Don't buy, or refund ASAP. Holiday Systems International is a high pressure sales outfit that then SLAMS the door closed if you have second thoughts. We purchased a 15 year lease with 25 weeks for $4075 in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. We were staying at the The Reef Playacar, in the Mexican Riviera. We own a timeshare at The Grandview Las Vegas, and maintain a membership with RCI.
I understand that buying a timeshare can be a scary prospect, and the industry has resorted to sales tactics that border on kidnapping, but we have fully enjoyed our RCI timeshare. My wife doesn't like to camp, so I like to compare costs as equivalent to owning an RV. The cost of gas to haul, insure, store, and maintain an RV is actually higher than the annual fees on our timeshare. And the good news is a timeshare is real property that generally doesn't depreciate like an RV.
Now Holiday Systems International (HSI) is a different story. After we bought, I did a lot of internet research. My overall impression is it is timeshare-lite without the equity. It's a privately owned company without stock traded in any stock exchange that I could find. On the side, how does a company offer its employees a stock option without publicly traded stock? Origin 1993. Joined BBB of Nevada in 1995. Has A - rating last I checked, but has accumulated complaints. $6.6 million in annual sales per a business website. Employ about 100 to 200 people. Not that big a company in my opinion. HSI has sponsored ARDA events and a bicycle racing team, Team Pro Cyclery. A little unsettling to think that its possible they'd close their doors tomorrow. The bicycle thing also warrants discussion because it sheds light on the guy that operates the company, Craig Morganson (The CEO).
I think the CEO is a PETA member and has used HSI as leverage against a veterinarian university in St. Kitts. See http://www.peta.org/mc/NewsItem.Asp? Id=11296&pf=true or others.in a letter to PETA, HSI President and CEO Craig Morganson wrote the following:
[T]he apparent willingness of the St. Kitts government to allow Ross University to needlessly harm animals when the island's animal protection law prohibits "unnecessary suffering" of animals is unacceptable. Please be assured that HSI? Will no longer allow our more than 300,000 clients the option of booking St. Kitts through HSI until such time [as] their government demonstrates a more civilized respect for animal welfare, and Ross University builds a veterinary teaching hospital and adopts the recommendations outlined by PETA.
Now I love animals, too. They taste great. Problem is I'm an NRA member and hunter. That means I enjoy shooting and eating deer and other game. I don't agree to someone using their company and my membership as leverage on a government in the name of a cause I don't share. Would Mr. Morganson like to ban other destinations if they have relaxed gun control, strict immigration policies, or lack of vegetarian cuisine? What other causes would the CEO like to use his 300,000 membership company for? Did the members consent to such action? I certainly wouldn't. Smacks of extraordinary narcissism.
Many posts on web discussion sites comment on Mr. Morganson's potty-mouth when dealing with employees. There are references to him screaming swear-words at employees during explosive temper-tantrums. These are unconfirmed accusations, but there seems to be a lot of circumstantial evidence. Okay, we've got a problem when animal rights are held in higher regard than human rights. That should never be the case!
The specifics of our case reads much like others. When we called HSI in Nevada, we were directed back to the resort. Numerous phone calls later, I was able to reach a sales representative once. The front-man of the operation told me to call back (the office was closed, which was true), but he claimed he didn't know the fax number there. How lame. Further calls were made the next day, messages left at least four to five total, but no call backs. A total joke of an operation. Nevertheless, we have now disputed the charges with the credit card company.
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