As the trade association for vacation ownership across Europe, RDO delivers both direct and indirect benefits to its members. Potential and existing members are always keen to keep an eye on the bottom line, particularly during the cost of living crisis. For those reasons, this page explores the key areas where RDO delivers value to members.
Lobbying
RDO represents the collective voice of the industry and communicates the views and interests of the European timeshare and fractional ownership industries to national governments, the media and other consumer bodies and associations.
Legislative developments are monitored through membership of key national trade associations; RDO has direct access to national governments in a number of member states.
Promotion
Vacation ownership has been the victim of poorly researched press attention. These articles and broadcasts can cause serious and lasting damage to the reputation of the industry. RDO works on behalf of vacation ownership companies to clear up any misinformation and accusations of sharp business practices.
We believe that this work directly benefits all businesses in the industry by maintaining buyer confidence in holiday ownership. Additionally, RDO members have the added marketing advantage of being able to display the RDO logo on their marketing material. The RDO logo is a kite mark of quality for the holiday ownership industry and enables RDO members to offer additional peace of mind to their customers.
Enforcement
The vast majority of businesses contribute positively to the vacation ownership industry and adhere to both legislation and industry standards, but there will always be those who attempt to gain a competitive edge by law-breaking and unfair practice. In recent years there has been a sharp increase in complaints about companies targeting timeshare owners, for example those offering legal and claims services.
To address this situation, RDO set up its enforcement programme in 2007 and now works with EUROC, the European Resort Owners’ Coalition – which represents the interests of timeshare owners in Europe – collecting intelligence on businesses where potential breaches of law may have occurred. Where necessary, this information is shared with the appropriate law enforcement agencies across Europe.
Over the years, the enforcement programme has been extremely successful and has been instrumental in helping protect the reputation of the industry and safeguard holidaymakers. Since the programme was set up, a number of rogue companies have been shut down and individuals involved charged and convicted in court. Some have been sentenced to jail.
Arbitration
As a means of further protecting both developers and owners, RDO runs an Arbitration and Mediation service on behalf of its members. The advantages of such a service are that disputes between parties can be resolved more quickly and at less cost than if they had to be resolved in court. Arbitration proceedings are also more flexible and confidential than litigation.
All Arbitrator appointments are provided by the by NetNeutrals EU who exercise exclusive and unfettered control of the process. The Arbitrators are independent of influence by RDO and its members. This ensures the outcomes are completely impartial.
Join today
In striving for excellence, driving forward standards for all parties, RDO performs and invaluable service to the industry. Supporting members through networking and advocacy and providing arbitration services, RDO directly benefits each business that uses its services. The RDO logo is a standard of excellence in the industry. Why not associate your organisation with the best in the industry today!
Still not convinced? Please take a moment to read this post from RDO’s Chief Executive, why companies involved in the timeshare and shared vacation ownership industry should be participating in RDO.
For more information on membership, please visit the benefits of membership page.
