Over the past year and a half, the Bluegreen Corporation and Bluegreen timeshares has dealt with the same challenges brought on by the tight economy and the even tighter credit market that many other timeshare companies and timeshare developers have faced. But in the tradition of what good businesspeople do when times get tough, Bluegreen has tightened its belt and at the same time looked for new sources of revenue through fee-based services.

Bluegreen, known as a provider of Colorful Places to Live and Play®, has added the fee-based management of two hotels to its services. The first is the South Mountain Resort, located in Lincoln, New Hampshire, where in 2009, Bluegreen began providing services to the timeshare portion of the resort. The second property is The Sandhurst Hotel in Ft. Pierce, Florida.

In 2009, Bluegreen launched its fee-based services with the management of timeshare resorts in Arizona, the Bahamas, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Virginia. How’s this approach working out for Bluegreen? During 2009, the company generated fee-based services revenues of $20.1 million compared to zero revenues in 2008 for fee-based services. Bluegreen’s President and CEO, John Maloney, explains, “We have continued to focus on ways to expand our business by leveraging our service and management expertise, while conserving capital.”

Earlier this week, shares of Bluegreen stock closed at a 52-week high.

Follow these links from past posts on The Timeshare Authority to read more about news from Bluegreen Timeshare:

• InnSeason Resorts South Mountain Timeshare and Bluegreen Timeshare Resorts
• Bluegreen Timeshare Company Expanding Its Facilities and Services
• Positive News about Bluegreen Timeshares

The next educational conference for members of the National Timeshare Owners Association (NTOA) will be held on Sunday, May 2, from 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

Timeshare owners who attend NTOA educational conferences compare them to a “user’s guide” for enjoyable timeshare ownership. As the NTOA points out, “Why buy timeshare and not get the most out of it? And when you are ready to sell timeshare or rent timeshare, why not learn all that you can about your options in order to make the process as easy and as cost effective as possible?”

Believing that informed timeshare owners are happy timeshare owners, the National Timeshare Owners Association serves its members as a consumer group dedicated to improving the experience of timeshare ownership.

The Value of Membership in the National Timeshare Owners Association

In order to attend an NTOA educational conference, you must be a member of the NTOA, however, the association’s membership is open to anyone who owns timeshare or is interested in buying, renting, or selling timeshare. And NTOA membership comes loaded with benefits and opportunities in addition to their informative regional educational events.

Members of NTOA qualify for discounted costs and liability protection for timeshare rental. They also have access to legal assistance in dealing with a timeshare as a charitable donation, leaving it in a legal will, disposition of a timeshare in cases of divorce, and many other circumstances. But these benefits are only just the beginning.

Find out more about the NTOA or to sign up to attend the New Jersey timeshare event (or future educational events for timeshare owners) by contacting the National Timeshare Owners Association, at (410) 719-0064 or by emailing hastry@aol.com.

When Celebrity Resorts timeshares filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this year, it left many timeshare owners wondering what the future holds for them. (See earlier The Timeshare Authority blog post: David Walley’s Hot Springs Resort and Spa Timeshare Updates to Timeshare Owners).

On a website established by the Board of Directors for the David Walley’s Resort Property Owners’ Association, the BOD states that it believes that the resort is both worth saving because it is unique and that it realistically can be save. The Board explains: “Quintus and the lender on the resort still have a vested interest in turning things around, so they are assisting the Board and advancing funds as approved by the Board.”

Additionally, the Board reports that new managers are considering lending money to the POA to get it through 2010; that many timeshare owners are prepaying special assessments; and other timeshare owners who have been holding back on payments are now making them—all of which contributes to cash flow during this challenge.

Timeshare Property Owners Settlement Agreement Summary

Here’s a partial summary of the terms of the recent Settlement Agreement:

1. Celebrity will no longer be managing the POA (Timeshare Property Owners Association).
2. Celebrity will sell the restaurant, spa building, parking lots, deli, grounds, and pool areas (“Real Estate”) to Quintus for $2.325 million. As part of purchase, Quintus will assume $1.825 million in debt that is in default.
3. Quintus will grant the POA a 25-month option to purchase the Real Estate at Quintus’ cost with no markup of the price.
4. Quintus cancels $265k note due from Celebrity and drops lawsuit.
5. POA drops lawsuit against Celebrity for “disputed funds”.
6. Celebrity drops any counter claims against POA and/or Quintus.
7. Celebrity continues to operate the reservation line for timeshare owners and reopens the reservation line for nightly rentals. In exchange, Celebrity gets to rent “unused, unreserved” weeks and Quintus-owned weeks for its own account. Celebrity will pay housekeeping charges for its rentals at a set rate and 50 percent of front desk costs. Unused, unreserved weeks can only be booked 45-days in advance.
8. Celebrity will release the POA cash accounts to the POA, and assign the dues servicing (billing) agreement to the POA.
9. Celebrity will provide all books and records to POA.
10. Quintus to manage POA until new manager can be found for a fixed monthly fee approximately 1/3 of what Celebrity was charging to the POA. The monthly fee will be all-inclusive with no other cost allocations. The Board can terminate Quintus and bring in a new manager on 3-days notice.
11. POA will fund costs to operate spa for rest of 2010 (Quintus will be responsible for debt in default). Unless the POA exercises its purchase option, beginning 1/1/2011 Quintus will fund all spa expense and pay debt service, and the POA will pay Quintus the annual “club dues.”
12. The “Facilities Use Agreement will be amend to provide for quarterly payments of “club dues” and to clarify the calculation of the fee, which should reduce the fee payable for 2011 by over $130,000 or 17 percent. If the POA buys the Real Estate, this agreement shall terminate.
13. Quintus will begin work immediately to reopen the restaurant. The POA will give Quintus the right to lease the restaurant for a share of the profits, if it buys the Real Estate.

You can learn more at the timeshare property owner’s association website. And for additional information on how to buy, rent or sell timeshare at David Walleys Hot Springs Resort and Spa timeshare, visit Sell My Timeshare NOW.

While your kids are getting excited about their Wyndham hotel or Wyndham timeshare vacation, Wyndham Worldwide want them also to be learning about the environment. With the launch of WyndhamGreen Kids, the hospitality company is hoping to educate children about water conservation, recycling/reusing, energy conservation, community involvement, environmental education, and innovation.

The website includes worksheets and hands-on activities developed by environmental organizations to raise children’s awareness about conservation and the environment Faith Taylor, Wyndham Worldwide vice president, sustainability and innovation, says, “We are proud to be one of the first hospitality companies to launch a dedicated sustainability program for children.” She adds, “As a global company, we are committed to conserving resources, preserving natural habitats, and preventing pollution in order to meet the needs of our customers and the lives of future generations.”

Wyndham Timeshare is Environmentally Responsible

Among the many other environmentally responsible initiatives taken by Wyndham Vacation Ownership, Wyndham timeshares now provide low phosphate and no-phosphate dish and laundry detergent in its resorts and timeshares. This effort alone has reduced pollutants by 90,000 pounds since 2008 when the program began.

Similarly, Wyndham timeshare exchange conserved 1.3 million kilowatts at its Parsippany, NY headquarters and its Indianapolis timeshare call center by replacing bulbs and lighting fixtures and installing motion sensors to control lighting, heating, air conditioning, and ventilation. Also, all of the Wyndham timeshare exchange’s timeshare resort directories, as well as the company’s timeshare magazine, are now printed on Forest Stewardship Council paper.

Good job Wyndham timeshare and Wyndham resorts! We all appreciate the leadership of companies that demonstrate environmental responsibility and a commitment to the future of this planet we all share.

Visit WyndhamGreen.com to learn more.

Following up on Saturday’s The Timeshare Authority blog, (Save on Theme Park Tickets during Your Timeshare Vacation), which was loaded with tips on how to save on theme park tickets, here’s a warning, that comes from Orlando, Florida, home of many of the most popular theme parks.

Police are cracking down on fraudsters who are selling recycled theme park tickets, many using a pitch that here are discount admission tickets that you don’t have to sit through a timeshare sales pitch to receive.

But the sale of these tickets is illegal. Fox News Orlando reports, “Orange County (Sheriff’s Department) suspects at least 20 ticket booths in the area are active in a big crime ring, led by one very wealthy man. Detectives won’t tell us who he is yet. But they’ve got him in their sites.”

The fraud begins when the criminals purchase the unused days that are part of a multi-day park ticket held by unsuspecting vacationers. The person selling the ticket may receive $20-$50 for the unused tickets. The criminals then use chemicals to remove the ticketholder’s name and voilà—they have what appears to be a new and unused ticket.

Theme parks have found they are losing so much money because of this scam that they are no longer sympathetically helping the victims of the crime. Instead, when the recycled tickets fail to get the visitor into the park, (and they will fail) the duped consumer is left with no recourse and no ticket.

Remember, if you receive a discounted ticket in return for attending an authentic timeshare sales pitch, you will receive a ticket voucher, not a recycle ticket masquerading as the real thing.

This video provides you more information about this scam, a real vacation bummer.

Theme parks are part of many family’s timeshare vacation plans, but let’s face it, they get pricier and pricier every year. Here are some excellent tips for cutting the cost of theme park tickets that we learned from our friends at Theme Park Insider blog, one of the excellent resources you will find on the Timeshare Authority blog roll.

If you are lucky, you have friends or family members who work at one of the parks and can score you free or discounted tickets, or you might earn free tickets yourself by sitting through a timeshare sales presentation. But unless you manage to have courtesy tickets, you’ll probably be searching for the best deals available on park admission.

Theme Park Insider recommends that you buy your theme park tickets in advance and online, suggesting you look for both special offers as well as last minute deals. Members of AAA may be in line for discounts on theme parks, and some employers offer theme park discounts as an employee benefit.

If you are either active or retired military, you and your family may be eligible for some excellent discounts and sometimes, free admission. Visit the website for Shades of Green or check with your local ITT Tickets and Tours office to learn more about military discounts on theme parks and attractions.

Check out these resources for theme park tickets, listed on the left, and timeshare rental opportunities, listed on the right.

For more information on discount ticket opportunities, visit the Theme Park Insider Blog. And to learn more about the opportunities in renting timeshare visit Sell My Timeshare NOW.

This week, the Cooperative Association of Resort Exchangers celebrates 25 years as an association, plus 50 C.A.R.E. conferences held in New Orleans. With silver to represent the 25-year anniversary and gold to represent the 50-year anniversary, C.A.R.E. is calling this timeshare industry event, “The C.A.R.E. Silver and Gold Conference.”

Taking the event to New Orleans, the site of C.A.R.E.’s first conference 50 years ago, this four-day convention has been developed to provide C.A.R.E. member/representatives the tools and information needed to stay on top of the timeshare and vacation ownership industries.

The Hilton New Orleans St. Charles, located in the downtown New Orleans Central Business district, and only three blocks from Canal Street, is the host hotel for the event that begins Saturday, April 24, 2010 and runs through Tuesday, April 27, 2010.

This year’s keynote speaker is Chris Widener. He will be speaking on: “Winning with Influence: The Real Way to Influence Others.”

Established in 1985, C.A.R.E. is a non-profit trade association. With members in the U.S.A., Mexico, Canada, Australia, and Europe, this association offers over 2,500 vacation properties and its member companies service more than a million travelers annually. Sell My Timeshare NOW is a proud member of C.A.R.E.

Want to know which way the timeshare industry is going? Strategies and visions for the future? Interesting info about timeshare trends?

You don’t have to be an industrial spy to obtain this information; it’s available for you on ARDA’s website (American Resort Developers Association). Following this year’s ARDA Convention and Exhibition in Las Vegas, where the timeshare industry comes together to plan, share, and network, ARDA has posted handouts from many of its educational sessions.

The Timeshare Authority blog will be bringing you some of the highlights from ARDA’s educational handouts, but this wealth of data that is available for anyone to download, if you want to check it out for yourself.

For example, here’s a profile on European timeshares and European timeshare owners that is available in the reports.

European Timeshare, (all data based on 2007 findings)

Source: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY of “The European Timeshare Industry 2008″; Market Characteristics & Economic Impacts. Authors: The Christel DeHaan Tourism and Travel Research Institute, University of Nottingham, UK

1. 1.5 million European households own timeshare, with the UK and Ireland having the largest base of timeshare owners.
2. Most timeshare resorts are in Spain, with 26.3 percent of all resorts, 14.94 percent in Italy, and 11.05 percent in the UK and Ireland. The total number of European timeshares is 1,312.
3. European timeshare generates € 3.2 billion of expenditure.
4. European timeshare owners spent € 1.6 billion during their timeshare vacations.
5. European timeshare owners spent € 957 million to buy timeshare.
6. The average expenditure in 2007 per timeshare vacation was € 1,588.
7. 69,836 jobs are directly sustained by the European timeshare industry.
8. 86.6 percent of the European timeshare owners reported satisfaction with their timeshare holiday, while 55.6 percent say they were very satisfied!

Developers Mozdzer, Nemec and Reynolds and their partners Frank Sirchia and Jakub Pilecki are in the process of obtaining zoning modification permits for Freedom Harbor, a new residential and resort timeshare complex, that they describe as a “Gateway” to Florida’s Hillsborough County.

Rich Mozdzer says, “We want it to be the first major destination and the first major sight that people driving up from Sarasota or Manatee County (Florida) see when they come up I-75.”

Plans call for breaking ground on the $150 million project in mid- to late 2011, with a 2012 grand opening. Freedom Harbor will include 200 residential townhome units, a resort community with 200 timeshare units, an assisted independent living facility for up to 350 residents, and a medical center.

Other planned features include two restaurants, an arena for concerts and shows, a year-round snow village, health club, with squash, racquetball, basketball and tennis, and an Olympic size pool. At the resort center will be 90 hotel rooms and rooms for special events.

A 70-acre lake will provide a space for water sports, with nearby nature trails and outdoor areas for relaxation.

Mozdzer adds, “This site has a lot of character, and we’re very excited about maintaining that.”

The development of this new resort and timeshare is expected to bring some 1000 jobs to the area.

Follow this link to learn more about existing opportunities in Tampa-area timeshares:

• St. Pete’s beach timeshare resales
• St. Petersburg timeshare resales

Video from the ARDA (American Resort Development Association) Convention and Exhibition in Las Vegas, March 14-18, 2010.

I want to share with you an interview in which I gave some of my thoughts on the importance of regulating timeshare resales and the secondary market for timeshare sales.

I see such legislation as necessary and beneficial. The secondary timeshare market is growing; it’s undergoing change and now is the right time to put guidelines in place that will protect timeshare sellers and timeshare buyers, and will serve to strengthen and improve the entire industry.

Thank you to my interviewer, David Kerr, former COO of Trades Publishing, Inc.

Here are some of my thoughts on the subject: