by Lisa Ann Schreier, the timeshare crusader

Welcome to my first column for Sharetime.  Let me start off by sincerely thanking the editors of Sharetime and TATOC for extending me this wonderful opportunity.

My hope is that through these columns, Sharetime readers will gain both a perspective on the U.S. timeshare market and, more importantly, will spawn some new, fresh ideas.  It is this exact issue, the lack of new fresh ideas, that I believe is timeshare’s Achilles’ heel.  So let’s start shifting some paradigms!

In my opinion, one of the stumbling blocks to timeshare’s acceptance and growth in the United States is the fact that in the majority of cases, timeshare is a deeded product; the deed referring to a piece of real estate.

This tie to real estate is problematic for any number of reasons.  In the “boom days” of the 80s and 90s, less than scrupulous timeshare sales people all too often used the potential for investment as a selling point.

My early days of timeshare were as a salesperson in Orlando.  Over and over and over I heard the phrase “the value of a piece of deeded real estate in Mickey Mouse’s backyard is going up all the time” coming from other timeshare sales folk.

As you know, the fact that Walt Disney purchased land for $175 an acre in 1964 and that land was selling for more than $1 million an acre in 2001 had nothing to do with the value of a timeshare located several miles from the world famous theme park.

The “investment pitch” was used continuously.  This caused many problems for owners who, when they wanted to sell, found that the “value” of their timeshare was, on average, 30 to 40 per cent of what they paid for it.

The mainstream media, ever eager to publicise bad news, reported that timeshares were a bad investment.

The fact that a box of hotel receipts totalling many thousands of dollars was a worse investment seemed to escape the timeshare naysayers of course.

Recent studies seem to show that the time is right to offer travellers a non-deeded timeshare interest, perhaps with a use of five to ten years with an up-grade option.  These findings seem to have a strong correlation with any number of other purchases, such as cell phones, computers, cars and even homes.

“Deeded in perpetuity” used to mean something good; I’m not so sure it still does.

This timeshare of the future, whether it is a vacation club, a right to use product or some combination of the two would also solve the many growing problems of selling a timeshare and the value associated with a so-called “used” timeshare.

But that’s a topic for next time.

I welcome your thoughts and comments and thank you for reading.

Biography
Lisa Ann Schreier, the ‘Timeshare Crusader’, began her timeshare odyssey in late 1998 after living in the Orlando area for a little more than a year.  “To say that I was unaware of the timeshare industry is an understatement.  I had never been to a timeshare resort and assumed that all the ‘resorts’ in the area were hotels”, said the Chicago native.

After a year of working as the owner referral manager at a medium-sized timeshare, Lisa was persuaded by the resort’s director of sales to earn her Florida Real Estate Licence. 

In early 2000, she transitioned to full-time sales but became increasingly disillusioned with the lack of control she had in attracting customers as well as the sometimes heavy-handed sales techniques some of her colleagues employed and encouraged.

“I stubbornly held to my thinking that more people would own timeshare if they purchased rather than having it sold to them.”

Flash forward to 2011 and the ‘Timeshare Crusader’ manages Timeshare Insights (www.timeshareinsights.com) where she writes, educates, consults and speaks on timeshare and related issues.  She’s known as an outspoken, passionate dynamo, as anyone who has seen her at industry events or read any of her books.

She’s written two books for consumers, co-authored a college-level text and is hard at work at her newest consumer book, “Timeshare By The Numbers”,  due out later this year.

“I’ve always believed that timeshare is a great product and I’m confident that the time is finally right to both increase market share for ownership worldwide by sharing important information and pooling resources and making the necessary changes.”

Schreier stands firm in her belief that this industry is hampered by a small, but increasingly focused-on minority of “bad guys” and the reluctance of those in the business to embrace change.

“I’m excited and honoured to have the ability to work with Sharetime and continue to be a catalyst for positive timeshare change.  I think the best is yet to come.”

Taken from Sharetime magazine issue 6