You could have knocked us down with a feather!
The timeshare industry… wait for it… they have a code of ethics!
Seriously! Who knew?
In fact, the American Resort Development Association (ARDA), the trade association for timeshare companies, is so proud of its Code of Ethics that it devotes a whole page on its website to it.
And the way they tell it, it’s really, really good:
“ARDA and its members are committed to upholding the highest standards and ethical behavior in the industry. To demonstrate that commitment, all ARDA members must agree to comply with the ARDA Code of Ethics (Code) as a condition of membership.”
Well, there you go! Doesn’t THAT sound like a great idea!
We particularly liked the requirement you can find right at the beginning of the code:
“All Members shall conduct their activities honestly and fairly in compliance with applicable laws, and with professionalism, integrity, dignity and propriety.”
Well, there you go… again! And that got us thinking.
If honesty, dignity and integrity are required to be a member of ARDA, then how does Hilton Grand Vacations keep getting away with so many outright lies, morally questionable tactics and broken promises?
Why doesn’t ARDA’s Ethics Committee step in?
That’s where it gets even more interesting.
Because the ARDA Code of Ethics mandates that only representatives of ARDA members and staff can serve on the Ethics Committee.
In other words, the timeshare companies just police themselves!
That’s a pretty self-interested way for an industry watchdog to operate. And not a particularly effective one.
You might even call it antithetical to ethical.
But in Hilton’s case, it gets worse.
As it turns out, the Code of Ethics also requires that everyone on the Ethics Committee be appointed jointly by the Chair of ARDA’s board of directors and Jason Gamel, ARDA’s CEO and President.
And who is the Chair?
Well, that would be Gordon Gurnik…who just happens to be the Chief Operating Officer of – wait for it again – yup, Hilton Grand Vacations!
Well, isn’t that convenient?
It sure is…for Hilton.
For the rest of us? It’s…enlightening.
And it explains so much.
The fox is clearly guarding the ARDA hen house. And timeshare customers are what’s for dinner.
There has to be a better way.
Let’s see if Gordon Gurnik can think of any. Email him at gordon.gurnik@hgv.com to find out when he plans to end this kind of self-dealing on an industry-wide scale.
We can ask Mark Wang, the CEO of Hilton Grand Vacations, to weigh in, too. After all, he’s on ARDA’s board. See a pattern here? Let’s ask if he can recognize the problem by emailing him at mark.wang@hgv.com.
We should also contact Jason Gamel, ARDA’s CEO and President. Not only does he help choose the members of the Ethics Committee, he’s actually a member of the committee himself. Let’s email him at jgamel@arda.org and ask if this antithetical ethical setup was his idea.
Spotted some questionable ethics at your own timeshare company? Contact your company’s leaders using this list of ARDA VIPs to find out if they are taking their cues from ARDA.
Does your timeshare company need something stronger than self-policing? Tell us why at info@timesharefacts.com
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