Timeshare Trends Blog

Europeans own and enjoy timeshares. According to the recent Executive Summary article, ” The European Timeshare Industry″ sponsored by The Christel DeHaan Tourism and Travel Research Institute at the University of Nottingham in England, 1.5 million European households own timeshare, with the United Kingdom and Ireland having the largest base of timeshare owners. Most timeshare resorts are in Spain, with 26.3 percent of all resorts, 14.94 percent in Italy, and 11.05 percent in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The total number of European timeshares now equals 1,312. European timeshare owners and visitors generate billions in money spent during their vacations with 69,836 jobs directly sustained by the European timeshare industry. 86.6 percent of the European timeshare owners reported satisfaction with their timeshare holiday, while 55.6 percent say they were very satisfied.

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The new Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport has just opened, making it the first new airport opening in the US since 9/11. For millions of vacationers who enjoy Florida’s Panhandle and its beaches, this is outstanding news. All the favorite Florida timeshare destinations in areas including Panama City Beach, Destin, and Fort Walton Beach will now be easier to reach. Southwest Airlines, Delta, Delta Connection, and Pinnacle Airlines provide air service with other carriers expected in the future. Between Southwest and Delta, the airport will offer direct flights to six US cities including: Orlando, Memphis, Baltimore, Atlanta, and Nashville.

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A new Hilton resort is set for opening in July in Cairo. Hilton Worldwide has signed on with a management company for a new Hilton branded resort on the historic Nile River running through Egypt. The new 88-room, 76-suite Hilton Zamalek Residence Cairo overlooks the Nile and is expected to open in July of 2010. The resort is located in the heart of Cairo on beautiful Zamalek Island, not far from the Cairo International Airport. The new Hilton resort will help to add even more presence for the company in Egypt, being the 16th Hilton branded timeshare resort. The resort has undergone a $20 million renovation and now features many new accommodations for travelers to enjoy, such as five new restaurants, a coffee shop and pastry shop and a pool cafe. On-site you can also find three new meeting rooms, a business center with three breakout rooms, a health club with a spa, sauna and steam room, and a massage treatment room.

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The Reunion Resort and Club now joins the Wyndham brand. Wyndham Hotels and Resorts recently announced their newest addition to their brand of resorts. Home to luxurious vacation rentals, the 400 room Reunion Resort and Club is located in Orlando and be can be found on 2,300 acres of lush landscaping and will be now known as the Reunion Resort and Club Wyndham Grand Resort. The resort is located within only a few miles from Disney World and Universal Orlando and has over 25,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor function space for guests to use. At the resort, there is on-site audio-visual capabilities, fine dining and rooftop restaurants, a chic lounge, over-sized pool, a grand lobby with a bar and retail shops. The timeshare also offers access to three signature golf courses including the Legacy Course, which was designed by Arnold Palmer, the Tradition Course designed by Jack Nicklaus and the Independence Course by Tom Watson. Plus there’s a five-acre water park with a long winding lazy river, two story water slide, children’s water play area and other recreational activities.

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Waldorf Astoria is expanding. The Hilton Worldwide has recently announced that the Dakota Mountain Lodge and Golden Door Spa in Utah will be renamed the Waldorf Astoria Park City. The complete re-branding of the name will take approximately 60 days to complete and is just the beginning of the changes for the resort. Waldorf Astoria Hotels and Resorts includes more than 20 well known destinations all around the world, each with its own spin on travel depending on the location. All of the Waldorf locations continue to exceed excellence, all based of the large success of the original Waldorf Astoria New York. The resort is located at the base of the Canyons Ski Resort, which makes this destination ideal for anyone who enjoys snow skiing. At the Waldorf Astoria Park City, you will find 175 rooms with beautiful custom furnishings, suites with full kitchens and breath taking views of the surrounding mountains. The timeshare property was recognized in Parents Magazine in 2009 for being one of the “10 Best Snow Resorts” in the world.

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The Pacifico Diamante Private Residence Club under construction in Acapulco is now part of the Interval International Global Resort Network. The property will feature 200 three and four-bedroom fractional units being built in five phases during the next several years. They have been designed with a sophisticated contemporary decor and feature spacious dining and living rooms, marble floors, fully equipped gourmet kitchens with granite countertops and stainless steel appliances, state-of-the-art electronics, Wi Fi Internet access, and private outdoor terraces.

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Wyndham Vacation Resorts Asia Pacific received two of the most prominent awards at the recent American Resort Development Association (ARDA) awards recently held in Las Vegas. The awards were presented to the company in the categories of “General Manager” and “Marketing – Operational Support Staff Manager”. The award acknowledges the company as the best in the world and also helps build its reputation as a favored travel industry employer. Wyndham Vacation Resorts Asia Pacific is a division of Wyndham Worldwide. Individual recipients were Apivut Chakuthip, Wyndham’s Director of Market Intelligence and Glenn Daniels, Wyndham’s General Manager for their Fiji timeshare resort. Chakuthip was recognized for his use of strategic information to develop effective marketing methods to reach certain goals and to bring more travelers to the Wyndham resorts. Daniels was recognized for all of his efforts during the storms and floods of 2009, and his teams outstanding customer service during that time.

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The Sol Melia Vacation Club has received the RCI Pinnacle Award for its volume of business. ‘It is a pleasure and privilege for Sol Meliá Vacation Club to be recognized by RCI to receive this prestigious award. We consider this to be an important indicator of our overall success in providing unique and high quality vacation experiences in all our destinations,” said Denis Ebrill, Executive Vice President, Sol Meliá Vacation Club. Sol Meliá Vacation Club is an internationally-branded membership club focusing on leisure lifestyle experiences that include exotic destinations, designer-appointed luxury suites, exclusive services and unforgettable amenities. Each Sol Meliá Vacation Club vacation experience is different from the other, aligned with local culture and customized to fit members’ leisure lifestyle needs. Featured Sol Meliá Vacation Club locations include Cancun, Cozumel, and Puerto Vallarta in Mexico; Puerto Rico and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic in the Caribbean; Panama in Central America; and the Canary Islands, and Spain.

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Florida Attorney General Bill McCullom was interviewed recently on WDBO’s “Vacation Time” show and broadcast on Saturday, April 17 from 5-6pm. That’s 580am in central Florida and on wdbo.com. The interview was primarily about timeshare resale fraud and lasted for about ten minutes. To listen to the full show, go to www.timesharesbyowner.com. The primary topic was about resale fraud because many of the companies perpetrating fraud are giving legitimate players like Timeshares By Owner a bad name. Interviews with Franz Hanning, President of Wyndham Vacation Ownership; Rob Webb, Senior Partner of the Baker-Hostettler Hospitality Group; Howard Nusbaum, President of ARDA; and Jeffrey Frantz, CEO of Timeshares By Owner were also interviewed and their interviews can be found on the www.timesharesbyowner.com website.

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Resale Integrity offers free service to report timeshare resale fraud. Resale Integrity, a non-profit group dedicated to stopping fraudulent resale companies, is offering a totally free service to report resale fraud. Timeshare resale fraud is a growing problem in the vacation industry, with many companies stating that they have buyers waiting, or that the property is “guaranteed” to be sold in a short period of time. Resale Integrity will report the fraud to the appropriate government regulator. The best way to stop the fraud is to have these bad actors put out of business. In addition: #1- There is no fee or cost associated with this service. It is a totally free service.  #2- They will not disclose any of your personal data for any purpose other than to report resale fraud to the government. #3- They cannot obtain a refund for the consumer. This must be obtained from the resale company or your credit card company. To report timeshare resale fraud, email all of the details to reportfraud@resaleintegrity.com, or call the Fraud Hotline toll free at 1-866-605-2217

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