Wrote this in another thread but thought I give its own as I think it will answer alot of questions. Here is where I stand on all the changes. This is basically just connecting the dots of everything that has happen and few things I've heard first and second hand from the staff........ Temptations is trying to push us out (repeaters). They don't want the highest repeat rate of any resort in the caribbean. They make the most profit on Premier sales. Sales have been down mainly due to such a high rate of repeat guest. Not enough fresh meat to sell to. Premier has flat out told Premier people they don't want them there because they can't sell them anything. This isn't just low end sales people either saying this to members. What is one of the biggest attractions to the resort??? The atmosphere of Temptations. Who helps create that great atmoshpere?? The old activity staff. Lalo, Chinos, and Omar all said the higher ups are moving in a different direction and they aren't part of the future in not so many words. These guys are a big part of why everyone of us keep coming back. Comments cards back this up. So by removing them they plant the seed in every repeaters mind if they want to come back. Maybe now we only come back every other year, or maybe we just go once a year now, well you get the idea. Less of us and more new people means more sales. They are turning into what I feared the most when RCI got there hands into Premier deep.............Timeshare factory resort. This happens to alot of older resorts. Take away the allure/niche of Temptations and the resort dies in a few years. So many bigger, smaller, newer, same money, and nicer resorts to go to. You can only rewrap Temptations so many times and resell it. In the hotel business its a dinosaur and in the timeshare business it can go for decades longer. When you add up all the changes that has occured over the last few years it seems to add up what I'm saying above. Bottom line is now and its sad to say as its been about 10 years since my first visit. They(Temptations) just don't care as much about us as they use to. Instead of being welcomed as a repeat/Premier guest we are now looked at as the "wallet is closed" guest. New guest are now number one and looked at as potential "$$$$$$$$". Changes where made over the years to help curb us from repeating as often. The latest are just the most drastic and chances are will get the end results they are hoping for. Nick and Renee P.S.: Didn't want to write a novel as there is alot more to what came to this conclusion. But everything I've gathered points to this. I'd actually be shocked if what I said above was wrong. I also think that is a big reason why they look the other way on this site. This site is a big part of the repeat problem. Crazy that you'd have this resource know as Cancun Care and not use it.
Nick and Renee have hit on what I feel may be going on with the resort. Any of us who have our own business, no matter what that business may be, have to look to adapting to a changing market place. BBG/TTR has traditionally been one of the less expensive resorts to go to. One of the reasons may have been their timeshare sales. Timeshares are an incredibly lucrative business. It gives the owner the chance to "sell" the resort many times over. In the US it can cost anywhere from $15,000 on up to construct one hotel unit. Imagine how lucrative it is to sell that same unit for $20,000 over and over and over. When you cap out on one particular clientele, you can just change the format and remarket to another type of clientele. Your original purchasers don't want to return because the format changed and you have a totally new group to sell an old resort to. Add to that, you already have the initial purchase and fees from the timeshare purchaser and you have no additional costs if the purchaser never returns. Quite a business model. It is a very unethical business model, but also an extremely lucrative one.
Last year was our first year at the resort. We own elsewhere, but it was just as cheap to book the trip through the resort than trading our week with RCI. The weird thing was that we were never approached by sales personnel. I thought it was kind of weird. This year we are going back and have traded our week. We will see what they do then. The place we own in Sarasota is older and they make their money by having a few untis that are not timeshare and renting them out. They also charge a boatload for our maintenace fees. Just my $.02 (thinking out loud)
I wouldn't be surprised to find out that you're right in your assumption. But I still think they're missing out on the unique market that they've created. No other hotel offers the atmosphere that BBG created and now TR is moving away from. In Cancun where there is so much competition for our travel dollars it's the hotels that can offer a unique experience that can and will thrive. Why do people continue to go back to Coco Bongo every time they go to Cancun?... it's unique and sets itself apart from all the other clubs. Unfortunately the management at TR don't seem to see it this way and things are changing.... only time will tell how much things change and how well it's received.
I totally agree and that what I said in another post - thats basically what Lalo said to me - its awful cuz I kinda feel like we're the reason those guys have lost their jobs in a way!! The 'company' are f*king idiots, All that'll happen is that it'll be full of arseholes who want a 'wild' holiday but cant afford/or dont wanna go back. What a shame!! xxxx
Yes it so sad. Hard to believe we support a resort time after time again and in the end it seemed to have on some level cost some people there jobs. All this for the mighty timeshare dollar basically. Nick and Renee
b.b.g. i have been to b.b.g 7 years in a row 2005 was my last time there and my last as a long repeater we where treated in the worst way arrive at 1p.m. sat until 5 p.m. before we got our room ,our luggage was sent to different rooms,we where put in a room where tha a.c. did not work bath room had leaks in the water pipes in the shower over head,the kept getting worst,. so our group along with two other groups have not return since,now all the hosts that have been there are now go,. so your assumptoms are hitting the nail on the head. sorry i am so sour but i have more on to others resorts in cancun. good luck to all.
