John Locher is a name many people in the timeshare industry know as the co-founder and former vice president of marketing and sales at Redweek.com. John helped grow RedWeek to 1.5 million registered users and brought RedWeek into the American Resort Development Association. In 2010, he founded Locher & Associates, and Sell My Timeshare NOW is excited to be working with John Locher as we continue to grow our company and expand our services.

In addition to being the founder and past chief executive officer of Everythingholidays.com, you may not know that John was one of the masterminds behind Classmates.com. As the former vice president of Marketing and Promotions for Classmates.com, John points out, “Classmates really is the original social networking website.”

John works with our team at Sell My Timeshare NOW on areas of business development. He’s also working with our social media messaging staff. We are putting his extensive promotional and strategic online experience to great use as a resource.

Sell My Timeshare NOW is committed to providing reliable options for both individuals and for the timeshare industry itself when it comes to ways to effectively buy, rent, or sell timeshare. As John observes, “Today’s consumers demand transparency and safe choices in order to navigate the resale industry process. SellMyTimeshareNOW.com is diligent with their effective ‘for sale or rent by owner’ consumer model and the recently enhanced ‘no fee until sold’ option for those who want turnkey service in handling their timeshare resale. I embrace this success-driven emphasis that is improving the secondary market for everyone.”

At Sell My Timeshare NOW, our vision targets how we can better serve the market and with innovative marketers such as John onboard, we are turning our vision into timeshare reality.

Hawaii timeshare tax issues are looking better.

The joint Hawaii House and Senate Conference Committee approved omitting from Amendment SB1186, a proposed plan for a 27.5 percent increase in transient accommodation taxes paid by Hawaii timeshare owners. With Hawaii State Legislature acceptance, Hawaii timeshare owners will not see an increase in 2012 in the rate used to calculate transient accommodations taxes paid to the State of Hawaii.

The law taxing Hawaii timeshare occupants (note: this is anyone occupying the timeshare, whether they own or rent the property) was originally enacted in 1999 and was based on what Hawaii legislators felt was a need to tax timeshare users in a way similar to that which hotel guests are taxed. The basis for the taxation is that, “Transient individuals occupying a resort time share vacation unit utilize State and county facilities in a manner similar to transient individuals occupying a hotel room.” (see: http://www.state.hi.us/tax/taxfacts/tf98-04.pdf)

Are You a Hawaii Timeshare Owner?

ARDA-ROC has excellent resources for Hawaii timeshare owners who want their voice to be heard. ARCA-ROC is the American Resort Development Owners Association – Resort Owners’ Coalition, and serves as the first line of defense against legislation that may negatively impact timeshare owners and their well-being. Through ARDA-ROC, owners can be part of grassroots lobbying targeted at preserving, protecting, and enhancing their timeshare ownership.

Visit this link (ARDA- ROC Hawaii Timeshare Tax Resource Center) for sample letters, talking points, legislator contact information, and more helpful information on Hawaii timeshare taxation issues.

Lawmakers, Please Pick a Position on Timeshare Taxes

While it is great news that there will be no increase in this tax rate, thanks in large part to extensive lobbying by ARDA ROC, timeshare owners, and others in the timeshare industry, there remains one disturbing discrepancy that keeps creeping into tax debates nationwide. How do lawmakers resolve the simple fact that logically, timeshare owners cannot be both real estate property owners and transients like hotel guests?

It makes sense to tax Hawaii timeshare owners, South Carolina timeshare owners, or owners in any state or country. But lawmakers should be required to pick a status and stick with it. Either a timeshare owner is considered a real estate property owner and thereby pays taxes on his or her timeshare as real property, or a timeshare owner is a transient visitor, and pays taxes in the same way a hotel guest pays a hotel or transient tax. Taxing from both angles hardly seems fair or even conscionable.

No one suggests that timeshare owners should not be contributing to local tax bases. After all, they drive on the highways, and rely on local police, fire, and emergency medical support, while at the same time adding to the pollution and congestion of a local community. But double dipping on the taxation doesn’t seem fair either. And let’s never overlook the fact that timeshare owners and their guests account for huge boosts to local economies. They buy groceries; dine at restaurants, shop, and visit attractions and entertainment destinations. The timeshares themselves provide employment to local residents and growth opportunities as a business.

No doubt state and tax districts need help but when they overtax timeshare owners, then all they have really done is shoot themselves in the foot.

News on other Hawaii timeshare tax related issues: Two Sides to Hawaii Timeshare Tax Increase Issue

Wyndham Vacation Ownership timeshare is partnering with the Orlando Magic in the development of a new children’s play area at Orlando’s Amway Center.

While the Atlanta Hawks (with an 84-81 Game 6 playoff defeat) may have ended the Orlando Magic’s basketball season, the Magic’s work off the court continues year-round. This week the Magic announced the signing a new, multi-year partnership with Wyndham Vacation Ownership.

Although terms of the deal were not disclosed, it does call for sponsorship by Wyndham timeshare, of the children’s play area at Orlando’s Amway Center. The play area will now officially be known as Stuff’s Magic Castle presented by Club Wyndham.

Wyndham WorldWide and Wyndham Timeshare

Wyndham timeshare is an important part of the expansive network of properties that are part of Wyndham Worldwide, which is widely known for its support of and work with three signature charities that we are supporting across the Company: Association of Hole in the Wall Camps, Christel House International and Starlight Children’s Foundation. Wherever you find Wyndham resorts, you also find them participating as a valued and contributing member of the community.

With a global network of properties including the brands: Wyndham Vacation Resorts, WorldMark by Wyndham and Wyndham Vacation Resorts Asia Pacific, there are more than 800,000 Wyndham timeshare owners.

In Florida alone, Wyndham timeshare includes 17 Florida timeshare resorts throughout the state with 8 of the resorts being in the Orlando or Daytona Beach area. These are: Orlando International Resort Club, Wyndham Bonnet Creek, Wyndham Cypress Palms, Wyndham Vacation Resorts Reunion at Orlando, Star Island and WorldMark Orlando-Kingstown Reef, as well as Wyndham Ocean Walk and WorldMark Ocean Walk in Daytona Beach.

Next week when the timeshare industry assembles at the Atlantis Resort, Paradise Island, Bahamas, for the first annual Global Networking Expo (GNEX 2011) and Perspective Magazine Awards Gala, I will have the privilege of being part of one of the “Burning Issues” discussion panels.

Under the heading of “Challenges We Face,” we won’t be making presentations. Instead, we will engage in a panel discussion with the audience. Look for debate on topics including consumer and media perception; potential weaknesses in the products we offer; and other burning topics of the timeshare and vacation ownership industry.

Speakers on our panel include: Ross Perlmutter, President, Canadian Resort Development Association (CRDA); Robert Webb, Partner, Baker & Hostetler; Ramy Filo, CEO, Classic Holiday Group; Harry Taylor, Executive Chairman, Timeshare Association of Timeshare Owners Comittees (TATOC); Bryan Lunt, Chairman & CEO, Absolute World Group of Companies and me, the founder & CEO, Sell My Timeshare NOW.

If you are planning to attend the GNEX event, I hope you will drop in on our session; it’s schedule on Day One of the conference, May 11. During the two-day event, with a theme of Navigating Change, you will also enjoy Keynote Speaker: Ron Kurtz, founder and president of the American Affluence Research Center.

Vacation rental, as you can imagine, is big business in Florida. Many absentee property owners buy a vacation or holiday home in Florida, use it for their own vacationing, and arrange for its rental management the rest of the year, through a realtor or other management agency.

And while this can be a good deal for both the property owner and those seeking to vacation in a space larger and with more privacy than most hotel rooms offer, it is also complicated from the perspective of management, taxation, and investment.

The Florida Vacation Rental Managers Association, a trade association, estimates that there are now more than 20,000 vacation-rental homes in Central Florida (the Orlando-Kissimmee-Daytona Beach area) alone. These are not timeshares or fractionals. They are individually owned properties, typically bought specifically for the purpose of use as a vacation rental home.

The Challenges of Vacation Rentals

Currently, vacation rentals come with a fair measure of risk for the owner who must deal with repairs, taxes, and the responsibility to keep the property rented if income from it is desired or needed. Additionally, zoning in a residential neighborhood can change at any time, making use of a home bought for the purpose of vacation rentals, no longer an option.

For renters, vacation rentals also bring risks. Does the property look as good in person as it did in an online ad or brochure? Do the photos of the property fail to tell the whole story by not including any undesirable nearby features; for example, would you still rent this home if you knew it backed up to a freeway, prison, or an airport? Any lastly, if you are renting the property, and you have a problem with the air conditioner, plumbing, or other feature, will the property owner or management agency be available to get it repaired in a timely manner?

Currently, lawmakers, property owners, and some segments of the Florida tourism industry are in conflict regarding a state bill that invalids existing city and county laws, which either prohibit vacation rentals entirely or require those rental homes to comply with the same regulations as commercial hotels. While laws vary from county to county in Florida, currently Orange County (where Orlando is located), prohibits short-term rentals (less than six months) on properties not zoned for commercial or industrial use.

Timeshare Rentals Eliminate the Risk Factor

Timeshare rental is an easy way to enjoy spacious vacation accommodations while still benefiting from the management structure and the property standards you know and expect from trusted global hospitality brands.

With timeshare rentals, you can enjoy the space, privacy, and home-like features of a timeshare condo, but relax knowing you are benefiting from the onsite amenities, maintenance, management and security associated with timeshare.

As a timeshare owner who may choose to use his property as timeshare rental, you know the burden of maintaining and managing the property is off your shoulders, covered by your annual maintenance fee. And while local and state laws may come and go, as a timeshare owner, you never share the impact alone in the same way sole property owners do.

Renting timeshare makes a lot of sense. After all, vacationing is supposed to be about relaxation time, not about added worries and responsibilities.

There is a lot in life that annoys us and that we can do little to control…like the price of gas. But with nearly 200 million Americans considered to be overweight or obese, weight gain is clearly a topic of annoyance for many people.

Fortunately, it is also one over which we do have (or can have) control.

In an article titled, “6 easy ways to avoid weight gain on vacation” published on myOptumHealth.com, nutritionist Jane Schwartz Harrison, RD, offers suggestions for how to relax and enjoy your vacation, without picking up extra pounds in the process. She recommends that you:

Get moving. Add exercise to your vacation in fun ways as well as just walking instead of grabbing that shuttle or tour bus.

Do the balancing act. Don’t deprive yourself of special foods, but when you do indulge, counterbalance it by cutting calories and fat elsewhere in your diet that day.

Watch portions. Sharing portions can help keep costs and calories under control.

Plan ahead. Stock up on healthy snacks.

Drink – with caution. Calories in both alcohol and mixers add up fast. Daiquiris, margaritas, and coladas can run between 300 and 600 calories per drink.

Treat yourself – without food. Indulge in movies, manicures, massages and other ways to feel special rather than food as a treat.

Let a Timeshare Resale Make Your Vacation Easier

Let’s add one more tip to this list: Vacation in a timeshare or timeshare rental. Doing so, makes the first six tips easier to implement.

Most timeshares are equipped with a full or partial kitchen, which not only makes it easy to stay on your special diet but keeps you away from the temptations of restaurant menus. Eating-in for some or all of your meals makes it easier to control what you eat, while you save on the cost of dining out.

Timeshare condos or a timeshare rental with kitchen, lets you stock up on healthful treats, snacks, and even your favorite lower calorie beverage choices. On top of that, most timeshare resorts offer both fun ways to be active along with options for hitting the spa when you want to relax and indulge.

This year, let a timeshare resale or timeshare rental make it easy to bring home seashells, a suntan, or a new interest in a sport, but not those unwanted extra pounds.

With a great Canadian Resort Development Association Conference wrapped up and a lot of enthusiasm perking throughout the Canada timeshare industry, let’s look more closely at where vacation ownership actually stands in Canada.

• 89 percent of Canadians surveyed in a recent study say their opinion of Canada timeshare either is the same or better than it was ten years ago.
• 80 percent of Canadians know about timeshare but 72 percent have not been exposed to offers for vacation ownership products.
• 68 percent of the Canadians surveyed have never attended a timeshare sales presentation.

These stats about Canadian timeshare reveal a large, untouched market of people who could be future timeshare owners if only they are exposed more directly to the benefits of timeshares and timeshare resales.

What Canada Timeshare Means to the Timeshare Market

For US timeshare owners looking to sell timeshare they no longer need, Canada offers a large population of vacationers, many of whom already travel south for their holidays, and who may want to buy a timeshare. And for any vacationer who loves winter sports, amazing scenery, mountain hiking, cosmopolitan urban areas and plenty of great outdoors, Canada timeshares and Canada timeshare resales provide a wonderful vacation ownership opportunity.

As Jim Madrid, keynote speaker at CRDA’s conference last week in Vancouver, explained: with change comes both challenges and opportunities.

Right now, the economy is changing; so are the ways people vacation and the ways they shop for vacation ownership products. Both the timeshare industry and the vacationing consumer have an opportunity to be part of this change in real and measurable ways.

Here are just a few of the many beautiful Canada timeshare resorts: Marriott Residence Inn Gravenhurst Muskoka Wharf Timeshare; Shell Vacations Club At Carriage Hills Resort Timeshare; Whistler Resort & Club Timeshare and all the great Aviawest timeshares and WorldMark timeshares.

Despite the challenging economy, the cruise industry continues to grow, year over year, according to information released during the Cruise Lines International Association’s seventh annual conference, Cruise 360.

Last year, in the US alone, the cruise industry contributed $40 billion to the economy and created 350,000 jobs. And although 15 million passengers enjoyed one or more cruises in 2010, with 72 percent of them being from the US, Canada, or Mexico, only 20 percent of Americans have ever been on a cruise, indicating a large, untapped market of future cruisers.

Timeshare Exchange for Cruises

Obviously not all timeshare can be exchanged for cruises. In some cases, timeshare exchange for a cruise is made through the timeshare company; in other cases, it is made through a timeshare exchange service. And sometimes timeshare points are “spent” to “buy” a cruise instead of their typical use for timeshare vacation weeks. Because of the variety of ways to exchange timeshare for a cruise, the protocols and requirements of each avenue vary.

When you exchange timeshare or use timeshare points for a cruise, be sure you ask about any additional costs that may or may not be covered by the exchange. One example is your port fee.

Port fees are typically included in the cost of a cruise when you buy the cruise directly, but when you are using timeshare exchange or timeshare points to cover the cost of your cruise, the port fees may be an add-on. Port fees cover the change for the cruise ship to dock and include a wharf or passenger charge; a port entry fee; and a dockage fee depending on the ship’s size and length of stay.

Other fees that are not always covered by timeshare exchange could include things like taxes, transportation to and from the ship or while in port, and charges that would be add-ons for any cruiser, no matter how you paid for the experience.

Bottom line: Be sure you understand fully what your timeshare exchange covers and which expenses will be up to you to cover out of pocket. Then pack your flipflops and your suntan lotion for a Bon Voyage!

Additional Timeshare Resources