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RCI's new Directory of Affiliated Resorts, the European version, arrived in the mail today. Unlike those in the past, it has no obvious date anywhere I can see.
The new directory gives a lot less info on resorts than the old one, including:
- no award status designation - the GC, SC, and Hospitality symbols are gone, and no replacement designation
- no designation of closest airport and distance
- no info on resort websites
- reduced info on resort amenities, and none at all on nearby amenities any more
- no info on unit sizes availible at the resort, or types of kitchens
- no season designations - red, white, and blue, or otherwise
Also missing entirely is a great feature that the European directory used to have is their monthly supply / demand assessment by region or country. I guess this became very inconvenient when they imposed Points Lite and it was clear that their ''TPU'' valuations were way off track with their own admitted supply / demand calculations.
For the US, they have two pages of the 282 in the directory with resort details of 12 Florida resorts, and well as two other pages with ''other options'' in Florida listed only by name, one page on Las Vegas with resort details of four resorts and a list of ''other options'', and two pages with resort details of 12 resorts in the rest of the US and six pages of ''other options'' listed by name only. Africa has a total of nine pages including three pages with resort details of 18 South African resorts.
It was also interesting to look at changes in resorts. The longstanding RCI affiliate in Vienna, Hotel Deutschmeister, which is in a great location just outside the ring and half a block from a subway station, is gone. So is the classic hotel in Istanbul that used to be the hotel used by Orient Express Passengers. Amazingly they still list Wychnor Park, even though DRI has forced out all of the individual weeks-based owners, who were the only ones who could deposit to RCI. Wychnor Park is now only availible to DRI points members, who have to use II. What it is still doing in the RCI Directory is a mystery.
The new directory gives a lot less info on resorts than the old one, including:
- no award status designation - the GC, SC, and Hospitality symbols are gone, and no replacement designation
- no designation of closest airport and distance
- no info on resort websites
- reduced info on resort amenities, and none at all on nearby amenities any more
- no info on unit sizes availible at the resort, or types of kitchens
- no season designations - red, white, and blue, or otherwise
Also missing entirely is a great feature that the European directory used to have is their monthly supply / demand assessment by region or country. I guess this became very inconvenient when they imposed Points Lite and it was clear that their ''TPU'' valuations were way off track with their own admitted supply / demand calculations.
For the US, they have two pages of the 282 in the directory with resort details of 12 Florida resorts, and well as two other pages with ''other options'' in Florida listed only by name, one page on Las Vegas with resort details of four resorts and a list of ''other options'', and two pages with resort details of 12 resorts in the rest of the US and six pages of ''other options'' listed by name only. Africa has a total of nine pages including three pages with resort details of 18 South African resorts.
It was also interesting to look at changes in resorts. The longstanding RCI affiliate in Vienna, Hotel Deutschmeister, which is in a great location just outside the ring and half a block from a subway station, is gone. So is the classic hotel in Istanbul that used to be the hotel used by Orient Express Passengers. Amazingly they still list Wychnor Park, even though DRI has forced out all of the individual weeks-based owners, who were the only ones who could deposit to RCI. Wychnor Park is now only availible to DRI points members, who have to use II. What it is still doing in the RCI Directory is a mystery.