Timeshare Trends Blog

Timeshares By Owner attended the America Resort Development Association (ARDA) Convention in Las Vegas during the week of March 15th. Our radio show, Vacation Time on WDBO 580 am was privileged to conduct interviews with some of the leading figures in the timeshare industry.

They included Howard Nusbaum, President of ARDA, Franz Hanning, the President of Wyndham Vacation Ownership, and Rob Webb, Esq, Senior Partner of the Baker Hostettler Hospitality Group, and Jeffrey W. Frantz, CEO of Timeshares By Owner. These interviews provided valuable insight into the furure of the vacation ownership industry, and the ways for timeshare owners to deal with financial hardship.

A replay of the radio show, Vacation Time, can be heard on www.wdbo.com.

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Wyndham Worldwide Corporation has been named one of the 100 greenest companies, according to Newsweek magazine. According to the magazine, the “green” rankings are based on the environmental footprint, policies and practices of America’s 500 largest publicly traded companies. For its use of alternative energy resources, management of environmental issues and compliance with climate change policies, Wyndham Worldwide ranked at number 81 on the list. Wyndham Hotels and Resorts demonstrated its enthusiasm for environmentally friendly operations by developing uniforms made from recycled plastic bottles. According to Perspective Magazine, each uniform requires 66 percent less energy and 90 percent less water to produce than a common uniform. The timeshare operators additionally began a clean air initiative, offering rooms with improved air quality, and are implementing the EarthSmart linen reuse program to save resources and operational costs. “We are honored to be recognized by Newsweek as a national leader in sustainability,” Wyndham Worldwide CEO Stephen Holmes told the news source.

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The Royal Club at Bonnington Tower is now an Interval International affiliated resort property. Located in Dubai, the 40 story, five-star resort is located in the heart of the Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai’s most prestigious residential and commercial community. It consists of 30 spacious apartments furnished to the highest standards with large balconies overlooking the new Dubai skyline. Amenities also include six restaurants, bars, a leisure deck, state-of-the-art gym, hairdressing salons, 24-hour concierge, an 11th floor infinity pool, and more.

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The Sandos resort chain’s Caracol Eco-Resort and Spa is pioneering the “green” and “eco-friendly” movements among resort properties. The resort is located in Mexico’s Riviera Maya region, south of Cancun, and was originally built in the 1990s. The resort prides itself on the lack of manicured gardens and concrete areas. It is a lush landscape full of dense jungle greenery, slow-moving rivers, lagoons, and wildlife. No building is taller than three stories, and the canopied paths hide the fact that the property is huge with more than 1,000 units. Wildlife is all around the property with mapaches (small raccoons) emerging from jungle thickets, large turtles laze in the large lagoon, there are wooden planked bridges to watch animals swim through mangroves. Herons, pelicans, seagulls, hawks, sandpipers, badgers, peacocks, coatimundis, burros, and macaws are all natural to the area with a veterinarian on site to care for the animals. There are also complimentary eco-tours on the property. Even with the eco friendliness of the resort, the accommodations are first-class with swimming pools, fine furnishings, exercise facilities, sauna, and more.

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Timbers Resorts has recently announced the opening of One Steamboat Place, a highly anticipated resort development located at the base of Mt. Werner in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. The slope-side development is the cornerstone for the redevelopment of Steamboat Springs. The resort consists of 80 exquisitely furnished residences, which command panoramic views of the surrounding mountains. Prices range from $350,000 to $3.15 million depending on type of membership, from a 1/8th to whole ownership. Unit sizes range from 2,500 to 3,500 square depending on whether or not you purchase three to four-bedroom size units. Residence Club offerings include membership at Catamount Ranch and Club, a nearby 4,000-acre mountain preserve with a world-class Tom Weiskopf championship golf course, a 530-acre private lake and the Outfitter’s Center, which offers a multitude of activities year-round. One Steamboat Place is designed as a four-seasons vacation destination for the whole family. Amenities include a 10-treatment room Spa, fitness and motion studio, a heated outdoor pool and trio of Jacuzzis, daily housekeeping, 24-hour concierge service and an Owners’ wine cellar.

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The West 57th Street by Hilton Club on Manhattan is now open and is the first resort in New York actually built as a timeshare property (the Manhattan Club was converted from hotel to timeshare). From the outside it looks like all of the other midtown Manhattan buildings. It has a glass facade, is 28-stories high, there’s a doorman, fitness center visible from the street, iPod docking stations, Japanese soaking tubs and hardwood floors. Interestingly, as reported in a recent article in the New York Times, most of the owners live within 200 miles of the city, and the resort features 161 units, each sold by the week and ranging from a $33,900 studio to a $125,000 penthouse.

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Gatorland is one of the wackiest. Gatorland, one of central Florida’s most popular attractions, has now been honored by TripAdvisor as one of the top ten wackiest attractions in America. The feeding of raw hot dogs to reptiles and the fact that it labels itself at the “alligator capital of the world” is has now ranked Gatorland among other notables, such as the Toilet Seat Museum in Texas, the Burlingame Museum of Pez Memorabilia in California, and the Minnesota Twine Ball in Darwin, Minnesota.

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Among timeshare owners, owner satisfaction rates are high, while defaults are low. According to the latest research by the American Resort Development Association (ARDA) and Smith Travel Research, despite the fact that timeshare sales continue to reflect the national trend of lower consumer spending, there are 80% occupancy rates in timeshares versus a 60.4% hotel occupancy rate.

Timeshare buyers also remain happy about their purchases with 86% reporting that they are satisfied are very satisfied with their purchase. Research also indicates that nine out of ten timeshare owners are current on their monthly payments.

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RCI has announced the extension of its strategic alliance with International Cruise and Excursions, Inc. (ICE), the worldwide industry leader for integrated cruise and leisure packages to the vacation ownership and travel industries.

As part of the agreement, ICE will provide cruise fulfillment including operations and technology for RCI global programs. ICE will also provide fulfillment for member loyalty, lead generation, and purchase incentives to provide value-added benefits to RCI’s affiliated developers. RCI will also become the exclusive exchange provider for ICE.

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Wyndham Hotels and Resorts is adding Minneapolis to its Wyndham Grand Collection of hotels. Wyndham and Graves Hospitality Corporation has announced that the 255-room, 21-story Graves 601 Hotel, a luxury, AAA Four Diamond hotel in the heart of Minneapolis, has joined the exclusive Wyndham Grand Collection of hotels.

The Graves 601 Hotel, flagship of Graves Hospitality Corporation, a Minneapolis-based hotel ownership, development and management company, now will be known as Graves 601 Hotel Wyndham Grand. The hotel has earned numerous accolades since opening in 2003, including designation as one of the World’s Best Business Hotels by the readers of Travel + Leisure magazine, selection to the Gold List Reserve of Top Hotels in the World by Conde Nast Traveler and three Gold Key awards from Interior Design and Hospitality Design magazines.

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