“Your home away from home awaits.”
A saying so quaint, you can imagine it stitched onto a throw pillow. So we were a little amused to find it was also a marketing slogan that Diamond Resorts promotes on its website.
Judging from the hundreds of complaints we’ve read about Diamond, it would be more accurate if Diamond promised, “Your home away from home awaits…
…and waits
…and waits….!!”
The Better Business Bureau is where we found the just the latest dramatic example of how the reality of a Diamond experience diverges from what’s promised in its advertising campaigns.
“I write this letter as a victim of deceit and a corporate culture that seems to thrive on broken promises and false hopes.”
“Each interaction with Diamond’s representatives has been a painstaking testament to their abject failure in delivering on their word.”
At their initial sales presentation in Florida, this owner was told they would be able to rent their timeshare out.
But they got an entirely different message from another Diamond agent at the next marketing meeting.
“It has become painfully apparent that our initial investment was sold on a foundation of lies, most notably during our first ‘upgrade’ experience in May 2022.”
“We were told by another sales rep that the Florida rep lied about the potential to rent out or receive a monetary return on unused timeshare points, a key selling point verbalized by the Florida sales rep, was nothing more than a web of deceit.”
Wow. Just…wow.
Naturally, our owner felt betrayed.
“Was I not assured that upgrading my timeshare would unlock opportunities and experiences like never before?”
Yes, yes you were.
“Yet here I stand, thousands of dollars down the drain, with the bitter truth that I’ve been manipulated by a billion-dollar corporation.”
Okay, they can’t rent it out, but certainly they can enjoy “your home away from home” on their own, right?
Uh, no.
“Since my regrettable induction into this timeshare scam, my family has not spent a single night enjoying this supposed ‘perpetuity of vacation luxury.’”
“Instead, our attempts to use the timeshare have consistently met with unavailability.”
Sounds like the only thing they will be doing in perpetuity is waiting for their first stay!
“The message from Diamond has been loud and clear: ‘We don’t care.’”
Message received.
Think Mark Wang, the CEO of Hilton Grand Vacations, which purchased Diamond Resorts in 2021, is aware of the signals Diamond is sending? Let’s find out by emailing him at mark.wang@hgv.com.
We should also send an SOS to Jason Gamel, the President and CEO of the American Resort Development Association (ARDA), the trade association that represents the timeshare industry in Washington, DC. Let’s ask him to send the message to Diamond that marketing based on a “foundation of lies” isn’t exactly a good look for the rest of the industry. Jason’s email is jgamel@arda.org.
Have a message of your own to send to your timeshare company’s leaders? Use this list of ARDA VIPs to contact them.
Still waiting to stay in your home away from home with Diamond? Share your story with us at info@timesharefacts.com
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