newspaper article

You know Orlando Sentinel is the one newspaper read by Marriott timeshare execs. So far, no "comments" on the sentinel website:

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-marriott-time-shares-points-20100622,0,5861605.story

Swice said:

You know Orlando Sentinel is the one newspaper read by Marriott timeshare execs. So far, no "comments" on the sentinel website:

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-marriott-time-shares-points-20100622,0,5861605.story

Click to expand...

Still can't see any. Did you post one?

Thanks for sharing!

Spilled My Guts To The Orlando Sentinel Today. No Good Can Come From That.

Out of the blue, Sara Clarke of the Orlando Sentinel called me this afternoon. She wanted to know about the timeshare we gave away last year -- the how & why, reasons, background, process, etc. Without mentioning the names of anyone involved in that other than myself, I told her the basics.

That led to conversation about how The Chief Of Staff & I got into timesharing, & before long I had gone over just about all the pertinent parts of our whole timeshare story, starting with what happened before we bought our 1st timeshare (resale) in 2002, up to & including our most recent eBay purchase the night before last.

I repeated several favorite points (Buy Timeshares Resale & Save Thousands -- There Is No Such Thing As A New Timeshare -- Many Timeshare Deeds Today Are Worth Approximately Nothing -- Nothing That The Timeshare Companies Sell At Full Freight Is Worth The Money -- etc.).

It will be interesting to see how much of that, if any, gets into the paper.

Meanwhile, click here for a recent Sara Clarke story about an ARDA convention in Orlando FL.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

Swice said:

You know Orlando Sentinel is the one newspaper read by Marriott timeshare execs. So far, no "comments" on the sentinel website:

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-marriott-time-shares-points-20100622,0,5861605.story

Click to expand...

Interesting comment about bite-size. How many people have enough points to have at least a weeks stay? In oher words, how many people borrow points for their vacations? According to my meeting with Marriott this week, most people are borrowing points for their stays. Kind of interesting.. Most either borrow or use a couple years of bank points for 1 vacation?

AwayWeGo said:

Meanwhile, click here for a recent Sara Clarke story about an ARDA convention in Orlando FL.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

Click to expand...

Seems like they are drinking the same kool-aide. Probably in for a good dose of reality soon.

I think the difference is that the people here are asking how can I do the same thing I do today using points.

and the new people are asking how they can use their points, and not wanting to get a 7-night stay in season and not wanting to try for a 7-night trade through II

wof45 said:

I think the difference is that the people here are asking how can I do the same thing I do today using points.

and the new people are asking how they can use their points, and not wanting to get a 7-night stay in season and not wanting to try for a 7-night trade through II

Click to expand...

The 7 day thing has always raised questions for potential buyers of timeshare. I know I felt that we wouldn't want to spend 7 days in one area each trip but once we did it a few times and discovered how nice it was to take your time in a new (or even familiar) area and really see it all - even the less publicized ones. In fact we've often extended the time to 10 or even 14 days in some cases.

But in general a buyer new to the concept would tend to think a fixed 7 day use may not work for them (as it originally seemed to us). So the far more flexible points do tend to have a greater appeal and are an easier sale. Plus now it gives developers something to sell - recycled inventory now tied to points - vs having to build risky and super expensive new buildings/resorts.

Add in the far easier way points trade vs the old, inflexible week for week idea and it's easy to see why they hold far more appeal. I know we converted all of our weeks to points at every opportunity if we planned to use it for any type of trade. Now we've gone further and sold most and only own to use and rent for what we used to depend on trades for. It is easier, more predictable and far cheaper than owning and paying membership and exchange fees. We are, at least for now, keeping our two remaining points memberships current but may revisit that too especially if costs rise too much.

Whoa! Uncle Alan Made The Papers. (And They Spelled My Name Right.)

Sara Clark's timeshare giveaway story is on the internet.

None of my catchphrases got past the sharp-eyed editors.

Click here to read all about it.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

I read the article and have mixed emotions about it. Of course it did what apparently it intended to do, emphasize the downside of timeshare ownership.
Articles like this to me don't do much to enlighten people concerning timeshares, only instill fear of the unknown. People in general already fear or hesitate with anything unknown, this article just fuels the fire.

I will admit the fraud concerning timeshare resales is something that needs to be addressed. Of course the more bad publicity fraud receives concerning resales developers can use to show people they should buy from them instead.

I'm sure there are many like me when I say I enjoy my timeshares. Have many great memories and vacations with the idea they will continue. The more I type on this the more I totally dislike this article, so I better stop here before something gets typed I'll probably regret.

The article hardly said anything IMHO. I do love owning MVCI, but I must confess, if points come to Europe, I may well consider going that route. Using Interval is a pain in the rear if I want to go somewhere else in school vacation time.

I also at first thought the article didn't say much. But, when I reread the article looking at it from someone who knows nothing about timeshares I think it does say alot and almost all bad.

I think it is pretty ironic that they have so much negative to say about timeshares in a region that gets nearly all of its income from tourists and developers.

AwayWeGo said:

Sara Clark's timeshare giveaway story is on the internet.

None of my catchphrases got past the sharp-eyed editors.

Click here to read all about it.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

Click to expand...

Alan,

Here's a variation of your article that appeared in today's (4/7/11) South Florida Sun-Sentinel: Timeshares Found for Free Online - by Sara K. Clarke

Richard