Timeshare Resorts Told To Treat Their Workers Fairly

Timeshare workers rallied in Honolulu to demand a better contract and better job protection for workers at the Hilton Hawaiian Village.

Hundreds of workers and community allies gathered Friday to show strength and solidarity as Hilton Hawaiian Village workers prepare for another round of contract negotiations with the company. The rally also included workers from The Modern Honolulu who are protesting the layoff of 78 workers as owner, Diamond Resorts, seeks to convert the hotel into a timeshare.

Union members who work at Hilton Hawaiian Village are demanding a new contract that will put the workers on par with 2,700 workers from the five Marriott-operated hotels who went on a 51-day strike in 2018 to demand that one job should be enough to live in Hawaii.

On top of wage and benefit increases, workers at Hilton are also fighting to set the industry standard on job preservation. Workers demand Hilton to address the poverty wages and workload issues in its timeshare resorts. One worker told a local paper: “We want to show Hilton that we are united. We’re doing this rally to show solidarity to each other, especially to our brothers and sisters who are in the timeshare towers, the subcontracted workers, and also the workers at the Modern. One job should be enough, we’re fighting for job security here. As we lose positions because of automation and technology, more and more work is being piled to one person. We will not allow that.”

The Union represents over 1,800 workers at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, the largest hotel in Hawaii and the largest Hilton hotel in the world. They also represent nearly 200 workers at Hawaii Care & Cleaning, who are subcontracted to do housekeeping work at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. Both union contracts expired in July 2018. Hilton workers authorised a strike with a 91% yes vote and Hawaii Care & Cleaning workers did the same with a 97% yes vote. Contract negotiations with the company will resume next week.

New and exclusive developments are sure to attract many new customers seeking a unique holiday experience. However, a word of warning: many of these properties are used to sell the dream and, more often than not, customers are persuaded to purchase Long-Term-Holiday-Products and point based holiday products, which are often non-refundable, non-transferable and with virtually no resale value. In addition to this, you will face mounting maintenance fees, which resorts can increase on an annual basis and this is entirely at their discretion.

People who enter into Timeshare agreements often find it difficult to keep up with the mounting maintenance fees and simply cannot afford it any longer. They may also find that the Timeshare no longer suits their needs and simply want to end the contract. There are too many individuals who are willing to take advantage of Timeshare owners and offer fake products, along with Timeshare exit schemes. Before agreeing to any Timeshare termination or exit procedure with an individual or company, seek independent advice and fully research any company you are thinking of working with.

It is also important to remember that purchasing a Timeshare should NEVER be viewed as a financial investment. Timeshare is an investment in lifestyle, in future holidays and family time together. There is almost no resale value to a Timeshare.

The mis-selling of holiday products is, unfortunately, common practice within the holiday industry and these types of crimes often go unreported by the most vulnerable in our society and criminal convictions are few and far between.

If you have purchased a Lifestyle / Concierge Service, a Timeshare or a ‘Holiday Points’ based product from a resort or company and feel unhappy with the service, or feel you have been mis-sold this product, please get in touch with us to discuss how we may be able to help you with a possible Timeshare Termination.