Breathtaking.

Simply breathtaking.

That’s the only we can describe the most blatant disregard for the American Resort Developers Association (ARDA) Code of Ethics by Hilton Grand Vacations we’ve come across in the hundreds of complaints against the company owners have filed with the Better Business Bureau.

ARDA is the trade association for the timeshare industry and all of its members, like Hilton Grand Vacations, are supposed to follow the code.

Oh sure, we’ve shared some of Hilton’s more egregious violations of individual sections of the ethics code, but rarely have we encountered a single case in which so, so many provisions were violated all at once.

Let’s take a look.

“I am requesting to cancel my Hilton Grand Vacations timeshare due to the following reasons:”

“I felt very rushed through the presentation and signing the contract documents.”

Right off the bat, that’s a violation of the code’s provision that, “The consumer should be provided with a reasonable opportunity to review the contract documents before signing.”

Not a great start. What’s next?

“I was misled on some items.”

“Was told that the cost of this timeshare was a tax write off.”

The code is pretty clear on this point, too: “All Members shall conduct their activities honestly and fairly in compliance with applicable laws, and with professionalism, integrity, dignity and propriety.”

But that’s not all Hilton did.

“Was told that the Annual Maintenance fees were $1,244.00 then, one month later received a statement for $1.400+ was added. Later, in the same year, another statement for another $1,400+ was added.”

That’s pretty bad, since the code provides: “Verbal representations should be consistent with information contained in sales documents, contracts and written disclosures.”

But Hilton wasn’t done yet.

“There was nothing said about being charged to roll over points to the next year.”

It should come as no surprise that this is another violation, since the code requires Hilton to: “Provide fair, meaningful and effective written disclosure to the consumer regarding the Vacation Interest and all material terms and conditions of the offer of a Vacation Interest.”

“This entire experience has been overwhelming and stressful.”

“Everything you told us was not true.”

So many ethics requirements.

Soooo many violations!

Finally, there may be some hope for beleaguered timeshare owners. It’s called the Timeshare Transparency Act (S.3502) and essentially is a “bill of rights” to prevent timeshare consumers from being sold a dream and delivered a nightmare.

Introduced last December by U.S. Senator John Curtis (R-UT) and Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA), the Timeshare Transparency Act (TTA) sets out clear, commonsense requirements for timeshare companies, so consumers understand exactly what they are purchasing:

• Total Cost Disclosure: Requires a single document itemizing all acquisition and maintenance costs (including fee increases).
• 14-Day Cancellation Period: Grants buyers in all states a 14-day, penalty-free period to cancel contracts.
• Exit Options: Requires clear, documented procedures for exiting ownership.
• Review Period: Allows buyers to review documents privately without high-pressure sales staff present.
• FTC Enforcement: Empowers the Federal Trade Commission to enforce these regulations.

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

But in the meantime, its head scratching that ARDA could ignore a case this obvious. Well, that is until you realize that the Chair of ARDA’s Ethics Committee is Gordon Gurnik, the Chief Operating Officer of Hilton Grand Vacations and Mark Wang, the CEO of Hilton Grand Vacations sits on ARDA’s board.

Maybe they’ll surprise us. Let’s email them at gordon.gurnik@hgv.com and mark.wang@hgv.com to ask just how many violations of the ethics code it would take before a COO agreed to investigate his boss.

Someone who should also answer that question is Jason Gamel, ARDA’s CEO and President. He’s on the Ethics Committee and approves all its members. Let’s email him at jason.gamel@arda.org and ask how many violations it takes for the Ethics Committee to investigate a timeshare company. After one? How about after a breathtaking number of violations?

Want to find how many violations your company’s leaders think is unacceptable? Use this list of ARDA VIPs to ask.

Does your timeshare company’s unethical behavior take your breath away? Tell us why at info@timesharefacts.com

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