A code of ethics.
It’s supposed to be the moral principles that govern – or at least guide – the behavior of an individual, an organization or even a whole society.
The code of ethics at West Point clocks with twelve efficient and powerful words: “A Cadet will not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do.”
That makes the King James Version of the ten commandments seem positively lengthy at 313 words.
And then there’s the Code of Ethics of the American Resort Development Association (ARDA), the trade association for the timeshare industry.
It’s a veritable encyclopedia of rules supposedly governing the conduct of timeshare companies and it’s nearly 17,000 words long (16,994 to be exact).
17,000 words!
And yet…somehow, the words “high-pressure” and “coercion” are not among them.
Maybe that explains why there are so many complaints about high-pressure sales tactics from timeshare owners like Brian and Reomie on file with the Better Business Bureau.
“What started as a simple vacation turned into years of financial stress and broken promises.”
“During our first encounter with Capital Vacations, we endured and exhausting 8-hour high-pressure sales session where they pushed packages far beyond our budget.”
A full day’s work for the Capital Vacations agents. A full vacation day lost for Brian and Reomie.
“After finally settling on an affordable option, we later discovered this was just the beginning of our troubles.”
Just the beginning?
“At subsequent ‘owner meetings,’ sales representatives consistently disparaged our current package while pressuring us to upgrade to more expensive options.”
“They falsely claimed maintenance fees would stabilize with upgrades when they were actually increasing annually.”
“The final straw came when a representative deliberately misled us about refinancing options. He promised lower monthly payments through external financing that he knew didn’t exist for timeshares, solely to upsell us to a more expensive package.”
“Deliberately misled.”
Now THAT’S a topic the ARDA Code of Ethics does have something to say about: “All Members shall conduct their activities honestly and fairly in compliance with applicable laws, and with professionalism, integrity, dignity and propriety.”
It doesn’t seem like the Capital Vacations agents bothered to read that part of the ethics code.
So many words, so little time…when you’re spending all day pressuring customers to buy timeshares they can’t afford.
“Capital Vacations uses deceptive sales tactics, misleading promises, and constant pressure to extract more money from customers.”
“Despite paying monthly for years, we’ve received minimal value and maximum frustration.”
You’d think that if there was anyone who could tell Capital Vacations how NOT to treat owners like Brian and Reomie it would be ARDA’s Resort Owners Coalition (ARDA-ROC), which professes to advocate for timeshare owners.
And maybe ARDA-ROC would, except that Travis Bary, the co-president of Capital Vacations, and Ken McKelvey, an executive consultant to Capital Vacations, are on the Resort Owners Coalition board.
Still, let’s email them at tbary@capitalvacations.com and klm@capitalvacations.com and ask if tolerating deceptive sales tactics, misleading promises and constant pressure is their idea of honest and fair conduct.
Jason Gamel, the President and CEO of ARDA, is a member of ARDA’s Ethics Committee. Let’s email him at jgamel@arda.org to see if the committee is willing to say deceiving, misleading and pressuring owners is something Capital Vacations shalt not do.
Are there any commandments you’d like your timeshare company to follow? Use the information in this list of ARDA VIPs to let your company’s leaders know.
What words (and how many) would you use to describe your timeshare company’s ethics? Tell us at info@timesharefacts.com.
PS: Follow us on social media. Twitter Facebook Instagram