Better Business Bureau study on Timeshares!

[TUGBrian]

We (TUG) participated in this study with the St. Louis BBB and hope this article truly helps Timeshare owners! Given the bluntness of the article, id imagine many in the industry arent going to like it very much, but the truth hurts sometimes!

https://www.bbb.org/en/us/article/n...i-timeshare-vacation-club-industry?bbbid=0734


if only all states AGs/BBBs/etc took this sort of stance with consumer protection for Timeshares.

 

[Panina]

We (TUG) participated in this study with the St. Louis BBB and hope this article truly helps Timeshare owners! Given the bluntness of the article, id imagine many in the industry arent going to like it very much, but the truth hurts sometimes!

https://www.bbb.org/en/us/article/n...i-timeshare-vacation-club-industry?bbbid=0734


if only all states AGs/BBBs/etc took this sort of stance with consumer protection for Timeshares.

Good info in article. For Tips they could have added to learn more about timesharing go to tugbbs.com where information is free.

 

[Iggyearl]

Wonderful article. Thorough and accurate. I din't count the number of times I saw the name "Rogers," but it was a lot. Nice job Brian....

 

[TUGBrian]

I did spend a good bit of time with the individual responsible for that article, he seemed genuinely interested in getting the story told accurately (both about the industry, and the scammers)...I am glad all that made it into the article even if it was very long!

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Great job. I wish he would do a follow up article or a sidebar on tips for buying resale e.g. there are reputable resale brokers out there who can help avoid scammers. It seems to be overly focused on the developer.

What people often miss is while sales are terrible, the product is actually very good.

 

[bluehende]

It was interesting to see that sales are going up. I would guess that is the economy and stock market making people feel richer. I would have guessed with all the bad press that sales would be flat at best. Those big boys are doing a great job of selling something at inflated values.

 

[Bwolf]

Very nice article.

 

[pedro47]

This is a excellent article and someone finally give the TUG website a deserving commendation.
Brain Rogers you truly representative your father and the TUG community.

IMHO.. This show be a sticky and be a must read by the timeshare community (especially by any family taking a timeshare presentation).

To All Timeshare Sale Staff...Please Stop the High Pressure Sale Tactics.

 

[Larry M]

Great job. I wish he would do a follow up article or a sidebar on tips for buying resale e.g. there are reputable resale brokers out there who can help avoid scammers. It seems to be overly focused on the developer.

What people often miss is while sales are terrible, the product is actually very good.

You can also buy via the HOA. If there's a resort you're interested in, contact them. They may either

• Have units available for sale, or
• Place you in contact with an owner looking for a buyer.

 

[ResaleExpert]

Great job. I wish he would do a follow up article or a sidebar on tips for buying resale e.g. there are reputable resale brokers out there who can help avoid scammers. It seems to be overly focused on the developer.

What people often miss is while sales are terrible, the product is actually very good.

Thank you for your comment on LICENSED timeshare resale brokers; of which I've been one for 13 years. Never any cost to list and we provide honest answers and service. After working shortly for a developer I learned the benefits of resale. I'm a timeshare owner for 29 years and evaluate this every year. There are SOME timeshares with value and this is what we specialize in; of course those prices are still well below what the developer is selling for!
Resales offer incredible values for those who know and understand how to best use their timeshares! That cannot be learned in 90 minutes.

 

[gsedlock]

Great article! I wish that it addressed another trend - for simplicity what I call "vacation points". My wife and I own a week in a Marriott timeshare in Hawaii (purchased in 1997) and 2,500 vacation points (purchased several years later) . The Hawaii TS has a value of 4,225 points. Having the points adds a lot of flexibility, but also complexity because we can use the points for cruises and guided tours in addition to days at a timeshare. In fact, for the last five years, we've used the points to go on four tours in Europe and plan on another one in 2019.

I would love to see an article that addressed developers selling "vacation points". But, as I think about it. Marriott used the same sales tactics for selling the points that they used in selling the week. And, the resale value and process are probably about the same.

This article doesn't address the value that we get from purchasing into the timeshare industry. It's a much more difficult and complex topic that's addressed in other threads.

 

[sdhakala7]

I did spend a good bit of time with the individual responsible for that article, he seemed genuinely interested in getting the story told accurately (both about the industry, and the scammers)...I am glad all that made it into the article even if it was very long!

Thank you. The length was actually needed to be thorough and correct. Really impressed with the article.

 

[deslagle]

Wyndham, bar none, is the worst timeshare presentations that my spouse and I have dealt with.
We went to their timeshare high pressure sales presentations twice and both went way over the promised time.
At Maui they had 4 more layers besides the sales lady to contend with.
We purposely stayed clear of Wyndham and whoops they bought our Shell Group entirely. We then got phone calls harassing us to buy Wyndham points to better
use our Shell points. I subsequently equity exchanged both our Shell properties just to get rid of Wyndham.

Then when I showed up at Miners Club (Park City Utah) to use my Raintree points we were shocked to see Wynham/Worldmark on the sign as we walked in to use our resort.
I asked questions as to what was going on and Wyndham was managing the resort but not a majority owner yet.
I had enjoyed good upgrades being a Miners Club owner but since I was not with Worldmark I got the bottom floor.

There do exist some nice timeshares where one is treated reasonably.
Lawai Beach Resort (Kauai) and Windjammer Landing Villas (St Lucia) and Morritts Tortuga Londoner (Grand Cayman). As long as
Wyndham does not buy those resorts out, I will be a happy TUG member and timeshare user.

 

[theo]

Wyndham, bar none, is the worst timeshare presentations that my spouse and I have dealt with.

Have you ever attended a Westgate presentation?
Frankly, I think the two would be in very close competition for "the worst".

It wouldn't be fair to give the dubious distinction of being "the worst" to Wyndham without a comparison to Westgate.

 

[LannyPC]

We went to their timeshare high pressure sales presentations twice and both went way over the promised time.

That's pretty typical for any timeshare sales presentation. Try going to the ones in Mexico and you will see how your definition of "90 minutes" vastly differs from theirs whether it's Wyndham or not.

 

[JohnPaul]

Then when I showed up at Miners Club (Park City Utah) to use my Raintree points we were shocked to see Wynham/Worldmark on the sign as we walked in to use our resort.
I asked questions as to what was going on and Wyndham was managing the resort but not a majority owner yet.
I had enjoyed good upgrades being a Miners Club owner but since I was not with Worldmark I got the bottom floor.

Raintree sold specific units at The Miners Club to Worldmark so you are not competing with Worldmark for your room. You should be annoyed with Raintree not Worldmark for your room assignment if you are going to be upset.