The resort name on your membership may not be the company you’re actually doing business with.
When you buy a timeshare or vacation club membership, you probably believe you’re entering into an agreement with the resort whose name is on the building.
That’s a reasonable assumption.
You stayed at the resort. You attended the sales presentation there. The salesperson talked about the resort and its benefits. The brochures displayed the resort’s name and photographs. You may even have been told that you were becoming an “owner” or joining the resort’s vacation club.
Then you get home and actually start reading your contract.
Suddenly, you see company names you’ve never heard before.
An LLC. A corporation. A “Mediator.” An “Administrator.” A finance company. Perhaps even a company located in another state or another country.
So who did you actually sign a contract with?
After spending 15 years working inside the timeshare and vacation ownership industry and another 10 years helping owners understand their contracts and pursue cancellation, I’ve learned that this is one of the most important questions a timeshare owner can ask.
The name on the resort may be the brand you recognize.
The company on your contract is what you need to pay attention to.
The Resort Brand and the Contracting Company May Be Different
Many timeshare and vacation club arrangements involve more than one company.
A well-known hospitality or resort brand may provide the name, properties, marketing and vacation experience that attracted you in the first place.
But another legal entity may actually:
- Enter into the membership agreement with you
- Administer your vacation club membership
- Collect your payments
- Finance your purchase
- Service a promissory note
- Handle billing
- Enforce certain provisions of the contract
- Determine where contractual disputes must be handled
This is what I refer to as the brand-versus-entity split.
The resort brand is what the consumer sees.
The legal entities behind the transaction are what the consumer needs to understand.
Why Does This Matter to a Timeshare Owner?
It matters because when something goes wrong, you need to know who you’re actually dealing with.
Suppose you believe you purchased a membership directly from Resort ABC.
You send Resort ABC a cancellation request.
But your membership agreement actually identifies ABC Vacation Membership Holdings LLC as the seller or administrator.
Your financing agreement identifies another company.
Your automatic payments are processed by yet another company.
Now what appeared to be one simple relationship may actually involve several separate businesses.
That’s particularly important if you’re trying to:
- Cancel your timeshare
- Dispute a charge
- Stop automatic payments
- Challenge something you believe was misrepresented
- Resolve a financing dispute
- File a consumer complaint
- Determine who actually owns or services your debt
Before you take action, identify the companies named in your documents.
Look Beyond the Logo on the First Page
When I review an owner’s documents, I’m not interested only in the large resort logo at the top.
I want to know what the contract actually says.
Look for words such as:
- Seller
- Developer
- Administrator
- Mediator
- Lender
- Creditor
- Transfer Agent
Membership Company
Management Company
Then look for the company’s complete legal name.
For example, don’t stop when you see the name of the resort.
Look for something resembling:
ABC Vacation Holdings LLC
or:
XYZ Membership Services, Inc.
That company name can be far more important than the logo printed across the top of the page.
One Vacation Club Membership Can Involve Several Companies
I recently reviewed a membership agreement involving Unlimited Vacation Club.
The paperwork illustrates why owners need to look deeper than the recognizable hospitality name.
The contract identified two companies as parties to the agreement: UVC Global Panama, S. de R.L. and UVC Sales Panama, S. de R.L.
The paperwork also referenced other entities involved with different aspects of the membership, including a company administering an additional loyalty program and another company appearing in connection with billing.
That means a consumer who thinks of the purchase simply as “my resort membership” may actually have paperwork involving several separate corporate entities.
This does not automatically mean anyone has done anything illegal.
Large hospitality and vacation ownership businesses commonly use multiple corporations for different business functions.
The important question for the consumer is:
Do you know which company is responsible for which part of your agreement?
Your Financing Agreement May Be Different From Your Membership Contract
This is where owners need to be especially careful.
If you financed your timeshare or vacation club purchase, don’t assume the membership agreement and the financing agreement are legally identical.
They may not be.
- Your membership agreement might identify one company.
- Your promissory note might identify another.
- One agreement could contain one governing-law provision, while another document contains different terms.
- The company collecting your monthly payments may also be different from the company whose name appears prominently on the resort.
That’s why I tell owners with an outstanding balance:
Don’t review only the membership agreement. Review the financing documents too.
You need to understand both relationships.
Pay Attention to the Governing-Law and Jurisdiction Clauses
Another section owners frequently overlook appears toward the back of the contract.
Look for headings such as:
- Governing Law
- Jurisdiction
- Venue
- Dispute Resolution
- Arbitration
These provisions may identify the state or country whose laws govern the agreement or where certain contractual disputes must be handled.
This can become especially important with international vacation clubs.
For example, a consumer could purchase a vacation membership while staying at a resort in one country, sign an agreement with a company incorporated in another country, and have a financing document containing its own separate provisions.
That’s why you should never assume that the physical location of the resort tells you everything you need to know about your contract.
Does a Foreign Jurisdiction Clause Mean You Have No Rights at Home?
Not necessarily.
A contract may contain a provision requiring disputes to be handled in a particular jurisdiction, but that doesn’t automatically answer every legal question.
The enforceability of a jurisdiction or forum-selection clause can depend on factors including where the agreement was signed, applicable consumer-protection laws, the disclosures provided during the transaction and the particular circumstances of the case.
Government consumer-protection authorities may also have powers that aren’t necessarily eliminated simply because a private contract contains a particular jurisdiction provision.
Those are legal questions that may require advice from an attorney qualified in the appropriate jurisdiction.
The important lesson for owners is simpler:
Find the clause and understand what you agreed to before you decide what to do next.
How to Find the Company Behind Your Timeshare Contract
Pull out your original purchase documents.
Don’t just look at the resort’s name.
Start with the membership or purchase agreement and identify the full legal name of every company mentioned.
Then check:
1. Your Purchase or Membership Agreement
Who is identified as the seller, developer, membership company, administrator or mediator?
Write down the exact corporate name.
2. Your Financing Documents
If you financed the purchase, who is identified as the lender, creditor or payee?
Don’t assume it’s the same company as the membership company.
3. Your Billing Statements
Who actually receives your payments?
Check your credit-card and bank statements as well.
4. Your Maintenance-Fee Statements
What company or association sends the bill?
Again, it may not be the same company that sold the membership.
5. Your Automatic-Payment Authorization
Look at the name of the company authorized to withdraw money from your account.
6. Your Governing-Law Provision
Determine what state or country the agreement says governs the contract.
7. Your Dispute-Resolution Provision
Look for arbitration, jurisdiction, venue and dispute-resolution requirements.
By the time you’ve finished, you may discover that what you thought was one timeshare relationship actually involves several different entities.
Don’t Assume Every Company Named in Your Documents Does the Same Thing
This is another common mistake.
- The company administering your membership may not own your financing agreement.
- The company processing payments may not be the developer.
- The resort management company may not be the company that sold you the membership.
- And the recognizable hotel brand may not be the company legally responsible for your contract.
- That distinction becomes extremely important when an owner wants out.
- Sending the right document to the wrong company can waste valuable time.
What Should You Do If You Want to Cancel?
Before paying a timeshare exit company thousands of dollars—or sending cancellation letters you’ve downloaded from the internet—understand your own paperwork.
Start by answering five questions:
- Who sold me the timeshare or membership?
- What company is actually named in my contract?
- Do I have a separate financing agreement or promissory note?
- Who currently receives my payments?
- What do my governing-law, jurisdiction and dispute provisions actually say?
Those answers give you a much clearer picture of what you’re dealing with.
Don’t Sign New Documents Until You Understand the Old Ones
Owners sometimes receive new paperwork when they’re trying to resolve a timeshare problem.
That might include a new financing agreement, modification, transfer agreement, trade-in document or other paperwork.
Be careful.
Before signing something new, understand how it affects the agreements you already have.
A new document can potentially create obligations that didn’t exist before.
Read it first.
Ask questions.
And when appropriate, have it reviewed by a qualified professional before signing it.
The Bottom Line
Your resort and your timeshare contract are not necessarily the same thing.
The beautiful resort you visited is the part of the transaction you remember.
The corporate entities buried inside your paperwork are the part you need to understand.
There may be nothing improper about having several companies involved in a timeshare or vacation club transaction. That’s common in many industries.
But consumers deserve to understand exactly who they’re doing business with.
If you own a timeshare or vacation club membership, take out your contract and look beyond the logo.
Find the complete legal name of the company on the agreement.
Then check your financing documents.
Check your billing statements.
Check the jurisdiction provisions.
You may be surprised by what you find.
And if you’re considering cancellation, understanding who actually owns, administers or finances your timeshare agreement should be one of your first steps.
This article is based in part on vacation club documents I have personally reviewed and on patterns I’ve observed during my years working in and around the timeshare industry. It is provided for general consumer education and is not legal advice. Everything About Timeshares provides timeshare education and document preparation services and is not a law firm.
Wayne C. Robinson
Everything About Timeshares