Doing the math, it just doesn't add up!

Sometimes a bit of logic goes a long way...

Having just had a (non-Worldmark) holiday on the Gold Coast, I thought I'd see what Worldmark would have to offer up there.

I had driven through Kirra Beach, so I had a look at the Kirra Beach Resort online.

One week in a 2-bedroom apartment requires 7000-11000 points depending upon season. Based on prices at Redseason, a 2nd-hand 7000 point membership would cost around $7500 and the annual levies would be $399.

The cost of financing a $7500 membership would be roughly $500 per year, which means a yearly cost of $900. For this, you would get one week at Kirra Beach in low season.

So what is it worth? I Worldmark Kirra Beach on Wotif listing as $250/night normal price, but sometimes available for only $109/night. That makes $1750/week full price, or $763 at Wotif discount prices.

I also found hotel.com.au offering a discount of $140 ($980/wk) and normal price of $188 ($1316/wk). However, it can often be difficult to get these discounts.

Comparing to other accommodation on the Gold Coast such as Currumbin Sands, a low-season price of $950 seems about right.

Then, to top it off, I found an eBay listing #6621249958 where somebody was offering one week at any Worldmark Resort. It appears that they had 12,000 points that were about to expire. The auction ended with a bid of $910.

So, a rough estimate is that a week in low season is worth around $950, which is the approximate cost of holding a 7500-point membership if purchased 2nd-hand.

A week in high season requires 50% more points, but would probably not be available at a discount via websites, which comes out to about the same value. (In fact, I'm surprised that Wotif and hotel.com.au are offering accommodation, since Worldmark resorts are meant to be for members only!)

Thus, the conclusion is that the going price for 2nd-hand memberships is "about right".

The price for new memberships from Trendwest at $2.14/point would be $15,000 for 7000 points. Clearly not good value.

Caveat Emptor.

-- Fabbo.

Tags: trendwest worldmark

A similar experience

I stumbled across a blog entry from Ieuan's World that tells of another Trendwest sales experience.

Tags: trendwest worldmark

Premier or Standard?

I saw somebody selling their Worldmark membership online, and they highlighted that it is a Premier membership "with exactly the same ownership rights as packages purchased directly from Trendwest".

I had to smile at this, because it reminded me of when I attended the Trendwest sales presentation. The salesperson explained that the Premier membership would only be available if purchased today, which would include things like the exchange club membership ad Bonus Time.

I have even found a reference on Samantha Madell's blog that explains why the prospectus says "Premier Owner Holiday Credits are only available for subscription by invitation on the day of attending a presentation".

The reason I smiled was that I asked the salesperson what proportion of people buy the Standard membersip, and he said -- "We haven't sold any, because nobody ever comes back".

I think that just proves that Trendwest's price markup of 100%+ on Worldmark memberships just aren't worthwhile.

-- Fabbo

Tags: trendwest worldmark

Hong Kong & Asia

I recently received this question from a reader:

I'm trying to find out if I can use my Trendwest credits in Hong Kong (also want to take the kids to Hong Kong Disneyland). I can't seem to find any associated resorts/affiliate hotels. Any tips?

Since I'm not a Worlmark member, I sent the question through to Terry from Redseason since I think he knows everything on this topic.

Terry obliged with this reply:

Currently the holiday options in Hong Kong are fairly limited as their doesn't appear to be any significant timeshare of any type in Hong Kong itself. There are a few resorts in mainland China that are within a reasonable distance of Hong Kong that are on the RCI exchange listing. There are two resorts listed at Shenzhen which is about 25km from Hong Kong and another resort at Songgang which is a bit further away.

Of course if they were heading to Disneyland in California or Disneyworld in Florida there are a whole lot of options available - Trendwest has resorts in both locations and there are literally dozens of resorts available through RCI in both places as well. My brother recently visited Florida and was able to get two weeks in resorts in Florida for a total of 6000 credits (3000 per week) using the RCI short-notice exchange option.

Although it hasn't been officially confirmed yet there are strong rumours that Trendwest will be starting up an Asian club later this year. Currently I don't have any more information on where the resorts are to be located or even what the arrangments will be between the new club and the two existing clubs (USA and South Pacific) but I assume there will be sharing of resorts between the new club so that will open up more options in Asia without Trendwest owners having to use an exchange company such as RCI. As soon as I get any more information on this new club it will be announced in our newsletter and posted on our website.

Thanks for that info, Terry. I guess if you live in Hong Kong, your holiday choices are either mainland China or "overseas", so the exchange companies would no doubt play a role.

My personal contacts also reveal that Hong Kong Disneyland is pretty busy at the moment, with all the pent-up demand after its opening. It also has fewer attractions than the other Disney locations. I'd also highly recommend Tokyo Disneyland -- it has easy transport off a train line and is a little 'out of town' so you might be able to get some cheaper accommodation. And, boy, those Japanese sure know their Disney songs!

-- Fabbo

Tags: trendwest worldmark