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Here are some of my thoughts on this entire situation:
1. I originally was very happy to be invited to attend the ER party and was planning on posting a mini-review of the property. Remember I have always liked ER, but have only visited one of their properties in Turks and Caicos and it was extremely nice. Their dedicated private concierge was very friendly.
2. I have no ax to grind or hidden agenda with Exclusive Resorts. I first heard about ER while I was making an offer on some condos in Deer Valley in 2002 (they never accepted my offers but that is a separate story) right after the Olympics. I think they had a little storefront on Main Street and advertised in the Park City/Deer Valley magazines. The membership price was MUCH less than what it is now and I did not join as they only had property in Deer Valley and I was clueless about “Destination Clubs”, this of course is something I regret as the prices have risen dramatically. While on the same topic, I also regret not buying Apple stock in 2003 when it was only $6 per share and it is now $150 (ouch). I think I called ER in 2005 and spoke with a female and they sent me a brochure. I reengaged with ER and spoke with Scott in 2006 and he has been very informative and has answered most of my questions. Other than the invite->uninvite conversation, I have no complaints.
3. I learned a new term today: “LDC community” which means “luxury destination club community”. I guess that the standard “DC” for “Destination Club” is no longer appropriate and needed an adjective added for better clarification. Someone needs to trademark these names (smiley face).
4. I am not sure why ER is so concerned if a prospective customer is a member of another DC, owns a timeshare, or has a bunch of hotel-condos. I have spoken with HCC, UR, and PE in the past and none of those clubs seemed worried about other DCs. In fact, they all like to talk about how they offer better value than ER. For the record, I also own DVC, Westgate, and Marriott timeshares and they ALL are happy to talk to me whenever I take a tour at a new property. I actually think my DVC sales rep Chris Mansour has me on speed-dial as I have bought seven (7) contracts from him over the past several years and he calls me every few months to chat. If you can’t tell from my aviator, I really love Disney. Westgate regularly calls me (I hate those calls) and sends me promos. Guess what, I just booked a school trip (dads and kids only) for 60 rooms and 90 kids at the Westgate River Ranch dude ranch for all my “Boca friends”…it will be fun to watch them drive their Bentley’s, BMW 750’s, MB 550s, and Jags thru the mud. Last year we went to Hawks Cay in the Florida Keys and had a blast.
5. This thread has been very enlightening and I am AMAZED to see how many different individuals posted on this topic. I am also AMAZED to see how Google is a much better search engine than Yahoo as this thread has already been indexed by Google and not by Yahoo. Perhaps it is time to short Yahoo stock.
6. If I was an executive with Exclusive Resorts, I would immediately institute some type of customer service workshops for all their employees. I am NOT singling out anyone, but the amount of posts here all have the same theme that ER is “snobbish” and that is an image they can’t afford to have, especially with UR growing so rapidly with the T&H and PE mergers. Perhaps they all should read “The Disney Way” by Bill Capodagli. ER’s cavalier attitude towards the membership fee may work like a charm for the blue bloods, but will only piss off the average millionaires they are now trying to court.
7. ER should strongly consider adding a new category to their membership to focus on homes that cost $1-2m and have 2-4 week membership plans that would have an average cost per night in the $500 range…or think about buying HCC. I am not kidding about this as I personally think this level of membership represents the “DC Sweet Spot” and the number of members that would join could easily be over 10,000 in a few years. At these numbers, this category would produce more revenue than their current offerings. Is anyone listening?
8. ER and all the DCs should embrace the Internet and Web 2.0. Just check out tripadvisor.com and you will see how cool (and valuable) sites like these are. Try adding a Blog to your sites, RSS, or online message forums. A full-blown social interface like facebook.com would be even cooler. Why don’t more DCs and timeshare companies post on forums like TUG? This is the CHEAPEST form of advertising there is in the world!
9. ER may be the Destination Club’s 800 pound Gorilla, the current King of the Hill, or even the Big Kahuna, but guess what…every DC is gunning for you and just waiting for you to trip. This reminds me of Microsoft Vista…when is Apple going to pounce…when will Google release a free Windows style OS? Does ER really care about its reputation, its potential customers, or even about the competition? ER really needs better answers for the question on everybody’s mind, “Why should I join your club?” When I stayed at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Largo resort a few years ago, I wanted to tour his new “Trump International Golf Club” in West Palm Beach…guess what…they arranged a limo and personal tour of the club….nice!
10. I will try to attend the ER party even thought that means I have to leave the Merrill Lynch party with Ferrari’s early.