As we step into 2023, people are now starting to plan their holidays for the year ahead. But spare a thought for the thousands of British timeshare families competing for extremely limited availability at their resorts.
No longer exclusive
With new member sales no longer active in Europe, timeshare entities were forced to find new sources of income. One way they did this was by renting out accommodation to non-members via sites like Booking.com and Expedia. This has caused sheer frustration for owners.
Here are some examples of Diamond Resorts availability on travel sites:
Availability
Our switchboards regularly receive complaints from owners of floating time or points telling us that they were unable to book into weeks they want with their memberships.
And yet when they check on sites like Booking.com, they find plenty of availability in their resorts for the time period they want.
By anyone's standards this is totally unfair, the members have already paid for that accommodation and yet the resort is selling it a second time to non-members. Over the last year there have been numerous complaints from members sharing their once “exclusive” club with party revellers.
When members tried to book back into the resort in high season, they were told that there is no availability. They were faced with the unfair choice of either going at a time that wasn't convenient, or buying an extra holiday outside of their membership, while still paying their annual timeshare fee.
Meaning they paid twice but for only one holiday.
When people complain about this to the resorts they are told that they have a 1 or 2 year booking window. But who on earth wants to commit to a particular holiday week 2 years in advance? And those that do follow the rules report trying to book at a minute past 9:00am on the day the booking lines open, still to be informed that they are too late.
Time to get out?
“Timeshare is outmoded, outdated, and out of touch," says Andrew Cooper, CEO of European Consumer Claims (ECC). "Holidaymakers nowadays don't want to choose their destinations and dates so far in advance. They might see a location on a movie or a TV show and think 'oh, let's go there'. They want the flexibility to try out new destinations or holiday ideas. Or maybe even not holiday at all some years. They certainly don't want to be committed to hefty annual fees for something they may not even use.”
“Many timeshare owners believe themselves to be stuck, unable to escape the contract. Usually this is not the case.”
“Anyone who is looking for a way out of their timeshare, should get in touch with a competent claims firm for advice on their options.”
“After speaking to one of our account managers, you may find out that you are due compensation.”