Interval International has introduced the Dream Vacation Week certification program. With their affiliate, Worldwide Vacation & Travel Inc., II is using the program as an incentive package designed for timeshare developers. The idea is that the program will generate timeshare resort tours or can be used by timeshare developers to enhance the proposition of their non-buyer programs.

Not Limited to Timeshare Resort Developers

The Dream Vacation program is being put to use by other industries besides timeshare companies. Lending Tree, the Home Loan Center, and Match.com for example, are just a few of the businesses that are giving away Dream Vacation Week certificates as part of their loyalty and incentives programs.

Dream Vacations Weeks are not free. Even after you earn an incentive reward through one of the participating companies, you still must pay a timeshare rental fee. You can book timeshare rental stays for your Dream Vacation Week in 7-day intervals only, and you should expect the offerings during peak travel times and at high-demand locations to be limited.

But if you receive a Dream Vacation Week certificate as a benefit for taking out a home mortgage, or as part of your membership in Interval International, it is an opportunity to enjoy a timeshare vacation at a discount price. It is also is great way to gain a firsthand perspective on a timeshare resort before you buy timeshare resales there.

You Don’t Have to Buy a New House to Enjoy Good Deals on Timeshare Rentals

If you earn a Dream Vacation Week certificate, you have an opportunity to enjoy 7 days in a great timeshare rental at prices starting around $600 (and up), depending on the timeshare unit’s size and location. But you don’t have to refinance your home or sign up for an online dating service just to enjoy an excellent price on a timeshare rental.

Sell My Timeshare NOW has a huge inventory of timeshare rentals, at prices and locations that are just as good as those you will see though incentive programs. Timeshare owners sometimes rent timeshare just to cover or offset their annual timeshare ownership membership fees or taxes, which means that the opportunity to enjoy a seriously discounted timeshare stay in a Sell My Timeshare NOW timeshare rental are just amazing. You can take a timeshare vacation, for the number of days you prefer to rent, staying in a timeshare unit and vacation destination that fits your vacation wants and needs.

It’s not a dream. The great deals in timeshare rentals are very, very real and they are available every day at Sell My Timeshare NOW.

Resort Condominiums International, (RCI) has entered into an agreement with ICE Gallery Asia Pacific, in a plan to offer RCI timeshare exchange members in Asia a choice of over 10,000 cruise itineraries from leading cruise lines.

While a recent article in CNNMoney.com says that these new extensive cruise exchange opportunities currently are available only to RCI members in Asia, one has to wonder whether they will soon be available to all members that rely on RCI for their timeshare exchange or banking of timeshare points and unused timeshare weeks.

The CNN Money article (published April 7, 2008) says, “RCI members will be able to exchange their vacation week or RCI Points® towards the purchase of up to four cabins at cruise exchange pricing plus only one transaction fee on selected cruises, depending on the type of cruise, cabin, date and destination. Alternatively, RCI Members and their family and friends can avail themselves of member-only special rates should they opt to purchase a cruise holiday outright through RCI, instead of exchanging their week or RCI Points.”

More Cruise Options for More Timeshare Owners

ICE is a leading worldwide cruise and leisure organization that specializes in value-added cruise programs, internet marketing solutions, and tech solutions for travel alliances between corporations, resorts, cruise lines and vacation suppliers. ICE will manage and operate the RCI Cruise program and they will provide cruise benefits and products to RCI timeshare exchange members. The partnership with ICE will enable some RCI timeshare exchange members to book or exchange timeshare for cruises through many of the biggest names in the cruise business, including Cunard, Holland-America Line, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Princess, Disney Cruises, Celebrity, and Carnival Cruises.

Cruise vacations are growing in popularity worldwide. The World Cruise Shipping Industry to 2020 Report predicts that, world cruise passenger globally will reach 18 million by 2010, 22.6 million by 2015 and 27 million by 2020. With more timeshare owners gaining rights to exchange timeshare for a wider array of cruise products, who knows how high these numbers could grow?

As always, as I learn more about this program, I will share what I learn here in the Timeshare Owners Blog.

The highly respected timeshare industry publication, Perspective Magazine, has announced plans to launch an independent consumer magazine for timeshare owners. The publication will target people who own timeshares, or who have timeshare points, fractional ownership, private residence club ownership, or other similar types of vacation ownership products.

In a very short time, Perspective Magazine has become the most-read, independent business-to-business publication in the timeshare and vacation club industry, so there is every reason to expect their new publication, Owners Perspective, to be equally relevant and successful.

According to Paul Mattimoe, president and CEO of Perspective International Ltd., “Rather than trying to adapt Perspective Magazine to suit owners also, we have decided to launch a second publication specifically for them. This way we can take the core content of the original magazine, but then tailor the rest to suit the consumer rather than the business side of the industry, providing both a much-needed independent resource for existing and potential owners, as well as a new and diverse advertising platform for businesses.”

The Director of Communications at Sell My Timeshare NOW, Steve Luba, agrees that this new publication will fill an important niche, saying, “Owners Perspective will get important industry information to timeshare owners and will be unlike the newsletters sent out by timeshare development companies, which tend to be more self-promotional than industry informative.”

Like Perspective Magazine, there will be no charge to receive the online version of Owners Perspective, and interested readers can sign up now for the publication scheduled to launch in July, at: http://www.ownersperspective.com

The March 31 Timeshare Owners Blog ran a post titled, They Wouldn’t Have this Problem if They’d Bought Timeshare Resales. We were looking at a situation that occurred when a timeshare developer presold timeshare units, in many cases without recording deeds, but failed to build the timeshare resort. In another instance, the resort is built and operational, but this same developer and his partner failed to pay bills on the property or to give owners their share of the timeshare rental money.

Robert Reposa of Hingham, MA, the property owner, now owes thousands of dollars in unpaid state and federal taxes, not to mention the restitution he owes to timeshare buyers at the two properties: the Navigator Beach Club and Beachside Village in Falmouth.

The MA Attorney General has 50 complaints from timeshare owners who paid for, but did not receive, deeds for the unfinished timeshare units at the Navigator Club. On Tuesday, the Navigator Beach Club was sold at auction to a man who says he does not intend to use it as a timeshare resort. What happens next is just a wait and see situation for timeshare buyers, some who are out as much as $50,000.

Contact Information Regarding the Troubled Timeshare Deal

The Timeshare Owners Blog will continue to provide information about this timeshare deal gone wrong as it becomes available, as well as offering good advice for avoiding this problem when you buy timeshare. Here is a list of phone numbers and contact information that may be helpful if you have questions about the property or the ongoing investigation:

Massachusetts Attorney General.
(617)-727-8400

Consumer Complaint Form

Det. Sgt. Ben Wunderlich (Working the case for the Dennisport Police and coordinating with the Attorney General’s Office and the District Attorney’s Office)
(774) 352-1433

Robert Reposa
(781) 264-5296

George Fintonis
(508) 398-9153
george@capecodoceanresorts.com

Website for victims and others trying to learn more about this situation:
http://www.navigatorbeachclub.org/

This is an interesting link to the actual property auction from the ABC affiliate in Boston, WCVB:
http://www.thebostonchannel.com/video/15827067/index.html

This month’s edition of the Harvard Business Review included a very interesting article about the future of tourism both in the US and internationally. With the dark clouds of recession never far from view, it is very good news to hear knowledgeable experts forecasting positive trends in travel and vacationing.

Paul F. Nunes is an executive research fellow with the Accenture Institute for High Performance Business in Boston and London-based Mark Spelman is the global managing director of Accenture’s strategy practice. Together, they researched and wrote, “The Tourism Time Bomb”, which appeared in the Harvard Business Review’s April 2008 issue.

To understand their predictions, you have to start with the fact that they are forecasting the global emergence of a new middle class who will be shopping for vacations and travel. To quote their words, “Indian call-center employees, Russian petrochemical engineers, Chinese middle managers, and Brazilian salespeople are already scouring the web for deals on trips.”

Add to this list the changes in Cuba, (discussed in Saturday’s Timeshare Owners Blog) the American baby boomer, who is relatively insulated from the current US economic situation, Canadians who are enjoying a strong Looney, and other populations worldwide who are or will in the future be spending their money on travel and vacations. Suddenly, it begins to make sense that the United Nations is projecting that the annual number of international tourist visits will nearly double and reach 1.6 billion by the year 2020.

Could A “Bomb” Explode and Shower Us with Timeshare Resorts?

Nunes and Spelmen see three scenarios that could occur because of a surge in vacationing or what they call, “the tourism time bomb”.

The first possibility is that demand for hotel rooms in popular venues will outstrip supply. They go on to explain that the lodging crunch could become so tight, a new type of scalper could emerge, selling hotel rooms, air fares, and other travel related items at whatever top dollar the market will bear.

If this seems hard to imagine, remember that it is already happening in some segments of the travel industry, with the 2007 American Express Global Business Travel Report forecasting an 11 to 14 percent increase in the cost of travel for 2008. Can you envision a future where hotel room nights are pedaled at black market prices?

What A Travel Boom Will Mean to Timeshare Owners

If the predictions of Nunes, Spelman, American Express, or the United Nations turn out to be even halfway correct, then I can only see this as great news for timeshare owners. Timeshare owners will be ahead of the game because they own their vacation or travel accommodations, at a locked in price. These timeshare units will have been purchased at pre-escalation prices and if they were wisely bought as timeshare resales, then the timeshare owner will be even further ahead. When and if the timeshare owner decides to sell timeshare as a resale, he or she may find that the market has become extremely “seller friendly”.

The Tourism Time Bomb definitely gives us food for thought and paints the picture of a future environment that is beneficial for timeshare owners and timeshare real estate in general.

Check in on tomorrow’s Timeshare Owners Blog. I will share further information from this fascinating report and look at the other two travel industry scenarios the authors project.

You can now be a Wyndham Vacation owner (Wyndham timeshare) at Yellowstone Park, with the recent opening of a new timeshare resort, located less than one mile from the park’s entrance. The Orlando, Florida based timeshare company, Wyndham Vacation Ownership, has just opened WorldMark West Yellowstone. This new timeshare resort, (according to the official press release issued by Wyndham Vacation Ownership) is the only major branded vacation ownership resort in West Yellowstone, Montana.

Mountain Lodge Amenities at New WorldMark Timeshare

West Yellowstone is a significant location, not only because Yellowstone is America’s oldest and most famous national park, but because it is the geographic cross point where the states of Idaho, Wyoming and Montana meet. The timeshare resort is part of WorldMark: The Club Portfolio and offers 112 timeshare condos in one, two, and three-bedroom units, along with four-bedroom Presidential Suites. The three-story, mountain lodge-style timeshare resort includes an indoor pool, a recreation and fitness center, and other amenities.

According to Franz Hanning, the president and CEO of Wyndham Vacation Ownership, “As the only flagged vacation ownership property in the West Yellowstone area, WorldMark West Yellowstone offers our owners and their guests a world-renowned, year-round vacation experience. When combining the rugged beauty of Yellowstone National Park with the unparalleled service and comfort people have come to expect from our Wyndham-branded resorts, we are providing a truly unbeatable vacation experience.”

To learn more about becoming a WorldMark timeshare owner by buying timeshare resales or taking advantages of opportunities in WorldMark timeshare rentals, visit Sell My Timeshare NOW.

And to keep an eye on Old Faithful, the largest geyser at Yellowstone National Park, enjoy this link to Old Faithful Geyser Live! - Video WebCam

CNNMoney.com reported last week that despite the fact that hoteliers in general are feeling the pinch of the tight economy, hotel companies that have a timeshare sales component are doing just fine.

Backing up this theory are strong financial reports from timeshare companies, including Wyndham Worldwide, with fourth-quarter 2007 timeshare vacation revenue up 4 percent to $576 million and Marriott timeshare sales and services revenue up 2 percent in the same quarter.

Here’s What Leading Financial Analysts Said about Timeshare Sales

Last month, Goldman Sachs analyst Steven Kent toured Florida timeshare resorts belonging to Marriott, Starwood, and Wyndham. CNNMoney.com quoted him as saying, “We came away with a renewed sense belief that timeshare sales should be able to muscle through the current difficult economic environment, given a proactive sales model and the compelling quality of the product.”

Robert LaFleur, an analyst with Susquehanna Financial Group, reportedly said that timeshare sales remain a very profitable business and at the same time afford a way for hoteliers to extend their brand. But perhaps LaFeur’s most quotable observation relates specifically to why people continue to buy timeshare despite challenges in the US economy. La Feur said, “It’s (buying timeshare) like going to Costco and buying vacation in bulk.”

No Mistake About It: Timeshare Sales, NOT Vacation Home Sales

If you don’t think consumers clearly understand the difference between the value of buying timeshare vacation ownership property in this economic market and buying sole ownership vacation homes, think again. Vacation home sales (sole ownership properties) dropped 30.6 percent in 2007, from their 2006 all-time record high.

Timeshare ownership…for millions of satisfied people, it’s a great vacation solution no matter what the economy.

Last week, when a timeshare company partnered with a timeshare owners group to offer a members-only timeshare auction, it would have been understandable if some the timeshare owners stared feeling like Rodney Dangerfield claiming, “I don’t get no respect.”

During a three-day period, members of the timeshare group were allowed to bid on any of over 300 timeshare resale properties. While the timeshare weeks auctioned were priced from $800 to $2500 and up, there were no reserves on the bidding that started at 10 cents.

As the official press release for the event stated, “…the potential pitfalls of owner-to-owner auctions via eBay are many. Who transfers the ownership? Who takes care of the legal paperwork? How do I know what I’m really buying? What guarantees do I have?” This timeshare auction claimed to reduce the type of buyer risk associated with eBay property auctions, while offering deeply discounted prices for timeshare buyers.

Market Values of Timeshare Resales

Ironically, the timeshare owners group has historically been critical of timeshare resales companies, claiming that buying timeshare on the resale market, like buying timeshare on an eBay auction, is fraught with problems. Personally, I can’t think of a much bigger problem than owning timeshare property that has been devalued because it has been sold at an absurdly low price.

When the bidding at a timeshare resales auction starts at a dime per property, no one really wins. The timeshare owner who wants to sell timeshare that he or she no longer uses would do just as well (and maybe better) to donate that timeshare to charity or give it to a friend or family member rather than sell it at a price that is so low it is meaningless. And while the timeshare buyer may gain in the short term by purchasing timeshare weeks at a giveaway price, in so doing, the timeshare buyer may have directly contributed to the long-term devaluation of his own property as well as that of all the other timeshare units at the resort.

Timeshare Resales By Owner

For the timeshare resales market to stay solid there must be fairness for both timeshare buyers and timeshare sellers. It is just as detrimental to the value of the product to sell timeshare weeks for pennies, as it is to overprice it and gouge the timeshare buyer.

Look for good deals on by-owner timeshares resales; but expect to play fair. Fair market pricing is good for the buyer, good for the seller, and good for the timeshare resales market.

A Look Back at the Humor of the Late Rodney Dangerfield, With Our Respect:

USA Today ran a question and answer this week in their “Personal Finance” segment that was intended to deal with an IRS tax issue. Instead, it sounded more like a ‘criminal’ matter to me.

A reader posed the following question to tax expert, Andy Mattson of Mohler, Nixon, Willams and Campbell:

“I sold my timeshare for a gross gain of $3,000. However, because of the huge commission I paid to the timeshare company for selling it, my net was a loss of $6,000. Do I have to pay capital gains on $3,000 or do I consider it a loss and not report anything?”

Wait! Set aside the matter of capital gains and taxes owed for a minute. Is this reader really saying that he or she paid a $9000 commission to sell a timeshare unit for $3000? If this was the case, then I say that the terms of this timeshare sale are a lot bigger problem than the matter of paying capital gains taxes.

Selling Timeshare through a Timeshare Broker

There are times when a timeshare owner who wants to sell timeshare needs or prefers to work with a licensed timeshare broker. The broker earns a commission when the timeshare unit or weeks sell. People who are considering selling timeshare with the assistance of a broker, should understand from the beginning what the commission rate is and of course, the rate should be clearly defined in the written agreement between the seller and the timeshare broker.

But there is simply no way that you should ever have to pay a $9000 commission on a $3000 timeshare sale - that’s why I called it ‘criminal’. If you are facing this scenario, why wouldn’t you donate your timeshare, save the sales commission, and perhaps gain a tax deduction in the process? Or consider using Sell My Timeshare NOW to help you advertise and market your timeshare resale, and handle the sales transaction yourself. Either option makes far more sense than paying 3 times more in commission than you are grossing in your timeshare sale.

Answering the Question of Capital Gains on Timeshare Sales

Now back to the matter of the capital gains owed. Mattson, the tax expert, must have interpreted the timeshare seller’s question the same way I did, because his answer was this:

“It sounds like you had to pay a commission of $9,000 on gross proceeds of $3,000.

What a shame this timeshare owner didn’t contact Sell My Timeshare NOW.

As 2007 was winding down, ad agency JWT put together a list of seven trends they believed would drive consumer thinking and behavior in the year 2008. In a summary of their report, published by Hotels‘ magazine, Ann Mack, director of trendspotting at JWT was quoted as saying, “We believe it’s essential to plot societal shifts in order to develop big brand ideas. Trendspotting allows us to figure out how the mood of the moment is affecting people’s lives.”

What interested me was the fact that among the seven key trends identified, one of them is timesharing. While JWT refers to it as, “Cooperative Consumption,” you and I recognize a description of timeshare ownership when we hear it.

Predicted Growth of Fractional Ownership as a Concept

According to the report, “Fractional ownership is moving beyond the shared planes of the jet-setting elite. The masses are already sharing everything from art to cars to designer handbags, and as technology for pooling demand and resources becomes increasingly sophisticated, this model will be applied to an even wider range of categories.”

Yep…that’s a lot of words, for describing timesharing, but timeshare ownership of luxury items is exactly the point being made by JWT, one of the most famous brand-building advertising agencies in the world today.

What Acceptance of Fractional Ownership Means

The Hotels’ article analyzes the report, saying, “Fractional ownership is nothing new in real estate and hospitality, but the building trend of consumers sharing is worth noting and considering - perhaps a mixed-use development makes good sense, and whole ownership is not the only residential component available.”

I don’t think it is a stretch to say that mixed-use development is already the path being taken by many hoteliers who have an established presence in the timeshare industry. Additionally, one would think that as people who have never dreamed of buying timeshare real estate become comfortable with the idea of owning everything from cars to dogs to jewelry on a timeshare basis, they would become equally as receptive to the idea of shared vacation property ownership.

Timeshare real estate ownership has always been a great idea and the millions of satisfied timeshare owners prove this. But the popularity of buying timeshares and timeshare resales is presently only a pale hint of what it has the potential to become; and according to JWT’s predictions about the movers and shakers, it is well on its way.

Learn more about the opportunities available in timeshare resales and timeshare rentals at Sell My Timeshare NOW.