LAS VEGAS, 2014-04-7 — /Travel PR News/ — RCI, the global leader in vacation exchange and part of the Wyndham Worldwide (NYSE: WYN) family of brands, debuted the RCI® Online Points Conversion Tool, the industry’s first web-based points conversion platform of its kind, today at the ARDA World 2014 Convention & Expo. This powerful marketing tool gives affiliates a simple and efficient way to demonstrate to owners the benefits of upgrading to RCI Points® membership.
The RCI Online Points Conversion Tool is a welcome alternative to the timely and costly in-person sales and phone call strategies typically employed for Points conversion. Through the RCI Online Points Conversion Tool, affiliates can quickly and easily execute campaigns that present owners with easy-to-understand information on the benefits of converting to a Points-based program. The platform also allows owners to digest the content at their leisure in the comfort of their own home, likely making them more open-minded to an upgrade purchase than they might be on a sales call or an on-site demonstration during their vacation.
“Converting to RCI Points® membership is truly a win-win situation. It gives owners more freedom and flexibility to plan their vacations and provides additional revenue opportunity for affiliates,” said Gordon Gurnik, president of RCI. “Historically, converting owners from RCI Weeks® to Points has been an expensive and time-consuming process. The new RCI Online Points Conversion Tool is the latest example of our commitment to providing our affiliates with some of the best sales tools in the industry.”
The RCI Online Points Conversion Tool empowers affiliates who wish to convert their owners to RCI Points to be able to clearly demonstrate all the benefits of the RCI Points program. Owners are presented with real-life vacation scenarios customized to the approximate Points allocation they would receive. Through the platform, owners can also learn about various options to help them grasp just how flexible Points-based ownership really is, such as using Points for multiple short stays, borrowing Points from a future year, rolling Points over or using Points for travel extras like car rentals.
Affiliates also have the flexibility to deliver targeted marketing to individual owners through the tool by identifying owner segments including inactive owners, tenured owners, or those visiting during a certain time period, and then customize the content and messaging to appeal to that specific audience.
To use the platform, affiliates send personalized email invitations to targeted owners. Once the owner clicks the custom URL contained in the email, they are connected to the platform and presented with a co-branded website specially tailored to their membership. Using images, personalized content, videos, interactive quizzes and animation, the self-guided experience engages and excites owners while building brand recognition for the resort.
“The RCI Online Points Conversion Tool is a highly valuable tool when it comes to presenting the benefits of the RCI Points program in a transparent manner that is customized to the owner’s vacation profile,” said Carl Hardin, COO of Somerpointe Resorts. “We spent the better part of the last two years getting the word out about the RCI Points program, and there has been an overwhelming acceptance of the product. With the new platform, it’s now easier and more cost-effective than ever to inform all our owners of the benefits of RCI Points.”
For ease of management, RCI has also invested in a custom-built content management system. The content management component of the RCI Online Points Conversion Tool gives affiliates the ability to adjust live content in real time and instantly preview what any specific audience segment will see when visiting the site.
About RCI
RCI is the worldwide leader in vacation exchange with nearly 4,500 affiliated resorts in more than 100 countries. RCI pioneered the concept of vacation exchange in 1974, offering members increased flexibility and versatility with their vacation ownership experience. Today, through the RCI Weeks® program, the week-for-week exchange system, and the RCI Points® program, the industry’s first global points-based exchange system, RCI provides flexible vacation options to its approximately 3.7 million RCI subscribing members each year. RCI’s luxury exchange program, The Registry Collection®,is the world’s largest program of its kind with approximately 200 affiliated properties either accessible for exchange or under development on six continents.RCI is part of Wyndham Exchange & Rentals and the Wyndham Worldwide family of brands (NYSE: WYN). For additional information visit our media center, rciaffiliates.com or The RCI Blog. RCI also can be found on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.
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MEDIA CONTACTS:
RCI
Steven Alessandrini
(973) 753-8278
Steven.Alessandrini@rci.com
RCI
Catherine Reynolds
(973) 752-4662
Catherine.Reynolds@rci.com