Timeshares Only Ratings and Reviews: Check It Before You Exit Your Timeshare

Do you have a timeshare you don’t want? If you do, you’re not alone. According to a study from the University of Central Florida, 85% of timeshare owners regret their purchase. Timeshares Only offers what seems to be an easy, painless way for these people to leave their unwanted timeshares behind.

What is their exit strategy, and does it work?

Who is Timeshares Only and What Do They Do?

Timeshares Only is a timeshare resale company. They list your timeshare for sale and try to find a buyer who will take it off your hands. They also offer timeshare rentals, which could let you earn money with your timeshare while it’s on the market. Timeshares Only is one of the largest timeshare resale companies currently operating.

If you list your timeshare for sale, you’ll get a professional-looking full-page ad with photos and a full listing of features, amenities, local attractions, and other sales points. Potential buyers or renters can browse by location or resort owner.

Timeshares Only also offers a program called TO GO. Participants deposit their timeshare week in a rental pool and receive TO GO credits in return. The credits can be redeemed for vacation time in another timeshare, applied to maintenance fee payments, or redeemed in cash. Timeshares Only markets the program as a way for owners to monetize their timeshare while they wait for it to sell.

The Company summarizes its services in a banner on its website:

Timeshares Only offers a three-step process for selling your timeshare:

• List your timeshare for sale.
• Monetize your timeshare through rentals or TO GO points while you wait for a buyer.
• Close your sale when a buyer makes an offer. Timeshares Only offers financing through Vacation Club Loans and closing services through Fidelity Real Estate.

That sounds simple, but it may not be. The market for second-hand timeshares is swamped with sellers and has a limited number of potential buyers. Unless your timeshare is in a highly desirable location it may be difficult to sell at a good price, or sometimes at any price.

Timeshares Only states that they have been in business since 1994, over 24 years. The company’s Better Business Bureau (BBB) page says they have been open for 12 years. They are based in Orlando, Fla. Owner/Founder Bert Blicher is a former Chairman of the American Resort Development Association (ARDA), the trade association of timeshare resorts.

Unlike most timeshare exit companies, Timeshares Only maintains a cordial relationship with ARDA: resorts would rather see owners sell their timeshares than try to cancel their contracts. Several reviews indicate that timeshare resorts may recommend Timeshares Only to owners who wish to sell their timeshares

Timeshares Only Timeshare Exit Costs

There are two common timeshare exit strategies: contract cancellation and sale. Contract cancellation often involves legal services and extensive negotiations. This is typically more expensive than a sale. Many timeshare exit services charge anywhere from $4,000 to $8,000 for contract cancellation services.

Timeshares Only does not disclose the charge for listing a timeshare for sale on their platform. Customer reviews describe upfront listing charges of $400 to $800, with some mentioning charges up to $1,000. Reviews indicate a three-day money-back guarantee window, but this is also not specified on the website.

One online review claims that Timeshares Only does not take a commission on sales: the entire sale amount will go to the seller. This is not specified on their website. The website also does not indicate whether the company takes commissions from rentals or how the company earns money from the TO GO program.

While the company may not take a commission from the seller, it appears that they get one from the buyer. One reviewer who purchased two timeshares from Timeshares Only stated that he paid $1,000 to the company for each timeshare he bought.

Can You Trust Timeshares Only?

This company is not a fly-by-night business. It’s been established for 25 years and is well known in the industry. They are open about their location and they identify their owner and senior executives on their website.

A seal at the bottom of the website indicates that the company is accredited with the BBB with an A+ rating. This is true, but it’s important to remember that BBB ratings are based on the company’s responsiveness to complaints. A company that responds to every complaint can maintain a high BBB rating even if customer ratings are low.

Online Reputation

Customer reviews are a useful indicator, but they have to be used carefully. Some negative reviews may be posted by individuals who failed to understand an agreement or had unrealistic expectations. There are customers who are impossible to satisfy. Some companies may plant positive reviews about themselves or even negative reviews about their competitors.

As a general rule, the more detail a review contains, the more likely it is to be genuine.

Timeshares Only has seven reviews on their BBB page. All are one-star reviews with detailed, specific complaints. For example:

However, after reviewing six pages of five-star Trustpilot reviews, we note that only one review in those six pages explicitly states that the reviewer’s timeshare was sold. The overwhelming majority of the positive reviews are from customers who have just finished listing their timeshares. They state that the company is accommodating, fast, and professional at listing timeshares.

There is no evidence that these timeshares are actually being sold. For example:

Given the very limited market for timeshares, we can understand how the Company might want to focus on rentals and their own timeshare monetization project. For a listing fee that’s often over $500, though, we’d like to see more evidence that timeshares are actually being sold.

ConsumerAffairs.com has 25 reviews, with an average rating of 2.2 out of 5 stars. There are three five-star reviews, one four-star, and the rest are all one-star complaints. One five-star review reports a timeshare sale. The complaints are very consistent: they paid the listing fee and never heard anything back.

It’s true that selling timeshares is difficult. These clients do not appear to have been advised that the probability of a sale is low.

As mentioned above, one ConsumerAffairs.com review was from a buyer, who stated that he paid a $1,000 fee per purchase but paid “25 cents on the dollar,” or a quarter of the original value of the timeshare. If timeshares only is receiving $1,000 per sale from the buyer, it would appear that they have an incentive to reduce the selling price as much as possible.

What’s Good

• Established company with an extensive business record.
• Full disclosure of ownership, location, and other details.
• Widespread web presence with extensive and generally professional timeshare listings
• Option of renting your timeshare or monetizing with TO GO points.
• Generally positive reviews of the onboarding process.

What’s Bad

• No disclosure of rates or warranty on the site.
• High listing fees.
• Limited evidence of actual timeshare sales.
• The Company may pressure clients to join the TO GO program.
• Potential conflict of interest: it’s not clear whether the Company is working for the buyer or the seller.

Timeshares Only Website

The Timeshares Only website is slick, professional, and appealing. It presents the Company as a timeshare marketplace catering to buyers, renters, and sellers.

Social Media Presence

Timeshares Only is active on social media.

The Company’s Facebook page is updated regularly. Posts typically advertise popular timeshare destinations and seem largely aimed at timeshare buyers, though there are regular prompts for sellers as well. The page has 14,841 likes and 14,884 followers but post engagement is minimal. There are no comments or shares on recent posts. The page lists 22 reviews with an average of 4.1 stars.

The Timeshares Only Twitter feed contains much of the same material as the Facebook page. A little more than 500 people follow it. The page does not attract significant engagement: retweets and comments are rare.

On Instagram, Timeshares Only has 311 posts and about 225 followers. Most posts promote popular timeshare destinations. There is little reader engagement.

Timeshares Only is present on LinkedIn, with 13 listed employees and 29 followers. The page was last updated in March 2021. Posts have minimal engagement.

Lawsuits Against Timeshares Only

Lawsuits are relatively common in the timeshare exit industry, so it’s worth noting that there are no pending lawsuits against Timeshares Only.

The Bottom Line

Timeshares Only is an established company with an enduring presence in the timeshare resale market. They have numerous listings and a strong presence on the internet. We have no doubt that they do sell some timeshares, but it’s not possible to determine how many or at what price relative to the original value of the timeshare.

The initial listing cost is significant, though it is substantially lower than the price of a timeshare exit through contract cancellation (which also has no guarantee of success). We do note that listing platforms like Redweek list timeshares for sale and rent at much lower cost, though without the promotion and support that Timeshares Only promises.

We are not entirely sure whether the primary business of Timeshares Only is selling timeshares or monetizing them through rentals and the TO GO program. The terms of the TO GO program are very vague and it’s not clear how much the company earns from it or how.

There’s nothing wrong with offering a way to monetize timeshares, but if a customer’s primary goal is a sale they might not wish to join a platform that prioritizes making money from a timeshare over disposing of it. We’d like to see more clarity from the company on that point.

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