I have a ? Do members pick any week or time frame to go to TTR or does it depend on contract? Being self employed and having teenagers at home limit when we could go.
We like reading all the posts so hopefully we'll get to cross paths and meet with a bunch of yous regular guys
ahhhhhhh...so it's also a kind of MLM scheme ......which of course can work effectively for a small number of people. It also explains why some people on the facebook forum are always so eager to 'help' others by offering Referrals and always talk in generalities rather than specifics.
For some yes. Last year we had to use a referral, and the person we got it from said he had a great membership rate, and was basically getting free trips as well, and really wanted to make sure we did the presentation, so that he got his $250. While there we were talking to another couple about it, that were members, and they had never given out a referral, didn’t know much about it, and said if we wanted to use one of theirs next time we could skip the presentation, because they didn’t care about the money. Memberships mean different things to different people, I suppose.
We know a lot of people at TTR and Desire. And convinced many newbies to give both a try. Have frequently been told we should get a commission but we get nothing out of it except seeing other people get to enjoy the fun experience of both resorts we enjoy so much ourselves. For Steve and Marshe who know even more people than us I am sure the referral system works well and makes the added premier cost actually become a savings. However, I think they are more the exception than the rule. Most people don’t have the contacts they do to make money off of Referrals. And by make money I mean money towards future trips hence making them ‘free’. I have questioned whether becoming a member makes sense for us due to this perk. It is questionable how much I would benefit since so many friends of ours are already becoming members. So my math is purely based on what I pay via discount sites which is definitely less than the best deals I have been offered via premier sales presentations or seen others get. And some may say well the extra price is worth it due to the premier benefits...alcohol, reserved sections, menu items, etc For us it isn’t. But again that is why this isn’t a one size fits all type of thing. Makes sense that some like being premier as they can play the referral game and not lose money, others like it because they don’t mind paying more for the premier privileges they receive and others don’t think it is worth it like us. For the perspective members who are sold on the fact that it may be cheaper for them I simply suggest looking at discount sites and figuring out your typical per night rate. Then when doingthe presentation include your up front buy in plus the cost per night. Add in free nights you reasonable expect to get (either included in your contract up front or via reasonable referral expectations) and divide your total cost by nights to figure out your nightly rate. For us this has never ever worked out to cost us less. Now there are other factors to consider like time value of $ and how many Referrals you think you will get and how some contracts have yacht privledges and some don’t, airfare credit and some don’t and so on. One thing that everyone should NOT do is compare the premier rate to what they show you on their website. Like said above a garden is never going to cost you $450. A master, most of the time, should not cost you $850. For example, thru the Black Friday sale we could of gotten a garden for around $220. Thru cheaptickets for this trip we did get a master for $500 a night. So there is my ramble. End result is everyone is different. Come in to the presentation prepared with your numbers that will make it work. And what matters most to you. Thanks for reading the long ramble.
I beleve @marshe and @Steve posts are dead accurate and have gotten it right. Our contract only has 1 referral week per year and I only used itfor friends so far. I told them that if they had no interest in purshasing a membership than not to go to the sales pitch. I was and am not interested in the $250 from friends. But of course if they choose to give me a direct gift I am ok with it. Didnot happen...damn cheap bastards...lol! My OP is in order to understand and to squash ignorance you need to sit at the sales pitch AND talk to others to educate yourselves if truly interested in buying in. And it is more about what is written into the contract...like yacht privs. Everything is negotiable. As several have written, it is NOT for everyone and only makes sense to some. Different strokes for different folks. Now lets just all get along and paaarrrrttttty! Peace...out...for now. It is beautiful weather right now!
It's definitely not a MLM scheme. Well unless there are MLM schemes that have 1 tier only and allow you to sell between 2 and 6 products a year only. It is a referral scheme.. A commission is offered for bringing in a lead or a sale. Millions of businesses across all verticals work like that.
Totally up to member how they want to use their selected number of nights. I believe the lowest priced contract is 14 nights. I have heard of some people with 1500 nights. Of course price is reflected in the # of nights purchased. Some folks are buying for biz purposes and write the expense off, and allot free trips to clients or employees. Some folks are sharing the nights with family and friends. The answer to your question, is the nights can be used whenever and by whomever the member wishes. There is no blackout period or pre-selected dates or months or anything like the typical timeshare. No extra kind of fees or maintaince charges Unless the member chooses to enrol with RCI and trade weeks with that company. Original Resort includes one year free with RCI...after which if member wishes to continue....a yearly fee must be paid to RCI. We never bothered with RCI....wasn't of any interest to us. We love to travel other placss and find better cheaper places than RCI has listed in other locales. Members have guarnteed reservations up to 120 days out and don't have to pay until 30 days out. We utilize that religiously to play currency roulette with our crappy Canadian $. It used to be a 60 day guarnteed reservation for members, but that was before when the number of members was much smaller. Theoretically, a member could move in and stay perm until the number of nights ran out. I beleive all contracts are for 25yrs.....so whatever comes first....25yrs or nights used up.
