Scoop du Jour: “We had a colorful past”
-by Scoop
April 2, 2010 — That “colorful past” statement was printed in a recent article under the title “Beware of time-share marketing scam” which is a piece written by L.A. Times Travel editor Catharine Hamm. Her critique about ‘resale-scams’ included an interview with Howard Nusbaum, President and Chief Executive of ARDA (American Resort Developments Association).
It was Nusbaum making the statement and Hamm (who spells timeshare as time-share) also informed readers in her appraisal that: “The practice has become so pervasive that the American Resort Development Assn., which represents the interests of time-share owners, homeowners associations and consumers, is working on crafting legislation that would muzzle these scam outfits.”
Oddly there was no mention that ARDA members include not only timeshare developers, the very foundation, base and purpose for ARDA’s existence, but also several resale companies, many of which have also charged, over the years, the same “upfront” fees the readers are warned to avoid…
Hamm then directs her audience to the ARDA website with a hyperlink to ARDA’s “Resale Guidelines” section and the first thing I expected to find there, perhaps in bold red fonts, would be the ‘WARNING’ about those ‘post-card’ companies that scare the bejeezus out of owners so they’ll pay those companies thousands of dollars (per week owned) to unload their unwanted inventory.
Sadly, no such warning popped out, but perhaps like some of the resale companies Hamm warns about (which are dues-paying ARDA members that have, IMO, been scamming timeshare owners for years) some of those ‘post-card’ companies are ARDA members, too. Like “Timeshare Relief, Inc.” for instance.
For those who may not know, “Timeshare Relief, Inc.”, (and others) is referred to as a ‘post-card’ company for their marketing practice of mailing out ‘post-card’ size notices to timeshare owners with an invitation to attend a ‘brief and informative meeting’ to learn how the owners can rid themselves of their ‘weeks’, implying that the company will ‘make an offer’ for those weeks.
It is at those ‘meetings’, IMO, where timeshare owners are frightened about the aspects of life-long costs of annual maintenance fees, special assessments, etc. and that renting ‘inventory’ is cheaper then owning.
And then there are those resale companies that are also proud ARDA members, like “5 Star Resort Marketing” which is headed by Mr. John E Hofferbert who is listed as “President” and with an address of “701 Palomar Airport Rd. Suite 300 Carlsbad, CA 92011”
Now, Mr. Hofferbert is very proud of his address as on his website (http://www.5starprop.net) under the ‘Why Choose Us’ tab, right out the chute he informs visitors that “5 Star Resorts is in a gorgeous class A ocean view office…”
The website further informs visitors that “…If you are looking to sell or rent your timeshare property, No one will get you faster results, it’s that simple! 5 Star Resorts’ unparalleled marketing efforts reach millions online and millions more through our print and telemarketing campaign…”
That info is followed by more rhetoric, including the statement that their “knowledgeable sales staff and owners have over 100 years of combined timeshare experience to expedite our clients’ timeshare sale or rental…” which might lead an interested ‘seller’ to then click on the “Money Back Guarantee” tab. And they also proudly display the ARDA banner!
Ah, the old resale/rental (seller/leaser) money back deal better known (regardless of the ‘tag’) as upfront money, which is what Hamm and seemingly Nusbaum ‘warn’ readers to avoid like the plague.
After a little digging it seems that there is no domestic ‘Inc.’ or ‘LLC’ registered as “5 Star Resort Marketing” in California, but there is one in Nevada; yet that company– which lists Mr. Hofferbert as the President, Secretary, Treasure and Director and was formed on 11/26/2008– is apparently, as of this writing, in “default”.
The website further informs visitors that “…If you are looking to sell or rent your timeshare property, No one will get you faster results, it’s that simple! 5 Star Resorts’ unparalleled marketing efforts reach millions online and millions more through our print and telemarketing campaign…”
That ‘company’ also has a website (http://platinumpropexchange.com) and although there is no mention of any ‘…gorgeous class A ocean view office…’ (which would be hard to pull off from Las Vegas) they, too, have the same old money (up front) back guarantee as does their ‘California’ operation.
There are also some online complaints about some previous activities that Hofferbert was involved with in Florida. That State apparently issued at one time a ‘Cease & Desist’ order that is available online (with the State of Florida) and has been verified by an independent Internet Security Company owned by Chris Brandon of Brandon Internet Security.
It seems there might be some ‘issues’ with the State of Arizona, too, and apparently John and his wife Melinda operate yet another website and company based in Newport Beach, Ca called “Paradise Escapes, aka Escape To Paradise”.
That entity has a website (www.paradiseescapes.net) and, lo and behold, there you’ll find that money (up front) back guarantee and the ‘why choose us’ tab with another proud statement about the office: “Our office is located just steps away from Newport’s beautiful sandy beaches. We are located in a beautiful plush office fifteen minutes from Disneyland to satisfy our most discerning clientele.”
For this ‘deal’ there are more online accusations and complaints, including the following: “It seems their standard sales pitch is that they call a timeshare owner with the ruse of having a buyer that is interested in buying their timeshare.
“They then pressure the owner with the prospect of having a ready, willing and able buyer, and convince the owner that their timeshare is worth much more than it actually is and solicit an up front fee of $399.00 and up.”
There is (much) more, to be sure, but as long as companies such as these are “Corporate” ARDA members in good standing and agree to abide by the ARDA code of ethics and the “Resale Guidelines”, etc. that should be good enough for everyone!
Right?
Got a comment, topic, perspective, feed-back or a general rant to share? Leave a comment or Contact: scoop@insidethegate.com
Related posts:
Email This Post
Say there Scoop-don’t ya think you are being a little hard on ARDA and Howard?
After all, they do know how to throw a damn good party every year and I peronally had a bash durning this years annual love fest in Vegas.
I just hope what I did there (Vegas) “stays there“!
ARDA does a lot of good work for the industry but I agree that there seems to be some hypocrisy with the Associations apparent willingness to serve more than one master.
Maybe ARDA developers really don’t care or just don’t understand that the post card companies and the resale companies that sell the advance fee advertising schemes really do cause a lot of harm.
Or, maybe it is just the old school marketing philosophy in the biz of dragging in as many sales guests to their sales centers that they can and simply play the numbers game; though, in this economy, I question that method as well.
One thing for sure, it is a strange but wonderful business!