Many timeshare owners have children and are looking to take a vacation during peak season -summer when the kids are on vacation from school. Often, one of the attractive things that convince people to purchase a timeshare is the idea that they can use their timeshare when and where they want, largely without restrictions of any kind. But when the rubber meets the road, they’ll often find there’s not a lot of availability in terms of the unit size, location, and time they want to vacation.
To add insult to injury, they’ll often go on a site like Travelocity or Orbitz where they’ll see plenty of inventory at the time and place they want to go available on the open market… often for less than they’re paying in monthly payments and annual maintenance fees.
Naturally, this causes confusion, and some explanation is necessary as to why this occurs.
So what’s the scoop?
Oftentimes, resort developers find themselves with excess, unsold inventory. In order to monetize that inventory, they’ll participate in exchange sites such as RCI or Interval International. To participate in these exchange programs, they have to guarantee and commit a certain amount of inventory. In other words, the developer has to give a certain allotment of inventory to the exchange program, a certain amount to owners, and a certain amount for marketing and promotional purposes.
Doesn’t really seem fair, does it? But it happens, and to make matters worse, the inventory the developer has guaranteed to the exchange sites puts even more pressure on things during the busier times of year – namely, Summer and holidays when a timeshare owner is more likely to want to use “their” timeshare.
Now, in a perfect world, the sales representatives for timeshare developers are supposed to disclose the details behind the allotment process during the sales pitch, so ideally, a timeshare owner should be completely aware of this practice at the time they sign their contract. But it’s often “overlooked” and not mentioned… sort of like your cousin with the unfortunate allergy to just about every food known to man… who comes over every Thanksgiving and stuffs himself silly, leading to equally unfortunate consequences for everyone at dinner… but we digress.
What can I do about it?
So, if you’re a timeshare owner and are running into issues with availability during the window you want to use their timeshare, and if you weren’t told about the exchange allotment situation during the sales process, it might be time to reach out to a timeshare cancellation company like Timeshare Legal to find out what your options are, up to and including exiting your timeshare contract.
Timeshare Legal was founded by Christian Highlander in 2009 and has helped thousands of clients cancel timeshare contracts totaling over half a billion dollars to date. Christian has over 20 years of experience and has worked on both sides of the industry. The Timeshare Legal team is passionate about providing timeshare exit solutions that have the least possible impact on your credit and financial future.
Timeshare Legal is a professional, full-service timeshare cancellation company. In addition to cancellation services, they also offer an amazing credit safety program. Finally, they will get the timeshare exit process started for you without any upfront cost.
They offer an online assessment to see if you qualify for a timeshare cancellation, or an option to contact them directly to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation.
