2012 /2013 Promotion is extended

[Mark @SFX Industry Representative Find all posts View Profile Close Mark @SFX]

In response to our Members, we are extending our Special Offer Deposit promotion to March 31, 2012.

SPECIAL OFFERS

Thanks,
Mark @sfx
Member Communication

[PortableTech Member Find all posts View Profile Close PortableTech]

Mark,

Just a quick thought, you should add back the deal for the 2 years of SFX Platinum membership again. That to be was one of the best promotions you ever offered. And it is something that has a true and direct value to me, especially when combined with the cash cards. It just has not represented enough value that I am willing to shell out the very high cost to maintain it that I have been told about in the sales calls.

My wife is just not that into Mexico, especially with the family, and I realize her concerns may be unjustified, but they are what they are. As such the Grand Mayan just never really is a seller for us. Also while all the lifestyle weeks are nice, I spend all but about 6 weeks a year in Afghanistan. As such we just do not vacation enough to take full advantage of all of them.

Mabey you could offer some sort of build your own promotion type of offer. You could offer a list of 6 or 7 options and as part of the deposit promotion the person would get to pick a certain number of options off the list depending on how good a deposit it is. Might make for interesting results in seeing what is important to the customer base as a whole too.

Not saying these observations would apply to everyone, but I know it would certainly deposit a week if that was part of the promotion, where as with the current setup, it is just not quite a good enough deal to make me jump at it for my specific needs and usages.

--PortableTech

[blr666 Member Find all posts View Profile Close blr666]

Hi Mark, are there any plans to extend the Special Offer deposit promotion? I have a 2013 week to deposit. I used the Offer widget on your website, the offer came up but it also said that it expires on March 31, 2012.
Thanks.

[Mark @SFX Industry Representative Find all posts View Profile Close Mark @SFX]

Hi Mark, are there any plans to extend the Special Offer deposit promotion? I have a 2013 week to deposit. I used the Offer widget on your website, the offer came up but it also said that it expires on March 31, 2012.
Thanks.

Blr666 - Thank you for your post. I believe we just launched a 30 special which extends to May 31st. This covers 2012 and 2013.

Please login and check.

Thanks,
Mark @sfx
Member Communications

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

Mark
I went in to deposit a week today , but the only offers that show up for Prime, High or Low season expired May 31, 2012 but they are sitll listed ..I do not indertsna why theyare still listed...how does that work? It will take a few days to get the property reserved and even more days for you all to confimr it.

also, if I reserve a float week (of an accepted resort) during Thanksgiving time, will that count as a Prime week?

question 3: If you have a week not during Prime or High, will it be LOW? In some cases, that will stil work for us, since we basically only need an exchange at this point, not too many bonus type weeks.

[Mark @SFX Industry Representative Find all posts View Profile Close Mark @SFX]

Mark
I went in to deposit a week today , but the only offers that show up for Prime, High or Low season expired May 31, 2012 but they are sitll listed ..I do not indertsna why theyare still listed...how does that work? It will take a few days to get the property reserved and even more days for you all to confimr it.

also, if I reserve a float week (of an accepted resort) during Thanksgiving time, will that count as a Prime week?

question 3: If you have a week not during Prime or High, will it be LOW? In some cases, that will stil work for us, since we basically only need an exchange at this point, not too many bonus type weeks.

Ronandjoan - Thank you for your post. The new 2013 deposit Special Offer will be posted probably by the end of this week or early next week. The way it will work is, you select the name of the resort and the date you will be depositing. Then depending of the trading power, a box will pop up and display the perks of that deposit.

A Thanksgiving Week will be prime time if it's in the USA.

A week not in Prime or High, will be rated Low. Even though you may not need bonus weeks, keep in mind, you will only be able to exchange into the Low Season elsewhere, unless you are traveling within 60 days. Then trading power isn't a consideration.

Hope this helps...

Thanks,
Mark @sfx
Member Communications

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

Hi Mark,
Yes, that helps!
JOAN

Ronandjoan - Thank you for your post. The new 2013 deposit Special Offer will be posted probably by the end of this week or early next week. The way it will work is, you select the name of the resort and the date you will be depositing. Then depending of the trading power, a box will pop up and display the perks of that deposit.

A Thanksgiving Week will be prime time if it's in the USA.

A week not in Prime or High, will be rated Low. Even though you may not need bonus weeks, keep in mind, you will only be able to exchange into the Low Season elsewhere, unless you are traveling within 60 days. Then trading power isn't a consideration.

Hope this helps...

Thanks,
Mark @sfx
Member Communications

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

Mark,

Are the promotions end date based on when the deposit forms is returned and or when the deposit is verified?

I have been told by someone at SFX it is based on the date it is verified which is news to me and different from other exchange companies. Also I have concern in the person's clarity and knowledge on the promotion since she told me the May special was only for 2013 when you clearly said it was for 2012 and 2013 based on the resort promo charts.

[Mark @SFX Industry Representative Find all posts View Profile Close Mark @SFX]

Hi Mary.... sorry for the delay, I am on vacation with very limited internet access. Not quite sure of the question... if you are asking when does your time start to use your week, it is when your week has been verified by your resort. If it was when we receive your deposit, that is not in your favor as sometimes a resort can take a week or two to verify your deposit, depending on how busy they are... especially with all their cut-backs.

I don't have access to the promo information where I am at. If you would be kind enough to call Member services at 800-739-9969 and let them know you need clarification on the promo, you will get a definite answer.

Thanks,
Mark @sfx
Member Communications

[g4fishing Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close g4fishing]

Are Lifestyle weeks not being offered for next year?

[Mark @SFX Industry Representative Find all posts View Profile Close Mark @SFX]

Are Lifestyle weeks not being offered for next year?

That is correct. That program was a pilot program for 2012 deposits. It seems our Members have been more responsive to our regular "Bonus Week" offering. Actually, there really isn't any difference, because the pilot program pricing was a combination of the Sell-off weeks and the Bonus Weeks bundled together as one. You still have the same pricing structure in the new offer as two separate items, but both are available to you.

Hope this helps...

Thanks,
Mark @sfx
Member Communications

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

Sooo....under the new promotion, if I deposit a 2013 week now, when do those bonus weeks expire? End of 2013? OR 1 year from time of deposit?

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

And what is this I spy?

Bonus Weeks Upgrade Fees

Upgrade Fee
Upgrade to 2-Bedroom Unit $199
Upgrade to 3-Bedroom Unit $299
Major Holidays
(New Year's, President's Week, Easter, 4th of July, Thanksgiving, & Christmas) $199
Prime Locations
(San Francisco, New York, London, Hawaii) $199
Residence Club $500
Bookings more than 180 days in advance $200

One of your biggest selling points on your bonus weeks has always been the ability to make a request against them. Now we can only do that 6 mos in advance without incurring a fee? I'm pretty sure you will tell us that it's because the "majority" of members only make requests 6 mos or less in advance but where is the benefit for the long range planner who deposits with SFX? I've always been a happy member....but I'm having a hard time keeping up with the ever changing business model. I thought the lifestyle weeks were an interesting concept..but it seems I've missed that boat

[Mark @SFX Industry Representative Find all posts View Profile Close Mark @SFX]

And what is this I spy?

Bonus Weeks Upgrade Fees

Upgrade Fee
Upgrade to 2-Bedroom Unit $199
Upgrade to 3-Bedroom Unit $299
Major Holidays
(New Year's, President's Week, Easter, 4th of July, Thanksgiving, & Christmas) $199
Prime Locations
(San Francisco, New York, London, Hawaii) $199
Residence Club $500
Bookings more than 180 days in advance $200

One of your biggest selling points on your bonus weeks has always been the ability to make a request against them. Now we can only do that 6 mos in advance without incurring a fee? I'm pretty sure you will tell us that it's because the "majority" of members only make requests 6 mos or less in advance but where is the benefit for the long range planner who deposits with SFX? I've always been a happy member....but I'm having a hard time keeping up with the ever changing business model. I thought the lifestyle weeks were an interesting concept..but it seems I've missed that boat

Hi Stress Cadet... Thank you for your post.

Please don't Stress over this. If you actually compare the current offer to the LifeStyle weeks, I believe the pricing is the same, it's just presented in a different way.

The LifeStyle Weeks are a combination of our last minute Sell off list, couple with what we used to offer as Bonus Weeks, using the baseline price of a 1 bedroom unit. You still have access to the Sell Off weeks, they are just not bundled together with the Bonus Weeks but are still available to you.

We are sorry if it is causing any confusing and/or stress, but like all companies, we are trying different types of offers to find out which are the most popular for our customers.

Do you prefer the LifeStyle weeks offering that we tested last year?? Please let us know, and if the response is overwhelmingly yes, then we may re-introduce it.

BTW... You can still make a request for your Bonus Week or LifeStyle week. Also keep in mind, if you look at what the major exchange companies charge for prime units one year in advance, I have seen them in the $800 to $1,600 range for a week, and you can't request what you want, you have to take what's sitting there.

Hope this helps,

Thanks,
Mark @SFX
Member Communications

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

Do you prefer the LifeStyle weeks offering that we tested last year?? Please let us know, and if the response is overwhelmingly yes, then we may re-introduce it.

I do prefer the Lifestyle weeks vs. the bonus weeks. It looks like the bonus weeks are starting at $499.00. That is a generous offer, but I had some Lifestyle weeks for about half of that.