Even though The Timeshare Authority is a blog, where opining is permissible, we’ve tried to maintain a journalistic approach to the matter of Marriott Vacation Club’s new timeshare points plan. After all, it is an optional timeshare points program, in which timeshare owners can choose whether they participate or not.

But because there continues to be so many voiced concerns and opinions about the program, we’re going to pass along some of those comments, specifically as they appeared on Bill Marriott’s personal blog Marriott on the Move and on the SellMyTimeshareNOW forum.

Bill Marriott Writes about Marriott Timeshare Points

If you visit Marriott on the Move, published on June 25, 2010 (Providing Our Timeshare Owners with More Flexibility), you can read what Bill Marriott, Chairman and CEO of Marriott International says, including this description of the program:

On that timeshare blog post, you will find many comments about the program, some expressing concern that Marriott timeshare owners who participate in the points program are not receiving a sufficient number of points to allow them to plan vacations at most of the included properties. In some cases, these timeshare owners are saying the ownership they purchased that should have covered a 7-day timeshare vacation, now only converts to enough points to permit them to say 5 or 6 days.

Other complaints include the difference in the points values for some resorts as compared to others, as well as the fact that the program is currently limited to North American timeshare properties.

Timeshare Owners Speak Out

On the SellMyTimeshareNOW Timeshare forum, you will find comments about the Marriott timeshare points system under the subheading: Timeshare Exchange and Points Systems. One Marriott timeshare owner wrote, “One thing that left me a little bit annoyed was the points to get into one of my home resorts in the same season was slightly more than the number of points they give you. For example, my Barony Beach week was worth 3250 points but (if) I wanted to use it for the same season in the same property it was something like 3400 points.”

Another Marriott owner looked at the new system in terms of dollars and cents, writing, “So as I see it, we only get 85.74% of our current value under the new point system (6 nights in lieu of 7) OR We pay a premium of 26% ((1,000 points at $9.20 = $9,200 / our current investment of $35,000.”)

Finding Answers that Work for Timeshare Owners and Developers

While everyone understands it is impossible to create one system (on any topic, but certainly on that of timeshare points) that works for everyone, it is important that a timeshare points program be effective for the majority of timeshare owners who participate in it. Today’s business world is consumer driven; everyone who succeeds in any field or niche of industry must respect that.

Right now is an exciting time to be part of the timeshare industry because developers, timeshare brokers, and timeshare resales companies are writing new pages in the story of timeshare ownership, setting higher standards for customer service and then striving to exceed them whenever possible. In the history of timeshares, it has never been more important than it is right now, for the stories of timeshare ownership include lots of ‘happy endings’.

Other recent posts on The Timeshare Authority blog addressing Marriott Timeshare Points:

• Questions Persist about the New Marriott Timeshare Points Program
• More Details on New Marriott Vacation Club Destinations Timeshare Points
• Timeshare Points at Marriott Vacation Club are Changing – Timeshare Owners Still Have Questions

The next timeshare owners educational conference for the National Timeshare Owners Association will be held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and will feature national speakers and the opportunity for timeshare owners to ask questions and get real answers. Scheduled for September 19 at the Clarion Hotel in Milwaukee, registration to attend the event deadlines on August 19.

David Turriff, Midwestern coordinator for the National Timeshare Owners Association, says, “Many Wisconsin citizens own timeshares and it is very difficult to obtain unbiased information about what they should do with their ownership.” The meeting is designed to offer what NTOA describes as “up to the minute information and insights” from the perspective of timeshare owners, not timeshare developers.

In order to attend the Milwaukee meeting, you must be a member of the National Timeshare Association, a consumer protection organization that defines its mission as:

1. To be a powerful recognized influence in the timeshare industry;
2. To provide a forum for face-to-face exchanges of experiences and ideas among timeshare owners;
3. To keep members informed about events and developments in the timeshare industry;
4. To provide a means for informal exchanges, rental, and sale of units.

To find out more about the National Timeshare Owners Association, contact Ed Hastry (410) 536-0064 or by email at Hastry@aol.com

Headlines float around the internet with enticing messages about your personal debt bailout or your credit card relief plan. They imply that the federal government has in some way offered consumers the same type of debt relief that has been made available to big business and the banking industry—but this is simply misleading messaging. You will even find timeshare related articles that suggest that somehow these erroneously named ‘bailouts’ address timeshare mortgages. This is smoke and mirrors talk; no transparency to it.

Here’s what is accurate. Timeshare owners who are struggling to make their timeshare mortgage payment can find some timeshare relief from new governmental programs…indirectly. If you are able to renegotiate your homeowners mortgage (for your residential home, not your timeshare) to a lower interest rate, then you will have more cash flow in your monthly budget to make paying other expenses, including those related to your timeshare, a little easier.

And although credit card companies have always been approachable about payment plans and sometimes about reducing the overall amount of debt if you are in over your head, there is more pressure on them than ever before to work with consumers. If you successfully negotiate a consolidated monthly payment for your credit cards, or even just a lower payment on the ones that give you problems, then again, you may indirectly have more money to use to pay other expenses, including your timeshare mortgage or timeshare annual fees and/or taxes. Additionally, as part of the credit card reform act, your credit card bill should now be easier to read and communicate to you more clearly how much you are actually paying in interest—information that should make it easier for more people to control debt in the future.

Option: Use Your Timeshare as a Vacation Rental

Another alternative for offsetting the cost of your timeshare is to use your timeshare as a rental. Timeshare rental is a vacation accommodations option that is growing in popularity. And as more timeshare companies make renting timeshare easier to do, vacationers are realizing that timeshare rental affords them more space, typically for less money than renting a hotel or motel room.

Timeshare rental can be a win-win because it lets the timeshare owner retain ownership of the timeshare for use in the future while creating some income from it to offset the cost of ownership. If you think timeshare rental is an alternative that can help you, you can learn more here: Rent your timeshare

It seems appropriate to pause this week on The Timeshare Authority blog to talk about the game of golf. With the British Senior Open wrapped up and the US Senior Open set to tee off, you have to look at such events and reflect on the fact that anyone — amateur or pro — past champion or tournament rookie – has the opportunity to polish his skill, go out on one of sport’s biggest stages and write his name in the history books. And while the same is true for all events in professional golf that permit open qualifying, there’s something to be said about the idea that a man, 50 years old or older, who may have never competed in a pro tournament before, has the opportunity to become the US Senior Open Champion.

Golf is one of the few sports you can take up as a child and play throughout your lifetime. Because of the handicapping system, your teenage son can play a round of golf with Grandma, on a level playing field. Families can share the game; they can play together, play on their home course, and play while on vacation. Professional golf superstar, Luke Donald, credits his early interest in the game to playing at his family’s timeshare.

Even physical challenges don’t have to stand in your way of enjoying the game of golf. If you haven’t read Dave Kindred’s Golf Digest article this month on the triumph injured war veterans are claiming on the golf course, (“The Healing Game”) I encourage you to do so. In it, golf professional Jim Estes explains, “Fear inhibits the ordinary person’s ability to perform. But these guys — they have no fear. When your leg is blown off, who cares if you don’t hit that little white ball perfectly?”

Yet as U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Ramon Padilla, injured in Afghanistan, says after taking up the game, “I had a sense of accomplishment. I thought, I may be missing an arm, but I’m still whole, I’m still one person.”

This week, as the favorites at the US Senior Open tee up at the beautiful Sahalee Country Club (just outside of Seattle, WA.), I will likely be pulling for some amateur playing who qualified on a wing and prayer. There is something uniquely inspirational about the idea that an ordinary guy can do extraordinary things, through a combination of determination, hard work, and perhaps a little luck.

• You can learn more about golf timeshares at: Take a Timeshare Golf Vacation in an Orlando Timeshare and Myrtle Beach Timeshare Resales
• And find out how all of us can do more to help wounded veterans at: woundedwarriorproject.org

Enjoy this excellent video of Luke Donald’s swing:

As if South Africa timeshare wasn’t already a growth market, the global attention on South Africa during the World Cup served to fuel an ever-increasing desire of many people to travel and vacation there. This year, VOASA, the Vacation Ownership Association South Africa, will be hosting its annual industry conference at the Southern Sun Elangeni Hotel in Durban.

Planned as a time for focusing on the future of the growing South Africa timeshare market, attendees can also expect plenty of opportunities for exchanging ideas, interacting with others in the timeshare industry, and helping to chart the future in this potentially hot market. David Clifton, Managing Director of Interval International will be the event’s keynote speaker.

Topics for discussion include:

• The Consumer Protection Act, presented by Brian Mdluli, CEO Direct Marketing Association of South Africa.
• Understanding the New Estate Agents Curriculum, presented by Margaret Nicol, CEO Margaret Nicol and Associates.
• Timeshare Sales, Tele-Sales, and Telemarketing Workshop, presented throughout the conference sessions by Mr. Clive Price of the Peer Group.

The VOASA Conference 2010 (August 29-31) will also include entertainment, a gala awards evening, and of course, great golf. The opportunity to take part in the sponsored Golf Day to be held at the Durban Country Club Beachwood course on August 29 is a reason within itself to attend this timeshare conference. Beechwood, a narrow, links style golf course, is now considered part of the famed Durban Country Club, one of the greatest golf courses in the world.

If you have never been to South Africa, August is an ideal time to go, as the South African ‘winter months’ come to a close, and spring is just around the corner. And when playing the Beechwood Golf Course, don’t be surprised if you run across monkeys in the bushes. Just consider them your gallery, however, and don’t invite them to lunch; golfers are discouraged from feeding the monkeys.

You can learn more about the VOASA Conference 2010 at: www.tisa.co.za

Women in the Industry (WIN) is a non-profit organization created to promote, educate and connect women in the vacation and timeshare industry. In May, WIN launched its second annual Travel Auction that offers WIN members and their friends and families the opportunity to bid on donated vacation weeks beginning at $200 and including timeshare vacation opportunities at resorts worldwide.

The auction raised $9,348 in support of The Auskell Medical Clinic, located on Abaco Island in the Bahamas. Donors included Bluegreen, Island One, Festiva Resorts, Hawaii Vacation Club, ResorTime.Com, Interval International, RCI Endless Vacations, Dial an Exchange, San Francisco Exchange, Vacations Only, Lagonita Lodge/Alderwood Advantage, Marriott Vacation Club, Massanutten Resort, Shell Vacation Club, American Resorts International, Pollard Brook and Ron Jon Cape Caribe, Condominium Travel Club.

A Lifesaving Effort

This year’s target was to raise money to help fund the purchase of a mammography machine for The Auskell Medical Clinic. Because of the efforts of the women of WIN, five women have been saved through early detection provided by a previous mammogram machine that WIN replaced.

With a threefold purpose to unite and ignite combined strengths; to offer education scholarship and research opportunities; and to partner with charities that support the health, education and welfare of women and adolescent girls in need, the women of WIN represent the timeshare industry well.

To learn more about WIN, go to www.womenintheindustry.org

Earlier this month, Sell My Timeshare NOW announced that it has become Authorized Reseller for The Crane, a resort built on a Barbados beach that Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous calls “One of the ten best beaches in the world.”

If you own property at The Crane Resort, and you are interested in reselling your timeshare, then the involvement of Sell My Timeshare NOW, and Timeshare Broker Services (the company’s timeshare brokerage arm) is great news because it affords you the best visibility possible for exposing your vacation ownership resale to potential buyers (or renters). Even if you never want to resell your timeshare, knowing that other timeshare units will be owned by people who are actively using and enjoying their timeshare is good news too, reflecting a vibrant ownership base.

The Crane is a true “old luxury” resort, with new luxury facilities. On property, you can enjoy the pool, tennis courts, health club, and restaurant. Very nearby you’ll find scuba diving, windsurfing, fishing, boating, horseback riding, dining, shopping and golf. And overall, and unforgettable place to rest, relax and restore. The Crane Resort means rare and unique elegance in a setting that is both breathtaking and affordable, thanks to timesharing opportunities in vacation ownership.

Click here to read more: Sell My Timeshare NOW Named as Authorized Reseller for Luxury Barbados Resort

Changes to the Marriott timeshare points program were the subject of much speculation long before the new program came into effect late last month. Marriott timeshare owners and prospective owners, however, continue to have questions about how the program actually works.

While there is no indication that guidelines for the program will be revised again in the future, let’s assume that no timeshare program is written in stone and there is a possibility that Marriott could make changes to it. But unless Marriott does implement such changes, future timeshare resale owners cannot participate in the new timeshare points program.

Are You Already a Marriott Timeshare Resale Owner?

If you owned your Marriott timeshare resale before June 21, 2010, then you have the option to join the new points program. Anyone who buys Marriott timeshare resale after that date cannot enroll, and the restriction appears to apply even to anyone who closes on a Marriott timeshare resale after June 21, 2010, even if the transaction commenced before the deadline. You can still buy and sell Marriott timeshare resales, getting great deals and ideal vacation opportunities, but at the time of resale, any Marriott timeshares that are part of the new points system and are closed after the cutoff date, simply revert to deeded timeshare.

Follow this link to learn more about Marriott Vacation Club points through the Marriott Vacation Club Destinations program and remember that while not all Marriott timeshare owners are happy with the new program, it is not mandatory to enroll in it, neither is it the only Marriott points program option.

More from The Timeshare Authority Blog:

• Timeshare Points at Marriott Vacation Club are Changing – Timeshare Owners Still Have Questions
• More Details on New Marriott Vacation Club Destinations Timeshare Points

It’s July, and you know what that means, soaring temperatures in many parts of the country. And while beachside timeshares are definitely among the most popular, you don’t always have to visit an ocean to turn your timeshare vacation into something “really cool”. Consider vacationing at a timeshare that includes an on-property water park, where you and your family can relax, splash, slide, and swim without ever leaving the resort.

A few of the timeshares that now offer on-property or adjacent water parks include:

• Massanutten Resort in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, featuring The Pipeline for surfing; the Frog Pond for tiny swimmers; The Blue Ridge Rapids; Massanutten Meltdown (complete with water cannons); Avalanche Falls; Tube Slides; a hot springs, and more.
• Orange Lake Resort in Orlando, Florida, with the 12-acre River Island water park, designed to appeal to all ages. The massive water park is lush with tropical scenery and offers a 1,200-foot lazy river-style pool and a 168-foot-long waterslide, as only a few of the ways you can beat the heat during your Florida timeshare vacation.
• Split Rock Resort & Golf Club in the Poconos of Pennsylvania, which includes a $23 million, 54,000 indoor water park along with a bowling alley and a theater.
• Wisconsin Dells timeshare, where you can enjoy over twenty indoor and outdoor water parks. Known as the Water Park Capital of the World, the Wisconsin Dells offers more than seventy acres of cool, clean, vacation fun.

And no timeshare resort with water park list would be complete without mentioning Disney’s newest venture currently under construction in Ko Olina, Hawaii, The Aulani Resort, which promises a salt water lagoon for snorkeling, water slides, and a lazy river.

It may be a long hot summer. Why melt down when you can splash down?

Did you tune in this week to hear Dave Thackeray of Today’s Timeshare interviewing Harry Taylor, CEO of TATOC, The Timeshare Association? It was a timely discussion as the United Kingdom Department for Business (BIS) has just announced its upcoming consultation on “how the EU Timeshare Directive will be transpositioned into UK law.”

Harry Taylor talks about ways the timeshare industry can work together creating positive change, and why doing this is so important. As he points out, most people who own timeshare, like timeshare. What they don’t like is not knowing how to sell timeshare they no longer want to own; they want to be a timeshare owner, enjoying the benefits of timeshare, without being responsible for that timeshare product “in perpetuity”.

With a call for the timeshare industry to re-think its products and services, Harry offers great insight and enthusiasm. He also talks about how TATOC is already involved with the UK Department for Business and more ways it will be getting involved in the near future, regarding the EU Timeshare Directive.

If you are interested in the future of timeshares and vacation ownership, you will definitely want to listen to this broadcast. Follow this link to play the podcast now: Play in new window