HIGH-PRESSURE SALES TO OWNERS
From the beginning, the Timeshare industry has relied heavily on telemarketing to bring in new sales prospects. When the National Do Not Call Registry went into effect in the United States, that drastically affected how sales departments run. Trendwest/Wyndham chose to combat that effect by greatly increasing their efforts to sell "upgrades" (additional credits) to existing owners. This is common and reasonable response to the change in the market conditions.
The problem, as in so many other things, is one of degree. Most owners would agree that increased marketing to owners in the form of website ads, the monthly Destinations magazine, and literature through the mail or at resorts would be annoying but tolerable. But Wyndham does not stop at that. Owners are frequently phoned at their homes in an attempt to schedule "owner updates" (sales sessions) at upcoming resort stays. I have also received phone calls attempting to directly sell me TravelShare or Party Weekends. How can they contact owners who are on the Do Not Call Registry? The Registry has exceptions for businesses with which you have a relationship. (I would contend that I have a relationship with Wyndham the manager of WorldMark the Club, but NOT with Wyndham the Developer, as I have paid off my account and no longer conduct any business with the Developer. But that is a separate discussion.)
Once an owner arrives at a resort, the sales pressure is increased. Many resorts have begun to issue "parking permits". But the parking permit is not included in the check-in packet - owners have to go to a separate line to get the parking pass from the "resort host" -- who accompanies the parking pass with high pressure to set an appointment for an "owner update". (At some resorts they use "welcome packets" rather than "parking passes".) If the owner does not schedule the update at this point, then the "resort host" phones the unit throughout the owner's stay in further attempts to schedule an update.
At the
"updates", the owners are introduced to the TravelShare program. But
the sales staff does not stop at just explaining the program -- the
pressure on owners to upgrade is usually significant. I have heard
from many irate owners who have gone to an "update" and been told that
if they do not purchase additional credits, their existing credits will
become worthless, either through competition from TravelShare owners
who get "priority booking" or through the exponential increase in
credit values at new resorts.
When I go to a WorldMark resort, I am there to relax and to escape the pressures of the "real world". The last thing I need is high-pressure sales.
You can read owners' descriptions of their high-pressure sales experiences on these wmowners.com discussions: Some Changes at Running Y; Being Bugged on Vacation; So I'm Getting Defensive About This!; They Called The Room; Sat Through a Presentation at Clear Lake.
