RCI Changing to All Points?

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

You are quite correct. Sunterra has also been aggressively trying to convert weeks-based owners and selling points-only at most new resorts. Still from figures on the Vogas site, a majority of Sunterra Europe owners are still weeks-based (I have not seen US market figures). That shows the huge market resistance to points among weeks-based owners..

FWIW - I understand that about one-half of the weeks owners at Sunterra Po`ipu have joined Club Sunterra. That does not speak to me of huge market resistance among those weeks-based owners.

It's worth noting that at Po`ipu owners can join Club Sunterra and still retain their deeded ownership. But owners joining Club Sunterra still need to purchase an increment of Trust points to join club Sunterra.

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

RCI switching to all points?

When the resorts, get paid a big cut of the huge fee which many resorts are charging for their week owners to switch to points, there will continue to be alot of resorts switching to points. But there are also many resorts, which have BOD which listen to their owners, who do not want to switch to points. RCI will want the money from both these groups and continue both plans.
If RCI wanted to really switch everyone to points, they would insist that the resorts charge a reasonable fee to switch weeks to points.

Actually, a responsive BOD will decide that it's not up to them to play nanny for their owners. The best BODs will:

• dual affiliate with RCI and II, and gladly work with independent exchange companies so that they're owners have the most exchanging options.
• become a RCI Points resorts so that owners who want to use RCI Points may do so, while those who want to use Weeks can similarly continue to do so.

Responsive means helping owners get the value that best meets their circumstances. Responsiveness does not mean cramming personal preferences down owners throats.

BODs that are controlled by developers or by entrenched fossilized managements are the BODs that cram decisions down owners throats. We've got enough of those. Strong, disciplined and responsive BODs focus on expanding their owners options.

[Mimi Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Mimi]

Everyone has been very helpful and I've learned a lot. Thanks!
We have been very happy timeshare owners/traders of two units in different places for over 15 years and have no quibble with RCI - at the moment.
Our vacation needs have changed over the years, especially since retirement, and one of the timeshares could easily go.
It just happened that this "offer" hah! came at a time when we had some interest in selling one.
One woman in the small group (once the "offer" was finally presented,) said quite loudly, "This is a hoax!" and was basically escorted from the room.
The woman was quite right
Thanks again!
Seems like a great, and very informational, forum

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

Quite a number of Australian resorts have dumped RCI Points and gone back to RCI Weeks. Some resorts elsewhere have done that as well.

RCI switching to all points?

When the resorts, get paid a big cut of the huge fee which many resorts are charging for their week owners to switch to points, there will continue to be alot of resorts switching to points. But there are also many resorts, which have BOD which listen to their owners, who do not want to switch to points. RCI will want the money from both these groups and continue both plans.
If RCI wanted to really switch everyone to points, they would insist that the resorts charge a reasonable fee to switch weeks to points.

[I-DE-HO Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close I-DE-HO]

Thanks, but we've been owners of two resort timeshares for over ten years - no more tours for us!
We attended a meeting today put on by Vacation Solutions and they indicated RCI was going to force all owners to "upgrade" to points.
Vacation Solutions offered to make offers on timeshares in their mailing. What they offered us was the opportunity to pay them to take it off our hands.
We passed

Mimi,
What city was the meeting in? I think these are the same folks who sell a lot of t/s on ebay with low, or no, reserves. Different sellers with the same "M.O."

Phil

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

Usually they want people to pay ca $4K to take a week.

One of my OBX resorts had an owner deed them two summer weeks. The owner lives in a part of Florida hard hit by hurricanes, but was only behind the current year on m/f's. ouch! Things like that make you wish some law enforcement agency would put these scammers out of business, and indeed lock them up.

[Mimi Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Mimi]

Mimi,
What city was the meeting in? I think these are the same folks who sell a lot of t/s on ebay with low, or no, reserves. Different sellers with the same "M.O."

Phil

Phil,
This was around Syracuse, NY. The young woman indicated they sent mailings to all the resort owners whose names they have in a given area and they got about a 10% response at their little meetings.

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

They can't force me to spend money to 'upgrade' although they can discontinue the Weeks program. It wouldn't surprise me if they did that, but I wouldn't expect it to even start phasing in for quite some time. It would sure create a big surge in business for the other exchange companies.

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

RCI really has a split-personality it seems. On the one hand they say that they are committed to their members, promising them "endless vacations" and "vacations of a lifetime"...on the other hand they claim they are really working for the "industry" of timeshare, facilitating interest and generating the customer base for developers.

In a paper written by/for RCI called RCI White Paper 2005, there is a detailed outline of their "strategy". Overall it is to generate the perception of the benefits of timesharing: Health benefits of taking a vacation and the financial edge of owning over time (laughable now that RCI has spent so much energy in breaking the model into subcomponents: points, rentals, cruises, etc). They are setting their sights on China and the (very stable) Mideast as the new frontiers.

Also, they have the Registry Collection: luxury high end timesharing for people with lots of dough. Then the launch of Condo hotels...which I guess is the new type of inventory one sees happening in Hawaii or San Fran. Finally, they are going into some area called Hybrid Private Residency Clubs....for really really high-net-worth folks.

In closing the paper they sum their identity up as "dedicated to serving as a growth partner to affiliates" and they see their future is to bring greater profit at lower costs to the affiliates (i.e. developers.)

Thus I say, when Madge OY or any "RCI apologist" tries to sell the idea of RCI's "commitment to its members" , pardon me while I laugh....

With this in mind, all would-be timeshare owners should be cautioned, do your research, buy resale, and buy where you want to vacation.

The independent exchange companies will see more and more activity as RCI continues its campaign of being a "catalyst for growth in the industry."

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

katiemac - GREAT comments!