Q: My wife I are timeshare members at the Renaissance Aruba Resort. Some time ago we received a “special assessment” invoice in the amount of $1,115, which is in addition to the yearly maintenance fee of $664. We have repeatedly told the resort that nowhere does our contract specify that we are obligated to pay this. They responded that it is the “industry norm.” If we don't pay, they will take our timeshare away. Can you help us? —Tim R., London, UK
A: With vacation-rental listings on the rise, and sites like Airbnb and VRBO in the news regularly, you may think timeshares are on the wane. Judging from the correspondence I receive, that does not appear to be true. Nor does it appear sales presentations have gotten any more transparent or accurate. We would hope, however, that a contract would be a contract and that both parties would abide by it. As I discovered, that may not always be the case.
I contacted Marriott, which owns Renaissance. It turns out the timeshares at the Renaissance Aruba are independently owned and managed. Marriott forwarded the correspondence to the company, Seaport Development, N.V. The Director of Operations, Mr. Parimal Trivedi, replied to me. The main point he made in the first response was: "Over 99 percent of our timeshare members have paid their share of the 'special assessment' and any nonpayment of outstanding dues have an adverse implication on the timeshare usage for the respective timeshare member."
I pointed out that members who are given the choice to either pay or lose their membership would feel their options are rather limited; it stands to reason most would pay. Here are the relevant points he made in the follow-up response:
"It is a hospitality industry standard that quality lodging establishments renovate their physical facilities about once every ten years, requiring extensive capital investments not covered by normal room rate revenues and/or time share maintenance fees. As previously noted, whether specified in contracts or provided for in local law notwithstanding, special assessments for extraordinary renovations are a standard industry practice and upwards of 99 percent of our members have paid in full."
He also suggested that, because Tim and his wife had paid a previous assessment in 2003, and had benefited from the improvements, they were being disingenuous now.
I was not satisfied with that answer. Having already asked how the contract, or Aruba law, allows the company to levy the special assessment, I asked again. This time, I included a contract from another timeshare in Aruba, which at least stated the possibility of "a capital improvement assessment for major renovations."
I went on to say: We understand the necessity to renovate lodging establishments, but if a company does not specify that timeshare owners must contribute to the cost, whether standard practice or not, it seems reasonable that members would expect those costs were anticipated by the company and would be covered in other ways, such as a reserved portion of yearly fees and/or a reserved portion of timeshare purchases. Regardless of any former payments made, why are members either contractually or legally bound to pay the most recent special assessment?
He did not respond. Nor did he reply to a follow-up I sent a few days later. Last week, I learned that Seaport Development formally cancelled Tim's membership. At this stage, it would appear the only recourse they have would be to fight this in the Aruba courts, which I’m sure is not a reasonable undertaking for people who live 4,500 miles away.
It's a bit difficult to tease out advice here. I've said many times that you should always read any contract or agreement before you sign it, and make sure you understand what it says. That didn't seem to matter in this case.
So, an addendum, to potentially be applied in situations where you have reason to believe the company is not giving you the whole story, or when you’re in a country where you're unclear whether the laws protect consumers: First, ask if the company will charge any other fees or assessments than those specified in the contract? Get the answer in writing. Next, if the answer is yes, ask the company to define the details, in writing. And, if it won't answer in writing, or if it equivocates and won't give you a straight answer, walk away. There’s no guarantee that a company will honor such an agreement, but at least it's another layer of protection.
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