When timeshare was first conceived, not only did it offer a much higher standard of holiday accommodation but also one of the major selling points was exclusivity. In order to benefit from both advantages there was an expectation that a not inconsiderable sum would have to be paid for membership of such elite establishments. Furthermore, in order to keep up the “luxury” at the resorts an annual fee would need to be paid, all good so far.
During the 80s, 90s and to a certain extent the noughties all boded well with perhaps the only grey cloud being the continual rise in the contractual annual maintenance fee, but this was all set to change.
Coming off the rails
Like most things in life change is one of the largest common factors that influence decisions. The holiday industry has changed beyond all recognition since the invention of the internet. The high street travel agents are a dying breed. The TV holiday adverts that took over every advertising slot on Boxing Day and throughout January, all placed by a plethora of package tour companies, gone, as are the majority of package tour operators themselves.
The internet has opened the whole planet up to the holidaymaker, add to that, flights, car hire and excursions that are only a few clicks away, it becomes easy to see that the holiday of yesteryear is not the holiday of today. Older readers may remember airlines such Air 2000, Court Line, Thomas Cook and Monarch, all owned by package tour operators and all gone replaced by the likes of Easy Jet and Ryanair. So how does this potted history affect timeshare? Let’s investigate.
Timeshare, a seed change
Whilst the base product has received a few tweaks over the years it has remained basically the same but has lost a number of past benefits, furthermore, it has become prohibitively expensive. The age demographic median for current timeshare ownership is around 58 and is showing no signs of lowering. It’s true to say that the younger holidaymaker is simply not interested in timeshare from an ownership point of view, but could well be interested in staying in a timeshare resort for a holiday.
The timeshare industry has recognised this, the corollary of which is that mere mortals can now book and stay in virtually every timeshare resort on the planet and have no need to pay a vast sum up front to buy in and don’t have to shell out a large sum each year in maintenance fees. So one of the most powerful reasons for once buying a timeshare, exclusivity, has all but gone.
Replacing income from declining sales
Whilst there may be a general disapproval of timeshare owners allowing non owners to use their once exclusive facilities, from a developer point of view, if new sales have dried up, then allowing the world and his wife in to book holidays makes sound financial sense. Recently we reported that Club la Costa (CLC) has stopped selling new ownerships and closed their sales division entirely. However in the quest to fill the void left by no new sales, CLC has joined forces with Wyndham to mop up excess availability. Needless to say this has not gone down too well with individuals who have paid thousands for the privilege of being an owner.
CLC owners have two main Facebook groups, CLC World Friends and CLC World Friends United. Thousands of members post daily about their experiences of holidays at CLC resorts. We recently followed a thread on one of the groups that would appear to echo the points we have raised above, as you can see, the thread is only around two weeks old at the time of writing:
Recently, Roy Peires, owner of CLC published an interview with Jenny Bond former BBC Royal Correspondent where he did mention the creation of member lounges; this is commented on in the thread above. Is sitting in a nice lounge the only way to get away from, and we quote;
“A couple of large groups of rowdy teenagers”
We think not, especially as one commentator seems to imply that non owners are getting into members lounge. Anyway, does a members lounge compensate for the loss of exclusivity? We doubt many owners/members would agree.
The final analysis
The first thing to say is you can’t turn back the clock. As stated earlier, virtually every timeshare resort is now bookable either directly or through one of the online booking platform. As an owner or member you will just have to accept that “outsiders” will abound in your resort, that is on the assumption that you can obtain the availability to even visit your resort. Most developers have switched over to the points system which already causes a log jam in bookings, now with bookings available to all and sundry, this can only get worse.
If there is one positive, it may be that the income generated from non member sales is at least keeping the developer afloat, bearing in mind that new sales are at a low ebb. Several resorts in Spain have closed their doors for good so all member benefits have been lost, at least with a positive cash flow this event may be avoided.
We already know that timeshare has little or no residual value, despite the thousands paid to get in. Removing exclusivity has the effect of removing any possible resale value there may have been. Why would anyone in their right mind pay a not inconsiderable sum then contract for years of ongoing fees when a few clicks on the internet and you’re booked in to the very same resort.
Referring to one comment from the CLC thread above, if the loss of exclusivity means sharing your holiday with every “Tom, Dick and Harry” then you’ll just have to put up with it because it’s not going to change.
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