Did you see the news about Jennie Thompson, who is a board member of the timeshare owner-run association TATOC and the Managing Director of the Malaga-based Leisure Solutions SL? (Timeshare Association (TATOC) Board Member Jennie Thompson Spreads the Real Timeshare Message)

Appointed as the Vice President of the British Chamber of Commerce’s Regional Committee of Andalucía, Jennie plans to use her new position to create positive exposure for the timeshare industry. She explains that she is hoping to “…raise the profile of the timeshare industry within the BCC, which is a network of global and international commercial chambers with links to a variety of other major bodies.”

Last month, at the BCCS’s London Summer Season Garden Party held at the Hotel Tamisa, Jennie addressed her plans for the BCCS in the Andalucía area, saying, “I’d like to see membership double within the next twelve months; and have a stronger input in places like Malaga and Seville.” She adds, “We have lots of blue chip companies with us, but here in Andalucía, where there are perhaps more sole traders and small companies, the value of networking and expert business support is somewhat greater.”

Founded in Barcelona in 1908, the BCCS works both with Spanish companies seeking to liaise with companies in the UK, and to provide networking and information services for English companies currently doing business, or seeking to do business in Spain.

In all the interactions Jennie will undertake as the new VP, you can expect the future of the timeshare industry to be part of her vision. European timeshare and Spain timeshare have a true ally at the BCCS.

One of The Timeshare Authority blogroll’s favorite blogs is a part-English, part-French blog, written by Jaime Horwitz. The blog, known as, “Canadian Tourism,” fills an interesting niche, providing excellent insight on traveling, vacationing, and tourism in Canada.

A Canada vacation—or better still a Canada timeshare vacation—affords you the opportunity to enjoy the majesty of the Canadian Rockies or the historic charm of Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. In addition to timeless tourist favorites such as Niagara Falls, the Stratford Festival of Ontario, and the Calgary Stampede Rodeo, Canada is home to outstanding golf courses, festivals, and trendy metropolitan areas known for their museums, restaurants, shopping, and entertainment.

Rebuilding Economy and Growing Interest in Canada Timeshares

Over the years, Canadian and US vacationers have often crossed borders and the two economies are closely tied together. However, Canadians are taking pride that their banks are perhaps “better managed” than those of other countries. They are seeing their country as making a faster recovery in the current economic crisis than the recovery of many other nations, including the US. If this is so, then it is good news for Americans looking to resell timeshare, as it may open the gates to greater numbers of Canadians buying timeshare resales than in the past.

The most desirable outcome is that both the US and the Canadian economy rebound and then remain strong. But if either lags behind the other, look to cross-border tourism as one of the avenues that will help the other catch up faster.

A Canada timeshare resale or Canada timeshare rental provides an easy and enjoyable way to experience the beauty, cultural heritage, winter sports, and vast, natural terrain that is Canada. And when the balance is shifted, the Canadian vacationer and timeshare buyer is a welcomed boost to the US economy and timeshare sales, resales, and rentals.

In July 4 post for The Timeshare Authority, we talked about Disney’s new Hawaii timeshare resort, Aulani, a mixed-use property that offers both hotel and timeshare accommodations.

Disney is already selling timeshares at the Aulani, and as of last week, already taking reservations. But it is interesting to look at what Disney’s venture into Hawaii timeshare really means to the Disney brand and the Hawaii tourist market.

Typically, Disney builds resort properties at or near its parks. But as Michael Corty, a Morningstar Inc. stock analyst who specializes in the Walt Disney Co., told the Orlando Sentinel, “It’ll be a test to see if their brand can extend … outside of their traditional business.”

All of the current Disney Vacation Club timeshare properties are located at a major Disney theme park except Disney’s Hilton Head Island Resort located in South Carolina and Disney’s Vero Beach Resort, which is roughly an hour’s drive from the Disney Orlando parks. Both of these resorts benefit from their beachside locations, with the Vero Beach Resort timeshare also being portside where the Disney cruise lines docks. Yet neither of these popular timeshare resorts are as grand scale (or as costly) as is Disney’s undertaking in Hawaii, the Aulani.

The Aulani Resort will include water slides, a salt water lagoon for snorkeling, a lazy river, two restaurants and a spa. In building this Disney timeshare and resort, the company is looking for a strong market of guests and timeshare owners from Japan. It will also need enthusiasm from timeshare buyers (noting that Hawaii is one of the most requested timeshare exchange locations by current Disney timeshare owners) and support from the market of vacationers at large, most of whom only plan theme park vacations approximately once every 5 to 8 years.

Source: The Daily Disney

When US News and World Report published its list of 20 things you should never buy new, it was no surprise that timeshares and vacation ownership property are on the list. As the article explains:

“Buying timeshares isn’t for everyone, but if you decide that it suits your lifestyle, purchasing the property as a resale would be a better deal than buying it brand new: on average, you’ll save 67 percent on the price for a comparable new timeshare. If you’re new to timeshare ownership, give it a test run first by renting short term.”

Even though timeshare resales make a tremendous amount of sense for most consumers, let’s try to look at this from all angles. Here’s a pros and con evaluation for buying timeshare as new property and for buying timeshare resales.

“New” Timeshare

It’s always nice to buy something that is shiny, sparkling and brand new… but with timeshares, the unit you buy is only new for one person for one week. After that, although the resort is new overall, and your unit is still new-ish, if you weren’t the first person to occupy the unit the week the timeshare resort opened then it is, realistically, not new.

Every year people buy new automobiles despite the fact that a resale would get them from point “A” to point “B” just as effectively. Why do they spend this money for a product that depreciates greatly the minute they drive it off the lot? Because the feel-good factor of the new car is worth—to them—what they pay for the privilege of owning and driving the vehicle.

If the idea of new timeshare brings you a huge feel-good component then perhaps this is the right choice for you. But let’s consider the other option—the timeshare resale.

Resale Timeshare

Since we’ve already established that there really is no such thing as “new” timeshare, then the real issue becomes whether you buy timeshare from a developer or from the person who already owns it. And you may be surprised to learn that among the ads for timeshare resales on sellmytimesharenow.com there are plenty of “new” timeshares—some so new they are at resorts that have yet to open.

Not all resale timeshares afford the timeshare owner the same perks that may be available when you buy timeshare from a developer. This is case by case and buyers of timeshare resales need to be comfortable that they understand the product they are buying. Yet any times, if there are perks that do not transfer to the timeshare resale buyer, they may not be rewards that have great value to the new owner anyway. Since most timeshare resale is sold at a price that is significantly lower than timeshare purchased from a developer, the cost savings tends to more than make up for any reward that did carry over in the timeshare resale transaction.

Bottom Line on Timeshare Resales

US News and World Report is spot-on. In today’s economy, when most consumers are thoughtful and deliberate about how they spend their money, it is extremely hard to find any effective arguments against buying timeshare on the secondary market. And when you factor in the vacation accommodation savings that can be realized by purchasing timeshare resales, you begin to understand what it means when people say, “The early bird catches the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese!”

I don’t know where you will be viewing fireworks tonight but in the future you could be watching them from America’s fiftieth state during a Disney Hawaii timeshare vacation. Knowing the great job the pyrotechnicians at Disney do year round, one has to expect that the new Disney timeshare at the Ko Olina resort will be no exception when it comes to red-white-and boom!

The Aulani Hotel and Disney Vacation Club resort, currently under construction in Ko Olina, Hawaii, will begin taking reservations on August 2, even though the property isn’t scheduled to open until late August 2011. And as of this past week, prospective timeshare owners can purchase Disney Vacation Club timeshare at the Anlani—Disney’s first property in Hawaii.

Although there will be no theme park at the resort, the 800-unit property will have pools and a waterplay area, a children’s club, and a convention center. And while there is nothing in writing to confirm it, it is a safe bet that come July 4, the Anani will showcase the top-notch fireworks we all associate with the magic and memory makers at Disney.

Past The Timeshare Authority news on Disney Hawaii timeshare:
Disney Vacation Club Timeshare Makes for Optimism in Ko Olina
Tokyo’s Getting a Look at Disney Timeshare

Buying timeshare just does not mean what many people think it means. Instead of a one-week holiday each year in the same timeshare resort, year after year, many timeshare programs are points based and function like currency.

When you buy timeshare in a points based system, or when you take advantage of timeshare exchange, you may have options that include exchanging your timeshare for other travel benefits including airfare and cruises.

Timeshare owners who are members of “The Regency Collection,” for example, can exchange timeshare for one-of-a-kind travel experiences, which include Cunard cruise lines, Crystal Cruises, Azamara Cruises, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Oceania Cruises, Silversea and The Yachts of Seabourn. The Regency Collection members also have options that allow them to take advantage of members-only discounted cash options on other cruise lines including Disney, Princess, and Celebrity.

The savings to timeshare owners who want to enjoy luxury cruises can add up quickly. One option offers credit exchange where a portion of “The Regency Collection” members’ credits afford them a savings of up to $1,500 USD per cabin, based on double-person occupancy.

The Regency Collection Timeshare Owners

Currently some 30,000 timeshare owners are members of Wyndham Exchange and Rental’s The Regency Collection, giving them access to over 175 luxury properties worldwide, including condo hotels, timeshare resorts, high-end fractionals, private residence clubs, and fractional yachts. The July 4 holiday weekend is a great time for backyard cookouts, parades, and fireworks. But if you were a member of The Regency Collection, you could be spending this holiday (and many more to come) on board one of the finest cruise ships in the world.

…And although we all appreciate hotdogs with those crispy black edges from being cooked over an open flame, sometimes we just need (and deserve) a little time with a gourmet chef and cruise ship crew at our beck and call.

Marriott Vacation Club International timeshares are unquestionably popular. When Sell My Timeshare NOW published this year’s HOT 100 List of timeshare resale and rental properties that received the most offers to buy or rent, six of the top ten were Marriott timeshares.

Coming in as number ten on the list is Marriott’s Oceanwatch Villas At Grande Dunes timeshare in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. This favorite resort is located beachside on the famous Myrtle Beach Grand Strand and features two-bedroom, two-bath timeshare villas that accommodate up to eight adults.

You can choose your vista from oceanfront, ocean side, ocean view or garden view, all with private balconies, full kitchens, and a separate living and dining area. Plan a Myrtle Beach timeshare vacation and play golf at over 100 nearby courses and explore the shops, restaurants and theme park activities along the Grand Strand. But you can also take it easy on the beach or poolside without ever leaving this beautiful resort.

Marriott’s Oceanwatch Villas at Grande Dunes are an excellent choice when you, or some members of your vacation party, want to truly relax and gear down from the daily grind. Onsite amenities include The MarketPlace Convenience Store and Grill, the Sand Dollar Pool Bar (seasonal), Pizza Hut Express, Starbucks, and The Woodsy Grill & Pool Bar. Best of all, you can enjoy a Marriott Oceanwatch Villas at Grande Dunes timeshare by a buying timeshare resale at a great price or taking advantage of a timeshare rental.

Click here to view the full 2010 Sell My Timeshare NOW HOT 100 List.