The Timeshare Option

Sometime later, Fairmont owner, Lloyd Wilder, had been down in the United States, where he

was introduced to the timeshare concept. At that time, the timeshare did not exist at all in BC.

Lloyd asked, “Can we do that here?” I couldn’t see why not. I was optimistic with planning and

everything else. I will never forget trying to figure out how to do it.

There was no precedent to follow in anything. I consulted the Land Registry Office. An official

there said that it sounded like a good idea. It was kind of popular in the States already. He found

one partial model: a Mickey Mouse agreement type of thing for ownership of the lockers in a

golf course down at New Westminster. But this agreement had nothing to do with owning a suite

in a building or anything like that. Anyway, that office was not any help.

I was told by people in the government that they did not want anything to do with the normal

title system and timeshare, or the ownership of a unit in a building for one week. They decided it

involved too much bookkeeping, was too insecure, and presented too much of a problem.

They just said to go away and do the timeshare privately. I had to find somebody who would

look after it. I found a big insurance corporation in Calgary, which was willing to look after the

bookkeeping, security, and registration. The model is now used worldwide. One of my former

employees owns a major company in the field. I have never owned a timeshare. A company tried

to sell me one on my only trip to Hawaii, but I wasn't interested.

I did the first timeshare in BC. When you do something big, and you have to be innovative, it

kind of tickles my fancy about having enough gumption—just enough energy—to say, “Okay,

we can do that.”