How can timeshares compete having such different prices?

[jerrry94087 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close jerrry94087]

I can't understand how can different very comparable timeshare companies compete: I look at Monarch Grand Vacations Club and Grand View in Las Vegas. First has 9 resorts + 300 affiliated resorts + II exchange option. Second has 18 resorts + ~80 affiliated resorts(?) + RCI membership.

Monarch Vacations points has annual maintenance fee $3.54/year/biannual point. 133 biannual points will get approximately 1 week in 1BR biannually, which makes it ~$941.64/week ($3.54*133points*2years) in maintenance fees (which are paid annually)

Grand View has ~$580 maintenance fee for 2BR annual week, which can be split into 2 1BR annual weeks, which makes it $280/week in maintenance fees.

Both can be bought very cheaply, almost free, on the resale market.
Why would anyone buy Monarch points and later pay $941/week vs. buying Grand View weeks and later paying $280/week? 3.4 times price difference!

I believe one can buy Monarch only as an impulse purchase, if he has no clue about the prices at all.

[brother coony Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close brother coony]

It comes down to where you want to vacation or go with your family, Grand view may not have a resort in the area you want to go year afther year,compare to Monarch,case in point, me and my wife loves NYC ,so does my kids, and grand kids,I can take them all over the country, and they have fun,but ask were they would like to go next year,and to a man/woman they will pick NYC,Every year there is a fight over who will be going with us to NYC,so I buy the Manhattan Club where the MFs is over $2000 for a week in a one bedroom,I could have buy hundreds of other timeshare way lower MFs, but for my family and me the value would not be there, as its repeated here over and over, Buy where you LOVE to go, that will always be the best value for your money.

[jerrry94087 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close jerrry94087]

It comes down to where you want to vacation or go with your family, Grand view may not have a resort in the area you want to go year afther year,compare to Monarch,case in point, me and my wife loves NYC ,so does my kids, and grand kids,I can take them all over the country, and they have fun,but ask were they would like to go next year,and to a man/woman they will pick NYC,Every year there is a fight over who will be going with us to NYC,so I buy the Manhattan Club where the MFs is over $2000 for a week in a one bedroom,I could have buy hundreds of other timeshare way lower MFs, but for my family and me the value would not be there, as its repeated here over and over, Buy where you LOVE to go, that will always be the best value for your money.

This is true for a fraction of people with strong attachment to particular places. Most people, I believe, will like most of the resorts that both companies offer. Hence my question: how can such price disparity on a very comparable products exist on the market?

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

As to part of your question, remember what P T Barnum said.

(Including many of us here, at least originally.)

[Jya-Ning Silver Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close Jya-Ning]

It is not an open market. And you have too many varieties. You will need to look hard for a lot of information which mostly is not easy to get. Than you can really determine what is what.

A cloth sell at W-Mart may cost $5 per piece, the same company could work for a brand name, and that could cost few hundreds, both can exist in the market. Even if people can nowadays look at the information on line.

As TS wise, most people does not really know it. They just have a rough image how it may work based on more likely their own home. So they can not compare the price.

Jya-Ning

[BoardGirl Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BoardGirl]

You are assuming that price is the overriding factor. Maybe it is for you, and that's fine. But for others, that could be way down the list.

Each family has their own wants, needs, preferences, etc., and there are many differences in systems. What is best fit for you is not necessarily best fit for me.

[rikkis_playpen Diamond Club Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close rikkis_playpen]

It's all about personal preference and branding.. Some people drive a Chevy- others drive a Cadillac.. Both cars get you from place to place and are probably somewhat comparable, but reality is that one costs a little more than the other.. As with everything, brand and consumer perception always play a big part. Chances are if your family and friends drive Cadillacs, you'll have a high chance of doing the same.. Do you need it- No... Do you want it- yes!

Timeshare really isn't that different.. With many luxury items, price is normally not the buyer's main criteria.

[BoardGirl Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BoardGirl]

Nice analogy, Rikki!

I have no need for Marriott or Hyatt. I am, however, a longtime Chevy lover!

[jerrry94087 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close jerrry94087]

It's all about personal preference and branding.. Some people drive a Chevy- others drive a Cadillac....
...
Timeshare really isn't that different.. With many luxury items, price is normally not the buyer's main criteria.

These two examples are really very close. No such difference like between Chevy and Cadillac.

I think the real reason is buyer's ignorance. They don't really know much about the product they are buying, in fact most see it for the first time in their life. And this is an impulse purchase, timeshare salesmen so much rely on.

[aliikai2 Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close aliikai2]

I can't find 80 affilliated resorts for the Grandview?

It looks to be a stand along resort in Las Vegas.

Trying to compare this to a group that has California Ocean front resorts, is like looking at apples and calling them lemons

If your are using the fact that they trade with RCI as a plus, I would suggest you may wish to read some of the postings here regarding the downward spiral that RCI has created with their rental programs.
They recently announced they are changing their name to be more reflective of their current business, they will be Called Rental Condominiums Inc.

Grandview is also in that " Bloom is on the rose" area of still having a developer selling and subsidizing the annual fees.
Once they sell out and the HOA needs to run it, the fees will surely increase substantially.
Take a look at Polo Towers

fwiw,

Greg

I can't understand how can different very comparable timeshare companies compete: I look at Monarch Grand Vacations Club and Grand View in Las Vegas. First has 9 resorts + 300 affiliated resorts + II exchange option. Second has 18 resorts + ~80 affiliated resorts(?) + RCI membership.

Monarch Vacations points has annual maintenance fee $3.54/year/biannual point. 133 biannual points will get approximately 1 week in 1BR biannually, which makes it ~$941.64/week ($3.54*133points*2years) in maintenance fees (which are paid annually)

Grand View has ~$580 maintenance fee for 2BR annual week, which can be split into 2 1BR annual weeks, which makes it $280/week in maintenance fees.

Both can be bought very cheaply, almost free, on the resale market.
Why would anyone buy Monarch points and later pay $941/week vs. buying Grand View weeks and later paying $280/week? 3.4 times price difference!

I believe one can buy Monarch only as an impulse purchase, if he has no clue about the prices at all.

[Jya-Ning Silver Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close Jya-Ning]

Could be wrong. From their website.

The Grand View is managed by Daily Management Inc. Which was formed in 1981 to provide professional management of day-to-day operations at resorts developed and/or owned by The Berkley Group of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Originally, those resorts were solely located in South Florida. However, as The Berkley Group continued to expand its holdings and develop new resorts, so did Daily Management expand its operations to oversee additional properties in Virginia, Massachusetts and Nevada. More resort properties are planned in other areas of the country and will soon become available to you via this website, so please make sure to bookmark this site and visit it regularly!

Today, it manages 18 resorts like GV, Vacation Villiage ... Not owner there, but manage does not mean their owner can do any internal exchange. Look like they go through RCI to make exchanges. The number of inventories you expect will be very different, and in most of the holidays, you will not see any.

Jya-Ning

[jerrry94087 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close jerrry94087]

Could be wrong. From their website.

Today, it manages 18 resorts like GV, Vacation Villiage ... Not owner there, but manage does not mean their owner can do any internal exchange. Look like they go through RCI to make exchanges. The number of inventories you expect will be very different, and in most of the holidays, you will not see any.

Jya-Ning

This page lists resorts affiliated with the Berkeley Group:
www.findrentals.com/33970.html

On their timeshare presentations they pitch that you can easily exchange between their affiliated resorts without paying fees.

[BocaBum99 Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close BocaBum99]

The reason they can compete is that in the sale presentation where the buyer is being tortured for that free gift, only ONE timeshare is being offered.

[Jya-Ning Silver Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close Jya-Ning]

I thought OP's question is not on developer purchase, but when you try to buy from resale, why someone pick one but not the other.

Jya-Ning

[JWC Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close JWC]

Resale prices generally have no connection to value as the vast majority of sellers price their timeshares much too high and then wonder why nobody buys them.