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Timeshare arbitration initiative to “build trust”
A new pan-European arbitration scheme aiming to solve complaints in the timeshare industry has been unveiled.
The Organisation for Timeshare in Europe (OTE) aims to build trust in the industry by better protecting consumers who purchase from members.
The arbitration scheme is designed to handle complaints that are not resolved through the OTE’s standard complaint-handling procedures. It will offer full independent analysis and judgment, and the arbitrator’s decision will be binding for both the consumer and the OTE member.
The arbitration initiative have been developed in line with the European Commission Recommendation and administered by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb).
Declan Kenny, chairman of OTE’s Consumer Council said: ”We hope that this scheme will encourage consumers to be even more confident in their timeshare purchases. OTE is committed to strong ethical standards, raising the performance of the industry as a whole, ensuring fair-trading and greatest satisfaction of timeshare owners.”
Ron Howell, chairman of OTE’s Membership Council added: ”We are pleased that both members and consumers will now be able to benefit from this new arbitration scheme. CIArb was able to offer a service that could deal with cross border disputes. This is key in our industry and the CIArb’s record of success also gave us confidence in choosing them as our preferred supplier.”
OTE offers a free service allowing consumers to address complaints about its 130 members. OTE claims to solve 83% of complaints to the satisfaction of the consumer.
OTE says the timeshare market is expected to grow twice as fast as the industry worldwide. There are 6.7 million timeshare owners worldwide, including 1.5 million in Europe. The industry generates annual revenues of almost $10 billion.
Report by Phil Davies
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