To say our enquiry line has been busy with phone calls from angry Seasons Holiday owners would probably be an understatement. The problems started when many Seasons owners received a “happy Christmas” email from Sharon Kinsella a Director of Seasons. It would appear that the email dated 22nd December caused confusion, so a further email below was sent to clarify:
“Dear Member
We have been asked to provide a little more detail to our 22 December email.
We presumed all our Members were aware that Core accommodation is the accommodation that does not belong to Loyalty Nights, a Keys package, Lake Collection, Park Collection or The Garden Collection; at The Dylan Coastal resort, the Core accommodation is the Pembroke Lodges.
26 Share and 13 Share Membership types were sold in the Pembroke lodges; therefore, the Pembroke lodges need to be made available for sale to fulfil the packages that were purchased.
If you are not a Member of Loyalty Nights, a Keys package (not a Share), a Lake Collection, a Park Collection or The Garden Collection. Unfortunately, we can no longer accommodate you at The Dylan Coastal resort.
Being a small, family-run business, we take particular pride in ensuring that all of our accommodation meets our exacting standards. We have carried this with us since our first resort, and it now applies to all eleven of our resorts, including the most recent acquisitions at Slaley Hall and Belton Woods.
Our Members come first, which is why we have sometimes helped during hardship, and during covid, we also ensured that all Members were offered complimentary replacement holidays for any lost.
We appreciate that this step may be disappointing for some Members, but we trust you understand why it is necessary. There are, of course, numerous opportunities to explore any and all of our other resorts, and we look forward to welcoming you in 2023.
Alternatively, there are also opportunities to explore our other Memberships.
A number of you have already made appointments with our Owners Team; however, we will also be happy to appoint you whilst you are holidaying at a resort, or we can offer some evening Zoom appointments.
Please email theownersteam@seasonsholidays.com to request this.
As mentioned, all bookings already made will be honoured.
Thank you for your understanding, and we cannot wait to see you in 2023.
Kind regards
Sharon”
The rule change that has upset existing owners is the fact that they are now effectively barred from booking or holidaying at Dylan Coastal Resort Laugharne Park, Laugharne. Not content with complaining to TCA, many have voiced their opinion via Trust Pilot, the corollary of which is that Seasons Trust Pilot rating has been severely affected:
Why did this happen?
In reality no one can be certain but there are definitely factors surrounding Seasons that may have some bearing. As we have stated on a number of occasions, UK timeshare sales to new owners is virtually nonexistent nowadays. Given that the lion share of immediate corporate cash flow for timeshare developers is created by new sales, if these dry up new methods to fill the void need to be considered. We reported recently on the financial plight of UK timeshare developers and the picture we painted certainly wasn’t rosy.
In common with developers globally, Seasons offer their resorts for non members to book holidays. In 2015 Sharon Hurley (aka Kinsella) created Luxury Lodges. This company offers access to 4 of the Seasons resorts being Whitebarrow, Dylan Coastal Resort, Bude Coastal Resort and Clowance in Cornwall.
Not only may non members reserve accommodation at the various resorts but also there is a real estate department where lodges may be purchased outright.
When timeshare developers allow external bookings and also put the family silver up for sale, naturally this will be to the detriment of existing timeshare owners, for these reasons and others it becomes clearer to understand why Seasons have taken the steps outlined in their communications.
Right or wrong?
This is a difficult question to answer. From the point of view of the timeshare owner, the answer is clear “wrong”. Ethically and morally we can understand that, is it legal should be the real question. In answer to that, we don’t know but can only assume that the directorate at Seasons have taken extensive legal advice. Businesses have a duty of care to their customers and of course the primary one is to avoid financial difficulties that could result in the closure of the whole shooting match. In an extract from the last financial statement the following comment was made:
“Our Customers
Our customers have often made a substantial financial commitment whilst purchasing their Seasons product, be it a Loyalty Night, a fractional or whole ownership. This will probably amount to one of the biggest financial decisions they will make and, as such, we recognise the importance of their views in decision making across the business at all levels. Similarly, we recognise that our rental customers have also made a substantial financial commitment when booking their holiday, and we encourage their feedback through exit surveys and online review platform”
The problem with this statement is twofold, first when Seasons make a decision they rarely recognise the views of their customers and secondly, from the current online feedback, the customer reviews are far from good.
In a further comment from Mudd LLP the corporate accountants for Seasons in the year end 31st December 2020 accounts it stated:
“Revenue is generated from the sale of holiday lodges, accommodation hire, and management fees. The operating loss of the Group is £3.2m (2019: profit £0.4m).”
Neither the 2021 or 2022 accounts are available at the time of writing. A £3,200,000 operating loss needs thinking outside the box indeed to shore up.
The future
Moving away from Seasons and taking an industry wide view, the timeshare product is outmoded and out dated. Thinking outside the box is becoming more important as each and month and year passes. To keep companies afloat needs a rethink of the overall business model. Unfortunately if the core business is only timeshare then there are choppy waters ahead.
Disney vacation club present to their customers the total holiday package, accommodation, food outlets, theme parks, exchange facilities. Disney even has their own fleet of five cruise ships! For this reason, Disney not only has waiting lists to purchase at their resorts, but because of demand exceeding supply, they will even buy back ownerships for those who want to move on from timeshare.
To do what the large developers do requires a steady flow of new customers and of course the budget. Selling bog standard outdated timeshare won’t cut it anymore. Life, requirements and products move on. What was great 20 years ago such as the DVD has moved on hence streaming music and film services. At its peak, Blockbuster video and DVD rental had over 9,000 outlets worldwide. In 2022 only 3 franchise outlets remained.
Intransigence and belief in an outdated product lead to its demise. In 2000, Blockbuster turned down a chance to purchase the fledgling Netflix for $50 million, the rest as they say is history.
TCA comment
Strangely, on the day of writing this article, Lloyds and Halifax have become the latest high street banks to announce more branch closures, affecting 40 sites, adding to an industry tally of more than 200 branches closing in the coming months. Why? Again, time moves on, the cheque is nearly dead, money laundering laws and plastic cards have almost done away with cash and internet banking has taken over.
Change is all important and necessary but the way the changes are made, from a customer’s perspective, is as important. The failure of Seasons to offer viable reasons to their customers regarding not only Dylan but also the lodge sales at Slaley Hall does little to endear customer satisfaction and loyalty. Many Seasons owners have been long term dependable customers, or as Seasons describe them “core owners”. We suppose in the global sphere of things, shutting off access to one resort is not the end of the world, it’s the way its been communicated. No one likes a fait accompli and that’s exactly what was offered.
Ultimately if small timeshare developers don’t come up with new ways to bolster the corporate coffers, there will be no more small developers. We don’t believe that the logic of finding other profit avenues is daft, it’s absolutely necessary but for any business faced with moving on, all we ask is spare a thought for your loyal customers and treat them with respect.
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