Good news for our millionaire readers!
 
After eight years and $2 billion in renovations, the storied Waldorf Astoria in New York City is finally open to the public again.
 
And at an eye-popping rate of $1,400 per night, a week’s visit to the Big Apple will cost you a mere $9,800 – more if you want to actually do something…eat, go to a museum or see a show.
 
It’s the kind of luxury that a retiree like Carol could only dream of affording. 
 
And yet…as we found in the complaint she filed against Capital Vacations with the Better Business Bureau, she’s been spending even more than that for a timeshare she can’t even use!
 
Carol explains how it happened.
 
“Do not think that more is better with Capital Vacations.”
 
“We have been conned 4 times, each time worse than the last.”
 
Nothing eye-popping there, if you know how Capital Vacations operates.
 
“We attended yet another meeting with a representative of Capital Vacations, who informed us that we had three separate contracts, each with separate maintenance fees that would be increasing.”
 
“We believed each new contract had consolidated the previous ones.”
 
So, a bit of a surprise.
 
“The salesperson advised us to place the contract in my Husband’s name only, stating it would act as an ‘insurance policy.’ If [he] passed, the loan would be canceled and neither my estate nor I would be responsible for the balance. Instead, they would only need to pay the maintenance fees to retain use of the property.”
 
Sounds like a good plan. Except….
 
“This turned out to be untrue.” 
 
“By the end of this blatant misrepresentation, we had signed a contract for more points with an $812 monthly mortgage payment and a $594 maintenance fee, all based on false information.”
 
“At every so-called update, we were misled or outright lied to just to make another sale.”
 
Just to be clear on the math, here: 
 
Carol and her husband are now spending $10,388 a year for their timeshare. That’s actually more than a week at the Waldorf Astoria costs!
 
At least at the Waldorf Astoria you get to actually have a vacation – something Carol and her husband can no longer do with their Capital Vacations timeshare.
 
“Our advancing age and health challenges mean we will not be able to travel often enough to make this timeshare remotely worthwhile. Our current financial situation cannot support the overwhelming cost of these contracts, and the emotional toll is more than we can bear.”
 
“Stay away from this timeshare company.”
 
It’s a strange world where the luxury Waldorf Astoria is the more affordable option for a vacation.
 
The American Resort Developers Association (ARDA), the trade association for the timeshare industry, should look into Carol’s case. After all, as an ARDA member, Capital Vacations is supposed to follow ARDA’s Code of Ethicswhich requires: “Statements made by the Member in connection with Member Activity shall not: convey false, untrue, deceptive or misleading information through any means.”
 
That would include cons, misrepresentations and false information, like the ones Carol describes.
 
Seems like ARDA’s Resort Owners Coalition, which says it advocates for timeshare owners, should be lodging a complaint against Capital Vacations. Unfortunately, Travis Bary, the co-president of Capital Vacations, and Ken McKelvey, an executive consultant to Capital Vacations, are both on the Resort Owners Coalition board, so our suggestion is likely to get a chilly reception.
 
Email them at tbary@capitalvacation.com and klm@capitalvacations.com to see if we’re right.
What it sounds like is that timeshare consumers are long overdue for a “bill of rights” to prevent them from being sold a dream and delivered a nightmare.  

And that is exactly what U.S. Senator John Curtis (R-UT) and Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA) had in mind when they introduced the Timeshare Transparency Act (S.3502). This bill sets out clear, commonsense requirements for timeshare companies, so consumers understand exactly what they are purchasing.

But to be considered further by the U.S. Congress, the Timeshare Transparency Act needs more support.  

If you agree, contact your U.S. Senators and U.S. House Representative.  Tell them you support the Timeshare Transparency Act (S.3502).  Share your own timeshare horror story. Tell your representatives you’re tired of seeing families “misled and flat-out lied to” by an industry that seems to value profits over fairness and transparency.

• Find your Senator: senate.gov
• Find your Representative: house.gov

Predictably, the American Resort Development Association (ARDA), the trade association that represents the timeshare companies in Washington, DC., is already out there claiming this bill is “unnecessary,” “duplicative,” and creates “unnecessary federal regulations.”  

Jason Gamel is the President and CEO of the American Resort Development Association (ARDA).  Let’s ask Jason why he’s so afraid of affirming a nationwide 14-day cancellation window and why the timeshare industry needs to trap buyers before they can change their minds? Jason’s email is jgamel@arda.org   

Having reservations about your timeshare company’s ethics? Use the information in this list of ARDA VIPs to contact your company’s leaders.
 
Does Carol’s experience ring a bell with you? Tell us why at info@timesharefacts.com. 
 
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