The business was started from scratch in 2000. Company founders built their own live rental booking engine software to accommodate both owners and general public guests.
Today, ResorTime.com is a leader in renting vacation rentals and vacant inventory at timeshare resorts and hotels. They provide nightly and weekly rentals at over 300 properties, special owner rates to timeshare owners of affiliated properties as well as providing rentals to the general public. Resortime.com has over a million affiliated members! Membership is free but can be upgraded for additional discounts at a nominal annual fee.
Executive's name: Sherri Weeks
Title: General Manager
Company name: ResorTime.com
Address: 5900 Pasteur Court Suite 105
Phone: (877) 477-7368
Web site: www.ResorTime.com
Founded: 2000
Prior experience: I started at the Carlsbad Inn front desk in 1987. Over the next several years I handled a variety of Customer Service areas and eventually transitioned to managing the Owner Services department for Grand Pacific Resorts where I worked developing timeshare education programs for both owners and employees. I started working on ResorTime while growing the Owners Services department until eventually launching ResorTime.com off into its own business in 2000.
Source of starting capital: We took out a small loan for $80K to buy the necessary equipment and build the software to launch our interactive Web site with on line live booking capability. Since we maintained a profit each year, David Brown and Tim Stripe, owners of ResorTime.com and Grand Pacific Resorts, allowed us to use a portion of our profits to continue growing the business. ResorTime.com has generated over five million dollars in rental income for our Resort Affiliates located in over 20 states, growing over 250% since 2003.
Average hours worked weekly: Approximately 50 now that I have a staff! In the first few years it was more like 60-70.
Number of teammates: There are26 staff members dedicated completely to ResorTime.com. We are fortunate to be able to utilize some of the Management Services provided by Grand Pacific Resorts such as Accounting and IT.
Residence: Vista
Family: Single, owner of beautiful Labrador "Buddy"
Hobbies: Traveling, San Diego Charger Games (both home and away), decorating my home, just joined the new Pure Fitness in Carlsbad with hopes to make that a hobby! Is going to day spas a hobby? If so, then yes, definitely day spas!
What got you into this business? Working in the various areas of the timeshare business for Grand Pacific Resorts, I saw the need for timeshare owners to get more use of their ownership while at the same time helping the resorts to generate revenue. It was a perfect fit.
What makes your business a standout? Renting timeshare to both timeshare owners and the general public by the night, no strings attached! In the timeshare industry we are the only nationwide "bonus time" network. We also rent to the general public providing a great value for their vacation dollar.
Drawbacks to your line of business: Misconceptions about timeshare. Millions of families own and love timeshares. We serve both owners and non owners and have to have a stronger message than the average site selling hotel rooms.
Another drawback is timeshare resort availability is not like that of a hotel. Hotels know how many units they will have available for any given day. Timeshare resorts really have to work hard at yield management to project availability with a hand full of nights being available at any given time.
Why is your company located in Carlsbad? Wouldn't want to be anywhere else! We are fortunate to have Grand Pacific Resorts behind us. As the oldest and largest timeshare developers based in California, we are lucky to have started out here in Carlsbad. The opportunity for us to generate rentals into Carlsbad is a big part of what got us off the ground. What a great city to market!
How do you plan to grow? A combination of new features, technology and travelers appreciation for value will help us acquire a larger market share. We are also focusing on providing more targeted offers for our existing customers, as well as adding more quality resort properties to our network.
Toughest career decision: I really think breaking off of Grand Pacific Resorts when we launched ResorTime.com. Dot com's were not very popular back then, and while I never showed any doubt on the outside that it would succeed, it was tough getting through the first couple of years as we were really trailblazing into unknown territory. It was exciting, but tough!
Ongoing challenges: Technology is the fastest changing element of an online business. You can build a great interactive Web site but you are never "done." It is an ongoing process and you must continue to come up with better functionality and more attractive features than your competitors.
Best way to stay competitive: Customer Service has to be on your radar at all times! With most businesses, there is always another company nipping at your heels trying to do it better.
In five years, where would you like your business to be? We would like to have the largest market share of travelers looking to rent timeshare. We are not interested in having every hotel and resort property out there. Our niche is timeshare resorts and specialty hotels offering similar size accommodations that will provide excellent service and great value.
What does your company contribute to the Carlsbad community? We sponsor several local kids' athletic teams and provide support to some of the local charity organizations.
What are your guiding principles? Integrity has to always come first. A great cohesive staff is crucial. You can have the brightest person in the world work for you but if they do not work as a team they are not necessarily going to be an asset. I like to give opportunities to those that I see something special in, just as was done for me.
What's one thing other people do not know about you? I really want to help build a house with Habitat for Humanity!
What would you change if you could do it all over again? I would have found a way to get people with appropriate expertise to help me sooner rather than trying to do everything ourselves. Building a business takes more than just motivation, you really need to be humble and ask for help!
Choice for a second career: I would like to have a business catering to elderly people who can't get drive any longer and help them gain some independence. My grandmother couldn't drive for the last few years of her life and it was very difficult for her to lose her independence.
People you look up to and why: My father who taught me to always work hard, my brother who has taught me to see what is important in life and my mother who supports who I am unconditionally.
Favorite movie: American President
Favorite quote: "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead" Admiral David Farragut, Mobile Bay 1863
Advice for new entrepreneurs: It will not be as easy as you think it will be! Surround yourself with people who have great knowledge in the key areas of your business. You will get to your desired results a lot quicker and save yourself a lot of sleepless nights!
Today, ResorTime.com is a leader in renting vacation rentals and vacant inventory at timeshare resorts and hotels. They provide nightly and weekly rentals at over 300 properties, special owner rates to timeshare owners of affiliated properties as well as providing rentals to the general public. Resortime.com has over a million affiliated members! Membership is free but can be upgraded for additional discounts at a nominal annual fee.
Executive's name: Sherri Weeks
Title: General Manager
Company name: ResorTime.com
Address: 5900 Pasteur Court Suite 105
Phone: (877) 477-7368
Web site: www.ResorTime.com
Founded: 2000
Prior experience: I started at the Carlsbad Inn front desk in 1987. Over the next several years I handled a variety of Customer Service areas and eventually transitioned to managing the Owner Services department for Grand Pacific Resorts where I worked developing timeshare education programs for both owners and employees. I started working on ResorTime while growing the Owners Services department until eventually launching ResorTime.com off into its own business in 2000.
Source of starting capital: We took out a small loan for $80K to buy the necessary equipment and build the software to launch our interactive Web site with on line live booking capability. Since we maintained a profit each year, David Brown and Tim Stripe, owners of ResorTime.com and Grand Pacific Resorts, allowed us to use a portion of our profits to continue growing the business. ResorTime.com has generated over five million dollars in rental income for our Resort Affiliates located in over 20 states, growing over 250% since 2003.
Average hours worked weekly: Approximately 50 now that I have a staff! In the first few years it was more like 60-70.
Number of teammates: There are26 staff members dedicated completely to ResorTime.com. We are fortunate to be able to utilize some of the Management Services provided by Grand Pacific Resorts such as Accounting and IT.
Residence: Vista
Family: Single, owner of beautiful Labrador "Buddy"
Hobbies: Traveling, San Diego Charger Games (both home and away), decorating my home, just joined the new Pure Fitness in Carlsbad with hopes to make that a hobby! Is going to day spas a hobby? If so, then yes, definitely day spas!
What got you into this business? Working in the various areas of the timeshare business for Grand Pacific Resorts, I saw the need for timeshare owners to get more use of their ownership while at the same time helping the resorts to generate revenue. It was a perfect fit.
What makes your business a standout? Renting timeshare to both timeshare owners and the general public by the night, no strings attached! In the timeshare industry we are the only nationwide "bonus time" network. We also rent to the general public providing a great value for their vacation dollar.
Drawbacks to your line of business: Misconceptions about timeshare. Millions of families own and love timeshares. We serve both owners and non owners and have to have a stronger message than the average site selling hotel rooms.
Another drawback is timeshare resort availability is not like that of a hotel. Hotels know how many units they will have available for any given day. Timeshare resorts really have to work hard at yield management to project availability with a hand full of nights being available at any given time.
Why is your company located in Carlsbad? Wouldn't want to be anywhere else! We are fortunate to have Grand Pacific Resorts behind us. As the oldest and largest timeshare developers based in California, we are lucky to have started out here in Carlsbad. The opportunity for us to generate rentals into Carlsbad is a big part of what got us off the ground. What a great city to market!
How do you plan to grow? A combination of new features, technology and travelers appreciation for value will help us acquire a larger market share. We are also focusing on providing more targeted offers for our existing customers, as well as adding more quality resort properties to our network.
Toughest career decision: I really think breaking off of Grand Pacific Resorts when we launched ResorTime.com. Dot com's were not very popular back then, and while I never showed any doubt on the outside that it would succeed, it was tough getting through the first couple of years as we were really trailblazing into unknown territory. It was exciting, but tough!
Ongoing challenges: Technology is the fastest changing element of an online business. You can build a great interactive Web site but you are never "done." It is an ongoing process and you must continue to come up with better functionality and more attractive features than your competitors.
Best way to stay competitive: Customer Service has to be on your radar at all times! With most businesses, there is always another company nipping at your heels trying to do it better.
In five years, where would you like your business to be? We would like to have the largest market share of travelers looking to rent timeshare. We are not interested in having every hotel and resort property out there. Our niche is timeshare resorts and specialty hotels offering similar size accommodations that will provide excellent service and great value.
What does your company contribute to the Carlsbad community? We sponsor several local kids' athletic teams and provide support to some of the local charity organizations.
What are your guiding principles? Integrity has to always come first. A great cohesive staff is crucial. You can have the brightest person in the world work for you but if they do not work as a team they are not necessarily going to be an asset. I like to give opportunities to those that I see something special in, just as was done for me.
What's one thing other people do not know about you? I really want to help build a house with Habitat for Humanity!
What would you change if you could do it all over again? I would have found a way to get people with appropriate expertise to help me sooner rather than trying to do everything ourselves. Building a business takes more than just motivation, you really need to be humble and ask for help!
Choice for a second career: I would like to have a business catering to elderly people who can't get drive any longer and help them gain some independence. My grandmother couldn't drive for the last few years of her life and it was very difficult for her to lose her independence.
People you look up to and why: My father who taught me to always work hard, my brother who has taught me to see what is important in life and my mother who supports who I am unconditionally.
Favorite movie: American President
Favorite quote: "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead" Admiral David Farragut, Mobile Bay 1863
Advice for new entrepreneurs: It will not be as easy as you think it will be! Surround yourself with people who have great knowledge in the key areas of your business. You will get to your desired results a lot quicker and save yourself a lot of sleepless nights!