Your Take on Ask RCI Question!

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

What is your take on this Ask RCI question?

This question was asked on Feb. 20, 2006. Madge still has not answered the question.

How can RCI call Snap Travel an Outside Vendor?

Do you know of any other RCI (Outside Vendors) that uses the RCI's VC for doing the rental transactions?

Walt


http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthr...highlight=Walt


Snap Travel and Yearly RCI membership Fee?


Hi Madge,

The following is from Snap Travels Web Site.

http://www.snaptravel.com/about.asp

Who is SnapTravel.com?

SnapTravel.com is an affiliate of Resort Condominiums International (RCI) and Cendant Corporation, offering vacation rental accommodations perfect for a couple, a family, or a group of friends. Our property selection ranges from condominiums to single-family homes. SnapTravel.com provides the personal touch with customer service representatives available to help you plan and book vacations toll-free at 1-800-338-7799, via participating travel agents .SnapTravel.com also offers the convenience of full searching and booking capability via the Web at snaptravel.com.


The following is from RCI's Web Site.

Weeks Assistance
1-800-338-7777: 1-800-338-7799 is an extension number for RCI.
Call this number and the VC becomes a Snap Travel Agent.

http://www.rci.com/RCI/CDA/Home/GEP/...button1=Submit


You have stated that Snap Travel is an Outside Vendor. The telephone number is the same for both RCI and Snap Travel. I think it is fair to assume that when a Snap Travel customer calls this number, they speak to a RCI VC. So my question is this.

Does any of our yearly membership fee go to pay the VCs that service Snap Travel's Customers?

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

My answer to you would be this:

Dear Mr. Tennis,

Your yearly fee entitles you to the membership benefits of RCI. These benefits include depositing weeks and exchanging them, endless vacations magazine, access to extra vacations and last call opportunities, a toll-free hotline to speak to our vacation counselors and other benefits.

Snap Travel and other RCI affiliates are separate corporate entities and therefore our financials do not comingle and we treat them as independent vendors.

If you would like to know more about how RCI utilizes its resources, you can learn more by buying shares of CD from any broker of NYSE stocks and ask your questions on the quarterly earnings call or annual shareholders meeting. Alternatively, you can read the annual report and quarterly filings.

Signed,

RCI Spokesperson.

(Translation: It's none of your damn business. If our services meets your needs, keep your membership. If it doesn't you know where the door is.)

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

You May be Assuming too Much!

How do you know I do not own stock in CD? Why would I want to sell now?


Stock Price
As of 04-25-2006
$17.30

Fair Value Estimate

$23.00

Consider Buying

$17.70

Consider Selling

$28.80


Walt

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

How about because no one has the foggiest notion what the makeup of the company will be in one year, or 6 months, or next month!

Why would I want to sell now?
Walt

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

How about because no one has the foggiest notion what the makeup of the company will be in one year, or 6 months, or next month!

Almost sounds like Rumsfeld is in charge....

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

Almost sounds like Rumsfeld is in charge....

Surely you mean Dubya? Don't forget that Don "Knows what he knows, knows what he doesn't know....."

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

Exchange company rentals are a conflict of interest, but don't expect Madge to give you a straight answer on that one. Bootleg would have if he knew the answer, but not Madge.

The best answers are going to come if the class actions actually go to trial.

The best person to be asking that question is someone in the Consumer Protection Division of a State Attorney General's office, utilizing some of their pre-litigation discovery tools.

Another way is to modernize the disclosure laws that now exist for timeshare exchange programs in most, if not all, states. These were written before the big exchange companies really got into renting and apply to any exchange company with an affiliation agreement with any resort in sales (this can in some states even apply to sold out resorts where the HOA has resales of HOA owned weeks). It only makes sense that they be brought up to date to include disclosures on rentals, but since rentals are such a massive potential conflict of interest with an exchange program, that should be MUCH more detailed that the disclosure requirements as to exchanges.

I know we have some on these boards for whom consumer protection laws seem to cause heartburn, but when a big exchange company is effectively a monopoly for exchangers at many resorts, this is certainly an area where they are well justified.

[taffy19 Gold Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close taffy19]

What I don't understand is that timeshare sales are very regulated but not an exchange company. I don't know if that is good or bad because we have too much Government regulation already. Pretty soon, they will tell you when you must go to bed because the lights have to go out.

Walt, if I were you, stop giving them your best weeks you have so that you do not get so worked up about it. At least, we have that choice!

Use another exchange company or make a direct exchange. Yes, RCI has the most locations but if nobody deposits their best weeks they have at the best locations, they have nothing and they cannot rent out that timeshare either. JMHO.

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

Exchange companies are not regulated directly by states, but indirectly.

Most, if not all, states have laws requiring timeshare resorts in their state in sales (often including sold out resort with HOA resales) to make certain disclosures to buyers about any timeshare exchange program with which the resort has an affiliation agreement. The exchange company compiles and publishes the required data in booklets, which are then sold to the resort to be given to buyers to comply with these laws.

The laws were written back in the days before the big exchange companies went heavily into rentals to non-members, so they only require data about exchanging. In light of these new activities, it would be very appropriate for legislatures to revisit these laws to require detailed disclosures about rental activities involving spacebank deposits.

I know some on these boards don't care for consumer protection laws, but they are quite appropriate in a market like timeshare exchange where many timeshare owners are held hostage to one company if they want to exchange.
That is a quasi-monopoly and screams out for consumer protection.

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

Timeshare Never Never Land!

What I don't understand is that timeshare sales are very regulated but not an exchange company. I don't know if that is good or bad because we have too much Government regulation already. Pretty soon, they will tell you when you must go to bed because the lights have to go out.

Walt, if I were you, stop giving them your best weeks you have so that you do not get so worked up about it. At least, we have that choice!

Use another exchange company or make a direct exchange. Yes, RCI has the most locations but if nobody deposits their best weeks they have at the best locations, they have nothing and they cannot rent out that timeshare either. JMHO.

I'm not really worked up about it. They never have and never will get my Maui Embassy week. If need be I can live without Exchanges. I really do not have a problem just using my own timeshare weeks.

That said, I think it is important that Timeshare Owners see what may be happening in the World of Timeshare Never Never Land.

If a few of us can get Timeshare Owners to at least look into what may be happening to the world of Timeshare Exchanging, I have done what I wanted to do.

I think it is wrong to Rent Owner's Spacebank Prime Time Weeks in Prime Locations to the general public before the Exchange Company's Members have a chance to trade into that Resort.

Most of us are Timeshare Owners. Thanks to Web Sites like Timeshare Forums, most of us have the knowledge on how to get the best value for our exchanges. But the Exchange Companies need to place all Owners Spacebank weeks into the Exchange Pool before they are Rented to the general public. I just don't believe this is being done. According to some insiders, (Bootleg being one) The Exchanges Companies are cherry picking the best Resorts and weeks and placing them into the rental pool.

So, I don't have to make waves.....but then, why should we all waste our time on these Timeshare Forums?...If you only want to hear what RCI and II want us to know, go to a Timeshare Presentation. I rather get the word out.

Walt

[taffy19 Gold Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close taffy19]

Walt, what really needs to be stopped is the false promise of telling people that they can go anywhere in the world anytime. This is simply not true and it is not easy either to make an exchange.

They should tell prospective buyers that RCI has the right to do with the deposited week as they see fit and that you sign this agreement when you deposit your week. Prospective buyers, who buy for exchanging mainly, may not be so keen in buying that timeshare in this case. It is obvious to me that some developers and RCI go to bed together. JMHO.

I don't know if this is the same with other exchange companies too because I haven't deposited a week for quite a while and I have never read the fine print either which we all should do.

Yes, you are right to warn others of this practice because sooner rather than later everyone will search the Internet for information first before buying so this information is very useful for newbies.

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

Walt, what really needs to be stopped is the false promise of telling people that they can go anywhere in the world anytime. This is simply not true and it is not easy either to make an exchange.

They should tell prospective buyers that RCI has the right to do with the deposited week as they see fit and that you sign this agreement when you deposit your week. Prospective buyers, who buy for exchanging mainly, may not be so keen in buying that timeshare in this case. It is obvious to me that some developers and RCI go to bed together. JMHO.

I don't know if this is the same with other exchange companies too because I haven't deposited a week for quite a while and I have never read the fine print either which we all should do.

Yes, you are right to warn others of this practice because sooner rather than later everyone will search the Internet for information first before buying so this information is very useful for newbies.

Emmy

I agree with you. Especially, what really needs to be stopped is the false promise of telling people that they can go anywhere in the world anytime. A few years ago I spent a week at Orange Lake. RCI/Orange Lake had this very big sales Picture/Poster with London and Paris as a focal point. Now, how many timeshare people do you know that have traded into London or Paris? Or how about the maxium and equal trade value of all Red Week (summer in Southern Florida too).

I don 't think this will ever change on it's own. But Forums like this can get the word out.

Walt

[taffy19 Gold Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close taffy19]

I have to say something about Fairfield. I really wanted to go to a point-based timeshare presentation and had to keep nagging my BH to go but we finally did. Trying to find them was another story which is quite comical. I should post it but not now as I am in a hurry.

The presentation was really very nice and I did not hear any lies and when we said no to our sales lady, she was a sport and gave us a hand and a big smile. I really felt bad for her but how else do you find out the prices and what they have to offer and what points are like?

The person who interviewed us afterwards was very nice too and they let us go with our dinner coupon for the restaurant which was an excellent meal. It was at the "Ocean House" at the Outrigger hotel where they give the presentation.

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

I believe there has been enough energy expended expressing that sentiment to keep Wisconsin warm for ten winters.

Realistically, not just idealistically, how do you think this can be done, force RCI to be just an exchange company again?

Cuz' after all, we all know the temptation to rent is just too great for a company like Cendant, don't we?

I think it is wrong to Rent Owner's Spacebank Prime Time Weeks in Prime Locations to the general public before the Exchange Company's Members have a chance to trade into that Resort.

But the Exchange Companies need to place all Owners Spacebank weeks into the Exchange Pool before they are Rented to the general public. Walt

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

I get Paris if you'll get London.

The following 1 Resort Has availability during your requested time frame.

La Residence Normande 2572 Connelles, FRANCE 6/2 01/20/2007 - 02/17/2007
- - - - - -

RCI/Orange Lake had this very big sales Picture/Poster with London and Paris as a focal point. Now, how many timeshare people do you know that have traded into London or Paris? Walt