Original Message:
Re: Diamond Resorts reduces owner benefits again! (by Charles S.):
My purpose was not to insult anyone, but to have people think about assuming some sort of personal responsibility. We have a country full of people who are consistently looking to blame someone else for their lack of effort or responsibilit. Like I said in my earlier post, I don't like the increases either. If I were to discover that DRI was up to no good then I would be on board. I listen to people complain about not being able to get reservations. I have stayed at several DRI properties and when I have taken the time to plan in advance there has been very little trouble. I even have a reservation in the summer in Coronado where I know it's difficult to get to. I have also stayed at the Point in Poipu during the summer. I am no one special just a regular Joe and I just don't understand what is happening. There are several people that don't even know how to use their memberships. Instead of making an attempt on getting on that phone and calling the help center to get the bare minimum of assistance, they often just complain and want out. The books that are supplied and they're online too are very clear as to what to do. The DRI website is way too easy.
For the record, I did write DRI about two years ago just to suggest to them to calm down on the maintenance fee increases and to get working on the properties to make them nicer since they are charging us an arm and a leg. I also suggested that they communicate more with the owners. I received a couple of calls from them thanking me for the suggestions. I must share that I have owned my timeshare since it was with Sunterra and have noticed many of the properties are being upgraded. There has been much more communication. The fees well that is still another story. The improvement of the online reservation system was a very good improvement. I have read many positive responses to the improvement. I am sure DRi did not do anything because of what I wrote, but the fact that they made the effort to communicate with an owner is important to me. I read posts on TUG and Timeshare Forum that others have had the same kind of treatment. DRI is a big organization as are many of the others. Not everyone is going to be happy all of the time with all aspects of any timeshare. However, people need to look into that mirror first before they start looking to lay blame. We all have the same membership. Some have points and some have weeks. There are happy people in both groups and unhappy ones in both groups.