The Walt Disney Company has shaken up the management of its time-share business, the Disney Vacation Club.
Disney announced on Tuesday that it has hired Claire Bilby to take over leadership of the Disney Vacation Club. Bilby has worked for Disney since 1998 in marketing and sales.
After discovering that an error in time-share fees at Disney’s new 359-room Aulani resort in Hawaii the company became concerned it would face losses due to operational costs. In response Disney fired three executives, including the president of the Disney Vacation Club Jim Lewis this past weekend.
After having the time-shares on sale for a year, the finalization of sales was suspended on July 9. The initial contracts had placed annual fees at a minimum of US$690, and Disney is in the process of setting higher fees, which involves the approval of state regulators. The new fee structure has not been released yet. Aulani has a total of 460 time-share units and will be honoring the original contracts.