As the owner of Advantage Vacation, a timeshare resale company doing business on Maui, I attended the Maui County Council meeting held this morning in Wailuku. In attendance were Jason Gamel, Vice President, State Government Afairs and Ken McKelevy representing ARDA-ROC, along with a Diamond Resorts representative, the General Manager from Sands of Kahana, two representatives from Marriott Maui Ocean Club, Angela Nolan, General Manager of Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villas and another Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villas employee, a lawyer representing the timeshare industry and a representative from Worldmark/Wyndham.
While the representatives from the various timeshare resorts and the timeshare attorney focused on the impact of higher taxes for timeshare owners, I addressed the Council as a Maui resident and local businessman who is involved in timeshare resales. I voiced my concerns in regarding how higher timeshare taxes will affect the local economy, employment and other areas of tourism – restaurants, tours, car rentals, etc. My concern is if the taxes continue to rise, there will be more foreclosures which could cause associations to lay off employees and timeshare vacationers will spend less money in the local economy.
The representatives from the timeshare resorts noted that they employ a large number of people and pay a lot of property taxes, much higher taxes than any other real estate property taxes on the island. These resorts provide steady employment and contribute many tourist dollars to the economy. Timeshare owners pay taxes and spend money not just during high season, but year round and the majority of the timeshare resorts on Maui maintain an average of 90%+ occupancy year round.
The timeshare attorney stated that after Hurricane Iniki hit Kauai in 1990, the timeshare owners associations on Kauai were the first to rebuild. They were the driving force in the Kauai economy because timeshare owners continued to vacation. He addressed the unfairness of the tax system when it comes to timeshare taxation and noted that if timeshare taxes continue to go up in Maui, potential timeshare buyers will look elsewhere to vacation and spend their vacation dollars. He stated that in general, if you tax people unfairly they will lose faith in the government.
I again state that the proposed increase of timeshare taxes comes without any rational explanation or justification from the Maui County Council.
Advantage Vacation is a member of the American Resort Development Association (ARDA) and offers the best buys on the timeshare re sales market today. We never charge an upfront fee for clients who want to sell a timeshare and only receive a commission, paid from escrow, when the transaction is closed.
We are leaders in the timeshare resale secondary market, have been in the timeshare industry for over 30 years and are Accredited Members of the BBB with an A+ Rating.
Advantage Vacation is using Twitter and Facebook to help educate people on the changes in the timeshare industry along with current timeshare tips, up to date timeshare news and timeshare FAQ’s.
We hope you will follow us and our blog, Timeshare Blogging by Advantage Vacation for the latest news and reviews. If our site does not answer your question or questions, please email us your question and we will answer it and add it to our library. Make your voice heard – what questions do you have?
At Advantage Vacation you can be assured you are working with professionals who believe that honesty and integrity are the most important aspects of the business they are in – timeshare re sales. Our business has been built on relationships and we pride ourselves on providing excellent service to our clients.
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