you'll see that they Peter Braglia and Kevin Sheehan swooped down
and locked up the previous run PMR OPC locations and those locations are now booking to Sheehan's/Berkley's second
sales center in Las Vegas. The first sales center (15,000 square feet located in the Jockey Club) just sold out
the Cliffs Resort. The new second sales center (10,000 square feet on Las Vegas Blvd South) opened this week. Both
Sales centers are now selling a brand new project (Grandview of Las Vegas...which is a purpose built 2,000 unit
resort, currently under construction) The sales centers primarily see OPC clients and are selling more than $2,000,000.00
per week!"
- AND: --" Peter
and Kevin didn't and couldn't have just
" swooped" down and picked up PMR's OPC locations. PMR had contractual rights that they gave up - voluntarily
- cause they couldn't book a tour!"
- AND: --" Word
here is that Nick Baldwin and Pete Mitchell have taken over
the marketing for PMR. Brett Hutchings, Joe's son who was the Dir. of Marketin,g was officially terminated this
week. Bill Stoddard, Joe's long time associate, was also terminated today. Looks like the house of cards is beginning
to crumble. The rest of Joe's crew is becoming very nervous. Things are getting real serious when Joe Hutchings
couldn't even protect his own son's job."
- Oct. 6: --" Joe
Hutchings is hired because something
is not working correctly. When Mr. H is called in, it is like Mission Impossible. Each member of the team is an
expert in a specialized segment of the industry. Mr. H pulls members of the team to use their expertise to get
certain segments up to speed. Bret Hutchings is an OPC marketing expert. If they do not have OPCs they do not need
an OPC expert. No one who ever works for Joe Hutchings is nervous. Mr. H, and the team know that once they correct
the problem they will correct themselves out of a job. Mr. H would not increase costs by keeping his best friend
or son on the job once they have complete it. He is a man of his word, a credit to the industry."
By the way, how are things going downtown at the Lady Luck?
E-mail street@streettalkblog.com
TEXAS:
HILL COUNTRY: The hill country of Texas, and its nearby cities, looks to be increasingly
popular as a timeshare destination. Fairfield has Equivest's Riverside Suites on San Antonio's
River Walk Hyatt is adding timeshare to its Hill Country Resort just outside of San Antonio plans were recently unveiled for a new $60 million mixed-use project in downtown San Antonio known as Piazza
San Lorenzo that will include a private residence club (66, two-bedroom condominiums to be sold in fractionals
of either four, eight or 12 weeks. See external- may require registration- $60M development for downtown San Antonio unveiled
) Club Corps has The Owners Club at Barton Creek, a private residence club near Austin, and
so on.
Now you might want to watch Marriott. Marriott plans to expand the 100-room Horseshoe Bay Resort, at
Lake LBJ, with 22,000 square feet of meeting space and 250 more guest rooms. Horseshoe Bay Resort has formed
a partnership with Dallas-based Sarofim Fayez and Co., which does business as Sarofim Realty Advisors, to build
the expansion. The resort will be managed by Marriott and be called Horseshoe Bay Resort Marriott. Located
50 miles outside downtown Austin, this will be Marriott's first resort-style hotel in Texas. It is in close proximity
to Austin, San Antonio, Dallas and Houston. Could this be Marriott's entry into vacation ownership in the Hill
Country? Keep an eye on it.
E-mail street@streettalkblog.com
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| IN THE EASTERN Half & Midwest of the USA: |
FLORIDA:
ORLANDO: A recent article in the Orlando Business Journal spotlighted
Tempus Resorts, with an interview of President/CEO Roger Farwell. Y'all surely are aware that Tempus
functions as the timeshare division of Dallas-based Wyndham International. The company manages the 555-unit
Wyndham Palms Resort & Country Club in Orlando and operates Wyndham's Vacation Ownership and Vacation
Club brands. Tempus has a 20-year exclusive with Wyndham and was originally scheduled to expand into Puerto
Rico for sales of an estimated 300 to 500 units in San Juan and the fabulous El Conquistador Resort.
That move that was delayed by Wyndham's recent financial woes (caused largely by the tourism slowdown). However,
according to the Business Journal meetings are going on at present to firm up a timetable for 2004 that
calls for sales in Puerto Rico to begin in the first quarter of next year. A little further down the road are plans
for a California resort and a ski opportunity. We wonder if those could possibly be Wyndham Carmel Valley
Ranch and The Peaks in Telluride? And could all the resorts that were planned for Residence Clubs
now become timeshare? Wyndham has very nice properties, and we find the news that things are finally going forward
very exciting.
Farwell also says discussions are under way with Viva Resorts to co-brand an all-inclusive property in the
Caribbean. You can read the whole article here: (external- may require registration) Stability a key factor in Tempus' revenue growth
E-mail street@streettalkblog.com
ILLINOIS & MISSOURI:
 " Bill Bailey won't you please
come hooooome..." Well, it looks like William H. Bailey may finally be getting his just desserts.
After a protracted legal battle and findings of trademark counterfeiting for falsifying Better Business Bureau
reports, the BBB has obtained consent judgments against him, his travel and resort companies formerly owned by
him, and three of their former employees for a total of $975,000.
The Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB), the umbrella organization for the BBB system, and the BBB in St.
Louis sued Bailey and his companies, Bailey & Associates, Inc., and Winner's Circle of Chicago, Inc., of
Litchfield, Ill., and three employees in August 2000.
The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in St. Louis, charged that Bailey's companies had created bogus BBB reports,
using the trademarked BBB logos and name, in order to persuade consumers to buy travel club memberships.
Judgments issued by U.S. District Judge Charles A. Shaw and U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Larry Lessen found that Bailey
and his employees knowingly counterfeited the BBB's marks, that Bailey willfully and maliciously perpetrated a
fraud on the BBB and consumers, and that all but one of the defendants were liable for statutory damages. The BBB
obtained consent judgments afterwards, requiring the defendants to pay damages and permanently prohibiting Bailey
and his companies from using the BBB's name or logo in any future business activity, and from misrepresenting the
BBB record of any company with which they are affiliated. You can read the whole sordid story here: BBB
Obtains Consent Judgments Totaling $975,000 Against Travel & Resort Company
We'll say it again: In our opinion the huge majority of Travel/Vacation Clubs are utterly bogus and provide no
real savings for the consumers who are lured to join. Buyer beware.
E-mail street@streettalkblog.com
MAINE:
ELLSWORTH: With Phase 2 of Acadia Village nearly sold out (one-story duplex
units offering 1280 square feet of living space), the resort is planning Phase 3 consisting of 7 buildings
with 3 or more units in each building. The buildings are planned to be built behind the reception/recreation building,
across the street from a new Medical Office Building. Two tennis courts will be removed, to be replaced by 3 new
tennis courts. Located on 450 acres in Coastal Downeast Maine, this is an Interval International-affiliated
resort and is the only resort in Maine to earn their " Superior Service" award 10 years running. Vacationers
to Acadia Village have access to on-site amenities that include tennis, a basketball court, indoor heated swimming
pool, fitness center, game room, clubhouse, playground, and more.
E-mail street@streettalkblog.com
MISSOURI:
BRANSON: Remember the notorious " Rebates International" program Larry Mahon and Denver Large were running? Well, it has now made prime time. Rebates International,
along with several other companies, is under investigation in at least 13 states and Puerto Rico, along with Larry
and Terry Mahon and apparently Denver Large as well (?). (See: State
Securities Regulators Allege " Advance Fee" Scheme Targeted Businesses, Individuals Seeking Residential
and Commercial Loans in U.S. and Puerto Rico) If you aren't familiar with the company, here is an example of
how it's supposed to work in timeshare land (this is a Branson resale outfit): http://www.worldnetbrokerage.net/rebates_international.htm
UPDATE Nov. 8, 2003:
It was brought to our attention that at some point after we published this link, the website was changed and the
information about Rebates International is no longer there. We checked, and it is true. That information is kaput,
thus the link is no longer relevant.
In the summer of 2001, Large was named along with several others in the Vacation Travel Outlet travel club
fraud, which was prosecuted by Attorney General Jay Nixon. You can find info about that here: http://www.ky3.com/newsdetailed.asp?id=2113
The others named in the action were Brenda Lancos, Edward Lancos, David Large, Janet Large, Barry Mabe, Diana
Simmons, Denver Wood and Thomas Wood.
Some of you may remember that in March, 2001, in Mississippi, a man named Denver Large pled guilty to the
Sale of Unregistered Securities, and Security Fraud by Misrepresentation, and Violation of the Mississippi RICO
Act. Is this the same Denver Large? Or are there 2 of them? In lieu of 78 years in prison, he was given 5 years
of strict probation and ordered to pay $562,000 in restitution. You can find that court document here (you will
need Adobe Acrobat to read it): http://www.natlassoc.com/misssissippi/denverlargeconviction4.pdf
So where are they all now, and what are they doing?
•
Is or is not Rick Heubner back from Vegas? We hear he is starting his own
Travel Club in Branson somewhere around the Outback Club in the Ramada Hotel. Yes? No? Just what Branson
(and the world) needs: another Travel Club.
•
While we're on the subject of Travel Clubs, remember when we reported the
Federal Trade Commission is looking into Travel More Now (a vacation club company with a shaky reputation)
as a result of complaints by many members of AARP? When questioned, the owner, James Kilroy, reportedly
told AARP that it is " None of your business." ) You can find the AARP article here: Fabulous Vacation Deals Often Come Up Short (Subsequent to the AARP article, the company
refunded $7,500 to a woman quoted in the article). We haven't heard much about this since we originally published
it ( see http://www.thetimesharebeat.com/street/july25-03.htm
). Anyone know how things are going with that?
•
Robert Kimes III pleaded guilty on Sept. 23 for embezzling more than $50,000
from Big Cedar Lodge at Table Rock Lake. He admitted that he devised a scheme to defraud the lodge owners,
Bass Pro Shops, while he was employed as a night auditor. U.S. Attorney Todd Graves says Kimes created
fake customer accounts and credited real and fake accounts with fictitious transactions that left positive balances
in his accounts. Graves says Kimes cleared the accounts by crediting the balances to his credit cards. Kimes faces
up to five years in prison without parole and up to a $250,000 fine. His sentencing likely will be in several months.
E-mail street@streettalkblog.com
NEW HAMPSHIRE:
LINCOLN: Developers Dennis Ducharme and Billy Curran have announced
plans for a multi-million dollar timeshare, hotel, shopping and arts redevelopment near Loon Mountain in downtown
Lincoln, New Hampshire to be known as InnSeason Resorts South Mountain™. It will be the first in a series
of Northeast-based resorts to carry the new InnSeason Resorts brand. You can read all
about it here: Resort Village of Timeshares, Hotel Rooms and Shops Coming
to Lincoln, NH
E-mail street@streettalkblog.com
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| Rumors Rumors Who's Got the Rumors? |
- •
Is there any truth to the rumor that the PD at Marriott's Ko Olina
Resort on Oahu has left that position to return to the Mainland and take a position as DOS at Marriott's
new Chateau project in Las Vegas? A case of Island Fever?
- And the survey says: Somewhat the truth...
the PD Sales at Marriott's Ko Olina Resort on Oahu is leaving that position next week and has accepted a PD level
Sales position in Las Vegas. He will be assisting the team in their ongoing transition from DRI to MVCI and will
report to Bob Wengel, the Regional Vice President. Currrent Polo Towers PD Sales, Jerry Murphy, will be assuming the PD Sales position at the Grand Chateau
early next year when Polo Towers achieves sell-out and pre-sales for the Grand Chateau
commence.
In related matters, three weeks ago Tom Cox,
the Area DOM at Marriott's Canyon Villas
at Desert Ridge in Phoenix, Arizona,
left that position and accepted a PD level Marketing position in Las
Vegas. He has been assisting the team
in their ongoing transition from DRI to MVCI and also reports to Bob Wengel. Current Polo Towers PD Marketing, Dean Parker, will be assuming the PD Marketing position at the Grand Chateau. PD Las Vegas Call Center, Sean Connolly, will continue as PD of Marriott's Las Vegas Call Center. All of these positions, too, will be assumed/kept early next year when Polo
Towers achieves sell-out and pre-sales for the Grand Chateau commence.
- •
Is there any truth to the rumor that Century 21 Tri EAST may be facing
a class action lawsuit?
- YOUR COMMENTS
- Oct. 7: --" I
am writing in response to the rumor
regarding C-21 TRI East. I can assure you that our company is not involved in any class action law suit. I can
also assure you that after twenty years of servicing the resort industry, C-21 TRI-Timeshare continues to grow."
- Oct. 9: --" I've
been selling timeshare for 4 years,
I've also used C-21 to help my customers sell their old timeshares. I have so many angry customers coming back
to me years later. C-21 has done nothing for them not even a call back. C-21 to me is a cloud of smoke."
E-mail street@streettalkblog.com
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| Quotable quotes: " Live out of your imagination, not your history." —Stephen Covey |
| International: |
- ST. MAARTEN: Immigration staged a raid...
- ENGLAND: A new Boat Club, points-based...
- KOREA: The Reverend Moon Sun Myung does timeshare?
- BAHAMAS: The first Private Residence Club in Nassau...
- CANADA: $37.5 million in quarter-share real estate changed hands in 5 hours...
READ MORE in Street Talk International (Last Updated
Oct. 9)
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| Idle Thoughts: |
- •
Last week we had some interesting responses to our question about what Cendant
has done for the timeshare industry, good and bad. The following opinion came in late on Thursday, and instead
of adding it to the pile we decided to start a new, but related, topic. Give us your opinions, pro and con...
--" Regarding RCI / Cendant's Plundering
of Weeks Owners: As a 7 year veteran of timeshare sales,
I am sickened by RCI's blatant plundering of so many innocent owners. It was a relatively simple concept for so
many years when better resorts commanded higher prices and better trading power (and for most, it worked pretty
well). It is now time for developers in this industry to toss aside petty rivalries and form a new alliance to
offer a new exchange organization for those owners that liked things the way they used to be. A simple cooperative
effort that will offer comparable exchanges for a much smaller fee. Let RCI feed on those that choose to be abused.
But I hold for the day that a major player (like Starwood, Marriott, etc.) has a chief executive that realizes
that this industry will survive and prosper only if we can offer old fashioned value that genuinely offers fairness
and exclusivity to all of it's members. The age of information technology could make this new alliance a reality
in a very short period of time."
- YOUR COMMENTS
- Oct. 4: --" Frustrating,
isn't it? The solution to the problem
is not another self-serving exchange alternative to RCI, however. Viable alternatives already exist. Besides, a
developer consortium as operator of yet another exchange can be viewed as equally suspect.
Nothing prevents a resort from switching affiliations except the Homeowners Association itself, if the property
has matured, or the developer if a property is actively being marketed.
Notice that the keys to Cendant's success lay in the acquisitions themselves. The common denominator is point based
based programs, with or without individual deeds. Those without, whose members 'own' shares in a club (Worldmark)
are already conditioned to the vague notion of generic points. Although based in real estate ownership as a whole,
no one member can complain about a cloud on their title. Likewise with Fairfield, but these owners have to be sold
individually. Everyone else (affiliated with RCI) is a one-on-one sale. The genius of Cendant's implementation
was the use of independent sales and marketing contractors to sell RCI points to all those who actually held a
deeded interest in a resort (Sunterra). Where else in the timeshare industry are sales and marketing costs a profit
center? Without one cent of cash outlay by Cendant, independent contractors began pitching from Cendant's bible
to the flock. They were permitted to keep anything over a modest administrative fee to Cendant. That translated
to 2-3 thousand dollars per " upgrade" . Cendant got the deed, and a couple of hundred bucks, the I.C.
got a couple of thousand, and the timeshare owner got the shaft. A nationwide mass coverage sales blitz was launched
to saturate the marketplace with a sales force, one-on-one with prospects, and it did not cost Cendant a dime!
The brilliance of it leaves me breathless !
Marriott, Starwood and the like have no interest in Cendant or their business practices. They are busy expanding
their own brand of ownership. The resort developers that find a Cendant proposal attractive do so for monetary
reasons. Greed is a motive that you can trust."
- Oct. 5: --" Since
RCI and II were invented timeshare sales reps
have been selling their program for them without receiving a penny for it. You could say that a world-wide mass
coverage sales blitz was launched at the time to saturate the marketplace with a sales force, one-on-one with prospects
and it did not cost either company a dime. Why should Cendant change what was already working? Credit Jon and Christel
DeHaan with the original brilliance. They were the first to get very rich from the labor of sales reps who never
got paid for it."
- Oct. 7: --" Right
you are about I.I. and RCI memberships:
they just happen. Sort of like a utility company. But it is an arrangement of convenience. Sales reps are not there
to sell II or RCI memberships, they are paid a commission to sell timeshare. It just so happens that the buyer
will probably need the exchange membership, and point of sale is the best time and place to get it. There is probably
a quid pro quo with the developer and the exchange, but the reps don't get a piece, directly.
I understand the point the prior poster makes
about the exchange getting a built in sales force at no cost, but the comparison to the Cendant effort is not nearly
the same thing. RCI points is the principal product that is being sold, and the sales people are being paid well,
and directly, to do it. It just doesn't cost the product owner any money to do it, and there is no cash outlay
which must be recouped.
Re: Jon and Crystal DeHaan, I wish I would have
thought of it. It was brilliant. Only in retrospect, though, does it seem so obvious an idea. It's the vision thing
that's brilliant."
- Oct. 9: --" The
fact remains that for well over a quarter
century RCI and II have both been benefitting from the labor of sales reps without having to pay them a penny,
and they have no cash outlay on their part to recoup. Yes, it has been to sales reps' benefit to sell the exchange
product, but the primary beneficiary has been the exchange companies and THEY DON'T PAY US FOR IT."
- AND: --" Again,
right you are. Again, there is probably
a quid pro quo with the developer and the exchange. So, since that is the flow of the money, the developer should
pass some on to the sales person. The sales rep does not work for the exchange, s(he) works for the developer.
And, guess what the employer would say? How about.. " you are being paid, for all of it, the week, the I.I./RCI
enrollment, the document review and button-up, etc., it's all in there, it's called a commission. It's easier that
way. Don't beleive me ? We can subtract it by line item if you wish."
You get no argument from me, I'm all for getting paid on everything, that's fair. But, careful what you ask for.
Tell me how you reallyyy feel when you are hit up, every time, with the extended warranty pitch at Circuit City
and Best Buy. Just when you thought the sale was over, even if you enjoyed the experience, you leave with a bad
taste over the whole thing. Do you want your tour leaving with a recision rights document under their arm, after
that final message? I think it's best to leave sleeping dogs lie . Trust the employer,... it's in there."
- •
After last week's long discussion of the Do-Not-Call list, you might be
interest to know that Breezy Point International, which sells timeshare properties in and around the Breezy
Point resort near Brainerd, Minnesota, filed a lawsuit in Ramsey County District Court October 1, asking
the court to stop enforcement of the state law and to declare it unconstitutional. Breezy Point International is
the parent company of Whitebirch Resort at Breezy Point, the company that actually sells the timeshare.
Their attorney argued that if the federal do-not-call law can be declared unconstitutional, as a federal judge
in Denver declared it last week, then the Minnesota law is also violating both the state and federal constitutions.
This could be catching on...
E-mail street@streettalkblog.com
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| People on the Move: |
- Trendwest has announced the appointment of Barry Robinson to chief executive
officer of the company’s Australian subsidiary, Trendwest South Pacific, Pty. Ltd., headquartered in
Bundall, Queensland. Robinson will oversee all business operations for Trendwest South Pacific, which includes
eight sales locations nine WorldMark South Pacific resorts and employs more than 700 people in Australia and Fiji.
- We hear Jim Flannagan, the former VP of Grandvista, PD of Horizons by Marriott
and recently the PD of the Trendwest Resort in Branson, has taken a position with Bluegreen somewhere in
Michigan...We and his friends in Branson wish Jim well.
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