Timeshare firm fights negative image
Timeshare firm Sunterra has embarked on a charm offensive in a bid to alter the still-tarnished reputation of the industry in the UK.
The company, which claims 90,000 members in Europe – the bulk of which are in the UK – said it was time bona fide businesses began to actively promote the quality of the product.
No longer is timeshare – or holiday ownership as it prefers to call itself – the domain of barrow boys, but a respected industry with high quality product, Sunterra insisted.
Managing director Dave Harris, the former boss of Going Places, said timeshare in Europe deserves the respectability it already has in the US.
“Timeshare does not have the tarnished reputation in the US as it has in Europe,” he said. “The US has large hotel chains which bring credibility and trust to the industry.
“In Europe there have been some unsavoury tactics. But things have changes and we need to start telling people. The perception is still of fixed week holidays, of getting a hard sell – and worse. We need to start explaining that the industry has moved on.
“The fact is, timeshare is one of the most regulated industries there is.”
He stressed major European hotel brands including Sol Melia, Grecotel, Marriott and De Vere have all moved into timeshare, lending the industry respectability.
Selling tactics have also changed with Sunterra offering ‘mini-vacation packages’ for prospective customers to experience the product.
“We want to give control to customers,” said European marketing vice president Jim Shannon. “We prefer people to stay in our beds and see resorts before committing. You never buy a car without test driving it.”
No longer is it a fixed-week model, added Shannon. Sunterra members buy points which can redeemed at any of its 90 worldwide resorts.
“It’s time we started to shout about the quality of the product,” he said.
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