Timeshare History Part 3

Today and Beyond: Future of Timeshare

At the turn of the current century, the timeshare consumer climate was getting increasing hostile when it came to topic of telemarketing. Although there was still plenty of success and lots of money to be had in the realm of timeshare telemarketing, the country as a whole was getting more than fed up with calls at the exact time they were sitting down for dinner. Timeshare developers were not the only industry that realized there is money to be made over the telephone. Everything from long distance plans to fire rescue blankets was being pitched to you just as you were about to enjoy dinner with your family. Because of this overwhelming discontent with telemarketing as a whole, the federal government was obligated to take action. This came in the form of the Federal Do Not Call Registry.

This new legislation made it possible for the average consumer to add any or all of their personal phone numbers to a list which is the master list of numbers that cannot be called by anyone trying to solicit anything. The companies that are required to buy it in order to make sure that they are not calling any of the numbers on it fund the list. As we all know, a company is not going to spend money to find out who they cannot sell to unless there is a very compelling reason, that reason is a fine in the amount of $11000 for every instance of dialing a number on that list. The math is simple, if you call from a phone book and 100 of the people you call are on the list, you are in violation 100 times and could face fines of 1.1 million dollars. The days of timeshare cold calling ended very quickly.

Timeshare developers had to get creative again. Obviously, not everyone in the country joined the list, so there were still households that could be called but the timeshare telemarketing industry too a huge blow on the day that bill passed. The first thing an industry with the progression and resiliency of timeshare does when faced with new rules is look for a loophole. That loophole was “response leads”. A response lead is a person who by a variety of different means and channels, requested information about the product or service you offer. This request doesn’t have to be an overt accosting, it could come in the form of an entry form to win a boat or cruise or million dollars or just about anything. It could also come in the form of a warranty card that you filled out without opting out of the offer to receive information via the telephone regarding every product under the sun. This lead to a whole new industry in timeshare marketing, lead generation. A timeshare developer may call these consumers for three months after they “requested information” regardless of whether they are on the list or not. Because of this loophole and proliferation of people who will fill out anything to win anything, the timeshare telemarketing wheels again began to turn.

The timeshare marketing beast is not a beast of limited resources or talent. This entity has grown every year of its existence regardless of how many people try to set it back. This being the case, riding a loophole is a way to continue but finding a new path is the future, that path is the Internet. Timeshare like every other industry on earth has now embraced the Internet as a means to reach its target audience. The Internet is also a way to promote the new positive timeshare message. Timeshare is not the vacation monster it is the vacation savior. If you want a quality vacation at a discounted price, take advantage of one of the thousands of timeshare promotions available on the Internet right now. If you google the search term “Disneyland vacations” you will see literally millions of results and the ones with the best deals are all timeshare promotions. If you are looking for high quality vacations for you and your family for years to come, look up vacation ownership on the net.

Every company remotely associated with Timeshare has carved out a piece of the Internet pie. If you want to buy timeshare but don’t want to pay retail, google ‘sell timeshare’, ‘buy timeshare’, ‘buy timeshare online’, ‘timeshare deals’ or just go to www.timeshareresourcecenter.com and browse timeshare listings. The Internet has allowed the consumer to shop around and browse the different programs without the pressure of being asked to buy when they are finished looking. It has also allowed consumers who have outgrown or “mispurchased” their current timeshare to sell timeshare with out being resold on why they should keep it. The Internet timeshare movement has actually helped the industry as a whole. It has taken away the stigma attached to it and allowed the everyday consumer the freedom to make choice of what to buy when to buy and how much to spend.