Wyndham Vacation Ownership expands presence on Washington Long Beach Peninsula

From the Street Talk Blog:

LONG BEACH, WA: Wyndham Vacation Ownership is now welcoming guests to its newest seaside resort, WorldMark Long Beach. Nestled along the Washington coast on the Long Beach Peninsula, the 98–unit oceanfront resort offers owners breathtaking views of both the Pacific Ocean and the area’s local beaches. The resort, the company’s eighth property in the state and second on the Long Beach peninsula joining WorldMark Surfside Inn, will operate under the WorldMark by Wyndham resort portfolio of products.

“The Washington coastline with its miles of beaches and charming communities has long been a desirable vacation destination for many of our WorldMark owners. With the addition of WorldMark Long Beach, we have added another outstanding property in a classic coastal area our owners can enjoy for many years to come,” said Dave Herrick, senior vice president, Hospitality Division, WorldMark by Wyndham. >>read more

IHG and The Family of Orange Lake Create New Timeshare Brand

Holiday Inn Club Vacations will launch in December 2008 with Orange Lake’s flagship 2,412 villa property in Orlando, Florida. This marks IHG’s first move into the timeshare market, one of the fastest growing segments of the U.S. holiday and vacation industry.  [Source: American Resort Development Association (ARDA)]

The conversion of the remaining Orange Lake resorts in Ascutney, Vermont (60 villas), Lake Geneva, Wisconsin (68 villas) and Panama City, Florida (18 villas) are scheduled to follow shortly after.

This alliance is unique in that it allows IHG to enter the timeshare industry, purely through an exclusive licensing and marketing agreement.  Orange Lake will continue to own, operate and develop these timeshare resorts as a privately held company.

>>read more

Hawaii Timeshare Occupancy, Employment Stays Strong | ARDA Reports

“It is clear timeshare owners are using their scheduled vacation time in Hawaii because they have already paid for their accommodations. With the expense of their stay pre-paid, it’s easier for them to cover today’s higher airline ticket costs and overcome other economic concerns that are impeding travel to Hawaii.”

HONOLULU – Data collected from Hawaii’s timeshare industry shows that the appeal of vacation ownership continues to be a strong, stable component of the state’s tourism economy, highlighted by high occupancy, employment growth, and rising capital expenditures. The American Resort Development Association’s Hawaii Chapter (ARDA) today released occupancy figures provided by timeshare operators for second quarter 2008 (below), showing that timeshare exceeded hotel occupancy by nearly 20 percentage points statewide. The comparison is especially compelling considering the softening that Hawaii’s visitor industry has experienced since April when visitor arrivals began progressively declining due to increased travel costs and a weakening national economy. read more>>

Las Vegas Timeshare Firm Buys Timeshare Company Bluegreen Corp

Written by Timeshares Daily Staff

Boca Raton-based time-share company Bluegreen Corp. said Monday it intends to sell itself to a new owner for a hefty premium.  The company said it signed a nonbinding letter of intent to be acquired by Las Vegas-based time-share developer and manager Diamond Resorts LLC for $15 a share, or about $500 million, excluding Bluegreen’s outstanding debt.

Bluegreen shares closed Monday at $6.44, off from a 52-week high of $11.85, before the deal was announced. The company had calculated its book value at $12.37 a share as of March 31.  Alan B. Levan, Bluegreen’s chairman, said the company had been considering options for the next three to five years.

“When Diamond presented our board with this unsolicited, attractive offer, we believed that it was in the best interest of our shareholders to pursue this transaction at this time,” Levan said in a statement. [read more]

New WorldMark Resort in Oregon Under Review

Great news from the Worldmark front for all you Worldmark (Trendwesties?)… New Resort!

FLORENCE, OR: Final design plans for WorldMark by Wyndham’s new resort near the Florence Events Center have been submitted for review with the city of Florence. The design package was submitted by the Myhre Group Architects on behalf of Worldmark by Wyndham, and no major obstacles to the plan are expected.

The plan comprises 3 four-story buildings overlooking the Siuslaw River, along with several smaller one-story buildings and an outdoor pool. [read more]
… of course, you can always find Worldmark resales over here…

Timeshare Awareness Skyrocketing

10/9/2007
By Glenn Haussman
During the last decade timeshare has become a lynchpin of the hospitality industry. It’s a significant driver of business, injects funds into under development multi-purpose projects and better maximizes income at resorts that have a timeshare component. And while that’s a great for hotel and resort developers, the real story is the heightened awareness of timeshare among the traveling public.
According to a just released survey by Interval International, a timeshare exchange company owned by IAC, timeshare has not just reached critical mass, but almost everyone has heard of timesharing. Findings in Future Timeshare Buyers: Market Profile 2007 shows that 91 percent of travelers know timeshare, which is up from just 68 percent seven years ago. [Read More]

Timeshares on Sale

How to find a bargain in the most popular locations.

By Jessica Anderson
From Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine, October 2007

Bruce and Nancy Robinson were on vacation in Hawaii in 1992 when they attended a timeshare presentation in exchange for luau tickets. By the end of the pitch, the Huntsville, Ala., couple had agreed to pay $16,000 for one week in a two-bedroom unit at the Kona Coast resort that they could trade for properties around the globe.

Then, five years ago, while scanning timeshare listings on eBay, they noticed a highly desirable week for sale in a Key West resort that they had unsuccessfully tried to trade into in the past. The asking price was more than $20,000, but the bidding had stalled at less than a third of that. They ended up buying the week for just $6,000.

The Robinsons have made good use of both timeshares — trading them for other units and renting them out when they’re unable to go themselves. But the Key West deal was definitely the better value. “Knowing what I know now,” says Bruce, “the only way to buy is resale.”

When you can buy a resale timeshare at a discount of 50% or more to the developer’s price — and without sitting through a high-pressure sales presentation — you have to wonder why more people aren’t buying this way. [Read More]
Do you have a particular timeshare destination in mind? Check out Holiday’s resale selection and save from 60% to 80% off retail prices.

At Ease! Timeshare Webinar Invites Consumers to Boot Camp

SEATTLE — Holiday Resales, a division of Holiday Group, is preparing for its fourth virtual seminar, “Timeshare Boot Camp 101,” which promises to get timeshare consumers in shape by training participants on the basics of timeshare. Push-ups are optional.The seminar will take place at 5:30 p.m. PDT on Thursday, September 27, 2007. Participation will be open to the public. Please visit here for information on registration.
The Timeshare Boot Camp 101 webinar will feature vacation lifestyle expert and writer, Lisa Ann Schreier. “If you’ve shied away from timeshare sales pitches, or have ever wondered why someone is selling their timeshare on eBay for five dollars, this webinar is for you,” said Schreier, author of “Timeshare Vacations For Dummies.”
Web seminars, popularly referred to as webinars, are a convenient alternative to traditional seminars, allowing people to participate via their personal computers from work or in the comfort of their homes. Attendees can both see and hear the seminar as it’s in progress, and can interact with questions or comments of their own.

“This seminar isn’t about sales hype,” Schreier said. “We’re not pushing timeshare on anyone, but I will be giving consumers the relevant information they need in order to make educated choices about timeshare. It’s just a start to what we have planned in the future to provide consumers with in-depth basic training. I’m excited about this venture.”

Holiday’s Director of Sales, Gail Bennett, will host the webinar. “This is Holiday’s fourth webinar, and our audience continues to grow,” Bennett said. “I think it’s because of the knowledge we’ve been able to give them about how timeshare works, so that it’s no longer a mystery. If people feel they’ve learned something of value, then we’ve achieved our goal and it benefits the whole industry.”

Holiday’s webinars offer real-world knowledge about timesharing in a low-pressure, consumer-friendly environment. The Timeshare Boot Camp 101 webinar will last about 30 minutes and be followed by a question and answer session.

“When I was a salesperson,” Schreier noted, “I observed salespeople inadvertently confusing consumers simply by the way they interacted with them about timeshare. After all, it was familiar territory to us. I want to clear all of that out and just talk with people in a way they can understand.”

Related Information
Date: Thursday, September 27, 2007
Time: 5:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. PDT
Webinar registration
Email: webinars@holidaygroup.com
Webinar home page

About Lisa Ann Schreier

Lisa Ann Schreier a/k/a “The Timeshare Crusader” is the founder of Timeshare Insights, an independent consulting firm. She is the author of both “Surviving A Timeshare Presentation…Confessions From The Sales Table,” and “Timeshare Vacations For Dummies.” In addition to contributing to more than 175 major media outlets in the past few years, she is a sought-after speaker for convention groups. Timeshare Insights does not rent, buy, broker, or sell any timeshares, choosing to focus on consumer education, and in turn forcing positive changes within the timeshare industry.

About Holiday Group

Holiday’s online timeshare business connects thousands of vacation buyers with discount timeshares every year. Founded in 1992, Holiday was one of the first timeshare companies to host a comprehensive Web site. Holiday is headquartered in sunny Seattle. Please visit http://www.holidaygroup.com for more information.
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Wisconsin Dells: Wyndham Announces Wyndham Vacation Resorts at Glacier Canyon

THE DELLS: Wyndham Vacation Ownership announced Sept. 11 the opening of Wyndham Vacation Resorts at Glacier Canyon in Wisconsin Dells. The new, 102-unit resort is the only vacation ownership property located within the complex. It will operate in the company’s Wyndham Vacation Resorts portfolio (formerly Fairfield Resorts).

Adjacent to the Wilderness Hotel and Golf Resort, the property offers owners a chance to experience the exciting indoor and outdoor activities found in this popular vacation destination. Due to high owner interest for the area, Wyndham Vacation Ownership already planned for a 99-unit expansion at the resort. Construction of the expansion began in summer 2007. [Read More]

Timeshare Blog Puts Consumers First

Press Release
Thursday September 6, 7:00 am ET
SEATTLE, Sept. 6 /PRNewswire/ — Holiday Resales, a division of the Holiday Group, announced today the launch of its new timeshare blog, an in- depth news and vacation lifestyle resource for timeshare owners. Please visit http://timeshare.holidaygroup.com to view the blog.

Timesharing is more popular today than ever. Currently, over four million Americans enjoy vacation ownership, with nearly three million more international owners. But the world of timeshare can be a confusing place to navigate for new owners. Even seasoned timesharers find it difficult to stay current with all the news and changes that occur daily in the timeshare and travel industries.

In keeping with its focus on customer service and innovative consumer education, Holiday’s blog provides timeshare enthusiasts with a central information resource, and gives them the tools they need to get the most out of their vacations.

“We’ve been busy working on the blog, fine tuning, and getting it ready for prime time,” said Holiday’s Marketing Director, Geoff Klein. “We want to not only make it entertaining, but educational as well, so that our readers stay informed on timeshare trends and products. I’m excited about the new categories and features we plan to add over the next few weeks.”

Topics covered by the blog will not only relate to timesharing, but also to anything of interest having to do with travel, including current timeshare news stories, travel tips, destination guides, resort reviews, and travel gadgets and accessories. It will also feature a question-and-answer column and guest articles by timeshare experts, such as Lisa Ann Schreier, author of “Timeshare Vacations for Dummies” (http://www.timeshareinsights.com).

“It’s nice to have a source where you can find current information that relates specifically to timeshare owners, not just the industry,” said Klein. “In other words, how will the news and events of the day affect the ways that people use timeshare?”

Given the profusion of content available on the Internet, Holiday’s timeshare blog lets readers view the information that is most pertinent to their interests and concerns, without having to sift through pages of irrelevant material to find it.

“We don’t want to take creative liberties as some other blogs might do, when they find ways to use news stories that have nothing to do with timeshare,” said Klein. “The blog will be fun to read, but also relevant. The bottom line is we want it to relate to timesharing as a lifestyle.”

Related Links:

http://timeshare.holidaygroup.com/

About Holiday:

Holiday Group was founded in 1992. Its headquarters are in sunny Seattle, Washington. Holiday was a pioneer in online travel services, and was one of the first timeshare companies to host a comprehensive Web site. Holiday’s online timeshare business connects thousands of vacation buyers with discount timeshares every year. Please visit Holiday’s Web site at http://www.holidaygroup.com for more information.
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