Jul 06

Timeshare Ruling in Spain Could Devastate Industry

Timeshare News 2 Comments »

A court in Spain ruled that timeshare developer, Anfi Del Mar, in Gran Canaria must pay back double the amount of timeshare deposits taken within the cooling off period.    According to the Spanish Magistrate, it is unlawful to require a deposit and Law 43/1998, article 11 permits the timeshare holder to get back double the deposit amount at any time.

Anfi Del Mar, one of the most largest and luxurious timeshare developments in Europe, is now liable for 10,000 new claims for “timeshare miss-selling” under the 1994 European timeshare directive.  Presently, more than 200 claims are active in Spanish courts against Anfi Del Mar with 10 new claims a week being filed.

Five out of the top ten timeshare developers in Europe are guilty of taken illegal deposits during the cooling off period and are still selling illegal contracts.  The European timeshare industry does have a regulatory body, but four of its members are developers that have broken these laws themselves.

The ruling is potentially crippling to the European timeshare industry as it sets a precedence of refunding money to timeshare owners who were sold by nefarious means.  It is now thought that up to 400,000 contracts were made illegally after 1996, industry experts believe that timeshare compensation claims could reach 2,000,000,000 (Billion) Euro.

If you have paid a timeshare deposit during the cooling off period after 1996 in Spain or its islands, you are entitled to reclaim double your deposit.  If the company you purchased the timeshare from is no longer in business, you can still reclaim your deposit as long as the timeshare development still exists.  Visit Claims Directive for free advice and to file a claim.

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Jun 02

Timeshare Project Approved by Aspen City Council

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It wasn’t too long ago, that the timeshare proposal by the Aspen Club & Spa was put on hold seemingly set for a protracted battle.

But, with some surprise, the Aspen Club timeshare proposal passed with a 3-to-1 vote by the Aspen City Council.  Knowing that a 2-to-2 vote would have denied the proposal, Councilman, Steve Skadron decided to vote for the proposal ultimately believing that the Aspen Club and Spa did need the development in order to stay open and thereby benefitting the community.

“My gut tells me that when all things are considered, this community is better off with the Aspen Club than without it,” Skadron said.

The Aspen Club can now move forward on a 90,000 square feet expansion that will include 20 timeshare condominiums, 14 affordable housing units and an underground parking garage for 41 vehicles.

The sale of the timeshare units will provide necessary funds to improve the Aspen Club facilities and to continue the operations.  Without the project, club manager Michael Fox predicted that the club would have had to close and be sold to a developer who would build homes on the property.

As a compromise, the club pledged to add a 0.25 percent tax assessment to the sale of the timeshare units.  The funds would be used for enhancing the health and wellness of the community.  It’s predicted that the assessment would generate between $250,000 to $500,000 for the city based on initial sales estimates of between $80 million to $100 million.

It shows the immense revenue generators that timeshares can have for its developers and somewhat to the community.  With just twenty timeshare units, how is it possible to generate between $80 million, the equivalent of $4 million per timeshare unit?

If each timeshare unit is sold on a weekly basis, the average per week sold is about $8,000 ($4 million divided by 50 weeks).  This is much lower than the average timeshare week which is over $16,000 according to ARDA.

Ultimately, the timeshare owners will be paying for the project, for the Aspen Club and Spa to stay open, and for hundreds of thousands of dollars for the local government and community.

For more information, click here.

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Sep 29

Disney Opens Its First West Coast Timeshare Development

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At a time when Marriott has ceased new timeshare development and the rest of the timeshare industry seems to be pulling back, Disney seems to be ratcheting up their time share presence.

The company’s timeshare division, Disney Vacation Club (DVC) held its grand opening for its first west coast property last week.  The 50-unit Villas at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa was planned as part of an expansion of the Disneyland hotel & park in Anaheim, California.

With the diversification into California, Disney hopes to attract more members to DVC and more members who live away from the east coast.  According to Disney, over 86% of Disney Vacation Club’s 400,000-plus members reside east of the Mississippi.  (A family of four who purchases a DVC membership is counted as four members.)

The Disney brand is a strong one and with only 50 units, the Villas timeshare development should do well.  The question for buyers is do you want the Happiest Place on Earth to include maintenance fees?

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Sep 26

Article References for Marriott Story

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In case you want to reference some other articles about the Marriott de-emphasis of their timeshare operations, we have listed them here:

From the Wall Street Journal: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125371358595033997.html

From Reuters: http://www.reuters.com/article/ousivMolt/idUSTRE58M3A920090923
Reporting by Deepa Seetharaman; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn

From the Examiner.com: http://www.examiner.com/x-9185-Denver-Travel-Industry-Examiner~y2009m9d24-Marriott-Halting-Development-of-Time-Shares
by Joseph Sobin

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Jun 01

Disney Poised To Open 4 More Timeshare Properties This Year Despite Global Recession

Timeshare News, Timeshare Relief 1 Comment »

Jason Garcia of the Orlando Sentinel writes in a recent article that Walt Disney will be opening 3 timeshare properties in Central Florida and one in California this year.  While this is not new news, the article contains some note-worthy facts:

- The launches of all the time-share properties “constitute the most ambitious expansion yet for Disney Vacation Club, Disney’s 17-year-old time-share unit”

- Sales at the Celebration-based time-share business fell during the three months that ended March 28 — the first quarterly decline Disney has recorded at its time-share arm in at least 3 ½ years.

- The time-share unit generated roughly 10 percent of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts’ total operating profit during the company’s most recent fiscal year, or an estimated $190 million.

The last stat is on the one side rather surprising given that Disney revenue comes from so many sources, like their theme parks, movies (including Pixar), retail items and stores, and licensing agreements.  But when you consider the profitability of timeshares, it’s not surprising that timeshares contribute a significant share to the bottom line of the multi-billion-dollar corporation.

The continuation of the opening of four properties this year emphasizes the profitability of timeshares for developers.  Prices for the Disney timeshare units will START at $18,000 with a monthly maintenance fee.

For the entire article, click here.

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