This past week, the city of St. Helena was sued after accusing a stand alone housing operation for being a timeshare entity. Pacaso, a five-home development project, claims to offer homeownership for up to 8 different tenets per each property. But the city hasn’t been buying it and on April 6th, Pacaso fired back.
As lockdowns and public COVID restrictions ensue, cities across the country are looking for ways to combat the tax revenue dips over the last year. Sadly, many destinations have struggled to overcome the exponential loss of tourism dollars. But the city council in Steamboat Springs, Colorado claims timeshare exchange taxes can help bridge the gap.
Now that travel restrictions have surpassed the year mark, timeshare corporations are full steam ahead towards loss recuperation. After ignoring loyal paying vacation owners and laying off tenured employees, the industry now has their eyes on tax laws. In fact, a recent proposal by lobbyists in Florida suggests a different method be used for property appraisals in order to decrease the tax burden of major resorts in the region.
The Herald Tribune recently published a question-and-answer series that touched on the difficulties of escaping timeshare agreements. In the article, they describe how a widow was struggling to find a way to abandon a timeshare left by her late husband.
Now that timeshare companies are looking to maximize future earnings, the race for the biggest pool of aspiring travelers has begun. Since the beginning of 2021, we’ve already seen Wydham merge with Travel + Leisure and Marriott’s PR to acquire Welk Resorts – even while timeshare owners struggle. This past week, Mark Wang, the President and CEO of Hilton’s Grand Vacations (HGV), made an announcement of his own.
Despite the obvious travel limitations, it would have been good to see the department go into detail on consumer’s need to “reevaluate personal budgets”. The impact of COVID as a whole has been a setback for millions. While some people are bummed about their vacant vacation, many don’t even know how they’re going to put food on the table – after years of abundance.
Timeshare travel can be one of the most intriguing, yet confusing products in the tourist marketplace. This is because consumers rarely search for them but fall for them rather quickly. The idea of a discounted vacation is just too good to pass up for most. Up until recently..
In 2019, we published an article that covered the BBB’s constant efforts to diminish timeshare exit fraud in Southwest Missouri. Around the same time, the consumer driven platform also issued a warning about a local Springfield operation, Relief Solutions International LLC (RSI). Today, the entity is still a problem..
After covering a few more of our client’s stories, we thought it’d be a good idea to see what other publications are doing about the timeshare crisis today. But after inspecting some of the advice that’s possibly directing thousands of vacation owners, we had to step in. You see, not all online information and bias can be completely trusted today.
Before the nation was completely swept by travel restrictions and mask mandates, The Better Business Bureau (BBB) was already warning timeshare owners about potential scams. Now that a majority of timeshare sales teams have been let go, this threat is even more heightened. So let’s see what they had to say about it all..
Vacation ownership has changed drastically over the past 10 months. Even if you know nothing about the industry, it’s easy to understand the burden of those paying for something they cannot use. At the same time, timeshare travel has been on a steady decline for years now.
The idea of conjoining losses to increase future profits is beginning to gain steam among timeshare companies in 2021. After dismal profits last year, stakeholders are pushing hard for a bounce back. This week, Marriott and Welk Resorts announced a pending acquisition that also puts the remainder of the industry on notice.
Before the pandemic even started, and timeshare resorts found themselves in a backpedal, Diamond resort owners were already feeling a little slighted. According to a 91-page class action lawsuit that was proposed this past August, Diamond (DRI) has supposedly been billing its members for the “burden of operating expenses” with “inflated annual fees” in an “unlawful” fashion.
While many of us will be able to pick up where we left off, some are simply hoping they’ll be able to pick up the pieces. Those that lost tenured jobs (especially in the travel industry) will struggle– especially if travel restrictions remain. Because of this, resorts like the Marriott Beach Club in Hawaii are processing more layoffs to kick off the New Year.
One of the most prominent and profitable timeshare companies in the world just made sure the industry knew they’re looking to dominate the future. After laying off 116 employees right after the pandemic ensued, Wyndham is sending $100 million to Travel + Leisure to expand its online sales reach.
