May TARDA Newsletter – Timeshare Transparency Act S3502 – Hilton Ends Management of Eight Resorts – FTC Update
Categories: Monthly NewslettersDecember 22, 2025
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The TIMESHARE TRANSPARENCY ACT S 3502 offers federal oversight and other provisions for the protection of timeshare consumers. The bipartisan bill was introduced by Senator John Curtis of Utah (R) and co-sponsored by California Senator Adam Schiff (D) and Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn (R). The bill had a 5% chance of making it though committee, but those odds increased to 26% with a second co-sponsor. AARP Supports the Bill.
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
May Update: Hilton Grand Vacations joins Wyndham (Travel & Leisure) and Holiday Inn Club Vacations in eliminating resorts from their portfolio. Those who choose to remain with their Hilton resort will do so under the management of Lemonjuice Solutions, a firm that manages or “repurposes” resorts. As we reported last November, Wyndham is in bankruptcy proceedings for 15 resorts, and Holiday Inn is eliminating six Silver Leaf resorts that they had acquired in 2015.
A list of affected Hilton properties is below. Owners have been offered choices as to whether to stay or go. As an example, Hilton is offering the following three choices for owners at Fairway Forest Resort in North Carolina:
- Become a US Collection (points) member
- Retain your ownership (managed by Lemonjuice)
- Terminate your ownership
The cost to terminate the ownership is only the title transfer fee! Considering that Hilton is charging high volume points members over $30,000 to give points back, owners should weigh their options carefully. Hilton acquired Diamond Resorts and Bluegreen Vacations. Diamond charged $1,000 per contract to take points back. Hilton adopted Bluegreen’s policy of 18 months of maintenance fees. For Mark in Illinois, (PodTV Episode 91), with three contracts, the fee quoted was $30,200!
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. All shows can be accessed from the Showcase at the bottom of the PodTV homepage. https://podtv.tv/
Those who elect to stay with their resort under Lemonjuice management, face the risk of an uncertain exit. Will there be a predetermined fee? Will owners be solicited to buy RCI points to exit? We reached out to Lemonjuice to inquire as to what is, or if, there will be a predetermined exit option if choosing to stay with their resort. We did not hear back, but Lemonjuice likely cannot comment until they take over on July 1, 2026.
One of the provisions of the Timeshare Transparency Act S 3502, is to provide clear documented options to exit. TARDA receives many complaints from certain Legacy Resorts, Club Exploria, Great Eastern and Soleil Management owners, frustrated that their choices to exit are to default or pay for a product for the rest of your life that you don’t want or may not be able to use.
HGV MAX RESORT PORTFOLIO UPDATE – Resorts Affected include:
Hilton Grand Vacations will end its management agreements with the following eight properties effective July 1, 2026:
Alhambra Villas (Kissimmee, FL)
Beach Quarters Resort (Virginia Beach, VA)
Bryan’s Spanish Cove (Orlando, FL)
Fairway Forest Resort (Sapphire, NC)
Orbit One Vacation Villas (Orlando, FL)
Parkway International Resort (Kissimmee, FL)
Riviera Oaks Resort & Racquet Club (Ramona, CA)
Sunrise Ridge Resort (Pigeon Forge, TN)
The Timeshare Transparency Act & the Federal Trade Commission – File a Complaint:
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.”
Thank you to the more than 150 timeshare members and owners who let us know that they have reached out to their respective members of Congress. Based on our meetings on The Hill, lawmakers are listening.
To Track the Bill and Find Your Local Members of Congress
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/119/s3502
The 27 Senators who serve on the Senate Committee for Commerce, Science and Transportationl debating the bill:
https://www.commerce.senate.gov/members
The bill:
CURTIS, SCHIFF INTRODUCE BILL TO PROTECT CONSUMERS FROM PREDATORY TIMESHARE PRACTICES
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.
The 14-day rescission period will have little effect for those over-promised availability, because the purchaser typically does not have access to the booking site until after the cancellation period has expired. However, a standardized 14-day rescission period would eliminate the confusion caused by rescind periods that varies by state from three to ten days. 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 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 thousand of families into default.
What’s not in the bill
● Not disclosing the meeting or “update” is a solicitation
Branded hotels like Hilton/Marriott/Holiday Inn solicit without disclosing 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 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 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 that word bantered about.
● The oral representation/non-reliance clause does not belong in a unilateral 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?
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. 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. 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 fees 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 that points have no resale value, while claiming that consumers don’t mind because – “Their value comes from using it,”
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 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.”
ARDA awards Concord Servicing Corporation, affiliated with Blackwell Recovery an Award of Innovation
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.
This Memorial Day Month we thank the hundreds of veterans who have reached out to us, even before TARDA was formed, for their service and sacrifice. Getting to know so many of you, has been a privilege and an honor. Corky, a 22-year Army veteran, with a terminal diagnosis, met with his State Representative 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 he asked us to submit to Congress, describing his timeshare battle, no loan, no exit from Wyndham.
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.
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,
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/