Bluegreen to Provide Sales Support for Manhattan Club Timeshare April 14, 2011
Posted by John Stephens in : Bluegreen Resorts, News & Events , add a commentHere is a real indication of the sign of the times in the timeshare business.
The Manhattan Club, the upscale, urban timeshare located on West 56th Street between Broadway and Seventh Avenue in the heart of New York City, has contracted with Bluegreen to provide sales, marketing and title services on behalf of the resort.
Bluegreen brings the Manhattan Club into its fold as it expands its fee-based services business as part of its strategy to generate revenue without building new developments. The down economy has pretty much pulled the plug on new projects, so the logic works like this – if you can’t build ‘em, join ‘em.
Up until now, Bluegreen has been targeting resorts that were either older or without the resources necessary to stay competitive in the new economic reality (translate: sales were down and they couldn’t keep their heads above water). So Bluegreen comes in and contracts with those resorts to essentially take over their sales and marketing department, sell weeks on behalf of the resort and split the profits.
Sounds like a win-win for both. The resort sells weeks and Bluegreen makes some coin with little or no capital outlay.
Bluegreen isn’t the only brand to think of this, as Wyndham not only has a fee-based services department but will also re-brand a resort if the property is agreeable. Again, cha-ching for Wyndham.
I actually think it is a great idea for the brands, which have been in need of new revenue streams since the economy tanked and they needed to make up for lost sales.
The problem is that small and medium sized resorts are now caught in the middle. Unless they are sold out and flush with cash from maintenance fees and successful in-house rental programs (good luck with that!) they will be tempted to turn the keys over to a brand to help generate revenue and even re-brand if needed.
Most of the time, whoever controls the cash, wins. So where does that leave a resort in need of sales or someone to come in and create new revenue streams to keep them afloat? Probably swallowed up by the big brand.
Bluegreen’s own press release gave an indication of this when they said “The addition of The Manhattan Club to our growing number of fee-based service clients will provide the opportunity to our Bluegreen Vacation Club members to experience New York City and will provide purchasers of The Manhattan Club product through Bluegreen the opportunity to experience 56 other Bluegreen Vacation Club resorts in the United States, Aruba and the Bahamas”.
So Bluegreen is expanding its empire by bringing in the Manhattan Club, which becomes just one of “56 other Bluegreen Vacation Club resorts”.
What should make smaller, independent timeshare resorts concerned is that if it can happen to the Manhattan Club, one of the best-known timeshare resorts in one of the best-known cities in the world, then it can happen to anyone.
In the long run, maybe this is the best thing that can happen to the industry. It has been leaning towards the brands for years anyway and if the economy is taking its toll on smaller resorts, then perhaps it’s time for the rich to get richer. After all, owners will want to know that their resort has the resources to renovate when needed and provide a great vacation experience.
Fortunately for you, you can buy Manhattan Club timeshare right here on the BuyaTimeshare.com website without having to pay the inflated prices that Bluegreen will undoubtedly charge to cash in on their new agreement. You can find those Manhattan Club timeshare weeks available for sale by clicking here.