Accor Vacation Club
We had a rather interesting experience today when we agreed to attend an Accor Vacation Club preview.
It all started rather innocently when a stand at Movie World offered us a $100 spending voucher. Now, who wouldn’t say “yes” to that offer? Not sure why alarm bells didn’t start ringing about a catch right from the start. LOL.
The guy at the theme park did a good “sell job” on us, pointing out they only wanted a small amount of our time (maximum 90 minutes) in return for this “thank you” gift.
In all honesty, I had a genuine interest in what they had to offer. He wasn’t really specific in what it was all about other than it was a vacation club. I figured it could be anything from a low priced loyalty type card to a larger priced package deal but we wouldn’t know without going.
In fact, I was even a little bit excited at the thought.
MOST of the presentation was interesting and enjoyable.
Sadly, things didn’t go so well when we said we weren’t prepared to sign away as much money as they were talking without having a day or so to think it over. We just don’t tend to be spontaneous enough to sign away so much money on the spot. It would seem they don’t allow for that at all. :( I guess I can understand it given the whole “if they walk out the door you don’t have the deal”.
I guess then, they don’t have a deal.
Then we were told how much it cost to do the presentation which to me seemed a little bit rude given we were asked to give them our time and we did that. We kept an open mind and we were even genuinely interested in what they had to offer.
But between the pressure to sign on the dotted line on the spot and the fact that we’ve just spent quite a bit on this trip (so more likely to be interested in 6-12 months time than right now) we just couldn’t come at it right now.
We were, however, considering the option of doing something in the not too distant future. So it was disappointing to leave with a bad taste in our mouth. It doesn’t make good business sense to me. Many people need 2-3 times of hearing about something before they make the jump. So, putting the screws on and trying to use a bit of emotional blackmail doesn’t really help the companies reputation in the long term. 
Add to that, our “90- minute presentation” went for over 2 hours. And that was with Farmboy moving her along in several spots. Our poor kids were waiting to go to Sea World (and were at least in a kids club so not totally bored).
Then we had to pay for our “free parking” because they only gave us validation for 2 hours and we were there longer than 2 hours.
I guess you live and learn.
So, I’m curious. Is anyone involved in this or a similar type club/ownership arrangement and do you like it?
Does anyone have any interesting things to share about experiences at such presentations?
I’d love to hear your thoughts.
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We sat through the presentation while we were at Novotel Twin Waters - it seemed like a good deal but when we looked into it further, it wasn’t really. For the amount of money you are going to shell out you can have an awesome holiday every year, if you are able to save it.
However our offer did include the chance to take up the offer within the next 2 years - maybe that was because we were staying at the hotel where they do the presentations.
A lot of friends have been caught up in these sort of things (we don’t go on holidays so has never happened to us)
Sounds like the usual thing, here come and listen to us and we give you this then apply massive amounts of pressure and guilt if not signed up at the end of it.
Anything where they don’t tell you what it’s about when they ask you to attend usually gets my goat up anyway - Amway do the same thing along with a lot of other pyramid selling schemes
Did they give you a product disclosure statement? The way to get away from them without the pressure & the guilt is to ask detailed questions about the financial side & demand your PDS - they get you out the door as fast as they can, so you don’t ‘contaminate’ the others they are also trying to sell to. Start asking questions early enough and you don’t even need to get through the entire session to get your reward.
I’ve not sat through any in Australia (knowing full well there’s going to be a hard sell at the end). We did do one for the Disney Vacation Club however and it was great - no hard sell at all - I guess the product sells itself and if we’d lived in the States we definitely would have bought it. We were left with the option of joining within a week or two if we wanted to.
I agree - very silly to let you leave feeling annoyed with them.
Libby
Sounds like one of those time-share things to me and I view them as a scam, especially if they’re trying to get you to sign on the dotted line without a day or two to think it over. I’m just shocked that they were doing this at Movie World! What the? So weird. You did well to sit through it - I would have just kept walking the instant I saw the $100 voucher offer - there’s always a catch!
There is a family here that are signed up with them. I’ll tell you who they are when you get home and you can chat to them. You know them pretty well!
I know nothing on this subject so I’ll keep my mouth shut here.
My wife and I signed up with Accor in March this year whilst on holidays in New Zealand. It was our second time we had sat through the 90 minute spiel. We informed them the first time that we were not financial enough to commit to the club but we were very interested. We asked for a second invitation for about 12 months when we expected to be able to afford the club and time and money to use it, however we too received the pressure and emotional blackmail as stated above. We were strong enough to walk away.
Well, believe it or not, we received another invitation about 12 months later and accepted. This time, we went with the view that we would be able to manage our time and finances to be able to afford the club, and we did our research before going.
Understand that the club will cost you money for the first few years or until you pay the initial costs. After that, you will save money and in some cases, thousands per year on holiday costs. Remembering that it’s not a save money quick scheme but an actual investment for 80 years will help to remove some of that OMG they want HOW much from us to start??
We have continued to make our fortnightly payments and it is a struggle with a mortgage, but 2-3 times a year we can sit back in style and pay nothing for accommodation, half price for 5 star food and a little for travel. We will have paid our ‘loan’ off in a couple of years and then its a simple $500 cost per year for maintenance to save thousands.
It’s also nice to know that the kid’s inheritance will include the house AND the club membership as it’s all transferable. We are going to New Zealand again soon for 2 weeks and we are paying for airfares and food (and another shot over jet ride of course ) and that is it. Our accommodation is a 5-6 star unit overlooking the water in Queenstown.
Nothing is for free in this life and The Accor Vacation Club will cost you money. However, if you holiday regularly or would like to, then the club can save you thousands. Remember the saying - you have to spend money to make money? Well it kinda applies here.
As a side note - neither my wife or I are affiliated with Accor in anyway. I am just sharing my experiences.
Regards
Pete
If you like the concept but not the price or the hard sell then have a look at:
http://www.redseason.com.au
These guys sell the exact same memberships in the Accor Vacation Club (and also the Worldmark South Pacific Club by Wyndham which is the other large timeshare club in Australia) but you only pay about 30-40% of the price at the hard sell presentations. The guy who runs it is extremely helpful and happy to answer any questions and puts no pressure on at all. The memberships are “second hand” but effectively are the same as the new ones you buy from the clubs but at a huge cost saving (as an aside of course that means if you do buy one from the club and need to sell it you are going to lose around 70% of your money - buying second hand avoids that risk).
We purchased an AVC membership from Redseason earlier this year and are so glad we did - we initially signed up for a Bronze membership at one of the hard sell presentations but afterwards weren’t sure if it was going to be worth the money - we had signed up for about $16500 but that was mostly on finance and by the time we had paid it off it would have been nearly $25000. As soon as we got home I did some research on the web and found Redseason and their prices - I rang them the next day and as soon as I had finished speaking to them I rang AVC and cancelled our purchase. We ended up purchasing a Silver membership from Redseason around a month later (as I said they put no pressure on to buy straight away) which cost us $6500 which we were able to pay up front - so we saved over $10000 on the full price (or nearly $20000 if you include the interest on the finance deal AVC signed us up for) AND we ended up with a larger membership.
We have already had a short holiday with the membership and were extremely happy with the quality of the accommodation (much nicer than the hotel rooms at the same resort that we had previously stayed in) and the fact that the accommodation cost us nothing. We have a longer holiday booked for next February and are really looking forward to it.
Regards,
Trevor
Des & I Have a story although I have a Cousin who uses and loves it
We have been members now for 4 years. We signed up, both in the 40-50 age group and yes we have a way to go to get our value back. But, as we see it we have a ‘lifetime’ of holidays to go and when you are a bit older you cannot usually afford the lifestyle. Example; we have just had a week on the Gold Coast in a beautiful apartment and are looking forward to 3 weeks in Palm Cove early next year. Guess what, no costs for accommodation ever again!!
Regards
I have been a member since 2003, I was single and 26 years old. I am now married and have 2 very young children, and my wife doesn’t work. I tell you know, if I didn’t buy this membership back then I would nat have been able to afford to take my kids on and great holiday over to WA, I was able to get a 2 bedroom so my parents came as well. But I have also used it at Twin Waters on the sunshine coast, Coffs harbour, Sydney, Hunter Valley and also at the snow in the snowy mountains. Yes my purchase price up front was a big one, but all these holidays I have had since then have doubled what the membership costs. But in all truth, I would have greatly spent 3 times more to have the time I know get with my children every year. But the good thing I don’t have to, and I get to stay in 5 Star accomadation for less the what I would have had to pay for in 2 star quality. It is funny how on these websites it is the peole that do not own that do all the complaining. But the owners are the ones saying how good it is…. Strange that isn’t it…….
I joined Accor Vacation Club in early 2002. I was 24 years old, single and probably an easy target. Just like everyone else I was reluctant to buy on the day but I did. Everyone I spoke to afterwards told me I had been ripped off.
Although since joining I have used it for:
Four or five weekend trips to the Sunshine Coast.
9 nights in Queenstown NZ during Ski season with my brother.
10 night stay in Palm Cove.
About three weekend trips to the Gold Coast.
A week in New Caledonia.
3 weeks in Banff, Canada during ski season.
4 nights in Coffs Harbour.
8 nights at Pinnacle Valley Mt Bulla during ski season.
I booked a week for my brother in Melbourne for his honeymoon.
Two 3 night stays in Melbourne myself.
12 nights Lake Wanaka, NZ during ski season.
I booked two weeks for a friends parents on the Gold Coast.
10 nights Bali.
All up I have spent under $20,000 on buying the membership on their finance and around $3500 on club fees.
The trip to Canada alone saved me over $12,000 on what I was quoted through the Flight centre. I am happy I didn’t listen to my parents, who told me to cancel it the day after I joined! And they will be too becasue I have booked them on a 10 night tour around Tasmaina through the club for next to nothing.
I wouldn’t have done it if it wasn’t for their high pressure sales tactics!
Pete.
My husband and I sat through the ‘hard sell’ twice and although we were tempted both times, the whole presentation was a little distasteful and we ultimately said no. Then we discovered we could purchase second hand memberships and I found out about Red Season that sell them for a fraction of the price. As soon as we get over the current financial ‘hump’ we will probably purchase one from Red Season. I like that all the points and accommodation offers are transferrable to friends, family etc so am looking forward to being everyone’s favourite person!
I signed up a few years back, and all i can say is that it’s the biggest bullshit ripoff scheme that I have ever seen. All these people above talking about how they have used this so many times are full of it. I struggle to even get two consecutive nights accommodation anywhere, without having to book 1 year ahead! To me this is a disappointing product, I have only on the rare occasion managed to get the accommodation I have wanted, and in most cases we stay with other hotels as ACCOR can’t help. And we cant even sell it to anyone, so stuck paying this crap product. A warning to everyone, don’t buy into it. And if you do want to buy, contact me cause I want to get rid of this ASAP!
You are not helping yourself with selling your membership with feedback like that. Have you tried calling member relations for help with your bookings?
After reading my last comment it does seem like I have got everything I asked for but that was not the case. I often have to call up and ask what is available and member services gives me a list of dates and resorts available then I choose whichever is most suitable.
There are ways to sell your membership if you don’t want it. You can even rent it out while you are waiting to sell it. Just don’t get caught out selling it for a lot less than you paid for it. I know a few people who have fallen it to that trap and now regret it more.
Pete.
Recently my husband and I went and listened to the spiel done by Accor and yes I can see the benefits of this method of holidays, however you must be willing to take as many holidays as possible so as to get your worth out of it. The younger you buy into it the better off you will be. Also with the amount of timesharefor resale and the small price you pay, it would be a better deal by getting timeshare on the resale and then you arent as pressured to get stuck into holidays that you may not have time to take. Also the presentation given to us was well done, wish I could talk on so convincingly. I imagine these people selling this idea really do earn their pay packet.
Have been a member for a while (5 years +) and am getting more and more concerned that they are a rip off.
A few questions that need to be asked:
Are they a company owned by Accor or a company that has bought a Licence to use the Accor Name (eg Novotel Rockford Darling Harbour & Palm Cove are not owned or managed by Accor/Novotel the Rockford Group has purchased a licence to use the name has the Vacation Club done the same?)
Will they ever get a Web Site that actually works - they promise but you have never been able to get the full imformation about your account from their site.
They annual club fees are high - you may be better joining Advantage Plus and getting cheap accom and meals and having better access to specials. (eg Today 1 million bed nights @ $89 / night at the full range of Accor properties)
They have made a number of poor investments and are not game to sell them at loss - How are these investments being financed - they are long term renting apartments which are supposed to be used for club member holidays.
And there is a lot more.
Ask lots of questions before you sign!!
If you think it is good try and buy on the net, because a lot of people want out!!
I will sell you a Gold Membership (if they let me transfer it) at a 25% reduction
For those people who want out, then sell it! They will let you transfer the membership without a problem, although there is a $250 transfer fee.
At the last members workshop that I attended, I was told about a web site where you can rent out your points to other members rather than let them expire. I have noticed that the points for rent do not last long unless the rental price is high. I used the site to rent some points off a member. It also has memberships for sale. It is vacationclubresales.com.au.
I have had very few problems since joining the club. You just have to know how to use it and be flexible with your bookings or book in advance.
Go to the members workshop if you think it is a rip off and see for yourself the number of people that are using it properly and think it is great!
Pete.
Hi Pete,
Thanks or the comment. I have looked at the for sale sites - they average a return of 25c - 35c for the each $ originally invested. Not bad 65% to 75% loss, that’s worse than anything the stock market has to offer on a “blue chip” investment.
Suggest you read http://www.redseason.com.au/WhySoCheap.shtml for comments from someone who is making money out of reselling memberships.
Although I enjoy using their apartments - they are still a rip off. But at a third of the price that’s a different matter.
One bit of advice - never use “Accor on request rooms” they are heaps more expensive than going direct to the hotel or Wotif.
If anyone wants to buy in do not get caught by their sales team - Redseason is not the only reseller out there mopping up after others realise they have been ripped off.
Dave
I sold the memberships for 3 years in Melbourne. One of the biggest things that I found with members that were not happy is that they simply do not know how to use it. Booking in advance and having SOME flexibility will see it work for you.
As for David Jones, Accor Vacation Club is 100% owned by Accor. Also, regarding their purchases, I wonder if you have taken any time to read through the PDS. It clearly states that AVC can not make a financial profit from the sale of the properties as they are owned by the members (as the properties are in a property trust that the members, not Accor, own).
Members like Peter Forrester (above) are the people that really know how to get the most out of their membership and have been to workshops and made the effort to work out how to get the most out of their membership.
Hi
We have recently purchased a Silver membership - but have up 2 more days to pull out. We are undecided - we can see the benefits but there are mixed responses here. We are worried that to buy it second hand may be more risky? Help
Hi Lynette,
The only thing you miss out on if you buy “secondhand” is the bribery they offer as an incentive to purchase the package.
Peter Forrester has it correct there is a transfer fee. But that is easily cheaper than the inflated price that you pay their super slick sales staff.
Read the PDS (yes “Former Employee”I have read it) to see what it says about transfers, ask your salesperson why you should not purchase on the second hand market, compare the prices, you can have a lot of freebies with the $,000 you save (maybe enough for an OS trip)
Think it through.
Dave
I bought a membership together with my wife over 5 years ago. I agree that it was a very hard sell. We used it once or twice but often places weren’t available. Unfortuntely (or fortunately) I split with my wife. My new partner is a school teacher and it’s simply impossible to get any availability during school holidays, so we haven’t used it for over 3 years. I explained the situation to Accor and asked if I could cancel - have paid over $15,000 - but no way. The yearly fee’s always increase, so currently I have a membership that is useless that I owe money on and am stuck with. If you are very oragnised and plan well in advance or are very flexible then it might just work. If not don’t bother as it won’t work and they won’t let you leave
I am looking at buying a platinum membership second hand for $11,000 but am concerned that some benefits will not be available to me if I purchase a second hand membership, ie bonus time or booking freely at locations available to full first time members. I sat in on a presentation recently and was impressed, however they could not answer my questions or show me how to navigate the members site. I have also phoned and was not able to get answers to my questions. Can anyone advise me?
Hi Carmel,
Firstly the web site has never worked completely. They seem to get one part up and running then two parts no longer work. It is extremely frustrating, most of their telephone booking is done by overseas call centres who do not know how the local system works, but if you can get onto one of the local customer service staff they are great.
Secondly secondhand membership - the only thing you miss out on should be any first day offers that are made as part of the presentation.
Maybe “former employee”or “Peter Forrester” might make comment on what else you might loose as the “PDS” states that you can transfer membership.
As I have a said previously buying membership secondhand is they way to go. How much are you saving? I guess it is at least half price. Enjoy it if you buy it.
Hi Carmel.
Buying secondhand membership seems a far better deal than buying a new one at full price. You can select from many second hand memberships by checking redseason.com.au
We can only spend so much time holidaying and availability of times and places to go can become an issue. I know the thought of the holiday we are all hoping for can sometimes dim our decision making ability.
Hi Carmel,
David Jones is right. If you buy second hand all you miss out on is a few extras that they give you on the day. I bought mine direct but I have a friend that bought his second hand and there is no difference between what we get now.
You can buy off redseason, they are cheap, but if you want to buy or sell it go to timeshare.com.au or vacationclubresales.com.au at the later two sites you are buying directly from the owner of the membership.
At the end of the day you will always get the better deal buying second hand!
Pete.
Hey Richard (15 Feb), if you can book ahead 12 months (some can’t), just do that
Your school hol’s always fall on the same dates so just get on the phone first thing the year before you want. There are no bad places to go in the club.
We have booked school hol’s for skiing, and twice at Twin Waters in Dec/Jan, it’s just 1st in best dressed.
Have a few weeks you’re prepared to go, and then once done, you have the whole YEAR to look forward to it. That’s what I love about this, you book, its done, you know it’s going to be good quality, no looking for the best ‘deal’ and no worries. I used to e-mail my wife pics of the resort or activities leading up to the trip.
Buy the Advantage Plus card and eat for 50% off. (A big steak looks even better for $15)
Peter- 3 Oct above, is my new hero. Wow.
On the flip side, although I love it, it’s not for folks who expect to just ring without too much notice,, just like the real world,, your choices are limited the longer you leave it. You are NOT booking an Accor hotel room. This is a top of the line apartment with all the mod cons. (Hunter Valley 2-br apt had a (gas) open fireplace. Nice.
I have a friend who leave it to the lat minute and they are unhappy. I have a workmate who books ahead and they are very happy, (in NZ next week), so look at your life style before joining. I’d say though, it really is great being excited leading up to the trip, and showing your doubting friends (pics of) the quality of the places.
Tip: Buy low, and wait for the great upgrade offer at 12 months (if they still do that); but I wouldn’t plan to have anything under say a gold membership eventually if you have kids.
:-))
Hi,
I bought a silver membership 3 years ago on my second go round. Since then, I’ve had:
1. 3 trips to the Hunter Valley (1 was between Christmas and New Years booked less than 6 weeks out)
2. Palm Cove over Anzac Day Long Weekend
3. Queenstown in September
4. Long Weekend at the Gold Coast
5. Given my brother and his family a week in Melbourne last December
6. Given my cousin & her fiance a week in Vancouver through Interval International for $247 as a getaway saver
7. An exchange week in Vail, Colorado through Interval International last January
I paid just under $16K for my membership. When I travel for work, I pay on average $160 per night for accommodation, even in regional areas. So I calculate that I’ve probably saved over $7K for the 35+ nights accommodation I’ve had in the last 3 years. If this continues over the next 70 odd years, I’ll be on top.
There won’t be a pension by the time I retire (I’m 36), my background is finance and I read legal documents for a living. When I was there, I asked my rep to bring me a cup of coffee and leave me alone so I could read the PDS, which he didn’t with no complaint. I had three pages of questions when he came back and he answered all to my satisfaction. Yes there is a hard sell - that’s the industry. But Accor (and it is the way they set the club up and laid out in the PDS) is bound by the rules of the club which states what type of membership can be sold on the day of the presentation and then afterwards. So they do their hardest to get people to sign on then and there. Any sales person will tell you that you strike will the iron is hot.
One of those questions was relating to the actual regulation of the timeshare industry in Australia, which is regulated by APRA. All sales reps have to undergo a formal licencing program and exam. I don’t know if on-line resale sites have the same stringent requirements.
I don’t have children, I often holiday in school holidays though I use Interval International for this.
I agree the website is a shocker, particularly compared to Worldmark’s website. The customer service number is also a misnomer - it was much better 2 years ago when it was based in QLD.
I’m happy to answer any questions that anyone might have.
We bought silver membership in 2002. It had the sweetener that if you applied to Cashback America in 54 weeks you could get half the membership cost back. Needless to say (even though we complied with all the criteria) they went broke and we never saw the return of any money.
As far as the membership itself goes- we are shift workers and can often get a mid week break at short notice and generally have always used our points. I found, this time when booking, Accor on request is no longer available-which is a bit of a downside. I have to say however, the standard of accommodation is pretty good and as other people have said, combined with the Advantage plus card you can get good food at budget cost and sometimes even the deals you can purchase + cheap airfares are pretty good. We got 5 days in a 1 bed apartment for $250 at Broadbeach and had a damn good holiday for just under $500 with airfares, for the 2 of us.
The whole thing is a bit like the Bishop’s egg-good in parts!! You really need to learn to use it to your advantage and if you really have your heart set on a place get in early. We are spending a couple of days in Bowral and a week in Melbourne at the end of the year. Bowral was booked 2 weeks ago as we were flexible with dates.
The problem with the hard sell is that you are promised something and if it doesn’t eventuate as you had envisioned you just get cheesed off and tend not to use it or bother to try.
Like several others we went to one of their sales sessions & as we were in a good frame of mind we allowed ourselves to be caught up in the moment & purchased a bronze membership 3 years ago, we borrowed the money through AVC ( what a mistake) cost us a fortune in interest, & due to job & financial crisis we have been unable to use it at all. So we tried to sell it what a joke no one was interested & Accor made no attempt to help us out of extreme hardship, but knowing our plight continued to demand $500 yearly fees ( thats right $500)( which we couldn’t afford & hit us with constant overdue fees every time they sent a notice.This company is callous, insensitive & uncaring about all except the dollars.This has been the worst decision we have ever made, & we regret it daily.
I feel for the people who feel they are “Sucked” in to a membership but they really must bear some responsibility for not saying a firm NO at the outset when they cannot afford the product. On the whole I would not recommend membership to anyone and I would not recommend buying it if you don’t have the cash upfront, or at least with a low interest loan. (Don’t know what AVC’s interest rates are-but alarm bells should ring if they are much over 7%) GFC showed what easy credit does to those with maxed out cards and mortgage stress.
Even with little spare cash you should be able to get away if time permits. We live within 150k’s of Bowral and all it cost us was just over half a tank of petrol. Took own food and walked around town to explore. The one bed apartment was new and modern and as I said earlier, was only booked with points 2 weeks ago. (This is still NSW school hols) You don’t need to go huge distances and factor in airfares to go for a few days to relax. Perhaps look closer to home Rocky,(Wherever you live) and you should have enough points to have a holiday.
I went to a “presentation” in Surfers Paradise. What an interesting experience. It was all love and kisses until I said that I wasn’t interested. I was assigned to a woman who couldn’t have been nicer if I was her long lost brother, and she laughed uproariously at each of the presenters jokes, taking care to look at me while she did to gauge my reaction.
She then asked me a series of questions which I answered honestly, yes, I like holidays, yes, I would go on more of them if I could, yes, I thought it was an ok deal, yes, I thought it was ok value for money. Silly me, I just didn’t want to sign a $20,000 deal on the spot. That’s when things got ugly. The “manager” was called… well… if it was good value… “WHY DON’T YOU SIGN?….” ummm, cause I don’t want to… then another “heavy” was brought over, “do you know how much we have invested in this presentation?”…… ummm, I don’t care…. then I had to go to another “interview” in another room…… I was starting to think I was going to have to get violent to get my children back from them, actually, I was getting to the point that I wanted to get violent with them for trying to intimidate me. Sad thing is that I can see that “Joe Average” might get intimidated by these thugs, and make no mistake, at the core of the matter that’s all they are, and sign up with money he/she can’t afford. The day will come when someone is going to go ape-shit in one of these set-ups, cause they are going to press the wrong buttons on the wrong dude…. I know I came close.
MIchael, good on you for not being intimidated
You should send your note ‘as is’ to their head office: info@accorvacationclub.com.au
Pretty unprofessional to say the least.
From the other side of the fence,,, I’m a member and really enjoy it,,have just booked Lake Crackenback resort in NSW alpine region for school holidays.
If you know enough now to come back when the times better (I think you have to wait a year) you should google for the PD and study that and go armed with questions. Of course, I think as a member you need to be prepared to plan ahead for holidays at you definitiely cannot count on short notice bookings. (not impossible, but can’t count of that).
If you prefer to not plan, I’d say the club is not for you.
Take care.
Michael, forget about the $20,000 price for a new Accor membership, you can buy Accor resales for a quarter of the price. It’s just a waste of money to part with 20,000 when you don’t need to. You can lokk up accor membership resales on the net.
Coral, (or anybody) do you have one of these 2nd hand memberships? I’d like be interested if they are exacly the same. last time I ased (years ago) there were some limitations/differences.
Prefer facts not ‘thoughts’ in any replies
Thanks.
D J If you check out redseanson.com.au you will see accor resales and they have them for a much much cheaper price, If there are any differences I don’t think they would be worth the large price tag atttached. Also with these membershi;ps I think to get the best results you need to book early to avoid being disappointed.
Bought it, lock stock and barrel. We knew exactly what we were stepping into when we accepted the invitation from the chick at Movieworld. My wife was a little reluctant and I really didn’t mind either way.
The deal-maker for her was that weeks “expired” and were lost forever if they were not used within a certain time (2 or 3 years from memory). In her words “that means we have to take a holiday at least once every two years - where do I sign?” At that time my two kids were 7 & 9 and the five days we had at the Gold Coast was thier first family holiday.
We leave for Walt Disney World in Florida with the kids in three weeks, with all (resort) accommodation paid for with vacation club points.
We are all looking forward to it and, without being in the vacation club, I would not have even considered a family holiday this year.
Best investment (for our family) that we have ever made.
We bought the Platinum package, so we were well looked after by the sales people, but if we had decided against it and they turned on all the “do you know how much this has cost…” stuff, they would have got the “Your decision to invite us, now we are leaving, go fetch my kids like a good little monkey….” from me. If they are nasty to you, just be nastier back. And if you offend them, really, what is the likelyhood you will ever see them again! Sometimes guys, you just need to grow a set!
Hey Jake, same for us, even down to the irregular holodays before. Really like looking forward to the breaks and although missed this year last year due to work, next April school holidays we have a week at Lake Crackenback Resort (3rd time there). So even with the mortgage we can still get away.
Can I ask Jake, are you satying in the park, or outside, and how far ahead did you book. Kids are always looking at that place.
@ Jake. In regard to “growing a set”….. I’ve got a set. But there’s a lot of people out there who would be intimidated into buying. Not everyone has a set, is capable of growing on demand a set, or has immediate access to the set that is in the wife’s purse. It’s a case of what should and shouldn’t be allowed, and their aggressive crap shouldn’t be allowed. The measure of a society is its ability to protect it’s weakest citizens.
I have just been to a presentation and signed up with Accor. After reading all these posts I am inclined to decline. I called up the Accor people and they are like, if you buy second hand you will get blacklisted and will never be able to book anything because they give you zero priority. Is there any truth in this? These spoke to my wife so don’t know the full story but they did say that they will record this against your credit history. Any opinions will be much appreciated.
Be very aware of signing up to APVC, it sounds a lot glossier than it is. Very deceptive and misleading information is used in the hard sell of these memberships and you will almost certainly regret your decision later. Member numbers continue to increase at a rate well in excess of the increase in additional acomodation and availaibilty is therefore extremely poor. Beware that you know the limits of what accomodation you can book as the APVC website “resorts” shows IBIS and Novotel accomodation listed as resorts and they are a completely seperate entity to APVC and your APVC membership will not include these under their Accomodation portolio. I would very very highly suggest you keep you cash in you pocket as it gives you a flexibility way beyond any benefits of being an APVC member. BE WARNED. DON”T SIGN UP !!
When in doubt don’t. If you signed up with them you should have a cooling off time in which you can change your mind.
Would appreciate comments from people who have bought their memberships second hand. Have they had blacklisting problems or is this just a lot of crock, just another way of pressuring people to sign up on the spot.
Ratinator - I hope someone who is following the comments on this thread can give you an answer one way or the other. My other suggestion would be to contact Red Season and ask them their opinion on what is being said. My feeling is that they are using a bullying tactic. After all, they don’t get any commission on a “resale”. Your experience though, is putting me off EITHER option. However, I’ve not heard anyone else say they’ve had trouble using the second hand memberships.
Michael - I wonder if you and I had the same “sales person”. Sounds mighty familiar and Surfer’s Paradise was where we were.
There are several web sites where you can purchase second hand memberships. If you want to purchase a membership directly from an existing member, check out http://www.vacationclubresales.com.au or http://www.timeshares.com.au. You will find there in no difference between a second hand membership and one purchased directly from the club.
Ratinator- Speaking as a member and former sales guy, don’t call the sales guy- he wants your commission- a lot. Call their head office and ask sepcifically, what the differneces are between 2nd hand and new.
I asked a while back as a way of upping my membership,, and although there were some differences, I recall they were minor, but there are differneces.
There is NO WAY to be ‘black listed’ that’s just stupid. Once you are in, you are in. BUT, depending on what level you join at, your ability to book forward is different. At the Platinum level I can book 12 months ahead, and at Bronze it’s lower. exactly what, you need to check.
You can book on-line now so that’s better.
DON’T join if you don’t like planning ahead, like all things, you leave it later and you will have less choice.
If you can stand planning ahead and have a reasonable level membership,, its a great thing to go to these club properties. Nver found a bad one yet, all apartments are of a very high standard.
I think the bottom line is, if you can book well, well in advance and don’t mind limited choice then it might be for you. However if like most people you don’t plan 6-12 months in advance or you might want to take advantage of some specials overseas - it’s not for you. Beware - ‘the had sell’, once you are in, you are in (yes you can sell for a huge loss - only once financial) and the membership fee’s have gone up a lot since we joined
Thanks everyone for your comments. Has anyone ever looked in Wyndham and done the comparison.
Which one has better standards?
We recently attended a presentation at Twin Waters, we were impressed with the way the sales person explained it, there was no pressure applied and the PDS and FSG were provided first. I guess because we decided to sign up I can not comment how things would have been if we had said no, however my feeling was and from observation that they would have let us leave without applying pressure tactics.
After reading the post here, however I have decided to check with redseasons and probably purchase through them as the savings is substantial.
I have previously commented on APVC and it was unfortunately all negative as i believe they falsely represent what Accor are selling. It is absolutely vital that you do not accept what is said verbally or even written on their APVC website unless it is detailed as that in the Contract as that is the all important legally binding document. If you look at the APVC website under “Resorts” you could very easily believe the APVC resorts include locations that are not included ie IBIS Darling Harbour, Novotel Darling harbour etc etc. You could also come to the conclusion that booking accomodation is simply a phone call away at you own time and convenience . This is not the case at all as availability is very very poor and you need to plan a long way ahead to get availability. Your booking lead time is restricted to the level of membership to signup for so the lower the level the shorter your allowed booking time !! I would never ever recommend anyone join APVC as I believe you are so restricted and miss out on the flexbility you have paying cash as required. So beware. If you do want to sign up, it seems the mesage is buy through redseason as they sell at a good disount !!
appreciate some of the comments have purchased a platinum deal through redseason. For us it will be suitable as we can plan 12 months ahead and also because I can take holidays whenever I want. Certainly redseason is the way to go if you want it without the frills as many of them can be purchased later.
Hi Au76, do you mind me asking if you have found anything you don’t have, when compared to buying from AVC?
(thinking about using Redseason to add to my current membership)
You do not get some of the extras like Interval International membership and the accor advantage plus card however both of these can be purchased seperatedly.
Below are the once you do not get and can not by seperately.
1. Flight Centre Travel Club
2. Ability to book at Inter-club properties (currently not applicable as the only one is Bali and the Australian club also has rooms at that resort)
3. AVC member special accommodation offers (10% discount at Accor branded hotels in Asia Pacific region)
The 3rd one is apparantly not enforced.
Thanks for that. It’s really helpful. I’m thinking one day we might upgrade our membership by buying a second hand one as you can pool points on a booking.
For what it’s worth, and judging on the travel centre before the new Flight Centre one, you are not missing much price wise.
The 10% off at Accor sites via club can be replaced by purchasing the Advatantage plus card, which will pay for itself at your first resort stay wth 50% off food. (with 2 people, card holder eats free)
(I stayed at an Ibis last night and the Adv plus and AVP rate were the same)
Thanks again. Welcome to the club.
Brought a second hand silver membership off Ebay recently.
Much better price obtained then redseason. Took awhile
for the membership to come through.
Haven’t used it yet, put in a few dummy dates on the booking website
and all looks good.
We signed up for Accor Vacation back in 2004 for a bronze membership.We saw it as a way or having a holiday or getaway each year apart from our annual 2 week holiday in January at coastal house we rented last 12 years.
We have used it every year and we now have well and truly retrieved our money to what we orginally paid.When we look at prices paid for certain properties we rest easy knowing we have getaway without the cost.The apartments are very generous in size and 2 bathrooms with a 2 bedroom.Properties we have stayed in over the years are at Palm, Cove, Freshwater at Gold coast a few times,Coffs Harbour, Hunter valley few times, Darling Harbour,Twin waters Noosa.Love the bonus time rates, if you decide to pay not out of points.
When we compare what our friends pay for accomodation and what they actually get for that price.Apartments with Accor are much bigger and quality of apartments eqipped with own laundry, dryer and dishwasher, 2 tv’s in the 2bedroom apartment.Have taken my mother away on two occasions to different apartments and she is always impressed at the quality and spacious rooms.Our two older children are turning 18 and 21 and they looking forward to being able to use the properties.We still have a primary school age Autistic child.As all the apartments are similar in what is equipped with.It makes an easier holiday for us to take him on when he knows we are going back to the same or similar layout apartment.Looking at now travelling overseas using some of these properties.
Wanting to upgrade in near future to a silver membership, yet looking at purchasing through redseason so we can combine our bronze with a silver yet without the price.One property we stayed in had a sales dvd in player when we arrived.Had a look at that dvd and it is high pitch selling techniques.It was not like that when we joined.I have other family who now interested in purchasing into Accor after having stayed at Trend West properties with the in laws and Accor offers better qaulity and more spacious apartments.
very happy customers however we brought in through Accor when the prices were no where near the prices they are today.
We would like to hear of experiences from AVC members where you have received verbal advice from the salesperson (or 2), then only to find out once a member the advice is not correct.
On one topic we received the same advice from our salesperson after asking to confirm what we were first told, then received the same advice again from the person at sign up (just to make sure we totally understood what we were advised from the salesperson).
We our now in the need to act upon this advice only to find out from member services the complete opposite to what we were told.
The advice provided to us has been misrepresented and misleading to us by AVC, I’m sure we’re not the first though.
Wayne, you mentioned not to accept any verbal comments, we would like to know if yourself or any other members have had a similar experience as we feel AVC salespeople are giving advice just to make a sale.
Also, why aren’t ASIC keeping check on these products re value, when if you need to sell membership, even the next day, you lose so much of the value. You don’t even lose that much money on driving a car of the dealer lot.
KJ,
As you mentioned in your posting, I did state that I believe there is a very significant mis-representation of what you are buying when you attend the APVC seminars. The reality is very different as as you mention the financial loss from a re-sale is very very high. I have tried to discuss my issues with APVC staff only to be told I’ll be called back and of course the call is never returned. I signed up for a platinum membership so stand to lose a huge amount unless i can get availability where and when i need it, without having to book so far in advance. The legalities of what is being done wont be tested simply because it is individuals up against Accor !!
HI, We’ve had accor for a few years now and have now stayed in most of their Australian properties, no problems and properties very very nice. We have no had a change in lifestyle and are going to sell probably way below value because we are moving countries and nomading so time to move on, we are on silver and get our 3000 points every year 1st jan and still have a few thousand waiting to be used. We did join up with interval international for a further five years but never got to use it overseas. My question is if we paid $ 16,000 for it and sold it for around $8,000 now of those of you who have old do you this this is a reasonable amount that will move for us and any recommendations on the way to advertise and sell. We live in Queensland. Please email me if you are able to assist us thanks and would very much appreciate it.
I bought a bronze about four years ago - it really does not give you enough points to do much at all. We were told that this would give us 7 days per year - well it is more like 3 1/2. Not much you can do with that I am afaid. I think it is a complete scam and would not recommend joining to anyone.
I have stayed in a few properties but really could get as good a rate on wotif. Tried to use it overseas but not available in the countries I visited.
I was shocked when I saw the discounted memberships but these people have the real value.
We Have had an ACCOR Vacation Package for the Last 2 Years and have Not been Able to use it.
We Would Like to dispose of it at a Reasonable Price.
Accor were not Helpful, even though during their Spiel they insisted that it was giftable, sellable, Etc, etc.
I think we Paid about $17000 Upfront.
Please contact us on roMCSE@yahoo.com.au if we can be Helped.
Thanks
Hey Tricia, now that you are stuck with it, why don’t you save your points for the allowed 2 years, and then book a nice place for a week.
Don’t know if you need to use school holidays or not but if you can avoid them and high season points rates you can get some good deals mid and low season.
At least then you might have something to look forward to for the outlay you make
Apart from those who have the ability to plan and book a long time in advance and those who it would appear are working for the Accor PR Department the large majority would appear to suggest avoiding this scheme as would I
Richard I can’t help feeling you are talking about my comment. If you are, I don’t work for Accor, but I am a happy member who recieves good value for my outlay. I can do this because I matched a good sized mebership with my needs, and I don’t have to worry about looking for the best deal any more, or the quality of apartments, or fitting me and the kids into a hotel room.
All I want is for fellow members (like Tricia) to find a way to enjoy what she has on a lower membership. Once you arrive at a resort you get the same apartment no matter what level you join at.
PS for Tricia: I just looked up a Bronze and see you get 2,300 points/year. Our top 2 fav resorts are Twin Waters Resort and Lake Crakenback Resort. We have booked each during school holidays and ski season (respectively) for 4000 points for a week (7 nights/8 days) twice now, in a one bed apartment (sleeps 4) overlooking the water.
I think you can book 10 ? months ahead, so will always struggle during school hol’s against those who book 12 months ahead,, but try the online booking tool to see what you can get, and then just look fw to your next break
DJ glad it’s working for you and your are obviously a passionate and staunch defender well done
Hi, I just attend preview last weekend at twin water resort. it’s sound good, I also read all your comments here. Thanks a lot for your input. I can’t join or buy a second hands membership due the money short now. But I’m really interested in the flight centre club thing. Because I want to go to oversea soon. Could anyone help me by booking for me? I will very happy to pay some money for your help. prefer someone live in Brisbane.
I get that I have to use two years worth of points for one weeks holiday but I feel that I was mislead when I originally purchased. I have booked into cairns this year - but what a big deal it became. I was very flexible with dates and it took hours to find availability. I find it so frustrating to find the same accommodation advertised at cut rates with unlimited availability for $160 per night.
I have also tried to purchase accommodation and only once was able to do so. To be honest I really don’t bother anymore as it is a waste of time. Re- flights I find they are much cheaper using other portals such as Zuji.
I am sorry but if Accor wants happy customers who recommend their product they will have to do a great deal more to give value.
Hi Lisa,
I rented out my points at vacationclubresales.com.au to another member. I don’t have any points to rent now, but their are other members advertising that could probably help you with your booking.
Hi, Peter. Thanks for your reply. It doesn’t need any point to book air-ticket. You only need log into as member in accor website , then click flight centre iron. I was told member gets better deal than public. But one member help me to check the trip I want, get the same deal as public. I would like to know one or more accor members. I like to pay some money when you help me saving money. That’s help you too, just a little bit extra time. Feel free to email me at lisa_xia@hotmail.com. By a way, I finish my booking already, but plan to use the service next time.
My wife and I took up Accor member ship 6 years ago in the expectation that we would take regular holidays - but then she started a PhD and that was the end of that!!!! So, we hardly used our membership for the first 4 years and then- she got a job overseas, in Brasil! So we cannot use our membership and Accor refuses to acknowledge our radically changed circumstances. The attitude seems to be that that we are trying to trick them or con them somehow. Not so, at all. We are very willing to accept that the first four years of membership were wasted because of our own choice - my wife’s all-consuming PhD. However, we are just gutted by the stupidity (or is it just cupidity?) of refusing to acknowledge that our move to live overseas changes our circumstances radically and that we should be able to re-sell our membership to the Club (first preference) or have our annual fees suspended while we are living overseas and unable to use the Club facilitaies. Please don’t tell us about using Interval International - we have tried and tried but - Interval accommodation is very sparse in Brasil or indeed, in South America. Can anyone advise me on a course of action that enables me to resign my membership without losing most of my investment????
Michael, the 1st idea that comes to mind is not to resign, but to make the club work for you.
Why don’t you use the online booking centre to browse for an appt in a peak time, book it, and then rent it for dollars.
Don’t know how you would advertise, but assume papers are full of rental accom offers from private owners.
When you find a renter just ring the club and change the booking name, so the resort knows who to expect. I think it’s like a $30 club admin fee for the name change.
Pick something that looks good, like Twin Waters or maybe Freshwater on the Gold Coast. Try to get a peak time like school hol’s when public rates and demand is high.
In the end, you only really need to make your annual fee back. If that’s $750-ish or less, I’d say a week at Freshwater for that would be a bargin in anyones mind.
I had a similar issue trying to get out, due to the change in cicumstances had paid over $12,000 and only used it twice was happy to take the ‘hit’, but no, once your in, your in. Only 12 months (after 6 years) to go and then try and sell ASAP
Hi all, we are some of the “joe averages” who were misled by the sales people at the Sofitel presentation on the Gold Coast. We have lodged a complaint with ASIC about the disgraceful sales practices of the staff there and the high pressure techniques they use.
It took 3 sales people to get us to part with had earned cash along with the cruise voucher that we were technically not entitled to as we were only purchasing bronze membership.
We were seriously misled with this one, being told that it was worth up to $8,000 depending on the cruise you took etc. We have now discovered it is only worth a flat $250 regardless of the cruise you take!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Has anyone else been deceived with this voucher?????
We have approached Fair Trading in QLD but they have advised they haven’t received enough complaints to be able to do anything so PLEASE if you aren’t happy - put it in writing!!!!
We are also going through the Financial Ombudsman, ACCC and the Department of Consumer Affairs. Today Tonight were also interested in the story but again, not enough people putting their complaints in writing to these departments to be able to do much.
I recently read an article stating that in 2002 ASIC took action against the biggest industry player, Trendwest who also do the same thing as Accor, for misleading and deceptive conduct over its sales seminars.
Perhaps it’s time that we all started bombarding these departments with complaints to get them to take notice?
If anyone would like to contact us our email address is tonyandrin@hotmail.com
Just returned from Palm Cove and it was great, however I am completely confused as the resort is called APVC Coral Cove but you can book directly or through Wotif - the price is $160 for a one bedroom (very reasonable). If it is open to the general public (at what would appear to be the same price as members would pay) how do members get priority? When booking through APVC using points there appeared to be limited availability but clearly this was not correct. When up there I enquired about extending for one week and this was easy to do.
What I am getting at is that one of the key selling points for me was not just the stays using points but access to reasonably priced club accom which from my expereince is never available. Is this because there is not enough of it or do they make it available to the general public thus limiting opportunities for members.
Members also need to be cautious when using services such as Eurocar and flight bookings. I was going to book through APVC (Eurocar) and found I was $200 better off going direct.
I am also concerned about the annual membership charges which could over time become a financial burden. We should be able to resign and cut our loss with the initial purchase. I believe I was mislead but I was also naive.
There are specials for members but usually get notified by email. We got Broadbeach earlier this year for $250 for 5 nights in a 1 bed apartment and similarly The Vines in Swan Valley for $350/5nights. Both very nice apartments and we are using our points for Melbourne later this year. The price on line was around $240/night for Perth - far more than the $70/night it cost us. I think people get cheesed off very quickly without researching alternatives. We are silver members -joined about 7 years ago. I still wouldn’t recommend or refer anyone but I make sure i do make use of the points/deals I can get.
The first time we went to Lake Crakenback (NSW Snowy) I laughed. All the other apartment’s car spots had BMW’s and Audi’s, and ours and other club appt next door had a Commodore and a Toyota. Our friends wanted to come but couldn’t afford Lake Crackenback in ski season. Half price steaks at the restaurant (via Advantage Plus card) were nice after a long day too.
Know what u mean re not recommending it. It’s the sales tactics that give a good idea a bad rep.
Hi all, it has been great to receive some direct emails from people willing to take a stand. Please feel free to continue to do so and we will keep everyone updated with our progress.
Just thought I would share with you all that the first step you should take with your complaint is to contact their Member Services department directly and in writing as any other industry / government body will ask if you have done this first to try and resolve your complaint.
Their email address is info@accorvacationclub.com.au
The next step is to complain to their industry body who is the Financial Ombudsman. Here is the link to their website
http://forms.fos.org.au/OnlineDispute
These people absolutely require that you have tried to resolve your issue directly with Accor first but the best part of this is that every time someone complains to the Financial Ombudsman (FOS) about Accor, it costs Accor money!!! Even just for FOS to read your complaint costs Accor money so it’s a small way to get back at them anyway. We have had success with FOS regarding misleading advice from a financial instution in the past so believe in their value.
We absolutely believe that the more complaints FOS receive (and everyone else) the more they will take note.
Hi CI, just to clarify, are you still a member or did you use your cooling off period and return your membership?
Hi again, good news!
ASIC are looking into our case and the ACCC have confirmed via email to me “The conduct of which you have described risks breaching this provision and for this reason has been logged on the ACCC’s national database.”
I also met with Consumer Affairs in Victoria yesterday and the gentleman there confirmed we have quite a clear cut case with our dodgy cruise voucher so they will be taking further action also once ASIC, ACCC and the Financial Ombudsman have finished their investigations.
Persistance pays!!!!
Sorry, I forgot to mention that the ACCC are also looking for the impact of Accor’s conduct to be “serious and widespread” so please, please, please put your complaint’s in writing to these bodies. You have nothing to lose by doing so.
Hi I am not sure if it is widespread, I once attended a Gold Coast presentation, and the pressure was one. That was four years ago and we did not buy. Then in June this year we attended one at Twin Waters. There was less pressure and more information. I signed up initially as I was aware of the cooling of period. I liked the concept and could see us making use of it. Once home I located redseasons on the web and purchased our membership through them as it saved us over 50%. It also had a swag of points. Since then we have booked two weeks accommodation in Europe for next year, and five days in Sydney. Still have points left and am looking at using some bonus time too.
My feeling is that the Gold Coast sellers are not as professional and often only temps, whereas the one at the Sunshine Coast were a lot more professional and honest about it.
CI, are you a member? (or did you join and use your cooling off period)
Hi DJ, we are current members
Hi. my husband and i bought 4000 points for in accore in march 2009.We where at sea world with our two kids on a weeks holiday inone of there appartments (we didn’t no this when we booked). When accor gave us the free tickets to turn up to there big sell of shares.So we did.We have only used it once, booked twice but couldn’t go. Now my husband has done his back and is out of work and needs back opp. We rang them to get out of accor as now we cannot afford it. We dont no how long my husband will be off work,so times are tuff. All we were told is we will have to try and sell them. Well what if we can’t. So i hope there is someone that wants to buy our shares…….We were told we have 4000points to use this year and 4000 next year so 8000 altogether.
Timeshare is just a managed investment. I feel that Accor has one of the better products out on the market. If you use it for what it is you will get the best out of it. You always have to remember that there are many other people in the club and people tend to want to go to the same locations around the same time (example school holidays). The best thing to do is to book when you first think about it. Never wait long to book your accommodation it is not like a hotel with endless rooms.
There are some good and bad Timeshares out in the world so you do need to do your homework on the company. Accor is a big company and has big support from the parent company. I view my timeshare as an investment. I feel I own a few bricks at each of the owner properties. Instead of getting a dividend I receive holidays and it keeps investing in the product. (I get new holiday homes to go to, more owner properties). Unlike my holiday home where I have to pay to get it fixed or my rates that cost me lots of money, I pay a small yearly fee for the time I use my club. At a young age I have many years ahead of me to use this membership. However at an older age I have something to leave my children. When they are just starting out and unable to afford things. Holidays may be at a low cost now but in 20, 30 years you know it will continue to get more expensive. Just look what your parents used to pay for their holidays.
Wow Stuart, your line is the same one which accor fed me and I believed them!
For $13,000 I get 2.5 days per year but I also get to pay $500 plus yearly membership to accor plus the cost of Interval International. This would easily pay for 2.5 nights in a four star plus property. As I have already stated we were told it was 7 days per year for Bronze Membership. I really can’t see the benifit of being a member. No-one expects to book last minute but I suspect there are not enough properties for the number of members and availability will always be an issue. The assoc services are sold as if members get better rates but this is just not true.
When we took up accor we were particularly interested in booking member properties at the reduced price and thought this was the real deal. Try a book - it is very rare that a property available.
I thought it would be great to leave this fabulous investment to my children but am now concerned that I would be leaving them with a liability.
I think accor need to let everyone no everything they need to no in there big buy in with us it’s great you will never have to pay for a holiday again.Then they should say but just so you no if you want to get out when times get tough.The only way to get rid of this is to sell them yourself. But who will buy something you can never get out off unless you sell them.
I’m pretty certain that some Accor PR people monitor this site and post as ‘happy consumers’. We have a Silver Membership and can book 10 months in advance. Recently I tried to book exactly 10 months in advance to the day for July school holidays and there were no rooms available (we have 5 children) at any properties!!! Also if you do the maths we paid $17,000 for our membership and now pay over $500 per year. If we could book, we would get about 5 nights. We can easily get 5 nights in 4 star accommodation for $1,000. So the Accor scheme would take at least 34 years to pay for itself - if you could and did use it every year. As for resale try selling for more thn 50% of what you paid for it - no chance
Gee Stuart, you wouldn’t be on the payroll for them for you would you? Either that or you’re a typing parrot.
I’m pro club but yes I think the club should be more subtle
CI, for what it’s worth I also had the cruise voucher, even had it’s time extended because I hadn’t used it,, but never used it in the end- it was a false economy as I had no burning desire to cruise before the sales pres.
You are obviously upset about yours and those stupid sales people. However, if you are a member now I’d say encouraging action like yours may hurt ‘your’ club. Please be specific when you make your complaint, if its just about the sales staff at one location,, keep it that way
Otherwise the rest of us who like what we have may be effected by your actions.
TRICIA above was effected by sales pressure, she didn’t look at a points chart.
Tricia, I just looked it up and at low season, studio apartment, cost you 1,200 points for a week (Group A, Twin Waters, Lake Crakenback etc)
So you can actually get nearly 2-weeks a year at say, Twin Waters. https://members.accorvacationclub.com.au/Première-Points-Chart.aspx
I don’t know if will fit in a studio (maybe you have kids and need a one bedder (sleeps 4, that’s what we do), so see the points chart above, and see what you can get at mid or high, or for larger/small apartments.
Maybe wait 2 years? But get out and plan some holdays, look/book on-line, and look forward to a break! (darn it
You don’t want to go back to shopping for deals for stupid hotel rooms you can’t swing a cat in.
Hi Everyone,
Thanks for taking the time to contribute to this debate. I personally know people who are really happy with their purchase so I have no doubt there are genuine people out there who find the product works for them. There also seem to be many people who have struggled with the high pressure sales techniques and the product itself.
Can I ask that you please limit your discussion to putting your own viewpoint forward and not making an attack on other commenters. If the discussion gets out of hand, I will have to close comments on this post.
I hope at least some of you are finding the discussion and suggestions on this post helpful.
Lightening
We have been able to use our points every year. We are lucky enough to be able to take non school holiday time slots.We also use bonus time at late notice for no points and a small % of the tariff.We also stayed for a week in England for around 2,500 points.My suggestion is to push past the dummy stage and get to know your best options.It’s daunting at first.Also don’t buy until you can get use out of it.We have to fly from Perth to use alot of the stays but if you can plan ahead it’s well worth it.I have been impatient with the new website but the staff are helpful and you get to know what to ask for and it’s all good.
We were in the same situation as many of you. There was the predatory ‘pressure’ sale where you were bounced from one person to the next as they tried to secure a signature and grubbily tried to get to your money.
Once that was done it was the last time I saw any of the associated documents. Our circumstances changed I approached them and all they want is Money, not interested in any thing else and non helpful. Once due to my changed employment the membership went into default it was sold by Accor at a huge profit over $20K(Silver membership) the company took over $12K in unspecified costs. Their response when questioned was to say it was reasonable costs of the sale, and hand my complaint to their legal team to try and intimidate me.
I am currently seeking Legal advice as well as using the ACCC, ASIC and the Financial Ombudsman Service.
Greg
Can I confirm that you went into default, so they sold your mmbership, however you got some of the proceeds? I offered to give them back my membership (still had aout $7,000 owing) and just walking away - but they declined. Would be delighted if I defaulted and they sold it and I ended up getting something. Have tried renting my points - 6,000 but can’t get any takers happy to take as little as $1,500 for 6,0000 points but still not even a nibble
Richard, have you considered booking an appt at a popular time and advertising it for rent? (or is that what u meant by renting)
I believe you can change the name on the booking then for a small admin fee so it’s all above board. (as far as the club is concerned you have guests staying)
DJ
No, sounds like a good idea, will give it a try
Cheers
Being an armchair marketer,,, don’t forget to push the fact it’s a modern appt (not just hotel room), use some pics from the club website appt tours.
At least you might have some cash coming back in for any loan and club fee payments. Good luck.
Richard, No they took over $12K to sell the membership and called it reasonable costs then did some other funky stuff with the rest of the sale money so thet they could make sure there was still money owing on the financed amount. They also have been using a completely different set of figures for their calculations of amounts owed etc, to what they have listed with a Cedit Reporting Agency, as well as being very reluctant to release any of the information about what and where happened to all the proceeds of the sale. Even though there is a legal requirement for them to give me a detailed and itemised list of what went where.
At the end of the day my Legal advice is to get a Legal officer from the ACCC to look at all the emails etc I have as well as similar complaints from other members or former member from places such as this.
Funny how as soon as i mentioned that I have legal advice it has ended any further feeds from this site
Greg you may being too suspicious. It may be that others have nothing to add to your comments.
My club experience has been good, but you need to be able to afford it,, so for you it’s not been great with your change in circumstances.
I hope you get things sorted out soon. For me, I like competing with just 25,000 members, and not 20 million, for my next holiday. My kids have grown up in it and are way too spoiled with their resort stays.
Again, I hope you get it sorted out and you can get some sort of peace around the club. All the best.
I think no comment is because of the time of year and it has all been said. There appears to be those who like it and think it is good value. Personally I think it is a great rip off. If I had bought a silver or gold membership I might find it much more useful. The Bronze is a waste of time and money. What I don’t get is if it is so great why are so many people selling on Red Season .. now there is real value. If I had purchased at Red Season the amount I spent for Bronze would have purchased Gold - what is that 6 weeks a year (thats what they told us when they tried to sell it). My 2.5 days a year just does not rate. I wish I could get rid of the annual membership charge - it is not a burden now but could be in the future.
I can’t blame anyone but myself for purchasing - I thought of the benifits which were sold to me not being locked into an 80yr contract! Now that works out at at $445 x 80=$35,600 on todays charges so guess I won’t be leaving to my children after all.
I would just like Accor to be more transparent - there are 27,000 members @ $445 each (does it go up with type of membership?) so they collect $12,015,000 in fees alone each year. Are there enough facilities for 27,000 - could be why they are never available.
Yes and all this after the industry was regulated to be more transparent as well as forbidding the pressure and predatory sales techniques still being used today. As with most of the national government regulatory bodies they are toothless tigers or are unwilling to disturb the Status Quo as it would involve interfereing with the revenue the government get from these organisations. Not to mention the Graft and corruption, oops revenue poured into the local government’s coffers.
Hello,
Unfortunately stories like yours are all too common in the timeshare industry, an unsuspecting couple attends a timeshare presentation only to be many timeshare bullied into purchasing a timeshare they may have not needed. Hopefully your view of the industry as a whole has not been soured to the point where you want to give up on the idea of owning a timeshare, some people might not be aware but you can buy the exact same unit on the resale market for a fraction of the price and some people will even give them away. If you plan on buying in the future I would recommend searching for resales instead of visiting the resort, after all there is no such thing as a “New” timeshare unless you are the very first person to stay in that particular room.
All i can say is DONT DO IT!!!!!. We have an AVC membership. We have had this membership for about 10years now and i have only been able to use it once!!!!!. I am a so angry with the club, you can never book when you want it.
I think it is a rip off!!! I wish we had never wasted our money
Yes been in the club 6 years used it twice. The only thing they are good at is chasing up the yearly fees which have increased substantially in 6 years
DONT DONT DONT
Even on a low membership you could wait two years to save up your points and book somewhere. I’m not sure you guys are trying hard enough. I’m too tight to let it go to waste. Give a year’s points away as a gift, see what someone else could do with it, plan ahead, get online and look around for vacancies, go to a workshop and get some tips on combining points with cash. Wow.
We have had last two school hol’s (a week and then 4 days using discounted cash rates) and in April, we’re off for a week on Lake Crakenback. I’m worried we havn’t booked for the next 12 months yet. I can’t keep up with booking holidays. What a problem to have
C’mon, your’re in, try to have short break, its great out there :-))
DJ- club advocate.
Good on you DJ, hope Accor give you some discount for all the wonderful PR you do.
It takes plenty of effort to try and arrange a time and place that suits, even if you know your plans 12 months in advance
Can’t wait until September - will have our membership all paid off, then sell (for a $10,000 loss) but won’t have the burden of this lemon anymore
Well, amazing how there are different opinions, we joined in June last year,
Just came back from 5 days at Darling Harbour 23-28 Jan (booked 4 months ago 2 BR), off to Broadbeach for 4 nights in March booked last month (2 BR), then Mt Buller during Easter school holidays for a five nights (2 BR booked two months ago).
Off to one week in Austria and a week in Belgium in June booked July 2010. Then 11-25 Dec two weeks in New Zealand, one at Wanaka and one at St Moritz, booked last week.
Our family husband and wife and four boys 11,9,5 and 3.
Whilst I might not get the resort I want at the time I want (then again I have not realy been trying) I find that there is enough avail.
Those five nights at Darling Harbour would have cost me at least $2,000 if booked through Wotif or some one similar.
Anyhow, I just though I list my experience, it certainly is not for everyone, it is not an investment but used well it can satisfy.
Good call Richard. It seems the only people who speak with any fondness of “the club” are those employed by it in some way shape or self indulgent form.
Regarding comments by AU76 .. do you mind if I ask what level you purchased and how many points you get per year? As I have said before it maybe that those who purchased at the highest level get value but I certainly do not.
I can only say your experience has not been shared by everyone, could be that many of us do not bother trying to book .
Hi Tricia,
not at all, the membership I purchased in June was a 5,000 Platinum points membership and it had an additional 10,000. I then purchased an additional silver membership 3,000 points and it had an additional 3,000 points. So overall we have been fortunate that we had a lot of points initially. Naturally some of these had to be used within a certain time frame, that is why I have made so many bookings this year.
Platinum level certainly gives you the benefit of being able to book 13 months in advance which can assist during high level demand period and for high level deman properties like Twin Waters.
I have found however that with a bit of flexibility I can still utilise the membership.
Overseas is a bit trickier, I have read that the best way is to place a request with the call centre because the net booking is the last in the pecking order.
Thanks AU76 for your response .. did you purchase with Red Season? The reason I ask is that the packages you have purchased would have cost a fortune??
My realatively small investment ($13500) gives me 2,500 points a year and I basically use two years worth for 7 days. The cost of the annual fee (2 years worth) would pay for this.
.. and no I would not consider purchasing more point.
there seems to be an awful lot of money being paid out for very little in return. There are cheaper ways of having timeshare. We have purchased timeshares for very little and by purchasing floating weeks we are always able to have time away and bonus weeks are wonderfully cheap.
Our only problem is not having enough spare time to be able to take full advantage of these cheap holiday weeks.
we bought a membership in 2008 and were also given a lot of verbal information which turned out to be a lie we specifically asked before signing if the accor on request properties would always be available to which we were told yes low and behold when we went to book we were told that they were no longer available they did this without notifying the members (us) we would love for everyone who is not happy to get in touch and make a formal complaint as they are ripping people off, we live near their office in SEQ and have been in a few times again with no satisfaction they just keep fobbing us off but there is strengh numbers so we urge ALL unhappy members to get in touch and sort them out anyone reading this DO NOT BUY ONE OR BELIEVE THE SALES B S
we will sell for the remaining payments (platinum membership 5000 pts per year)
Have been reading this thread with interest as my wife and I are going to Twin Waters this weekend to attend a presentation. We are able to stay there for 2 nights for $99. I told them that we would not be signing or purchasing anything, and if they were still happy to offer us the accomodation deal we would take up the cheap accomodation offer.
We attended one of these presentations down on the Gold Coast about 3 years ago, so we know what to expect. We managed to escape the salesperson and the 2 closers without signing.
We got sucked into a hard sell scheme for a mathematics computer program for our kids and will never under any circumstances sign up for anything again on the spot regardless of how good it is.
Anyway, looking forward to getting away on a cheap weekend.
I know when we joined you could ‘bank’ points for years (also yearly membership was far cheaper) They changed that a few years ago, which has really made this whole scheme go from bad to worse. I have a Silver membership, haven’t used it in 5 years and now, don’t even have enough points for all of us for a week (we have 5 kids). You would think that since there has been such a massive change in the rules, you would be able to cancel your membership without penalty. Has anyone tested this?
The rules on banking points have not changed since the start of the club - you can bank your points for up to 2 years within AVC - if you don’t use them after 2 years you can move them to Interval (if you have a membership) and bank them there for up to another 2 years to give you 4 years in total. You can also borrow points from the next year so with a Silver membership (3000 per year) you should currently have 6000 points available if you have not used it in the last couple of years plus be able to borrow another 3000 to give you up to 9000 to spend on your holiday. A week in a 3 bedroom is 7000 points at most of the resorts so you should be able to book a full week.
Thanks Terry, it’s great to see Accor PR working on a Saturday, although this product is hard to defend - I’m sure you guys kop a bit. I’m 99% certain the banking rules changed 3-4 years ago, perhaps it was the interval international bit that changed. Despite your email, the yearly fee’s are now around $550 per year. So if we used 2 1/2 years points thats about $1,400 - I can get a 4 Star self contained appartment in most places for around the same - so ‘owning’ a Silver Membership is worthless in my opinion.
I’m the sunday shift
Worthless? Book an appt at Twin Waters every two years, and rent it out. Give a studio away as a wedding, birthday, anniversary present. How cool would you be.
I see people here trying to be constructive. No need to bring them down.
Maybe others can sugg what you can do with 3,000? points every year?
DJ I think your on the 24/7 shift! I appreciate if people are being constuctive, however with all due respect I’ve paid over $17,000 in 7 years and whilst I believe I’m pretty cool that’s a lot of money for a present every 2 years, hopefully plenty of people I know will get married
I simply pointed out that even with the above Terry’s constructive advice it really doesn’t add up
Some people support sporting teams, you seem to support ACCOR good for you
We purchased quite a few years ago not long after it first started. My husband and I went to the Grand Mercure, Broadbeach for our heavy sell. We did purchase for a lot less than what they are charging now. We lived in Victoria and came to Qld every year so used it at first for a week on the coast for app. 4 years.
We only purchased Bronze membership. My husband passed away suddenly in 2006 and we were originally told if we wanted to sell we could do so through the club. I found myself in a situation where I could not afford the fees so called to inquire about selling was informed this was not the case. Point value has changed since then and I am now lucky to get 1 week every 3 to 4 years. I work full time so restricted to when I can go on holidays. I am also restricted to where I can go as they are usually booked out. I am constantly called to upgrade my points. If you add the $440 annual fees over the 3 to 4 years I can have a cheaper holiday. I have also found their customer service leaves a lot to be desired. Their fees have also gone up every year even in tough times they continue to put them up. They have moved to new offices in Robina would be interested to see how much they are paying for them. If your circumstances change they don’t care you can even put a payment plan in place and every time you ring they will ask if you would like to pay your outstanding fees. They will not let you use any points at all even if your fees were paid for the year they were issued. They will even block your account on their website with out letting you know, so you cannot even see how many points you have and when points run out.
Carol, I really feel for you, I know exactly what you mean, they are great at enforcing the payments (and harsh) but poor at everything else
Regarding selling, have you tried redseason.com? You won’t get much of your investment back, but it will take away the ever increasing burden of the yearly fee’s?
Hello everyone, for all of you out there interested in timeshare I would suggest looking up timeshares.com.au they have many weekly ones for sale and many are very reasonably priced, they are floating and fixed weeks.. We purchased this type of timeshare and have found it to be most rewarding, presently you can holiday in a studio unit for only $99 dollars a week in Queensland, that is a hard deal to beat, this is a bonus priced holiday and is one of the special things you can get because you became a timeshare owner. You can also let your friends and rellies use these cheap weeks when they are available, there seems to be plenty of availability.
Another word of advice, we booked a week in April (on someone’s advice re booking and then trying to sell) Proved to hard to sell, so with 45 days notice looked to cancel. They charge a cancellation fee between 8-90 days out of 50% of total points in this instance 2,500 points and $55 dollars. They wanted to charge me on the spot (as they always do) I suggested that with 45 days notice they should easily be able to re-sell the room and $55 was fair enough but almost 1 years points! Of course they couldn’t care less. I said I would reconsider cancelling - will now wait until 8 days before the booking is due!!! If they had any kind of Customer Service, they would have resold the room and got an admin fee. Now hopefully they won’t be able to re-sell
We attended a presentation at Twin Waters last year, sounded good to us and we purchased a Platinum membership. In Sep we booked five nights at Darling Harbour Sydney, great location and we loved it, would have cost our family probably $3,000 if we tried to stay at a Hotel, 2 adults and 5 boys. In January we booked 4 days at Broadbeach for 11-14 March. Again we had a good time. And in Dec this year we are going to New Zealand for a week.
by the way if anyone wants to sell there membership let me know, we are looking to purchase another one, happy to offer 10% above what you are offerred by redseason, just provide me there quote, that way you will get rid of something you do not want and at least get a bit extra.
Aus76, would gladly sell my membership, let me know best way to contact you etc, I haven’t got a quote from Redseason, but can if required, or there appears a fairly standard price for Silver Membership
Dear AU76
I am missing something here .. your experience is so positive against many that are not. It made me question if I was too negitive. If you purchased from Accor you would have paid $29,250 for a Platinum and $21,900 for a Silver (total of $51,150) to me that is a considerable outlay.
However if you have purchased through Red Season you would have paid approx $14,000 - now we are talking. For roughly the same price as my 2,500 points - you get heaps more. My points (for the same price) give me a weeks holidy every two years. Today this ‘deal” is being sold for $18,400 and that is criminal. If I had the points value for Platinum and Silver at Red Seasons prices I would not be complaining.
Memebers who have gained from fire sales should make it clear .. of course they are happy, it is us idiots who paid full price who are complaining.
If AU76 thinks that the full price is value then perhaps he would like to purchase my Bronze Membership at the same price that Accor is selling for?
I don’t understand why so many people are struggling to get value out of their memberships. We have been in the club almost ten years now. In the beginning, I got caught in the sales trap just like most people that are members of the club. The differnence is that I have made the best out of it. Rather than winge and complain, I have used the facilities available to get as much out of the system as I can.
Yes I agree, the web site is not very user friendly when it comes to making bookings. It was never supposed to be hard work. Although, while on the phone with Interval International making future requests for Fiji, I found two consecutive weeks at the Marriott Phuket Beach Club on the website, which I have booked using another members points. 6000 points and 2x$184 for a 2 bedroom apartment. Bargain if you ask me!
I must be one of the lucky ones…..
Hi Richard,
you can email me at AU762011@hotmail.com we can then discuss it from there.
thanks
I’ve been on this thread for a while, and I think most of of the negative comments come from folks who have chosen poorly on membership points. Sure, most (all?) of the sales pitches are high pressure, what did you expect,, and we did want the dvd player or voucher or what ever you signed up for, but even under this pressure a simple points calculation on say, a week in a 1 br appt during high season (group A) is pretty simple. 4,000 points.
Either you will have enough points each year, or not.
If not, I’d suggest you get out now. Cut your losses, call it a bad mistake and don’t live like this. and don’t blame others for your poor choices.
I paid retail prices,, didn’t even know about Redseason etc, and have mentally written off the purchase cost, and now just look to make value out of my yearly fees. I’m much! happier now.
In a few weeks, $750 for a week in school holidays at lake Crakenback is a bargain. Just need to polish the car before I have to park it next to the BMW’s etc,, And if I do think back to my $20-something thousand, I’m sure this stay will make a dent in the payback period.
As for the add-on’s like bonus time, and that exchange points with hotels stuff, a waste of time IMO, didn’t join to go back to staying in dumpy hotel rooms.
Well DJ it is good to see that some people got their promised free gift. My wife and I got nothing, except for the staff circling like hungry wolf’s smelling blood once the thought of someone signing up was there and the prospect of money was presented. That is just another in the line of mis truth’s generated by Accor.
DJ great to see you pushing the PR bandwaggon again for ACCOR, they must love customers like you! I think most ‘negative’ people on here are really trying to warn others not to make the same mistake they did, due to the sales pitch. Sure it’s our own fault etc, etc but obviousy were not alone. If this thread has helped just one couple (which I’m sure it has) decide against joining then it’s been successful in my opinion. Having said the very organised people (like yourself) with a great degree of flexibility may have read some of the posts and decide to get membership - so surely sharing our experineces is a good thing???
I think you are right,, it is a good thing to warn people.
I’m just trying to provide some balance to the negative stories posted, and each time I (and others) try and be positive about our experience I get accused of being part of accor.
I’d just like people to also know that if the fit is there, its can be a great thing for a family.
I am one of the rare breed of potential buyers. I have been attempting to read the PDS, but it only seems available if you are already a member. Is there anywhere to read one otherwise?
Their bullying at the seminars and treatment of their members makes me suspicious about the business model and viability. It seems like the main profit must come from selling units, not serving the existing owners. Do the owners have any voting rights? who controls the fund? If they stop selling units does the whole thing collapse, making the membership worthless? What power have members got?
Any answers greatly appreciated.
I just googled ‘accor vacation club pds’ and got this: http://www.apvc.com.au/legals/product-disclosure-statement
Note, the ‘p’ in the url refects the old name of the club. ‘Premier’.
I’ve not read this one, but the old pds used to have the prices in it and the actual apartment numbers per site as well. If this hasn’t check for any supplementary pds’s.
The link DJ posted for the PDS will get you the latest one (11th March 2011).
Accor does generate most of their money from selling new memberships but that also benefits the current owners as they can only keep selling memberships if they keep adding new apartments to the club which gives everyone more options to use for their holidays.
If Accor stopped selling memberships then the club would not collapse as the club part is run separate from the selling and the club is self-sustaining (so the annual fees from the members and revenue from bonus time bookings fully pays for the operating costs of the club each year). It would just mean that no new resorts would be added to the club once they stopped selling new memberships.
Members currently do not have voting powers on the day-to-day running of the club however there is provision in the club constitution for members to call a meeting if they want to to vote on any matters of concern (to my knowledge this has never happened but there is the option to do it) or to appoint a different manager, etc.
As others have mentioned if you are interested in buying then I suggest you check out the Redseason website or give them a call as buying second hand saves you a LOT of money!
Thanks for your reply Terry and DJ.
I have tried the address the google link shows and it always comes up as unable to connect on my two computers. It suggested that the “Host is down”. I have tried this at least 20 times in the last few weeks, with the same result. There is a new member website with a link on it too. This does not seem to work for the buying public, but may work for members with a login.
I would like to thank all of the contributors to this blog. After lots of googling this has been the best information I have come across. The forums on Redseason have also been a great asset. Armed with all of this knowledge I have decided to buy a Platinum membership second hand, with two kids that seems like the best option.
With the advent of the likes of Facebook I am sure that the concerns of the unhappy members will soon get some more traction. It is not in the best interest of “happy” members to have so many disgruntled ones. How many people have been disuaded from membership by the very bad experiences of others? It is good to read that there is some (very limited) power written into the constitution. Who knows? some of the thumb twidling bureaucrates may earn their keep and punish those who bring the club into disrepute.
Try just going to http://www.accorvacationclub.com.au as that site is their current one and is definitely working. If you scroll right down to the bottom there is a link to the Product Disclosure Statement at the bottom of the page (it is in small writing but it is definitely there).
Hi Terry
No luck even getting that site to come up, let alone click on the PDS. I have no trouble with any other Australian site. Perhaps my ISP or computers are trying to protect me …… perhaps the site is blacklisted along with the others that the Governments protect us from…
Lets hope I can actually book something when I get my membership and points.
Any idea if Redseason is going to branch out into the selling/renting points side of things? From this thread it seems like there is a whole new business helping people use the points that they have got, assisting with booking windows etc.
Thanks for the help
I have 3 memberships Platnium, Gold and Silver all bought from EBAY. There is a $300 membership to transfer the membership. You pay 3 yearly annual fees (one for each membership).
I attended the presentation and agree with the above comments, nice at first but then turn very nasty when you don’t buy. Not a great way to run a business.
I am surprised that no one has mentioned other negatives - such as car parking costs. I booked a week at Melbourne Mercure, YOU HAVE to pay $30 per night for a car park! Yes that would be $210 for the week. On complaining to Accor about this, they said they do not own the car parks only the rooms. So I said in future if the hotel wants to charge you $100 per night for the car park they can and the Manager said yes! This was not pointed out in the seminar or any document I can find and worries me for the future. I think that you would expect to drive and park your car at the accomodatoin!
I do not find the standard of the accomodation to be of a high quality. The rooms are genuinely bigger as they are an apartment, but I have been let down by the quality and cleanliness of the rooms. I have stayed in the Sydney, Gold Coast (Broadbeach and Surfers) and Twin waters. Each time the rooms have had maintenance issues and the Broadbeach one’s are always dirty. Also the rooms are sometimes on the ground floor with no view!
They also close the hotels at certain times for maintenance so leaves less rooms to book, which is hard enough at the best of times.
As for Twin waters, it is booked year round as they only have 6 apartments in total! No wonder you can never get in.
You should start asking questions about how many rooms they have at each hotel, you would be surprised how limited they are.
Also, there is so many rules on how far ahead you can book. It is only 12 months ahead if you are platinum and booking 7 days! If you want only 1-3 days it is only 45 days ahead for everybody. I lose track of the rules and seems every time I go to book, it is not within the booking period.
The overseas call centre is very frustrating at times and they can not give you the right information most of the time. The staff in the QLD office are nice.
I will make the most of my timeshare for now, but would not recommend it. You can book the same rooms with better availability for much cheaper on Wotif.com and this way you are not limited by the few properties they have around Australia with everyone fighting for the same period of time.
Wyndham seems to be the same but they have more properies to stay in.
I am happy to answer any questions.
Not sure that the comment on the car parking cost is a fair criticism. It is only the CBD locations that charge for parking and every hotel I have stayed at in Sydney or Melbourne has also had a charge for parking. You definitely don’t pay for parking at any of the resorts except for Sydney and Melbourne.
I agree that they definitely do not have enough apartments at Twin Waters although it is more than 6 (they own 8 one bedroom and 8 studio apartments in total but they normally have some of these combined together to form some 2 bedroom apartments so I think they normally have 12 apartments available). The full details of the apartments owned are in the PDS but the Redseason website also has a listing that is a bit easier to read! Also I would disagree with your statement about being able to book the same rooms on Wotif - the club owned apartments are generally much nicer than the hotel rooms and are full apartments. For example if you book on Wotif at Twin Waters you will only get a standard hotel room but the club rooms are a class above and have full kitchen and laundry facilities (at least in the 1 bed and 2 bed apartments).
Also agree with your comments on the booking centre - it was much better when they did the bookings from their Australian office but they outsourced to Singapore to save money and it can be a bit frustrating. It wouldn’t be so bad if their online system was easy to use but that is also a frustrating experience (especially compared to the Wyndham one which is much easier to use - yes I own both memberships).
By the way you can book a stay of 4-6 nights up to 6 months in advance and also 2-3 night midweek stays also up to 6 months in advance. The 45 day booking limitation only applies if you want to book 2 or 3 nights on the weekend (so if it includes a Friday or Saturday night). 1 night bookings can be made up to 30 days in advance. Again all this is in the PDS.
I must admit I find it a bit strange that you have purchased three memberships but say you would not recommend it! Good to see you purchased them second hand though as that is definitely the smart way to do it.
Hi, I purchased three membership two from the same member and one from another member who were desperate to get rid of them. Once I have them and tried to use them, thats when things change….. I did attend a seminar before buying them so I thought I was well informed, but not everything is disclosed in the seminar it would seem. I believe the car parking is a fair comment as I have never paid for car parking at a hotel before, I would not stay there if that was the case, even in the City. One of the resorts in NZ also charges for carparking $10 a day. I think this should be pointed out very clearly and as stated they have no control over how much these hotels can charge and will charge in the future, or if other hotels/resorts want to start charging for car parking space. I can only comment on Legends hotel and Freshwater, I have stayed both through wotif and through my membership and legends was actually better through wotif! So I guess it depends on what rooms you get. But yes generally you are getting a bigger apartment with your membership (but not always). I have stayed in a studio in twin waters which does not have laundry facilities and neither does Legends. The washing machine in the Sydney apartment did not work and the dryer ruined some of my clothes! The reception lady at Twin Waters says accor own the last two blocks of apartments which is 4 units in each (comprising studio and one bedroom) these are then comnbined to cater for two bedroom, so just going on what she showed me. I took that means they have only 4 two bedroom apartmens, if what she showed me is true.
Can you tell me which hotel in the Melbourne CBD does NOT charge for parking??? I know sometimes you get specials where they include parking but it is not really free it is just instead of giving you a lower room rate. I had a quick look on Wotif and every one I checked charged for parking (between $16 to $25 per night for self park or $30 to $40 for the ones with valet parking). Of course you do not have to park at the hotel as you can park elsewhere but I doubt you would get overnight parking in the Melbourne CBD for less than $20 anyway. Might be better to leave the car at home (or not hire one) which is what I normally do if staying in Melbourne or Sydney - easier to use the bus/tram/train/ferry.
All of the New Zealand resorts have free parking available - Queenstown does have an undercover carpark which does have a charge to use it but they also have a free outside carpark if you do not want to pay.
Twin Waters definitely has 16 club owned apartments (it is documented in the PDS if you want to check) - there are 8 studios and 8 one bedrooms which can be combined to form two bedroom apartments. I think they normally have around 4 configured as 2 bedroom which leaves 4 studios and 4 bedrooms as well (so 12 in total).
I am responding to an email in this thread from John 4 March 2011 22.43 who said he was going to attend a presentatiom at Twin Waters. I have not seen any further entries from John to inform us as to how he went escaping the triple edged sword sales tactics. I have read the complete thread above and came to this site because earlier today I had a call from a telemarketer who offered two nights at Twin Waters for $59.00. Of course it is on the previsor that we attend a 90min persentation. I have accepted the offer and plan to attend. I have been to one of these before and like you know what to expect. Last time I signed up but fortunately the next day did some research and budgeting which resulted in a cancellation of the contract within the mandatory 10 day cooling off period. Why am I going to another one? Like you I could do with a cheap weekend away. I only hope that the stress resulting from the heavy sales machine will not completely wreck our weekend. Thanks to this forum I believe I have enough amunition to escape the pressurised sales efforts that await us. I would still like to hear about your experience John, It may just provide me with that extra bit of umph that I need. In any case I will definately inform you about how things were conducted and to what level of intimidation was applied to us at this seminar. I have been pleased to hear that the Sunshine Coast sales staff seem to be more professional and not as overbearing as some of the other venues. I will let you know if this is correct.
Gosh if any one want to buy a gold membership of me feel free to contact me mange.111@hotmail.com cause we can’t use it
Can anyone tell me how the cleaning credits work? If you have only 2 cleaning credits a year does that mean you can only go on two holidays a year (be it 1 day or 14 days etc.) otherwise if I say take 3 holidays I will have to pay to clean the room on the 3rd holiday that year?????
thanks
You have it pretty much right as far as I know. It’s designed (I suppose) so those who might take more than two breaks a year don’t suck up club funds.
You can do it,, but beyond the two freebies it becomes a user pays system.
Each time you book a club room using your points that uses one cleaning credit. (Note that if you book on bonus time and pay cash then there is no cleaning credit required as that is covered in the cash rate). If you have three holidays using your points then you would need to pay for the cleaning on that third (and any more) holidays. However if you do not use all your cleaning credits one year then they do carry over to the next year - so if you only take one holiday this year then you can have three next year without paying and only pay on the 4th holiday. Usually you run out of points before you run out of cleaning credits so I don’t think I have ever paid for a clean with AVC (but I have with Wyndham as they only give you one free per year unless you own 20000 points).
Hmm ok, once again not explained at all in the seminar………..
Seems a bit excessive at more than $100 a clean! I can book any room usually including breakfast for around $100 so doesn’t make it a very cheap option to use your accor timeshare……… oh well live and learn
Not sure if you have stayed yet? but these are mostly not anything like a hotel room (except maybe a studio, but even then the fit out is much better), mostly you will be in an apartment with many rooms (to clean).
Some, I’d move into happily
and would find it hard to go back to the world of looking for a hotel room bargain.
Annstan if your still in the ‘cooling off’ period get out now. The only thing they are 100% efficient at is billing you! I have used it twice in 7 years, worst $17,000 I have ever spent, never available, uses far too many points etc etc
I just came back from a week at Lake Crakenback. Loved it. Planned ahead…
Yes DJ but being on staff must be helpful
LOL, (really I did) u think they’d give me a job? Too hot in Qld for me, but a good idea
The club’s web site booking thingo is a bit of a pain to browse but why don’t u try that and see how far out you can book? Better than ringing the silly off-shore booking people. (no offence off-shore people)
YEP get out now!!! Worst thing i have ever done, buying into this club! We have been with them for over 10 years and have only been able to use it once!!! All i pay now is increasing fees each year!! The offshore people have no idea how to help you!!
Would any one be prepared to write a letter / affidavit to say how disappointed they are in Accors vacation club and the services they have received? Things such as, not fulfilling their verbal promises, that there is no booking availability etc? I’m not paying any more, and if they want to, they can take it to court. I’d love to know if anyone has heard of any case law of this of Accor taking any one to court for non payment & what the outcome was?
Cheers
Geal
mange.111@hotmail.com
Hi, I just pay $2400 for stay at 2 bedrooms apartment at Dockland, melbourne for 12 days. I see accor club iron, information at most place, living room, reception area. I believe this is an accor property. I just wander does any member book these nice apartments using points? members should get some money back if people like me ( non-member) use these apartments.
I saw people complain how hard to make a booking. I also know how easy it is ( 1 week in advance booking).
I like buy a membership via second market later but not first hand one. But if club doesn’t look after members, I may never buy membership.
GEAL, what level of membership do you have, eg, how far ahead can u book?
Geal I have gotten some legal advice about this club and the way they continue to operate in a manner that is dissatisfying to it’s members, as well as possibly outside of legislation governing the operation of timeshare clubs etc. If you can get a group of people together with complaints ie can’t book, excessive fees, no customer service, etc, reference that back to the club rules/obligations PDS, then go to the ACCC see a legal officer there and see what happens. The toothless tiger of the ACCC may or may not investigate them.
Thanks Greg I appreciate the advice. If people do contact me with their individual cases (none have yet) I am very motivated to make such a complaint. I live in nz but I’m prepared to travel to austraila to take action. It angers me they can get away with such lies and deception to their members.
Hi Geal,
I will write to you and happy to sigh=n anything you need.
I think poor DJ is having a losing battle. No one seems to think there is any value in membership and if someone like DJ or myself post positive comments, we are immediately seen to be “working” for Accor. I’m now retired but have always been able to use my points and now that I’m not working it becomes even more flexible. In these days of instant internet googling (not readily available when I bought my membership) surely some of you need to take a bit of responsibility for you purchase? A silver membership was $12k when I bought it and like others have written off that cost and look at what I can get for my yearly fees. It’s not for everyone but at least credit some of us with being relatively happy (though we may not recommend it for some of its limitations) with our purchase. I came across this site by accident so I guess anyone happy with their membership is not looking for a platform to complain. Today I would probably get a second hand membership but I don’t think it was an option years ago. I agree that the availability its generally talked up but if you have to have a holiday so set in stone as far as location and time - then it’s not for you. If I can’t get a place I want I’ll change locations and explore somewhere new! I have never had a dirty apartment anywhere I stayed and I am also reluctant to go back to a shoe box hotel room. I love the space and amenities of the club properties.
I should pipe in here and say that I do actually know of a couple who bought a membership and seem really happy with it. I think it’s a system that works well for some people in some circumstances.
However, I don’t think the harsh sales tactics actually do anything for the reputation of the company.
Thank you to all who have taken the time to comment. I have been reading the conversation with interest. I must admit that when I wrote this post, I had no idea it would become such a controversial topic.
Lightening (site owner)
Thanks Elizabeth
There’re going to hate this one,,, we also joined Interval Int so we can exchange our points with other (same quality) clubs around the world.
I’m in Orlando Fl at the moment and have just looked up some getaway deals (cash not points) and offered them to a mate who’s be here in a few weeks.
Nice price, will save him more than a thousand $’s and can book it in his name and it will be an appt not a hotel room.
Didn’t find the Hilton vacation club apartments on the list yet but spotted them right next door to the premium factory outlets.
Of course, if I bring the family over (this trip was business), our accom will be zero as I’ll just use points. Thing we’ll try to get into the Sheraton apartments,, saw them today too, looked nice.
Also enjoyed the ribs at the House of Blues,, but can’t find a way to link them to a club benefit (yet). lol
DJ, as most if not all of us have suggested, the ‘club’ works for a select few. The majority are however warning those thinking of joining that it’s far from all it seems. Making bookings even a year in advance is almost impossible, the ‘value’ is questionable, the members fee’s have increased significantly and their website is average at best. Not to mention the harder than hard sales pitch. It’s great you have found your one true love, however it would appear the majority are far from happy and are sharing their experiences (or lack thereof) as a warning to others
I agree that the majority on this forum agree with you, but I can’t see how the majority of the club agrees it’s poor value.
I’d say (just my personal opinion) that most sales and marketing types would agree that far more people tend to complain than praise, so I think (again just my opinion) that this, combined with your sample size of this forum will not hold up in court.
Anyway, I’ve just thought of another positive of using Interval in the US…
If I take the Q ANTAS luggage limit per person to the US of 2 bags x 23 kg each bag, x 4 people,,, we can bring back 184 kg’s of half prices name brand cloths, shoes, and assorted other items.
That would do a few xmas’s and family and friends’s birthdays
How popular would you be.
I have been watching this topic for some time with interest. Before I go any further let me just declare that I own and run Redseason.com.au so anyone who thinks I am biased can just ignore this comment!
With my business I speak to a LOT of owners of AVC (and also Worldmark) and I would have to say that there are a lot more happy owners than a topic like this would have you believe - as DJ has posted people who are unhappy are much more likely to post something (and also probably much more likely to be looking for this type of thing as well). Quite a few of our customers are buying their 2nd (or 3rd) membership to top up their points so they are obviously happy with the club and have no trouble using their points each year.
Having said that there are also a significant number of unhappy owners who want to sell their membership (although not all the people who sell are unhappy - we get a lot of our memberships from other unfortunate circumstances such as divorces, people in financial difficulty or people to ill to travel any more).
In my experience the customers who are happy tend to:
* Have a Platinum membership which gives them enough points for a good holiday each year AND gives them the 12 month booking window
* Be well organised and able to plan holidays in advance - the further ahead you are able to book the easier it is to get what you want
* Be a bit flexible with their holiday plans (particularly with international exchanges) - if you can have a few dates in mind when looking for availability you are much more likely to get something suitable than if you have a fixed date and destination.
* Have purchased on the secondhand market so got much better value for their dollars!
The customers that are unhappy tend to claim that there is never any availability but when you talk to them you find that they only ever try for say school holiday dates a few months before the holiday rather than planning in advance. Also a lot of the unhappy owners fell victim to the high pressure sales tactics and really didn’t think through their purchase first or research whether it would be suitable for their needs. Finally the smaller Bronze and Silver memberships (and to a lesser extent the Gold) do have restricted booking windows so it is harder to get the high demand times (eg. Gold Coast at Christmas) with those memberships and they are really not suitable for families (which unfortunately hasn’t stopped AVC sales people from selling them to families).
Speaking of availability there are several resorts which are very hard to get into (Lake Crackenback and Twin Waters are probably the worst) as they simply do not have enough apartments at those resorts for the amount of member demand - for those particular resorts you really do need to book the full 12 months in advance OR be lucky (picking up another persons cancellation for example) but at most resorts it is really not that hard to get what you want if you plan far enough ahead. Even at short notice I have been able to get good bookings on a regular basis - for example in the past month I have made bookings for my parents at Bowral, Hunter Valley and Coffs Harbour (2 nights at each as they are driving up from Canberra to Queensland and wanted to take their time on the drive) and also 6 nights for a friend on the Gold Coast (2 nights at Turtle Beach followed by 4 nights at Freshwater) - both of those bookings were made within 6 weeks of the travel date so they were definitely not booked well in advance. So anyone who says you can never use the club or “I haven’t been able to get a booking in X years” in my opinion is simply not trying very hard. I am not saying you can always get exactly what you want but it is usually possible to get something that should be suitable if you plan ahead for major bookings or are flexible for shorter notice bookings. Of course for some bookings you will need to have the 12 month booking window (which unfortunately requires a Platinum membership) but even with a Bronze/Silver (10 month booking window) you can still get some great holidays particularly if you can be a bit flexible.
On the subject of value I would have to agree that purchasing direct from Accor it is extremely hard to make it add up - for example if you purchase a Platinum membership for around $30000 then it takes a LOT of holidays to recover that cost. A Platinum membership gives you a full week each year in 2 bedroom apartment at most of the AVC resorts - if you look at peak school holiday times then those apartments generally rent for around $300/night (or more) so you can get say $2100 worth of accommodation each year - take off your $760 per year in maintenance and you are saving roughly $1300 per year. At full price you would be looking at a payback of around 23 years (not accounting for lost interest, etc). However if you buy the same membership secondhand for $9000 then the payback is less than 7 years which is much better BUT if you include in your calculations the assumption that you can resell the membership for say $6000 once you have finished with it then the payback period is only just over 2 years. So if you are the type of person who the membership suits then buying a second hand one is a great investment and definitely great value - of course if you aren’t going to use it then no matter how cheap it still wont be a good investment.
Finally a couple of comments on other things people have raised:
* Web site: The online booking is definitely not great but is usable at least for getting an idea of what is available. The Worldmark one is much easier to use. I have heard from AVC staff that a revised website is on the way so hopefully that will be better.
* Call Centre: When it first started the overseas (Singapore) call centre was useless and I tried to avoid calling them if possible (went through the customer service staff who are still Australian based when I could). However to AVC’s credit they have really improved this over the past year and now I generally find the call centre staff are reasonably good and have obviously had a lot of training in recent times.
* Sales Methods: I really don’t like the way AVC (and Wyndham/Worldmark) sell their clubs - the pushy sales tactics not only demean the product they are selling but they are also a very expensive way to sell which is one of the reasons why the memberships are so expensive at the presentations. The sales markup on the memberships sold by the company is very big which is why they are so much cheaper on the secondary market (and no pushy sales tactics either!).
Sorry for such a long post but hopefully this will provide a bit of balance for those who are actually interested in the benefits that a club membership can offer. It definitely isn’t for everyone but for those who have the right lifestyle and attitude then a (secondhand) membership can provide great value and benefits. Anyone who has any questions at all please feel free to contact me directly via the redseason website or give me a call and I am happy to answer anything honestly and with no pressure.
Whew! A balanced opinion! Do you work for Accor as well?
Seriously, though, it points out the fact that people are unhappy with the hard sell, which then makes them unhappy with the product and then are less likely to use it. Then, if they don’t get their first choice of property, sulk, chuck a wobbly and want to start litigation.
Have any of the people here attended a club presentation on how to get the most out of your points? They hold them fairly regularly in all states and I know I benefited from this as it was easier than sifting through the literature and a real person is there in front of you to answer queries.
Reading comments about not being able to get booked a availability.We have booked Freshwater QLD with less than 3 weeks notice.
We have just booked in September school holidays a few nights at Hunter Valley.Dates we were wanting.We will be taking friends of ours who are interested in joining AVC.So are very keen to see and experience the property.To see firsthand the quality of accomodation.I looked at another site and for the same dates, for Hunter.We were quoted $398 for the same property for two bedroom apartment.When away we will do is do our own cooking on the BBQ on balcony and fill the fridge with drinks.It will be our 4th time in Hunter Valley using our Bronze membership we purchased in 2004.
We tend to book from Sunday to Thursday nights as less points so maximises use of our points.We have used bonus time on a few occassions.
We have a bronze membership and yet we maximise our points each year.Having returned from Twin Waters last week( not with AVC) yet got Getaway special $129 a night with full breakfast.
As needed to go to QLD fairly short notice.The one thing I was missing was own laundry as AVC properties have.Which cost me $3 to do a machine wash and $1 for drying.
My partner had a look at AVC apartment whilst at Twin Waters and sales talked to him about upgrading to from Bronze to Gold or Platinum.Yet huge outlay to upgrade we are looking at near future upgrading except this time won’t buy from Accor will purchase from Redseason and keep our Bronze.
Planning is the key,we have found.Yet there we have also manage to get bonus time on properties we were wanting and dates.
I have owned Accor points for five years now. I am 100% happy. It forces us to go on holiday. The accommodation is great, value for money is brilliant and I would not change it for the world.
I have only been a member for 3 years now, but never can you get the places you want, the staff are less then helpful, when you do get a property, like we did recently, we arrived and booked the first night in the hotel we went to our room and it was beautiful, the next night due to availability problems we then moved to the club room, well was it different , dirty, mould in the bathroom so bad we could not use it, leaks in the taps, floor boards soaked with water, then our last night we had booked in the hotel again as we could not get the dates in the club that we wanted, and once again, back to the most beautiful room, now you would think that you were not paying for the room the way it is, but in fact you are paying thru the nose, just dont get much for your money when in the vacation club,
Hi Julie, want to avoid that one! What property was it?
We signed up over a month ago, at Twin Waters and were “promised” vouchers to Fiji. These have not arrived, and we were planning to book for Xmas, prior to signing up. We have not been able to get anyone to help us- we phoned the booking desk to be told they don’t handle those vouchers!I have emailed, but have had no response. The girl, Sian, who was our sales rep, also misled us about the Flight Centre site- we wanted a webjet type site where you could enter dates and compare prices, as opposed to general Flight Centre sites, where you make an email enquiry and hope they get back to you! Sian told us the Flight Centre Accor site was different to their franchises- but is not the case. She also told us it was a 100% Australian call centre, but obviously not from the comments.
I am already regretting the purchase, and should have read the PDS but were on holiday, and didn’t receive info until after the 7 day cooling off period.
Sian was very friendly, but we were disgusted by how her “boss” spoke to her in front of us. It made us very uneasy, and that should have sent our alarm bells ringing! Also Sian had never travelled overseas so I think her limited travel experience - we travel to Europe a lot- meant her advice was pretty meaningless, and just a scripted spiel.
Try calling the customer service centre at Robina (option 2?) to chase down your voucher, and have them escalate and set a date when they will get back to you. I have found them generally pretty good.
We recd a cruise voucher but never used it,, in the end, joined for the value of high quality properties, not hotel rooms or travel desks. (always shop around for flights anyway)
I don’t believe the comment from Julie was a AVC Club room. Never had one like that in many years.
Main thing is you need to have joined with enough points to book the room size and season you want. I’ve stayed in a few of the Twin Waters appts and they are all like the display one. far better than your hotel rooms.
Good luck.
DJ you can’t accuse someone of lying just because they said the room was dirty…. Have you actually ever stayed at a property? As every property I have stayed at there has been a problem or not clean, varying from slight problems to major. I document everything, even taking pictures in some cases and fill out the online surveys sent and I contact customer relations. In regards to a complaint I had with the Darling Harbour property I was told that they knew their was problems and it is getting a refurbishment as we speak I was offered a two day free stay once this was completed. I would urge readers to check travel review sights and look at the bad comments about the Accor properties not everyone is lying…. and no not every property is bad, but the money you have paid they should be 100% at ALL TIMES! I have stayed at Freshwater Point numerous times staying in different rooms, everytime the rooms have not been cleaned properly and things are always broken, wether it be the fridge, a light bulb or like our last stay int he middle of winter the heating! Accor pays a fee for a property manager to look at these things and they are not being done. Room 2118 literally overlooks the car park, I refuse to stay in this room if it is offered as it is not of a standard that is acceptable. Look at the reviews of this property on trip advisor they hit the nail on the head. Turtle Beach is probably the best I have stayed in as it has just been refurbished, even then their was slight problems, exhaust fan in the bathroom and toilet not flushing etc. We recently just stayed at Novotel Coffs Harbour I WOULD NOT STAY HERE again. The whole complex is in a drastic need of a clean up. The room was nice enough but it had an INCH of dust throughout it, it obviously had not been used for a while and was not reviewed before we checked in. The pool was very dirty as well, so much so that my 3 year old commented how dirty the pool was! Most of the rooms to do not have digital tv in them (Legends, Coffs Harbour and Freshwater) in this day and age what hotel does not have digital tv? I have now stayed at Legends Gold Coast, Fresh Water Point Gold Coast, Turtle Beach Gold Coast, Twin Waters Sunshine Coast, Mercure Sydney and Novotel Coffs Harbour - not once at any of these properties was there not a cleaning issue or maintenance issue. I can only urge members to contact customer service and highlight any issues you find with the properties or request another room (do this before you check in) as they will charge you over a $100 for a cleaning fee otherwise!!! I would expect for this level of membership (platinum) the resorts/rooms to be A1! otherwise what have I paid my money for? We are planning a trip to Cairns, Melbourne and South Australia this year, I am hoping that their will be no problems, I don’t hold my breath though. P.S. If you don’t believe me you can see my reviews on trip advisor as I write them all on there as well
Settle,,,
I was meaning to infer that the person was mistaken that it was a club property, (based on my experience with club properties never seen anything that bad).
I too have had the odd blown bulb and non working fan,, and I call the desk and generally a nice person comes up and fixes it. (did I tell you about my mouldy bath plug at Crakenback?)
I think a lot of what you point out, while valid, has more to do with the local resort than the value of the club in general.
It’s good to have someone like you keeping the club rooms in tip top shape
PS. I suggest you don’t go to Lake Macquarie until they refurbish.
Regulars know, you don’t knock the club on DJ’s watch!
2 months and I’m out can’t wait
Worst purchase ever
Buyer beware
You made me laugh ;-))
Good luck on the outside, hope all goes well.
I’d have to say that I’ve never been moved from the room I was given for my stay. Anything small, like a blown light bulb would be fixed during the day if it was reported in the morning. I haven’t stayed at the Coffs property for a few years now and it was getting a bit shabby but it was never dirty. An “inch”of dust?? That is 2.5cm if you’re not sure of the old scale of things. Just a little exaggerated?? So nobody stayed in that property as it was too hard to get into so the dust just grew?
It’s almost not worth posting on here as it’s becoming a bit like Whingepool. Most of the people have simply not taken responsibility for themselves and are like small children denied a freddo at the checkout. It’s always someone else’s fault.
Following the discussions it appears to me that those of us who purchased from Accor are dissatified because of the high cost of entry and the on-going fees with limited ability to get out.
Those people who purchased through Red Season are rightly smug about their purchase and get a good deal. I have found the properties I have stayed at very good .. mind you have not stayed at many because of limited points and lack of availabilty when attempted to book and pay. If I had purchased a Platinum for less than the price I paid for a Bronze you would not hear a complaint from me. I could book in advance and have plenty of points to do so. I may not have many points so can only get a 5-7 day stay every two years but I pay an annual fee which over the years would equate to a rather nice holiday.
I find it offensive when people who are on a great deal compare themselves to my situation. Pleae identify yourself as a Redseason purchaser because it really does make a huge difference in value for money. If Redseasons purchasers are so happy with Accor feel free to purchase my Bronze membership for the price I paid for it and then see how hppy you would be.
At the end of the day, unless I am mistaken there are a few points that are constant and valid here. You are all Adults so therefore you made the decision live with it. Accor at their presentations continue to operat illegally. That is they use enticement to get you there (promise of a no obligation gift) and they use hard sell once you are there. Once you have purchased many find that there is no free gift, No PDS issued to you in hard copy at the presentation (another legal requirement) and if you looked carefully at the papers you signed you have signed to say that you got a copy of the PDS, not to account for you being there in case of emergency, or to sign for your gift or whatever other lie they told you to get you to sign.
The company hides behind it’s club rules and regulations to enable it to operate in a maner that maximises profit for “the responsible entity” yet outlays the minimum benefit for those who purchased from Accor.
Good luck to those who choose to stay with them
I think the club is run as a non profit with no dividends returned to anyone person.
I really think the issue is the sales method, and these issues seem to be caused by having commission motivated sales staff who will have no further connection with their marks.
Greg,
if what you say is correct then report them to ASIC and they will investigate, however based on our experience 12 months ago all your allegations are incorrect:
1. No obligation gift - You pay a small amount for an overnight stay with the proviso to attend a no obligation sales presentation that is how they operate or you might have received a voucher or something again with the proviso that you attend a presentation.
2. Hard sell- that is correct they use just about every sales technique in the book, that is why it is called sales, please note that you do have the 7 day cooling off period which they clearly mention to you. The problem I see is that many who are unhappy did not take advantage of this cooling off period to think about the purchase and to do their own research to ensure it meets their requirements.
3. No PDS issued in hard copy - I assume that you were provided a PDS in disc form, we received a hard copy one, however they can give it to you in either form, if you want the hard copy one just ask for it and they are obliged to give you the hard copy one.
4. During our sign on they explained to us that we were signing for a copy of the PDS and they showed us the PDS. We also signed for the gift cards we received and everything else.
DJ there is what is called the “resposible entity” do some research you will find that it comprises a group of 2 or 3 people who receive any profits from the club as well as the proceeds of membership sales etc. They hide behind the guise of the club but they dictate how much fees are the costs of memberships as well as the acquisition of new properties refurb of old one etc.
I’ve read the PDS and read the financial reports. Any revenue is put back into the club to as you say refurb, pay staff etc. I don’t think they ‘hide’ anywhere in those reports,, it’s all published.
In the US (for example) all the major hotel chains have ‘vacation clubs’ including Disney so I don’t think Accor,, one of the largest chains on the planet has a bunch of people who can hide anything. I don’t believe there is a conspiracy against the members.
The issue as I see it is that some members have succumbed to dubious sales tactics of some of the sales staff.
There seem to be two groups that are getting people confused here:
1. Developer - this was a 50/50 partnership between Accor Hotels and Becton. I haven’t read the PDS lately, so I’m not sure if Becton has been bought out. The developer makes money in selling the units of the club - THEY ARE NOT THE CLUB.
2. Responsibility Entity - this is the group made up of individuals who have responsibility for ensuring the CLUB operates at a break-even or profit position. The individuals (ostensibly) can be voted for by the members. Keep in mind, that at any point in time, the Developer probably has the numbers in ownership of club points. The Responsible Entity DOES NOT draw profit from the Club. Any profit the club generates BY LAW must be used in the running of the club.
Hope this helps
By LAW you MUST also be given a hard copy of the PDS at any presentation made by the club for the potential sale of a membership!
How many punters attend and are not afforded this Legal right, yet are duped into signing to say thay have.
By LAW “pressure sales” tactics used by Time share/Vacation Clubs to Force/Coerce people into untenable financial contracts are forbidden and policed by the ACCC and ASIC (even though they are a toothless tiger).
Again how many people are pressured into untenable financial contracts due to the fact that they are pressured, harrassed and lied to by glib sales people who are fully aware they operate outside of legislated operating procedures but do so with the clubs full backing and insistence.
LAW has little to do with the operation of this club
Bradley,
No We did not get a PDS in any form at all. Yes they are obliged to Hindsight is always 20/20. Gift not received and was brushed aside at the time of the presentation.
Hi all, thank you all so much for the info.We where at Twin Waters today in a presentation and were seriously considering purchasing the Platinum membership. There was something nagging at me to investigate further. We left the presentation to consider the proposal for half an hour and as I do most of the time go straight to good old EBay, where I was horrified to see memberships advertised for approx $6k. I then began to Google to investigate further and thank god we found this site, as Richard said it has saved us $29,500 plus a contract for 80 years of paying a yearly fee. The yearly fees are capped at 5% which is most often above inflation and will end up a fortune with 5% compounding each year. I am amazed the intrest I would have paid over the
seven years is equivalent to the true value of the product, around $6k.
Thank you all so much. I will not even bother getting back to them with an answer tomorrow. Afterbreading this, there has been a huge amount of misleading and deceptive conduct. I couldn’t get away with it in my business, how can they? You would think the accc would straighten them out. They talk about the Platinum package all the way through and fail to tell you the lesser memberships have shorter booking times etc etc etc etc.
Bad business.
I forgot to say the PDA was offered to us up front. The problem is there is no way you could read the entire pds in the time frame to make a decision.
Greg i think you need to be more specific,,, “LAW has little to do with the operation of this club”
It seems to be the sales process that causes the issues, right down to people who end up in the club with the wrong size membership.
On the flip side, those of us who are in the club with the right size membership and actively taking holidays seem to be pretty happy. I’d hate to go back to trying to pick a good deal and taking my chances on accom on the outside.
If you or others can prove (or even just state) you think the law was broken you should start a list and gather some data/numbers. Why don’t you find one of those free survey sites or petition sites and get a list going. Spinning your wheels here isn’t doing anybody any good.
The Irony of “DJ” talking about “spinning” you make me laugh
As a few have said posting “real” negative stories can help potential buyers decide not to go ahead
Equally if there is a possibility of a class action posting on here is a good way to generate support
Can I ask that you please limit your discussion to putting your own viewpoint forward and not making an attack on other commenters. If the discussion gets out of hand, I will have to close comments on this post.
I think Elisabeth should take note of the above written by Admin.
‘An “inch”of dust?? That is 2.5cm if you’re not sure of the old scale of things. Just a little exaggerated?? So nobody stayed in that property as it was too hard to get into so the dust just grew?
It’s almost not worth posting on here as it’s becoming a bit like Whingepool. Most of the people have simply not taken responsibility for themselves and are like small children denied a freddo at the checkout. It’s always someone else’s fault
Your above comments are arrogant and insulting. It seems if anyone has a VALID negative point on here about Accor than either they must be lying or whinging….
People are entitled to give their views and experiences. YES smart alec it literally was an inch or 2.5 cms of dust. My grandparents who are in their seventies couldn’t believe the dust, and my Grandmother got on her hands and knees and cleaned it so that she could place their things in the room.
Considering that the rest of the room was clean enough (except for the dust) it could not have been cleaned that day or even that week - which made us think why? Had no one used the room recently? Further more why was the room in this state??? Having it not been the first time we found an Accor property dirty we weren’t surprised, just dissappointed.
Like I have mentioned previously I was led to believe that the reason you were paying such a high price for membership is that all apartments/rooms are 4* plus. I have travelled to more than 50 countries and have stayed in thousands of hotels around the world, ACCOR apartments that we have stayed in so far are average to above average at best. Below is a response to complaint I had of the Sydney arpartment. If you read the reviews on trip advisor, many people have complained at using more than 7000 in points for there stay.
I have a platinum membership (and a Gold and Silver) and I still find it hard to get the bookings I want even booking in advance a year ahead at school holiday time/Christmas etc. so it would be nearly imposible for Bronze members. Is it Corporate members that are taking all the bookings? who knows
AccorVacationClub, General Manager at Grand Mercure Pinnacle Apartments, responded to this review
30 June 2011
Thank you for your feedback. A full refurbishment of the property with commence in July 2012 and this will address the issues detailed in your feedback, however we have commenced work on some areas of the property already. We have installed 40″ LCD TV’s into all rooms and have resolved the digital reception issues at the property. Unfortunately the property does not provide recreational facilities, however the convenience of the location and the fully self contained nature of the property makes it an ideal base for a Sydney adventure.
I think this is a great place for people to write about both POSITIVE and Negative experiences they have had with Accor timeshare - they shouldn’t be attacked for doing so
I think that they should also make it clear that they have 505 rooms for 20,000 + memebrs (growing) that is why it is hard to get into some of the places that only have a few rooms
The Accor Vacation Club currently has twenty-one resorts available for members although as you can see in the following table many of the resorts do not have a lot of rooms available for club members which means those resorts can be quite difficult to get bookings at (the resorts with more rooms available are, of course, easier to get bookings at). The club owned properties are located at:
Resort Location Star Rating Credits 3 br 2 br 1 br Studio Total Units
Palm Cove (near Cairns) 4.5 A 3 6 21 7 37
Sunshine Coast (Twin Waters) 4.0 A - 4 4 4 12
Gold Coast (Legends) 4.5 A - 8 2 2 12
Gold Coast (Turtle Beach) 4.5 A - 12 13 - 25
Gold Coast (Freshwater) 4.5 B - 15 16 - 31
Coffs Harbour 4.5 A - 5 5 5 15
Vintage Apartments (Hunter Valley) 5.0 B - 15 9 - 24
Darling Harbour (Sydney) 4.5 B - 15 - - 15
Bowral 4.5 B 1 4 13 6 24
Lake Crackenback (Snowy Mountains) 4.5 A 1 2 2 - 5
Pinnacle Valley (Mt Buller) 4.0 A 1 14 14 9 38
Lady Links Bay (SA) 4.0 A - - 14 - 14
Creswick (Vic) 4.5 B - 18 - - 18
Melbourne 4.5 B - 4 51 - 55
Margaret River (WA) 5.0 B - - - 17 17
Busselton Bungalows (WA) 4.5 A 18 16 - 25 59
Swan Valley (WA) 4.5 A - 8 16 8 32
Queenstown (NZ) 4.5 A - - 7 1 8
Coromandel (NZ) 4.5 A 1 - 12 25 38
Wanaka (NZ) 4.0 A - 13 2 - 15
Bali (Indonesia) 4.0 A 1 4 4 2 11
Club Total 4.4 26 163 205 111 505
The points required for a one week stay in high season for each credit rating in the above table are:
Credit Rating 3 br 2 br 1 br Studio
A 7000 5000 4000 2700
B 9000 7000 4500 3500
For mid-season points are around 65% of the high season and low season is around 45% of the high season value.
NOTE: Information was extracted from the March 2011 Product Disclosure Statement available from the AVC website.
Richard, I’m glad I made you laugh, however I’m trying to be helpful.
,,,, and say (if you are serious) start some kind of site as per my suggestion to gather some real data. Then take that to the powers at be and say, hey,, there’s a pattern here.
I don’t want people who feel they have been tricked in my club, so the sooner the sales managers are put on notice, the better I say.
For me, I read the pds online,, looked at the points chart and did some pretty simple maths. 4000 points = 1 week in a 1 broom at peak at a group A (eg Crakenback or Twin Waters) and bought 5,000 to future proof me. Main mistake I made was not joining lower and then upgrading at 30% off,, I think they offered me at 1st year anniversary.
I just signed up for a $400,000 house mortgage and so even with that I just pay my quarterly club fee instalments and will get a great week away every year for life,, or until the kids decide I should stay at home to make room for more of their friends.
I think the club rocks,, and have just as much evidence as you to prove it.
‘Lucky non purchaser’ thank you and well done for doing your research. It may still be worthwhile to purchase your membership via E-Bay or Redseason. As DJ and one or two others have mentioned, if you can plan well ahead, have the ‘right’ membership and haven’t paid full price there is some value. As my wife is a school teacher and we only have a Silver Membership (and paid full price) the club is of no value to me and it appears I’m not alone
I do see some value in purchasing the second hand membership, although we were told by the sales person second hand memberships are blacklisted. Does anyone know if this is true?
I am also cautious of signing an 80 year contract for maintenance etc. The fee capped at 5% increase per year could end up massive payments after 15 to 20 years, well above inflation and maybe higher than the actual worth of a holiday by then. The costs of holidays has been decreasing not increasing.
I for one have decided I like the adventure of going to different places, not being stuck going to the same destinations all the time.
Good luck to those trying to offload their memberships. I definitely believe there is room to take them on with misleading and deceptive conduct, especially if you signed under duress by not having enough time to read the PDS first.
Rich, I’m laughing (politely) as I suggest this to you,, but why not upgrade to Gold and get to book at 12 months ahead? (I have a friend at work who did this)
Right now, seems like you have the wrong tool for the job,, as it were.
If I’d not had kids still at home,, I could do a lot at say shoulder season staying Sun - Thu on a silver.
PS, i paid full price for my platinum,, didn’t know about redseason etc, so now just making the most of what I have. What else ya gonna do?
DJ, I’m glad to my and others misfortune amuses you. Your fanatical support of the club is to be commended - Glad It’s working for you, I believe I was respectful in saying it has worked for you and others given certain circumstances to give some balance. You really should be made an Accor Club Ambassador
Lucky-non-purchaser: Buying secondhand definitely does not get you “blacklisted” in any way. You have full access to all current and future resorts with exactly the same booking opportunities as anyone else with the same sized membership. There are a couple of “personal” benefits that do not apply if you purchase a secondhand membership but they are very minor things (10% off at hotels, travel club) and they are not really enforcing that rule anyway. Basically you get 95% of the benefits for about 30% of the original price so definitely worth a look at.
AnnStan77: If you do the maths then 505 apartments * 52 weeks = 26260 weeks available for booking each year which means there is basically a week available for every member of the club (which is how it should be). There are always enough apartments in the club for everyone to use all their points every year (although obviously not everyone does) - the main issue with bookings is that there is not enough rooms at the popular resorts like Twin Waters and Crackenback to satisfy the demand at those locations.
Rich, I don’t laugh at people, so I’m sorry you took it that way. My suggestion stands though, to help you make lemonade out of the lemon you say you own.
Again, I’m sorry.
I have just tried to sell my bronze membership on Redseason as it is not worth having .. they must agree as they offered me $600. I really cannot blame them for such a low offer as it is really not worth more.
When we bought it we were misled into believing it would give us a weeks holiday .. it does not. We also were taken with the club accommodation thinking we could book it .. it is never available with the short window we have.
Redseason has asked AVPC to allow them to combine Bronze and Silver Memberships to make them more attractive but they have refused.
I am actually considering the $600 offer so that I do not have to pay the annual charges. If anyone would like to purchase my membership for more than $600 feel free to make me an offer.
For those of you who carry on about this wonderful investment I think you need to think about those of us (many people) who purchased Bronze and Silver memberships for no inconsiderable amounts and will be forced to virtually give them away.
Happy to offer you $650 for it my email is au762011@hotmail.com
Brad’s a good man, he is positive about the club and prepared to back it up, the club does work for some - although he is getting a good bargain (compared to the ‘retail price”)
Hi,
Have you tried to sell it on Ebay first? Do you pay the transfer costs? I would be interested.
I am interested in buying a second hand membership. Prepared to offer more than Redseason and pay any transfer costs.
Hi Kath, we have a platinum membership with current 5000 points, yearly fees paid with an anniversary date of April. We would be very interested to discuss selling this with you. Email to bkmtjones@hotmail.com. Look forward to hearing from you.
HI Kath
I am interested in selling a Bronze, would like to get around the $1000 mark.
membership for sale just take over the payments left, and transfer costs with 10000 points for use its a platinum membership, sale due to marraige break up if interested contact joe email jincky7@hotmail.com
Hi Kath get in touch if interested in a good deal as I want to get rid due to marraige break up 10000pts on offer also
Thanks, will contact to discuss. Tricia, I can be contacted on katyrenee19@gmail.com. Would like to find out some more info.
We just sat through the sales pitch at Palm Cove. We were promised a $200 a night room at the Novotel for $99 for a two night stay. The only catch was we had to listen to a one hour sales pitch for Accor. A room with views of the golf course was promised. It all sounded so good but none of it was forthcoming. For starters it wasn’t at the Novotel, we had views of the car park, and we were treated like crap. We were put in a room designed for the handicapped which isn’t very sexy when you’re looking for a romantic weekend. The sales pitch went for two hours and would have gone for much longer if we hadn’t wound it up ourselves. Don’t fall for this rubbish.
We were dragged through the sales pitch at Twin Waters yesterday and refused to sign up. After being taken into the office of the manager, we were skillfully maneuvered to agree to the Encore Holiday Package. We figured that 4 nights with one free was worth it until we did our research, and now we want out. We have not made any accommodation bookings (and found out that you can’t until after 90 days anyway).
So, I was wondering if anyone else was able to get their deposit back? Is there a “cooling off” period applied to this little deal or does it only apply to the timeshare?
What can we expect when we call them on Monday to say we want our deposit back?
Its understandable how non-members such as Rory can give poor advice as the AVC sales process SUCKS and varies depending on who your sales rep is.
I suggest one follow sites like Redseason for a while before making a decision.
The PDS of Wyndham and AVC are available online. Read it, do the math yourself and see if it makes sense for your situation. Timeshare is NOT for everyone.
Do not buy a Timeshare expecting a financial return. Timeshare with AVC or Wyndham is a lifestyle option that helps you plan holidays in advance and maintains the cost of a holiday at reasonable prices every year.
I have had very good experiences thus far with the actual AVC member relations and holiday booking teams. It appears that most if not all the bad experiences are with the AVC sales teams.
Hi, My husband & I purchased a Gold membership and after reading comments on this site we decided to decline the offer within the 7 calendar cooling off period. I am really thankfull for all the honest comments and feel we have been saved from alot of frustration & saved alot of money be declining. We haven’t heard back from them as it has only a few days so it will be interesting how they deal with us declining.
Susan, maybe,, maybe not.
Don’t stay if you can’t afford the huge lump sum hit. (why add that worry to life)
Don’t stay if you haven’t purchased the right amount of points. (4,000 points, for example, will get u a 1 br appt in a group A property at high season (school hols), eg, Twin waters or Lake Crakenback.
Don’t stay if you want more than the core offer,,, of 1 or 2 breaks a year booked AHEAD of time. Extra’s are what commissioned sales staff offer.
Don’t stay even if you have loads of cash and expect it to work like hotel rooms where you can expect a vacancy any time.
Do stay if you can plan a head,, up to a year, and then sit back and look fw to a break in a quality property, in an appt, not a hotel room, (that photographs very well).
For me,, I couldn’t go back to looking for the best deal of thousands and not knowing what my room will be like.
PS. Only extra I use each year, and pay for, is the Advantage Plus card for 50% off my food.
Susan how did you get on getting out of the deal? I hope they didn’t make it to hard for you. You were very smart to do your research and get out while you still could! Well done.
Hi Angela,
Yes we did get our refund no problems. We sent our letter declining the offer within our cooling off period & the money was in the bank 2 days later. I really feel we made the right decision for us & am glad I did my research.
Hi All,
I holiday 2 to 4 weeks a year with my wife. We usually get studio accommodation at motels and hotels. We have stayed at numerous Accor hotels in Australia. We have travelled extensively in Australia and overseas. I attended a Wyndham presentation in 2009. I did not buy the full membership, however decided to spend $2000 and try their windows to Wyndham trial program. After months of research with the different timeshare/holiday club options available in Australia, we decided to get 2x AVC Platinum 5000 point memberships off the 2nd hand market. As a 2nd hand AVC Member, so far I have got all the holiday bookings I wanted.
I choose a 2nd hand AVC Platinum Membership mainly because of the following reasons:
1. My family is growing; I have one 3year old and another child on the way. With AVC I get to book quality apartments for the same cost of booking a cheap motel room or studio hotel room. Example: the annual fee for a 5000 point membership is $760, the cost of 1 week at Lake Crackenback during the Christmas period for a two bedroom is 5000 points, if I were to pay cash it would cost over $2,500. That’s a saving of over $1700 a year.
2. 2nd hand AVC memberships are not significantly disadvantaged. - Example: 2nd hand platinum members can book the full 12months in advance, which is the largest period any member can book in advance. With Wyndham, 2nd hand memberships can book only 13months in advance; privileges elite members with 20,000 can book 14months in advance. This feature is important to have as it allows one to get any property/period if booked in advance.
3. AVC does not strictly enforce the benefit restrictions for non-premier plus members. (I have access to all premier plus member privileges even though I purchased the membership off the 2nd hand market).
4. The cost of a 2nd hand platinum membership with AVC is approx $8750 with Redseason, for Wyndham the cost of a 20k privileges membership is $17000 for the 2nd hand membership cost with Redseason + $10000 to upgrade to privileges. With AVC one can also get an Accor Advantage Plus card for $200 p.a which gives you up-to 50% off meals at Accor Hotels and also a one night free stay in an Accor Hotel a year. In summary AVC costs much less than the upfront cost of a similarly featured Wyndham membership
5. AVC have a flat simple point cost structure for all properties - The points required to stay in a property are divided into two sections with the same points required to stay in the properties within a section. The points required for new property’s vs old have remained the same from day one as far as I can tell. For Wyndham newer properties cost much more than the original properties in the club. i.e the avg of 12000 points for a 2bedroom during peak at a Wyndham property does not hold good for new properties. I noticed that the points required to stay in a Wyndham property during red season 1 can go up-to 40,000 points for a week. The max for an AVC resort is 9000 for a week. In summary AVC points have held their value, Wyndham points are being watered down (requiring you to acquire more points to stay at newer properties)
6. AVC properties rate much better than Wyndham properties on tripadvisor, and also have a better avg star rating. AVC has more properties in the snow regions of ANZ.
I am glad that comments on this site have assisted some people in choosing not to purchase a membership or to purchase a cheaper option via Red Season. The ‘hard sell’ and constant unavailability of properties (depending on the membership level you have) makes it a very unattractive offer for many
I am surprised there are school teachers with memberships who are complaining. Teachers KNOW their holidays 12 months+ in advance and are perfect candidates for these types of memberships.
My husband and I are school teachers and can only holiday in peak times. We have had success in booking what we want BUT we do it 12 months in advance.
In the past 12 months we have booked:
2 bed and 1 bed in Bali in January (took extended family with us)
a week in July at Lake Crackenback
3 nights in Pauanui, NZ April/May
will be spending New Years in Coffs Harbour followed by a week in Legends, Surfers Paradise.
We would have preferred to book Twin Waters but couldn’t get the booking even 12 months in advance. It happens. Maybe next year with a bit of luck. We also know if we’re lucky we might get Lake Crackenback again for our next ski holiday but if we don’t we’ll go to Mt Buller - or, New Zealand. The key is to be organised, book ahead and be flexible.
We got our platinum membership second hand from RedSeason and and have since purchased a second silver membership. Our intent is to have a summer holiday in January each year and a ski holiday every second year. All in peak seasons.
Another bonus is each year in November (our membership anniversary month) we get an amazing offer and manage a pre-christmas getaway as soon as the school year ends (before Christmas) at an amazing price. Twice we’ve book 5 weeks ahead and managed to get either Hunter Valley or Bowral for 2 nights.
It is possible to be happy with an AVC membership. If you can book a holiday 12 months in advance you really can make the club work to your advantage.
Recently stayed at Melbourne Mercure, recently re-furbished and was very nice, best we have stayed at, no cleaning issues or maintenance issues, yay first time this has ever happened. We were on the 7th floor and noise was not an issue (Unlike Sydney!).
Some issues, that I think are relevant which I have mentioned before. I was sold the membership and was told that all rooms are better than hotels and contain washes/dryer this is a must with kids. Well we found out the hard was Melbourne does not have a washing machine/dryer in the room. Paying for parking on my timeshare will never sit right with me!
All these extra’s do add up. $30 per night for parking, $30 a day for internet (that is just stupid) $8 to wash and dry your clothes and the inconvenience so on top of the high annul fee you pay to stay at the place you have an extra $500 on top if you needed to park your car and use the internet, that is a bit of a joke and not explained in the presentation.
Was really happy with the service for the whole week stayed, until check out when the girl on reception was extremely rude! They also have a deal for $130 a night minimum 3 nights to stay at the property which works out same as you pay in annual fees.
Buyer beware of hidden extras and charges that come with the properties and not all our self contained.
Please find a list of the Accor Vacation Club properties that do not have laundries located in the rooms:
Legends Hotel – all room types
Pinnacle Valley Resort – Studio and 2 bedrooms (1 bedrooms do contain laundries)
Grand Mecure Melbourne – all room types
Basildene Manor – all room types
Grand Mecure the Oakridge – 1 bedroom (2 bedrooms do contain laundries)
I’m a member of WorldMark and AVC and find AVC much better to deal with. The AVC website is always giving me problems but over the phone there is good service. I have no complaints about AVC, the biggest problem being my ability to plan in advance for a vacation. I have used Interval International more than our own resorts; this is a major reason why membership to AVC is useful to me when travelling abroad.
I should think about selling my Gold Memebership because I have forfeited too many points each year. If anybody is interested then contact me although I’m not rushing to do this. I’m just thinking that somebody else might get better use of Australasian properties. With proper planning great holidays can be organised for family and friends without high hotel costs. I live in New Zealand.