[OSL]

Does anyone know anything about this?

From what I understand, you sign up for 3K and then you have access to vacations for 90 percent discounts. I think a rooshv forum member is currently using it for vacations in SA.

If you sell the membership to someone else you get a 1K commission. Also, if the people you sell to make a sale, you get 1K commission off that deal too.

Sounds pretty solid to me and I"m having a hard time finding the catch or scam.

Would like to know if anyone has any experience with it on this forum.

[hydrogonian]

Vacancier Permanent has written a lot about this. Look under his posts.

[DrArete]

Doesn't seem like a bad gig if you really hustle and can sell the heck out of anything.

Just be aware that it is the same marketing concept as Amway or Cutco, but with higher unit values, and a more interesting product.

Also, the market for high end luxury travel is not exactly booming.

[OSL]

(05-25-2010 05:58 AM)DrArete Wrote:  

Doesn't seem like a bad gig if you really hustle and can sell the heck out of anything.

Just be aware that it is the same marketing concept as Amway or Cutco, but with higher unit values, and a more interesting product.

Also, the market for high end luxury travel is not exactly booming.

True, luxury travel not booming....in the United States.

Competitive advantage for people who speak and write Chinese and Korean hehe.

Can you tell us a bit about Amway and Cutco?

[DrArete]

Amway is a famous pyramid style marketing company that sells a bunch of random stuff. Cutco sells sets of high end knives, salesman buy their own set and are then directed to being by marketing to their friends/family.

[Vacancier Permanent]

I wanted to chip in here as being a member of the Global Resorts Network, I can provide first hand experience of what GRN is and how it works. For the sake of providing all the facts in a neutral, objective and unbiased way without sugar coating anything, I will provide only the facts about GRN. I will divide this post in 4 parts: the first part will be about a brief summary of what the GRN membership is and its background; the 2nd part will be about my personal experience as a MEMBER/USER of it and how I benefited from it and finally, the business opportunity attached to it; the 4th part on how I found out about GRN.

What is the Global Resorts Network Lifetime Platinum membership?
The GRN platinum lifetime membership is a vacation club that allows members unlimited, unrestricted lifetime access to over 5,000 3, 4 & 5 star
resorts worldwide at up to 90% discount. Members can vacation for up to 52 weeks per year for as low as $298 per week for upto 6 people. Best of all, there are no on going fees such as annual fees, maintenance fees or renovation fees, ever and no black out dates. There is no certificates, coupons or vouchers to pay for or mail in, ever! Members can book vacations on the very user friendly online members' back office or by calling the call centre. As simple as that. Members save hundreds and thousands of dollers per vacation using their GRN membership. With only 1, 2 or at most 3 vacations, the membership WILL pay for itself in savings. Not only does the GRN membership gives unbeatable deals on resorts, it also has an extensive cruise section with awesome cruise package at great discounts, short stay hotels at over 100K hotels worldwide as well as good deals on car rentals, air fare as well tickets for popular attractions worldwide. The GRN Platinum membership is truly the one stop option to all of the vacationing needs of its members.

Background of GRN:
GRN is the marketing arm of a much bigger organisation which has been a leader in the timeshare and luxury travel industries since the mid 80's, since 1986 to be exact. Since 1986, the travel provider/partner has been selling this very same membership in the open market during private sales only for around $12-$15K. In December 2006, Global Resorts Network obtained the worldwide rights to market and offer this membership online for a fraction of its historic cost through direct sales ($3K). From 1986 to 2006, for 20 years, this membership has been successfully selling as a stand alone product without any opportunity attached to it. The travel provider/partner providing the accommodations for the GRN membership is a world class organisation with over 24 years of stellar track record.

My experience as a user/member of GRN:
I became a member in April of 2008 (more on that later). I have used my membership in Rio de Janeiro during the week of Carnaval 2009. I was able to finally experience the Rio Carnaval without breaking the bank. As you guys may know better than anyone for being well travelled, during Carnaval, the price of everything is multiplied by 3-5 all over Brasil but especially in Rio and even more with hotels in the Zona Sul which is the nicer area of town. So, using my Platinum membership, I was able to stay at the Rio Othon Palace, a top end 4 star hotel right on the Copacabana Beach, on the 21st floor, at an ocean view suite. That same suite outside of membership goes for $1,000/night during the week of Carnaval or about $5,500 for that week. My cost? $650 for the entire week. Or a saving of almost $5K for 1 week. That's close to 90% discount. Unreal! When I say that this membership will pay for itself in 1-3 vacations, it is absolutely true. Mine paid for itself and more in just 1 vacation. This is where the truly phenomenal real life value of this membership is.

I will also use my membership this July in Rio staying yet again at the Rio Othon Palace during the week of the World Cup final (July 10-17). I hope that Brasil will reach the final and wins the Cup as they are expected to so I can finally experience the insane parties that will follow the Brasil triumph in South Africa. I've been drooling and dreaming for 2 decades about being in Rio during the World Cup and being among the crowd at Copacabana beach watching the final on the huge tv screens and be part of the biggest party in the world should Brasil become World Champion for a world record 6th time in Football. Once again, my GRN Platinum membership will be the vehicule that allows to me finally experience things I've been dreaming for all my life (such as Carnaval, the World Cup Final and also the Reveillon/New Year's in Rio which is the biggest gathering of people in the world on new year's eve, on Copacabana Beach). For each of these primer than prime weeks, my cost will only be $650 for the entire week at up to 90% discount. Even during low season, (which is from March/after Carnaval to end of November), a week at the Rio Othon Palace at the Deluxe Ocean View Suite goes for a minimum of anywhere between $2K to $2.5K per week. My cost with my GRN membership, only $650 per week, ANY week of the year!

Now, I mention the Rio example because I LOVE Brasil and Rio as it is my favorite playground on Earth, but there are over 5,000 resorts worldwide to choose from within the directory. While I do admit that saving near $5K in 1 week is rather the exception than the rule, the average savings per week using the GRN membership is between $500 to $2K per week of vacation. For every vacation. For Life!

The Business opportunity attached to the GRN Membership:
As mentioned earlier, the Platinum membership has been selling for over 20 years in the open market as a stand alone product with no opportunity attached to it whatsoever. The business opportunity was introduced in early 2007. For each Platinum membership sold, you get $1K commission. Not only that, you also get 100% matching bonus of $1,000.00 commission on EACH of your members' sales. What makes the GRN opportunity truly the best out there, is not the $1K commissions but rather the phenomenal real life value of the membership. I mean who wouldn't like to vacation for life at top end resorts at the price of a budget motel in the middle of nowhere? That's truly a no brainer. The product itself has been selling for over 2 decades as a stand alone product (can't emphasize this point enough) and can be marketed just for the product itself. As a matter of fact, that's what I've been doing for the past 2 years, marketing only the product itself without the business opportunity attached to it. But you know what? 80% of those who have joined initially as a customer only, have gone onto do the business as well. Why? Because they love the product so much and have seen the tremendous opportunity in it. Yours truly included, I initially joined as a customer only. Then on one of my trips in Rio in June of 2008, I saw the real life value of it there at the Rio Othon Palace and started promoting the membership as soon as I returned from there.

Finally, how did I find out about GRN?
I initially heard about GRN during Christmas 2007. At the time, I was looking for a solid and real business to start online. I had been prior to that, trying my hand at affiliate marketing, mainly Clickbank ebooks for over a year but never made anything out of that. So I started searching online for something more serious, more profitable and above all, something to build on a real business for the long term while providing real value to my customers. Then I stumpled upon the GRN product. I was intrigued right from the beginning as I love travelling and indulge in that often so I was very interested in it. The more I found out about it, the more it sounded too good to be true. I spent the next 3 months researching about it, looking at it from every possible angle, even went as far as contacting the Better Business Bureau and it all came clean. I knew that this was the real deal, and joined just for the product itself. Then, once I saw the real life value of it in Rio in June 2008, that's when the light bulb went into my head and started promoting it upon my return.

Bottom line is: this has been by far the best $3K I have ever spent so far. Not only have I been able to recoup my money in just 1 vacation and some more, while realizing a dream of mine to experience the Rio Carnaval in style, but I also can vacation anytime I want to wonderful destinations worldwide and stay at top resorts for a fraction of the cost and for life!

I will stop here, as I realize this is getting fairly long. I felt that I needed to provide as much of the facts as possible in order to answer the questions posed on this thread but also to provide as much as possible of an accurate and unbiased opinion of what the Global Resorts Network platinum lifetime
membership is all about from a very proud and happy member/user first and foremost, and then, of someone promoting this membership. Any questions about the membership or the biz, feel free to ask in here or pm me.

[Roosh]

Sounds like a travel MLM program. Does it constantly need new members to keep the thing afloat? How about if the company goes out of business before the person who buys in dies?

[DrArete]

Yeah roosh, it just really seems very opaque.

So, they charge someone 3k, and give 1k to their salesman, and pocket 2k.

What happens to the 2k? What is the nature of the agreement the hotels have with GRN?

Why on earth would the hotels give such an agreement to GRN, but not to a much bigger player like Expedia?

I just don't understand the balancing on profit interests here. Hotels are businesses, how is it in their interest to do this?

[gringoed]

I'm not interested in the business opportunity but this part sounds pretty sweet:

"So, using my Platinum membership, I was able to stay at the Rio Othon Palace, a top end 4 star hotel right on the Copacabana Beach, on the 21st floor, at an ocean view suite. That same suite outside of membership goes for $1,000/night during the week of Carnaval or about $5,500 for that week. My cost? $650 for the entire week. Or a saving of almost $5K for 1 week."

One can stay at any city at any time for a fixed cost? Is it always $650 per week no matter where? How many places can you choose from (within Rio, for example)? How much advanced notice do you need to give? Is there a list of participating resorts/hotels worldwide?

What about your competitor "Dream Style Vacations"? It seems like the same product, except it costs $100 to start plus $28/m which seems like a better value than $3k up front. At least with them if you dont like it, you're only out like a couple hundred bucks instead of $3k.

From their website: "Dream Style Vacations gives you the keys to your dreams and over 5,000 luxury condos and resorts with destinations in over 120 plus countries!"

[Vacancier Permanent]

Quote:

Why on earth would the hotels give such an agreement to GRN, but not to a much bigger player like Expedia?

Expedia, Travelocity, Hotels.com, Orbitz and other online booking agencies are in the retail business while GRN is in the wholesale if not below wholesale business.

GRN will beat Expedia, Travelocity, Hotels.com, Orbitz or any other online agency everytime. With GRN you're getting anywhere between 30-70% off Expedia and at times, up to 90% off Expedia. Again, Expedia and all the other similar online agencies deal with retail prices only, GRN with wholesale to their members. Expedia, Travelocity, Hotels.com, Orbitz etc..are travel and vacation brokers and that's why they can't touch let alone compete with GRN.

How's it that possible? It's simply due to GRN's parent company's close relationships and massive networks of contacts in the luxury travel/vacation and timeshare industries built over 2 decades. In any given year, there are a finite amount of weeks of vacations available in all the resorts/hotels of the world. GRN's parent company, because of its massive size and networks of contacts in the travel/timeshare industry, gets first pick and pre purchases each year, hundreds of thousands of weeks up to 1 year in advance. What's left is picked up by all these online travel booking/vacation brokers agencies such as Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz etc... The fact that GRN's parent company pre-purchases up to 1 year in advance massive number of weeks worldwide ensures that when a GRN member makes a reservation for a week, that they'll get it. The main difference being that Expedia and the likes distribute and offer these vacations retail at marked up prices while GRN offers it below wholesale through a membership and direct sales.

The # of resorts within the directory is constantly increasing as new resorts/hotels are being built around the world and around the clock and new contracts are negotiated and signed with them by the parent company.

Quote:

Does it constantly need new members to keep the thing afloat?

What you're referring to are the pyramid schemes where more members are needed in order to keep the thing going. First of all, pyramid schemes are unethical and basically a scam and thus, are made illegal. 99% of MLM companies offer products of little to no value at inflated prices to their members who are required to be put on auto ship on a monthly basis. GRN is not a pyramid scheme, if it were, it would have been shut down a long time ago. Do you honestly believe that one of the leaders in the luxury vactions and timeshare industry with over 24 years of stellar track record would have agreed to jeopardize their reputation and decided to do business in an illegal manner? Of course not. What GRN does, it uses a direct sales approach where members can refer other people to the membership if they so choose to, but they don't have to. A member can be just a customer only. GRN offers a product that has been selling in the open market for over 2 decades as a stand alone product which provides a concrete real life value that allows people to save on average 30-70% & up to 90% on their vacations for life while staying at top end resorts/hotels worldwide with an added option/bonus to receive a referral commission upon referring someone else that becomes a member. Nothing unethical or scammy about that. Businesses accross the board do that all the time. Referral fees are offered by all types of businesses be it banks, law firms, accounting firms, restaurants, employment agencies etc...heck even cell phone companies/carriers are offering referral fees and or bonuses!

Yes you do pay a premium to become a member and enjoy the same benefits, but quite frankly, in view of the outstanding value that you get as a member, the 3K is really peanuts where you WILL recoup your initial investment in 1-2 or at most 3 vacations (I did in 1 vacation) and save on average 30-70% and up to 90% on every vacation to high end resorts/hotels for life. And to put things into even greater perspective, compare the GRN membership to a timeshare. Speaking of which, a timeshare is quite honestly, the biggest trap and scam ever created in the vacation industry. Let me briefly show you why:

Large initial investment required of anywhere from 10K to 50K+.
Annual fees, maintenance fees of anywhere between $500 to $2K a year whether you use your timeshare or not.
Renovation/remodeling fees as buildings get old and every 4-5 years, they need to be renovated and gues who's going to pay for it? Yep, you got it, the timeshare owner. So that's an extra $3-$5K to pay every 4-5 years.
And what do you get for all that you'd ask?
1 or 2 weeks, 3 weeks if you're lucky per year at handful of resorts (5 to 100 resorts to choose from) and in most cases, you don't get to choose the weeks you want. Want to get a week during Christmas/new years or March Break or Summer? Good luck. Want to exchange your timeshare slot with another? Good luck again as it's costly and difficult. If you don't pay your annual dues/fees, that will jeopardize your ownership. Did I even mention a timeshare has a maximum depreciation for the investment which is worth 10 cents on the dollar? Don't believe me? Just go to Ebay and see all these people desperately trying to get rid of their timeshares for truly peanuts. You could buy a timeshare on Ebay for a few hundred dollars. Some people are even giving it away so they can be released from their obligation to paying all these annual dues & fees and whatever other fee a timeshare can come up with.

Now compare that to the GRN membership:
Unlimited & unrestricted lifetime access to 5000+ 3,4 & 5 star resorts worldwide
Vacation up to 52 weeks a year for life for as low as $298 per week.
Average savings of 30-70% and up to 90% over retail.
Membership valid for 99 years and is fully transferable and willable.
NO annual fees, maintenance fees, renovations/remodelling fees - ever.
Great cruise packages; discounts on air fare, car rentals, tickets for shows/attractions etc...
No coupons, certificates or vouchers to pay for or mail in - ever.
Can book on the very user friendly members' back office.
Can book months in advance or at the very last minute.
etc...

All of these for $3K. Are you kidding me? That's as a no brainer as it gets. When someone opts to buy a GRN membership as opposed to a timeshare, they WILL save $50K+ for NOT having purchased the timeshare! That's how powerful this membership is. That's why the GRN membership is considered the Rolls Royce of the vacation memberships. Sure there are other vacation clubs out there, some cheaper, and some a lot more expensive like any other product/service out there. Diamond Resorts for example, goes for about 18K initial investment and $800 annual fees and that'd give you "unlimited" access to over 100 resorts, mainly in North America and the Carribeans; or if you're a baller like the G, you could join Ultimate Escapes for $70K + $8K/year in dues for 2 weeks a year. I'm not even mentioning fractional ownerships, which start at a minimum of $50K initial investment and can go all the way to the 7 figure initial investment along tens of thousands in annual dues for 2 to 8 weeks in up to 5 locations. Hey if you have that kind of money to burn and are willing to burn it like that, more power to you.

The GRN membership is by far the better value out there in terms of what it offers and the cost. Sure there are also cheaper options out there like the one gringoed mentioned on his post. These are the no name type of things as opposed to the brand name as with any other product/service out there. This is like anything else you'd buy, you get what you pay for. If you want the premiere membership with all the whistles and bells and all the items that would be on your "I wish" list, then you'd want GRN. GRN is the brand name in the vacation club membership and offers red carpet service at budget prices. For the truly discriminating and selective consumer who wants the very best, yet without paying an arm and a leg for it, they'll pay to get the top brand name in order to get the very best thing out there at the best price. And that's GRN. Hands down. Hope this helps.

Happy travels.

[Roosh]

Quote:

That's as a no brainer as it gets.

And THAT'S the problem with the offer!

Some of us are conditioned against "too good to be true" deals.

[Vacancier Permanent]

Quote:

One can stay at any city at any time for a fixed cost? Is it always $650 per week no matter where?

Weeks are priced for about 90% of them anywhere between $298 to $699 with $799 being the absolute most one would pay at the peakest time of the year say Xmas/New years per week at the nicest 5 stars. This is for the whole week, not per person, but up to 6 people depending on the type of accommodation selected. The price range of $298-$799 is is for all the weeks available within the directory of 5000+ resorts worldwide. Say for example, you book a week at a 2 bedroom (sleeping 4 people) timeshare unit at a resort say in Cancun, and that week is listed for say $598, that's the total you'd pay for that week for all 4 of you.

Quote:

How many places can you choose from (within Rio, for example)?

The directory is comprised of over 5000 resorts worldwide. That number is continously increasing as new resorts are added in the directory. In Rio, at this time, there is just the Rio Othon Palace for the weekly deals. However, membership also has a massive hotels section which gives access to over 100K properties worldwide at 30-40% discount and in that section, there are tons of hotels in Rio.

Quote:

How much advanced notice do you need to give?

You can book with as little as 5 business days advance notice or as much as months in advance. That will be determined by your vacation needs. However, keep in mind, if you're looking at a peak week say Xmas, new years, march break or Carnaval in Rio, it goes without saying that for these highly sought after weeks, you'd better book with as much advance notice as possible. For example, when I booked that week in Rio for Carnaval, I booked it in September of 2008 for the last week of February 2009 (Carnaval week). Outside of these hot/prime weeks, no need to book that far ahead.

Quote:

Is there a list of participating resorts/hotels worldwide?

Here's a list of resorts within the GRN directory. Keep in mind that this list represents only about 10% of the inventory as the inventory is truly massive and these are live weeks, meaning, they change all the time as some get booked by other members and replaced by other weeks/resorts.

http://www.globalresortsregistry.com/ (user: resort; password: movie).

[Vacancier Permanent]

(05-26-2010 02:30 PM)Roosh Wrote:  

Quote:

That's as a no brainer as it gets.

And THAT'S the problem with the offer!

Some of us are conditioned against "too good to be true" deals.

I totally understand that Roosh, I really do. I have been in the same positing when I first found out about GRN. It looked too good to be true. I spent 3 months researching it and looking at it from every possible angle, even contacting the BBB and it all came clean. And that proved to me that this is the real deal. Remember, this membership has been successfully being sold for over 24 years now as a stand alone product. That alone is a testimony to its superior value. if the product didn't offer the value it claims to be, do you think it would have lasted over 2 decades? It would have gone out of business and or been shut down in a heart beat as the luxury vacation/timeshare industries are some of the more competitive and highly regulated out there.

[DrArete]

Maybe this is legit, maybe it isn't. However, I am cynical. And I could copy the text that has been posted, and substitute any number of business names for GRN, and it would seem the same thing.
Sort of like the buy in the next 30 minutes and get this X which is worth XXXX 111!!!11!!!

[Flashman]

Some australian tool on a motor scooter in Koi Samui Thailand tried to sell me and my girlfriend on a scheme just like this, in the exact same language, and tried to induce us to hear some presentation by promising various prizes. It was clearly a scam. I googled the company later and saw that their technique was basically to hold you captive in the room (they had driven you there, in the middle of nowhere) until you sign.

I would bet 100 to 1 this is a scam. 1000 to 1. I can't believe people fall for this stuff.

[hydrogonian]

I guess, to be fair, the only way to know is if someone on this forum, other than Vacancier Permanent, tried it. He's a legitimate and valuable contributor to the forum, and while I'm a cynic when it comes to people, I have no reason to believe that he would have any motivation to try and bilk anyone on this forum. His contributions have only always seemed earnest and have consistently been very helpful.

I mean, being that we are such a small corner of the market, he has no real profit motivation to try and sell us on anything. I think his intentions are only to contribute and help.

But no more should probably be said, either way, until someone else tries it. If you can consistently get week long stays at 5000+ higher end hotels around the world, for $700 or less, than it isn't a scam.

If you can't, then it is.

Its a pretty simple experiment. A few guys could even split the cost. If I was in the position or had the time to do it, then I would be willing to split the risk, perhaps, between two other guys. If it works, and you want to travel a lot more than 1/3rd of the year, then just have the other guys buy out your share and get your own membership.

[hydrogonian]

After thinking about this a little more, I can see how it works and they're able to do what they do.

To be honest, it likely works well for them precisely because most people likely use very little of their membership. Therefore, the money that they pay into it is more than enough to pay for those that use the membership a lot. Its sort of like a big insurance pool.

And keep in mind that even when you get a membership, your still paying for the room, although at a subsidized/discounted rate. This means that you likely have to go on quite a few vacations before the equity of the original 3K is used up, in terms of how much your discounted. Very, very few people likely ever come close to going above and beyond their 3000 pay in. Of course this is there choice, but human nature likely assures that the statistics are on the side of the vacation club. That doesnt mean that its not a good deal, it only means that you have to actually use it to get your moneys worth.

Also, remember that this is a vacationers membership and not a 'travelers' type of membership. Vacationers tend to go on vacation 1-2 weeks a year max, because thats all they can get off from work. For these people, as long as they keep using it, the membership would pay for itself quickly.

I'm defining travelers as those people who are away from home for much longer stretches of time. Even at an average cost of $500 per week for a hotel stay, that still equates to $2k per month. An average traveller, especially anywhere outside of western europe, would see that as an expensive month of rent. You can, almost anywhere, rent an apartment for much cheaper rates than that. But with the higher rent, you get all the amenities of the hotel. Its all about what you want and what you can spend.

[OSL]

Excellent point hydrogonian. As someone who is more of a traveler than a vacationer, I am more interested in the sorts of deals where I could get, say, a 3 star hotel room for a month at like 300 bucks rather than a resort for a week at 600 bucks.

Anyone know of a deal like that?

[hydrogonian]

Nah, but you can negotiate for month long stays in hotels around the world for pretty cheap. I dont mean 4-5 star hotels, but you can get very good rooms for 2-300 per month in a lot of countries. By a lot, I mean pretty much anywhere outside of the first world and perhaps Brazil. After a while you get better at it, and can get better rooms for less. This guy has been doing it for years:

http://www.hobotraveler.com/blogger.html

I think he says the average cost, for rooms around the entire world, is 5-8 USD per night. He absolutely doesn't stay in apartments, and doesn't stay in hostels. Private rooms only.

Granted, he can only negotiate for whats available. If he's staying in some parts of Africa, for instance, there might not be a 'good' room available for a hundred miles. So, he takes what he can get in that instance. But if there is a good room available outside of the high end hotel market, he tends to be able to sniff it out.

[OSL]

Thanks for the link. I actually got a discount from around 450 to 300 bucks for the month at the bungalow/hotel where I'm living right now in Thailand.

I will be spending most of my time in China, Hong Kong, and Southeast Asia.

I can definitely see how prices could be negotiable for Southeast Asia and potentially China but probably not Hong Kong.

[hydrogonian]

(06-10-2010 06:39 AM)youngmobileglobal Wrote:  

Thanks for the link. I actually got a discount from around 450 to 300 bucks for the month at the bungalow/hotel where I'm living right now in Thailand.

I will be spending most of my time in China, Hong Kong, and Southeast Asia.

I can definitely see how prices could be negotiable for Southeast Asia and potentially China but probably not Hong Kong.

Yeah, you can almost make a game out of it. The game is that your always trying to get a better room for less money.

The guy that I linked to above (he's been perpetually travelling the world for 11-12 years now), says that he "doesn't move countries" but that he moves hotels. That is, he isn't always looking toward the next best destination, but the next best hotel. (Although Im sure that sometimes he moves for the destination).

But in general, thats his perspective after 12 years on the road. His happiness quotient is based on a cost to comfort ratio. Therefore, he focuses on hotel quality for the price, and a distant second on destination. I think travelers learn to care less about the destination, and more about comfort.

In one of his recent posts, he states that he recently moved hotels, to one on the other side of a huge lake, because he can get a good beef burrito much cheaper on the other side. For him, this is a way of better playing the game.

I think he makes between $40-$50k USD per year from his website, and so his freedom is dependent on not going above that amount in expenses. If he did, he's likely have to stop traveling.

[oldnemesis]

(05-25-2010 05:33 PM)Vacancier Permanent Wrote:  

So, using my Platinum membership, I was able to stay at the Rio Othon Palace, a top end 4 star hotel right on the Copacabana Beach, on the 21st floor, at an ocean view suite. That same suite outside of membership goes for $1,000/night during the week of Carnaval or about $5,500 for that week.

I was interested and did some research.

First, Rio Othon Palace has a pretty low rating on TripAdvisor. If this is the only place GRN has there, I wouldn't even consider it after reading all reviews. Definitely doesn't look like top end 4 star hotel to me, and from my travel experience hotel star ratings outside Western countries are pretty much meaningless.

Second, I wonder how it worked if a lot of other members would like to go for Carnaval. The hotel has limited capability, and obviously the number of members who'd like to go to Carnaval for cheap would exceed the number of rooms in the hotel. How is it handled?

Quote:

My cost? $650 for the entire week. Or a saving of almost $5K for 1 week.

This would be pretty much the same as saying that traveling a lot with Delta saved me $10K this year because I often get an upgrade to the first class - and the difference between coach and first class is significant. This, however, is not true savings, because I wouldn't buy a first-class ticket anyway.

Quote:

I will also use my membership this July in Rio staying yet again at the Rio Othon Palace during the week of the World Cup final (July 10-17).
...
Even during low season, (which is from March/after Carnaval to end of November), a week at the Rio Othon Palace at the Deluxe Ocean View Suite goes for a minimum of anywhere between $2K to $2.5K per week.

According to Travelocity you can stay there for ~$1400 that week, including breakfast and taxes. By the way, do you have to also pay taxes on top of this $650, does it include breakfast?

(05-26-2010 03:33 PM)Vacancier Permanent Wrote:  

I spent 3 months researching it and looking at it from every possible angle, even contacting the BBB and it all came clean.

And what did BBB tell you about why GRN has D- rating with them?

[Vacancier Permanent]

Artete,
I'm afraid to dissapoint you but this has absolutely not smacked me, as you would love to see that happen. My not responding in here is simply because I've been very busy these past few days renovating my house, plus the World Cup has started and am watching every game. Once I get some free time next week, I'll address the comments made in here recently.

[Vacancier Permanent]

I've been pretty busy the past 2 weeks or so with renovating my house, plus with the World Cup, I didn't have the time to answer some of the comments made in here. Ok starting with the first comment:

Quote:

Some australian tool on a motor scooter in Koi Samui Thailand tried to sell me and my girlfriend on a scheme just like this, in the exact same language, and tried to induce us to hear some presentation by promising various prizes. It was clearly a scam. I googled the company later and saw that their technique was basically to hold you captive in the room (they had driven you there, in the middle of nowhere) until you sign.

What you're referring to is a timeshare presentation. These are extremely high pressure sales presentation where yes the sales people will be extremely persistent and will not take a no that easily. You really have to get out of there for them to really understand that you are not interested. I know from first hand experience as I have been to a 3 timeshare presentations over the years. And yes, they do give you or promise you to give you some gift or other incentives such as "free trips" or "gift cards" so you go to their presentations. They are very persistent as mentioned and will not take no and will even bring other people, mostly their "manager" to talk to you (read pressure you even more) and give you "an unbeatable deal". Yes those are to be avoided like the plague. However, I got 2 gift cards for a $100 bucks each time for attending their spiel. But I had to hold on tight to my guns and keep saying no to them. At the end, when I mentioned to them about the GRN membership, I was "kindly and quietly thanked" and escorted out. I wonder why....LOL

For the GRN membership, there is no presentation to attend, no pushy sales people, no timeshare presentations to go to. Every thing is web based. No sales people, no pressure, no non-sense like what you described and all.

Oldnemesis,
I stayed at the Rio Othon Palace during Carnval in 2009. While I agree with you that it may not be the top of the line there is, I was very satisfied with my stay there. The location is awesome, the view from the 21st floor alone was more than worth the price: beautiful view of Copacabana beach and Arpoador beach. The staff were very nice and friendly as well the room clean and while not luxurious, very well maintained. I don't care about TV or anything in a hotel as I only use the hotel to sleep, I was out 95% of the time I was not sleeping and I enjoyed my stay there. Not only that but I'm using the Rio Othon Palace each time I'm in Rio. The location is as good as it gets. The rooms are clean and the maid service is done daily. Plus the price is simply unbeatable. Oh and that view of the Copacabana beach from the 21st floor is just gorgeous!

Of course one can find "deals" out there and saving a couple hundred bucks as you did with your search on Travelocity vs Expedia but even with Travelocity, paying + or - $1400, I'm still only paying $650 with my membership. What this membership allows me is the peace of mind that I'm getting each time the best deal out there. I don't have to spend hours before a trip searching the net penny penching for the "best deal" saving a couple bucks. I know that with my membership I'll get better price than anything any of the major travel providers online will be able to ever offer. Which translates in not only a lot of time saving but also money saved for each vacation and trip.

Quote:

This would be pretty much the same as saying that traveling a lot with Delta saved me $10K this year because I often get an upgrade to the first class - and the difference between coach and first class is significant. This, however, is not true savings, because I wouldn't buy a first-class ticket anyway.

While this could be true with an airline and tickets, it couldn't be further from the truth with the GRN Membership for 2 very simple yet fundamental reasons why this membership is the real deal:
1) the travel provider pre-purchases each year hundreds of thousands of weeks in advance to ensure that their members will be able to get what they want at the time they want.
2) One of the premises upon which the membership is built upon is that there is a price cap of $799, meaning you never pay more than $799 per week for any of the weeks available. Not even the highly sought after prime weeks like Christmas, New Years, Carnaval, March Break or Summer time. All and every week will be for 95% of them priced between $298 and $699 with only the top of the line 5 star resorts in say Hawaii will be at $799 per week.

So this wasn't an upgrade nor a one off deal at all.

Of course for these highly sought after weeks, the soonest you book, the higher your chances of getting that week. I will be making my own reservations there for next year's Carnaval in the next couple of weeks or so to ensure that I'll get an ocean front suite again. For weeks outside these prime time and other popular periods of the year, no need to book that far in advance as in most cases, booking with as little as 1 week advance notice is enough.


Now, regarding taxes and extra fees to pay on top of the $650. As far as the membership goes, $650 was the final price I had to pay. However, some resorts charge their own daily fee which are for the most part very minimal. If I remember correctly, upon checking out at the Rio Othon Palace, I paid about $3/day for service charges (whatever that is). So about 21 bucks extra to the hotel directly. No taxes to pay over the $650 amount.


Moving onto the D+ rating with the BBB. It is listed as D+ for the following reasons:
1) length of time business has been operating
2) 10 complaints filed against business
3) 1 complaint filed against business that was not resolved.

Length of operation: 10 complaints filed against a marketing/direct sales company in 3.5 years is simply outstanding and unheard of! I am not sure what the un-resolved complaint is about but it has nothing to do with the product/membership, but in all likelihood an angry affiliate who was not able to market their business and made no money.

Now, out of curiousity, I searched the ratings for the 3 of the major online travel operators like Expedia, Orbitz and Travelocity.
Here's what I found:
Expedia: A+ rating, BBB processed a total of 1438 complaints about Expedia Inc in the last 36 months, our standard reporting period. Of the total of 1438 complaints closed in 36 months, 541 were closed in the last year.
Orbitz: A+ rating, BBB processed a total of 1375 complaints about Orbitz in the last 36 months, our standard reporting period. Of the total of 1375 complaints closed in 36 months, 458 were closed in the last year.
Travelocity: A rating, Number of complaints processed by the BBB, in the last 36 months: 1589; in the last 12 months: 524.

Now, I have used Expedia numerous times myself. Will I stop using them because of those 1438 complaints filed against them in the past 36 months? Personally, no as I have always had excellent service with them. Same with GRN. I have never had a problem with them personally. I have always been paid on time. Sure there will always be unhappy and grumpy people who will fight and complain about everything and anything out of a whim. No matter what. Sure these ratings and numbers are important but should not be regarded as the holly grail of things. There are some things that cannot be quantified with numbers but who make a hell of a difference in someone's experience.

Like for example, I was supposed to go to Rio for Carnaval with a girl (bad move I know, bringing a girl to Rio is like bringing sand to the beach, even more so during Carnaval but she's a very cool and open-minded girl so I thought why not?) then a few days before the trip she says she can't make it. No problem, instead I invite a buddy of mine to join me. I call GRN the day before going to Rio tell them I'd like to have 2 single beds in my suite and not 1 double bed, the guy on the phone tells me he's going to call the hotel and get back to me in 10-15 minutes. He calls me back in 5 minutes, saying that I'll have 2 single beds in my suite. And all that for free! Now that's the type of things that take something good into something outstanding and unforgettable. And that's how my personal experience (as well as thousands of satisfied members for 24 years!) has been with GRN and the travel provider each and every time I had to contact them.

So when I see "oh that company has a D+ rating", I don't automatically stop looking at them and look elsewhere. If I were to do that, I wouldn't be left with many options out there. I'd look deeper into it and try to understand why that is the case. Upon further looking into it, it shows that it's due to 10 compolaints against them in 3.5 years and out of those 10 complaints, only 1 remains unsolved. At the same time, Expedia has A+ rating but over 1400 complaints against them in the past 3 years. Will I stop using them? No, I've been very happy with using them so far and will continue doing business with them for a long time. So all in all, the rating and the numbers may nor may not tell the whole story and other aspects of it that can't quantified by numbers.

Quote:

I would bet 100 to 1 this is a scam. 1000 to 1. I can't believe people fall for this stuff.

I also can't believe it that people fall for this stuff (timeshares). I never cease to be amazed and puzzled why would any sane person in their right mind would plunk $10-50K up front for a timeshare + 500 to 2K per year in annual fees for 1 or 2 weeks at most per year in a timeshare. That is truly the biggest scam ever created in the vacation/travel industry.

Now as far as this membership is concerned, keep in mind that this membership has been selling since 1986. Do you really think if this was a scam, it would have lasted that long? Again, the luxury travel/vacation and timeshare industries are among the most highly regulated and it would have been shut down in a heart beat.

[Vacancier Permanent]

(06-09-2010 05:19 PM)hydrogonian Wrote:  

I guess, to be fair, the only way to know is if someone on this forum, other than Vacancier Permanent, tried it. He's a legitimate and valuable contributor to the forum, and while I'm a cynic when it comes to people, I have no reason to believe that he would have any motivation to try and bilk anyone on this forum. His contributions have only always seemed earnest and have consistently been very helpful.

I mean, being that we are such a small corner of the market, he has no real profit motivation to try and sell us on anything. I think his intentions are only to contribute and help.

But no more should probably be said, either way, until someone else tries it. If you can consistently get week long stays at 5000+ higher end hotels around the world, for $700 or less, than it isn't a scam.

If you can't, then it is.

Its a pretty simple experiment. A few guys could even split the cost. If I was in the position or had the time to do it, then I would be willing to split the risk, perhaps, between two other guys. If it works, and you want to travel a lot more than 1/3rd of the year, then just have the other guys buy out your share and get your own membership.

Hydro,
Your suggestion is a very fair and objective one. I wasn't planning on doing that, but since there have been some false comments made in here about the membership, for the sake of transparency and proving that this is for real and not a scam as has been erroneously written in here by some I will give a free tour of the membership to one or 2 highly respected members of this forum (you Hydro and the man himself, Roosh).

I suggest the following:
I will give you 2 a free tour of the membership where you will see the members' back office where you'll see the inventory of resorts, with actual resorts, actual weeks and actual prices as well as the process in which members book their vacations. As well as the other sections of the membership such as cruises, car rentals, hotels etc...This tour will take about 20 minutes. Let me know when would be a convenient time to do that. I'd like to clarify one thing: this won't be a sales pitch or anything, but only an absolutely chill webinar with me showing you the membership and members's back office with me and you, nobody else where I'll be answering your questions. In exchange, you just post a fair and objective review of the membership to be posted in here. Fair enough?