Why qualified prospects decline timeshare sales presentations: a qualitative study

• Autor(a) principal: Johannsen, Ana Mafalda Gonçalves
• Data de Publicação: 2013
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10071/8104
• topic: Vacation ownership; Marketing; Qualified prospects; Off-premise contact

This dissertation is a qualitative study about why qualified prospects decline timeshare sales presentation even though they earn a small incentive for doing so. The Hoffman and Bateson’s decision process model is used as a broad theoretical framework. On this basis and the inputs of managers and off-premise contact (OPC) representatives of a Marketing company located in Orlando, Florida, USA, five main likely reasons are suggested for understanding prospect behavior. Families from different countries who declined the timeshare tour were interviewed in order to assess the rationale supporting their decision. After comparing the three perspectives (Managers, OPCs, and qualified prospects), it was found that past experience is the heaviest factor in the decision making process, since most of the families who decline the tour have had a bad experience in the past regarding the timeshare industry. This is in line with Hoffman and Bateson. Our findings provide fresh information about qualified prospects’ perspectives and renew the call for innovative practices regarding this segment of the vacation ownership industry. As it is a qualitative study implemented in Orlando area only, our results should be read as exploratory and uncritical generalization is not recommended. We outline avenues for further research that may consolidate this area of tourism and hospitality service marketing analysis.