How do You Create Great Timeshare Content?
Recently I read an article with this as the headline and it got me to thinking, maybe there is no such thing anymore as great timeshare content.
Maybe its time for a complete change, change the name change the make up of the product, change the overall negative perception of it.
Timeshare has been a good product for many and a bad one for many more, mainly because of how it was sold, the concept however is unchallengeable as a co-op between Companies and Members.
I think by simply using the word timeshare in any article you will guarantee to drive people away from the piece, unless they are in the industry.
The word Timeshare according to Wikipedia means “ Accommodation Type”, personally I believe Vacation Ownership offers so much more than an accommodation type.
Lets face it times are changing in hospitality in every area, fast moving, new innovative ideas to meet todays trends which combined with technology are driving a whole new era.
Timeshare is a name of a product that belongs back in the day, so why not dispatch it there with grace and remove it from today’s vocabulary,
What would we replace it with?…I’ll come back to that later.
Consider this,
I typed Timeshare into Google today, the top 10 posts all said “Timeshare” and included the following words in their respective opening lines.
Sell
Exit
Resale
Get rid of
RCI
Pro’s and con’s
Resale
Offload
For sale
Unwanted
Not exactly a greatest hits medley to be proud of is it?
So possibly its time for a change of brand identity, it’s been done before after all.
Think of Marathon - Snickers
Datsun became Nissan because the word Datsun in Japanese sounds remarkably like a phrase meaning to lose money.
Radar Oven (catchy) became Microwave
The ill fated Millennium Dome has rebranded itself as the O2 and become one of the worlds greatest entertainment and sporting venues.
My personal favourite, Kentucky Fried Chicken became KFC, to remove the word FRIED which had such bad connotations.
So what could we call Timeshare?
Well in America it’s mostly referred to as Vacation Ownership, (it does exactly what it says on the tin)
Obviously I’m biased but I love that name.
Shared ownership, Shared Leisure asset usage?
Why not have individual developers calling their membership “A Holiday Club By”
I’m aware of the issues with Holiday clubs flouting Industry regulations, but that’s an easy fix, we adjust the regulations to offer maximum consumer protection, in fact I would go as far to say that no other industry self regulates the way that VO does.
Why continue to flog a horse that is terminal at best and long since deceased at worst, let’s breathe some fresh air into it, the way vacations do with our clients and guests alike.
Why not introduce technology, offer shorter term memberships providing access to a greater variety of leisure lifestyle products individually and combined, the options are limitless and the market place of Europe is ready to boom.
Vacations and leisure times are possibly among most wonderful concepts in our lives, we get away from work, spend time with our loved ones, visit great places meet fabulous new people, make friends, try new experiences discover different cultures and “create tomorrows memories today” (courtesy of Fairmont)
So maybe now is the time to disrupt the name of “Timeshare” and offer some Alternatives?
Vacation Ownership?
Holiday Club?
Shared Leisure Lifestyle?
What would your choice be?