Ever played whack-a-mole?

Every summer, you can find the carnival game at almost every county fair and beach boardwalk.  Just as you slam one mole back into its hole…two more spring up somewhere else. The faster you swing, the faster the moles pop back up! 

Basically, the whole game is fixed so you can never actually win.

Now… imagine the moles are phone calls. And imagine you’re a cancer patient who just wants them to stop.

According to a class-action lawsuit filed this past July, that’s the type of rigged game Hilton Grand Vacations played with Melissa Plenty.

Back in February 2025, Melissa did something completely ordinary…she called Hilton Resorts to book a few rooms in Denver. But a routine reservation quickly turned into a hard sell. 

Yup…the first mole!

After she made her Denver reservation, Melissa was transferred to a second Hilton agent and pitched a “special deal” on future rooms.  The catch…the deal was only good if she paid right then and there.

She paid, for what sounded like a good deal.  And then the fine print appeared.  

Here comes mole number two!

Melissa learned after the fact that the “discount deal” was only valid if she sat through a sales class with Hilton Grand Vacations that would supposedly last “no more than two hours.” 

That’s also when Melissa found out, like it or not, she was locked into the deal.

Life then took a scary turn, and the moles started popping up faster.

At the end of 2025, after a period of remission, Melissa’s cancer returned.  She simply could no longer travel given her diagnosis. So Melissa called Hilton Grand Vacations in December to cancel her discounted trip. 

Hilton’s answer? 

No refund. Regardless of medical status. Attend the class or forfeit all payment.  

And Hilton Grand Vacations wasn’t done playing whack-a-mole with Melissa. Starting February 10, 2026 – at 2 AM IN THE MORNING – the calls began, marketing reservations to a woman who had already been through the wringer. She told them to stop.

Hilton Grand Vacations sales agents did not stop.

Over the next two weeks: 13 more calls. 

Every single call came from a different phone number.

Just like whack-a-mole, knock one down, another pops up. It was impossible to block them.

13 calls. 13 different numbers. It didn’t seem to matter that Melissa was working through her cancer diagnosis. It didn’t seem to matter that she had requested they stop calling. It didn’t even seem to matter that her number has been on the National Do Not Call Registry since 2012!

And Melissa is far from the only one swinging at moles. For years, consumers have described the same Hilton Grand Vacations playbook in public complaints:

• One customer reported 5 calls a day and was told the company got his cell number from a past Hilton stay…a number he says he never handed over.
• Another described a “one-hour presentation” that stretched to nearly 5 hours, with reps refusing to let the family leave even after they explained a relative was terminally ill.
• A third said the calls came 17 times a day, and reps flatly refused to take the number off their list.

Here’s the thing. Hilton Grand Vacations is a member of the American Resort Development Association (ARDA), the timeshare industry’s trade group.  It is supposed to follow ARDA’s Code of Ethics, which requires members to “conduct their activities honestly and fairly… with professionalism, integrity, dignity and propriety.”

Harassing a cancer patient with 13 calls from 13 different numbers after she begged you to stop? We’ll let you decide how that stacks up against “dignity and propriety.”

So who’s holding Hilton Grand Vacations accountable? Well, you would think that would be Mark Wang, the longtime chief executive of Hilton Grand Vacations.  He also sits on ARDA’s board of directors. Maybe we should email him to say that asking ARDA to referee Hilton’s conduct is a bit like handing the mallet to the mole. His email is mark.wang@hgv.com

Let’s give ARDA’s leadership a swing of their own. Email Jason Gamel, President and CEO of ARDA, at jgamel@arda.org and ask just what ARDA is doing about members who allegedly bury sick customers in robocalls after they’ve asked, repeatedly, to be left alone.

Does your timeshare company treat you like a carnival target? Use the contact information in this list of ARDA VIPs to take a swing back at your company’s leaders.

Plagued by timeshare company misbehavior? Check in with us at info@timesharefacts.com.

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