Is ongoing timeshare sales training required?

Ask the Timeshare Crusader / September, 2010

I have been in real estate sales for many years and know that a certain amount of continuing industry training is necessary to stay on top. I am curious if the same type of training is required in the timeshare sales industry?

I had the pleasure of attending The TRADE (Travel Retail and Destination Expo) Show this past week and spent some time with Peggy Noonan of The Travel Institute. The Travel Institute is designed to provide continuing education to travel agents throughout the United States; continuing education which the travel agents both want and need in order to stay competitive, and to gain and maintain market share.

In these days of consumers choosing to "do their own thing" when it comes to planning vacations, travel agents realize the need to stay competitive and provide consumers with expertise that is necessary to truly understand the travel experience and make the most of it.

Research shows over and over again that the main reason consumers don't purchase a timeshare is lack of trust: trust of the product and trust of the salesperson. I strongly believe that the industry would do well to institute and then actively publicize a "Timeshare Institute" and make it perfectly clear that this continuing education didn't have anything to do with "closing the sale" or "the 10 steps of a timeshare presentation" but dealt with issues that would increase the comfort and trust level that consumers have with the industry.

While I applaud the educational offerings of the ARDA International Foundation, it basically remains something for industry insiders. Consumers really don't know what the industry designations (Associate Resort Professional, and Registered Resort Professional) mean. More to the point, the people that the consumer deals with the most (e.g. the salesperson, the manager, the resale agent, and even the off-premises contact (OPC)) usually aren't the ones that take the initiative to educate themselves and gain those ARDA designations.

What does the travel industry know that the timeshare industry has yet to grasp? A lot.