CANCEL TIMESHARE'S CHALLENGE
Cancel Timeshare was growing rapidly. They needed a tool to analyze data from Stripe, manage dunning, and consolidate customer information.
SOLUTION
They signed up for a free trial of Baremetrics. Right away, its tools gave smarter insights about their Stripe data, automated their dunning campaigns, and organized customer information for efficient use.
RESULTS
Within just one month of using Baremetrics, Cancel Timeshare has saved hours of manual entry, recovered over $680 in failed payments, and supported their customer service goals.
Cancel Timeshare is a Myrtle Beach based company with a mission to help people regain financial freedom when they want to leave a timeshare. They guide timeshare owners through the timeshare exit process with transparent service and fair pricing.
Since launching in January 2020, Cancel Timeshare has helped return over 4 million dollars to its clients. Their team uses Baremetrics to keep track of important business metrics like MRR, stay on top of failed payments, and organize customer information.
Cancel Timeshare offers two services: Timeshare Exit (for people who are leaving timeshares that are already paid off) and Timeshare Mortgage Intervention (for people with timeshares that are currently being financed). The Cancel Timeshare online site and mobile app allows clients to easily submit documents, as well as keep track of their case’s progress.
With over 10 years experience of helping people exit timeshares, Cancel Timeshare drives proven results in an industry fraught with scams and dishonest practices.
Baremetrics chatted with Cancel Timeshare President Charles Howard to learn more about how they use Baremetrics to integrate Stripe data, recover failed payments, and provide top-notch customer service.
A timeshare is an ownership model for vacation real estate. Instead of a singular owner, timeshares involve multiple people owning allotted usage at the same property, usually in 1-week increments.
Timeshares are appealing for several reasons. Unlike a traditional vacation home which may sit vacant for most of the year, timeshare owners pay less to use only their allotted time at destinations where ownership may otherwise be inaccessible.
If it sounds like a great deal, you’re not alone in thinking so. According to the American Resort Development Association, over 9.9 million American households owned at least one timeshare in 2020.
Timeshare companies advertise timeshares as investments with long-term value for people and their families. After all, who wouldn’t want guaranteed vacations at some of the most beautiful places in the world?
The reality is that many timeshare companies use dishonest practices to trap people into costly agreements. These practices include high-pressure sales presentations, blatant lies about usage rights, and high-interest loan payments.
These agreements have devastating consequences for owners. For example, if someone is unable to pay the hefty fees, a timeshare company could foreclose on the property and cause serious damage to the owner’s credit.
Should an owner wish to cancel their timeshare, they are at risk of being taken advantage of by the reseller industry. In most situations, reseller companies will help the owner cancel, but at the cost of thousands of dollars-- sometimes double the worth of the timeshare.
In the worst cases, fraudulent reseller companies will prey on vulnerable owners. One such company may lie to earn the owner’s trust, collect a payment for “selling” the property to buyers, claim the buyers backed out of the deal, then disappear with the money.
Recognizing the need for trustworthy service in the timeshare exit industry, Howard and his team started Cancel Timeshare to assist victims of these predatory practices.
Howard’s clients are timeshare owners who want to exit their timeshare as quickly and as cost effectively as possible. They need guidance because timeshare contracts are complex and often sold fraudulently.
To address this need, Cancel Timeshare works directly with timeshare companies to facilitate an owner’s release from their contract. They are the only timeshare exit company to display their pricing online, and use a subscription model to allow clients to pay for the service through monthly payments.
To further support transparent communication, Cancel Timeshare clients are able to view the status of their case at any time through the Cancel Timeshare’s mobile app, which Howard built using Stacker.
Stacker’s platform allows anyone to create beautiful and functional apps from spreadsheet data. Its freemium model allows small businesses like Cancel Timeshare to build the apps they need without hiring engineering talent.
Within a year, Cancel Timeshare was growing fast. To stay on top of everything, Howard needed to:
Around this time, Howard discovered Baremetrics. Although he had tried other analytics tools, Howard immediately saw the value in Baremetrics’ integration with Stripe, the Recover feature for automated dunning, and the People Insights feature to support top-notch customer service.
Although Stripe’s platform comes with some analytics features, they can be difficult to navigate for those who aren’t developers. As a result, Howard and his team were manually keeping track of revenue in several different apps and spreadsheets.
Tracking payments across 4 different apps led to inaccurate data and wasted time.
Manually updating documents is unsustainable and unreliable for a growing company.
After integrating their Stripe account with Baremetrics, the process was immediately automated and gave the team predictable insights for their recurring revenue.
Failed charges are inevitable for subscription businesses. Whether the reason is an expired credit card, insufficient funds, or outdated billing info, subscription businesses lose around 9% of their monthly recurring revenue (MRR) due to failed payments.
Recover by Baremetrics helps bring that money back with a variety of tools such as customizable email campaigns, in-app reminders and paywalls, and credit card capture forms.
Cancel Timeshare started using Recover in March 2021. In just one month, the tool has saved the small business over $686.11 in revenue.
“Within the first month of using Recover, it more than paid for itself,” says Howard. “It’s definitely impressive.”
Howard also noted the importance of how they address payment issues with clients.
Considering the financial hardship that many Cancel Timeshare users have faced, money issues can understandably be a sensitive subject. Therefore, personalized messaging goes a long way.
As a small business, it’s especially important for Howard and his team to provide excellent customer service. Smart tools like Baremetrics’ People Insights make it easy.
Cancel Timeshare uses People Insights to access detailed information about every client. This includes a timeline of their Cancel Timeshare subscription, which allows his team to answer questions efficiently.
The Customer tab also allows Howard and his team to manually adjust payments and subscription settings. For example, if a client is unable to pay over 12 months, then Howard and his team will access the client’s Customer profile and extend the subscription to 18 months or 24 months.
In just one year, Cancel Timeshare has helped over 169 clients exit their timeshares and regain financial stability.
The company’s next step is to help people repair their damaged credit, an unfortunate outcome of buying, financing, and getting rid of timeshares. To fulfill this mission, Cancel Timeshare recently acquired Credit Renew and are currently building upon its existing credit repair platform.
“We're applying the lessons we learned about customer success and customer engagement with Cancel Timeshare to Credit Renew,” said Howard.
“We believe that when you do the right thing, offer a great service, and make it affordable, your business will do well.”
Be sure to check out Cancel Timeshare’s blog. There's tons of helpful advice for navigating the timeshare industry.
Cancel Timeshare is one of 900+ subscription-based companies using Baremetrics to understand key metrics and accelerate growth.