Travel Expert Opinions Resorts 360 Vacation Club Scam Complaints

Another multi-level marketing (MLM) program has been launched. It’s called Resorts 360 Vacation club and bloggers were quick to tag it as a possible scam. Resorts 360 launches after big trouble at another travel MLM called YTB Travel, when California Attorney General Edmund Brown sued them for “operating a giant pyramid scheme.”

Travel and tourism generate more than 7 trillion dollars a year. It’s no surprise that home-based entrepreneurs want to take advantage of those gains. Some of the programs have been total scams. They have charged people thousands of dollars and delivered little to nothing when the true value of the so called products was looked at. Not all travel-from-home business opportunities are scams, some offer retail products with real value in the travel market.

Now that Resorts 360 has launched, many are asking if the program is another MLM scam or a real business. That is a fair question.

Sure, there are some problems with the Resorts 360 vacation club, but is it a scam? While the MLM company offers a real product, the Vacation Club membership they sell falls short when compared to the memberships provided by competitors in the home business arena. The Resorts 360 program offers access to fewer resorts and members pay more for week-long condo vacations than their competitors. It doesn’t make it a scam, but it puts those hoping to make money marketing Resorts 360 at a disadvantage.

Resorts 360 members get access to around 4,000 resorts, while one competitor says it has more than 5,000 and another advertises more than 5,400 resorts. Resorts 360 Vacation Club members are offered condo vacation weeks starting at $399. That’s about $100 more than one competitor and $250 more than another. A member who takes only two weeks of vacation a year can spend an additional $500 a year with the new MLM Vacation Club. Over a ten-year period, that’s $5,000 more.

With fewer options and more expensive vacation weeks, you’d think Resorts 360 could at least claim a price advantage in the marketplace, but that’s not the case. While its competitors sell memberships with lifetime benefits (100 years), the longest membership available through Resorts 360 is just one year.

Over a ten-year period, vacation club benefits with Resorts 360 would cost $2,639 if renewed each year at the current rate and $5,616 if paid at the current monthly rate. Lifetime memberships with its competition are $2,995 and $1,998. That means for $641 less, consumers can have access to over 1,400 more resorts, save $250 each on their lowest condo vacation prices, and still have another 90 years of membership benefits to enjoy or sell and transfer to someone else.

Offering an inferior product and charging higher prices does not make Resorts 360 Vacation Club a scam. As with any other purchase, the buyer should be vigilant and compare their options.

While the product is the product, many people just buy whatever product it is to start a home-based travel business and hope to start making money from home. The question is, can those hopeful internet millionaires really make money with Resorts 360?

Those looking to make money from home shouldn’t pay too much attention to Resorts 360. Marketing experts say the drawbacks they face with their product will virtually eliminate the appeal of their target retail market of travelers. Its higher prices will definitely not win over those who take the time to shop around. The maximum commissions earned are only $200 compared to both competitors paying $1000.

Resorts 360 promises residual income as memberships are renewed and monthly program payments are received. That seems highly unlikely, however. With other MLM programs that require people to renew, over 95% of members unsubscribe and don’t renew. That’s because those people joined just to make money and when they don’t see profit, they move on.

As you can imagine, it could be very difficult to make a profit with Resorts 360. It costs about the same marketing dollars to make a profit of $200 as it does to make a profit of $1000. Some sales will be made, but how many marketing dollars will be spent to earn the low commissions? If it costs a member more than $40 to get someone to buy, that could put that member in the red and they also can’t plan to make up for that with renewals or passive MLM commissions. A new member will probably have to sign up 100+ people, just to get about five actively working in the business and making some profit.

While Resorts 360 is not a total scam, it is obvious that they have painted a much rosier picture than the MLM story suggests. Those looking for a quality vacation club membership will find more benefits and stronger memberships elsewhere. Those looking for a home business will also find better options with better vacation clubs and higher commissions. One competitor accepts credit cards for their lifetime membership and even offers payment plans with just $198 to start.