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.

Part I of a two-part post.

If you ask the people that own and operate Royal Holiday vacation club and timeshare, they will tell you that 97 percent of their approximately 65,000 timeshare owners or members never complain. Yet a recent investigation by ABC’s 20/20 revealed a different picture.

Let’s start with the semantics of what Royal Holiday Club sells. According to an ABC News report, “Royal Holiday calls its Vacations for Life plan an alternative to the complaint-riddled timeshare business.”

We can skip the double talk here. Vacation ownership, fractionals, vacation clubs, and timeshares are all variations of the same thing. The type of ownership will vary. You may have deeded timeshare ownership or you may own the right to use a timeshare resort property. You may even own points that can be used like currency to pay for your vacation accommodations. But in all cases, whether it is one week every other year, or 180 days of glorious vacation time, you still own vacation rights that are measured in intervals of shared time. Voila! Timeshare! And frankly, companies that call themselves something other than a timeshare are usually just looking for an angle they think will improve their marketability.

Two Sides to this Timeshare Sales Story

There are two sides to every argument. Royal Holiday is probably correct, that they have a huge number of satisfied timeshare owners, a.k.a. members. I also think the 20/20 investigators are right that there are unhappy timeshare buyers who justifiably feel ripped off by Royal Holiday.

While the average member at Royal Holiday vacation club, who buys from Royal Holiday, pays $11,000 to join, plus a yearly fee of about $465, this price varies greatly depending on how much vacation time a person is seeking.

And it doesn’t seem that the majority of the complaints are about Royal Holiday’s resorts. The vacation club company has more than 180 destinations, as well as 3000 different cruise itineraries, which members can access by spending their “Holiday Credits” or points.

But here’s the problem. There are some angry people who are very dissatisfied with the difference in what they thought they were buying and what they actually own. And it all goes back to the sales people who sold them their Royal Holiday vacation club memberships, and some very unethical sales practices.

According to the 20/20 investigation, the company has, “…a growing number of members who say Royal Holiday misled them about how the club operates, and the availability of vacations they’d want. The only thing royal about their membership was the way they were ripped off.”

“They lie,” was the accusation raised most often in describing the sales staff at Royal Holiday. And if complaints are the measure of dishonesty, then it looks like lying is a growing trend at this company.

In 2005, there were 282 complaints against Royal Holiday; in 2006, there were 506 complaints; and by 2007, there were 761. Unless the company’s business tripled between 2005 and 2007, their complaint ratio is definitely moving in the wrong direction fast. As further proof of the problems, consider the fact that the Better Business Bureau gives Royal Holiday its lowest ranking, an “F”.

Take a few minutes, watch the 20/20 investigative report on Royal Holiday courtesy of YouTube, and then come back to the Timeshare Owners Blog tomorrow to read the rest of the story…

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

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

The 2008 ARDA Convention & Exposition will be held next month, April 6-10, at the Venetian Resort Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. This is the top event in the resort and timeshare industry and it will draw some 5000 attendees from more than 40 countries worldwide.

Speakers at the ARDA Convention

Each year the ARDA Convention & Exposition offers resort and timeshare professionals the most up-to-date information on services and new directions within the industry. For the 2008 convention, Rick Barrera will be the keynote speaker. Barrera is a nationally recognized speaker, marketing consultant and acclaimed author. He is probably best known for his unique approach to brand building and holistic customer service. Barrera’s strategies can be seen in use today by such business giants as Google, Hummer, and Tivo.

In tomorrow’s Timeshare Owners Blog, I will be sharing information about a few of the ARDA Convention’s other speakers and panelists, including the panel on which I will be presenting. Here is also a link to Sell My Timeshare NOW’s most recent press release about the ARDA Convention.

Entertainment at the ARDA Convention

As if just being in Las Vegas isn’t entertaining enough, the ARDA Convention includes a performance by Terry Fator. If you are not familiar with this multi-talented entertainer, then the idea of watching a ventriloquist may not seem too exciting.

Think again. Terry Fator, winner of last year’s American’s Got Talent competition on NBC, is one of the single most entertaining, genuinely talented performers today.

I have attached a YouTube video of Fator during his first televised appearance on the, America’s Got Talent competition. Once you watch this first video, you may want to go back and view the many others available on Fator’s website or on YouTube - he is guaranteed to brighten your day.

Last week I posted a blog called, Timesharing as a Concept Will Increase Timesharing as a Practice. And then, as if on cue, I ran across this bit of timely information reinforcing the idea that both timeshare ownership and fractional ownership will grow, simply because we, as a culture, are increasingly integrating the idea of shared ownership into our lifestyles and mindsets.

Last summer, a London-based company, called Fractional Life, held their first Fractional Ownership Expo. The alfresco-style exhibition was hosted in the city-center of London to introduce people to the diverse opportunities in fractional or timeshare ownership. The event was such a success that the company currently is hard at work preparing for Fraction Ownership Expo, 2008, to be held next month, again in downtown London.

Fractional Ownership Expo 2008

Fractional Life describes the expo by saying, “…the event caters for the growing number of people who want to enjoy a lifestyle of luxury items and experiences - without the ties, responsibilities and capital outlay of a complete purchase.” …hummm, sounds like timeshare to me.

Fractional Ownership Expo’s flagship sponsors are the Oceanico Group, a leader in luxury four and five-star residential and holiday homes offering high quality golf or beach amenities and, IFA Hotels & Resorts, an internationally recognized leader in the development of premier mixed-use hotel and tourism resort projects and luxury leisure services. Although the heart and soul of the fractional ownership event centers on shared vacation ownership property - timeshare real estate - exhibitors will include companies dealing in fractional ownership of classic and luxury cars, boats, yachts, aircraft and jets, wines, sporting passes and even handbags.

All of which proves once again, that the concept of timesharing really makes a lot of sense, even if I don’t personally understand exactly how you timeshare a bottle of wine.

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.

Easter is only slightly less than a week away, yet much of the US is still shoveling snow in their driveway and scraping ice from car windshields. With that in mind, it’s not hard to be enticed by the idea of packing your sunscreen and flip-flops and becoming a vacation property owner in the Maldives, the beautiful islands known as the pearls of the Indian Ocean.

Forty-four of the 200 inhabited islands in the chain of “pearls” are developed exclusively as resorts. Now the United Arab Emirates-based developer, Emerald Vacation Group, is about to add one more - this one, a timeshare resort. The new Turtle Cove Resort will be the first vacation ownership property in the Maldives.

On the private island of Mahadhdhoo, in an idyllic setting on the northern Huvadhu Atoll, the exclusive Turtle Cove Resort and Spa will offer unique timeshare vacation properties. Completion of the resort is scheduled for 2009, and when finished, the timeshare resort will offer 77 one-bedroom villas, with future plans for ten two-bedroom timeshare units. Thirty of the timeshare villas will be located on the water at the lagoon and each one will have a private swimming pool and personal concierge service.

The resort will include fine dining restaurants, a spa, shopping promenade, and a water sports center. According to Emerald Vacation Group’s general manager, Chris Jackson, “The launch of Turtle Cove Resort and Spa marks Emerald Vacation Group’s first foray into the international property arena. We have therefore chosen a unique and exclusive island in a highly sought after part of the world as our entry into an industry that looks set to soar in the coming years. As the first vacation ownership property in the Maldives, we anticipate that Turtle Cove will attract a great deal of interest.”

Opportunities in Timeshare Resales and Timeshare Rentals

Here’s a YouTube video that will help you get a better picture of just how beautiful life is in the Maldives. And once you watch this video, you will be so ready to head to your own island paradise vacation, you will need this list of timeshare resales in areas near the Maldives, that are ready, waiting, and are currently available at excellent resale pricing from Sell My Timeshare NOW.

• Malaysia Timeshare Resales and Timeshare Rentals
• Indonesia Timeshare Resales and Timeshare Rentals
• United Arab Emirates Timeshare Resales and Timeshare Rentals

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

In my last two blog postings, I have talked about timeshare vacation property as a regulated industry, and also about upfront fees in the timeshare industry, and what those fees really mean.

Let’s look at one more topic that sometimes confuses both timeshare owners and people who are new to the world of timeshare: the many different ways to own timeshare.

Timeshare owned as “right to use” property means just what it sounds like it means. You don’t own any portion of the property, but you do own the right to use that property. When you buy right to use timeshare, you purchase the right to use the property (usually a specific unit) for a predetermined period of time, or for a predetermined number of uses.

Right to use timeshare does not provide the timeshare buyer with a deed or any ownership of a percentage of the resort, nor does it create any percentage of ownership of an individual timeshare unit. Most vacation club memberships are examples of right to use timeshare ownership.

Leasehold timeshare is similar to right to use, except it is actually “owned” (without a deed) for a stated period. In other words, leasehold is defined by the number of years you hold the lease. When the lease ends, so do your rights to use the timeshare. Leasehold timeshare is common for Hawaii timeshares, and in other geographic areas where leasehold ownership is frequently used by the real estate market in general.

Timeshare can also be held as a right to use property with no limitations on how long the timeshare owner can use the property. In other words, a timeshare can be a right to use ownership, where the rights extend into perpetuity (forever).

Many timeshares, especially in the US, are owned as fee simple real estate. Fee simple ownership is deeded timeshare ownership, and is typically structured very much like the way most people own their personal residences. Often, similar to the way people own condominium properties, a fee simple deed includes a date, on which the individual timeshare owners, stop being individual owners and become tenants in common. When that date is reached, the tenants vote on whether or not to continue the structure of individual ownership. For example, they may decide by majority vote, to sell the timeshare resort as a total property, in which case, each timeshare owner will receive his or her appropriate percentage of the total sale.

Don’t be overwhelmed because there are different options for timeshare ownership. The diversity of ways you can take advantage of vacation ownership is exactly what makes timesharing so attractive.

Before you buy timeshare from a developer or take advantage of the opportunities in timeshare resales, I recommend that you get in touch with people who know and understand the different ways to buy timeshare and sell timeshare, like the timeshare resale and timeshare rental specialists at Sell My Timeshare NOW. Ask lots of questions up front, so that you become an informed timeshare buyer or timeshare seller.

The bottom line is simply this: timesharing works and works well for a lot of satisfied owners. Research prepared for the American Resort Development Association (ARDA) shows that timeshare owners report high satisfaction rates with their timeshare purchase, and over three quarters of all timeshare owners say that owning a timeshare has increased how much they look forward to vacations.

You can become one of the satisfied majority, enjoying vacation planning ease, luxurious resorts, incredible flexibility, and all the benefits timesharing has to offer. And Sell My Timeshare NOW is the perfect place to start.