Back in the late 70’s and 80’s timeshare was still seen as quite an elitist product to own. Not many families took regular holidays the way they do now, so if someone said they owned a “property” (timeshare) in the sun the response would be a reassuring nod and an impressed raise of the eyebrow. Now if people dare to admit they own a timeshare the raised eyebrow response is more of surprise and sympathy. Even people who haven’t had personal experience of timeshare ownership know the heart ache and difficulties that are faced.
Taking a holiday in 2016 has never been so easy. There are so many comparison websites that the consumer has the buying power to play one provider with the next and get rock bottom prices along with free upgrades and other special incentives. Even if you aren’t one of those people who wants to spend time haggling the price down the freedom of choice and great value holidays are just a click or phone call away.
This begs the question – What is the point in owning a timeshare?
You’re a creature of comfort and like to know the resort you will be returning on year on year?
Once upon a time this could be said, but with less and less of the annual maintenance fees actually being spent on maintenance few holiday makers want to actually return to the tired, run-down resorts. Reading forum posts and members pages on social media the biggest bug bear is how owners get treated in their own resorts. They have already been snagged, so things like “free wifi” or “free towels” are often given to the “fresh blood” coming on the promotional holiday or that have been able to book the week through Groupon type websites or cheap rental sites like booking.com, at a fraction of the actual maintenance cost for that week, just so they get a great first impression of what it would be like to own and holiday in that resort year in and year out.
You purchased a fabulously situated unit right by the pool?
Many resorts are forcing their fixed week timeshare owners into floating weeks, this isn’t even a certainty. Silverpoint have been the most recently mentioned company that have forced owners not only into floating weeks at Palm Beach Club and Beverly Hills Club in Tenerfie, but out of their home resorts completely so they can get some quick cash flow by selling the resort as fractional ownerships or renting out the resort as a hotel. This means people who have owned there for 20-years plus, now have to request their original unit up to 2 years in advance, but it seems they aren’t even getting their desired resort and week in the same unit size, let alone their specific unit number (but more on this story another day!)
You can exchange within your resort group or with RCI?
Another disappointing situation we hear where the overpromise of how the exchanges work never lives up to the reality. People are forced to take what is available rather than what they originally requested. Is this a case of too many people banking lower exchange value weeks in the hope to exchange to the more luxurious resorts or destinations, only to find there is nothing available? Is this a honest flaw in the exchange systems or a cunning ploy for people to pay their maintenance and then forgo any exchange as the banked weeks are lost after 2 years if they haven’t been used? People are then forced to shut up and take a second rate exchange or lose the weeks entirely.
There are so many other ways to holiday these days that timeshare does not seem cost effective or flexible enough to keep up with the package holiday providers or online travel agents out there.
Timeshare is the dinosaur that won’t adapt and evolve and we all know what happened to the dinosaur!
For more information regarding this article or assistance in any other timeshare related issues please contact the TCA on 01908 881058 or email: info@TimeshareConsumerAssociation.org.uk