According to the Wall Street Journal, Travelocity, the online travel service, says Americans are booking shorter vacations, especially for overseas destinations. For summer trips planned by US travelers to destinations outside the US, the trip duration is more than 5 percent shorter in length than in past years.

Research from AIG Travel Guard (travel insurance) says that almost half of all clients who responded to a questionnaire say they plan to alter their summer vacation in order to save money. Some say they will eat in less expensive restaurants, (look for the crowds at McDonalds) while others say they will relax closer to home. And in anticipation of this trend, regional theme parks are gearing up for a very busy summer.

All-inclusive resorts are selling well this summer, and while the Travelocity research didn’t specifically address timeshares, one would assume that the eat-in kitchen and dining areas in timeshare condos are looking especially appealing to travelers.

Sell My Timeshare NOW is seeing a dramatic increase in timeshare rentals in 2008, compared to 2007. This increase reflects the ever-growing interest in timeshare resales and timeshare rentals. It is also indicative of a whole new market of vacationers who may never buy timeshare, but have recognized the value in timeshare rentals for spacious vacation accommodations that offer room for the whole family and let you skip (or reduce) the cost of restaurant dining.

The Timeshare Rental Solution

This is the year to rent timeshare. It has never made more sense, than now. If the high price of gas or a mortgage that has over-adjusted will prevent you from taking a vacation, then go to a timeshare resales and timeshare rental advertising company and get them started marketing your timeshare rental now.

And if you are planning to enjoy a summer vacation, forget about a crowded room in a high priced hotel, and book a timeshare rental. Get more vacation, spend less money– a timeshare rental can solve a lot of problems.

If there is a theme park in your summer vacation plans, whet your appetite here with this YouTube video of the rollercoaster at the New York, New York Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

Although Sell My Timeshare NOW is a privately held company, and as such, does not report to stockholders, we do like to keep our timeshare buyers, timeshare sellers, and timeshare renters informed on a regular basis about the state of business in our company.

This week, we released our First Quarter 2008 Statistical Synopsis, as well as a statement to the media. Click here to read our media release and here to download the report in PDF format.

The good news of the report is that it is all good news. Sell My Timeshare NOW saw the number of offers to buy or rent timeshare increase in the first quarter of 2008 by 22 percent, compared to the first quarter of 2007. The dollar amount of the offers during this most recent business quarter was more than $90 million, also reflecting an increase over 2007 numbers.

Timeshare Rentals at Sell My Timeshare NOW

In 2007, Sell My Timeshare NOW started a new program, called Rental Assist. We are very proud of how that service helps timeshare owners who want to use their property as a timeshare rental connect with people who are interested in renting timeshare for their next vacation. Rental Assist is undoubtedly an effective tool for timeshare owners and timeshare renters, as evidenced by the fact that at Sell My Timeshare NOW, offers to rent timeshares rose 141 percent quarter-over-quarter 2007 to 2008.

The Obvious Solution When You Want to Sell Timeshare

When you look at our report, and I really hope you will, you will see that for timeshare owners who are ready to sell timeshare, there is no better choice than Sell My Timeshare NOW. In the first quarter of 2008 alone, offers to buy or rent timeshare totaled more than $90 million, while website traffic for the first quarter rose by 13 percent to nearly 7.4 million people.

In these days when the economy is shaky, I am proud to be able to report to our employees, our community, and all the customers who rely on us to help them with their timeshare resales transactions, that at least, in our little corner of the business world, business is booming!

What’s in a name? Apparently a lot if you are the UK cruise community website www.cruise.co.uk

This week, a new British record was set as cruise.co.uk paid $1 million (US dollars) for the plural version of the same domain name - www.cruises.co.uk

Seamus Conlon, managing director of the company, said that their purchase of the name is an indicator of how serious the company is about retaining its number one position in a fast-growing sector. He explained, “Cruises is consistently ranked first on Google, with ‘cruise‘ just behind. We wanted the top positions so that when internet users are searching for cruise deals, reviews or news, we are the first port of call.”

While the price paid sounds painfully large, the logic behind it makes perfect sense to me and our internet marketing specialists at Sell My Timeshare NOW. If you want to sell timeshare, you need to advertise your timeshare weeks on a website that consistently ranks at the top of the search results in Google and other popular search engines. You need Sell My Timeshare NOW.

Why?

Because if you can easily find Sell My Timeshare NOW’s website when you want to sell timeshare, then people who want to buy timeshare are finding the site just as easily and just as quickly.

A lot of people visiting our timeshare resales and timeshare rental advertising and marketing website means lots of potential buyers for your timeshare resale. Sell My Timeshare NOW is the number one best place to buy timeshare, sell timeshare or rent timeshare, and we didn’t have to spend a million dollars on a name, to get there.

Wonder what other domain names people are paying big bucks to own? Here are some of the biggies:

• www.beer.com sold for $7 million in 1999
• www.diamond.com sold for $7.5 million in 2006
• www.business.com sold for $7.5 million in 1999

The names auto.com, wine.com, and creditcards.com have all been sold at high prices, as have the domain names for a sex site and a pornography site, which commanded $12 million dollars and $9.5 million in recent years.

These days, when every evening’s nightly news seems to always bring us new warnings of unrest, terrorism, and political disruption around the world, you might think people who buy timeshare abroad risk being stuck with timeshare condos or condo resales that they cannot use and cannot rent or sell - but that is generally not the case.

First, as a timeshare owner, you may have the option to bank your timeshare weeks for future use, or to turn them over to a timeshare exchange. Many timeshare exchange programs do not require your timeshare weeks to be picked up by someone else in order for you to enjoy a timeshare vacation at a different resort.

The next thing to remember is that many times, while it may not be safe for people of your particular nationality to travel to a foreign country, people who live in that country may be able to travel freely and vacation without incident. Although this is not currently the case in Kenya, as I wrote about in yesterday’s Timeshare Owners Blog, when this does apply, you may want to use your timeshare weeks as a timeshare rental. To successfully rent timeshare to people from other countries you must advertise and market it through a timeshare company like Sell My Timeshare NOW that has a global marketplace and the expertise to bring timeshare rentals to the attention of interested renters or even buyers around the world.

The problems in one part of a country do not always affect vacationing and timeshare resorts in other areas of the same country. Don’t immediately assume that an entire region or country is dangerous just because you hear about one incident, in one location. In fact, isolated events in one part of a country can sometimes have an upside for travelers in other areas, making tourist dollars especially appreciated in an area where other parts of the country have recently received bad publicity. Attractions, restaurants, and other tourist areas are less crowded and sometimes offer discounted prices in efforts to attract business once again.

Kenya Timeshare Resales, In the Future

I am not in any way making light of recent tragic events in Kenya or any other part of the world that has suffered adversity. But I am suggesting that if you own timeshare weeks in a locale that has experienced problems, whether it is weather-related, incidences of terrorism, or other types of crime or civil unrest, don’t immediately assume that all is lost for utilizing your timeshare unit or timeshare weeks. You have options and Sell My Timeshare NOW can help you assess those options and make the choice that is right for you.

Here’s a You-Tube video that reminds us of the natural beauty of Kenya.

Arthur Frommer is known worldwide as the grandfather of travel guidebooks for the budget-conscious, and these days, doesn’t that description apply to most of us? Since the 1950’s. Frommer’s guidebooks have been the go-to resource for smart travelers, starting with his now legendary, Europe on 5 Dollars a Day, published in 1957.

Frommer’s New Year’s resolutions for 2008 include the following economical, environmentally correct, or just plain logical commitments:

• Limit myself to carry-ons, and never check a single bag.
• Carry sandwiches from home, and never bite into a single airline snack.
• Use public transportation from airport into town.
• Never book a connecting flight. If there’s no non-stop to my destination, I won’t go there (with some exceptions).
• Share courses with my wife, ordering a single main plate for the two of us.
• Stop patronizing “duty-free” shops.
• Never book an uncomfortable “boutique hotel” designed by a famous fashionista.
• Never use a credit card that doesn’t earn frequent flyer mileage.
• Never board a cruise ship carrying more than 700 passengers, and
• Remain calm and unperturbed by refusing to read the travel section of the New York Times.

This is all such good advice, I only wish Frommer had added a couple more equally worthwhile resolutions:

• Never book a hotel room when I can stay for less in a timeshare rental.
• Never stay in timeshare rentals leased from the timeshare resort or management company when I can rent timeshare directly from the timeshare owner at a much better rate.
• Stop spending money on hotel rooms when it makes so much more sense to buy timeshare, and
• Buy timeshare resales from the individual owner, not the timeshare development company.

It’s a brand new year and I can’t think of a better time to say, “Hey, I am tired of spending more money than I have to for great vacations and travel.” Think timeshare. There is a reason that “share” is part of the word; timeshare resales and timeshare rentals truly let you share the cost of vacation accommodations with others, and yet still enjoy the luxury and privacy of a beautiful resort vacation or holiday.

Visit Sell My Timeshare NOW to learn more about the opportunities for timeshare resales and timeshare rentals.

You know what they say about anything that sounds too good to be true…

An Orlando timeshare resale company agreed last week to pay nearly $100,000 to consumers as part of a settlement to end the investigation into a series of complaints about the company’s practices. More than half the money will go directly to clients who complained to the Florida Office of the Attorney General, Bill McCollum. The balance of the money will go toward the cost of the investigation itself.

The Orlando Sentinel quoted McCollum as saying, “Time-share resale businesses are often mistaken for real estate brokers when they are simply providing an advertisement service to promote the sale of a consumer’s time share.”

The allegations, some of which go back 5 years, claim that the timeshare resale company made the promise that, if it could not sell your timeshare in 180 days, you would receive two free airline tickets to certain destinations. According to consumers who received the promise during telemarketing calls from the timeshare resale company, the tickets had so many caveats and restrictions that they were useless. Some customers of the timeshare reseller say they never received the tickets at all.

Other alleged false claims by the company included the timeshare resale company’s membership in the Orange County (Florida) Convention & Visitors Bureau and affiliation with the Orange County Convention Center.

What a Timeshare Resale Advertising and Marketing Company Should Do

A good timeshare resale advertising and marketing company should present all the information about your timeshare property to the largest possible market of potential timeshare buyers. They should be on the cutting edge of internet marketing strategies so that your timeshare resale or timeshare rental is advertised in a global marketplace of people who want to buy timeshare or rent timeshare.

More than that, any timeshare resale company should be able to tell you:

• • How many visitors come to their website each day. (Sell My Timeshare NOW averages more than 10,000 unique visitors to their website each day and over 30,000 total visitors.)
• • And the dollar amount of offers made to rent or buy timeshare they advertise. (Sell My Timeshare NOW averages over $800,000 a day in offers made to buy timeshare or rent timeshare.)

Not only that, but at Sell My Timeshare NOW, if your timeshare sells at the asking price or higher through any other source, bring us proof of the sale, and we will give you back the fee you pay to advertise and market your property with us. That’s a promise, and it’s one we keep.

The holidays are at hand. Will they be merry and bright, or will they mean more stress and anxiety in your already overloaded life?

I wish the book The Overworked American by Harvard professor Juliet Schor, was required reading in life. Regular readers of The Timeshare Owners log know I have quoted this book before as Schor explains that:

• At least 30 percent of all American adults admit they experience high stress nearly every day.
• More than 30 percent say everything they do, is done in a rush.
• And since 1980, workers compensation claims related to stress have more than tripled.

While widespread stress is bad and getting worse, the holidays are peak season for tension, tiredness, and trauma. Here is a link to an excellent National Public Radio interview about why we are particularly stressed this time of year. But it is little surprise that for many people, money woes top the list for seasonal stress-makers along with trying to accomplish too many things in too little time.

Christmas, Kwanza, Hanukah-no matter what you are celebrating, it can be very hard to prevent your efforts at merrymaking from adding to your stress rather than relieving it. Instead of your usual turkey dinner and tree trimming, consider packing a straw hat and your flip-flops and heading somewhere warm and relaxing for an atypical holiday celebration in the form of pure relaxation.

Timeshare resales and timeshare rentals make it easy and affordable to say, this year I want to enjoy lounging by the beach instead of dashing through the snow. Consider pooling family gift money for a timeshare vacation that will create a week of leisure and a lifetime of memories.

Rather than stressing over the perfect gift for your parents, in-laws, or adult children, consider giving them a timeshare vacation as a truly meaningful present they can enjoy for the rest of their lives. The gift of a timeshare holiday can change the recipient’s life forever, and can you imagine a better way to say “thank you” to a loved one, for all they have meant in your life?

Yes, ’tis the season to be jolly, so why not make this the year you focus on the jolly and not necessarily on the holly? Put a timeshare resale on your gift-giving list and feel like the best Santa Claus ever. Then put it on your “Gift to self” list and make yourself feel as genuinely happy as a child on Christmas morning.

The TimesLeader.com reported last week about some Luzerne County, Pennsylvania officials who were questioned when the word “timeshare” appeared on their government-issued debit card statements.

No, the officials explained, they were not taking timeshare resort holidays. Instead, they were simply spending the taxpayers’ dollars carefully by staying at the Manhattan Club timeshare when they were in New York City on official business.

The timeshare rental, according to the article, appeared as a charge of $208.44 per night (a government rate) and was deemed more affordable than other hotels in the area. According to the officials involved, the trips to New York City included meetings with New York City police personnel in order to learn improved crime-fighting techniques centering around a police records management system that Luzerne County is currently implementing.

The Manhattan Club timeshare was recommended to the Pennsylvania government officials because it offers affordable accommodations in New York City. The article also went on to point out that, some business travel of the county’s officials was paid for through money confiscated in criminal investigations and arrests.

Timeshare rental can be an incredibly affordable travel lodging solution, and it doesn’t matter if you are trying to save tax payer dollars or your own. To learn more about timeshare resale and timeshare rental, visit Sell My Timeshare NOW. In a tight-dollar economy, timeshares make more sense than ever.

Here’s an interesting YouTube video, as unicyclists take to the city streets of Manhattan. Be sure you watch it all the way to the end when you will see a bold (and dangerous) way to travel the Long Island Expressway.

Dennis Drummond was arrested last summer on a fugitive warrant in North Carolina and extradited to Massachusetts to face multiple counts of larceny. This was not Drummond’s first brush with the Massachusetts judicial system. Charges were brought against him in 1990, 2003, and 2005, all related to timeshare fraud.

In one lawsuit brought by Massachusetts Attorney General Tom Reilly, a Massachusetts state court ordered Drummond to pay $1.3 million in restitution and fees for defrauding timeshare buyers of nearly $400,000 in money and property. The Commonwealth’s case was a civil suit and named Dennis Drummond, Linda Drummond, and Lindsey Drummond, as well as their companies, Global Marketing and Resort Marketing.

Drummond has yet to repay his debt in the civil suit, and now faces criminal charges as well. On October 18, he made bail and was released from the Bristol County House of Correction in Dartmouth, MA. Let’s hope there is a way to finally hold him accountable for the charges of which he has already been convicted.

Just to keep things clear, I searched for “Global Marketing” and found no website for a company by this name. I also searched for “Resort Marketing” and found a company based in Alpharetta, Georgia, that assured me they were not the company listed in the 2005 lawsuit.

If you ever believe you have been the victim of timeshare fraud, whether you were trying to sell timeshare, rent timeshare or buy timeshare, you should contact the Office of the Attorney General for the State in which the timeshare company is located.

You also can file a complaint with the FTC if your grievance involves deceptive advertising. You can call them at 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357).

The Federal Trade Commission maintains an excellent webpage that advises on safe business practices when you buy timeshare, rent timeshare, or sell timeshare. The article is called, “Facts for Consumers Time and Time Again: Buying and Selling Timeshares and Vacation Plans.”

Sell My Timeshare NOW has launched a new program called, “Rental Assist.”

Many vacationers and travelers already know that renting timeshare is an excellent way to enjoy spacious accommodations at great resorts. After all, why not stay in a timeshare where you are likely to have a full kitchen (sometimes with in-suite washers and dryers) and dining space for the family? Instead of renting multiple hotel or motel rooms, why not rent a timeshare that sleeps four, six, even eight or ten? Most families today no longer share one bathroom and one TV at home, so why do it when you go on vacation?

Renting timeshare is a true win-win for both the timeshare renter and the timeshare owner who uses his vacation property as a rental. If you cannot use your timeshare right now, and you can’t or don’t wish to bank it, then it only makes sense to use it as a timeshare rental. Timeshare owners offset some of the ongoing costs of owning timeshare. Vacationers who want to rent rather than buy timeshare, get to enjoy the accommodations and amenities of a luxurious timeshare resort.

Renting Timeshare at Sell My Timeshare NOW

So far this year, offers to rent timeshare at Sell My Timeshare NOW have exceeded $18 million—and remember that is not money that goes to a timeshare developer, a timeshare management company, or even to us at Sell My Timeshare NOW—this is money that goes straight to the person or couple that owns the timeshare.

But Rental Assist is only going to make renting timeshare even better. We are taking our timeshare rental services to the next level by offering in-house matching services for timeshare owners who want to use their timeshare as a rental and vacationers who want to enjoy renting timeshare at competitive prices.

If you’d like to find out more about Rental Assist, call our timeshare specialist at: (877) 815-4227

Visit our website at www.sellmytimesharenow.com

Or read our newest press release on Rental Assist from Sell My Timeshare NOW.