My Blog Post

Club Mahindra Membership Price List 2011

2011-11-11T21:35:00.000+05:30

Do not take it as final word, do speak to Mahindra Holidays for any latest price information.

Thanks to Harjeet for providing this sheet.

Entries of Y2010 - BUY/SELL Club Mahindra timeshare membership

2011-10-29T23:53:00.000+05:30

Entries of Y2009-08 of BUY/SELL Club Mahindra timeshare membership

2011-10-29T23:49:00.001+05:30

Mahindra Holidays admits their staff did not follow company’s ethics policy

2010-10-30T10:28:00.022+05:30

Source : http://indiaearnings.moneycontrol.com

At the time of Q1 result Mahindra Holidays chairman Mr. Arun Nanda admits their staff did not followed company’s ethics policy.

Watch this video from Moneycontrol

Transcript :

Q: This membership addition is still pretty low compared to the same quarter last year. What kind of full year target do you have in terms of membership adds?

A: We do not give guidance but let me tell you certain things. We did few things. We were finding that we need to improve our membership base. For example, we cut 60 month installment plan and brought it down to 48 months. We increased our down payment from 10% to 15%. Ultimately, we are a member centric organization. We have to make sure. We have good quality members at the resorts. We have to make sure that our delinquency rates are very low and these are some of the steps that we took.

There has been on and off stocks of, sometimes are sales people push, we got ride of a lot of people. We did a survey and found out who were the people who were not following the company’s ethics policy. So we did a lot of cleaning up in the organization in the month of April and May and that is what has affected us but the June numbers bounce back.

That is what gives me the confidence that things will bounce back substantially. It is not a market factor it was an internal organisation structuring problem.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I have question to Mahindra Holidays' top management

Will you offer an exit route to the members acquired by this staff, you found were not following company’s ethics policy?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Effect of this measure was so much that it brought down membership sale revenue by ~30%.

I am surprised they took so long to realize that their marketing staff is not following company' ethics policy, (70+ consumer Case , Internet forums filled with complaints of marketing staff and direct feedback to management) or they were conveniently ignoring problem until consumer opposition on the internet got stronger and started to bite back.

Before considering Club Mahindra Membership : My personal advice
My observation on Club Mahindra Membership
Club Mahindra at its best: from 50 to 70 consumer cases in 10 months
Club Mahindra fined for misleading customer

Mahindra Holidays: Growth in membership Vs. inventory

2010-08-09T00:16:00.002+05:30

See difference in growth in both the charts ..

slide taken from presentation @

http://www.clubmahindra.com/IR_files/MHRIL_Investor_presentation_FY10.pdf

club mahindra fined for misleading customer.

2010-03-14T09:58:00.005+05:30

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Club-Mahindra-fined-for--misleading-customer-/590269

Extracts from different news portals during Mahindra Holidays IPO

2009-08-22T17:07:00.010+05:30

Light Green cells have extract from different news articles from different news portals :

In orange cells I have tried to make some sense out of it ..

Ref

Ref :

Holiday for a Lifetime

Moneycontrol.com July 29^th

" ... On a global basis, taking all our resorts into account, we have had more than 83% occupancy this quarter and if you take our five top resorts, including Munnar, Coorg, Goa etc, we had 90% occupancy on this."

In traditional Timeshare model, timeshare rooms have 100% utilisation (as vacant rooms can directly be attributed to a member) but business model which ClubMahindra follows, who take hit of this under utilisation? Committed customer ?

Ref :

The holiday investment

Business Standard

Sarath Chelluri & Ram Prasad Sahu / Mumbai June 22, 2009, 0:13 IST

"The major chunk of revenues comes from membership fee which so far works out to an average of Rs 2.5 lakh per subscriber. This is divided into admission fee (60 per cent or Rs 1.5 lakh) and entitlement fee which accounts for the rest."

Each room a timeshare company build they can make 52 members .. that means for each rooms ClubMahindra gets (2.5 lakh x 52) = 1.3 Cr Rs from the members + 4.42 Lakh annually as ASF (based on 8500/- average ASF).

Ref :

Club Mahindra sets record for room occupancy

Moneycontrol.com Published on Sat, Jan 10, 2009 at 14:10 ,

Mahindra Holidays has a unique business model as it leverages the strength of both the time share business and the hotel business. In fact, 25% of the rooms are sold to hotel guests who booked their holidays directly with the resorts even though they are not Club Mahindra members. Most of these being foreign guests .This ‘mixed use’ has ensured that the occupancy across all Club Mahindra resorts continue to be high at various locations.

Mahindra Holidays and Resorts' initial public offer launched

Business Standard Press Trust of India / Chennai June 23, 2009

"He said they have seen 75 per cent occupancy rate in all their resorts last year. Six per cent were contributed from non-members alone, he added."

Recession, inflation not to affect biz: Mahindra Holidays

Moneycontrol.com Published on Sat, Jun 20, 2009 at 14:16

"... Similarly on my member base, every member pays me approximately Rs 8,500 of annual subscription and that is to be multiplied by my member base, ..."

Q: Non Member Booking;s How Much Do You Reserve?

A: No, its less than 10%. But we actually had a growth in capacity because we did quite well in the charters in Goa and we have been able to open Munnar and Kombalgadh to the visitors. So I think we have seen a growth in hotel room sales from Rs 11 crore to Rs 17 crore last year.

Different news in 6 months, puts very different figures on non guest sales figures. Let’ do some math .. 17 Cr earned from hotel room sales .. let’ take average room rental @ 6500 Rs per day ..

170000000/6500 = 26154 room days

26154/365 = 71.65 rooms

Let’ take average yearly occupancy of non timeshare resorts @ 70%

Effective room needed to support 17 Cr revenue .. 71.65/.7 = 102 Rooms

What is left for members, specially in peak season or on weekends ..?

Also

90 rooms from Ooty resort are not yet available for the members.

Club Mahindra IPO Valuation

2009-06-19T23:37:00.009+05:30

Published Data from Mahindra Holidays' advertisement in a News Paper:

IPO Band	Market Cap	P/E	Price/Net Asset Value	MCap/ Sales	MCap (/) Member	MCap/ASF paying Member
@275'	2316 Cr	26.99	11.00	5.89	2.4Lakh	4.32Lakh
@325'	2737 Cr	31.89	13.01	6.96	2.85Lakh	5.10Lakh

# ASF (Annual subscription Fee) paying Member count = ASF income/average ASF
Average ASF Value source : Moneycontrol.com

Note:
While calculating these numbers equity dilution is not considered, if any!
These calculations are indicative only.
This is not an investment advice so readers should make their own conclusions.

Related post:
Before considering Club Mahindra Membership : My personal advice
What are you paying for your Timeshare Membership?
MahindraHolidays Spend ~30% of their Yearly Income..

True [Inflation Linked] cost of ClubMahindra Vacation

2009-02-13T00:34:00.013+05:30

Idea behind this calculation is to compute per day cost for a member, that also move up according to inflation giving you true cost of your accommodation.

Main point in this calculation..

*) Assume if you have put your membership cost in a Holiday Account which earn interest, also you withdraw money at yearly interval from this account for your accommodation expenses. During 25 years of membership you spend all your money and interest and do not receive any money at the end of 25 years. [ See yellow cells]

*) Inflation is assumed at 7% and interest rate on your money at [inflation rate + 2% =] 9%. If you create similar table with inflation rate at 6% and interest rate at 8% or as long as rate difference is 2%, per day cost will come almost same (margin of error will be negligible).

*) It is calculated in a way that your withdrawal amount from this account is increasing with same rate as inflation (7%), as your ASF. As result last column (per day cost) is increasing at rate as inflation or ASF. Also at the end of 25th year all your money is spent.

*) Promotional item cost is reduced from the membership cost. (cost may vary with time/membership type so proportionately adjust per night cost)

*) ASF is assumed to be increasing at rate 7% in line with our assumed inflation for simplicity, it may increase more or less as may be decided by the Mahindra Holidays time to time.

Related post:

Before considering Club Mahindra Membership : My personal advice
What are you paying for your Timeshare Membership?
Club Mahindra at its best: from 50 to 70 consumer cases in 10 months

Before considering Club Mahindra Membership : My personal advice

2008-12-17T11:45:00.010+05:30

Before your purchase decision, evaluate this decision on following points:

Profile your vacation needs:

· Do you spend most of your vacation days visiting your home town or religious place, can you spare 7 days for ClubMahindra Holidays?

· Do you like to go to historical places or places like Munnar, Poovar, Coorg, etc?

· Do you go for 7 days in a stretch? If you go two places 3days + 4days, you will soon exhaust all nearby ClubMahindra resorts. You will have to revisit those places in order to utilize your membership days.

· You take such trip to relax or like to see places around as much as possible and come to hotel only in evening for sleep?

· If you can only travel in your children' vacation days, You will have to take higher season membership (Red or Purple season), white season membership will not do.

Budget :

· At Resorts every thing comes at cost, full day buffet for 2 adult + 2 Children will cost you Rs2000+ , DVD rental ~Rs40 , children' activities ~Rs100- Rs300 per activity.

· Membership gives only accommodation + dry kitchen facility in some resorts. Any thing else comes at a cost.

· Resorts are usually little far away from the main town, Munnar - 18km, Coorg - 5 km, Poovar - 45 km , Goa - 8km (distance from main Bus Stop), 40km from airport.

Planning:

· Can you plan 2 to 6 months in advance? It is very unlikely to get accommodation in ClubMahindra on 15 days notice. Do not believe sales staff if they promise so. Ask for a written commitment on it.

Cost:

· What is the cost of your money? How much you can earn on that money and utilize same for your vacation. Remember you will be paying ASF also which will increase year by year.

· Will hotel rental always increase in India? (look example of airlines: business class fares are mostly same but economy class fare has come down drastically )

· How much bank charge when you take unsecured loan ? 18- 30%! What are the current floating and fixed rate for home loan (secured)? (10.5 - 13%)! What will be the interest rate on unsecured loan to companies like Mahindra & Mahindra for 25 years?

· Do you know if you borrow 1Lakh Rs for 25 year EMI repayment option at 10.5% interest rate, your yearly outgo will be ~Rs.11433/- per year for 25 years.

Value:

· You are committing 25 years of business to CM.

· Not all resorts are equally good or have commercial value, Average out resort quality.

· A season is wide spread to 16 - 24 weeks, not all weeks in a season are equally valued.

· You will be taking long holidays of 3 to 7 days, not one night stay.

· You may have to plan 2 to 6 months in advance to get your desired dates, location.

· In many respect it is comparable to low cost airlines vs. full service airlines so discount that.

Strip down marketing glare :

· Any promise apart from accommodation! (like free pickup- drop, vacation planning, etc.)

· Search on net for common problem with ClubMahindra membership. Look

Mouthshut.com
http://www.complaintsboard.com
and other sites, www.enidhi.net/2007/02/never-go-for-club-mahindra-membership.html

· Not all resorts are same.

· Some resorts has minuscule room capacity (10 - 20 rooms, for more then 1Lakh+ members) , very difficult to get booking there. (see figure at bottom)

· Most of the people will not be able to realise RCI benefits even upto 10% of what they say.

· They run promotions year around, so if they say this offer is for just today/ this week, do not believe them.

· Usually you can avail free/complimentary holidays in low season only.

· Negotiate on complementary offers/validity days.

· There is no regulatory body in India to govern timeshare industry. Many timeshare companies has gone burst in past.

· Timeshare model Mahindra Holidays follows is not very transparent and complex too, you will not be able to know how company is performing.

Membership termination rules:

If you cancel your membership after ten days (not ten working days) of enrollment you will loose your 60% money straight (in case of full payment) , in EMI scheme you will have to cancel your credit card :) . Look another post :

Club Mahindra Cancellation rules

Have you read all membership rules before signing it? you will get your membership kit only after a month.

Buy it in seconds sales:

· If your are interested in buying it, buy it in second sale you can get 30-50% discount after adjusting for promotion gifts items. Link to Buy/Sell entries

Do not forget to Read following post:
My observation on Club Mahindra Membership
What are you paying for your Timeshare Membership?
Club Mahindra at its best: from 50 to 70 consumer cases in 10 months

Club Mahindra at its best: from 50 to 70 consumer cases in 10 months

2008-10-28T23:32:00.008+05:30

Recently (Dated 30th Sep 08) Mahindra Holidays has again filed its DRHP (Draft Red Herring Prospectus) with the SEBI. Earlier (Dated 14th Dec 2007) also it filed DRHP with the SEBI which it withdrawn because of unfavorable market conditions.

Comparing both these prospectus .. , the number of Consumer Cases against the company has increase from 50 to 70 in these 10 months.

2007

2008

Again!!! wrong information from ClubMahindra

2008-10-13T12:25:00.004+05:30

If you have read above advertisement , this one question for you

What is a specious apartment?

a) a specious room with bathroom
b) a specious room with bathroom and balcony
c) a specious room with bathroom, balcony and kitchen
d) none of the above ..

If your answer is c) , then you are with me. Otherwise pardon my ignorance.

------------------------------------------

When Club Mahindra is advertising like this, same time they are reducing kitchen facilities in each of their properties also their recently acquired properties does not have any provision of small kitchenette in Studio or a full kitchenette in a one/two bedroom units. Many of their affiliated/leased resorts lack kitchenette facilities.

To list few ..

1) TUSKER TRAILS ( acquired from Taj Hotels , 32-rooms)

A mail from Member Relations officer says

"We have only studio apartment available without kitchenette."

2) CLUB MAHINDRA BACKWATER RETREAT, ASHTAMUDI (25-rooms)
ClubMahindra brochure for the resort says ..

The resort offers a total of twenty five rooms, spread across five chalets. The architecture reflects the distinct style of construction deployed by the Travancore Raj. All rooms are air conditioned, with plush furnishing and attached western toilets. Amenities include a mini refrigerator, tea and coffee making facilities, a wall mounted LCD television and a DVD player.

(no kitchen!) http://www.clubmahindra.com/emailimage/efactfinder/Ashtamudi.html

3) Hotel Villa Park - Ooty ( 90 rooms)
(News: PVP Ventures sells "Hotel Ooty Villa Park)

Three days - Two different stories

2008-10-02T12:40:00.002+05:30

Mahindra Holidays to sell 11% stake through IPO

Bs Reporter / Mumbai October 1, 2008, 0:05 IST

Club Mahindra on expansion spree, puts IPO on hold
29 Sep, 2008, 1936 hrs IST, ECONOMICTIMES.COM

Club Mahindra - RCI Membership Terms and Conditions

2008-06-18T18:02:00.003+05:30

These rules are from the application form I filled in 2004. Most of the rules should be same now also. You are advised to check these rules in your application form for your self before signing it.

These pics looks dull but in original size easily readable, you can click on these to view larger image.

Club Mahindra Cancellation rules

2008-06-09T18:24:00.022+05:30

Club Mahindra different cities, different offers

2008-04-20T13:32:00.004+05:30

Four different Cities, four different offers.

All these four ads are taken from Times of India epaper site for 20th April 2008.

Lucknow:

Mumbai:

Bangalore:

Ahmedabad:

So if you are not interested in one offer from Club Mahindra ask for different offer!

My Other Post:

Want to Buy or Sell your Timeshare/ClubMahindra membership

2008-04-12T13:42:00.013+05:30

This page by Shrinidhi aims to provide a platform for those who are willing to BUY/SELL used timeshare memberships, with companies such as Club Mahindra, Sterlings etc.

This page has changed little bit. Old entries has been moved to a different table for easy maintenance. As this product is not easy to sell or buy, most of the older entries are still active, people interested in buying or selling a membership are encouraged to look older entries also.

Entries of Y2010 - BUY/SELL Club Mahindra timeshare membership...

Entries of Y2009-08 of BUY/SELL Club Mahindra timeshare membership...

You can make entry in to this table using this link.

Year 2011 Price List

Below calculation shows how 3.35Lakh Lakh Rs. borrowed on 25 year EMI option at 10.5% interest rate reduces to zero at the end of 25 years.

Your first year vacation cost comes to 38334 + 9681 (ASF) = 48015 Rs ~ 6860Rs/Day.

There is another way of calculating vacation cost, follow below link .
True [Inflation Linked] cost of ClubMahindra Vacation

Availibility chart for March 2008 - August 2008 - ClubMahindra

2008-03-02T08:35:00.006+05:30

Fundays piggyback on ClubMahindra Members

2008-01-19T23:23:00.000+05:30

Fundays is Mahindra Holiday’ timeshare offering to corporate, introduced in October 2006. This offering is based on a points system for the 10 year term. . A corporate member may offer family holidays to their employees. A Club Mahindra Fundays member has to purchase a minimum 10,000 points and additional points can be purchased in multiples of 1,000 points. 67% of the points purchased by a member are termed as “Premium points” and can be used in all four seasons - Purple, Red, White and Blue, in Club Mahindra Holidays resorts and all three seasons - Verve, Buzz and Pep, in Zest resorts. 33% of the points purchased by the member are termed as “Classic points” and can be used only in the White and Blue seasons in Club Mahindra Holidays resorts and only in the Pep season in Zest resorts.

As of October 31, 2007 Mahindra Holiday has sold 1,128,849 Club Mahindra Funday points. That is 112 times minimum point required to purchase corporate membership.

What does it mean to ClubMahindra customer :

Purple season which is not available to general customer is available to corporate customers.
One corporate membership is equal to how many Red Studio membership?

I do not know, but for sure each corporate customer membership must be equal to many (?) single normal customer membership. Otherwise why Mahindra holidays will create this brand. So how much load it is on ClubMahindra members : 1*112 or 5*112 (=600) or 10*112(=1200) Red Studio membership?

Other related articles

My observation with Club Mahindra Membership

MahindraHolidays Spend ~30% of their Yearly Income on Generating Sales

2008-01-19T21:39:00.000+05:30

Mahindra Holidays spends almost 30% of it’s yearly income (Including ASF) on it’s sales expenses ( commission , Advertisment, promotions etc ..)

Source: DRAFT RED HERRING PROSPECTUS : MAHINDRA HOLIDAYS & RESORTS INDIA LIMITED

Page # 5, 132

Some Other Related Post

Membership Growth Vs Room Capacity for MahindraHolidays

2008-01-19T21:27:00.001+05:30

Membership Growth Vs Room Growth

	Members (growth*)	Rooms (growth*)
Mar 2004	20,536	409
Mar 2005	28,491 (38.74%)	500 (22.25%)
Mar 2006	38,691 (35.8%)	606 (21.2%)
Mar 2007	53,101 (37.24%)	675 (11.38%)
Oct 2007	63,375 (19.34%)	736 (9.03%

*Growth from previous year’s number

Source: DRAFT RED HERRING PROSPECTUS : MAHINDRA HOLIDAYS & RESORTS INDIA LIMITED

Page # 61, 73, 171

Some Other Related Post :

Some more facts about ClubMahindra membership- II

2008-01-19T20:35:00.000+05:30

In my earlier post [Some more facts about ClubMahindra membership- I] I have highlighted that Club Mahindra has only a 707 Vs 1218 required rooms.

Here I want to highlight some more facts which show it is not only “ClubMahindra” brand of Mahindra Holidays but there are other categories of Mahindra Holidays customer who share these rooms.

1) One time resorts users (non-Members customers) share same rooms (within the count of 707) mostly available in RCI Gold Crowned resorts only.

a. MahindraHolidays earner 10.5 Cr yearly by renting accommodation to non-Members compared to 22.77 Cr Rs. by way of ASF charge from the customers.

2) “Fundays” , another brand of Mahindra Holidays, usually sold to corporates, Fundays members share same rooms as ClubMahindra members, and these members can avail 2/3 rd of their entitlement in Purple and Red seasons.

What does it mean to ClubMahindra Members:

1) Effective room availability is further less for ClubMahindra members compared to 707. As 112 of corporate customer and 10.5 Cr worth of non-member customer share your 707 rooms.

2) Mahindra Holiday staff does not tell about their rental of resorts room to non-members, while enrolling a new customers. They says (read Q3), it brings down ASF charges to the customer. Then what is the point in promising to keep ASF linked to some price index, any way they have devised a way to fill the short fall (inefficient operation) at customer' cost.

No more entry load from 4 Jan 2008

2008-01-03T19:08:00.000+05:30

SEBI has removed the entry load for all investments made directly to the fund house. If you apply directly by way of the Internet or directly sending/submit application to the AMC office no brokerage will be charged.

Directly applying for Mutual Fund can save 2000/- to 2500/- for each 1 Lack Rs of investment. Moreover this saved money will grow over the time to enhance your return.

Investment Amount

Fund Value On first Day

Fund

Performance

Your Portfolio Value

Actual Return

Investment done through Broker

100,000

98,000

40%

137,200

37.2%

Direct Investment

100,000

40 %

140,000

40%

Please note, Buying on internet merely will not save you entry load. Like if you buy mutual fund on ICICIDirect or HDFC Bank or KotakSecurities.com even in that matter if you buy ICICIPru mutual fund from ICICIDirect it will not save you entry load.

A list of Mutual Fund House :

ABN AMRO Mutual Fund
Benchmark Mutual Fund
Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund
BOB Mutual Fund
Canbank Mutual Fund
Chola Mutual Fund
Deutsche Mutual Fund
DSP Merrill Lynch Mutual Fund
Escorts Mutual Fund
Fidelity Mutual Fund
Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund
GIC Mutual Fund
HDFC Mutual Fund
HSBC Mutual Fund
ING Vysya Mutual Fund
J M Financial Mutual Fund
Kotak Mahindra Mutual Fund
LIC Mutual Fund
Morgan Stanley Mutual Fund
Principal Mutual Fund
Prudential ICICI Mutual Fund
Reliance Mutual Fund
Sahara Mutual Fund
SBI Mutual Fund
Standard Chartered Mutual Fund
Sundaram Mutual Fund
Tata Mutual Fund
Taurus Mutual Fund
UTI Mutual Fund

Some more facts about Club Mahindra Membership - I

2008-01-01T14:44:00.001+05:30

All the numbers here I have taken from Mahindra Holidays' draft prospectus with the SEBI for their upcoming IPO.

Facts:

"Currently, we have a total of 21 resorts across India and Thailand, of which we own seven properties. Our Resorts (resorts owned by us or on long term lease with us) contribute an aggregate of 639 apartments and cottages of a total of 736 apartments and cottages owned or leased by us."

"Club Mahindra Holiday membership currently entitles members the choice of holidaying at any of our 19 resorts, for seven days each year, in a season and apartment type of their choice, for 25 years. ... ... As of October 31, 2007, we have 63,375 Club Mahindra Holiday vacation ownership members."

Conclusion/Observations:

Out of these 21 resorts 2 resorts are for Zest members so ClubMahindra Members has total 19 resorts (707 apartments) for their use.

ClubMahindra does not maintain apartment inventory matching their growing member base.

63,375 ( Members)
_______________ = 1218 apartments
52 ( weeks in a year)

Club Mahindra has 707 apartment compared to required 1218 apartment. - Bad

Facts:

Mahindra Holidays Owned Resorts

	Resort	Capacity	Cumulative Capacity
1	Goa, Goa	205	205
2	Coorg, Karnataka	122	327
3	Munnar, Kerala	112	439
4	Binsar, Uttaranchal	36	475
5	Manali, HP	33	505
6	Ashtamudi, Kerala	26	531
7	Manipur Villa, Binsar	5	536

Long term leased

	Resort	Capacity	Cumulative Capacity
8	Auli,	10	546
9	Bangkok, Thailand	6	552
10	Corbett, Uttaranchal	4	556
11	Dharamshala, Himachal	23	579
12	Kodaikanal, TamilNadu	11	590
13	Mussoorie, Uttaranchal	19	609
14	Pattaya, Thailand	6	615
15	Poovar, Kerala	6	621
16	Ooty, Tamil Nadu	15	636

Short term leased

	Resort	Capacity	Cumulative Capacity
17	Jaipur, Rajasthan	5	641
18	Yercaud, Tamil Nadu	10	651
19	Panchgini, Maharashtra	20	671
20	Mahabaleshwar, Maharashtra	10	681
21	Kodai Hill Country, Tamil Nadu	26	707

Conclusion/Observations:

62.1% capacity is 5 star certified -	Good
3 resorts has 62.1% of total capacity	Bad

3 resorts are 5 star certified 5 resorts are RCI Gold Crowned	OK Good
All other resorts (18) are 3 star quality only	Bad

75% capacity is in self owned resorts	Good
24.9% capacity is distributed among 15 resorts	Bad

Other related articles

ClubMahindra sold me bonus weeks as if these are equal to Red weeks

2007-12-30T05:48:00.000+05:30

ClubMahindra sold me bonus weeks as if these are equal to Red weeks just at the cost of standard exchange fee and these are freely available

See portion marked in red box. Even I negotiated with them to increase the weeks from 5 to 8 and the period from 5 year to 25 years. :) :)

See RCI definition of Bonus Holidays

Also see "F" box from image in another post

Explaining ClubMahindra Membership to a customer

Other related articles

Club Mahindra leased Resorts Information

2007-12-27T15:21:00.000+05:30

From Mahindra Holidays' draft propestus to SEBI

www.sebi.gov.in/dp/mahindradrp.pdf

Other related articles

OutlookMoney Slams ClubMahindra before its' IPO

2007-12-27T13:39:00.001+05:30

Before Mahindra Holidays' IPO, OutlookMoney publishes this article which put ClubMahindra in negative light.

This article could have been much better if author must have given little more time before writing this article as many facts presented in this article are not correct.

http://www.outlookmoney.com/scripts/IIH021C1.asp?articleid=7020&sectionid=10&categoryid=57&NoCache=12%2F22%2F2007+12%3A38%3A24+PM

Other Article on Timeshare Concept on OutlookMoney:

http://www.outlookmoney.com/scripts/IIH021C1.asp?sectionid=8&categoryid=34&articleid=5030

http://www.outlookmoney.com/scripts/IIH021C1.asp?sectionid=10&categoryid=57&articleid=423&totart=2&seqno=2&page=1

Question to ask before committing your money

A timeshare is not a hotel'

Will Timeshares work for you

Are the free gifts marketers offer really 'free'?

Did you know...

Broken nest egg

Other related articles

General public tariff plan of different resorts leased by ClubMahindra

2007-12-26T20:22:00.001+05:30

Other related articles

There are 51 consumer suits against Club Mahindra

2007-12-26T01:34:00.002+05:30

In a country where people does not want to got to court or even consumer court, Club Mahindra have 51 consumer suits against it.

It is surely indication of consumer' plight, after spending Lakhs of rupee on the membership.

From Mahindra Holiday' Draft IPO prospectus. (Dated December 14, 2007)

www.sebi.gov.in/dp/mahindradrp.pdf

_________________
New IPO prospectus (Dated June 12, 2009) is available at BSE site @
http://bseindia.com/downloads/IPO/2009619131241RHP_MHRIL.zip
According to it they have 105 consumer cases.
_________________

Other related articles

Dileep Sonthalia v. Anand Mahindra and others

2007-12-26T01:25:00.000+05:30

From

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050617/asp/jharkhand/story_4871064.asp

Local businessman Dileep Sonthalia has filed a complaint case against officials of Club Mahindra and Resort India for not honouring their commitment. Sonthalia had become a member of the club after paying a hefty amount and was assured accommodation at resorts all over the country. But despite booking rooms in advance at the Binsar and Corbett Resorts, he was denied accommodation there and was forced to vacate his room in Binsar within two days, though he had booked the rooms for three days. He had got in touch with officials of Club Mahindra in both Calcutta and Chennai, but none of the offices showed any interest in his plight. Responding to the complaint, the court of chief judicial magistrate, Vijay Shankar, ordered summons to be issued against the top brass of the company, including the MD, Anand Mahindra.

From Mahindra Holidays' draft propestus to SEBI

www.sebi.gov.in/dp/mahindradrp.pdf

Other related articles

Explaining ClubMahindra Membership to a customer

2007-12-25T23:45:00.001+05:30

Here I am uploading copy of worksheet written by the ClubMahindra staff to explain me the membership (Septermer 2004) .

A - Explaining price, EMI options and down payment discount. B - Explaining ClubMahindra referral bonus scheme.
[4000/- for first referral, 8000/- for second referral, total 12000/- for two referral]

C - Explaining yearly holiday entitlement.

D - Explaining promotional offer.
(Samsung Camcorder for Red membership and vouchers for White membership)

E - RCI enrollment fee for 5 years included in the membership fee.
(Currently only 3 year RCI membership)

F - Explaining another promotional offer, One Welcome week through RCI + 5 Bonus week for Red membership and 2 bonus week for White membership valid fro 25 years. He gave me two impression about these bonus holidays..
0- This is promotional offer
0- I will get these bonus weeks in my season. (Red) so equivalent to regular vacation holidays ..

This was CM marketing staff ' surprise. As latter I came to know any RCI member can avail unlimited number for bonus week. And bonus weeks are only available in low season.

RCI Bonus week truth..
Not all RCI resorts are of same quality.
Resorts charge Utility fee for bonus holidays. Resorts decide this fee.
Bonus weeks are only available in low season. (Like July/August in Goa)
Bonus weeks can not be split. (Though in India RCI some time provide partial weeks)

Other related articles

Holiday Conversion Chart for ClubMahindra

2007-12-25T23:28:00.001+05:30

This conversion chart is useful while you are availing holiday in a season other then the your own season.

For example if you are a Red-Studio member and want to avail holiday in white season you can avail either 7 days in One Bed accommodation or 10 days in Studio accommodation. (Rounded to nearest days, though you will not loose or gain in this rounding)

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Club Mahindra sales staff promises Moon to customer

2007-12-11T18:26:00.005+05:30

.
.
.
.
Click this link to listen ClubMahindra Rep (Ashish, Jaynagar Branch, Bangalore) promising moon to a customer.

Another instance :-

Latter to ClubMahindra MD Ramesh Ramanathan
______________________________________________

from Bhupesh Gupta <.....@gmail.com>
to Ramesh<.....@clubmahindra.com>,
date Oct 16, 2007 4:00 PM
subject CM Bangalore branch promise to give holiday booking in 15-20 days in advance ...
mailed-by gmail.com

I am an existing Club Mahindra Member. I got a marketing call from Infantry Road (Bangalore Branch) for Club Mahindra membership (Riyaz, Pavan Kumar - Phone No.- 093435xxxxx/93435xxxxx/). Just for curiosity I continued talking as if I am interested in enrolling 25 year membership.

They are willing to promise me on companies behalf on the company letterhead that I will get accommodation in my desired resort if I request it 15- 20 days in advance. Like If I enroll and book holiday around 20th Nov I will have no problem getting booking in Munnar or Goa for 15,16 and 17 Dec.

How is it possible? just few days back I called for booking in those days . .. I was told that resorts are full. Second why such false promise .. is there any control over marketing executives?

I am sure if I do squeeze little more they will not hesitate making more false promises.

---------------------------------
Bhupesh Gupta

----------------
Ramesh <.....@clubmahindra.com>
to Bhupesh Gupta ,
cc "Ajay.Nambiar" <.....@clubmahindra.com>,
Gayathri Umashankar <.....@clubmahindra.com>,
"RadhaKrishna.R" <.....@clubmahindra.com>,
"Pavan.Reddy" <.....@clubmahindra.com>,
date Oct 16, 2007 4:20 PM
subject RE: CM Bangalore branch promise to give holiday booking in 15-20 days in advance ...

Dear Mr.Gupta

I am in receipt of your mail. Thank you.

Firstly, all our reservations are subject to availability and hence no
one in the company can and should promise guaranteed room availability.
Many thanks for brining this to my notice. By a copy of this mail, I am
requesting my colleague and Head of the Bangalore region, Mr.Pavan Reddy
to investigate this matter and revert to you.I shall also make sure
that the sales people concerned do not make any false claims.

While the rooms are subject to availability, I am happy to inform you
that our resorts accommodate requests of most members and run on high
occupancy levels.

Thank you for taking the time and trouble to write in.

Best regards

Ramesh Ramanathan

Other related articles

LG (Microwave Oven) no concern for customer' health

2007-12-10T18:53:00.000+05:30

I bought this LG microwave oven Model : MC-2681DS in mid October. After few days I realised that this microwave oven does not close properly on its' hinges side. There remains a gap of 3-4 mm while Microwave oven is in use.

This certainly is a health hazard. How come in first place pass quality check and came out in market ?

It took me almost 6-7 week to get replacement for this microwave. I am not sure if this replacement peice is fresh from company of seconds.

The disturbing end of this of this story is that they have recommended this piece to be sold in seconds sale.

The first technician visited my home for checkup refused to acknowledge it as a problem.

I asked them to bring Microwave radiation meter, He was unaware of such device.

Call center employees does not record correct problem even stated word by word .. many times, they just noted down that Microwave oven is not working.

In a funny situation, when I escalated problem to superwiser, he told me that, Sir, because the Chip has to be replaced and that has to come from Delhi that' why this delay.. . But as i have already stated this problem no way related to any electronics part.

In another instance, When I called call center number and asked, what is the status of my problem ? They told,

LG: Sir, Soon some one will be visiting your home for the demo. .. ,
Me: But my complain is not for demo..
LG: But sir this complain number is for demo request.

How can you save your self from such idiot customer service?

____________________________________________________

FDA Page : Microwave Oven Radiation
____________________________________________________

My communication with AIRDA

2007-12-05T18:03:00.000+05:30

You may want to know about AIRDA first : My Article -

AIRDA- All India Resort Development Association

After learning about this association, I thought of using this opportunity to raise my concerns

_________________________________________________________

from Bhupesh Gupta
to airda@vsnl.net,
date Nov 28, 2007 4:46 PM
subject Timeshare enquiry

Hi,

I am a timeshare member with Club Mahindra. My inquiry is general in
nature not linked to one particular TImeshare company.

1) As a member how do I can track and ensure if company has enough
room capacity matching their increasing member base? Is there any
quarterly disclosure these company publish to you or to DOT or
through some other medium.

2) As a member how do I know they are following fair practices in
making reservation for customer. Do they go though any audit from any
external consulting firm or from any other agencies?

3) Indian timeshare companies accommodate members for minimum 2 nights
(compared to 3-4 days or full week in other countries), this must
create inefficient utilization of resort. Does Indian timeshare
company keep room capacity according to weeks of vacation sold or do
factor in such efficiencies. Is there any recommended factor value
from AIRDA.

Thanks
Bhupesh Gupta

_________________________________________________________

From AIRDA
To Bhupesh Gupta
Date Jan 7, 2008 1:19 PM
Subject RE: TImeshare enquiry
mailed-by vsnl.net

Dear Mr. Gupta,

Warm Greetings and Happy New Year to you too!

Following are the responses to your queries:

--------------------------------------------------------
AIRDA does not want this communication to be published at web pages.
--------------------------------------------------------

Best Regards,

Ravi Kumar

----------------------

____________________________________________________

Disclaimer: This is my interpretation of their communication. I may not be successful in truly summarizing them :

They seems to suggest following in this communication

1) They will discuss and formulate a process through which they will know each company's status on inventory availability.

2) There members are committed to association' Code of Ethics. Their member follow best process and practices . Their higher management is sensible to customer satisfaction and do stringent internal audits.

_____________________________________________
Commentary :

On the first point we have to see, if, how soon timeshare member will come to know inventory status. If these number are available to Timeshare members nothing batter then this.

On second point, this is on individual to access how much trust they have in their timeshare company' management to believe these process and practices are fair and followed.

Other related articles

AIRDA- All India Resort Development Association

2007-12-05T17:45:00.000+05:30

As it states on airda.org

... to ensure organized growth of the Vacation Ownership
(Timeshare) industry, a group of leading resort developers along
with RCI got together in 1998 and set up AIRDA - All India
Resort Development Association, a national body that would
work keeping in mind the long-term interests of the consumer
and the Vacation Ownership (Timeshare) industry. This
association has systematized and implemented a code of ethics
that are all-pervading and govern the Vacation Ownership
(Timeshare) industry in the country.

_________________________________________________
AIRDA's Mission

AIRDA's mission is to represent the Vacation Ownership (Timeshare) Industry in India and to further its growth in partnership with its member-developers, consumers and all other stakeholders.

Objectives

* To ensure that all activities of the vacation ownership (timeshare) industry are honest, fair and conducted with total transparency.

* To safeguard the interests of all vacation ownership (timeshare) consumers, existing and prospective, against all misleading vacation ownership (timeshare) selling practices.

* To ensure highest ethical standards in all those engaged in vacation ownership (timeshare) industry and Holiday ownership in India.

* To check the activities of unscrupulous developers/marketers of vacation ownership (timeshare) holidays, to the extent of making legal punitive action against them.

* Redressal of complaints against defaulting vacation ownership (timeshare) sellers/marketers.

Office Address :

Contact Us

864, 1st Floor, 3rd Cross
7th Main, HAL 2nd Stage
Indira Nagar
Bangalore 560008
Fax : 080-41261781
Email: airda@vsnl.net

Helpline Numbers : 080-41255007 / 41255008

Member Resorts

» Clifftop Club Resort
» Hotel Green Castle
» Mahindra Holidays & Resorts
» RCI
» Orange County Resorts & Hotels Ltd.
» Treasure Island Resorts
» Vista Do Rio Holidays
» Golden Stables
» Concept Hospitality Limited
» Orphic Resorts Ltd.
» Resort Country Club
» The Ffort Holiday Klub
» Vedic Village
» Avalon Resorts
» The Luxury Club
» Averina Beach
» Himalayan Vistas
» Sheridan Resorts Development

Other related articles

Availability chart for Month Sep-Oct-Nov for Club Mahindra

2007-09-12T17:22:00.001+05:30

This availability chart is received from Club Mahindra on 12 Sep 2007. This shows availability of rooms in deferent resorts for month Sep-Oct-Nov.

I have impression that "filing fast" mean you may not got your desired room size.

Other related articles

What are you paying for your Timeshare Membership?

2007-09-07T16:54:00.002+05:30

What is the cost of money?

How much bank charge when you take unsecured loan ? ( 18- 28% )!
What are the current floating and fixed rate for home loan (secured)? (10.5 - 13%)!
What will be the interest rate on unsecured loan to companies like Mahindra & Mahindra for 25 years?

Let's assume you take loan of 2.25Lakh from a bank payable as yearly EMI for 25 years to buy your Club Mahindra membership of Red Studio.
( 2.25Lakh is assumed after deducting value of promotion items)

Reading the charts :

This figure shows you yearly EMI for 2.25 Lakh loan at indicated % interest rate, principle amount left after each year. Another column shows ASF compounded with 5.5% inflation rate.

Next to ASF column, it is ( EMI + ASF)/7 = Average cost of per night accommodation.

Next set of columns shows "Present Value of per night accommodation" that is some thing you have to decide what value you give to Club Mahindra accommodation. I have shown you four calculations. For each next year these have be compounded with inflation rate of 5.5%. I have also marked Break Even Year when your accommodation value is equal to (EMI + ASF).

What to consider while deciding the value of accommodation :

1) You are committing for 25 years of business to CM.
2) A season is wide spread to 16 - 24 weeks, not all week in a season are equally valued.
3) You will be taking long holidays of 3 to 7 days, not one night stay.
4) You may have to plan 2 - 6 month in advance to get your desired dates.
5) Not all resorts are equally good or have commercial value, Average out resorts quality.

This is very simplistic calculation.

Inflation rate may not remain same for 25 years .. ,
Accommodation cost at 4000/- is equivalent to ~100$ per day. With improved infrastructure and high tourist inflow these rates may actually come down in future instead of increasing year by year.

Break even year is where you pay what you get .. you need more year to recover excesses payment of previous years.

______________________
I will be interested in knowing your comments on this calculation. If you require similar chart for different sum of money and interest rate please let me know I will try to provide it to you.

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Extracts from Mahindra & Mahindra Annual Report 2006-2007

2007-09-07T14:47:00.000+05:30

Extracts from Mahindra & Mahindra Annual Report 2006-2007

Annual Profit :

Profit Growth :

Other related articles

My observation with Club Mahindra Membership

2007-09-06T17:29:00.009+05:30

I am a ClubMahindra member. My observation of the membership are as follows....

1) Wrong target customers. It is a luxury item sold to (higher?) middle class claiming that you are paying middle class price for 4+ star facilities.

--- Not all properties are 4 or 5 star standard. (Some more facts about Club Mahindra Membership - I)

--- Membership does not come at any discount. It is quite costly. (What are you paying for your Timeshare Membership?)

2) Company spend high amount on advertisement and commissions, so value to the customer reduces.

--- See my previous post "One of the Club Mahindra promotion" to realise how much it take to sell a membership. (Cash gift + Sales manager' commission/+pay + posh location office space.)

-- (MahindraHolidays Spend ~30% of their yearly income on generating sales) 3) Breakup of holiday up to minimum two night trip, must be causing low utilization and higher demand on weekends so unavailability. Second, ClubMahindra does not have enough room capacity to support growing member base.

--- (Membership Growth Vs Room Capacity for MahindraHolidays)4) Extra purple season makes availing holidays in high demand season very costly and difficult. I do not have knowledge of any other timeshare company having purple season, RCI also does not have purple season.5) ClubMahindra marketing staff does not hesitate to exploit lack of knowledge of Timeshare concepts of their customer.

-- They will give you bonus week as if they are gifting you some thing. In reality any RCI member can avail unlimited number of bonus week and these are not really free. You may have to pay some fee to RCI and utility charges to the resort.

-- Club Mahindra marketing staff will promise you that they will help in planing and organising your holiday, but really you can not get much help from them.

-- link to audio, ClubMahindra Rep (Ashish, Jaynagar Branch, Bangalore) making all false promises.

6) Their booking system is not much transparent to the members.; -- On line reservation is just limited to specifying your three choices of dates and location, rest of the booking is manual call center process. It will not show you availability in different resorts.
Note: Now their online reservation system has improved, you can request reservation online .. if availability is not there it will alert consumer. But still it is no where near to reservation system what airlines companies provides.: 7) Do not get lured to their referral scheme thinking you will be able to convince your another 3 friends and this referral money will bring down your cost of CM membership.

Club Mahindra may be the one of the best timeshare company in India, but still it is not good enough for value conscious customer and for others booking problem will make them unhappy.; You can build a strong ClubMahindra member' community by enrolling at Yahoo group @ (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ClubMahindraTimeshare/)

Read this post also : Before considering Club Mahindra Membership : My personal advice

________________________________________________________________

Other related articles

Other referral offer mails from Club Mahindra

2007-09-04T15:12:00.003+05:30

My purpose of this post is not to promote the offer but to tell people how much it take to sell a product.

Another referral offer mail from Club Mahindra, this time Malaysia trip to referrer also.

______________________________________

From : Kiran.KP" 1:43 pm (1 hour ago)

Dear Sir/Madam,

Greetings from Club Mahindra!!

Referral Scheme goes like this....

September Special Scheme !!

•

A 3-night stay for a couple in Malaysia with return airfare on 3 referral conversions

1st reference converted
&
2nd reference converted per conversion!!!

3rd reference converted per conversion!!!

I.e. if 3 reference convert as member's you get a total of Rs 25,000/-

so do let us know if you have any friends who:

· Love holidaying - this will help them save lots of money

· Dont holiday - this will make them holiday

· Are recently married - they can holiday in our romantic destinations, like Munnar, Kodai, Coorg etc

· Are Retired - Since they have worked so hard all their lives, they can now do some quality relaxing!

· Have kids - they can enjoy the activity filled vacations, & can spend fun filled time with their family @ our resorts

· Are abroad - they enjoy Global holidays @ Indian Rupees!!

· Are workaholics! - What more can force them to think about their personal lives!!

Kindly send us the details in this format.

Name:

Cell #

Email Id

Your Membership #

& weʼll explain all the details of the membership & the value to them, so that they also start holidaying with us!

This scheme ends on 28/09 /2007.
The referral benefit would be extended to you once your reference completes 15% of the product cost.

Warm Regards,

Kiran K P

Direct sales Manager

Mahindra Holidays & Resorts India Ltd, 18/4, 1st Floor, Saleh Centre Annex,

Cunningham Road, Bangalore-560052
______________________________________
______________________________________

Term and Conditions ..

I believe these terms and conditions will also be applicable to the people who getting Malaysia Package as part Membership purchase.

MALAYSIA PACKAGE

Duration :03 Nights / 04 Days Package for a couple

Destination :Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur & Genting Highland)

Validity :31^st March 2008 (Except Peak Time, Festive Period, F1 Race season etc.)

Package Includes

· Air Ticket for BOM / DEL / MAA / CCU – KUL - BOM / DEL / MAA / CCU in Economy Class Airlines Air India/ Indian

v For departures from Ahmedabad / Hyderabad / Banglore additional 1500/- per person has to be borne by the member.

· 02 Nights Accommodation at Hotel Pearl International / Citrus (or hotels of similar standard) on Bed & Breakfast Basis in Kuala Lumpur

· 01 Night accommodation at Hotel First World / Theme Park (or hotels of similar standard) on Bed & Breakfast Basis in Genting Highland

· Return Airport & Internal transfer, KLIA – KL HTL – GHD HTL - KLIA on Seat in Coach basis (SIC)

· Half Day City Tour of KL with Batu Caves

· Cable Car TKT & Entry TKT of Out Door Theme Park in Genting Highland

Package does not Include

v Airport Taxes, Visa Charges of Malaysia & ECNR (POE)

v Any Personal Nature Expenditure such as Mineral Water (Except above), Tea / Coffee in Room

v Any Meals does not specified or mentioned

v Any other Personal Nature Expenditure such as Rooms Service, Laundry, Telephone calls etc or any thing does not specified in Package

v Foreign Exchange (BTQ)

v Service Taxes

v Peak Time in Malaysia: 5th Nov - 15th Nov 2007 / 15th Dec - 15th Jan 2008 / F1 Car (Month of Apr, dates to be advice) / 25th Aug - 1st Sep 2008 (Malaysian Independence Day) / Any Major Conference / Convention (Dates to be advice) not included

v Malaysia Visa (Rs.1100/- Per Person) & POE / ECNR (Rs.500/- Per Person)

v Airport taxes would be approx Rs 4000-5000 per person

v It is a free holiday package for two people. Any additional pax (adult or children) or additional rooms will be chargeable.

TERMS & CONDITIONS

The Gift Voucher entitles the holder a 03 Nights / 04 Days Holiday Package inclusive of Airfare to Malaysia
Package includes Hotel stay & Airfare only. A minimum of 21 days advance notice is required for confirmation. All rooms / Air Ticket bookings are subject to availability
Utility charges of Rs.500/- Per Couple are payable for the booking. The original Gift Voucher will have to be submitted in exchange for collecting the confirmation voucher while booking the holiday. Once a confirmation voucher is issued against a particular request, no changes thereafter will be entertained
The Package is not valid for certain peak periods like such as New Year, X’Mas, Long Connecting Weekends, Festive Seasons, Formula-1 Racing etc
The bookings will not be accepted directly at the Hotels mentioned above. The contact details for reservations would be available in the gift voucher dispatched to the members
The Gift Vouchers are non-refundable, non-transferable, non-encashable, non-extendable and non-negotiable
The Hotel has a right to charge for additional facilities like additional bed, telephones, heaters, laundry and other leisure facilities. F&B taken in the hotel are to be paid directly at the hotel, before check out. Additional taxes if applicable are to be borne by the holder and paid directly at the Hotel
The complimentary offer can be utilized by the person to whom it is issued. The person asking for reservation and signing the booking form is responsible for his/her spouse in respect of giving acceptance to the terms and conditions mentioned above
This voucher does not include any other services or facility not mentioned herein
This holiday can be redeemed only once
The Company reserves the right to change the redemption hotels without any prior notice
The package is valid till 31^st March 2008
Terms & Conditions apply; this offer is subject to Surat Jurisdiction
If there is any cancellation of Package, cancellation will be applicable as mentioned below

100% Cancellation charges

______________________________________

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One of the Club Mahindra Promotion

2007-09-03T10:32:00.002+05:30

One of the Club Mahindra Promotion

This Add is from TOI Bangalore 2nd Sep 2007.

So what is this *Condition Applied?

Club Mahindra promotes its membership very vigorously. In back ground of this add there is equally intense promotion through existing customers with their referral program.

This is one mail we Club Mahindra members have received from local marketing office.
______________________________________
______________________________________

Dear Member,

Refer your friends and relatives to Club Mahindra and get entitled to HFRP benefit as-

And when you refer, your references will be entitled to

A trip for 3N/4 D including accommodation, food and airfare.

*HFRP is applicable on enrollments happening before 28^th Sept 2007.

**Malaysia tour is applicable on payment of 15 % membership cost realization for 1 BR White/Red season.

To know more details- Call 080-41159254.

To refer- reply to the above subject line with Referal’s name and contact number.

Warm regards,

Sheetal Goel.

Club Mahindra Holiday World

Leela Galleria, Bangalore

080-41159254
______________________________________
______________________________________

So now you know what are the condition, spend atleast ~2.5( White 1 Bed room membership) - 3.25 Lakh ( Red 1 Bed room membership).

Can some expert in marketing will be able to tell how much Club Mahindra must be spending in selling each membership?

Other related articles

Understanding Timeshare

2007-08-30T17:04:00.001+05:30

In stead of duplicating effort I will refer people to this article on The Hindu : Home truths about timeshare and then continue with this FAQ style article....

What are the accommodation type?

Timeshare properties are usually apartment style studio/one/two bedroom unit or a two/three or four-bedroom house. Usually these unit will include partially equipped kitchens (microwave/gas, toaster, utensils, juicer etc..) with a dining area, televisions, VCRs and more.

Do I will own share in resort when I buy Timeshare?

Many timeshare are getting sold with out property rights, means you do not own any thing there in such cases it is a contract of giving you accommodation for said period of time for stipulated years. So before buying you need to confirm about it.

Is my week a floating or a fixed week?

A fixed week purchase mean you will be entitled to take vacation in that particular week every year. Resort may provide facility to trade/exchange your week with other customer but in such system they will not guarantee about it.

In floating week system you are free to take vacation any time in your season. Your timeshare may provide you facility to split the week and take two or three vacation.

How many seasons one resort can have ?

Each week of a year is not equally in demand for holidaying, like summer weeks in hill station will have more demand for vacation. So each resort divide one year in to many seasons. Usually there are three season Red, White and Blue, Red being high season and Blue being low season.

Some timeshare properties may only have two or one season such properties are usually in business centers.

Club Mahindra has divided a year in to four seasons. It has purple season which is higher then Red season.

Can I split my week, I mean can I take a two day trip to a resort?

Not all timeshare properties allow splitting holidays. Resorts in Asia and Africa do usually have split holiday option. Holidays are usually split in to 3 night + 4 night units. In India some timeshare companies allow splitting a week in to minimum 2 night stay units.

When you are thinking of exchange holiday you may not be able to avail split holiday as per your own resorts rule.

What is exchange? How exchange works? What is exchange fee?

Timeshare companies are usually member of some resort consortium, These consortium provides a way for one resort members to avail holiday in other resorts. For you to avail holiday in another resort, you may have to deposit your holiday week to consortium along with some fee. Your deposited week will be utilized by the consortium to provide vacation to some other people in your resort.

What are the utility charges?

When you avail holiday on exchange or bonus week resort may charge guest some money as utility charges to cover electricity, water, gas and other expenses. Ask your home resort if they reimburse utility charges for holiday taken on exchange week.

What is RCI?

RCI is a resort consortium which facilitate holiday exchange for the customer of the affiliated resorts. Currently it has about 3700 affiliated timeshare resorts around the world.

Can my friends and relatives use my timeshare?

Timeshare companies ask you to purchase guest certificate before your friends and relatives can use your days. These certificate comes at cost.

What are the other charges? Annual Maintenance Charge?

In addition to one time purchase cost, you will also have to pay Annual Maintenance Charge. Charges will depend on your accommodation type. This charge will increase year to year depending some price indexes.

When you go to RCI resorts you may have to pay utility charges.

Is their any regulator to monitor the conduct of Timeshare companies?

These is not regulatory body in India to monitor conduct of timeshare companies.

Will my timeshare company be there for term of my vacation?

Read following news itemm from "The Hindu" news paper , what may happen to a timeshare company ..

Sterling timeshare owners' concern over losses

Sterling Holiday Resorts restructuring debt

I am not liking it, can I return my time share or sell it to some other customer?

Generally companies will not buy back timeshare sold to customer, but you should be able to sell your timeshare through different internet sites and travel publications. You should keep in mind these timeshare are not easy to resale, you may have to give good discount in order to sell it.

Do my timeshare company have enough capacity to provide accommodation to all the members?

A Good Blog - Articles on Finance, Investments, Insurance and Trading

2007-08-29T19:32:00.000+05:30

Shobhit is sharing his knowledge of Finance world to educate the common investors through his blog posts. Post are simple to understand and covers wide topics in investment.

Have a look .@ .. http://invest-n-trade.blogspot.com/

SEBI proposal on waiver of load for direct applications in Mutual Fund schemes

2007-08-29T18:44:00.000+05:30

Do you know what it about?
Do you know what you pay while investing in MF scheme ..
If you invest 1 Lakh ... You pay 2250 as entry Load.

Any way fund also charges management fee from scheme corpus as their commission/fund management charge, that is their legal profit source which is not very visible to normal investors.

I will be very happy if this proposal survive stiff opposition from Mutual Fund houses.

I want to list advantage adopting no load entry :

1) It will help people switching (penalise) under performing schemes.
2) It will promote brokers to provide 2.5% commission worth of services.
3) It will make Mutual Fund more favorable mode of investment.
4) It will improve productivity in distribution/advertising.
5) It will stop bulling behavior from Bank to their customer to buy MF schemes.

SEBI should also mandate any exit load collected should get part of scheme corpus, if there any disadvantage in investor switching quite often on market movement, it is the remaining customer who suffer not the mutual fund house.

SEBI is also asking comments from public upon their "Proposal on waiver of load for direct applications in Mutual Fund schemes". Which can be sent @ ruchic@sebi.gov.in. Last date of sending comments is - 12 Sep 2007. If you feel strong about it send a comment to SEBI now.