The numbers are in and they look good! Sell My Timeshare NOW is continuing with strong growth trends during the first quarter of 2009 even in the face of the challenging economy. The number of offers to buy timeshare or rent timeshare increased by 95 percent over the same quarter in 2008. The total number of offers to buy timeshare resales in the first quarter of 2009 was 54,125.

Noteworthy Gains in Timeshare Rentals

Sell My Timeshare NOW has measured dramatic
gains in the number of offers to buy timeshare
resales or rent timeshare.

Dollar amounts of offers to buy timeshare or rent timeshare were also up. During the first quarter of 2009, the offers totaled $136,831,174. This is an increase of 51 percent above the amount of offers received during the same quarter last year.

While timeshare rental offers are included in the above stats, they are interesting to break out separately. Offers to rent timeshare show an increase of 146 percent in the number of offers as compared the first quarter of 2008. Sell My Timeshare NOW saw 34,425 offers for timeshare rental during the first quarter of 2009, at a total of $34,782,223, which is an increase of 125 percent over the amount of offers made during the same quarter of 2008.

To read the full press release on the Sell My Timeshare NOW Statistical Synopsis, click here.

And to download the report in full, follow this link: http://www.sellmytimesharenow.com/media/pdf/2009-smtn-1st-quarter-layout.pdf

Allegations include fraud, lies, and deception in a tale that involves glamour, Hollywood stars, timeshares, and an unsolved murder.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has frozen the assets of companies run by Taiwanese immigrant and longtime Los Angeles resident, Danny Pang. Pang allegedly employed a classic Ponzi scheme where money from new investors was used to pay the investment returns of previous investors in an effort to cover a life insurance investment that was not paying off fast enough for the company’s needs.

In a civil lawsuit, the SEC alleges that Pang and his companies have raise hundreds of millions of dollars, much of it coming from investors in Taiwan. The actions of federal regulators came shortly after the Wall Street Journal ran a lengthy article that carried allegations from a former executive in one of Pang’s companies who claims Pang misused investors’ money, double billed them for legal and insurance costs, and lied about his academic credentials. The employee, Nasar Aboubakare, has a $50 million breach-of-contract suit pending against one of Pang’s companies. In the past, Pang has represented himself as a former senior vice president and high-tech merger adviser with Morgan Stanley, and as having an MBA from the University of California at Irvine; neither of which officials have been able to verify.

Little about how timeshares were involved in the scams has been revealed other than this statement that appeared in the OC Register: “Pang and his firm told investors that they would purchase life insurance policies at a discount and then collect the benefits upon the death of the insured. But the policies did not generate sufficient returns to cover all the costs. The SEC said Pang had his company pay the insurance investors with money from clients who invested in timeshares.”

Pang traveled in the highest social circles in Los Angeles and ran his companies, Private Equity Management Group Inc. and Private Equity Management Group LLC, from the nearby city of Irvine. His name frequently made the news as he engaged in fundraising and other civic efforts with Hollywood stars and media celebrities.

In 1997, Pang’s wife, Janie, was the victim of a murder that remains unsolved.

The economic downturn has revived talk in Congress about taxing Internet sales. Hear the latest on what is being discussed and how it could affect you.

 

 Are Internet Sales Taxes On The Way? [3:17m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

It seems the people of Ko Olina just need a little reassurance. And who doesn’t after the economic down spiral we have witnessed in this country?

Last week WKHON2 in Ko Olina, Hawaii ran a news segment in which both Disney Vacation Club Timeshare vice president Djuan Rivers, and Kapolei Neighborhood Board chair Maeda Timson reassured residents that the Disney Vacation Club Timeshare project is still full steam ahead.

Timson said, “Its been real apparent that the Disney project is probably the most exciting project that’s happening right now…” Rivers adds, “It’s my time to let people know that we are here, we are proud members of the community and we’re excited about the project finally getting started.”

While Disney Vacation Club timeshare owners are no doubt anxious to learn more about the 20-plus acre hybrid resort that will feature 480 timeshare villas and 350 hotel rooms, area residents are interested in the timeshare resort as a resource for new jobs and employment opportunities.

The Disney Vacation Club timeshare certainly means a traditional range of positions will be available, such as desk clerks and hotel services. Rivers made a point of reminding people that there will also be career opportunities, adding “…people will be able to flourish”. Timson explains, “These are jobs that our folks can have careers … and it’s in our community.”

Hawaii timeshare has long been a positive for the economy of the islands and there is no doubt that the presence of Disney Vacation Club Timeshare couldn’t come at a better time or be more appreciated.

Watch this YouTube video of Disney’s groundbreaking and ground blessing at the Ko Olina resort:

In Durango, Colorado, Wyndham Timeshare has filed foreclosure notices on 33 timeshare owners who are delinquent on their timeshare payments. The Wyndham timeshare units, formerly a Fairfield Resort, are part of the Wyndham Durango, a south Durango location at 401 East Second Ave, near the popular Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Station.

Durango, known as a winter ski destination, is also a popular summer vacation spot where visitors enjoy the historic railroad, outdoor sports, the archeological attractions at Mesa Verde National Park, and the famous Durango Rodeo.

Great Location, but Smaller Timeshare Units at Wyndham Timeshare Durango

According to a report in the Durango Herald News, several of the timeshare owners who are named in the proceeding own either multiple weeks or multiple timeshare units at the Wyndham timeshare resort. The timeshare units at the resort are atypically small for Wyndham timeshare as they were previously hotel units that were converted to timeshare in 1997 by Best Western Rio Grande Inn & Suites. The rooms do include small kitchens but no washer and dryer, however there are laundry facilities available on the property.

Although the foreclosure sale is scheduled for May 21, Wyndham timeshare officials are not answering specific questions about the proceedings, other than to identify that each of the Wyndham timeshare owners named owes in excess of $10,000.

Follow this link to learn more about other opportunities in Durango Wyndham timeshare resales.

It is hard to say which is the greater problem: the economy itself or consumer concerns about the economy. Either one gridlocks the flow of money as people spend less and worry more.

Both problems have worked against timeshare developers who must carry on despite there being fewer qualified timeshare buyers and greater reticence to part with their money by those who do have sufficient income to buy timeshare.

The gridlock stops being only a timeshare developer problem and takes on widespread economic impact in any state where timeshares represent a significant part of the hospitality industry and tax base. In Florida, home to more timeshare resorts than any other state in the US, the challenges that have faced the timeshare industry translate to a statewide problem that calls for legislators and the industry to work collaboratively on any measures that could potentially translate to relief.

Help for Florida Timeshares

Florida House Speaker-designate Dean Cannon, has been working with lobbyists for the timeshare industry on a plan that will permit Florida timeshare companies to sell debt cancellation policies as part of a timeshare mortgage. Functioning like insurance, such policies would provide a consumer who buys timeshare from the developer with debt forgiveness in the event he (or she) loses his income.

Jason Gamel, vice president of state government affairs for the American Resort Development Association, was quoted by the Orlando Sentinel as saying, “It’s another good product that would allow developers to facilitate sales of time shares, bring tourists to Central Florida and give people comfort about their purchase.” Gamel compared the timeshare mortgage forgiveness policies to a type of travel insurance.

Westgate timeshare is among the Florida timeshare companies lobbying for this legislation. Westgate timeshare already sells similar debt-forgiveness policies as an option with their Nevada timeshares and their California timeshares.

The caveats of the policies have yet to be worked out, but one assumes that they cover loss of income by the head of household due to job loss or death.

The legislation (HB 61) has passed the Florida House and has been sent to the Senate for discussion. With only a couple of weeks left in the 2009 legislative session, approval of the plan may go down to the wire.

I guess you could say, I am on a roll when it comes to challenging myths and misinformation about timeshares. Yesterday’s The Timeshare Authority tackled inaccuracies about the demand for timeshare resales. Sell My Timeshare NOW’s latest press release, distributed last night at midnight, looks at a couple of other important ‘timeshare un-truths.’

Consumers deserve fair and accurate information about timeshare so they can make informed decisions about how they spend their hard-earned money. When incorrect information impacts the decision to buy timeshare, it also impacts jobs either, within the timeshare industry itself, or within the many support services that serve the timeshare industry.

Yet some of the very sources consumers should be able to turn to for reliable facts about buying, selling or renting timeshare, are among those perpetuating myths like the one that says an appraisal is necessary in order to buy or sell timeshare. That’s just wrong.

When you buy timeshare from a developer, no appraisal is done. And no appraisal is necessary when you resell timeshare. The value of your timeshare resale is determined by what the market supports, not through an attempt to assess the value of a fraction of a piece of property during a week or weeks that may be fixed or floating in a calendar year.

Timeshare Owners Deserve the Facts

When I spoke last week at the National Timeshare Owners Association‘s Baltimore educational conference, I talked about things like the appraisal myth and the myth that there is no market for timeshare resales. The timeshare owners I spoke to were all very receptive of the message. They understood what I meant when I told them that the keys to selling timeshare include marketing it to a vast, global audience and pricing it right. As I often tell timeshare owners, “It is hard to sell a one dollar bill for $20. But price it at 75 cents, and you can sell one dollar bills all day long.”

The picture on the left was taken at the NTOA meeting. Left to right, you will see Shep Altshuler, publisher of Timesharing Today magazine, Ed Hastry, who is the President of the National Timeshare Owners Association, and me. I certainly enjoyed the time in Baltimore, myth busting for a group of interested and enthusiastic timeshare owners. The picture on the left was taken at the NTOA meeting. Left to right, you will see Shep Altshuler, publisher of Timesharing Today magazine, Ed Hastry, who is the President of the National Timeshare Owners Association, and me. I certainly enjoyed the time in Baltimore, myth busting for a group of interested and enthusiastic timeshare owners.

And whether you read the straight talk here in The Timeshare Authority, read our press releases, or run into me on the street, ask me to tell you about timeshares. I am going to be out there, spreading the message and sharing the facts, because timeshare is simply too good a product to have misinformation following it around.

Follow this link to read: Timeshare Resales Advertising Executive Takes on Role as Myth Buster

I’ve heard it; you’ve heard it; you may even believe it. I am talking about the misconception that timeshares do not resell on the secondary market. Saying this is like claiming that no one ever buys a car that has been previously owned. It doesn’t make sense and it is simply NOT TRUE.

So as promised in yesterday’s The Timeshare Authority blog, I am going to show you proof that people are actively searching the internet in general, and the Sell My Timeshare NOW website in particular, for timeshare resales and timeshare rentals.

Proof that Consumers are Shopping the Internet for Timeshare Resales and Timeshare Rentals

Lately politicians have been using the word “transparency” to describe their practices and protocols, but, transparency in business is what Sell My Timeshare NOW has pledged to you since the first day we started, some five and a half years ago.

We publish – on our website – the real-time stats for traffic to the site. Timeshare owners who are considering advertising their timeshare resale or timeshare rental on Sell My Timeshare NOW can look at these stats and see for themselves how much traffic the website receives and what words people are typing into their search engines to get them to the site. And knowing what words or phrases people are searching for gives you a lot of insight about whether the visitors are buyers or sellers.

On the bottom right corner of the homepage for www.sellmytimesharenow.com you will see a symbol that looks like this:

When you click the symbol, you will find the Extreme Tracking results for Sell My Timeshare NOW’s website. Examine these results; they tell you everything from the operating system the website viewer has in their computer to the search engine they used to find the site, and so very much more.

Here is a screenshot from our website’s Extreme Tracking results that was taken today, April 23, 2009. This chart shows you the exact phrases or words that unique website visitors were using during a 6-minute window of time to reach the Sell My Timeshare NOW website. You will find names of different timeshare resorts, phrases like “timeshares for sale” and “time share resales” as well search terms about renting timeshare. You will see many different combinations, but an overwhelming number of the words verify a unique website visitor who had enough interest in buying or renting timeshare to be searching the internet for information and opportunities. Is there a market for timeshare resales and timeshare rentals? Clearly! And Sell My Timeshare has seen more than 54,000 offers to buy or rent timeshare in the first quarter of 2009 alone.

So the next time someone tells you how bad the timeshare resale market is, don’t believe it. Send them instead to Sell My Timeshare NOW’s website and let the numbers do the talking.

What a great experience I had on Sunday with members of the National Timeshare Owners Association. Approximately 130 members of NTOA took advantage of the opportunity to meet in Baltimore, Maryland for an educational conference on timeshare ownership.

I had an opportunity to speak at the timeshare conference, along with Shep Altshuler, who publishes Timesharing Today, the Independent Voice of Vacation Ownership and Paula diPaola and Woody Cary, both from Platinum Interchange timeshare exchange.

The best part of the meeting was probably the question and answer time, because that’s when timeshare owners had the chance to ask the speakers for explanations and updates. The Q & A time dealt with many different aspects of timesharing that really matter to them as owners, often as owners of multiple timeshare weeks and at multiple resorts.

Timeshare Owners and the Right to Know

One of the challenges of vacation ownership is that sometimes when people buy timeshare they find that after the sale there is no one around to answer their questions or address their concerns. And while the ins and outs of timeshare exchange, timeshare resales, timeshare rentals, and other points about ownership aren’t rocket science, they aren’t self-evident either! Many timeshare owners today miss the full range of perks and benefits that go with vacation ownership simply because they don’t really understand them and unless they are members of a timeshare owners organization such NTOA, they have no one to ask.

An important point brought out in the discussions on Sunday is that, as a timeshare owner, you should know who your board members are. Who sits on your Homeowners Association Board? How can you get in touch with them? If you don’t know the answer to these questions, then push until you find out. You have a right to know who is making decisions concerning property in which you have an ownership. And on that same vein, you have a right to know the names and contact information of the other people who share ownership of a timeshare unit with you.

Good Things are Happening for Timeshare Owners

Thanks to NTOA and other owner-based timeshare organizations, the experience of owning timeshare continues to get better and better. As NTOA founder and president Ed Hastry is fond of saying, “Educated timeshare owners are happy timeshare owners.”

I really support that attitude. Critics of timeshare are often people who simply don’t know all the facts. And this type of misunderstanding and misinformation can be found everywhere from forums and bulletin boards to governmental agencies – a matter we are going to look at more closely in upcoming blog posts.

In tomorrow’s The Timeshare Authority blog, I am going to share with you, some of the same information I gave the National Timeshare Owners Association. I want to first debunk the myth that timeshares don’t resell. I have the statistical data to prove that not only can you resell timeshare, but that advertising your timeshare online is one of the very best ways to do it.

Like the popular TV show on the Discovery Channel, I’m going take on some of the worst and most damaging pieces of misinformation, and I am going to be a “myth buster.”

Enjoy this humorous clip from MythBusters.

In an aggressive and proactive move, Marriott Global Sales in the Middle East and Africa has announced the launch of the Marriott Sales Revolution Initiative, designed to counterbalance the impact of a downturn global economy.

According to Samir Daqqaq, President of Global Sales Middle East and Africa for Marriott International, the purpose of the initiative is to build new business in that region. The plan is, Marriott explains, one that demonstrates the company’s commitment to overcoming economic challenges.

Each Tuesday during the global initiative, Marriott will mount a sales blitz to focus on driving business to their properties in the Middle East, Africa, and to the Marriott Global Sales network. Included in the targeted blitz are the Marriott hotel and Marriott timeshare properties in the United Arab Emirates, which we have written about here on The Timeshare Authority many times as an important target for timeshare sales and vacation ownership sales.

The Khaleej Times quotes Daqqaq as saying, “The Marriott Sales Revolution Initiative is aimed at reinforcing our presence in the region. We wish to strengthen our relationships with our customers and maximize our sales efforts at all Marriott International branded hotels across the globe.”

The Marriott sales blitz even includes special uniforms for employees to wear during this time. In other words, Marriott hotels and Marriott timeshares are not sitting on the sidelines worrying about what today’s economy will do to their business. Instead they have equipped an army—new uniforms and all–and launched a blitz.

Kudos to a company that is taking action and not sitting by waiting on someone else to guarantee their future.