Is Summer Here?
Those of us living in the UK had really thought that summer was at last here, Spring having missed us out this year, but no – come the week-end it is again overcast with a strong wind from the north! Mind you, looking at the weather reports, I see in the Southern Mediterranean that conditions have by no means been brilliant so far this year. Is this some global warming effect I wonder? I have yet to hear anyone explain this somewhat depressing state of affairs.
We heard earlier this month of the death of Club Olympus’s Hedley Rhodes, a long-time supporter of the industry and RDO and a popular figure amongst his owners. Our thoughts are with the Rhodes family and friends at this time.
Holiday credit schemes have suddenly surfaced over the past month or so and are the latest scheme to achieve adverse publicity and reflect badly on the timeshare industry. The ECC has recently picked up on them and seems to be issuing press releases that link these schemes to timeshare as they have the holiday clubs in the past. The latest coverage in the UK was on the BBC 4’s “You and Yours” Programme last Friday. The programme did point out that timeshare was “well regulated” these days but it does leave a concern that the industry is being hit again in terms of its reputation, by something we have absolutely no control over. Fortunately, RDO has a meeting with the head of the UK ECC in early July to discuss this problem and other similar issues, which seem to stem from the ECC’S inability to separate timeshare form other products that look somewhat similar.
Timeshare Perpetuity Contracts also came up in an adjournment debate in the House of Commons this week. Fortunately we were well prepared for this and BIS had received a brief on this and exit strategies in general and the Minister responding to the motion was well prepared. Contact had also been made with the MP raising the issue, offering to help if there were any cases involving RDO members. It did not appear that any of the cases cited did concern RDO members and indeed the organization received a number of helpful mentions during the exchange. We do however need to be aware that 2014 sees the EU Commission review of how the new Timeshare Directive has been implemented. We need to keep a close eye on this and be ready to offer constructive advice.
Hopefully, we will be in a position shortly to announce a new initiative that will allow RDO and its members to take the first steps in eliminating some of this negativity and move a step closer to establishing RDO as the kite mark of quality.
The sun might also start to come out?!