Mindtimeshare S.L.
After a number of years operating as both Head of RDO Enforcement and Director of Mindtimeshare, Alberto Garcia has asked to stand down from his current responsibilities, and has set-out his proposals for a re-structure of Mindtimeshare.As from March 2016, he will cease to run Mindtimeshare, which has now been converted into a limited company, Mindtimeshare SL. The new Director will be Pedro Picazo Senti, of the Valencia law firm, Picazo Associados. Pedro has worked with Alberto for a number of years as his legal adviser and also for some RDO members in the past, so comes to the position with...
“Taking Ownership” – The RDO7 Conference Will be About Getting on Top of Our Game
“Taking Ownership” That’s the theme for the RDO7 Conference, which will be held this year from 20 to 22 September at the Pestana Chelsea Bridge Hotel & Spa, London. If we want more people to join the fun and take ownership of our timeshare resorts, we need to first step up as an industry and take ownership of our own game. It’s all too easy to lay the blame elsewhere when things are not going to plan. The economic crisis, negative press, timeshare scams and dodgy travel club operators… excuses are a dime a dozen, but they only weigh us down. Taking ownership means...
I’m No Social Media Marketing Expert, but I’m On Board! Will You Join Us?
We’re all back from RDO’s social media and digital strategy meeting, held in London late January, and, while I’m not that good at the technical side of social media marketing, I’m definitely a convert. One thing lots of people are already excited about is the new RDO Digital community we are about to launch for our members and their staff. This will be a platform where we will be hosting all kinds of training and discussion, and helping each other out as we work together to get better at social media and build up timeshare’s recognition and reputation. That said, I...
ASA adjudication on Easy Consulting SL
Kwikchex, as part of the Timeshare Task Force initiative, recently challenged whether an advertisement on www.directresortsinternational.co.uk was misleading because it omitted what it believed was a significant condition that the prices of the holidays referred to were dependent on consumers attending a timeshare sales presentation, and failure to attend would mean incurring the full cost of the holiday accommodation. Kwikchex also challenged whether the statement that referred to holidays "at RCI… Affiliated Resorts" was misleading because it understood that the advertiser had no connection with RCI. Easy Consulting SL trading as www.directresortsinternational.co.uk did not respond to the ASA's enquiries. The ASA was...
Has It Been An Annus Horribilis?
For those not latin scholars - and I include myself in this category (though not our youngest who got a B in his A2 Latin – should have been an A but that’s another story), this was the really bad year referred to by Queen Elizabeth 11nd, when she referred to 1992, the year three of her children were either divorced and/or separated ,including Princess Diana and Prince Charles and Windsor Castle had a serious fire. Not sure our own industry’s year has been quite such an annus horribilis, but I am referring here principally to the three Supreme Court rulings...
Dedication of the Ron Haylock Music Room in South Africa
11th November 2015 was a very special day for Christel House South Africa. Christel DeHaan was paying her annual visit and during a Special Assembly held for the School's friends and donors, she was personally able to dedicate the Ron Haylock Music Room in tribute to him as a passionate lover of music and supporter of Christel House. As well as academic accomplishments, the Special Assembly celebrated dance, drama and of course music. The School Band accompanied the programme and played their hearts out. The younger children played beautifully on their recorders and the Marching Bank ceremoniously accompanied guests to and...
United We Stand, Divided We Fall…….
The full quote is “United we stand, divided we fall” and surprisingly it is originally attributed to Aesop of the fables fame in his fable “The four oxen and the lion” written in the 6th Century BC. I hit on this title today as I was walking our retriever (Falco – named after a Roman Detective whose books are set by Lindsey Davis in the time of the Emperor Vespasian), he doesn’t have Falco’s intelligence needless to say – well he wouldn’t being a retriever – “an intelligent retriever” is an oxymoron after all. I hit upon this title gazing...
Are We Becoming Today’s Thief Takers?
It is no secret that RDO has been battling with the on-line fraudsters over the past few years – fraudsters who damage the reputation of the industry, leave consumers cheated out of their money and legitimate developers losing valued owners who are poached/tempted by offers that never come to fruition. Before the solicitors representing some of these organisations start reaching for their writs in contemplation of issuing defamation proceedings, let me make it clear that I have no intention here of naming any individual organization at this stage. Not for fear of being sued – RDO has amassed ample evidence against...
Direct Marketing Commission recommends that Hollywood Marketing’s membership of the Direct Marketing Association is terminated
As a result of complaints made by Kwikchex, which runs the Timeshare Task Force on behalf of RDO, an investigation by the DMC (Direct Marketing Commission) into Hollywood Marketing, which runs sellmytimeshare.tv and monster.travel.com has resulted in a recommendation that Hollywood Marketing's membership of the DMA (Direct Marketing Association) is terminated. DMC reported that sellmytimeshare.tv provides an initial valuation of a timeshare and invites consumers to a meeting at one of its advice centres. During the meeting, consumers are introduced to Monster Credits as part of the trade-in deal. These credits are presented as a discount on travel and accommodation. Consumer vulnerability...
From Aha to Kerching!
The title of Guy Browning’s presentation on Day 2 of RDO6 at the Don Carlos Hotel in Marbella, Spain, somehow sums up this year’s conference - more on that presentation later. This year I think those of us on the Conference working group were seriously concerned as to whether we could produce an event that exceeded the standard reached in London last year at RDO5. We need not have been so worried. From Michael Jackson’s (the other one) opening, which so accurately reflected the theme for this year of “Embracing Change” and taught us how not to over-complicate things, to resist the...