MUMBAI, Mar 9: Reacting to consumers' criticism of the timeshare concept, a section of resort-owners and marketing-agencies promoting the products have attempted to stem the rot and formed the All India Resort Development Association (AIRDA). This will cleanse the concept and safeguard the interests of consumers, they hope.AIRDA chairperson Shukla Bose spoke to The Financial Express about the association.
Why was the All India Resort Development Association (AIRDA) set up?
There have been several cases of people having bad experiences in timeshare resorts. Consumers were given false promises, which affected the image of the industry. There were many genuine cases who felt alarmed and a decision was taken to prevent such incidents. RCI, which also promotes timeshare and holiday ownership concepts, took the initiative.
Is AIRDA registered?
AIRDA is a registered organisation with a management-board having representatives from leading resorts such as Mahindra & Mahindra andSterling. It has prescribed a code of standards and ethics, which need to be followed by all members. The executive committee of AIRDA has the prerogative to decide if a particular act has tarnished the name of the industry.
How do you define the role of AIRDA?
It is a self-regulatory body. All resorts and hotels or their owners, officers, sales-personnel and other employees, including contract-agents and brokers, shall be subject to its code of ethics. Any act, while promoting sales activities of a developer or his associates, including an advertising agency or staff bringing disrepute, will be considered non-professional.
The code of ethics has been established in the interests of the consumer with a view to defining a standard for general solicitation and sales requirements in the marketing of timeshare. The objective is to promote a long term-interest of the industry.
Does the AIRDA have enough teeth to prevent resort-owners from taking people for a ride?
AIRDA has enough powers tostop wrong practices. All members are bound by the code of conduct. In case of a breach of conduct, the member will be given a warning and even expelled. As per the code of standards and ethics of AIRDA "each member is required to observe and abide by the code of ethics and ignorance of this code shall be no excuse."
What happens if there is a complaint against a member?
We will look into the matter and the resort-owner will be questioned. If the complaint is genuine, the owner will be asked to compensate.
Is the organisation authorised to undertake cases against non-members?
In a broader prospective, the organisation will look into the matter and intervene. At the same time, we are encouraging all the people in the business to become a part of the organisation.
Can it take legal action against a member on the basis of consumer complaints?
As of now, it does not have any authority to take legal action against the member. However, it will be in the interests of all members toabide by the norms.
What is the membership criteria and how many members do you have so far?
Anyone who is related to the timeshare business can be a member of AIRDA. It has a fixed one-time membership fee of Rs 25,000 and will also charge a commission on sale. There are around 40 members at present.
Does it do due diligence before granting membership?
The organisation scrutinises the application in relation to facts and other details. It, however, does not have the authority to reject membership because of some controversial incident of the past.
