This week, Doral Golf Resort and Spa (Miami, FL) announced that for a limited time, a forecaddie will be assigned at no charge for each foursome that plays the Blue Monster. Golfers know Doral’s Blue Monster to be one of the most prestigious and challenging championship courses in the world and home to the PGA Tour’s CA Championship. Timeshare owners know the Doral Golf Resort and Spa to be home to Marriott’s Villas at Doral timeshares.

Unless you play golf at a private club that uses caddies on its courses, or you play golf professionally, you may never have experienced the services of a caddie to assist you with your game. Ask a PGA Tour player and he will tell you that a good caddie is gold; so much so, that top professional caddies earn six-figure annual incomes for their contributions to their player’s success.

A forecaddie doesn’t give the same services that Steve Williams provides for Tiger, nor does he do the things that greens keeper, Bill Murray did in Caddyshack. He doesn’t typically assist with club selection, carry your bags, or sabotage gophers. But a good forecaddie does make a round of golf more interesting and flow more smoothly.

According to Doral’s official press release, “We decided to make the Blue Monster caddie inclusive because we want golfers to experience the history and tradition of the course, from strategic shot making to entertaining stories that have been passed on over the years,” said Darrin Helfrick, General Manager of Golf at the Miami golf resort. “This is truly one of the game’s treasured courses, and this caddie program will enhance the overall golfing experience, while making history come to life.”

The complimentary inclusion of a forecaddie in the price of your round of golf is available only through May 20, 2008.

Marriott Timeshare at Doral Resort

Marriott’s Villas at Doral timeshares are located on the property of the Doral Golf Resort and Spa. There are more than 130 two-bedroom timeshare villas, as well as an outdoor pool, fitness center, and convenience store. Timeshare owners and their guests, (or timeshare renters) have access to Doral’s renowned health spa, the five golf courses, a tennis center, The Blue Lagoon water recreation area, and the resort’s restaurants and lounges.

Each timeshare villa has separate living and dining areas, a private balcony, an oversized soaking tub, a fully-equipped kitchen, and a washer/dryer.

Choices in Timeshare Sales and Timeshare Resales

Timeshare condos at Marriott’s Villas at Doral may be available through Marriott Vacation Club (Marriott Timeshare), but for the best values in Marriott timeshare sales, visit Sell My Timeshare NOW. Through Sell My Timeshare NOW, Marriott timeshare resales and Marriott timeshare rentals are available for most Marriott timeshare resorts, including more than two dozen timeshare villas at Doral, starting at just under $7000.

Remember the American Express commercial that featured Tiger Woods in the role Bill Murray made famous in Caddyshack? Thank you, YouTube for these 58 seconds of humor.

According to information released by Wyndham Timeshares and Resorts, the United Arab Emirates is undoubtedly one of timeshare’s hottest markets. “It is expected that Middle Eastern residents will spend an estimated $1.2 billion a year on shared ownership properties by 2020…” says Wyndham timeshare in a recent media release.

The company makes it clear that the problems in the US economy will not create problems for Wyndham Worldwide, which not only owns Wyndham timeshare, but is the parent company for Group RCI timeshare exchange. And they credit much of their optimism to the sunny predictions specifically for Middle East timeshares.

Wyndham Timeshare CEO Speaks at Dubai Tourism Summit

Chairman and CEO of Wyndham Worldwide, Steve Holmes, is also the vice chair of the World Travel and Tourism Council. Holmes was part of the panel on “Travel and Tourism - It’s Good and Getting Better” that met this week during the Global Travel and Tourism Summit in Dubai. Holmes explains, “Travel and tourism continues to be a stable and growing industry around the globe… We have seen that when it comes to taking time off, people will adjust their travel plans to fit their budgets, but rarely cancel their vacations altogether.”

Wyndham timeshare’s position is that historically they have benefited from people tightening their wallets because many of the products they offer are in the mid-price and economy segment. Holmes sounds sympathetic but not empathetic when he says, “While we would like to see the US economy rebound, our company is well poised to succeed, even in this economic environment.”

Last week, The Timeshare Owners Blog reported on the partnership of Group RCI and Al Ghaith Holdings to operate timeshare exchange at the Bavaria Executive Suites timeshare resort. Two days ago we looked at Marriott timeshare announcing Marriott Vacation Club Dubai Festival City. If the predictions hold up, you can expect to continue to hear a lot of positive news about Dubai and United Arab Emirates timeshares in the months to come here on our blog.

How many times in the past year has The Timeshare Owners Blog written about Marriott Hotel and Marriott Timeshare Company doing the right thing for the environment? And here I am, singing the praises once again of what the Marriott Corporation is doing to help preserve our planet…

J.W. “Bill” Marriott was quoted in one of the company’s recent press releases as saying, “At Marriott, we realize that we are all guests on this planet. We share a responsibility to look out for the long term health of the environment. That’s why we believe the future of our business is green.”

The press release goes on to explain that the Marriott company will be offsetting its carbon footprint by partnering with the Brazilian State of Amazonas to preserve and protect 1.4 million acres of the Amazon Rainforest.

Five years ago, we didn’t understand the meaning of “carbon footprint”. Most of us didn’t realize that our carbon footprint is a measurement of how much our activities produce the greenhouse gases that negatively affect the environment. We did not think about the appliances that run 24/7 in our homes, the car we drive to work each day, and even the energy burned in the production of the clothes we wear and the food we eat. But we are all becoming much more aware of how our lifestyle affect the Earth.

So three, sincere and heartfelt cheers for Marriott for being environmentally conscious and learning what their company’s carbon footprint really is, which, by the way, is 2.9 million metric tons of CO2 emissions per year.

Marriott, as a corporation, has committed to cutting fuel and water consumption by 25 percent per available hotel room or timeshare unit over the next 10 years. If you have read The Timeshare Owners Blog in the past, you know that Marriott hotels and Marriott timeshare have already switched to eco-friendly eating utensils for their employee food service and provided reusable drink ware to their employees in order to reduce the consumption of Styrofoam cups. Additionally the company purchases nearly 50 million recycled BIC pens each year. And while disposable ink pens - at first consideration - don’t seem like a great threat to the environment, think about the billions of them that are filling up landfills, one tiny space at a time.

Are You Green at Home, But Consumptive in Hotels, Restaurants, and Timeshare Resorts?

I think we, as a culture, are growing more environmentally conscious. We are learning that it not only improves the long range outlook for our planet, but it benefits us personally in dollars saved. People are downsizing their cars, using more energy efficient appliances, and generally making a greater effort to leave a “smaller” footprint behind.

But there is something about spending other people’s money, that doesn’t concern us as much as it should. It’s evidenced in ways, like people leaving lights on in hotel rooms and timeshares, that they wouldn’t leave on in their homes. They take longer showers, hotter baths, and leave the television playing, even when they are out of their room or timeshare condo. They do it because they can, and because they think it doesn’t cost them anything extra. But it of course, ultimately we all pay the price of wasteful behavior.

So as a traveler on this planet, ask yourself if you treat the consumables in public places like they come from an “endless source” rather than using them responsibly and conservatively? Take the time to learn what size carbon footprint you and your family are personally making.

And thank you, Marriott Hotels and Marriott Timeshares for heralding this message that should be taken to heart by every company that builds or runs hotels, restaurants, timeshare resorts, and all those other places we all like to enjoy:

Here’s a YouTube video suggesting ways you can minimize your own carbon footprint.

J. W. Marriott Jr, the chairman and CEO of Marriott International Inc, in conjunction with Omar Al Futtaim, CEO of Al-Futtaim Group, has announced a joint venture agreement that will result in the building of Marriott Vacation Club Festival City timeshare resort in the United Arab Emeritus.

The new Marriott timeshare represents, according to ArabianBusiness.com, the first significant equity investment in a hospitality development in Dubai by a US-base global hospitality brand. It is the only equity based joint venture entered into by Al-Futtaim with a hospitality group at Dubai Festival City.

Al-Futtaim was quoted as saying, “We believe Marriott Vacation Club will singularly raise the bar and change the landscape of the hospitality sector in Dubai.”

Plans are for the Marriott timeshare resort to be constructed in four phases, and will include over 3500 timeshare units and timeshare suites when completed. The Marriott Vacation Club Festival City will be the largest timeshare resort connected to a regional shopping center in the United Arab Emirates. As the resort area develops, in addition to the Marriott timeshare, there will be 8 major luxury hotels, 2 boutique hotels, and over 100 restaurants, cafes, and bistros located within the residential and retail area along Dubai Creek and near the Festival Marina. The development is described as an, “elegantly chic, bustling waterfront urban community.”

Own Marriott Timeshare Today

Timeshare owners at Marriott Vacation Club Festival City will have exchange privileges within the worldwide network of Marriott timeshares. You can buy Marriott timeshare from the Marriott corporation, or you can take advantage of the excellent prices available on Marriott timeshare resales advertised by Sell My Timeshare NOW.

Currently Sell My Timeshare NOW has timeshare resales available at nearly 40 Marriott timeshare resorts in the US alone as well as the following international destinations:

• Marriott’s Aruba Ocean Club Timeshare Resales - Palm Beach, Aruba
• Marriott’s Aruba Surf Club Timeshare Resales - Palm Beach, Aruba
• Marriott’s Village d’Ile de France Timeshare Resales - Bailly Romainvilliers, France
• Marriott’s Club Son Antem Timeshare Resales - Mallorca, Spain
• Marriott’s Marbella Beach Resort Timeshare Resales - Marbella, Spain
• Marriott’s Playa Andaluza Timeshare Resales - Marbella, Spain
• Marriott’s Phuket Beach Club Timeshare Resales - Phuket, Thailand
• 47 Park Street by Marriott Grand Residence Club Timeshare Resales - Mayfair, London, England

About a month ago, the Timeshare Owners Blog carried a post titled, Marriott Timeshare Is Turning Green. We told you about a corporate effort by Marriott to increase environmentally conservative practices by employees of their hotels and timeshare resorts. The plan calls for more emphasis on recycling and an expanded use of recycled materials.

But the green at Marriott hotels and timeshare resorts has just gotten greener, and this time , they are going green on the greens - the golf greens and fairways.

Environmentally Conscious Timeshare Resort Golf Courses

When the Doral Golf Resort & Spa Hotel and Timeshare in Miami hosted the World Golf Championships last week, they became the first Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary in North America to host a World Golf Championships event. And Marriott Golf is following this accomplishment by requiring 34 of the Marriott managed golf courses at 25 locations to become Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuaries by the end of 2008.

The Audubon Cooperative Sanctuaries honor certain golf facilities for their efforts to protect the environment by enhancing wildlife habitats and natural areas. To achieve an Audubon Certification, a golf center must prove that it achieves and maintains the highest degree of environmental quality in areas that include wildlife and habitat management, community outreach, educational efforts, minimized use of chemicals, water conservation, water quality management, and environmental planning.

Currently Marriott Golf has six hotel or timeshare resort golf courses that are operated in accordance with the Audubon standards. These resorts are the Ritz-Carlton Members Club in Sarasota, Stone Mountain Golf Club in Georgia, Doral Golf Resort in Miami, and two other Florida courses.

In a press release issued by the Environmental News Service, Kevin Fletcher, director of Audubon International was quoted as saying, “We are elated with the level of commitment Marriott is showing by mandating Audubon Certification across their portfolio of golf courses…These proven environmental management practices will help preserve the natural heritage of the game of golf for many generations to come.”

Marriott Timeshare Resales

If you want to know more about opportunities to buy timeshare resales at or near great golf courses, the seven Marriott timeshare resorts at Hilton Head Island, SC are a perfect place to start.

• Marriott’s Barony Beach Club Timeshare Resales
• Marriott’s Grande Ocean Timeshare Resales
• Marriott’s Harbour Club Timeshare Resales
• Marriott’s Harbour Point Timeshare Resales
• Marriott’s Heritage Club Timeshare Resales
• Marriott’s Monarch Timeshare Resales
• Marriott’s Sunset Pointe Timeshare Resales

If you want to know more about improving your golf swing during your Marriott timeshare vacation, watch this YouTube video of a private lesson taught by Bobby Cole at the Marriott Doral Golf Resort and Spa:

And if you are more interested in watching birds than making birdies, you will enjoy this YouTube video about Audubon certified golf courses:

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.

At the Westwood Corporate Center in Orlando, Florida, nearly 1000 employees of Marriott Vacation Club International (Marriott Timeshare) officially turned “green” this past week.

For these timeshare company employees, going green, means placing a greater emphasis on recycling and environmental conservation. Marriott began their green initiative earlier this year in their Bethesda, Maryland offices and plans to take the philosophy and practices to their other corporate divisions over the next few months.

Marriott timeshare workers at the Westwood offices have committed to recycling the paper, plastic, and aluminum products used there at the business complex. Thermal travel mugs (courtesy of Marriott timeshare) now replace Styrofoam cups. Where the break rooms previously offered disposable plastic ware that spends thousands of years clogging landfills, new utensils and serve ware is a biodegradable product made from potatoes.

The product Marriott timeshare has selected for use in their cafeterias and break rooms is suitable for use even in hot liquids, yet it biodegrades in roughly 180 days. Appropriately known as “SpudWare” the cutlery and other products are produced by combining potato starch and soy oil.

To learn more about Spudware and other environmentally friendly products, go to TreeCycle.

To learn more about great deals in Marriott timeshare resales and Marriott timeshare rentals, go to Sell My Timeshare NOW.

For a closer look at Marriott going green, watch this YouTube video.

Lodging Econometrics (LE), a Portsmouth NH company that monitors trends in hotel real estate, has released hotel growth projections for 2008.

In their report titled, 2008 Outlook for the Lodging Industry, Lodging Econometrics says that the Construction Pipeline stood at 5,438 projects and 718,387 guestrooms at the end of the fourth quarter 2007, meaning that the hotel industry now offers more than 700,000 rooms for the first time ever.

According to Patrick Ford, president of Lodging Econometrics, “The development boom is led by projects in the upscale and mid-market sectors, which together make up 83% of the non-casino projects and 76% of the guestrooms in the Pipeline. These chain scales include the high profile brands from the top franchise companies – Marriott, Hilton, InterContinental, and Choice, as well as Best Western. These companies had an outstanding year selling their family of brands both to developers for new construction and to investor groups interested in reflagging their open and operating hotels.”

According to Lodging Econometrics research, there are 1208 new hotels projected to open in 2008 translating to 133,628 guestrooms and 1456 hotels projected to open in 2009, which will add an additional 166,236 guestrooms.

The hotel industry experts at Lodging Econometrics assess that this growth pattern indicates, “a clear reflection of optimistic developers who anticipate the lending markets will have stabilized and approached normalcy when they are ready to seek financing.”

While this forecast is almost entirely derived based on the numbers of hotels already under construction, the new report acknowledges that 2009 numbers could decline slightly if economic and lending conditions turn out to be worse than currently projected.

Hotel developers were hoping that the residential real estate mortgage and lending situation would have improved by the end of 2007, and that it would not interfere with lending for hotel development in the future. Because there has not been an improvement, according to Lodging Econometrics, the Federal Reserve started a series of auctions in December to infuse banks with capital at reduced rates. These emergency auctions are meant to encourage banks to be more proactive lenders.

Since that time, the rate cuts by the Feds have surprised (and pleased) most of us. The assessment by Lodging Econometrics is, “Lenders simply have to resume lending.” But even the Lodging Econometrics people acknowledge that the impact of the cuts by the Federal Reserve will take months to truly begin to turn the economy around.

Hotels and Timeshare Resorts May Feel the Belt Tighten

Many of the people who buy timeshare weeks have not been hurt by the mortgage crunch. They have owned their home long enough to have sufficient equity to help them weather the soft economy, and frequently, their homes were bought before the days of irresponsible mortgage lending practices. Yet, I don’t have to tell you that everything from gasoline to groceries has gone up dramatically in price.

So far, the hotel industry has not dealt with enough decline, nor has it gone for a long enough period of time, that serious damage has been done. And timeshare resorts have felt the belt tightening even less than hotels. But how long can either hotels or timeshare resorts hold up if a true recession unfolds?

According to the Lodging Econometrics report, “the Condo Hotel boom is over, while the number of new Timeshare announcements is certain to decline.” Here’s who their report predicts will fare the best in upcoming months. “Properties under 200 rooms, with the top brands and the most experienced developers - having conservative proformas that account for anticipated supply increases in the years ahead - will be the most attractive to finance during the current turmoil, either through local institutions or a declining number of national lenders.”

I can’t help but believe, that timeshare resales will feel the impact of the economy less than other sectors. Besides the fact that often timeshare owners and timeshare buyers are in better shape going into the economic crunch than are many other Americans, the most important factor is that a decline in the number of new timeshare resorts to be built should only serve to drive up the value of existing resorts.

I am not predicting that the value of timeshare resales you currently own will soar, or even necessarily increase, but it may very well be one of the few areas of the economy that does not take a nose dive. And in a declining economy, holding your own, can be a very good thing.

J. W. “Bill” Marriott is the well-known president, CEO, and family heir of the Marriott International Corporation, which includes Marriott hotels, Marriott timeshare, and numerous related hospitality and management companies. Always a highly visible leader in the business world, Bill Marriott is recently making his voice heard in politics as the 2008 presidential election continues to heat up.

In a speech delivered on January 17, Marriott called for presidential candidates to, “move to a sober discussion of immigration reform.”

“We need to cool the rhetoric and work together to come up with a federal solution,” Marriott said, emphasizing the current problem employers have attempting to comply with a diversity of immigration laws that vary from state to state.

According to Marriott, “With expected growth, the hospitality industry alone will need an additional 300,000 workers in the next several years…We need immigrant workers in our economy and we need to create a workable verification system so that employers like us know that they’re hiring people who are authorized to work.”

In his speech, Bill Marriott called for the removal of barriers to global travel saying that visa and entry systems needed to be more efficient and customer-friendly or the US loses the opportunity to attract more visitors, stating that, “Bottom line, travel is trade.”

In this YouTube video, Bill Marriott talks about the need for immigration reform and other points related to the economy and the hotel and timeshare resorts industry.

Marriott Vacation Club is expanding their Florida timeshare properties with a new Singer Island resort, the Oceana Palms, located in the Riviera Beach - Palm Beach Shores area.

In the company’s official press release Stephen P. Weisz, president of Marriott Vacation Club International, said, “Marriott Vacation Club has enjoyed being a member of the Palm Beach Shores community for the past ten years through our Marriott’s Ocean Pointe resort.” The company believes the new Oceana Palms timeshare resort will offer more choices and more availability at this high-demand location.

When complete, the timeshare resort will include 169 timeshare condos in two 19-story towers, which will combine the relaxation of a beachside vacation with the upscale lifestyle of Palm Beach, Florida. The timeshare condo décor will blend contemporary furnishings with tropical colors to create a relaxing atmosphere. Each of the timeshare condos will include a fully equipped gourmet kitchen, washer and dryer, multiple flat-panel televisions with DVD players, and spacious living accommodations.

If you are not familiar with Singer Island and Riviera Beach, this is the heart of Florida’s Gold Coast. The locale is distinctive with sun-soaked white beaches adjacent to restaurants, galleries, and boutiques that range from elegant to charming, but all in keeping with the “old money” ambience of Palm Beach.

Expected to be available in 2010, the timeshare condos are currently being pre-sold, at a starting price of $25,900 per timeshare week. What’s most important here, is for you to understand that you can also enjoy Marriott timeshare in the Palm Beach Shores community at a much lower price.

Timeshare Resales Offer Incredible Options

Sell My Timeshare NOW currently has an excellent inventory of Marriott timeshare resales and Marriott timeshare rentals available at Ocean Pointe, as well as other desirable vacation destinations. When you buy timeshare resales or vacation in timeshare rentals, you enjoy luxurious timeshare resorts, like the Marriott Vacation Club International properties, but you spend a fraction of what you pay when you buy timeshare from the developer.

In the end, whether you buy timeshare new or buy timeshare resales, you wind up sitting on the same beach and enjoying the same amenities, except that the timeshare owners who bought their vacation ownership property as a timeshare resale, have a whole lot more money still in their pocket than the people who didn’t.

In addition to the great deals on timeshare resales at Ocean Pointe, here are other Florida timeshare destinations where you can enjoy both the luxury and the value of timeshare resales:

• Marriott’s BeachPlace Towers in Fort Lauderdale
• Marriott’s Villas at Doral in Miami
• Horizons at Orlando by Marriott in Orlando
• Marriott’s Cypress Harbor in Orlando
• Marriott’s Grande Vista in Orlando
• Marriott’s Imperial Palm Villas in Orlando
• Marriott’s Royal Palms in Orlando
• Marriott’s Sabal Palms in Orlando
• Marriott’s Ocean Pointe in Palm Beach Shores
• Marriott’s Legends Edge at Bay Point in Panama City Beach