Orange Lake Resorts, home to the Holiday Inn Club Vacations brand and Intercontinental Hotel Groups, has announced an unprecedented 100 year long affiliation between the two brands. The new agreement gives Orange Lake Resorts exclusive rights to develop and sell timeshare interests under the Holiday Inn Club Vacations brand until 2119. This means the resort can expand its current resort network outside the United States.

Chairman of Orange Lake Resorts, Spence Wilson, said: “My father, Kemmons Wilson, founded both Holiday Inn hotels and then Orange Lake Resorts with the same purpose, to create affordable and memorable experiences for families. IHG has continued to deliver on his vision and values. We brought these two companies together 11 years ago to continue his work. Together, we launched an incredible brand that provides more travel options for our owners and Club members while continuing to strengthen family bonds. We are very happy to announce the extension of the original agreement well into the 22nd century, as well as the additional global reach it provides the brand”.

The two companies joined forces back in 2008 and since then have experienced tremendous growth. They have expanded from 4 to 28 resort properties, they have also tripled the number of owners and club members, from 120,000 to 350,000. Holiday Inn Club Vacation members can exchange points into the Intercontinental Hotels Group Rewards club and use their ownership to stay at any of the groups 5,600 hotels and resorts worldwide.

Orange Lake Resorts President and CEO, Tom Nelson, said: “Extending our partnership with IHG will enable our company to plan further into the future, make bolder moves and explore destinations we might never have imagined. This paves the way for us to provide even more exciting and memorable vacations, as well as the opportunity to collaborate more closely with IHG as we both look to grow and enhance our customers experiences.”

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 type 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 Money Back Claim.