TATOC The Timeshare Association

Leading vacation ownership company Diamond Resorts International (Diamond) is getting into the spirit of this year’s Olympic Games by running four weeks of sporting activities at its resorts across Europe.

The Diamond Resorts International Games 2012 (DRI Games) take place from 21 July to 17 August and will give guests the chance to win medals, as well as major prizes including a holiday to Orlando, accommodation in Europe, an Xbox and more.

The DRI Games will feature opening and closing ceremonies, medal presentations and a torch relay, and the family-friendly events include Xbox and Wii games, quizzes, scavenger hunts and the ‘DRIathlon’ – a triple sporting event including an egg and spoon race, three-legged race and frisbee throwing.

TATOC is delighted to confirm that today the Spanish government finally passed the European Timeshare Directive into national law – one year after all member states should have implemented it.

The law, the “Ley de Contratos de aprovechamiento por turno de bienes de uso turístico, de adquisición de productos vacacionales de larga duración, de reventa y de intercambio”, comes into force the day following its publication in the Official State Bulletin (possibly the week commencing 19 March) and all timeshare companies will need to ensure they are in full compliance by this date.
 
The government, which was only elected in November of last year, took urgent steps to ensure that the law was adopted as quickly as possible to avoid fines threatened by the European Commission and passed this legislation by means of a Royal Decree, a process that avoided further lengthy parliamentary processes.

TATOC, the Timeshare Association, today announced that sponsorship for the annual conference, taking place from 9th-11th March at the Park Royal Hotel, Stretton, near Warrington, has gone beyond the board’s expectations.

“We have been delighted and surprised at the huge level of support shown by the industry for the annual conference,” explained Harry Taylor, executive chairman. “The conference is always well supported and attended but this year, with such difficult economic conditions, we were aware that sponsorship might be affected. We needn’t have worried.”

This year’s platinum sponsors include: Dial an Exchange, Diamond Resorts, RCI Europe, Silverpoint and Aroma, gold sponsors are Interval International and silver sponsors are Worldwide Timeshare Hypermarket.

The RDO has reported that a petition was made on 30th September 2011 by the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) to close down seven Club Class companies.

Seven connected companies, which mis-sold membership of a concierge holiday scheme to the public while ostensibly conducting meetings to propose action against timeshare deals, have been wound up in the public interest by the High Court in London.

The order to wind up the companies, five of which were registered in Seychelles and two in the UK, followed an investigation by the Company Investigations team of the Insolvency Service in London.



The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills petitioned to wind up all the companies, collectively known as Club Class, as they were all intimately involved in the marketing of the scheme in the UK. 



One of the English companies, Bridge View Consultants Ltd sold the Club Class product to the public in the UK at meetings which were ostensibly arranged to address people who had been mis-sold timeshares. 



Radisson Blu Resort & Spa, Golden Sands in Malta has added a new video to its website with a celebrity guest and testimonials from guests.

Anne Davies, a popular figure on UK television, visited the resort, which recently received accreditation by TATOC, the Timeshare Association. During her visit she found out what members enjoy about the resort and their holiday experiences at the hotel and with the Vacation Club.

The video clip is important in more ways than one. The team from Azure, the marketing wing for the resort, wanted to showcase the magnificent resort and the magical island of Malta but also reach out to potential members. Visitors to the site can view guest testimonials and see the resort and its wide-ranging facilities, dispelling any apprehension they may have about attending a Vacation Club presentation.