Timeshare Resales: An Honest Dialogue Begins

January 20th, 2011

One of the goals of writing this blog has been to spark conversations about selling timeshare, and the timeshare resale market. I believe that by exchanging ideas, both within the industry and with individual owners, a path forward will emerge – one that facilitates stronger resale values for owners, and fosters a more positive view of timeshare ownership. It’s in this spirit that I dutifully read the blogs and articles about timeshare resales that appear in my feed reader. Sadly, most of what’s out there is either spammy auto-generated nonsense, or simply a rehash of news stories appearing elsewhere. That said, times they are a changing…

Recently, some thought provoking dialogue has been taking place on the Wall Street Journal Online Community boards – an effort spearheaded by Richard Marquette, a commission-only timeshare broker. Topics have included resale values, ownership transfer procedures, and avoiding timeshare scams. Mr. Marquette is a vocal opponent of paying any fee to advertise your timeshare – a great concept if your timeshare can be listed on a commission only basis. (Timeshare brokers often limit themselves to high-line properties like Disney, Hilton, etc.) Overall, though, the dialogue has been informative and positive thusfar.

Elsewhere on the internet one of my favorite timeshare commentators, Mark Silverman – Timeshare Examiner, has been hard at work producing an exhaustive analysis of the secondary timeshare market. Mr. Silverman is a print journalist and radio commentator with a real love for the timeshare product that shows through in his perspective. He’s also probably also the only person talking about timeshare that can be reasonably considered unbiased. (Which is why we’ve linked to his website since the start of this blog.) Take the time to read his series of articles on the timeshare resale market and you won’t regret it!

There will always be conflicting ideas about how timeshares should or should not be sold, and that’s okay. Anyone with the courage of their convictions shouldn’t be threatened by an opposing viewpoint. What’s needed is an honest and open dialogue about the industry’s struggles. We can start with the common ground: timeshare owners should not pay a company that calls and tells them the timeshare is already sold, relief companies (or postcard companies) are poisonous to resale values, and timeshare owners deserve a robust resale market. Beyond that, only good can come from having more intellectually honest discussions about selling timeshare.

Entry Filed under: Perceptions,Resale Market,Sell Timeshare