Research and Markets, a firm that bills itself as the world’s largest market research resource, has released a report saying that globally, the vacation ownership industry holds strong market potential. The 40-page report cites as evidence of this, the fact that, “the US economy is facing the challenges of a slump in the housing market and an increase in fuel prices…(but) the vacation ownership industry has not fallen to the economic woes and is fairly insulated from the economic performance.”

The report concludes that while consumers may be taking shorter vacations or staying closer to home, they have not stopped buying timeshare or renting timeshare for this purpose.

The State of Timeshare Sales Outside the US

According to the Research and Markets report, Europe is still trying to update governmental regulations to better serve and protect both the people who buy timeshare and the people who sell timeshare. Once this occurs, the report speculates that the timeshare industry in Europe will resume the growth levels it enjoyed during the 1970’s and 1980’s.

Other potentially strong international markets, according to the report’s findings, include Malaysia, Singapore, India, Indonesia, and China. The growing affluence of Asians, paired with new low-cost air travel options, are cited as reasons that have helped spur this expansion.

Research used in the report focuses on four timeshare companies: Wyndham timeshare, Marriott timeshare, Hilton timeshare, and Starwood timeshare. The full report is available at: http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c84948#. But don’t expect the wisdom it carries to come cheaply. Purchased in its least expensive format, this timeshare market report costs EUR 910.00, or approximately 1,440 USD—and for that price you could just go ahead and buy timeshare as a resale by shopping the competitive prices available at Sell My Timeshare NOW.

Would you be surprised to learn that 15 percent of all households in Finland are considering the purchase of timeshare weeks or timeshare condos? Finland based, Holiday Club Resorts Oy, is not surprised; they have recognized the opportunity to grow their hotel and spa business through the development of new Nordic timeshare resorts.

With 5.3 million people in 2.4 million households, (according to Timeshare Perspective Magazine) Finland has some 800,000 people who currently have the potential to buy timeshare. Neighboring Sweden offers another 1.5 million potential timeshare owners—and these numbers only reflect people who can afford to buy timeshare from the developer. Imagine how these figures increase if you include all the people who can afford to buy timeshare at the fantastic discounts available in timeshare resales.

Holiday Club Resorts is Thinking Big about European Timeshare

Holiday Club Resorts Oy is the oldest timeshare company in the Nordic countries. They are part of the RCI timeshare exchange, and they offer Holiday Club timeshare resorts in high-demand ski destinations, as well as numerous spa resort hotels. Currently Holiday Club timeshare, which has timeshare resorts in Sweden, Finland, and Russia, projects they may be on their way to becoming the largest European timeshare company.

Holiday Club Resorts Oy is seriously going after new timeshare owners. They have set up some of their timeshare condos in line with the concepts of the Stress Free Area®. Stress Free is a registered design of the Conbalance company, that specializes in interior space planning. In Stress Free designs, attention is given to planning lighting, color selections, fabrics, and furnishing to enhance a sense of calmness and wellbeing for the occupants.

Timeshare Resales, the Nordic Opportunity

Listening to the media tell you about the surfeit of home foreclosures and the spiraling increase in the costs of energy and durable goods, you may feel that this is an impossible time to sell timeshare. But these statistics from Finland and Sweden are just one more reminder that the person who buys your timeshare resale could be from anywhere in the world, provided you advertise your timeshare resales through a company that uses the world wide web to create a broad base of global marketing.

And as an interesting post script, I have to compliment the people at Holiday Club for the timeshare advertising slogan they pose to their market, “Why buy a cow when you need a litre (liter) of milk?”

…I couldn’t have said it better myself.

You own timeshare weeks. You get a call, out of the blue, from a timeshare sales company that tells you they have someone interested in buying your timeshare real estate. Maybe you were thinking about selling…maybe the idea to sell timeshare you own had not crossed your mind before. Either way, if there really is an interested buyer, you think…perhaps this is a good time to sell my timeshare.

So you send the timeshare sales company a refundable deposit, typically between £ 400 and £ 1000 (approximately 750 to 1900 US dollars). The timeshare company calls the fee a “guarantee”. Once they have the deposit, they explain to you that they will hold your deposit for up to twelve months, awaiting the timeshare sale they had implied was imminent.

So you wait…and wait…and finally called the timeshare sales company, who tells you either that there has been a paperwork slowdown or perhaps, does not even take your call at all.

You are the victim of a timeshare scam.

Your timeshare real estate won’t be sold and you probably won’t see your “guarantee” money again, or at best not more than a small percentage of what you paid, should the legal system be able to intervene on your behalf. While this and other timeshare scams have happened before, this particular scenario describes Yacht Trading UK, a timeshare sales company that now faces charges in British High Court, following an investigation by the UK governmental Companies Investigation Branch.

In reality, Yacht Trading UK was never more than a post office box in Manchester, England, from which mail was then forwarded to Spain. Checks were cashed, some “company executives” (and I use the phrase loosely) were living the good life, and not one single timeshare resale was ever sold, nor did any of the timeshare owners receive their money back.

The petition to wind up the company in the public interest was presented in December 2007 and the company went into compulsory liquidation earlier this month. Good that they have been shut down, but the people behind this company have been part of other timeshare scams in the past, and are likely to surface again.

If you have had problems with Yacht Trading UK Timeshare company, and would like additional information about the investigation, contact: The Official Receiver, Public Interest Unit, PO Box 326, 17-21 Chorlton Street, Manchester, England M60 3ZZ. Telephone: 0161 934 4182 Email: piu.north@insolvency.gsi.gov.uk

Also, here is an interesting link to HolidayWatchdog.com where you can read about the problems others have had with this timeshare sales company. You are also welcome to post your comments here on the Timeshare Owners Blog or Sell My Timeshare NOW’s Timeshare Owners Forum.

You have to hand it to the people at Travelodge UK for being genuinely concerned about the well-being of their customers.

During a trial period, guests at Travelodge hotels in London Heathrow T5, Bristol Central, Birmingham Fiveways, Manchester Central, and Edinburgh Central will receive a pair of complementary pajamas, scientifically designed to improve their sleep. These are no ordinary pj’s.

Made from a fabric called Dermasilk, they are designed to feel like a second skin. When you wear these pajamas, your skin can breathe, can more easily regulate your body temperature, and maintain its moisture balance, all of which should lead to a better night’s sleep.

According to Leigh McCarron, Travelodge Sleep Director, “As a retailer of sleep, we are constantly investigating innovative ways, on how we can help our customers attain a good night’s sleep. Something as simple as changing your bed attire can dramatically affect your quality of sleep.

To support our pjs trial, we conducted a sleepwear study, which examined the nation’s attitude towards nightwear. These findings have been incorporated into our final pajama prototype - resulting in the ultimate sleepwear.”

The findings of the Travelodge study on sleepwear revealed that among the 3000 British adults surveyed:

• • 23 percent said itchy nightclothes stop them from getting a good night’s sleep.
• • 66 percent said being too hot or too cold at various points throughout the night interferes with their sleep pattern and 54 percent say they are more often too hot while 35 percent say they are too cold.
• • 23 percent of women will wear socks to bed in order to stay warmer while only 11 percent of men will sleep in socks.

If you are a regular reader of the Timeshare Owners Blog, you may recall last November when I wrote a blog post about Travelodge UK’s concern over nude sleepwalking. I suppose if the new second skin pajamas are a success, then the hotel chain will have succeeded in improving the quality of sleep for many of their guests and at the same time reducing the epidemic numbers of nude sleepwalkers that they have been dealing with in recent months. (see our November 11, 2006 blog post here)

You have to applaud Travelodge’s commitment to improving every detail of their guests’ stay in their hotels, and wonder if providing free sleepwear will become a trend at hotels and timeshare resorts. After all, the plush, terry bathrobe has long been a trademark of many better hotels and resorts.

And in the spirit of, “don’t knock it, ’til you’ve tried it,” I won’t completely rule out sleeping in such ‘unique’ sleepwear, but I can’t help but wonder which would ultimately be more disturbing: seeing other hotel or timeshare resort guests sleepwalking in the nude or seeing them sleepwalking in these odd looking pajamas?

What do you think? Would you be willing to don a pair of these pj’s in the pursuit of a great night’s sleep? Have you stayed at other hotels or resorts that provided you courtesy sleepwear?

It was a safe prediction to say that we hadn’t heard the last of the controversy over the Trump hotel and timeshare resort planned for construction near Aberdeen, Scotland, despite the application being rejected last week by the Aberdeenshire local council.

If you haven’t been following the story, there have been too many ups and downs in this hotel and timeshare resort project for me to properly take you through all of them. Let’s just say that on the negative side there have been environmental concerns, some very resistive Scottish farmers, and a host of objections that range from the traffic and activity the two golf courses, hotel, luxury homes and timeshare condos would generate, to a general sense of “we just don’t want it here,” voiced by some of the area residents.

On the positive side, there is the promise of new jobs, a huge boost to the local economy, the possibility of hosting a future British Open, and Donald Trump’s desire to pay homage to the Scottish roots of his late mother, not to mention, I assume the chance for a number of people to make big bucks along the way.

After being rejected in November by the local councilors, the Trump Organization, according to the New York Times, announced they might just build their $2 billion project in Northern Ireland.

The fallout from that statement led to others, higher up the Scottish political hierarchy, deciding it was time to interject themselves into the situation. BBC NEWS says that Labour Aberdeen Central MSP, Lewis Macdonald, addressed parliament, explaining that the situation had arisen because, “Aberdeenshire planning chiefs had delegated powers of authority over ‘vital’ decisions in their own area.”

This prompted Brian Adam, the SNP MSP for Aberdeen North to say, “I am very concerned that if this development doesn’t go ahead, it’s going to deliver an international message that Scotland is not the kind of place to come and invest in.” The Scotsman.com quoted Lewis Macdonald, the Labour MSP for Aberdeen Central, as saying, “The bigger picture here is about the kind of message that Scotland is sending out to the world and about whether we’re able to take opportunities when they arise.”

If you have followed my over six months of writing about this in the Timeshare Owners Blog, then you know that the planned resort sounds spectacular. Trump International Golf Links Scotland would create one more jewel in Scotland’s crown of legendary golf courses, which start in the south at Muirfield, and include St. Andrews, Gleneagles, Carnoustie, Royal Aberdeen, Murcar, Nairn, Inverness, and finally Royal Dornoch in the north. The hotel and timeshare resort’s design would be elegant, a showpiece to the Scottish countryside.

Whether this is a case of a few naysayers thwarting development for an entire region, or if the people of the Aberdeen coastal area have valid concerns about negative environmental and social change to their homeland, I am just too far away from the situation to say with certainty. But I can’t help but wonder, when the local people have fought this so hard and for so long, why does a developer persist in pursuing the location? I am willing to bet there are suitable places to build this resort where the residents would welcome The Donald and his development dollars with open arms.

We’ve had a few interesting comments from people with strong opinions on the plans for this golf course, hotel, and timeshare resort, and I really appreciate it when our readers share their thoughts. Anyone else like to add to the discussion?

Here’s a very cool virtual tour on YouTube of another one of Trump’s controversial projects the Trump SoHo Condos.

It is probably fair to say that people don’t often get the best of Donald Trump.

But if you have been following the saga of Trump’s attempt to build world class golf courses, a hotel and timeshare resort near Aberdeen, Scotland, you know Trump has faced a number of delays in getting approval for the project. Among them has been a Scottish farmer, Michael Forbes, who refuses to sell his farmland to the Trump Organization. Forbes’ land is centrally located in the planned golf and timeshare resort area and while Trump says he could and would build around the Forbes’ property if necessary, it has been obvious that Trump has been somewhat stumped by Forbes’ resistance to sell his family farm.

So last week when radio DJ Robin Galloway telephoned Donald Trump, pretending to be a real estate agent representing Michael Forbes, the Trump Organization was eager to talk to the man, who they thought might be bringing them a solution to the stalemate.

According to The Daily Record, Galloway told Donald Trump, “Forbes was willing to ’stand aside’ and give up his land in return for an annual, two-week trip to New York for two.

Galloway went on to ask, “Is there any chance of doing a timeshare?”

Trump’s reply was, “I could do something like that. I’d look after him.”

Before hanging up, Galloway confessed to Trump that the call was a prank. Reportedly, even Donald Trump saw the humor in the hoax, recognizing the irony in the idea that a Scottish farmer who refuses to sell his land so that a timeshare resort can be built, would ever be offering to trade that land for two weeks in a New York timeshare.

Use this link to Scotland Real Radio to hear the entire phone call with Donald Trump.

For several months, I have been writing updates on Donald Trump’s progress (and lack of progress) in building a luxury golf resort with a hotel and timeshare units near Aberdeen, Scotland.

Trump’s project has faced multiple stumbling blocks, not the least of which has been a Scots farmer, who stalwartly refuses to sell his farmland to the Trump organization. Other objections have included the environmental impact the resort will have on native grasses and wildlife, on the coastline ecosystem, and on the peaceful lifestyle the area’s residents currently enjoy.

If Donald Trump has his way, the Trump organization will build a five-star hotel, two golf courses, approximately 500 luxury homes, and nearly 1000 timeshare units, five miles north of Aberdeen. Trump’s plan is to create a golf mecca to honor his mother, who was born on Scotland’s Isle of Lewis.

On November 20, the Aberdeenshire Council Formartine Area Committee met for nearly three hours, again hashing out the pros and cons of permitting the construction of Trump’s resort and timeshare units. Although the committee eventually issued approval of the plans, (voting 7-4 in favor of the golf resort) ministers of the Scottish government still have the option to halt the development at any point along the way.

The UK Daily Record reports that opponents of the resort and timeshare development call it a “gated community for the super-rich” and that opponents fear it will ruin the coastline. Supporters say the hotel, golf course, and timeshare units will create 6000 much needed jobs.

Donald Trump claims that approval by the Aberdeenshire committee is “a tremendous victory.” But an environmental activist group, known as Sustainable Aberdeenshire, plans to continue its fight against the golf resort and timeshare units. They claim that the project’s application is “legally flawed” (according to The Scotsman) and make further claims that Trump’s implied promise of attracting the British Open to the course will never happen. Climatic conditions along the coastline periodically result in blinding fog that, although infrequent, happens often enough that the threat of heavy fog is sure to scare away planners of such a prestigious and significant golf event.

Something tells me the controversy around this hotel and timeshare units is far from over, so expect me to keep passing along updates as they come my way. Be sure to also read our Timeshare Owners Blog tomorrow, when I’ll be writing a related post about one of the few times that someone has pulled one over on Donald Trump.

Other Options for Scotland Timeshare Resales:

• Cameron House
• Edinburgh Residence
• Great Glen Water Park Club
• Hilton International Grand Vacations at Hilton Coylumbridge and Hilton Craigendarroch
• Loch Rannoch Highland Club
• Moness Country Club
• Sunterra Resort Kenmore Club

It’s Monday, and for many people it is the first day back at work after a long holiday weekend that probably involved overeating, too much football (hey, maybe there’s no such thing as too much football), and perhaps too much time with relatives and in-laws.

I thought you’d appreciate something on the lighter side.

Last month Travelodge UK published the results of a study they did that involved guests in 310 Travelodge Hotels. The study, conducted by OnePoll in July of 2007, involved 3000 British adults and here’s what it found.

The number of hotel guests who sleepwalk has increased sevenfold over the past year, and 95 percent of the sleepwalkers have been male and nude!

I can honestly say, it has never really occurred to me that a measurable number of hotel guests sleepwalk, such that they leave their (presumably locked) hotel room and wander into the corridors or lobby. Nor has it ever occurred to me that so many Brits don’t own pajamas.

The study went on to say that, the sleepwalkers often asked the hotel desk clerks one of the following questions:

• Where is the bathroom?
• Can I check out, as I am late for work?
• Do you have a copy of today’s paper?

After over 400 incidents of sleepwalking in their hotels this past year, with over 360 of those being by nude hotel guests, Travelodge has issued a training memo to employees on handling the matter, including advice to keep a stock of towels in the reception area to preserve guest’s dignity.

Sleep expert Chris Idzikowski, from the Edinburgh Sleep Centre says: “Sleepwalking is a serious disorder that can develop for a variety of reasons. It can be triggered by a stressful lifestyle, sleep deprivation, alcohol abuse or not breathing properly during the night.”

Now, aren’t you glad you read the Timeshare Owners Blog today?

You’ve had a good laugh. You have an interesting bit of information to share with your coworkers, and most importantly, you will never again spend a night in a hotel, motel or timeshare resort without your pajamas.

And for more information on great timeshare resorts where you can enjoy a good night’s sleep, visit Sell My Timeshare NOW and learn about the excellent opportunities in timeshare resales and timeshare rentals.

When the 2009 British Open is played at Turnberry Golf Course, it will no longer be a Westin resort property under the ownership of Starwood Hotel and Timeshare Resorts.

Starwood has announced that they are selling the resort, which include the 219-room luxury five-star hotel. A spokesperson for the Starwood Hotel and Timeshare Resorts said in an interview earlier this month, “In line with Starwood’s asset strategy, the Westin Turnberry Resort, Aryshire, has taken the decision to resource an investment partner to realize the development potential of the resort, where there are 300 acres of undeveloped land.”

…hmmmm…300 acres could mean a lot of space for a timeshare resort and fractional ownership property.

Hotels Magazine quoted legendary European Tour golfer, Colin Montgomerie as describing Turnberry golf course as, “one of the best in the world”.

The links at Turnberry have been the site of three previous British Open tournaments: 1994, when Nick Price won there; 1986 when Greg Norman took home the Claret Jug, and in 1977 when Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus battled in the legendary Duel in the Sun, in which Watson eventually claimed the win.

PGA Tour winner Bobby Cole says, “The weather that year during the 1977 Open was atypically mild for a British Open. Watson and Nicklaus were so far ahead of the rest of us in the fourth round, that it was as if they played their own tournament and the rest of us were only playing for third place. The Americans played very well that year. Tommy Horton, a British golfer was the only person to finish in the top twelve spots who wasn’t an American.”

Bobby Cole, who has worn our logo at Sell My Timeshare NOW, when he competes, finished T15 in the 1977 Open at Turnberry.

Starwood Hotels are looking for an outside investor to buy the property and fund a multimillion pound development program, with an asking price of £100 million (GBP), which is more than 200 million US dollars.

I’m just wondering if the new owners can have a timeshare resort completed at Turnberry in time for the 2009 Open.

Just an afterthought: Isn’t it a strange irony that the same time the Turnberry Golf Resort was going on the market for hundreds of millions, Xbox was making the Turnberry Golf Resort a free download for Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08. It seems that gamers were complaining they didn’t want to give up Microsoft Points in order to get it.

Other great Scotland timeshare resorts and Scotland timeshare resales:

• Scandinavian Village Timeshare Resale
• Loch Rannoch Highland Club Timeshare Resale
• Moness Country Club Timeshare Resale
• Edinburgh Residence Timeshare Resale
• Hilton International Grand Vacations at Hilton Coylumbridge
• Hilton International Grand Vacations at Craigendarroch
• Great Glen Water Park Club Timeshare Resale
• Sunterra Resort Kenmore Club Timeshare Resale
• Cameron House Timeshare Resale

And here’s one of the most charming YouTube videos about the British Open, Nike’s own special version of Tiger Woods wining at St. Andrews.

Right now, it seems as if one lone Scotsman is standing between Donald Trump and his plan to build Trump International Golf Links.

This past June, (June 11,12, The Timeshare Owners Blog) I wrote about Trump’s plan to develop approximately 1000 acres with two championship golf courses, a 450-room luxury hotel, between 500 and 1000 timeshare villas or vacation residences, a golf academy, and perhaps even a turf grass research center. The project is an enormous undertaking (the only kind the Donald seems to get involved with) and could bring many benefits in the form of jobs for area residents and tourist dollars into the local economy of the coastal farming area near Aberdeen, Scotland.

But problems that have ranged from environmental issues, to permitting, to securing the land, have now delayed construction on the golf resort and timeshare villas by more than a year.

The most recent thorn in the side of the Trump Organization is a farmer and fisherman by the name of Michael Forbes, who owns roughly 23 acres of land that Trump would like to own in order to move the project forward. Forbes, who was quoted in NY Daily News as saying that the land had been in his family for generations and would never be sold to someone like Donald Trump, has now become a target for Trump’s vocalizations. Trump has been very outspoken with his claims that the farm’s appearance is “disgusting” and that Forbes is just trying to “raise the stakes”.

So move over, Rosie O’Donnell, it looks like you may have to share the Trump hot seat with Mr. Forbes, at least for a while.

In the meantime, there’s nothing to stop you from enjoying a Scotland timeshare vacation in a great timeshare resale or timeshare rental.

• Cameron House
• Edinburgh Residence
• Great Glen Water Park Club
• Hilton International Grand Vacations at Hilton Coylumbridge and Hilton Craigendarroch
• Loch Rannoch Highland Club
• Moness Country Club
• Sunterra Resort Kenmore Club