How to cancel a Royal Holiday timeshare membership

Last updated 2026-07-26

What is Royal Holiday and how is it different from a regular timeshare?

Royal Holiday (sometimes styled Royal Holiday Vacation Club) is a Mexico-based vacation club that sells points-based memberships giving access to resorts in Mexico, the Caribbean, and other destinations through affiliated exchange networks. It is not the same legal structure as a traditional US deeded timeshare where you own a fractional interest in a specific unit and week. That distinction matters a lot when you're trying to cancel. A deeded timeshare interest is real property, recorded with a county recorder, and often governed by state timeshare statutes that require specific rescission disclosures. A club membership like Royal Holiday's is typically a contract right to use points at member resorts, sometimes governed by Mexican law or the law specified in your contract, and enforced through whatever cancellation clause is written into your membership agreement. This is not a legal opinion on your specific contract. Every Royal Holiday agreement has its own governing law clause, and the company has sold memberships under different corporate names and program structures over the years. The first thing to do, before anything else, is pull your actual signed contract and find the section titled something like "cancellation," "right of rescission," or "cooling-off period." That clause, not general internet advice, controls your deadline. If you bought at a US-based presentation (some Royal Holiday sales happen through affiliated marketers in the US or at resort promotions during a Mexico vacation), the state where you signed may also give you rescission rights under that state's timeshare or vacation club statute. You may have two overlapping protections: the contract's own cancellation clause and your state's law. Whichever gives you more time or clearer rights is the one to lean on. For general orientation on how rescission windows work across different ownership types, see how to get out of a timeshare.

How do you cancel Royal Holiday during the rescission period?

If you're still inside your cancellation window, this is by far your cheapest and cleanest exit. Confirm your exact deadline first: check the contract's cancellation clause and, if you signed in the US, your state's timeshare or vacation-plan statute for the rescission period that applies there. Do not assume a specific number of days; count from the date stated in your contract or required by your state, not from memory. Florida's timeshare statute, for example, gives buyers a specific cancellation window measured from the date the buyer signs the contract or receives the last of the required documents, whichever is later, and requires that notice of cancellation be sent by the method spelled out in the statute; see Florida Statutes section 721.10 for the exact mechanics that apply if your contract was signed in that state ("A purchaser may cancel a contract until midnight of the tenth calendar day following whichever of the following days is later...") ^[1]. To rescind, send written notice, by the method your contract specifies (often certified mail with return receipt, sometimes also email to a listed address), stating clearly that you are canceling the membership under the contract's rescission clause and, if applicable, under your state's statute. Keep a copy of everything: the letter, the mailing receipt, the signed confirmation of delivery, and a copy of the original contract with the date you signed. Do not rely on a phone call alone. Sales staff have every incentive to talk you out of canceling, and a verbal "okay, we'll cancel it" from a salesperson means nothing without written confirmation from the company reflecting a canceled account and a refund of any deposit. If Royal Holiday or its sales affiliate does not confirm your cancellation in writing within a reasonable time, follow up in writing again, and consider filing a complaint with the FTC and your state attorney general, discussed below. If you paid by credit card and are still within your rescission period but the company delays confirming, you may also have a Fair Credit Billing Act dispute right for the deposit charge; the FCBA's billing-error dispute procedure is codified at 15 U.S.C. section 1666, and contacting your card issuer directly is the first step, since timeframes for disputing a charge are separate from your rescission clock and shorter ^[2].

What if my rescission window already passed?

Once the rescission window closes, canceling gets harder, but it is not automatically impossible. You have a few realistic paths, roughly in order of cost and effort. First, check whether Royal Holiday has a formal resignation, surrender, or deed-back-style program for members who no longer want to pay maintenance fees. Some vacation clubs will take a membership back, sometimes for a fee, sometimes for nothing, if the account is current and the member simply wants out rather than trying to resell. Call member services directly and ask, in writing if possible, whether such a program exists for your specific membership type and tier. Second, consider a private resale or transfer, covered in its own section below. Understand upfront that most vacation club and timeshare interests resell for a small fraction of the original price, if they sell at all. Third, some owners work with a licensed attorney in the relevant jurisdiction to review whether the original contract had disclosure defects that could support a later cancellation claim, particularly if sales were made under pressure, with misrepresentations about resale value or rental income, or without disclosures required by the state where the sale occurred. There is no guarantee this works, and legal fees add up, so get a clear, written fee estimate before hiring anyone. Fourth, paid exit companies exist that will attempt to negotiate an exit or handle documentation on your behalf. Some are legitimate, many are not, and the industry has a well-documented scam problem covered later in this article. Whatever path you choose, never let anyone tell you to simply stop paying dues while a company "works on it," since that can trigger collections and credit damage even if the exit never materializes.

How do you get out of a timeshare when the company won't let you cancel?

This is the situation most owners eventually face: the rescission window is gone, the company has no interest in taking the membership back for free, and maintenance fees keep rising every year. Here's the honest, no-guarantees menu of options. Deed-back or surrender: ask directly, in writing, whether the company will accept the membership back with no further obligation. Some will, especially if your account is paid in full and current, because it saves them the cost of chasing an unwilling owner for fees. Get any deed-back or surrender agreement in writing before you consider the matter closed. Resale: list it yourself or through a licensed real estate broker in the relevant jurisdiction. Expect a low sale price; timeshare resale prices are often a small fraction of the original purchase price, and many points-based club memberships have almost no resale market at all because the perceived benefit (below-market vacation access) doesn't transfer well once buyers realize maintenance fees keep climbing. Donation: a small number of nonprofits or timeshare-focused donation services will occasionally accept a paid-off, low-fee timeshare, but most reputable charities decline timeshare donations now because of the ongoing fee liability, so vet any organization carefully. Do-it-yourself negotiation: contact Royal Holiday's owner services line and ask what options exist for financial hardship, non-use, or long-term surrender. Companies sometimes have unadvertised retention or exit paths for owners who are persistent and calm rather than confrontational. Exit company or attorney: reviewed in the scam-avoidance section below, with real warning signs to check before paying anyone. For a broader walkthrough of these same options across timeshare brands generally, see how to get out of timeshare and how do you get out of a timeshare.

How do you sell a Royal Holiday timeshare or membership?

Selling is legal and sometimes possible, but go in with realistic expectations about price and timeline. Start by confirming, in writing, that your specific Royal Holiday membership is transferable at all. Some club memberships restrict transfer to immediate family, require the club's approval, or charge a transfer fee payable by the seller, buyer, or both. Ask member services for the exact transfer procedure and fee schedule before you spend time or money marketing the membership. If transfer is allowed, list through a licensed timeshare resale broker rather than an unlicensed "transfer company" that asks for large fees upfront. A legitimate resale broker typically earns a commission on a completed sale rather than charging a large fee before any sale happens. If a company asks for hundreds or thousands of dollars before it has found you a buyer, that is a major red flag regardless of what brand of timeshare or club membership you're trying to sell. Price realistically. Most timeshare and vacation club interests resell far below the original purchase price. The FTC's own consumer guidance on timeshares warns buyers directly that timeshares are frequently a poor investment and that resale markets are typically weak, since a timeshare "may be difficult, if not impossible, to sell" once you no longer want it, according to the FTC's consumer article on timeshares and vacation plans ^[3]. If your goal is to stop paying fees rather than recoup your purchase price, be willing to sell for very little, or even give the membership away, once transfer fees and closing costs are covered. For a general sale playbook applicable across timeshare brands, see timeshare cancellation.

Are timeshares (including vacation clubs like Royal Holiday) scams?

The timeshare product itself is legal in the US and regulated at the state level, so "timeshare" as a category is not inherently a scam. But the sales process and, separately, the exit industry that has grown up around unhappy owners both have well-documented scam problems. On the sales side, high-pressure tactics, exaggerated resale value claims, and unclear fee disclosures are common enough complaints that consumer regulators publish specific warnings about them. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau accepts and publishes consumer complaints about timeshare loans and related financing products through its public Consumer Complaint Database, which lets owners search for patterns in how specific companies are reported. On the exit side, the bigger and more dangerous scam pattern targets owners who already regret their purchase. The Federal Trade Commission has brought enforcement actions against timeshare exit companies for allegedly charging large upfront fees while promising results they could not deliver; one such case resulted in a permanent ban and monetary judgment against a timeshare exit operation and its owner, described in the FTC's own case announcement ^[4]. State attorneys general in Florida, Texas, and other high-timeshare states have pursued similar cases against exit companies operating under shifting business names. So the honest answer: a Royal Holiday membership itself is a real, regulated contractual product, expensive and often a poor value for many buyers, but not fraud by definition. The greater scam risk for someone in your position is the exit industry, not the original club membership. Vet any company you consider hiring against your state attorney general's consumer complaint database and the FTC's scam alert pages before paying anything.

How much do timeshares (and vacation club memberships) actually cost?

Upfront purchase or membership price	Averages around $24,140 [5]	Varies hugely by resort tier, points volume, season
Annual maintenance fee	Averages around $1,205 [5]	Usually rises annually; check the contract's escalation clause
Special assessments	Not standardized, can run into thousands	Charged for major repairs, storm damage, renovations
Exchange or club dues	Varies by network (RCI, Interval International, or internal club fee)	Often billed separately from maintenance fees
Transfer or resale fee	Set by individual company	Confirm before attempting to sell or gift a membership	Ask Royal Holiday directly, in writing, for your account's current maintenance fee history over the past five years if you're weighing whether to keep paying or push harder for an exit. A documented pattern of fee increases well above inflation is also useful evidence if you later pursue a legal review of your contract's disclosures.

Purchase prices and ongoing fees vary enormously by brand, unit size, season, and points allotment, but industry-wide data gives a useful benchmark. According to the American Resort Development Association's 2023 industry data, the average purchase price for a US timeshare interval was approximately $24,140, and the average annual maintenance fee was approximately $1,205 ^[5]. Points-based vacation club memberships, which is the structure Royal Holiday uses, often price similarly to deeded weeks up front but add annual membership or club dues on top of maintenance fees, and those fees typically rise with inflation and resort renovation costs. Here's a rough comparison of the cost categories you should expect to see broken out in any timeshare or vacation club contract, including Royal Holiday's: | Cost category | Typical range (industry-wide) | Notes |

Should you use an exit company to cancel Royal Holiday, and how do you avoid scams?

Some timeshare and vacation club exit companies do legitimate work: reviewing your contract, handling paperwork, and negotiating with the resort or club on your behalf. But the exit industry also has more bad actors per capita than almost any other consumer service category, and Royal Holiday owners, many of whom bought during a Mexico vacation and may feel less sure of their US legal footing, are a common target for exit scammers specifically. Before paying anyone, check these things: 1. Search the company's name plus "complaint" alongside your state attorney general's consumer complaint database. Florida, Texas, Arizona, Nevada, and other high-timeshare states publish searchable complaint and enforcement action records. 2. Search the FTC's own enforcement history; the agency has taken action against timeshare exit companies for deceptive upfront-fee practices and false promises of results, and its published case record explains the pattern it found in at least one such action ^[4]. 3. Never pay full fees upfront for a service that hasn't been performed yet. A legitimate attorney or broker will usually work on a retainer tied to actual hours or a commission tied to a completed sale, not a single large payment collected before any work begins. 4. Refuse to stop paying your maintenance fees or loan payments on the promise that an exit company "will handle it." Missed payments show up on your credit report and can lead to collections regardless of what the exit company eventually does or doesn't deliver. No legitimate exit process requires you to default first. 5. Get every promise in writing, including a specific, itemized description of what the company will do, a timeline, and a refund policy if they fail. For a broader rundown of how to check any exit company against these same standards, see timeshare exit companies, and for a running list of companies with a documented history worth checking before you call anyone, see timeshare call list.

What should you do if you inherited a Royal Holiday membership?

Inherited timeshares and vacation club memberships create a specific mess because the fee obligation doesn't disappear with the original owner, it typically passes to the estate and then to whoever accepts the inheritance. First, find out whether Royal Holiday's contract structure even allows inheritance or requires a formal transfer approval, since some club memberships terminate on death or require the estate to formally assign the interest within a set window. Contact member services and ask directly, citing the deceased owner's account number and a copy of the death certificate. Second, understand that an executor or heir is generally not personally obligated to accept an inherited timeshare interest. In most US states, heirs can disclaim (formally refuse) an inheritance, including a timeshare interest, through the probate process, though the exact disclaimer procedure and deadline are set by state law and should be handled with an estate attorney rather than guessed at. Third, if the estate does accept the membership, weigh the same options covered above (deed-back request, resale, negotiated surrender) with fresh eyes; don't assume you're stuck with it just because a family member was. If you're several steps into settling an estate and unsure whether formal disclaimer is still available to you, that's a question for a probate attorney in the state where the estate is being administered, not something to guess at based on general articles like this one.

Where can you report a Royal Holiday sales or exit scam?

If you believe you were misled during the original sales presentation, or you've been targeted by a company falsely claiming it can cancel your Royal Holiday membership for an upfront fee, report it in two places. File a complaint with the FTC at its consumer complaint portal, which the agency uses to track patterns and build enforcement cases against repeat offenders ^[4]. File a separate complaint with your state attorney general's consumer protection division, since state AGs have independent authority to investigate and sue companies operating in or targeting residents of their state, and several have already done so against timeshare exit companies. If the original sale happened in Mexico or involved a Mexican corporate entity, note that US regulators may have limited jurisdiction over the underlying company, though they retain authority over any US-based marketer, affiliate, or exit company that solicited you domestically. This is one more reason to keep every piece of paperwork: the original contract, sales presentation materials, any marketing emails, and records of who solicited you and where.

What does a realistic exit plan actually look like?

Pulling this all together, here's the order most owners in a similar spot should realistically work through, adjusted for your own contract terms. Step one: find your contract's actual rescission clause and, if you signed in the US, your state's timeshare rescission statute. If you're still inside that window, cancel in writing today; don't wait. Step two: if the window has passed, call Royal Holiday member services and ask, in writing, about a formal deed-back, surrender, or resignation program. This costs nothing but a phone call and some patience. Step three: if no company-run exit exists, get a written transfer fee schedule and consider a licensed resale broker, keeping price expectations low. Step four: if the membership is a genuine financial burden with rising fees you can't sustain, and none of the above worked, consult a licensed attorney in the relevant state (or one experienced in cross-border Mexico timeshare contracts) before paying any exit company a large upfront fee. Step five: document everything at every step. Certified mail receipts, emailed confirmations, screenshots of fee statements. If you eventually need to dispute a charge, file a complaint, or defend your credit report from an erroneous collections entry, this paperwork is what makes your case. If you want a structured way to organize the contract review, rescission deadline check, and required cancellation letters yourself rather than hiring a company that charges thousands upfront, ExitHonest's $149 one-time Exit Kit Builder walks through the same document checklist for a fraction of typical exit-company pricing. It doesn't contact Royal Holiday or the resort for you and it doesn't promise a cancellation outcome; it's a paperwork and process tool, not a law firm or exit company.

Frequently asked questions

How do I cancel my Royal Holiday membership within the rescission period?

Find your contract's cancellation clause and, if you signed in the US, check your state's timeshare rescission statute for the deadline. Send written cancellation notice by the method the contract specifies, usually certified mail with return receipt, before that deadline. Keep every document. A verbal cancellation over the phone is not enough; get written confirmation of the canceled account and any refund.

How do you get out of a timeshare after the rescission window closes?

Ask the company directly, in writing, whether it offers a deed-back or surrender program. If not, consider a licensed resale broker, though resale prices are usually a small fraction of the purchase price. Some owners consult an attorney about contract disclosure defects. Avoid any company demanding a large upfront fee paired with promises of results, which is a common scam pattern.

Are timeshares scams, including vacation clubs like Royal Holiday?

Timeshares and vacation clubs are legal, regulated products, not scams by definition, though sales tactics are often high-pressure. The bigger scam risk is the exit industry: the FTC has taken enforcement action against companies that charged upfront fees while promising results they didn't deliver. Vet any exit company against your state attorney general's complaint database before paying anything.

How much do timeshares typically cost?

ARDA's 2023 industry data puts the average US timeshare purchase price around $24,140 and the average annual maintenance fee around $1,205. Points-based vacation club memberships like Royal Holiday's often price similarly upfront, with additional club or exchange dues layered on top of yearly maintenance fees.

How do I sell my Royal Holiday timeshare or membership?

First confirm your membership is actually transferable and get the transfer fee schedule in writing from Royal Holiday's member services. Then list through a licensed resale broker rather than a company demanding a large fee before finding a buyer. Expect a low sale price; many points-based memberships have little or no functioning resale market.

How do I get rid of a timeshare I no longer want?

Options include a company deed-back or surrender program, private resale, donation (rare, since most charities decline timeshares now), or, as a last resort, a vetted attorney or licensed exit service. Never stop paying maintenance fees on the promise that a company will handle an exit later; that can trigger collections regardless of outcome.

What if I inherited a Royal Holiday timeshare I don't want?

Heirs generally aren't required to accept an inherited timeshare; most states allow a formal disclaimer through probate, with deadlines and procedures set by state law. Talk to an estate attorney handling the probate before assuming you're stuck with it. If the estate does accept it, the same deed-back, resale, and negotiation options apply.

Is Royal Holiday a real timeshare or a vacation club?

Royal Holiday operates as a points-based vacation club rather than a deeded timeshare, meaning members typically hold a contractual usage right rather than a fractional real estate interest. This changes which cancellation rules apply; check your specific contract's governing law and cancellation clause rather than assuming standard US timeshare statute protections automatically apply.

Can a timeshare exit company promise they'll cancel my membership?

Be very wary of any company promising a specific legal outcome. No legitimate company can promise results with certainty, and a company charging a large upfront fee while promising to cancel your contract should be treated as a serious red flag. The FTC has taken enforcement action against exit companies making exactly this kind of promise. Get itemized services and a refund policy in writing before paying anyone.

Where do I report a suspected timeshare exit scam?

File a complaint with the FTC through its consumer complaint system and separately with your state attorney general's consumer protection division. Both track patterns across complaints and have brought enforcement actions against timeshare exit companies. Keep copies of contracts, payment records, and all communications with the company you're reporting.

Will canceling Royal Holiday hurt my credit?

Canceling during a valid rescission window shouldn't affect your credit at all. But if you stop paying fees or loan installments outside that window while waiting on an exit company, the missed payments can be reported to credit bureaus and sent to collections, regardless of whether the exit eventually goes through.

How long does a Royal Holiday cancellation or exit typically take?

A rescission-period cancellation can be resolved in days to a few weeks once written notice and confirmation are exchanged. A post-rescission exit through resale, negotiated surrender, or legal review can take months, and there's no fixed timeline, since it depends on the company's own program, market conditions, and how quickly documents move.

Sources

1. Florida Statutes, Chapter 721 (Vacation and Timeshare Plans), Section 721.10: Florida's timeshare statute sets a cancellation window measured from the date of contract signing or receipt of required documents, whichever is later
2. 15 U.S.C. Section 1666 (Fair Credit Billing Act, billing error resolution): Cardholders have a statutory right to dispute billing errors, separate from and typically shorter than a contract rescission window
3. Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Advice, "Timeshares and Vacation Plans": FTC warning that timeshares are frequently a poor investment and can be difficult or impossible to resell
4. Federal Trade Commission, Case Announcement, "Timeshare Exit Team Settlement" (FTC v. Timeshare Exit Team, et al.): FTC enforcement action against a timeshare exit company that charged upfront fees and failed to deliver promised cancellations
5. American Resort Development Association, "2023 State of the Vacation Timeshare Industry" fact sheet: Average US timeshare purchase price (~$24,140) and average annual maintenance fee (~$1,205) for 2023