January TARDA Newsletter – Timeshare Transparency Act – Show Your Support for the Bipartisan Bill – Dueling Capital Resorts Lawsuits
Categories: Monthly NewslettersDecember 22, 2025
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The TIMESHARE TRANSPARENCY ACT has been long-awaited, offering federal oversight and other provisions for the protection of timeshare consumers. We know of no timeshare member or owner who has been harmed by unfair and deceptive practices that would oppose the Timeshare Transparency Act introduced by Senator John Curtis of Utah (R) and California Senator Adam Schiff (D). It is of note that AARP Supports the Bill, but the timeshare industry lobby, ARDA, opposes a bill that would offer consumer protection. Our 14 board members at TARDA are in full support of any bill that would bring greater accountability and transparency.
We are asking you to show support for the Timeshare Transparency Act. If you live in one of the 27 states of the Senators who serve on the Senate Committee for Commerce, Science and Transportation, that will debate the bill, reach out to show your support. Share your timeshare experience. Committee members:
https://www.commerce.senate.gov/members
You can share your opinion with Senator John Curtis by clicking this box, Contact Us, and “Share Your Opinion”
CURTIS, SCHIFF INTRODUCE BILL TO PROTECT CONSUMERS FROM PREDATORY TIMESHARE PRACTICES
To contact Senator Adam Schiff:
To Track the Bill and Find Your Local Members of Congress
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/119/s3502
We applaud the efforts of Senators Curtis and Schiff, but feel the 14-day rescission period will have little effect due to the fact that the purchaser typically does not have access to the booking site until after the cancellation period has expired. A standardized 14-day rescind period would eliminate the confusion caused by rescind periods that varies by state from three to ten days, but availability is not part of the contract. Also, several developer contracts state you can rent to offset costs or earn income, but fail to disclose the fees and obstacles that make the strategy unfeasible. The only opportunity to truly protect the consumer would be if the rescission period began the day the purchaser obtained access to the booking site.
The Timeshare Transparency Act would require all timeshare agreements to:
● Include a single document itemizing all acquisition and maintenance costs.
● Mandate disclosure of modifiable fees and the notice requirements for such changes.
● Provide clear, documented options to exit ownership.
● Grant buyers a 14-day penalty-free cancellation period.
● Allow buyers time to privately review the timeshare agreement.
● Empowers the Federal Trade Commission to enforce these rules and issue further regulations.
● Preserves the rights of states to enact stronger consumer protections in regulating the timeshare industry.
Additional concerns:
● Not disclosing the meeting or “update” is a solicitation.
A common comment concerns branded hotels like Hilton/Marriott/Holiday Inn soliciting with the caller not disclosing the invitation is about timeshare. Instead, the loyalty member is invited to hear about our “vacation program.” Existing members are often told that what they will be attending is informational or an orientation, when in actuality, it is an attempt to sell more points.
● The recorded closing used as an entrapment.
Diamond Resorts started recording the closing in 2017, after the Arizona Attorney General issued an Assurance of Discontinuance. The purchaser is not allowed to record. We have received many reports of agents coaching what to say or not say on the recording closing. If a buyer asks a question, the recording is stopped, the deception confirmed, and the recording device turned back on. If the recorded closing can be used against the purchaser, the purchaser should be allowed to record the sales session.
● A timeshare loan should not be defined as a mortgage
A timeshare loan should be categorized as an installment loan, not a mortgage. One of our greatest concerns is the number of active duty service members who have reported finding their security clearances in jeopardy because of unfair and deceptive timeshare practices. The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, in Steines vs Westgate, upheld a lower Florida court ruling that a timeshare loan is not the same as a home mortgage. The Military Lending Act (MLA) exempts home mortgages. FNMA and the NCUA state on their websites that a timeshare loan is not a mortgage loan. In spite of this, developers call a timeshare loan a mortgage. Timeshare contracts are financed at 12% to 19%, with little to no resale value. Commissions are not disclosed. Selling and marketing expenses run as high as 50% or more, including the “free” gifts.
● The oral representation/non-reliance clause does not belong in a timeshare contract.
If it is, it should be disclosed at or prior to the presentation, not buried in volumes of fine print.
Who does the American Resort Development Association (ARDA) Protect?
In 2019, former Rep. Shawnna Bolick sponsored an Arizona Bill that would have allowed a 24-hour cooling off period BEFORE signing a contract. The bill passed the House 100%, but was defeated in the Senate. At the Senate hearing, ARDA lobbyist Don Isaacson argued:
“But the bottom line is that the state should not step in to protect people who didn’t bother to understand the nature of the deal. You are buying real estate, you are buying it as an adult.”
Scam experts agree that it is a red flag if you are demanded to buy the same day an offer is presented.
ARDA opposes the Act, stating current regulations are adequate. The National Association of Attorneys General disagrees:
Unfortunately, the current landscape of the timeshare industry has exposed significant inadequacies in protection for those seeking to purchase, lease, or exit their timeshare contracts.
https://www.naag.org/attorney-general-journal/timeshare-obligations-regulations-and-challenges
ARDA is the timeshare industry’s Washington-based trade association and a major lobbying force on Capital Hill and in Tallahassee. ARDA-ROC is a Political Action Committee. ARDA-ROC raises approximately $5 million a year in opt-out donations, invoiced on maintenance fees. Opting out of the donation is not always easy. Not one of over 3,000 timeshare members our volunteers have asked, have been able to answer the question, “What is ARDA?”
Why the switch to “opt-out” ARDA-ROC contributions? Reported by the Broward Bulldog (renamed Florida Bulldog)
The American Resort Development Association — Resort Owners Coalition PAC will also pay a $300,000 civil penalty. It is the largest fine imposed by the FEC (Federal Election Commission) since 2007. The charges, most $3 to $5, were billed to individual timeshare owners along with tax and maintenance charges. The small donations, not itemized by the PAC, totaled $8.4 million between 2003 and 2007, records show. Political contributions are voluntary, and federal law requires solicitations to make that clear. Federal records show that since 2006, ARDA has spent more than $1.1 million on Washington lobbyists to oppose such things as mortgage reform legislation, including the expansion of truth-in-lending requirements to timeshare buyers.
Timeshare Users Group (TUG): [2017]: Got my maintenance fee statement from Diamond. There was no mention of ARDA fees, BUT when I compared the DUES part with the lower total fees section, there was a $7 difference. There was no mention of the extra $7 being for ARDA. So I changed the amount at the bottom to reflect what was actually stated of the $904. Just be aware.
A YouTube video, concerning ARDA-ROC recommending companies that charge upfront fees to list a timeshare,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lPhsKp09vg
Timeshare Hostages
TARDA hears from many angry owners, who purchased a timeshare years ago, especially Club Exploria, Soleil Management, Great Eastern owners, that will not allow an exit under any circumstance. Several independent Legacy resorts do not allow an exit.
The timeshare industry’s top lobbyist told ConsumerAffairs that points have no resale value, while claiming that consumers don’t mind this because – “Their value comes from using it,”
Florida Timeshare Owners Group, reported by RedWeek
A former pro-industry group, the Florida Timeshare Owners Group, questioned the ARDA-ROC donation after ARDA lobbied to pass a law in Florida in 2015 making it more difficult to be released from a timeshare contract due to “non-material” errors.
“Any timeshare owner who donated $5 to ARDA and ARDA-ROC has financially supported the developers’ interests over the interests of their own, fellow timeshare owners, and all future purchasers,”
https://www.redweek.com/resources/ask-redweek/arda-roc-donation-in-maintenance-bill
https://www.redweek.com/blog/2019/12/02/arda-roc-maintenance-fees
Legislative Hypocrisy: According to ARDA-ROC’s 2019 website for timeshare members:
ARDA-ROC is working on four core state issues in 14 states (including): Non-Judicial Foreclosure
Judicial Foreclosure – a legal proceeding that is lengthy, lender can recover losses
Nonjudicial Foreclosure – 1) Notice of Delinquency 2) Notice of Default 3) Notice of Lien 4) Notice of Sale
Support non-judicial foreclosure laws which provide strong consumer protection provisions.
https://www.redweek.com/blog/2019/12/02/arda-roc-maintenance-fees
ARDA-ROC Chairman Kenneth McKelvey, stated in minutes of the April 10, 2019 at ARDA’s World conference:
“The best thing we can do with exit (is) judicial foreclosure, ruin the credit and enforce the contract,” McKelvey said.
There is no true voice of the consumer in Washington D.C. ARDA-ROC Board of Directors (2019):
Travis Bary, RRP, Capital Vacations, Janice Feirstein RRP, Daily Management, Inc.
Jon Fredericks, RRP, Welk Resorts, Jason Gamel, ARDA
Ada Grzywna, Bluegreen Vacations, Don Harrill, RRP, Holiday Inn Club Vacations
Neil Hutchinson, RRP, Hilton Grand Vacations, Robert Miller, RRP, Global Alliance for Timeshare Excellence
Richard Muller, RRP, VRI Americas, Thomas Nelson, Holiday Inn Club Vacations
Geoff Richards, Wyndham Destinations, Lisa Siegert-Free, RRP, Christie Lodge
Robert Spottswood, Spottswood Companies, Inc.
Owner Representative: Sverre Thomassen, Previous President for Desert Springs Villas II Timeshare Association
Kimberly Tramontana, RRP, Breckenridge Grand Vacations
Chris Van Ruiten, RRP, Comerica Securities, Inc.
Mark Wang, Hilton Grand Vacations, Robert Webb Esq., RRP, Baker & Hostetler
Scott Weisz, Marriott Vacations Worldwide, Stephen Weisz, RRP, Marriott Vacations Worldwide
In 2019, five timeshare members, who resolved our disputes, formed Timeshare and Resort Developer Accountability Inc., a 501c4. (TARDA). https://tarda.org/
Talk back to X
X posters posted several posts belittling the proposed bill and Senator Curtis. Anyone who supports our military should support the Timeshare Transparency Act
Legal Updates: Capital Resorts Lawsuits
Master Sergeant Julio Pacheco and Technical Sergeant Slone Pacheco v. Capital Resorts Group, LLC and Capital Resorts Club, Inc. was filed December 12, 2025, with the US District Court for the District of South Carolina, Florence Division, (case No. not yet assigned)
The Air Force active duty Military Plaintiffs allege they were told they could rent out the timeshare to cover all costs. With that not being true, they are struggling to make loan payments, in fear of involuntary separation from service if they default.
We have heard from many active duty service members with security clearance concerns, reporting unfair and deceptive practices.
Capital Resorts Group v. Stonegate Firm and Stonegate Law, et. al., was filed October 24, 2025, in the US District Court for the District of South Carolina, Beaufort Division. Civil Action No: 9:25-cv-13124-BHH
Capital Resorts aka Capital Vacations, alleges that Stonegate misleads those seeking release by advertising: “Click here to find out if your timeshare is eligible for cancellation” when only the resort can determine eligibility for cancellation. Stonegate’s website also states: That’s right – Attorneys actually negotiate an amicable release from your timeshare when the truth is that timeshare developers will not negotiate with third party exit companies.
TARDA would not exist without your support. Let’s hope TARDA becomes obsolete because of reaching our goal of better honesty, transparency and accountability in timeshare marketing, sales and lending practices.
Let us hear from you if you wish to join our efforts to make a difference or donate to the cause.
Social media groups include Club Exploria Hostages, Vacation Village Unfortunate Owners https://www.facebook.com/groups/1309724916165817, Westgate Resorts Hostages, Bluegreen Hostages, https://www.facebook.com/groups/DiamondResortsOwnersAdvocacy,
https://tarda.org/get-involved/