The Time (Share) Of Your Life

Your fancy dreams of wandering off to exotic locales around the world (what you never thought possible) can come true, courtesy the 30-odd companies, who are aggressively marketing their timeshare schemes to give you that romantic stay in Vienna or the more urbane Paris. An annual seven-day holiday is guaranteed for a lifetime. While some companies do fix the time span at 30 years, most others offer a 99-year span.

But mind it, only those companies affiliated with any of the corporations offering globe trotting schemes like the Resorts Condominium International (RCI) can offer a holiday in any continent of your choice. Buying holidays for a lifetime does not come cheap and could make your pocket lighter by anything between Rs 30,000-Rs 4 lakh. If coughing up the entire amount as a down payment is the only stumbling block, you can opt for the instalment scheme wherein you pay 10-11 per cent more.

 

Some timeshare companies charge a sum of Rs 1,000 as annual fee while others like Sterling (Happy Vistas) and Suman Motels do not usually charge the customers for maintenance. A G Hariharan, product executive, Sterling Resorts adds, A maintenance fee of Rs 3,000 is charged only in the exceptional case when a customer breaks the holiday into a three to four-day package.

Then you have some companies like Global Vacations whose rules do not permit a member to ask for a holiday unless he pays up the whole amount. But the million dollar question you need to ask is: do these companies have resorts at places where they promise you a vacation? Except for a few like Suman Motels and Dalmia resorts, who were already into the hotel business, others are building resorts at various holiday spots like Goa, Kodaikanal, Mussoorie and so on. Sterling Resorts have built resorts at Puri and Pune which are yet to be operational.

There are also major price differentials depending on the time when you will take the holiday. There is a difference of about 30- 40 per cent between buying a holiday in the peak and slack season. If you buy a two- bedroom holiday from Sterling in the peak season, you pay Rs 1.68 lakh. In the slack season, it will cost you Rs 1.12 lakh. The problem is that you have to choose both the size of the accommodation and the time of the year, upfront.

A recent option introduced by a few companies like Dalmia allows you to break it into three and four day packages. Some also have a buy-back scheme. But others like Continental Timeshare Market (CTM) do not have any such offers and no refund will be made even if you do not use the yearly holidays and want to to sell-back the scheme.

There is also an option that lets you sell your holiday to your friend if the timing is not suitable, or simply if the destination is not of your choice. Buying time does not mean that only members of the family can avail of the facilities. Friends are always welcome at the resorts.

Watch out! Its very important that you check out the companys credentials before investing in its timeshares. The 13-member board of Heritage Resorts resigned last month because the company was flouting norms. The board comprised illustrious people like Najma Heptullah, and Sunil Gavaskar. There were no resorts in the companys name, and it seemed that the company had no plans to acquire any in the near future.

The agents of certain companies also play truant. There have been cases registered with the Mumbai Grahak Panchayat, in which promises made to the investors have not been lived up to. Most people complain that they are sweet -talked into buying schemes by agents. An irate investor, when he called up the Sterling office was categorically told that it was his fault for not reading the fine print and the holidays will be available only when the resorts are operational. Some companies offer alternate spots if the resorts are not operational, but unfortunately, this is not the practice followed by all.

There is another important clause which most agents try to misinterpret, that is, a person loses his claim to a holiday if he does not avail of it. There is no in-built flexibility that lets you decide the time of your holiday. There is no scope for a carry-over either. Some agents even expect a two to five per cent commission if they fix up the holiday at a place of your choice.

Destinations abroad: If you are smitten by the foreign travel bug, opt for those companies who are affiliated to RCI, Hexa bank or Four Seasons. RCI appears to be the most popular among the global companies simply because they have access to resorts in 80 countries (3109 resorts).

You are set back by about Rs 1,500 annually to enjoy a holiday abroad. There is also an option by which they arrange for your forex requirements. The charges for touring the country and air fare are not included in the annual fee.

Since its a life-time package that you undertake when you go in for timeshares, it makes eminent sense to read the fine print carefully before you sign on the dotted line.