Bluegreen-What happened?

[The Hawk Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close The Hawk]

I am still an owner with this resort group but it gets tougher and tougher.

The customer service is horrible and their seems to be a real hostility towards resale owners.

While all the resort groups (Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt) have taken a hit due to the economy, this resort group you can get aweek for virtually $1. Of course it'll take you more $$$ to get the ownership changed over and it will take more time than virtually anywhere else but again that goes to the statements above.

I don't seem to see this mentioned in the forum, is it just me?

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

Since I am a specialist in Bluegreen, I think I can tell you what I believe happened. I am assuming you are looking at the eBay marketplace for Bluegreen points. Because other venues for Bluegreen points do not work like eBay.

1) eBay has always been a venue for Post Card Companies to offload their timeshare packages acquired from owners who pay them between $1995-$2999 to take it off their hands. For several years, Bluegreen was always a venue where these PCCs could double dip. They get their money upfront from the owner and then they also get money from the resale of that timeshare on eBay or through a third party who auctions it off on eBay.

2) Starting in Feb of 2007, Bluegreen started taking actions that made it less and less attractive to make purchases off of eBay. As a result, eBay prices for Bluegreen points have dropped to almost zero. The zero price is misleading because these actions usually add additional fees that make a free package cost over $1000. And, more importantly, the rules for how points combine have changed to make it much more risky to make purchases off eBay. Here is what they did:

a) Feb 21, 2007: started enforcing rule that only points purchased from an authorized reseller count toward Premier and VIP benefits. Prior to this date, all points counted for VIP/Premier benefits.

b) Nov 1, 2008: Introduced new billing plan based on anniversary date. Unless you are really sophisticated in your understanding of Bluegreen and how points combine, it is extremely difficult to understand how points will combine with multiple resale purchases. If you make a mistake, you can ruin your anniversary date and you can end up paying extra maintenance fees of $200-300 PER PACKAGE PER YEAR. This has scared people away from the eBay market place.

c) Feb 2009: increased transfer fee to $475. This made it very ineffective to purchase a lot of small packages. The transaction fees kill you.

d) Aug 21, 2009. Eliminated the loophole where owners could purchase multiple resale packages and upgrade them all the Premier with a single, small resale purchase.

The net result is that you need to know a lot about the intricacies of the Bluegreen Vacation Club in order to make effective eBay purchases. This has eliminated a lot of potential buyers from that venue.

3) In the last year, lots of sophisticated buyers purchased a lot of resale points. They don't need anymore. So, the remaining population of potential buyers need to be educated on the new purchasing rules. This makes it much more attractive to work with a third party who can provide the potential new or upgrade owner with the correct information about how Bluegreen points work. I spend dozens of hours per week helping people figure out what they should do. There are at least a half dozen approaches for purchasing Bluegreen points based on how an owner wants to vacation now and over time. By working with someone who has the knowledge of how purchases are made and how they combine, they can avoid making huge mistakes that will cost them hundreds if not thousands of dollars.

Interestingly, what these moves have done is make it much more difficult to simply dump points on eBay. As you can see from the lack of bids, they are not selling. That actually puts a floor on the prices of Bluegreen points which partially mitigates the unlimited inventory that PCC companies can acquire and dump. However, if they can't dump it easily, perhaps they will reduce their seminars as well.

In addition, Bluegreen will eventually run out of inventory from their last build cycle started prior to 2008. When that happens, they will need to make a buy vs. build decision to replenish inventory for retail sales. At the prices they see on eBay, they can scoop up tons of inventory for next to nothing and resell it for $1.40-2.50 / point. If they can do this, why build new resorts? All Bluegreen Points packages grant Right of First Refusal to Bluegreen.

So, there is nothing wrong with Bluegreen. In fact, it is flourishing. Bluegreen Corp only had ONE unprofitable Quarter since the financial credit crisis of 4Q2008. We have 5 new resorts and a new affiliation agreement with RCI Points.

If you like the Bluegreen Vacation Club, this is probably a good time to add to your portfolio given how cheap prices are.

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

I don't understand

The customer service is horrible ... I don't seem to see this mentioned in the forum, is it just me?

Where is customer service "horrible"? When I call to make a reservation, the rep is very polite, helpful, complete, and efficient. When I check in, the front desk people are friendly and helpful. If I have a problem in the unit, the maintenance staff are soon there, they are friendly, fix the problem, and leave.

The only horrible experience is when I take the $75-100 to attend an "Owner's Update" (ie., a sales presentation, why else would they give me money). But that is my own fault for attending.

Charles

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

I agree with Charles. Bluegreen customer service is excellent.

[vacation_family99 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close vacation_family99]

Yes, I would also agree that the customer service is excellent. The wait times for getting a reservationist on the phone now, though, has increased where I am always getting the "it will be at least 15 minutes before your call will be answered".

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

Hmmm. I have never had that problem. When I have called (less often since the online reservation is working so well) I get a person quickly.

I agree with Charles in that the only down part of BG is dealing with the 'owner update' and the sale staff.

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

I have been an owner at Club la Pension for about 10 years now. Each year, I rent out my unit and send an email to management about the renter. This year, I could not find an email for the manager. So, I called the resort. Went into pushbutton hell, then was put on hold for about 30 minutes.

I asked for an email or somewhere that I could send my renter's name and was put on hold for another 5 minutes. Reservationist came back and told me that all I had to do was to call the resort and tell them my renter's name. I mentioned that I had, in fact called the resort and was transferred to her; also that I would like to have something in writing that my renter could have in hand for comfort and that he could show to the front desk at checkin. Hold for another 12 minutes. Finally, I was given the manager's email address.

So, maybe customer service is "excellent," but it sure takes a lot longer to get it than it used to before CLP was a Bluegreen resort. Oh, yeah. Also my MF went up by 40 percent, plus an additional "special assessment" of another 25 percent for this year. And they are now adding a daily fee to the price.

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

What is this 'daily fee'?

I am guessing you are not a points owner. I am, and as such, when I rent out a unit, I call Bluegreen owner services and tell them of the change of person on the reservation. They make the change and send the renter or me the new information. If they send it to me, I get it to the renter. There has been no problem for this change of reservation.

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

I'm curious about the hostility to resale owners comments?

By whom? And in what context?

All of my points were acquired resale and I'm wondering where I might encounter an issue.

I haven't been on a sales update since I initially purchased and I can imagine that some hostility might arise in that context if they're able to identify you as a resale buyer.

To date, either by luck or because of how the company operates, I've been treated great at each check-in at each resort. I've only been to 3 (Big Cedar, Fountains, and Daytona Seabreeze) and at each I've had great service. (except for a minor goofy issue with the Fountains over a lost necklace that they just *can't* seem to get returned to me! V. irritating!)

I have had good experiences with the reservations people, also. No long wait times like described above, and notably polite, patient and helpful service people. Seriously, compared to the "push 3 for returns" kind of hell I endure in nearly all customer service situations, I'm amazed at how good the Bluegreen people are.

Anita

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

I have been an owner at Club la Pension for about 10 years now. Each year, I rent out my unit and send an email to management about the renter. This year, I could not find an email for the manager. So, I called the resort. Went into pushbutton hell, then was put on hold for about 30 minutes.

I asked for an email or somewhere that I could send my renter's name and was put on hold for another 5 minutes. Reservationist came back and told me that all I had to do was to call the resort and tell them my renter's name. I mentioned that I had, in fact called the resort and was transferred to her; also that I would like to have something in writing that my renter could have in hand for comfort and that he could show to the front desk at checkin. Hold for another 12 minutes. Finally, I was given the manager's email address.

So, maybe customer service is "excellent," but it sure takes a lot longer to get it than it used to before CLP was a Bluegreen resort. Oh, yeah. Also my MF went up by 40 percent, plus an additional "special assessment" of another 25 percent for this year. And they are now adding a daily fee to the price.

There is a Club La Pension owners line on the Bluegreen hotline. I haven't called it yet myself, but I imagine that adding a guest to a unit is as easy as it is for all Bluegreen owners.

We made a reservation at Club La Pension for July 23-30 and it was very easy. Perhaps you just need to contact the Bluegreen line for Club La Pension. In addition, the reservation is online so we can print off a resort confirmation letter for our guest.

Regarding the fees increases and special assessments. Not sure how much that is on Bluegreen vs. the prior resort management. My guess is that the resort was sold to Bluegreen is disrepair and needed major renovations.

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

By whom? And in what context?

All of my points were acquired resale and I'm wondering where I might encounter an issue.

I haven't been on a sales update since I initially purchased and I can imagine that some hostility might arise in that context if they're able to identify you as a resale buyer.

To date, either by luck or because of how the company operates, I've been treated great at each check-in at each resort. I've only been to 3 (Big Cedar, Fountains, and Daytona Seabreeze) and at each I've had great service. (except for a minor goofy issue with the Fountains over a lost necklace that they just *can't* seem to get returned to me! V. irritating!)

I have had good experiences with the reservations people, also. No long wait times like described above, and notably polite, patient and helpful service people. Seriously, compared to the "push 3 for returns" kind of hell I endure in nearly all customer service situations, I'm amazed at how good the Bluegreen people are.

Anita

The only group that will treat you differently is the sales team. If you never attend an owner update, everyone will treat you the same as any other owner.

[The Hawk Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close The Hawk]

Thank you.

Thanks to everyone for sharing the information. Glad to hear most people are more than satisfied with the customer service. I may just have caught some people on a bad day. Thanks for sharing why ebay prices are so low. I thought there was a correlation with the treatment I was perceiving but now I see there's alot more to it.

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

And they are now adding a daily fee to the price.

Whoa. What's this about a daily fee? I've had reservations at CLP for the upcoming NCAA tournament since last July, and I haven't heard anything about a daily fee. Can you expound? I want to avoid a rude surprise when I check in (or check out).

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

Whoa. What's this about a daily fee?

Some resorts charge a daily fee for parking, some for a safe in the unit, at least one for amenities.

Charles

[lawren2 Malibu Beach Barbie & A Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close lawren2]

Whoa. What's this about a daily fee? I've had reservations at CLP for the upcoming NCAA tournament since last July, and I haven't heard anything about a daily fee. Can you expound? I want to avoid a rude surprise when I check in (or check out).

Resort Name: BLUEGREEN CLUB LA
PENSION™
115 DECATUR STREET
NEW ORLEANS, LA
504.528.9254
Guest Name: xxxxxxxx
Check-In Date: 07/23/10
Check-Out Date: 07/30/10
Number of
Guests:
2
Villa
Size/Description2)
1 Bedroom
Max. Occupancy(3): 4
Reservation Type: Points
Points: 9,000
IMPORTANT NOTES:
Minimum age for check-in: 23
Check-in: 4 p.m.
Check-out: 10 a.m.
Office hours: 24 hours.
Nearest airport: Louis Armstrong New
Orleans International (MSY)
Miles to resort: 16
Pets allowed? No
Smoking policy: Not permitted inside villas
Parking: Valet parking available for a daily rate of
$30 including tax. Parking includes in/out privileges
in a secure lot. No parking garage located onsite.
Deposit required: Upon check-in, each reservation
will be charged a $50 deposit for incidentals. Major
credit card required. In addition to room taxes, there
is a $1.00 per night fee for city/state
accommodations tax that will be added to your final
bill.Other notes: Airport shuttle and taxi service is
available outside the baggage area of New Orleans
International Airport.
Current construction: NA