There are three main ways to dispose of a timeshare through a sale:
selling it back to your own club, selling it privately on your own, or selling it with the involvement of a third party — intermediaries such as specialized timeshare resale agencies.

These options differ in how and to whom you sell, and therefore each has its own specific features.

Today, the practice of buying back members’ timeshare weeks for resale through sales presentations exists only in the United States. In the 2000s, under public pressure, major U.S. resort groups voluntarily and collectively decided not only to accept members’ timeshares for resale, but also to actively integrate them into their sales systems using the so-called “every tenth week” scheme.

Here is how it works: the resort group accepts a member’s timeshare for resale, adds it to its own unsold inventory, and sells it through its sales network (using its agents and presentation structure) according to the principle that for every nine of its own weeks sold, one member’s week is sold for resale.

It should be noted that resale of members’ timeshares is highly unprofitable for clubs, especially while they still have their own inventory to sell. In addition, selling through a resort’s presentation system is extremely expensive. For this reason, members are required to make a significant concession on price. The amount offered for resale through the resort’s structure often equals 50%, and sometimes only 25%, of the original purchase price.

For this reason, timeshare owners turn to their club for resale only as a last resort, when they are unable to sell at a higher price either privately or through intermediaries.

In Europe, only a few resorts are known to assist with the resale of club timeshares. This is primarily because many resorts no longer conduct sales presentations and do not maintain sales structures at all. Some resorts were sold out long ago and have suspended marketing activities. Others, given the rise in resort accommodation prices, are now more interested in generating income from traditional rentals and are no longer focused on selling apartments as timeshares.

Nevertheless, the resort groups that still accept members’ weeks for resale include: Marriott Vacation Club, Holiday Club (Finland), Amfi Resorts, and Domina Vacanza.

Why Sell Through Your Own Club?

Selling through your own club can make sense because it is the simplest and most reliable option.

Typically, there are no upfront payments, no brokerage fees, and no advertising costs. You do not pay anything in advance. Your intention to sell is sufficient. An application or agreement is usually sent to you by email. Once the timeshare is sold, you send your ownership documents to the club along with the signed forms and agreements provided, specify your bank account details, and receive your payment.

You are spared almost all of the effort: you do not need to assess intermediaries, involve lawyers in a private transaction, arrange secure exchange of funds and ownership documents, negotiate pricing, persuade someone to buy your timeshare, or worry about whether it will be sold first.

Why You Might Want to Avoid Selling Through the Club

You should not sell your timeshare through your club if you expect to receive its fair market value, especially if you purchased it recently and at a high price.

It is well known that owners who bought more than 20 years ago paid significantly lower prices, partly due to inflation and historical differences in resort real estate values. Many of them have enjoyed years of travel and believe they have already recovered their investment. Such owners are often willing to sell their timeshare for one third of its original price. These are the typical candidates for resale through the club — although, unfortunately, not all clubs offer this option.

However, if you purchased your timeshare relatively recently, used it little or not at all, and bought it as an investment in future vacations — expecting returns in the form of travel benefits that you have not yet fully enjoyed — you are likely to want to recover as much of your investment as possible.

In that case, to sell at the maximum market price, you will need to sell privately on your own. If you choose to involve specialists (intermediaries), you should be prepared to pay for their services, either through advertising fees or commissions.