Timeshare Trends Blog

Club La Costa Resorts and Hotels has announced its first resort to be located in the Orlando area. The company has purchased Encantada, a resort with its own natural lake that is just a short distance from Disney World. Specifically located in Kissimmee, the property features gently rolling hills and a beautiful 9,000 square foot clubhouse overlooking a lake encircled by a walking trail. Two community pools and spas are on the resort property along with a fishing pier and gazebo. Inside the clubhouse, there’s a concierge, exercise facility, games arcade, cyber cafe, and the Encantada Club Lounge. The homes are Mediterranean inspired and contain two stories with a private patio and screen-enclosed heated pool. Completely furnished and equipped, your home-away-from-home has three bedrooms, two and a half baths, and all the conveniences of home. Four-bedroom homes are also available.

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Fantasy World Resort will have surfing. Surfing will now be available at a timeshare resort in central Florida. According to a recent article in the Orlando Sentinel, the Fantasy World Resort in Kissimmee plans to build a $4 million indoor aquatic facility called Fantasy Surf. The attraction will feature a double FlowRider system that blends surfing, snowboarding, and skateboarding techniques in a controlled water environment. It’s the same technology used aboard some Royal Caribbean cruise ships.

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Hilton Grand Vacations recently announced that they have renewed their long-standing affiliation RCI. Headquartered in Orlando, Hilton has 50 RCI affiliated resorts in their portfolio of developed and managed properties and more than 150,000 Club Members. The vacation ownership division of Hilton Worldwide develops, markets and operates spectacular properties in some of the world’s most celebrated destinations. The company also manages and operates club membership programs tailored to provide vacation exchange, leisure travel and reservation services. The contract with RCI means that Hilton Grand Vacation will continue a relationship that has lasted for over 17 years.

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TSBO Hispanic Expo Booth

The Hispanic Business and Consumer Expo arrived in Orlando April 15th-18th. With Orlando holding the title as the timeshare capital of the world due to its numerous tourist attractions, bustling city life, and beautiful Florida sunshine, it seemed fitting for TSBO to set up a booth. It proved to be beneficial as hundreds of visitors and local Orlando residents passed through the Expo doors and approached the TSBO booth. Overall, the Expo was a fun and successful event with many of the visitors mentioning their interest in timeshares!

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FRAUD ALERT

WE HAVE BEEN ALERTED TO A NEW FRAUD BEING PERPETRATED ON OUR CUSTOMERS.

COMPANIES ARE CALLING OUR CUSTOMERS AND ADVISING THEM THAT THEY WORK WITH TIMESHARES BY OWNER® AND THAT THEY HAVE A BUYER. THEY FURTHER STATE YOUR LISTING PRICE, THAT THEY ARE A FINANCE COMPANY, AND THAT THE BUYER HAS ALREADY DEPOSITED 20% OF THE PURCHASE PRICE. THEY REQUIRE THE PAYMENT OF A FEE FOR CLOSING AND FINANCE CHARGES.

THIS IS A FRAUD THAT IS BEING CONDUCTED WITHOUT OUR AUTHORIZATION. WE DO NOT WORK WITH ANY OTHER COMPANY TO SELL YOUR TIMESHARE. IF THE COMMUNICATIONS DOES NOT COME FROM US, IT IS FRAUDULENT.

IF YOU RECEIVE THIS CALL, PLEASE CALL BECKY GOMEZ OF TIMESHARES BY OWNER® IMMEDIATELY TO REPORT IT AT 888-707-8463.

THANK YOU FROM THE STAFF OF TIMESHARES BY OWNER

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The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is scheduled to open this spring at Universal Orlando. Currently, the Hogwarts castle is beginning to take shape above Hogsmeade. Hogwarts will be the home of a new, state-of-the-art attraction, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, that uses groundbreaking technology to bring the magic, characters and stories of Harry Potter to life.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter will feature multiple themed attractions, shops and a restaurant. It will be known as a “Theme Park within a Theme Park”. The Harry Potter theme park will open around the same time as the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows movie. This 20-acre theme park built within the Islands of Adventure Park will enable visitors to experience scenes from the books and movies.

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Wyndham Vacation Ownership occupancy through the first half of 2009 increased versus last year at about 75% of its resorts. Wyndham Vacation Ownership headquartered in Orlando, is a division of Wyndham Worldwide.

According to the latest statistics provided by Wyndham, their resort occupancy is slightly up at about 75% of its network of more than 150 resorts worldwide from January through June over the same period as last year. Advanced bookings are also up 3% for the balance of the year. After a tough 2008, it appears that 2009 is trending in the right direction.

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The Orlando area’s hotel occupancy rate has decreased another 6.7% from a year ago despite providing deep discounts. Orlando’s hotels filled 57.5% of their rooms, according to a report by Smith Travel Research, and the decline occurred despite heavy cuts in prices.

The average daily rate fell 14.6% to $91.36. Revenue per available room, a key industry measure fell 20.3% in October. The hardest hit area was International Drive, where the Hilton Orlando opened in September adding 1,400 rooms. Occupancy in the International Drive area fell 9.2% in October despite price cuts of more than 18%

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Timeshare division of Marriott International has hurt earnings. According to the Orlando Sentinel, Marriott International lost $466 million in the recent quarter on hefty impairment charges from its Orlando-based timeshare business, which declined drastically in the recession as vacationers cut back spending.

Marriott lost $1.31 a share for the period ending September 11 compared with a profit of $94 million or 25 cents a share a year earlier. In the recent quarter, adjusted timeshare contract sales declined 42% to $176 million, compared with $49 million in the prior year quarter.

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Wyndham recently announced that its Orlando-based timeshare division issued $350 million in notes backed by timeshare receivables. Tom Conforti, Wyndham’s chief financial officer was quoted as saying that the transactions suggest a steadily improving asset-backed securities market, evidenced by significantly better pricing.

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