4 Ingenious Ways to Save Money

Take a look at the latest products being offered to save timeshare resort operators money. The first is a cloud-based software system to organize and process your resort’s requests for estoppel, RequestMyEstoppel.com. Second, at last there’s a company interested in connecting resorts with competitively-priced credit card processing, Gildersleeve Partners’ new company, Customized Solutions LLC. Next, Cunningham Asset Recovery Service (C.A.R.S.) is a brand new concept introduced this year and bound to be of benefit to HOAs by providing low-cost non-judicial foreclosures. Last (but not least!) on our list is Towel Tracker – an RFID system that assures you that your beach and poolside towels won’t walk off the property.

1. “Timeshare Pro Plus’ RequestMyEstoppel module helps us save time, staff resources and the tedious tasks associated with processing account verification letters as well as estoppel certificates,” states Ken McKelvey, chairman and CEO of Defender Resorts. “We handle management services for 24 resorts in several different states, as well as in the Grand Caymen Islands. The software will add speed and efficiency to our operations, plus free up valuable resources in our office, in answer to our commitment to using the best available technology….”

“We needed the ability to automate the title transfer process to ease the burden our team was experiencing,” says Natalie Bobsin, vice president of Stonebridge Management LLC. “We are looking to grow our management portfolio of legacy resorts and as we multiply the number of resorts we handle, nationwide, the ability to streamline the estoppel process will be invaluable.”

How it saves money: Save time, postage and paper while you and your staff concentrate on operating your core business. (For more on Stonebridge and RequestMyEstoppel, see Resort Trades news archives, June 29, 2015.)

2. Longtime industry veterans Larry Gildersleeve and Jeff Sites (who was co-founder of Trendwest) recently introduced Customized Solutions LLC, which is focused on providing timeshare companies with competitive pricing and leading-edge technology for the processing of credit card transactions. According to Gildersleeve, “Jeff and I launched Customized Solutions because over two years of research persuaded us the timeshare industry is not being treated as favorably as it should be in this critical area. Two years ago, we formed a relationship with CardConnect.com (one of the world’s largest companies providing leading edge processing and data security technology) and led its market entry into the timeshare industry.”

“If your company is active in the timeshare industry, and accepting credit card payments from consumers, we can most likely increase your profitability by significantly lowering your processing costs,” says Sites. “We also offer access to the finest technology and data security currently available to Fortune 100 companies and government agencies.”

How it saves money: Access to merchant account providers who understand and appreciate the resort business at affordable discount rates. It’s like getting USDA loans over a regular mortgage: a smart, affordable decision. (See pages 14-15 in the July 2015 edition of Resort Trades.)

3. Kevin Mattoni and his partners at C.A.R.S. in Sarasota, FL, have negotiated bulk rates with attorneys in more than 22 states to provide timeshare associations, lenders, and developers with the fastest and lowest-cost non-judicial foreclosures available anywhere. Client satisfaction rates have been 100 percent positive with clients reporting they have experienced the fastest possible resolution of their files within four-to-six months and with no additional add-on fees of any kind.

One client, Gloria Weir who is executive GM of six resorts spanning the Gulf Coast from Indian Rocks Beach to Naples says, “When we heard Kevin had started a company with the new type of foreclosure, we decided to try it at our Naples location.” What is their success rate? “100% of the first twenty five files we gave them!” They were able to resell 20 of the weeks within three months of the foreclosure being completed.

How it saves money: Get your non-performing weeks back quickly and inexpensively; put maintenance-paying owners back into your resort. (See page 5 in the April 2015 edition of Resort Trades.)

4. “When the guests see the name Towel Tracker they take only as many towels as they need…,” said Ean Liss, pool concierge for Wyndham Lake Buena Vista Resort, Disney World in Orlando. “I find that the guests like it a lot better than the way we used to do it manually. They don’t have to wait for the towels from me like they used to. Before, I had to go and get towels for them while they were waiting for the laundry. Now with Towel Tracker, we have a full rack of towels here and a full rack ready to go, so towels are always ready for our guests.” I’ve had guests go from wondering “what house can I afford?” to “I never want to leave this resort.”

Steven Molewyk, inventor of Towel Tracker, used RFID technology to create and develop a towel management system that assigns towels to users, tracks their return, monitors available inventory and can potentially even create a profit center.

“Initially I was skeptical; I thought that the Towel Tracker would be difficult for the guests. It’s been a total no-brainer – very, very easy to use,” said Lynn Dale, Director of Housekeeping for Wyndham, Disney World. “I have even had guests remember to bring the towels back and return them as they were checking out. We’ve never had that before.”

How it saves money: Lower-cost for everything from maintaining your towel inventory to laundry to pool attendants. Plus, there’s a good chance you’ll improve your customer satisfaction scores.