On February 4, 2024, RCI celebrated its 50th anniversary. We join in congratulating our valuable partner.

The story of RCI's successful journey can be read HERE

We would like to share the history of relations and successful cooperation between RCI and our company Help Line International.

When RCI opened its office in Moscow, Russia in 1996, they encountered confused timeshare buyers who were demanding refunds for their timeshare purchases from RCI, thinking that they had purchased from RCI and not from the marketing companies.

We were the only timeshare experts to come to rescue RCI from these wrong accusations.

In 1996 we worked very hard with RCI and gave our valuable assistance to the newly opened Moscow office of RCI.

We have been working together with RCI eversince.

We took over the hard task of explaining to the timeshare buyers or owners that the exchange company had nothing to do with their money at the stage of purchasing timeshare, since it receives an application for registration in the exchange system and a very small fee at the very last stage, when new club membership is already registered and the ownership certificate is issued to the new member.

We were explaining the confused timeshare buyers the procedure of purchasing timeshare, but also we offered to help them track their money and get them the ownership documents directly from the Resort Developer if the marketing company disappeared. For this purpose, we developed special programs where the costs of obtaining documents for members after their financial losses were minimal and affordable.

We negotiated special terms with RCI for timeshare buyers who were harmed by the lack of legislation and lost some or even all of their money buying a timeshare from indecent marketing companies.

Together with RCI, we worked together to restore the good name of timeshare in Eastern Europe.

Thus, in 1997–1999. We have registered more than 200 members with RCI under special conditions. Many of them take holidays with RCI and travel round the world even today. In total we have registered over 600 new members with RCI, most of whom would not have become members without our help as they lost money on the purchase deal as it has not been completed.

Another important service we have provided to RCI was the travel arrangements such as flights, tourist visas and insurances which RCI could not offer their Russian and Ukrainian members as they did not have at that time the local travel licenses.

Timeshare exchanges without flights, tourist visas and insurances did not have any value to the members as other tourist agencies would refuse providing them to the RCI members.

Our unique Travel Club was fully travel licensed and had very good deals with the charter airline companies, were subscribed to the services of many Consulates to provide visas and had contracts with Insurance companies to act as their agents to holiday makers.

We happily provided the above services to RCI members as well till they were able to set up their own travel club in Moscow.

If we did not provide the travel service to the RCI members in these early years of timeshare in Russia I am afraid that hundreds of families would have given up their membership.

RCI has given us the status of their official “Help Line” and recommended us to its members if they had questions about timeshares not related to RCI:

- disagreements with the Club Management Company,

- issues related to maintenance invoices,

- reinstatement of club membership,

- transfer of timeshare ownership to another family member or a buyer,

- legal advice and consultancies on any timeshare related issues.

One of the most successful projects was “We want you to get back.” The aim of the project was to help the members who are willing to use RCI exchange system but they lost their membership for nonpayment of maintenance fees and the resorts refuse to reinstate them.

Together with RCI and the leading European timeshare Developers we have put together a special deal for those clients in order to provide them with the new very good ownership at a special price and thus become again an active RCI members.

RCI has contacted such lapsed members by mail and provided them with our contacts and we took over all the sales and admin.

Another direction of collaboration with RCI was always looking after the upset clients who mostly for the reason that they were misled or mis-sold in the first place had difficulties of taking the timeshare holidays. We would take their request and assist them with all the holiday arrangements including the communication with their resort and arrangement of exchanges and extra weeks and thus teaching them how to use the product.

We stay the close partners with RCI even now. We help Russian timeshare owners who are RCI members pay for their membership, exchanges, and extra weeks to continue enjoying their RCI travel.

We wish the next 50 successful years to our valued partners and excellent colleagues!

The timeshare market in Asia Pacific is considered the youngest. Historically, it was developed and refined for European tourists, who were invited there by European timeshare sellers. One of the pioneers in the region was the Royal Resorts group, which is now part of the Karma Group empire. Founded by an enterprising entrepreneur who climbed the timeshare sales ladder in Tenerife, from a street consultant inviting tourists to presentations to a sales director who invested all his money in a resort in Goa, India, it is now the most well-known group of resorts in the region. These resorts are located in India (Goa, Kerala, Bangalore, Jaipur, in the North), Thailand (Phuket), Indonesia (Bali, Lombok, Java), Australia, as well as in Germany (Bavaria), Italy (Tuscany), the United Kingdom (London, Isles of Sicily, Birmingham), Greece (Crete, Mykonos), and France (Saint-Tropez, Normandy).

After Goa, timeshare resorts appeared in Thailand and almost immediately in Bali. The timeshare industry in Southeast Asia in the late 90s resembled Tenerife in the early 80s, not only in terms of market uncontrol but also because the new market attracted the same players who were pushed out of Europe by the strict legislation introduced at the time. However, the market did not turn wild because local entrepreneurs in these countries actively entered the industry. And as it is known, order is quickly established under such conditions.

One feature of most Asia Pacific resorts is that foreigners cannot own land, and therefore timeshare resorts, by their legal structure, are either limited membership clubs or long-term leases for up to 35 years. Such a shorter form of timeshare has also formed different resale requirements. The point is that many timeshare owners, after active use for 15-20 years, if for various reasons they had to stop using the timeshare, do not spend time selling the remaining 10-12 years of use and simply abandon it or write it off to the resort. Moreover, unlike timeshares that qualify as real estate (in Italy, France, partially in Spain), club membership type does not accumulate multi-year dues and then collects them but simply excludes from membership due to non-payment of one or two membership dues and does not chase after anyone.

This does not apply, of course, to very valuable and expensive Asia Pacific resorts. Memberships such as Marriott, Absolute... Karma, which cost from €15,000 to €20,000 per week on the primary market. They are not abandoned but an effort is made to return some of the money. They are very popular on the secondary market because there are those who really liked these clubs but who are sorry to pay the full price for them.

And here in resales, the same ubiquitous English agencies dominate, among which we highlight as the most successful Travel & Leisure Group Ltd (https://www.travelandleisuregroup.co.uk ) and Timeshare Online (https://www.timeshareonline.eu/index.php ). There was actually no expansion into the Asia Pacific market. The main buyers in the region are the English, Australians, and Europeans, who are fluent in English. When Indians started actively buying timeshares, the situation in the resale market did not change, as English is practically the first language for the middle class in India. There is a high level of trust in English companies in the region. This prevented local timeshare sales agencies from competing. Especially since it is always difficult for young companies to compete with those that have over 20 and 30 years of experience in the market, which have a clear strategy and responsible approach.

But this is also a wonderful opportunity for timeshares from this region to gain access to international buyers worldwide, but primarily to Europeans.

It is also worth noting that timeshares from Southeast Asia are practically not popular in America. This is understandable, for regular travel, Americans choose Florida, California, Mexico, and the Caribbean, where air travel is well established and very cheap. And to the fabulous Bali, Thailand, Goa, and Vietnam, you can go through exchange.

We deliberately put two regions in parentheses in Asia Pacific  - China and Japan, where timeshares are quite developed and popular but which are very closed markets and are aimed both at their compatriots and their own resorts, thereby falling out of the interest of foreign buyers and timeshare owners.

In Conclusion: If you own a timeshare in India, Thailand, Australia, Vietnam, in Bali, etc., it is reasonable to resell it through English agencies, of which we currently highlight Travel & Leisure Group Ltd (https://www.travelandleisuregroup.co.uk ) and Timeshare Online (https://www.timeshareonline.eu/index.php)

With this article, we begin a series of articles about market differences and national timeshare resale agencies.

The American and European timeshare markets are fundamentally different. Fundamentally because they have serious legislative differences, marketing differs too much, and the actions of buyers themselves vary.

American buyers primarily purchase timeshares in resorts located in USA, the Caribbean region, Mexico, and other South American countries. The most popular are timeshares in the Hawaiian Islands, the lake district of Utah, the area of numerous amusement parks in Orlando, and the tip of Florida Keys and in California. And, of course, there are well-known hotel groups that have their own timeshare complexes – Marriott, Hilton, Melia, Ritz Carlton, and others.

If the timeshare you want to sell is located in USA (South, North, Central, and in the Caribbean), it's worth considering the American market for resale.

- Do Americans really not buy timeshares in Europe?

- They do. But, of course, not as much as on their own continent. Americans purchase timeshares exclusively if they are in the region where their roots are, to visit distant relatives or not lose their roots. For this, they choose timeshares in ancient English estates, French castles, Tuscan and Ligurian villas. Only such exclusivity can justify the purchase of cramped apartments by American standards.

American apartments are almost twice the size by standards compared to European ones. Also, it should be noted that exchanging (intercontinental) a European timeshare for an American one will always cost twice as much, and if an American family does not plan to holiday in Europe annually, it is still preferable for them to own an American timeshare. For a complete picture, add extremely cheap domestic flights in USA and their diverse geography.

American (including Canadian) agencies are very similar to real estate agencies; for their work, they must obtain a real estate sales license, which requires mandatory education – the course is quite expensive and lengthy, the exams are serious, but the responsibility of the agencies is high financially.

There are agencies that, like in real estate, do not take upfront payments, but they also do not advertise timeshares. In this case, the buyer is someone living nearby or someone who knows this agency, who is more interested just in case if they have timeshares for sale. Most often, they offer secondary weeks of resorts located nearby. Their already small number of sales decreases annually because buyers go to global internet resources.

Most agencies take money upfront for advertising, as well as a percentage of the sale. In some cases, they also sign an exclusive contract. The cost of advertising is two to three times higher than European prices. This doesn't bother Americans, who are used to paying high fees to specialists.

Americans set prices on average 25%-30% lower than primary market prices. Americans don't need to be explained that the secondary market is lower than the primary one and that it's impossible to sell for the same amount as bought, unless at least 30 years have passed of "inflations-devaluations-tourist booms of the region," etc. High prices on the secondary market are rare – it's usually an overconfident owner who considers their timeshare extremely exclusive. This won't take them far. The prices listed on the website and in price lists do not include agency fees of 5%-10%, as well as expenses for checking and re-registering the timeshare and taxes.

Also, don't forget that although tens of thousands of timeshares are sold and bought annually in the USA, the number of timeshares listed for sale is many times higher. Among them are not very popular resorts and at extremely low prices.

We actively cooperate with American companies when buyers approach us for famous resorts on American continents and also carefully monitor changes in this market.

Let's summarize: the timeshare that can be sold on the American market is primarily a timeshare of an American resort in a popular tourist area. If you want to sell a timeshare in Tenerife or Costa del Sol, taking it to America is a waste of money and time. There's plenty of similar properties there, but more modern and more comfortable.