Timeshare Trends Blog

Timeshare fee recovery companies are sparking complaints. According to a recent article in Orlando Sentinel newspaper, timeshare owners have lost millions to scam companies falsely claiming to line up buyers for their properties. Now the new worry is fee recovery companies that promise to help recover their losses. The Florida Attorney General has received more than 600 complaints in the past year about so-called “timeshare recovery operations”. Independently, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is looking into telemarketing law violations related to several outfits.

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The Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts has secured financing for $360 million to build a luxury resort right on Disney World property and will commence construction in December 2011. The 444-room hotel will include a rooftop restaurant with views of the Magic Kingdom and a lazy river water feature, among other amenities, and is expected to open in mid to late 2014. The project will include as many as 40 Four Seasons timeshare units and up to 90 private residences.

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Orlando is the new corporate headquarters of Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation, the first large publicly traded company focused almost exclusively on selling timeshares. Marriott was the hotel industry’s timeshare pioneer being the first hotel brand to enter the timeshare business, in 1984, ending an era in which timeshares had largely been the province of independent operators and the target of consumer criticism. Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation is a spin-off of Marriott and the new operations will have little effect on its 2,650 timeshare employees in Orlando and 10,000 worldwide, and it should be a fairly seamless transition for customers of it vacation ownership resorts. There are currently 64 Marriott resorts with 400,000 owners and revenue reaching $1.6 billion in 2010 with a reported profit of $67 million

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Tempus Resorts is now officially part of Diamond Resorts International. Formerly headquartered in Orlando, the 40,000 Tempus owners are now Diamond Resorts owners. Tempus operated the Mystic Dunes Resort and Golf Club in Orlando, Florida and the Dunes Village Resort in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Located on over 600 acres in Central Florida and just minutes away from the major theme park attractions, Mystic Dunes provides more than 700, fully furnished, one, two and three bedroom units, as well as an 18 hole championship golf course. From an Atlantic coast beachfront location in Myrtle Beach, the Dunes Village is the first Diamond Resort located in Myrtle Beach.

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Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation, the Marriott International’s spinoff of its Orlando based timeshare division became official on November 21 with the distribution of the new company’s shares to existing Marriott shareholders. Operating separately from Marriott International and based in Orlando, eligible shareholders received one common stock for every ten shares on Marriott International Class A common stock they hold. The timeshare company’s stock is trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol VAC. Marriott Vacations Worldwide is joining Standard & Poors SmallCap 600 stock index after the close of trading Monday, replacing LoJack Corp.

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The Orlando based company that owns the Mystic Dunes Resort and Golf Club in Celebration filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization and plans to sell its properties to Diamond Resorts International. Tempus Resorts lender, GMAC Commercial Finance has stated that it is getting out of timeshare financing. The Tempus Resorts CEO says they are profitable, but filed for bankruptcy because the private-equity company that bought its loan portfolio opposed the sale to Diamond Resorts. The deal will now be reviewed by a bankruptcy judge. Existing timeshare owners would retain Tempus privileges, but could upgrade to the Diamond Resorts

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While highlighting its significant market opportunities and competitive advantages, Marriott International has informed security analysts and institutional investors in New York, that its earnings per share of stock could hit well above the highest earnings achieved during Marriott’s most recent peak earnings year of 2007. The company expects to add at least 80,000 to 90,000 hotel rooms to its portfolio from 2011 through 2013 with additional opportunities for 22,000 rooms to open in Europe and Asia during that same period. Marriott has plans to adapt and expand current brands, such as Courtyard and Fairfield, to meet the growing needs of customers in markets worldwide. The company will also be expanding its new brands outside of the United States, including Edition, which just opened its first hotel on Waikiki Beach in Hawaii. Marriott is also successful in the high-end timeshare market.

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Starwood Vacation Ownership has expanded its Sheraton Vistana Villages, located on the south end of world-famous International Drive in Orlando. The current expansion phase includes 200 new villas, a new swimming pool complex, a new recreation building that will house a second fitness center, game room and arcade, as well as an activities desk with sports, pool games and equipment. The Sheraton Vistana Villages is the second Sheraton vacation ownership property located in Orlando. The first property is the Sheraton Vistana Resort, one of the Orlando’s largest timeshare properties.

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Harris Rosen has been inducted into the Florida Tourism Hall of Fame. Announced at the 43rd annual Florida Governors Conference on Tourism, the award was bestowed upon Mr. Rosen for his contributions to the industry. Among his contributions, he supported construction of the Orange County Convention Center, donated 20 acres of land to create and build the University of Central Florida’s School of Hospitality Management, he owns and operates seven properties in Orlando including the Rosen Shingle Creek, Rosen Plaza, and Rosen Centre.

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Wyndham Worldwide Corporation has recently renewed its financing for its Orlando based timeshare operations. According to a recent story in the Orlando Sentinel, Wyndham has stated that the securitized timeshare receivables conduit has a capacity of $600 million, and is renewed through September 2011. Timeshare companies typically use the receivables facilities to turn timeshare buyers mortgage into cash that the companies can use for further development.

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