The hotel mini bar can seem like your best friend when you are craving chocolate, peanuts or orange juice in the middle of the night, but here are some warnings about the costs from IndependentTraveler.com.

It seems that not only can taking an item out of the mini bar, examining it, and then replacing it result in you being charged for it, but so can just jostling items around, even if you never remove them from the mini bar.

Timeshares with Kitchens Mean the Comforts of Home

Why deal with the challenges of a mini bar or mini fridge during your vacation? Most timeshares offer well-equipped kitchens with refrigerators of the full size variety, not the mini size. The convenience of a kitchen in your timeshare means that you can vacation and still stick to your healthy diet as much as you like.

For travelers on medically restricted diets or who need to refrigerate medications, a kitchen can eliminate struggling with ice in a cooler. And for all the travelers who are watching their budget as well as their diet, a kitchen in your timeshare unit means you save the cost of dining out, keeping your food expenditures comparable to what they would have been at home for the same period of time.

Vacations shouldn’t mean compromise or inconvenience. You wouldn’t choose to spend a week at home without your kitchen, and a timeshare vacation means you don’t have to do it when you travel, either.

For the second year in a row, the Fractional Summit USA takes us back to Miami. Scheduled for August 30 and 31, at the InterContinental Hotel, the event will present new ideas and alternatives that deal with how, as the real estate industry and developers are finding they can no longer rely on whole ownership sales, alternative real estate business models —such as fractionals—become relevant than ever before.

This event promises to recharge and reinvigorate all who attend.

I’ll be there as part of a panel discussing: Fractional Exchange, Resales and Rentals, along with Tim McLaughlin from RCI and Peter Gust from LaTour Hotels and Resorts. We will be looking at, in this down economy, the ability to exchange, resell or rent one’s fractional assets and how it becomes more important for potential new buyers and existing owners, along with what organizations are doing to address these issues.

Here is a partial list of the featured speakers at Fractional Summit USA 2011:

• Michael Gerrity, the World Property Channel
• Nick Copley, Shepa Report
• Peter Gust LaTour Hotels and Resorts
• Piers Brown, Fractional Life
• Roy West, The Roy West Companies
• Sarah Rezak, Rezak Resort Consulting
• Scott Kauffman, Aloha Media
• Scott Ritter, Dahlgren Duck
• Seth Rutman, UBS Financial Services
• Tim McLaughlin, RCI
• Tom Goetschius, Tom Goetschius Associates
• Tom LaTour, LaTour Hotels and Resorts
• Wayne Dedrick, UBS Financial Services
• Adam Wegner, Exclusive Resorts
• Alana Morris, VOCA PR
• Anne Barker, Barker & Associates
• Bill Guthrie. Foley & Lardner LLP
• Chris Payne, Ballard Spahr
• Dan Bachrach, Foley and Lardner LLP
• Dan Debenham, LENZ-works Productions
• David Disick, The Fractional Consultant
• Dustin Carfield, NextStar Funding
• Elaine Joli, Vacation Nation
• Frank Ingrande, LaTour Hotels and Resorts
• Franklin Mira, Odebrecht Realizações Imobiliárias
• George Sell, Fractional Trade
• Gregg Anderson, The Registry Collection
• Howard Nusbaum, ARDA
• Jim Taylor, The Harrison Group
• John Verity, The Harbour Residences at Marigot Bay
• Joshua Erskine, CalCon Mutual Mortgage
• Kathy Hernandez, Kathy Hernandez & Associates
• Michael Butler, Midlan International

If you hurry, you can still register and attend. Click here for a direct link to fractional conference tickets. Or you can email info@fractionalsummitusa.com or call +1 646 452 9500 / +44 208 340 7989

Fractional Life, the global fractional ownership brand and fractional real estate conference organizer, will once again host the timeshare and fractional industry at the Fractional Summit USA 2011.

To be held at the InterContinental Hotel, Miami, on August 30 and 31, the event brings together thought leaders in the fractional industry to help, “define the ‘new rules’ and future opportunity within an ever changing market landscape.”

Last year’s Fractional Summit USA, also held in Miami, was an inspiring event that left attendees talking about it long afterward.

Fractional Trade members are entitled to a 10 percent discount, a saving of $75, on tickets for Fractional Summit USA. This discount is available through August 20. Fractional Trade membership is a great way to benefit from networking and information opportunities and to take advantage of this attendee discount. You can find out more about this free membership at: www.fractionaltrade.com

Event organizer Piers Brown explains, “With the uncertainty surrounding the world’s economy, our Fractional Summit USA offers serve two purposes — to ensure that we are providing delegates with value for money, and, vitally, to get the right people to attend the event. Our Fractional Trade members are the ‘backbone’ of the industry, while attracting new developers and lenders is essential for the health and growth of the fractional sector.”

For speaker and sponsorship opportunities at the conference, please contact Piers Brown at piers@fractionallife.com or +44 020 8340 7989.

Today Sell My Timeshare NOW released its second announcement to the media regarding growth in timeshare sales through our timeshare brokerage division, Timeshare Broker Services.

As we noted, we saw a 109 percent increase in broker assisted timeshare sales for the month of July 2011 over July 2010. These numbers reflect the strong demand there is to buy timeshare on the resale market and the interest in both the large hospitality brand resorts, including Hyatt Vacation Club, Starwood timeshare, Disney Vacation Club, Hilton timeshare, and in independent timeshare brands, that offer quality resorts but may not be as well known.

While our by-owner timeshare sales remain solid, we’ve also focused a great deal of attention this past year on building our timeshare brokerage services, too. It comes down to offering more choices to consumers, and we think that is very important.

Why Offer 2 Different Types of Timeshare Sales?

Timeshare ownership comes in many formats. There are fixed week timeshares, floating timeshare, timeshares owned by deed, owned by right to use, and timeshare ownership through points or vacation clubs. The product a potential seller has may be as small as a studio unit may, or it may be a spacious multi-bedroom, multi-bathroom timeshare. Some timeshares are at high demand locations during popular weeks and others are at more off-the-beaten path destinations, or are during less-busy seasons of the year.

Just as timeshares come in all types, so do timeshare owners. Some people seek to sell timeshare because their family has changed or they simply don’t vacation in the same way they once did. Others are facing a life transition, such as marriage, divorce, relocation, retirement, illness, or any of a number of reasons that vacation patterns could change. And still other timeshare owners want to sell their timeshare so they can purchase different timeshares elsewhere.

One size rarely fits all and clearly one method of timeshare resales doesn’t either.

For owners who want to be hands-on in their timeshare resale transaction, by owner services may be the best option. These consumers pay to advertise their timeshare on the high visibility websites of Sell My Timeshare NOW. When the product sells, the money made is wholly their own; no commission is owed. If a by owner seller needs assistance along the way, we are there to assist them in connecting with the right professionals.

But, many timeshare owners want a turn-key approach to timeshare sales. They prefer to put their timeshare sale in the hands of a licensed real estate professional, and let that timeshare broker take it from there. For these owners, the process is simple and when the timeshare sells, a commission is paid to the broker for his or her services.
Timeshare resales at Sell My Timeshare NOW– it is one service with a choice of two approaches. Please read our full media release, Sell My Timeshare NOW Posts Dramatic Quarterly Gains Through Timeshare Brokerage, to learn more.

In today’s business economy, it is especially gratifying to post positive news. Today we just released news that Sell My Timeshare NOW has posted 27.5 percent increase in broker assisted timeshare sales, year-over-year, through the end of the second quarter of this year.

These numbers focus on our timeshare brokerage business, Timeshare Broker Services, though, which we offer full-service timeshare resale brokerage. And in the month of July alone, we saw a 109 percent increase in timeshare broker assisted sales month-over-month, as compared to July last year.

Why Are Timeshare Sales through Timeshare Broker Services So Strong?

We see several factors feeding into the strength of broker-assisted timeshare resales, and it is interesting to note that these strong sales are both in the branded hospitality providers such as Disney Vacation Club, Starwood timeshare, Hilton timeshare, Hyatt Vacation Club and others but just as much in independent timeshare brands –names you may or may not know as well.

First, demand for timeshare on the secondary market is strong. At Sell My Timeshare NOW, we have committed to offering clients the services they really want and value. That’s why we provide both by-owner timeshare resale advertising and a full-service timeshare brokerage.

With the leadership of Jerome Bocquet, vice president of our brokerage division, Timeshare Broker Services, we have focused on in-depth broker training and expanded services.

We’ve also launched a major redesign of our main website, www.sellmytimesharenow.com. We’ve made it easier and more intuitive for prospective buyers and renters to search for timeshare resales and rentals.

There’s a lot going on at Sell My Timeshare NOW and Timeshare Broker Services and we’ll continue to share it with you here on The Timeshare Authority blog.

Follow this link to read our full media release, Sell My Timeshare NOW Posts Substantial Gains in Quarterly Sales through Timeshare Brokerage.

Many of the timeshare transfers at Sell My Timeshare NOW are handled through our partner relationship with Chicago Title Timeshare. With years of experience, Chicago Title handles over 10,000 timeshare transfers each month, making the process convenient for both the timeshare buyer and the timeshare seller.

If you are selling your timeshare by owner, (or buying one through the by owner timeshare sales process) here is more information about how the timeshare transfer process works and what you can expect.

Step-by- Step Timeshare Transfer

1. Timeshare owner (the seller) places his or her ad to sell timeshare on SellMyTimeshareNOW.com.
2. When the seller selects a buyer and has negotiated a deal with that buyer, the seller and the buyer exchange necessary contact information to start the closing process.
3. The seller initiates the processes with Chicago Title Timeshare by completing simple online forms.
4. Chicago Title Timeshare, using a username and password, emails the timeshare buyer, requesting the buyer complete online forms and verify information.
5. Both the buyer and the seller receive an email with the escrow number for the closing account.
6. Both the buyer and the seller receive by email, the transfer and closing documents from Chicago Title Timeshare.
7. The timeshare buyer and the seller review and sign documents and return them following directions provided by Chicago Title Timeshare.
8. The timeshare buyer then receives an estimated closing statement from Chicago Title Timeshare, including a request for the funds necessary for closing.
9. When Chicago Title Timeshare receives funds, they then close the timeshare sales transaction, and notify all parties of the closing. This includes notice to the buyer, seller, resort management company or the HOA.
10. Copies of final documents are sent to the new timeshare owner and the timeshare seller.

Shopping at airports used to be a joke. Airport vendors were where harried travelers grabbed the gift they should have bought during the trip but never got around to buying. The selection at the airport was limited and typically overpriced.

Across the country shopping malls have been hit hard by the US economic recession causing retailers to look for other ways to sell. Some have ramped up their presence at airports, no doubt figuring that shoppers are both bored and trapped.

According to an article that appeared in the New York Times (“The Airport Experience Now Includes Shopping for the Family” by Stephanie Clifford) Jose Gomez, senior vice president of business development for fashion retailer Mango, says, “Airports are becoming, really, a service facility, like a shopping mall.”

Interestingly, airport retailers aren’t just selling neckties and luggage. Since 2010, Victoria’s Secret has opened seven airport stores. Brooks Brothers added five airport stores last year to the 26 it already had in US airports.

Other retailers are anxiously adding airports to their list of venues. And retail in airports not only benefits the retailer; it is a big boost to the airports themselves.

Good for Retailers and Airports. Maybe Not so Good for Your Timeshare Vacation Budget

If it is good for the economy, then in general, it is good for all of us. We don’t want to see retailers crashing, creating more unemployment and more strain on US economy. And retail in airports helps the airports themselves stay strong.

While airlines are obviously the biggest contributor, retail and food service accounts for nearly 20 percent of airport revenue. As Paul McGinn, president of MarketPlace Development, explains, “Airports have to be self-sustaining,” and retail “has become a valuable source of revenue.”

5 Reasons We Shop or Over-Shop at Airports

Airport shopping attracts us, which is not a bad thing, unless it causes you to blow your vacation budget before you even arrive at your timeshare. Understanding why we shop at airports may help you make better decisions about how you really want to spend your travel dollar:

1. Airport shoppers, once they have cleared security, are virtually prisoners in the “Airport Mall.” Domestic travelers average over one hour waiting in airports once they have passed security.
2. Fight delays increase your urge to shop, as you seek to reward or comfort yourself during your inconvenience.
3. A sense of urgency to decide and get ready for your departure may result in you rushing your buying decision.
4. If travel makes you anxious, tired, or annoyed, you may be more inclined to reward, revive, or sooth yourself with a purchase. Shopping also offers you the opportunity to engage in a familiar activity, affording you a sense of control in a situation where you otherwise have little control.
5. If you have any guilt about leaving your spouse, children, job or even your pet while on your trip, you may be inclined to gift shop for them as a way to assuage that guilt.

Shop, enjoy, and help keep retailers and airports vital, but don’t over-shop, so that you arrive at your timeshare vacation feeling guilty or annoyed with yourself for spending too much, too soon because that is no way to start a relaxing holiday.

Taking the family pet along on vacation is important to many people. Boarding a pet while you travel is expensive. Finding a reliable pet sitter can be challenging. And for many people, leaving their pet behind, could make taking a vacation far less enjoyable.

Pet friendly timeshares are a great solution. They provide the whole family room to spread out, relax and enjoy the vacation. So if you and your pet have decided to vacation together this year, sparing you both a lot of separation anxiety, here are some helpful tips for traveling by car with your pet.

Pet Friendly Timeshare Tips for Safer Pet Travel

1. Use a vehicle pet restraint that is suitable for your dog or cat. Christina Selter, founder of Bark Buckle UP, a pet safety organization in Orange County, California, says, “In a collision at 35 mph, a 60-pound dog can become a 3,000 pound projectile.”
2. A canine harness should be sized to your bred of dog and clipped to a rear safety belt.
3. A pet crate that’s strapped into a car safety belt works well for traveling with cats or small dogs.
4. An automaker-approved dog guard provides a safety barrier between the rear cargo compartment and the back seat of an SUV.

Click here for more pet travel tips and a list of pet friendly timeshares resorts.

And watch this helpful video for guidelines for traveling by air with your pet.

Some things have changed dramatically in the world … others, not so much.

Take the way most people shop and plan their lives, for instance. We have generally become very comfortable buying goods and services online.

Thick, yellow phone books are nearly a thing of the past, as most of us access the internet from our computers, our phones, our laptops and our ebook readers, when we need information.

We have pretty much abandoned maps, unless they appear online. Instead, we let our cars, our phones, and our other smart devices tell us how to reach our destinations.

And we certainly have less time for vacationing than ever before, and in many cases, less money. Overall, we are less certain about the future, the economy, or the path we should follow.

But despite all this, some things never change.

Our children still grow up all too quickly. Their minds, their feet, and their personalities grow and change… almost before our eyes.

The number of days we have to spend with those we love always has and always will seem too few. Opportunities to make memories remain priceless, no matter the state of the world’s economy or the condition of our own personal budgets.

Timeshares for Making Lasting Memories

If you have never vacationed in a timeshare, you may be in for a big surprise. Timeshare, or vacation ownership as it is also called, is neither complex nor problematic, even though some naysayers would like you to believe it is.

Timeshares, either purchased as value-priced resales, or enjoyed as rentals, are a simple, affordable way to plan a vacation. In most cases, they are surprisingly flexible. They allow you to plan far in advance or schedule last minute.

You can search for a timeshare resale or a timeshare rental by location, price, size, resort brand, or even just by the types of activities you want to enjoy. You can handle your transaction online by yourself or use a timeshare resale professional to assist you. You can also work with a timeshare broker and let someone else handle the details for you when you are ready to buy a timeshare.

The opportunities of timeshare have changed, and continue to change, to better serve your needs and the way you like to run your life. Yet the many ways timeshare helps you vacation better and capture more time with those you love remain reliably constant.

RCI Timeshare Exchange already offers over 4,000 affiliated resorts in approximately 100 countries. This week, the timeshare exchange company, which is part of Wyndham Worldwide, announced it is expanding its network through affiliation with China’s Shining Star Vacation Club, Xing Yao Shui Xiang Resort.

Adrian Lee, managing director, RCI Asia, says, “The addition of Shining Star Vacation Club, Xing Yao Shui Xiang represents another opportunity for RCI to offer great exchange options to our 3.8 million members worldwide. Located in a region that consistently boasts great vacations, this development reaffirms RCI’s commitment to offering great vacations in highly desirable destinations in Asia and globally.”

Located in the Jia Lize wetland in Kunming, the Shining Star Vacation Club, Xing Yao Shui Xiang Resort includes more than 10,000 diverse vacation accommodation spread across theme resorts, hotels, holiday villas and town houses. Within the resort area are theme parks, a conference center, an equestrian club, a fishing club, a Phil Mickelson designed golf academy and driving range, and shopping and dining areas.

Additionally, this China timeshare resort offers spaces that sound delightful but may not typically be found in most US timeshare resorts. These areas include an ecological wetlands park, extensive lavender and sunflower fields and an organic fruit and vegetable garden.

Li Ji Feng, assistant general manager of sales for Shining Star Vacation Club, says, “This affiliation with RCI represents an important opportunity for us. We are excited to be able to expand our business areas, provide new opportunities for our customers and bring the beauty of China to new global audiences.”