Timeshare companies sometimes get a bad rap as not being particularly customer centric. Many consumers associate them with high-pressure sales tactics meant to feed a volume business, rather than crafting hyper-personalized experiences that build loyalty. But Holiday Inn Club Vacations embraces a different philosophy.
Nicole Myers acknowledges the preconceptions people may have but, as vice president of customer experience for the brand, she leads a team devoted to elevating CX every day.
Florida-based Holiday Inn Club Vacations dates back to 1952 when the first Holiday Inn Hotel opened. It’s a resort, real estate, travel, and timeshare company that operates 30 resorts throughout the United States and Mexico and has more than 365,000 members and timeshare owners.
The company has always aimed to deliver great experiences for travelers, but CX efforts have really moved to the forefront since President and CEO John Staten joined the brand several years ago. Myers is the company’s first vice president of CX and has held the role for five years.
“On our strategy roadmap, the No. 1 strategy pillar is growing guest love,” Myers said. “We are customer obsessed. At every interaction point, everyone understands how their role impacts the customer.”
The brand’s leaders view CX as a differentiator in their industry. In 2024, the company was recognized by J.D. Power for the third consecutive year for providing outstanding customer service via phone support.
Timeshare owners – many of whom have longstanding relationships with the company – expect a bespoke experience each time they visit a resort or interact with the brand, Myers said, so customer satisfaction requires constant attention and innovation.
Always listening and learning
The brand strives to gauge customer sentiment as often as possible, which involves collecting and analyzing a lot of data, Myers said. The company collects feedback on timeshare villas, down to specific rooms, through customer surveys and in-depth interviews with owners and visitors during and after their stays.
When a particular villa or collection of rooms performs well, the brand wants to know why. Conversely, when certain ones have challenges – visitors complain about outdated TVs, for instance – customer feedback helps identify problems and inform decision making. All sites periodically undergo major renovations, and guest feedback always plays an important role in those decisions.
“We do lots of testing like that so we’re able to figure out where to best maximize investments,” Myers said.
Customers and members typically are very willing to share data with the company if they believe that doing so will result in a better experience, she said. Among timeshare owners, the company has a 96% response rate to interviews and 34% response rate to surveys.
“They’re invested with us,” Myers said of owners’ willingness to share their opinions. “This is a long-term purchase for them.”
She noted that Holiday Inn Club Vacations isn’t just “listening for listening’s sake;” it’s turning insights into actions.
“We find major touchpoints throughout our journey” she said, gathering feedback along the way.
Knowing customers’ habits and preferences well is essential to delivering a great experience, and collecting so many data points helps the company market certain offers and resort locations to customers, creating a more personalized experience.
“We know who you are and what you tend to like,” she said. “We listen, we learn. We really dig into the data.”
Investing in AI-powered CX
Digital transformation is another CX priority for the company as Holiday Inn Club Vacations adapts to meet changing customer preferences.
Historically, many customers preferred to speak with someone by phone when they had an inquiry, Myers said, but modern travelers want more options. The company plans to add email and live chat support channels based on customer feedback.
As the company continually seeks ways to improve CX, AI plays an increasingly important role in the contact center.
The brand uses conversational AI to listen to customer interactions. Not only does it uncover how customers are truly feeling during conversations, but it identifies associates’ strengths and weaknesses that can then be reinforced or addressed as needed, Myers said.
“The greatness about that tool is it uncovers real-time sentiment,” she said, adding it also helps with compliance requirements. “It’s an amazing tool that allows supervisors to listen in real time.”
Team leads have dashboards that give them quick, easy access to huge volumes of data. They can see how associates are performing and identify patterns, including cues of when customers are frustrated. Then they can use those insights to hyperfocus and accelerate coaching and make it much more effective.
AI tools also let supervisors watch many associates at once, which is especially helpful because many Holiday Inn Club Vacations associates work remotely, Myers said. The company employs a mix of remote and on-site contact center employees, and associates must earn their way to a remote position after they’ve been with the company long enough.
With AI, supervisors can maintain a holistic view of how associates are performing, regardless of where they’re located.
The brand also uses AI to analyze sentiment, themes, and topics during interactions, and to identify key drivers – which can vary at each of its 30 resorts. The resulting insights improve contact center operations and informs the company’s marketing efforts as well.
Not all associates were quick to embrace AI from the outset, Myers acknowledged. Some were hesitant, or even skeptical, and questioned how it would impact their day-to-day jobs. But they’ve seen firsthand how things like real-time prompts and agent-assist tools have made their work easier and improved employee experience.
“(AI) just makes everyone’s performance better,” she said. “They love it.”
Customer centered, future focused
There’s always more work to be done when it comes to improving customer experience, Myers said. Looking ahead, she expects AI to play a growing role in CX efforts. In particular, the company aims to collect more customer feedback and sentiment during interactions and to enhance its knowledgebase so associates have faster, easier access to the information they need.
Short-term plans include adding more self-service support options, such as chatbots, and expanding omnichannel offerings.
The company’s mission is to be the most loved brand in family travel. At the core of that mission, Myers said, is delivering the type of personalized, exceptional experiences that keep customers coming back – one stay at a time.
Photos courtesy of Holiday Inn Club Vacations
