Rumours of timeshare companies hiding money and preparing to close. Time to jump ship?

Timeshare industry's future in disarray, but some owners may have a lifeboat

Industry under pressure

The conscious decision to ignore laws protecting consumers from high pressure sales and unfair contracts is hitting the timeshare industry hard.  Resorts are currently haemorrhaging money through court awarded compensation payouts over illegal contracts that they have been issuing for years.

Dated and expensive  

New people are just not signing up for timeshare memberships.  Why should they?  You can generally stay at any timeshare resort without being a member.  Plus being a member means paying every year for a holiday whether you use it or not.  It's a restrictive, more expensive way to holiday.

This lack of 'new member' revenue, when combined with the hundreds of millions on court ordered compensation payments to mis-sold owners, means that many companies are in serious financial trouble.

Hiding money?

There are persistent rumours that some of the most established timeshare companies in both mainland Spain and the Canary Islands are preparing to go into administration.  Both in a legal sense, and in some instances (allegedly) by illegally hiding money through strings of connected companies, so as to keep it out of reach of the official receiver.

Anfi Del Mar is one of many companies accused of this type of criminal money movement.  Many other big names are said to be doing the same thing, including one major company with a huge resort on the Costa Del Sol

Unhappy owners

According to a study paid for by the timeshare industry, 85% of owners are happy with their timeshare membership.

According to a different study done by the (neutral) University of Central Florida, only 15% of owners are happy.

If we are generous and accept the average of 50% (despite the contention that one study is paid for by an organisation with a commercial interest in the result) that means half of people who own timeshare are happy to do so.

"The half who are not happy with their ownership are already likely to be looking into either relinquishing what they own, or if they are lucky enough to qualify for a compensation claim, to be seeking help with doing so," says Daniel Keating, Information Officer for the Timeshare Consumer Association (TCA) .  

"As for people who the industry say are happy with owning timeshare, we also have to bear in mind that this study is several years old and before those owners were forced to pay their annual fees in full during the pandemic without being able to take the actual holidays.  

Get out while you can

"Whatever the case, anyone  happy with their timeshare - perhaps because they are used to it and haven't kept up with the fact that the rest of the travel industry gives better value now - those people really need to look at claiming compensation if they are able.

"Any resort that does collapse and go into liquidation may leave existing owners with nothing - no ownership and no holidays.  Trying to claim compensation at that point would leave them in a queue behind all the existing creditors

"The analogy being used is that happy timeshare owners are like guests on the Titanic who loved being on board. and don't want to leave  

"Once the ship starts sinking however, you need to get on the lifeboat before it's too late and there are no places left.

"Whether people like what they own or not the smart move is to look into claiming compensation, because right now even the biggest resorts are on questionable financial footing."

For advice on this, or any other timeshare related issue, contact the Timeshare Consumer Association, on the details below