In yesterday’s Timeshare Owners Blog, we looked at an ABC 20/20 investigation of Royal Holiday vacation club. Here is Part II of that post:

The hidden camera videotape made by ABC’s 20/20 investigators reveals that Royal Holiday breaks a lot of rules when it comes to selling timeshare. People who attend the Royal Holiday sales presentation are promised an incentive if they sit through a 90-minute sales pitch, which actually lasts 3 or more hours. They are told that they can only take advantage of special pricing if they buy today…on the spot, and if they prove reticent to buy, that price may mysteriously be cut in half in hopes of getting them to sign up now, as first one and then another salesperson tries to break down their resistance.

Royal Holiday also serves alcoholic drinks to their prospects. It is poor business ethics to do this, and it is an absolute no-no for you, as a prospective buyer, to make the mistake of clouding your good judgment with alcohol. Never, I repeat never, mix alcohol with the decision to buy timeshare.

Other criticisms of Royal Holiday’s sales tactics include promises made by salespeople that a buyer’s money is invested in a foreign bank account and will be returned to them in 30 years; that rooms shown as examples of what you are buying are far nicer than the rooms you actually can book; and that availability in busy seasons is scarce.

How to Avoid High Pressure Timeshare Sales Tactics

All in all, 20/20’s report was extremely negative. There is however, one foolproof way to avoid the heavy hand of a timeshare company salesperson. Buy resale timeshare. Deal only with the person who already owns the timeshare or vacation club membership. Bypass that salesperson who works for the timeshare company yet counts on you to pay his or her salary through commission.

When you shop for timeshare resales or timeshare rentals online, you can take your time. You can ask questions, you can compare products. You can sleep on your decision and consult your attorney or your financial planner. Money doesn’t come easily these days; take your time deciding how you will spend it.

Royal Holiday Vacation Club Timeshare Resales

Currently Sell My Timeshare NOW timeshare resales and timeshare rental advertising company has more than a hundred different listings for Royal Holiday vacations. Some start at under $1000.

The Royal Holiday vacation club affords you the opportunity to travel the United States and Mexico without joining an exchange company. Royal Holiday Club has occupancy rights at Sheraton Cancun Resort and Towers in Cancun; Sol Caribe in Cozumel; Sheraton Ixtapa, Mexico; the Raddison Xanadu in Freeport, Bahamas; Wave Crest in Del Mar, California; Powell Place, San Francisco; Marriott’s Streamside at Vail; Tropicana Golf Estates in Las Vegas; High Point in Orlando; and Brigantine Beach, NJ.

Sell My Timeshare NOW can help you buy, rent, or sell Royal Holiday vacation club timeshares, without the hassle.

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.

Part One in a Two-Part blog post.

The founder and CEO of Westgate timeshare and Westgate vacation villas, David Siegel was found guilty this week in Orlando, Florida federal court on charges of sexual harassment.

A jury awarded Dawn Georgette Myers over $5 million in damages, saying that she worked in a hostile environment at Westgate timeshare while she was employed by Siegel. The award, according to the Orlando Sentinel, was granted, “…at least in part, for an alleged battery Siegel subjected Myers to in which he pressed her up against a wall and touched her. Myers also claimed that Siegel offered her $1 million for sex.”

This case has been far from simple, and I suspect, is far from over. Plot twists have included the fact that originally Siegel filed a lawsuit against Myers. Siegel sought approximately $35,000 he said was owed him for repairs made to Myer’s home by Westgate timeshare carpenters and for the cost of Myers renting Siegel’s condominium while the work was being done. Other issues that have complicated the lawsuit include Siegel having publically stated he was at one time attracted to Myers and the fact that Ms. Myers was previously romantically involved with David Siegel’s son.

While that is a lot of intricacy, it is probably not even the whole story; David Siegel has a habit of living life large. Yet one way or the other, these charges and its outcome should not overshadow the historic and innovative impact David Siegel has had on the timeshare industry and the concept of timeshare real estate.

Visionary Who Helped Make Timeshare Sales What They Are Today

Always an entrepreneur at heart, David Siegel enrolled after high school in an electronics program to learn how to repair televisions and radios. He soon began bringing broken radios and televisions into class for his instructors to fix, while personally billing the owners of the equipment for the repair work. When the school caught on to David Siegel’s scheme, they gave him the choice of dropping out or giving up his sideline business. Siegel chose to quit school, focus his energy on his small business, and then hired his former teachers to work for him.

But electronics repair didn’t last for Siegel, who bounced around in numerous jobs before trying his hand selling land in Orlando. After somehow persuading a private investor to loan him money for several acres of Florida swampland, Siegel began quickly to parlay land deals into dollars. When a buyer came to him seeking land to use as timeshare real estate, David Siegel jumped at the concept of timesharing and built the project himself rather than sell to the developer.

By the 1970’s David Siegel had established the parent company of Westgate timeshare; it operated out of his garage. In 1982, he set up a tent as an auxiliary office and began timeshare sales for Westgate Resort Villas, to be located less than a mile from the front gates of Walt Disney World.

Westgate Timeshare and Westgate Vacation Villas Today

Since that time, Westgate timeshare has expanded to include multiple timeshare resort properties in the Orlando area, as well as timeshare real estate in Myrtle Beach, Miami Beach, Williamsburg, Gatlinburg, Branson, Tunica, Park City, Mesa, Las Vegas, and Anaheim. There are currently 28 Westgate timeshare resorts offering 10,000 timeshare condos with another 4500 timeshare condos under construction. Over 400,000 Westgate timeshare owners from all parts of the globe enjoy vacation property ownership thanks to Westgate vacation villas and David Siegel. Today Westgate timeshare is now the largest privately held timeshare company in the world and is the third largest timeshare company overall.

Westgate Timeshare Resales and Westgate Timeshare Rentals in Florida

Westgate timeshare owners report some of the highest satisfaction levels in the timeshare industry. If you want to buy Westgate timeshare resales or rent a Westgate timeshare condo, here are direct links to excellent opportunities in timeshare resales in Westgate Orlando timeshare resales:

• Westgate Lakes Resort and Spa - Orlando, Florida
• Westgate Leisure Resort - Orlando, Florida
• Westgate Palace - Orlando, Florida
• Westgate Blue Tree - Lake Buena Vista, Florida
• Westgate Towers - Kissimmee, Florida
• Westgate Town Center - Kissimmee, Florida
• Westgate Vacation Villas - Kissimmee, Florida
• Westgate Timeshare resales - Other US locations

Whatever happens next in David Siegel’s life, he will probably be making headlines. Here are links to other recent postings from the Timeshare Owners Blog, where we have looked at either Westgate timeshare resorts or David Siegel himself:

• Westgate Timeshares Serious About No-Smoking Rule
• Westgate Timeshare Employee Steps Up Big
• Planet Hollywood Timeshare Project Moving Forward

And be sure you read Monday’s Timeshare Owners Blog. After all the good things we’ve had to say about what David Siegel has done for timeshare real estate and timeshare sales, you may be interested in what he has to say about timeshare owners.
…continued on Monday, Feb 25

Sources for this blog post include: The Orlando Sentinel; Forbes Magazine; and the New York Times.

Orange Lake Country Club in Orlando, Florida has recently completed the first phase of its three-phase renovation.

For starters, Orange Lake Country Club timeshare resort has opened The Marketplace, which includes a pro shop, retail space, and dining area. Included in The Marketplace is the General Store, which is a full service grocery store, and a pizzeria that offers dine-in, take-out, or delivery.

The second phase of renovations at Orange Lake Country Club, Orlando, includes redesigning the main entrance and lobby of the clubhouse, enhancing the beach and pool areas, and adding new amenities including a new fitness center and a family fun center.

Phase Three of the renovations and revitalization of Orange Lake Country Club timeshare are expected to be completed this summer, with a new entertainment facility that will include shopping, two restaurants, and a poolside bar, offering live music.

Orange Lake Country Club timeshare resort is one of the largest single timeshare resorts in the world. While they are perfectly located for a vacation that includes all the Central Florida theme parks and attractions, there are so many on-property amenities that timeshare owners often say they find themselves never leaving the resort.

To learn more about owning timeshare weeks at Orange Lake Country Club timeshare in Orlando, visit Sell My Timeshare NOW, where we have an extensive inventory of timeshare resales and timeshare rentals.

Reading the travel blog that Kitty Bean Yancey writes for USA Today always gives me new insights about travel, and particularly hotel accommodations. Her blog, the Hotel Hotsheet, cites Smith Travel Research showing that in November 2007, occupancy rates at luxury hotels were 68.9 percent compared to 51.8 percent at economy lodgings, but down overall from the same month last year.

Across the US, room rates are up 6 percent, bringing luxury hotel rooms in at $300 per night and economy rooms at $52 per night. According to figures from the American Hotel and Lodging Association, the average daily hotel rate is now over $100 per night.

Comparing Hotel Accommodations with Timeshare Condos

The average hotel room in America provides comfortable sleeping accommodations for one or two people in a queen size bed and rather cramped accommodations for 4 in two standard beds. It won’t have an in-room washer and dryer; is not likely to have a patio or balcony, and at that price, probably won’t have a separate living area.

Your $100+ per night room will not afford you multiple televisions and DVD players and the odds are very high it won’t have a full kitchen with dining area. In fact, for $100 per night, your hotel room will be little more than a bedroom, bathroom, and maybe a mini-fridge and an overpriced mini-bar.

Timeshare resales on the other hand, frequently feature all the amenities the hotel room lacks, as well as having many other perks that make your stay more comfortable in far more spacious accommodations. And the prices? Well, they just don’t compare.

For starters, your hotel room at $100 is subject to sales tax. In many areas, it is also subject to tourist or resort tax, sometimes known as a bed tax. In Orlando, Florida, for example, the tourist tax is an additional 6 percent on top of the 6.5 percent sales tax. Boom! Your $100 per night room, suddenly became - in reality - $112 and change each night.

With timeshare condos, you actually own your timeshare. You may in fact pay property tax outright or property tax as part of your annual maintenance fee, but you won’t pay sales tax or bed tax each time you vacation in your timeshare.

If you finance your timeshare condo, you may also be able to write off part or all of your mortgage interest as a deduction on your federal income taxes. Don’t expect to write off any part of your hotel room on your taxes unless of course, you are claiming it as a business expense, in which case you can make the same claim about the nightly cost of your timeshare condo.

Lastly, and this is the most important part of all, the money you spend on your hotel room is money gone for good and these days, those words are particularly hard to hear.

The money you spend on a timeshare condo pays for vacation ownership. A timeshare condo becomes a lifestyle that you own, can enjoy for years to come, and that actually becomes cheaper and cheaper the more often you use it and the longer you own it.

Hotel rooms are great for some types of overnight stays and travel. But in the big picture, money you throw out the window forever for a hotel room simply never compares to owning timeshares - especially timeshare you buy smart as timeshare resales.

To learn more about the opportunities in timeshare resales and timeshare rentals, visit Sell My Timeshare NOW on the web or call us at 877-815-4227.

Plan on a Disney Vacation Club Timeshare holiday. Take the kids and see Cinderella, Mickey, and all the other lovable characters at Walt Disney World. But don’t plan on taking your children with you if you have reservations to dine at Victoria & Alberts at the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa.

Victoria & Alberts is the only Orlando Disney restaurant with a 5-diamond rating, and offers unquestionably some of, if not the best dining at Disney World. But this crystal and linen dining room serves 7-course meals that can last as long as three hours. Prices start at $125 per person and there has never been a children’s menu available at Victoria & Alberts. Obviously, the restaurant was never intended to attract family dining.

After Disney made the announcement, The Orlando Sentinel quoted Rosemary Rose, Disney World’s vp of food, beverage and merchandise operations, as saying that no more than two or three families a month brought young children to Victoria & Albert’s. Which now makes you ask, “So what was the problem?”

I wonder if Norman Van Aken, owner of Norman’s at the Ritz Carlton in Orlando, doesn’t have the right idea when he suggests that banning children from the restaurant is a clever marketing strategy that causes people to now view Victoria & Albert’s as extremely special. Disney’s announcement has certainly garnered plenty of press coverage as people examine their thoughts on the, “happiest place on earth,” no longer permitting children under the age of 10 in their best dining room.

But go ahead and plan your stay at your Disney Vacation Club timeshare. Whatever the reason for the new policy, the decision shouldn’t cause a problem for more than, “two or three families a month”.

Owning a Disney Vacation Club Timeshare is easy and affordable when you shop timeshare resales and timeshare rentals available through Sell My Timeshare NOW. To learn more about Disney Orlando timeshare visit the links below:

• Disney’s Villas at Wilderness Lodge Resales
• Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa Resales
• Disney’s Old Key West Resort Resales
• Disney’s BoardWalk Villas Resales
• Disney’s Beach Club Villas Resales

And for a retro view of the Happiest Place on Earth, watch this YouTube video of a 1971 television commercial for the (then) very new, Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom.

The Orlando Sentinel blog on “Tourism Central Florida,” has posted some interesting observations in recent weeks about Wyndham timeshares. Let’s start back in October, when they summarized Wyndham timeshare’s quarterly report and noted that Wyndham’s Orlando timeshare division reported a year over year revenue growth rate that was the strongest of all the hospitality company’s operations during the third quarter, 2007. Wyndham Vacation Ownership reported a 22 percent increase in total revenue and a 15 percent rise in ownership sales. I feel certain the facts and figures behind this report were part of what lead Wyndham Worldwide Corp, CEO Steve Homes to say, “…time-share sales can hold up despite a sputtering economy.”

The Sentinel blog went on to quote Goldman Sachs analyst, Steven Kent, “…who echoed the optimistic assessment himself, adding, ‘We note that the typical purchaser of timeshare product is 58-years-old with a decent-sized nest egg, significantly more interested in leisure travel and less exposed economically.’” I also found it interesting to note that Wyndham timeshare CEO Holmes thought the sluggish economy probably could hurt hotel room rentals, which in itself usually bodes well for timeshare rentals.

What New Timeshare Sales Mean to Timeshare Resales

Whether you want to sell Wyndham timeshare or you are interested in buying Wyndham timeshare, this upbeat report is good news all the way around. As long as Wyndham is selling new timeshare condos and timeshare weeks, the company will continue to grow their business, building new properties and upgrading older timeshare resorts. People who buy timeshare, whether it is new Wyndham timeshare or a Wyndham timeshare resale, benefit from the focus the company places on service, quality and amenities.

But just as importantly, people who are trying to sell timeshare that carries the Wyndham name, will find that Wyndham’s growth and marketing of new timeshares only adds to the overall interest in becoming an owner of Wyndham timeshare, whether that timeshare condo is bought new or as a timeshare resale.

There is so much media attention on the shaky economy, and I too, have done plenty of blogging about how the changing economy is affecting timeshare real estate, but it’s important that none of us fall victim to a overly negative and incorrect attitude.

The timeshare resale and timeshare rental specialist at Sell My Timeshare NOW are ready to help you with all your needs when you sell, rent, or buy timeshare.

You may also be interested in this previous Timeshare Owners blog post from last August on Wyndham timeshare, titled: Economic Performance Looks Solid in Timeshare 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

Orlando’s Local 6 TV News stirred up an old issue this past November when they interview David Siegel, founder and CEO of Westgate timeshares, regarding the company’s no-smoking policy for employees.

But this is not “news”. Westgate Resorts timeshares put their no-smoking ban in place in 2003. Westgate Resorts timeshares is part of the behemoth corporation, Central Florida Investments Inc, a conglomerate that includes hotels, magazines, travel services, insurance, real estate, internet companies, oil and even cattle, and is the largest single employer in the Orlando area. And Westgate timeshares in not alone in its crackdown on employee smoking. Other Florida companies have made similar moves. Thanks to the 2002 Florida Clean Indoor Act, smoking is already prohibited in restaurants, malls, workplaces and most interior areas. Many Florida employers prohibit smoking anywhere on company property while other companies also charge employees who smoke higher rates for their health insurance premiums. Westgate timeshares simply took its opposition to smoking a step further by saying: if you smoke, you won’t work for Westgate Resort timeshares.

Legal?

In the state of Florida it most certainly is. And from the perspective of companies, always watching their bottom-line, you have to see their side of it. Smokers increase insurance premiums across the board for all employees. As a general rule, they have lower productivity simply because of the time lost to smoke breaks. Where smoking is permitted on property, cleaning and repair costs to carpet, upholstery, and painted surfaces escalate.

On the other hand, does your employer ethically have the right to tell you that you cannot smoke off property and on your own time?

Dicey questions, and you can count on David Siegel to (pardon the pun) fan the flames of controversy with one of his typically outspoken comments. As quoted in the Orlando Sentinel, Siegel says, “When I found out it was legal to discriminate against smokers (in 2002), those were my marching orders.”

Westgate Resorts is the third largest timeshare company in the world, with resorts throughout the US. To learn more about Westgate timeshare resales and Westgate timeshare rentals, visit Sell My Timeshare Now.

• Westgate Lakes Resort and Spa - Orlando, Florida
• Westgate Leisure Resort - Orlando, Florida
• Westgate Palace - Orlando, Florida
• Westgate South Beach - Miami Beach, Florida
• Westgate Branson Woods - Branson, Missouri
• Westgate Branson Lakes - Hollister, Missouri
• Westgate Tunica Resort - Robinsville, Mississippi
• Westgate Painted Mountain Golf Resort - Mesa, Arizona
• Westgate Blue Tree - Lake Buena Vista, Florida
• Westgate Daytona Beach - Daytona Beach, Florida
• Westgate River Ranch - River Ranch, Florida
• Westgate Towers - Kissimmee, Florida
• Westgate Town Center - Kissimmee, Florida
• Westgate Vacation Villas - Kissimmee, Florida
• Westgate Miami Beach - North Miami Beach, Florida
• Westgate Flamingo Bay - Las Vegas, Nevada
• Westgate Smoky Mountain Resort - Gatlinburg, Tennessee
• Westgate Park City Resort and Spa - Park City, Utah
• Westgate Historic Williamsburg - Williamsburg, Virginia

On Christmas Day, 15-month-old Isaiah Whalen drowned in the pool at a private home during a family Christmas celebration in southern Orlando.

The following morning, three-year-old Emmanual Brown drowned at a vacation rental a few miles away in Osceola County, just south of Orlando.

Later that afternoon, at Parkway International resort timeshare, six miles away from where Emmanual Brown had just died, another 15-month old child, Octavius Johnson, drowned in the bathtub of the timeshare unit.

In the state of Florida, drowning is the leading cause of death in children under the age of four. And as the tragedies of this past week show, many of the children who drown in Florida are the children and grandchildren of tourists on vacation.

People go on vacation to relax; they let their guard down. They become preoccupied with socializing with one another, or just enjoying much needed down time. Children, exuberant with vacation excitement and sometimes unaccustomed to beaches and pools, make bad choices. They wind up getting in over their heads - literally.

When children fall into a pool, you would think adults would hear the splash; surprisingly, they rarely do. Children slip into a swimming pool and there is almost no sound in the water at all. Unlike adults, who realize they are drowning, children don’t know what is happening to them or how to react to save themselves. When a child begins to drown in a pool or lake, they usually struggle to reach an adult they know, even when doing so only takes them further away from the closest edge of the pool or beach and even if it takes them into deeper water.

Every child who is near a pool, lakeside, or beach needs constant adult supervision. The Mayo Clinic reminds us that a baby can drown in only an inch of water. A child can become submerged in ten seconds; unconscious after two minutes under the water; and permanently brain damaged within four to six minutes of going under. Everything from your mop bucket, to your toilet, your bathtub, your neighbor’s hot tub, or the swimming pool at your home, hotel, or timeshare resort is a potential death trap for a child.

Enjoy the beach. Take a timeshare vacation to some place warm and sunny this winter. But if you travel with children, remember that there is no such thing as being too cautious about water safety.

Three families ended 2007 with a heartbreaking loss last week in Orlando, Florida. Let’s all do everything we can to make 2008 a safe and happy year.