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Some timeshare operators have the opinion that they are benefiting from an economy in which people turn to timeshare when they cannot afford a second home. To attract new customers and keep existing owners happy the companies make resort maintenance a priority, consequently however, this creates the perfect conditions for rising maintenance fees.

Allegedly statistics suggest that customers continue to pay maintenance fees because they like having the benefits of a timeshare. If this is the case, then it is left to question why so many timeshare owners desperately try get rid of their timeshare which they consider more as a financial burden than an asset. Buying a timeshare is an expensive purchase in the first place and due to increasing maintenance fees it steadily costs the client more and more as time goes on.

Many timeshare owners keep paying their maintenance fees, because they don’t want to lose the money they initially spent on it. “Will the consumer pay the $800 or give up the $24,000 they have already spent?” asked the chairman and CEO of Diamond Resorts International. This is only one consequence if owners stop paying maintenance fees. They could also end up in court being forced to pay their fees.

Increasing maintenance fees can quickly drain financial resources and timeshare owners try to dispose of the financial burden, but selling a timeshare is another tricky aspect. It will usually be for a substantial loss, if they can sell it at all. Developers are not willing to buy it back and many timeshare owners find themselves tied up in a deal for decades due to a perpetuity clause in the contract.

Mr and Mrs Horwell who are trying to dispose of their timeshare state that “The maintenance fees continue to rise to a point where we don’t think it is worth keeping it. We called the resort and asked about giving the week up by not paying the yearly fee. They said we cannot do that. It was suggested that we try to sell it”. They then figured out that they would have to pay a transfer fee of about $700 along with the maintenance fee of $800, thus resulting in them having to pay $1,500 just to get out of it.

The case of Mr and Mrs Harrison is quite similar; “We have a timeshare week in Fuerteventura and spent 2 successful holidays there, but have found the maintenance fees going up year by year and now we feel that it would be cheaper for us to book a holiday via the internet. We are not sure what to do though. If we just don’t pay the maintenance fees we risk eventually being taken to court. The only people we have managed to find who will sell it for us are asking for about £180 advertising fees up front and this sounds like a bit of a scam to us” – and they are right to be suspicious of companies requesting up front fees. Once the fee has been paid, these companies have little or no incentive to put any effort into finding a buyer.

Many holiday makers considered timeshare as a better value option to enjoy high end holidays. It is left to question whether this is really the case. It is rather cheaper to book a holiday via internet today. Holiday makers can book high quality apartments much cheaper and without the burden of paying annual maintenance fees, especially in this very competitive marketplace. There are millions of cheap holidays to search and book online. Due to the economic downturn hotels also offer special deals. Customers can book online in a matter of minutes or over the phone with the help of travel experts.

With the ongoing crisis that the global economy is experiencing today, no sane individual would continue to pay for something that provides insufficient returns or nothing at all. Then, why do timeshare owners keep paying for hefty maintenance fees, special assessments, exchange fees, property taxes and other associated fees every year even though they might not make use of their timeshares? Because the contract that they signed at that euphoric moment when they were buying into a “lifetime of luxury holidays” commits them to do exactly that! We all know that hindsight has 20-20 vision, but the reality is that simply booking a holiday online, as and when you want to, can be a lot less stressful and in the long term, an option which offers much better value.

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