Timeshare the Truth

When people hear the word “timeshare,” the expected knee-jerk reaction is to recoil and frantically scramble to the nearest exit. And there’s good reason for this.

The timeshare industry has provided, admittedly, a lot of fodder for bad press. In its earlier days, potential buyers were given the celebrity treatment and would wake up the next day with a hangover, clutching the deed to a property they couldn’t afford.

Timesharing was born in Europe in the mid 1960s and the first North American programs were launched in 1969. Over the next few decades, dubious sales tactics and pushy pitches gave the industry a notorious name. However, as sales tactics changed over time, timeshares also evolved with the changing needs of their owners. Rather than owning a fixed week at one location, concepts like floating time, split weeks, fractional ownerships, clubs and point systems literally introduced owners to a whole new world of travel options. This new flexibility attracted hotel industry heavy-hitters including Marriott, Disney, Hilton, Wyndham Worldwide and Ramada. And with this rebirth, a new term was born: Vacation ownership.

With this renaissance, the market also saw its share of fraudulent companies surface, advertising timeshare units for sale on the secondary market. The Better Business Bureau warned timeshare owners about resale scams, including companies that charged an advance fee for transferring timeshare ownership or claimed to have a buyer waiting to snap up a property at an unrealistic price. With timeshares being a $9 billion industry, every shark in the water wanted to take a bite.

If you are going to invest your hard earn`t money Buy a Vacation Home dont rent or fall for these scam company’s.

If you need to get out of your timeshare this is very hard to do. However ITRA Singapore can help you claim compensation

2 comments

  1. I can’t comment on this company but can as far as Royal (selling timeshare the same way) the same sales tacticsand using is concerned. We were approached over 15 years ago and ended up taking the week around 10 years later. It too involved a booking fee of around $100. We also sat through a session in order to qualify for the prize and you will be expected to have another session during your week’s stay. It is then upto you whether or not you decide to buy into it. Make sure if you do contemplate it, you give yourselves plenty of think time of at least a couple of days.

    It would seem that KazAllen has personal experience of this company in

    Thailand. If you are keen to take advantage of the week, I would contact them and perhaps see if you can pay the booking fee directly into their account. If they are still insisting on a credit card, perhaps forget the whole thing. Until today, I had not heard as per what naga700 has said in regard to this company. See if others can give you more information as to whether they honour any arrangmenets you may make with them.

    We put our concerns to ITRA and we are awaiting compensation. THese companys dhould not get away with It.

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