Owners Challenge "Voluntary" fees for ARDA-ROC activities included in maintenance fee bills

This month's Ask RedWeek article focuses on a "voluntary" fee that many owners have noticed in their annual maintenance fee bills -- one that supports activities by ARDA-ROC, ARDA's consumer affiliate. Some owner advocates feel strongly opposed to the fee, in that ARDA exists primarily to support resort developers.

Check your newsletter next Tuesday for the full article & let us know your opinion on the subject. The link will also be posted here, when it is available.

Why give the money to the developers that at best have a limited interest in the benefits to timeshare owners. Why not put the same donations towards a group with only the owners interests?

Anyone can always just decline to pay the voluntary ARDA "contribution" tacked onto their maintenance fee bills, as I always have. After all, it is a voluntary contribution and not any part of your maintenance fee obligations. You don't need any lawyers or lawsuits, you merely need to decline to make that "contribution".

That being said, no one should have to overtly "opt out" of paying that contribution. It really should be the other way around --- people should have to overtly choose to "opt in" to contribute to ARDA, although I cannot imagine why anyone would ever want to do so. Remember, the "RD" in ARDA stands for Resort Developers. Any silly notion that ARDA-ROC represents consumers is (in my opinion) just laughable.

The ARDA filed a motion to dismiss the class action lawsuit against Marriott . The owners filed the class action and that voluntary ARDA "contibution" goes towards them lobbying for the interests of the corporation.