Timeshare Transparency Act S. 3502 AND H.R. 9255 – a House Bill Introduced by Congressman Glenn Thompson (PA) and Congresswoman Kathy Castor (FL) June Newsletter
Categories: Monthly NewslettersDecember 22, 2025
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The TIMESHARE TRANSPARENCY ACT offers federal oversight and other provisions for the protection of timeshare consumers. The bipartisan Senate bill was first introduced by Senator John Curtis (UT) and Senator Adam Schiff (CA). On June 11, Congressman Glenn Thompson (PA) and Congresswoman Kathy Castor (FL) introduced a House companion bill, H. R. 9255.
At The Hive: TARDA co-founder Irene Parker, Don Parker, Utah Senator John Curtis (R), TARDA co-founder and President Sheilah Brust, and Kimberly Calhoun, PodTV Executive Producer of Timeshare Solution or Surrender
Our TARDA board and volunteers across the country express our deepest gratitude to five members of Congress who took the time to listen and act. The work has just begun. We are asking all who have been harmed to reach out to their respective members of Congress, not just to show support for the Timeshare Transparency Act, but to ask your members of Congress to cosponsor the bill. The Senate bill had a 5% chance of making it through committee, but those odds increased to 26% with a second co-sponsor, Senator Marsha Blackburn (TN).
H. B. 9255, introduced by Congressman Glenn Thompson (PA) and Congresswoman Kathy Castor (FL).
The press release was also the launch of TARDA’s facelift – our new trade name – Timeshare Advocacy & Reform Disclosure Alliance, Inc. Times change. In 2019, when five timeshare members learned that the Arizona Attorney General received over 1,000 complaints about just one Developer, yet no wrongdoing was admitted, we were concerned about accountability. As we reach out to organizations to ask for letters of support for both bills, we shift towards cooperation and partnerships. AARP supports the bill.
A major concern is the number of active duty service members who found their security clearance in jeopardy because of unfair timeshare marketing, sales, and lending practices. Getting to know so many who have sacrificed so much has been humbling, a privilege, and an honor. Corky, a 22-year Army veteran, with a terminal diagnosis, met with his Congressman’s District Director and us, after learning about ARDA’s comment, “It doesn’t have to be difficult or time-consuming to exit a timeshare.” Corky wrote 10 pages, which he asked us to submit to members of Congress, describing his timeshare battle. Despite no loan, Wyndham refused to take his points back. Now Wyndham’s debt collector is demanding payment.
The Timeshare Transparency Act & the Federal Trade Commission – https://www.ftc.gov/media/71268
If you feel you experienced unfair and/or deceptive practices, file a complaint with the FTC. Few think to file with the FTC, based on interactions with those who have reached out to TARDA, so we believe the number of complaints the FTC receives through their Consumer Sentinel portal is small compared to the actual number of complaints. Senator Curtis questioned Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson about timeshare at the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee hearing on April 15, 2026. Chairman Ferguson stated, “There has been no increase in the number of complaints, but the rate of ‘alleged’ loss has gone up significantly.”
To Track the Bill and Find Your Local Members of Congress, as well as a sample letter:
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/119/s3502
The 27 Senators who serve on the Senate Committee for Commerce, Science, and Transportation debating the bill:
https://www.commerce.senate.gov/members
The Senate bill that includes the bill’s provisions, as well as the letter of support from AARP:
CURTIS, SCHIFF INTRODUCE BILL TO PROTECT CONSUMERS FROM PREDATORY TIMESHARE PRACTICES
What’s not in the bill
- A 14-day rescission period will help to standardize the confusing 3 to 10-day periods that vary by state, but will have little effect on those over-promised availability, because the purchaser typically does not have access to the booking site until after the cancellation period has passed. 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.
- A common complaint is that the sales team promised the ability to rent out a week or weeks to offset costs or earn income, but the contract fails to disclose the fees and obstacles that make the strategy unfeasible. That, and being falsely told it is easy to refinance, drives thousands of families into default.
Not disclosing the meeting or “update” is a solicitation
- Branded hotels like Hilton/Marriott/Holiday Inn solicit without disclosing that the invitation is about timeshare. 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 is being 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 on what to say or not say on the recording closing. 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
- Timeshare contracts are financed at 12% to 19%, with little to no resale value. A timeshare with an outstanding loan is impossible to sell on the open market. Commissions are not disclosed. Selling and marketing expenses run as high as 50% or more, including the “free” gifts. There is little to no equity despite the word bandied about. The Eleventh Circuit Court in Steins vs Westgate Resorts, FNMA, and the NCUA agrees, FNMA and the NCUA stating on their websites that a timeshare loan is not a mortgage loan, even if it is reported as such.
The oral representation/non-reliance clause does not belong in a unilateral timeshare contract
- If it is, it should be disclosed at or before the presentation, not buried in volumes of fine print.
Who does the American Resort Development Association (ARDA) protect?
ARDA opposes the Act, stating that 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. ARDA-ROC, Resort Owners Coalition, raises approximately $5 million a year in opt-out donations, invoiced on maintenance fees. Opting out is not always easy. Only a few timeshare members we’ve asked have been able to answer the question, “What is ARDA?”
Why the switch to opt-out?
Resort Owners Coalition PAC will also pay a $300,000 civil penalty. It is the largest fine imposed by the 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. Reported by the Broward Bulldog (renamed Florida Bulldog)
A Timeshare Users Group (TUG) post: [2017]: Got my maintenance fee statement. 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 listing companies that charge an upfront fee to list a timeshare:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lPhsKp09vg
In 2019, former Arizona Representative Shawnna Bolick, sponsored a 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.”
Timeshare Hostages – Many with no loans seek exit but are denied
The timeshare industry’s top lobbyist told ConsumerAffairs, “Their value comes from using it,” Nusbaum says. “When they [consumers] are done using it, all they want to do is quit paying the 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:
Support non-judicial foreclosure laws that provide strong consumer protection provisions.
https://www.redweek.com/blog/2019/12/02/arda-roc-maintenance-fees
Former 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.”
ARDA awards Concord Servicing Corporation, affiliated with Blackwell Recovery, an Award of Innovation, twice
“Nobody is in this business for debt collection, and no one is in this business for the arbitrage on the loan,” Nusbaum says. “We are resort developers.” Mr. Nusbaum is the former chairman of ARDA.
Founded in 1988, Concord, a two-time winner of the American Resort Development Association’s (ARDA) ACE Innovator Award, services consumer loans with a strong emphasis on leveraging technology to obtain efficiency, accuracy, and flexibility to respond to client needs. Concord has also demonstrated its capabilities in default debt collection, emerging as the clear leader in head-to-head competition with other collection agencies. We bring our creative solutions to more than 2,020 projects and 610,000 consumer obligations with a portfolio size of $3 billion. https://ardaresortbuyersmarketplace.com/Listing/Company/1303226
There are reports of Blackwell hounding timeshare buyers in default, including those with debilitating medical conditions that prevent travel.
Military timeshare buyers update:
On March 26, 2026, The Middle District Florida Court in Steines vs Westgate Resorts CERTIFIES the following liability-only class:
All active-duty service members or their dependents who financed the purchase of one or more timeshare interests via an extension of credit from Westgate Palace, LLC., made between February 2, 2017, and February 28, 2025 (“the Class Period”), who paid interest and who did not sign an MLA waiver form in the form of Exhibit I, 2025 MLA Disclosure.
Timeshare and Resort Developer Accountability, Inc. – DBA Timeshare Advocacy & Reform Disclosure Alliance
In 2019, five of us, who resolved disputes through self-advocacy, formed TARDA https://tarda.org/
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,
Our PodTV show, Timeshare Solution or Surrender, has had over 200 guests share their experience. Our show airs live from 1 to 1:25 Eastern time, with a prerecorded 35-minute Timeshare Resource segment provided by industry experts. At minute 45, volunteers explain the critical need for federal oversight. All shows can be accessed from the Showcase at the bottom of the PodTV homepage. https://podtv.tv/
Let’s hope TARDA becomes obsolete because of reaching our goal of greater honesty and transparency.
TARDA would not exist without your support. Let us hear from you if you wish to join our efforts or can donate to the cause.
https://tarda.org/get-involved/