How the timeshare concept was designed to work. Does yours?

Timeshare: A great idea

Sales pitch

Timeshare owners are a broad, cross-section of society, no less nor more intelligent than anyone else. Yet signing up for a timeshare membership is something that non-owners can find a difficult choice to understand.

New timeshare membership sales are minimal in modern times but there are still over 20 million households who holiday through these systems, even in 2023.

Clearly something about the idea of owning a timeshare appealed to a lot of people. It appealed to them enough to spend tens of thousands of pounds which for the most part they had no idea they were going to spend when they woke up that morning.

Was it brutal, high pressure sales techniques that coerced all of these people into doing something against their best interest? Or are there genuinely attractive attributes to being a timeshare owner that make it worth all the expense?

If you are a timeshare owner reading this, perhaps you can cast your eye over the below selling points of holidaying through timeshare and decide whether your ownership is working as promised.

Exclusivity

Many timeshare owners fell in love with the idea of an exclusive 'members only' resort.

Whilst we all know money doesn't automatically mean class, when everyone staying in your complex has made a serious financial commitment to be members, you can have some confidence that they will respect the resort, its facilities and one another.

People give value to things that have cost them something, whether that cost was in time, expense or commitment.

When members suddenly find that their club is no longer exclusive, and is now available for everyone to book online, without having paid to join the club first, they can be understandably disappointed.

• Is your resort still exclusive to members only? Or do they now allow non members access through sites like booking.com?

Superior standards

A huge motivator for prospects to buy into a resort was the luxurious standard of the accommodation and facilities.

The sales tour presented potential new members with pristine apartments boasting brand new tasteful fittings, furnishings and appliances. Every aspect of the grounds and amenities were up to date and maintained to perfection. Prospects were promised extra touches like a 'welcome pack' of coffee, tea, water, milk and biscuits. There would be washing powder in the machine and toiletries in the bathroom.

The comparison to the cramped, cheap-and-cheerful units that people were currently staying in made them eager to pay for the luxury now presented to them.

However, since most resorts in Europe have ceased new-member-sales operations, some existing owners complain that standards are dropping. Observers theorise that without the need to impress potential buyers the business model has switched to charging as much as possible in annual fees, whilst giving as little as they can in return.

• Has your resort maintained the same levels of luxury as the day you signed up? Or have they declined?

Low annual costs

Most timeshare presentations included a 'Financial Logic' pitch. The idea was to demonstrate that in the long run, as well as being a superior standard, timeshare was also a money saver.

Sure, it was a significant up front payment to join, but after that your annual holiday expenses would be negligible.

There were minimal charges every year for the upkeep of the resort because there had to be. Grass needs cutting, apartments need decorating, pools need cleaning, and staff wages need paying. But this annual cost would be very low compared to regular hotel costs.

Over a number of years, even the initial joining cost should be mitigated by the savings and from that point onwards, your holidays would be almost completely paid for in advance.

• Are your annual fees still at a level designed just to cover maintenance costs? Or have they risen disproportionately over the years to become as expensive as regular holiday accommodation of the same standard?

Exchange possibilities

It wasn't just the home resort being sold. Every timeshare owner remembers being shown a shiny RCI/Interval International brochure or website and being asked to choose their 3 dream holidays.

This was the preface to an impressive demonstration of how you can go to those and a host of other once-in-a-lifetime destinations, always staying in premium quality resorts. All for less than you were paying for a cramped, dated two star aparthotel in Playa de Las Americas.

4000 timeshare resorts in almost 100 countries is the generally quoted figure. Enough choice for anyone.

• Has the exchange system delivered what you were sold? Have you been to those dream locations and spent further holidays travelling the world in 5 star opulence? Or have you found it tough to get the exchanges you wanted at the times you chose?

Bonus weeks

For those people who could only afford one timeshare week but holidayed more than that, Bonus Weeks were presented as the solution.

These were all the unused weeks in the resort's chosen exchange system. Available for super cheap prices to timeshare members.

Owning one week of timeshare, so the explanation went, allowed a member access to as many Bonus Weeks as they wanted. So a one week owner could still holiday as often as they wanted, and in whatever size apàrtment they needed. They would have to buy those extra weeks, but at rock bottom prices.

• Did bonus weeks solve issues of needing more holiday weeks than you could afford to buy timeshare weeks for? Or did their availability turn out to be disappointing?

Resale value

Some measure of residual value was often pledged during a timeshare sales pitch. Often resorts went all out and promised an actual profit, in the unlikely event that the owner could ever bear to give up their ownership.

Former Anfi owners report a Buy-Back scheme that protected the buyer's initial investment, should they change their mind in future years. Owners at resorts like Marriott report a '40% buyback guarantee,' which gave them confidence to spend the large amounts of money required to join.

• Were you promised any kind of resale value at your resort? And if so, how is the value today?

Satisfied?

"If your membership was sold to you honestly, has not let you down in any way, and everything that the resort promised you has materialised, then ECC congratulates you," says Andrew Cooper, CEO of European Consumer Claims. "We wish you many trouble free holidays to come."

If instead you feel let down in some way by your timeshare purchase and would like advice on what you can do about it, get in touch with our team for a free, no obligation consultation.