What is ARDA?
You may have noticed on closing documents or annual maintenance fee statements a line item for ARDA, usually it’s a voluntary fee but you may have to arm wrestle someone to get it refunded. What exactly is ARDA and how does it Impact me? Well ARDA is the American Resort Development Association, essentially it is an attempt by major developers to create the illusion of regulation, while really serving as a lobbying arm for the industry. Basically what these people do is argue in Washington and state capitals against further timeshare regulation and protect the interests of the developer. They are not Pro consumers or timeshare owners at all and you should not be supporting them.
As the Timeshare exit industry has taken off over the past decade with more and more owners wanting to get out of their timeshare, this movement has affected the bottom line of many timeshare developers. So ARDA created something called The Coalition for Responsible Exit. Now you and I can see through this ruse however many people can not. Essentially the Coalition is a group of programs that developers offer to give the appearance of helping their owners exit their timeshare, when in reality most of these programs are designed to get the owners to buy more. So lets say at developer W for example and you are an owner, you wanted an option to exit your timeshare when your family was ready. Developer W would introduce you to their plan called ovations and then tell you in order to use it, you have to purchase more points in order to add it to your account. This is just an example but it’s very prevalent throughout most developers. In fact most developers change the names of this program frequently, usually around the time most of their owners figure out that the program is fake. I think Developer W calls it Certified Exit now for example. This behavior is just another example of timeshare developers taking advantage of their owners, squeezing as much cash as possible out of their owners.
What’s sad about it on one hand you have ARDA and developers trashing third party exit companies as scams. They spend an insane amount of money on convincing the public that a well established industry is fake, it’s a scam, that no one can get you out of your timeshare. While on the other hand they piddle their own exit products that are legitimately scams, that work maybe 5% of the time. We rarely ever see someone be successful with a developer led exit program. They also promote a limited amount of sales companies that charge a lot of money to list your timeshare for sale. Guess what? They don’t sell, it’s hard to get $5,000 to $10,000 for a product with zero resale value.
Essentially with regards to ARDA and their programs, as a timeshare owner you should do the opposite of what they suggest. Always realize that they will never have your best interests at heart. IF you do need to exit your timeshare have a professional help you do it. While there are a few scams out there, like any industry, the majority of third party exit companies work hard for you and do everything they can to help guide through the confusing maze that the developers have set up to trap you and your money. If you want to get out of your timeshare, there is a solution, it’s just not with ARDA or your developer. Do NOT believe the Hype.
