For most of my professional life, travel wasn’t something I did once or twice a year. Travel was my life.
I worked throughout the travel and tourism industry, including cruise ships, commercial aviation, private jets, bus tours and eventually vacation ownership resorts. I’ve traveled extensively and experienced tourism from perspectives most vacationers never see.
Eventually, that journey led me into the timeshare industry.
And that experience changed the direction of my life.
I Didn’t Start Out Trying to Cancel Timeshares
I spent more than 15 years working directly inside the timeshare and vacation ownership industry.
I worked in the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. My experience included sales, marketing and contracts, and I worked with or around major vacation ownership organizations and resorts. Eventually, my career took me to the position of Director of Sales and Marketing for a vacation ownership operation at a luxury resort in Jamaica.
I learned how this business operates from the inside.
I learned how prospects are brought into presentations.
I learned how salespeople are trained.
I learned how vacation ownership products are presented.
I learned how contracts are structured.
And, perhaps most importantly, I learned what happens after the excitement of the presentation is over and the owner goes home.
That last part eventually became more important to me than selling another membership.
The Vacation Dream Is Powerful
I understand why people buy timeshares.
That’s something I believe gets lost in many discussions about the industry.
People aren’t necessarily foolish for buying them.
They’re buying a dream.
Imagine sitting at a beautiful resort in Cancun, Jamaica or another vacation destination. You’re relaxed. Your family is having a wonderful time.
Then someone shows you beautiful accommodations and asks a very compelling question:
Wouldn’t you like to vacation like this every year?
Of course you would.
I’ve spent much of my life traveling. I understand that feeling better than most.
The problem isn’t necessarily the vacation.
The problem can be the long-term financial commitment attached to that vacation.
Eventually, I Started Seeing the Other Side
Selling vacation ownership taught me how people get into timeshares.
My later experiences taught me something else:
Getting into a timeshare can be considerably easier than getting out of one.
Life changes.
People retire.
A spouse dies.
Health circumstances change.
Children grow up.
Travel habits change.
Finances change.
Maintenance fees can increase.
Something purchased during one stage of life may no longer make sense 10, 15 or 20 years later.
Yet the contract remains.
That’s where my perspective on this industry began to change.
I Eventually Became an Author Instead of Just an Industry Insider
I decided consumers needed to understand the industry before, during and after the sale.
That eventually led me to write Everything About Timeshares: Before, During, and After the Sale.
The purpose wasn’t simply to tell people that timeshares were good or bad.
That’s too simplistic.
I wanted consumers to understand what they were buying.
After years inside the industry, I knew something consumers often didn’t:
The salesperson sitting across the table understands the product far better than the person being asked to buy it.
Education helps reduce that imbalance.
My work gradually shifted from selling vacation ownership to educating owners about contracts, cancellation options and the realities of getting out.
Today, that’s where I spend much of my time.
I’ve Also Learned That Travel Has Changed
My years in tourism have given me another perspective that I believe matters when discussing timeshares.
Consumers have more choices today.
I’ve personally used Airbnb extensively.
My wife and I once spent approximately three months traveling through Argentina. Instead of owning one vacation property, we stayed in different apartments and experienced different communities.
We spent time in Buenos Aires. We traveled to Mendoza. We visited wineries, enjoyed Malbec and experienced life much more like residents than hotel guests.
Our accommodations averaged roughly $550 per month.
That experience reinforced something I’ve come to believe strongly:
Travel freedom and vacation ownership are not the same thing.
I’ve had similar experiences cruising.
My wife and I took three cruises totaling approximately six weeks for about $3,700. Our accommodations, meals, transportation between destinations and entertainment were largely bundled into the experience.
Compare that flexibility with purchasing a property that brings mortgages, taxes, maintenance, repairs and other responsibilities.
There isn’t one correct answer for everybody.
But consumers deserve to understand the alternatives before making a long-term commitment.
Timeshares Aren’t Automatically the Enemy Either
This is where my position may surprise some people.
I’m now known for helping people understand how to get out of unwanted timeshares, but I don’t believe every timeshare is automatically bad.
For the right owner, the right product at the right price can provide years of vacations.
The real question is:
Does the ownership still work for your life?
If the answer is yes, enjoy it.
If the answer is no, then you need to understand your options.
That’s very different from automatically telling every owner to stop paying, hire an expensive exit company or abandon a contract without understanding the consequences.
My years inside the industry taught me to look at the individual contract and circumstances first.
Why I Now Help Owners Cancel Their Timeshares
Eventually, my career came full circle.
I once helped people enter vacation ownership.
Today, I help owners understand how they may be able to leave it.
My industry experience includes sales and contracts, so I understand how these agreements are structured and how resorts operate. My educational programs now focus on helping families understand their rights, organize their documentation and evaluate possible paths for resolving unwanted timeshare obligations.
And I think that background matters.
There are plenty of people willing to tell a timeshare owner what to do.
Fewer have actually sat on the other side of the table.
I’ve been there.
I’ve sold the dream.
I’ve worked with the contracts.
I’ve managed within the industry.
I’ve written about the industry.
And now I work with the people who wake up one day and say:
“I don’t want this anymore. What can I do?”
The Most Important Lesson From My 25 Years in Vacation Ownership
After everything I’ve seen, my advice is remarkably simple:
Understand what you’re signing before you buy—and understand your options before you pay someone to get you out.
Don’t make either decision because someone frightened you.
Don’t make either decision because someone pressured you.
And don’t assume the person asking for thousands of dollars necessarily knows more about your contract than you do.
Ask questions.
Read your documents.
Understand exactly who you’re dealing with.
And when something doesn’t make sense, slow down until it does.
That’s ultimately why I created Everything About Timeshares.
My career started on the industry side of the table.
Today, I want the consumer sitting on the other side of that table to have the knowledge that I wish every owner had before signing.