Leaving Holiday Inn Club Vacations: Start With Horizons

How do Holiday Inn Club owners exit their timeshare?

Cancel in writing right away if your state’s cancellation window has not closed, because that is the only route that returns your money. Past that point, apply to Horizons, the developer’s own exit program, at (866) 228-8689, and ask whether a sale is possible for what you own. Horizons says it drops owners when it detects an exit company’s involvement, so wait for its written answer before you contact any exit firm.

Horizons aims its exit options at mortgage-free owners whose finances, health or other unforeseen events keep them from using the timeshare, and it charges qualifying owners $1,200 per contract. If nobody will buy the timeshare and Horizons turns you down or sets terms you won’t take, a free file review and consultation with an exit firm is the next step to weigh.

Who runs Holiday Inn Club Vacations?

Holiday Inn Club Vacations Incorporated now stands behind ownerships first sold under the Orange Lake Resorts and Silverleaf Resorts names. Court filings name the company as “Orange Lake Country Club, Inc. n/k/a Holiday Inn Club Vacations, Incorporated,” and the Horizons listing in ARDA’s exit directory says it serves Silverleaf and Orange Lake owners as well as Holiday Inn Club members. ARDA is the developers’ trade group. If you bought under one of the older names, Horizons is still the place to start.

The company’s resort finder lists properties in Arizona, Florida, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nevada, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin, plus Mexico, and Orange Lake Resort in Orlando is still on that list. We found no published figures from the company on its loan rates, default rates, or how much it sells to existing owners.

How does Horizons work?

Horizons pitches itself as a simple way to leave for good and stop paying maintenance fees. Its page splits owners in two:

• No mortgage: owners kept from using the timeshare by money trouble, health or other unforeseen events may qualify for one of its exit options.
• With a mortgage: the page says only that options may still exist and that every owner’s situation is different.

The steps, as Horizons lays them out: you call or submit the online form, which asks for your owner number; the team reviews your ownership; someone calls back to explain the cancellation options it offers and what each requires; and qualifying owners then pay the fee to start. The toll-free line is (866) 228-8689 and the direct line (407) 477-7058, weekdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Eastern.

Cost: $1,200 per contract for owners who qualify. Horizons’ FAQ calls it a processing and handling charge that covers the cost of moving title, at its current rate.

Who it works for: mortgage-free owners whose circumstances changed. Horizons sets no minimum ownership period and addresses owners “whether you’ve owned with us for 30 years or are just starting out.”

What disqualifies you: detected involvement by a third-party exit company, under Horizons’ own rule. A mortgage leaves the answer open.

Three things Horizons leaves unsaid: the timeline, whether your fees must be paid up, and whether you get the $1,200 back should the transfer fail. Get answers before paying.

Is the $1,200 Horizons fee worth it compared with staying?

For an owner who qualifies, the arithmetic is short. With no published fee data from the company, this table uses ARDA’s industry-commissioned 2026 study, which put the average maintenance fee at $1,550 per weekly interval equivalent in 2025, up from $1,120 in 2021. Swap in the numbers on your own bill.

Contracts	Horizons fee	One year of fees at the 2025 industry average	Five years at that average, with no increases
1	$1,200	$1,550	$7,750
2	$2,400	$3,100	$15,500
3	$3,600	$4,650	$23,250

The five-year column is conservative: the industry average rose about 38% from 2021 to 2025. A points contract may not equal one weekly interval, so the comparison is a rough guide, not a quote. If Horizons accepts you, get the terms in writing, pay only after you have them, and confirm that the title transfer has been recorded.

Why apply to Horizons before talking to anyone else?

Horizons puts the rule in its FAQ: it won’t recognize any attempt by an exit company to coordinate for an owner, and an account where it detects “a third-party exit company involvement” loses access to Horizons. It never defines involvement or says how it detects it, and nothing we found settles whether a free consultation would trigger the rule.

So the timing is simple. Apply to Horizons and wait for its written answer before contacting any exit firm, including for a free consultation. That fits the FTC’s general advice for owners: “Start by contacting your timeshare company directly.”

Horizons’ FAQ also makes its case against exit companies. It says such companies “rarely, if ever” have a legal basis to cancel a contract, that they file baseless complaints to pressure developers, and that developers end up foreclosing on those owners, who often suffer substantial credit damage. It claims Horizons can get the same result without the credit damage. Those are the developer’s statements about its competitors, but the warning signs it lists are worth knowing: offers to meet off-property, questionnaires that assume a bad experience with the resort, and warnings that heirs will be forced to pay your fees.

The company has fought exit operators in court. Orange Lake Country Club and Wilson Resort Finance sued Reed Hein & Associates, which traded as Timeshare Exit Team, in Orlando’s federal court. Two days before trial was due to start, on January 11, 2020, the companies told the court they had settled every claim in the case. The notice gave no terms.

Can I leave Holiday Inn Club while I still owe on the loan?

Horizons spells out its exits for mortgage-free owners. If you still owe, ask Horizons what is open now and what would be open after a payoff. Its FAQ says whether you can sell instead of cancel “depends on several factors,” including the type of ownership and whether there is a mortgage.

The company does not publish loan rates, so read the APR in your own contract. For comparison, three public developers reported 2025 weighted average rates on timeshare loans of 12.9% (Marriott Vacations Worldwide), 14.6% (Travel + Leisure, which owns Wyndham) and 14.7% (Hilton Grand Vacations).

With almost no resale value behind it, the timeshare is poor security, so few lenders will refinance against it. If you qualify for a lower rate, a personal loan can replace the developer loan. A payoff could move you into the no-mortgage group Horizons describes, but before borrowing to get there, ask Horizons to confirm in writing what a zero balance would make you eligible for. See whether to pay off the loan.

Why does a call about leaving turn into an upgrade offer?

The company publishes no sales figures. Across the industry, ARDA’s 2026 study found that 61% of 2025 sales volume went to existing owners. So your exit call, or an owners’ meeting at the resort, may end with a pitch to buy more. Upgrading means a bigger contract and a bigger yearly bill, and new borrowing can knock you out of the mortgage-free group Horizons favors. Don’t sign at that call or meeting; if more points are the only answer to your request to leave, count it as a refusal. More in the upgrade trap.

How long do I have to cancel in the states where Holiday Inn Club has resorts?

Use your cancellation right before you contact Horizons: it refunds your money, while Horizons charges $1,200 a contract. The deadline comes from state law, and your contract’s cancellation notice should name it. Here are the statutory periods in eight states where the club lists resorts:

State	Cancellation period	Clock starts	Statute
Florida	Until midnight of the 10th calendar day	Later of signing or receiving the last required document	Fla. Stat. 721.10
Texas	Before the sixth day	Later of signing and receiving a copy, or receiving the disclosure statement	Tex. Prop. Code 221.041
Missouri	Five days after the day of purchase	Day of purchase	Mo. Rev. Stat. 407.620
Nevada	Until midnight of the fifth calendar day	Signing	NRS 119A.410
South Carolina	Five days, not counting a Sunday that falls on day five	Later of signing or receiving the disclosure statement	S.C. Code 27-32-40
Virginia	Until midnight of the seventh calendar day, extended past a Sunday or holiday	Signing	Va. Code 55.1-2221
Arizona	Until midnight of the 10th calendar day	Signing	A.R.S. 32-2197.03
Wisconsin	Until midnight of the fifth business day, where a disclosure statement is required	Later of signing or receiving the last required document	Wis. Stat. 707.47

Florida, Texas and Nevada also bar any waiver of the right. Florida goes further: if a buyer’s right was waived and the sale closed, the buyer can void the closing for up to a year after the cancellation period would have ended. Send notice by the method your contract names and keep proof of delivery. For other states, see the full state list and the rescission deadline tool.

What should I send Horizons, and what should I have on hand?

Call first, then confirm in writing by email or letter and keep a dated copy. Ask:

1. Do I qualify for Horizons today? If not, which condition rules me out?
2. What is the total fee for all my contracts, when is it due, and is it refundable if the transfer fails?
3. How long does the process take, and do maintenance fees keep accruing until the title transfers?
4. If I have a mortgage, what is open to me now, and what would be open once it is paid off?
5. Can my ownership be sold instead of cancelled?
6. What document will confirm the title has transferred and I owe nothing further?

Have ready: your owner number, every purchase and upgrade contract (including any under the Orange Lake or Silverleaf name), your latest maintenance fee bill and loan statement, and any notes from the sales presentation.

What if Horizons says no?

Ask for the refusal and the reason in writing. A mortgage problem sends you back to the loan section. A flat refusal means an exit firm can’t cost you a program that has already declined you. But if Horizons said you might qualify later, for example after a payoff, weigh that carefully first, because the forfeiture rule could close that door.

Disclosure: Candid Timeshare works with Vacation Ownership Consultants, a timeshare exit firm, and may be paid when readers hire it.

One exit firm, Vacation Ownership Consultants (VOC) of Scottsdale, Arizona, writes that developer surrender programs are voluntary rather than legal rights and tells owners to get written confirmation before assuming they are released. With Horizons that written record does double duty, because it also shows you went to Horizons first. VOC’s published process puts the developer first too: its first step is to contact the resort and check resale value.

Once Horizons has answered in writing and the ownership has no resale value, a free file review and consultation can sort out which route is left and whether the sales pitch gave you a claim. At VOC, you upload billing statements, the purchase agreement and the deed, if there is one, through its eligibility form; VOC decides whether you are eligible and gives you a free file review; and only then do you decide on enrolling for a one-time flat fee. VOC’s home page says it holds off discussing billing until it has confirmed you qualify, and describes consultations “supported by seasoned industry partners and experienced timeshare attorneys.” Other firms work on their own terms, so ask before you send anything.

In general, a legitimate firm reviews the contract and your payment record before quoting, names the attorney on your file, and hunts for concrete flaws in the sale, such as a pitch that called the timeshare an investment. It cannot promise you an outcome.

Regulators have a record on exit operators too. Washington’s attorney general said Reed Hein did business as Timeshare Exit Team, that more than 2,800 people in the state paid it upfront fees ranging from just under $3,000 into the tens of thousands, and that it sometimes told customers to stop paying their resorts. A federal court in April 2026, acting after an FTC investigation, ordered Christopher Carroll, one of the top operators of a scheme run under the name Consumer Law Protection, to pay $140 million. The FTC warns that some take a fee and merely phone your timeshare company, which costs you nothing to do yourself. Before hiring anyone, a Holiday Inn Club owner should confirm:

• The firm checks for a Horizons application and takes no step on your account before Horizons’ written reply.
• It never advises skipping mortgage or fee payments, a warning sign on the FTC’s list.
• It gives a single flat fee on paper after seeing your documents and claims no link to Holiday Inn Club Vacations.

The red flags checklist covers the rest, and the stop-paying guide explains what missed payments lead to.

The order to work in

Cancellation period still running? Send written notice today, ahead of any Horizons application, and confirm your date with the rescission deadline tool.

Everyone else: Horizons first, with a question about selling. Call (866) 228-8689 and follow up with the written questions above. Hold off on every exit firm until Horizons replies in writing, and leave any upgrade unsigned.

Mortgage-free and accepted? Have the terms on paper before paying, then check that the new title was recorded.

Carrying a mortgage? Ask what applies now and after payoff, then compare a lower-rate personal loan.

Ownership won’t sell, and Horizons said no in writing? Ask for a free file review and consultation with an exit firm that meets the checks above.

Other routes: your own attorney if you have papers showing you were misled at the sale; a licensed broker who is paid only after a sale, which is the arrangement the FTC prefers, if Horizons confirms selling is possible. The exit cost calculator shows what staying would cost.

Disclosure: Candid Timeshare works with Vacation Ownership Consultants, a timeshare exit firm, and may be paid when readers hire it. This page’s author, Kira Fairbank, is a manager at Vacation Ownership Consultants. We cite its published case data on this page where marked.

This page is general information and not legal advice. Horizons’ terms belong to the developer, which can revise them, and your choices turn on your contract, your mortgage and your state’s law. Ask an attorney licensed in your state to review the contract before you pay a processing fee, sign over title, borrow in order to qualify, or halt any payment.