Welk Resorts San Diego is opening its doors for you to jog through the resort. On October 15, Welk Resorts timeshare will host the Run 4 Safety 5K Run & 1-Mile Walk Benefitting Deer Springs Fire District.

This is your chance to get an up-close look at the popular Welk Resort, part of the resort company developed by television star and musician, the late, Lawrence Welk. In the process, you will be helping to raise money for the Deer Springs Fire District, which will host its 2nd Annual Safetyfest and Deer Springs Fire District Open House.

The 5K run, (or to make it sound easier, the 3.2 mile run) begins at 7:30 AM and will lead you through the rolling hills of Fountains Golf Course and then throughout the scenic resort property. If you had rather walk not run, there’s a great option for you too. A 1-mile run/walk starts at 8:30 AM and follows the paved roadways within the resort.

At the finish line, enjoy food, folk art, safety demonstrations, children’s activities , a bike safety clinic and more. To find out more or to register to be part of this fun run, go to: Run 4 Safety

Lawrence Welk Timeshare Resorts San Diego

What a great way to spend a Saturday morning, help the local community, and see for yourself all that Welk Resorts and Welk Resorts timeshare resales have to offer. Learn more about the excellent opportunities in Welk Resorts Timeshare Resales at:  Lawrence Welk Villas on the Greens, Lawrence Welk Resort Villas and the Lawrence Welk Resorts Mountain Villas.

Wyndham Vacation Ownership timeshare has now completed renovations on the Wyndham Vacation Resorts Royal Garden at Waikiki, making it the Wyndham Resort’s 15^th Hawaii property.

Franz Hanning, president and chief executive officer, Wyndham Vacation Ownership, states that the addition of this timeshare resort solidifies Wyndham timeshare’s position in the industry as Hawaii’s, “largest and most successful timeshare developer.”

Hanning adds, “We are very proud to provide yet another world-class property in this highly desirable destination for our more than 800,000 owners and guests.”

Opportunities in Wyndham Timeshare Exchange

Wyndham Vacation Ownership (Wyndham timeshare) acquired the Wyndham Vacation Resorts Royal Garden at Waikiki, formerly called The Royal Garden Hotel and Spa, in 2007. The resort has remained operational during the renovation period, with rentals being offered through Extra Holidays by Wyndham, a subsidiary of WVO specializing in resort condominium rentals.

Soon this Hawaii timeshare will welcome Wyndham’s timeshare owners and will also begin timeshare sales there. Wyndham Vacation Resorts Royal Garden at Waikiki will be part of  CLUB WYNDHAM^® Plus, the company’s points-based timeshare exchange program. With this, owners will have access to exchange at more than 70 timeshare resorts as well as other vacation exchange opportunities including cruises and tour vacations.

You can also learn more about Wyndham’s Extra Holidays at www.extraholidays.com.

To learn more about the Partner Portal, please read today’s media release: Sell My Timeshare NOW Improving Timeshare Resale and Rental Options for Industry.

This week there is been a lot of buzz about the new Sell My Timeshare NOW Partner Portal for timeshare resales and timeshare rentals.

This new tool provides the first consolidated resource for buying, renting, and selling timeshare inventory. And while it will mean a huge boost for many in the timeshare industry, including resellers, brokers, and HOAs to name only a few, the new Partner Portal will indirectly affect consumers, too.

What the Partner Portal Means for Timeshare Owners

First, the Partner Portal provides one-stop shopping for the consumer within the timeshare industry with the most comprehensive inventory of properties for sale or rent available. Because the Partner Portal Program functions in much the same way as an MLS, prospective buyers and renters can shop online knowing they are seeing the broadest scope of the properties available on the secondary market. But the Partner Portal has value for consumers at other levels too.

The more standardization and unification of the resale industry, the more the consumer benefits.  A regulated and standardized timeshare resales and rental industry is a healthy industry.

As the high-visibility, high-traffic websites of Sell My Timeshare NOW make it easier for timeshare management companies, Home Owner Associations, and even timeshare development and sales companies to move inventory and keep timeshare resorts strong and robust, the product owned by individuals also stays strong and robust.

And to learn more about the Partner Portal program at: www.sellmytimesharenow.com/media/pdf/partner-portal.pdf or by contacting Jerome Bocquet at 877-884-9577 ext. 307 or Jay Bade at 317-213-2553.

View the Partner Portal login page www.sellmytimesharenow.com/portal.

This week, Sell My Timeshare NOW  rolled out its newest program, The Partner Portal for Timeshare Resale and Rental.

Here’s how this business-2-business platform works:

1. Anyone with clean timeshare rental or timeshare resale inventory can use this service. This means timeshare resellers, resales companies, companies that accept trade-ins, real estate brokers, timeshare brokers, management companies, HOAs, timeshare developers, and perhaps even in some cases individuals who have a large number of timeshares to resell. This includes rental burn inventory and unwanted trade-in inventory as well as choice timeshare resales and rentals.
2. Vendors or industry partners who chose this program log onto the Partner Portal webpage and set up their account. http://www.sellmytimesharenow.com/portal
3. Account set-up is very, very simple. Once that’s done, the vendor then uploads his or her timeshare ads for rental or brokerage resales. The upload process is amazingly easy; it is a smooth interface. You can use our spreadsheet forms or use your own.
4. Uploaded timeshare resales and rentals are then reviewed by Sell My Timeshare NOW, data checked for accuracy, and then ads for these properties are created.
5. SellMyTimeshareNOW or Timeshare Broker Services contacts the seller (or person with rental inventory), finalizes the terms of the account and then the ads go live.
6. These ads appear on SellMyTimeshareNOW’s website. They are standardized to ensure that the information on the ad is complete and factual. Best of all, they gain exposure on the most highly visible timeshare resale and timeshare rental website on the web.

The websites for SellMyTimeshareNOW average 1.7 million monthly pageviews. Listings are non-exclusive and sellers can decide when they want to take down their ads.

Learn more at: www.sellmytimesharenow.com/media/pdf/partner-portal.pdf or by contacting Jerome Bocquet at 877-884-9577 ext. 307 or Jay Bade at 317-213-2553.

To read the full media release go to:

http://www.sellmytimesharenow.com/media/index/content/release9-27-11/

It was my privilege to announce yesterday Sell My Timeshare NOW’s new Partner Portal Program. We rolled out the news during the 53rd C.A.R.E. Conference, in Chicago, Illinois.

Partner Portal is a standardized, reliable way for those in the real estate or timeshare industries to advertise and market timeshares for sale or rent via the Sell My Timeshare NOW websites.

Who benefits from the Partner Portal Program?

Anyone who:

• Sells or rents timeshare
• Is a resales company
• Takes timeshare trade-ins
• Is a timeshare developer
• Is a real estate or timeshare broker
• Is a management company or HOA
• Or has access to clean, rentable inventory

We invite you to view this slideshow to learn more. Visit http://www.sellmytimesharenow.com/portal to see for yourself and to contact us when you want to start taking advantage of all the Partner Portal Program has to offer.

Watch the slides; check in here on The Timeshare Authority blog for more information: and contact us: Jerome Bocquet, Vice President Timeshare Broker Services, at: 877-884-9577 ext. 307. Or Jay Bade, Vice President  Business Development at: 603-516-0680.

Today, I am at the 53^rd C.A.R.E. Conference, feeling great excitement about these days spent in Chicago, Illinois. First, the conference leads off with Nigel Lobo, Vice President Resort Operations of Grand Pacific Resort Management.

Nigel Lobo’s topic is “CARING” for Your Customers, very appropriate for this Cooperative Association of Resort Exchangers (C.A.R.E.) event. Lobo is responsible at Grand Pacific Resorts for the overall leadership of Resort Operations, including Owner Services and HOA Support, Resort Maintenance, Inventory Management, Design and Purchasing and New Business Development.

At Grand Pacific Resorts, he has built and maintains a strong management team facilitating Grand Pacific Standards of Excellence across all its resorts.

Of course, I am also particularly enthusiastic because at the C.A.R.E. Conference, Sell My Timeshare NOW is unveiling a new tool available to the timeshare industry. It’s innovative, exciting, and is a real win-win for timeshare developers, brokers, HOAs, resellers, and even timeshare owners. And as soon as I go public with the news at the conference, you will also find it here on The Timeshare Authority blog.

As Bonnie Kosco, C.A.R.E. Executive Administrator, explains, “C.A.R.E. continues its long-standing tradition in offering our member representatives and attendees the tools and information essential to remain on the cutting edge of the exciting vacation industry.”

–Yep, it’s an exciting new tool for an exciting industry, and we can’t wait to share it!

The Cayman Islands Department of Environment and Marine Conservation, partnering with Cayman Island brewery, CayBrew, has launched the world’s first conservation lager project.

Recognizing that the world’s sharks, and of particular concern the world’s largest species of sharks, are rapidly declining in numbers, this collaborative project seeks to underwrite the cost of research to help protect the species. This is a first of its kind project and is motivated in part by alarming statistics that show up to 90 percent decline in some shark species.

For every can of its White Tip lager that is sold, CayBrew is donating a nickel to the Sharks and Cetaceans Project. Additionally, when consumers scan a bar code on the can using their smartphone, they connect with the Cayman Islands Department of Environment website and gain information about, and updates on, the project.

Your Cayman Islands Timeshare

Of course, to enjoy the beers crafted by CayBrew, you really need to go to the Cayman Islands. Right now at your house, the leaves are turning and the crisp smell of fall is in the air, but you know the pleasant days are short lived. A few months from now, sleet, snow, and its-so-cold-my-car-won’t-start will be part of your daily routine.

Yet in the Cayman Islands, the sun will be beaming, the sand will be pristinely white, and the Caribbean waters will be warm and sparkling. Wouldn’t it be nice to know that at a Cayman Island timeshare there was a beachside chair waiting for you, perhaps one with an icy cold CayBrew beer sitting beside it?

Ten Reasons to Plan a Cayman Islands Timeshare Vacation Today

1. 7 Mile Beach Resort Timeshare, 2 bedroom, 2 bath condos with a fabulous on-site dive shop.
2. Castaways’ Cove Timeshare, offers access to private, serene beaches.
3. Coral Sands Resort, Grand Cayman Timeshare, a small resort located close to downtown Georgetown with easy walking to shopping, restaurants, and nightlife.
4. Grand Caymanian Resort Timeshare, located on the majestic North Sound, adjacent to the award-winning Links at SafeHaven 18-hole golf course.
5. Morritt’s Grand Resort Timeshare, located on the secluded East End of Grand Cayman Island with amazing ocean views from your private patio.
6. Morritt’s Tortuga Club Timeshare, offering a complete diving, snorkeling, and windsurfing program.
7. Morritt’s Tortuga Seaside Timeshare, for days snorkeling through the coral reef and five-star dining in the evenings.
8. Plantation Village Beach Resort Timeshare, ideally located on south end of famous Seven Mile Beach.
9. Royal Reef Resort Grand Cayman Timeshare, 1600 feet of white sand beachfront.
10. And because the sharks are counting on you.

Royal Reef Resort Grand Cayman Island timeshare

Earlier this month, the timeshare industry lost a great man and a part of its history.

Robert “Bob” Burns, Chairman and CEO of Vacation Internationale, died peacefully at his home in Sun Valley, Idaho on September 3, 2011, at the age of 87. He is missed by his wife of 33 years; his 7 children; his 24 grandchildren; and all who knew him or had the pleasure of working with him.

A passionate outdoorsman and skier, Burns was still skiing Mt. Baldy into his eighties.

A Pioneer in Timeshare and Vacation Ownership

In the early 1905s, Burns, along with five other families, jointly purchased and maintained a ski cabin condo in Washington. The property slept 25. Together the families restored the condo and enjoyed shared ownership, which they described as creating deep friendships and special memories.

Drawing on this experience, Burns, with business partner, Bob Ringenburg, developed the first non-hotel timeshare project in the US, selling beachfront leasehold condos at the Kaua’i Kailani on the island of Kauai, Hawaii.

In 1974, Burns and Riggenburg founded Vacation Internationale in Seattle, Washington, a company credited with founding the original timeshare points system. Vacation Internationale expanded from Burn’s first condo venture to include the acquisition of a 72-unit motel which it converted to a 40-year right to use timeshare. Later the company added properties on four of the Hawaiian islands.

Bob Burns was the inspiration and initial backer of Les Saisons Resort, Sun Valley’s first fractional ownership project. His son Michael is the founder of Private Residence Resorts of Sun Valley.

Source: Resort Trades; Inside the Gate and others.

Here is an excerpt from an article that appeared this week on The Canadian Finance Blog, the Canadian Source for Personal Finance.

This portion of “The Smart Consumer’s Approach to Buying Timeshare Resales” is reprinted here with permission. However, it is only a small portion of this informative article that is helpful to anyone, from any country, who is interested in learning more about timeshare on the secondary market.

To read the article in its entirety, go to: http://canadianfinanceblog.com/the-smart-consumer%E2%80%99s-approach-to-buying-timeshare-resales/

Canadian Timeshare Owners and Canadian Timeshare

Until the fall of 2007, Canadian timeshare buyers had, for at least thirty years, been in the position of paying for United States timeshare with Canadian dollars at an exchange rate that worked against Canadians. But as the US dollar has weakened, the playing field has become leveler. During the past few years, parity has shifted back and forth between the US dollar and the Canadian Loonie, but has remained roughly equivalent.

As long as the US dollar remains weak, Canadian consumers can head south to enjoy warmer winters in United States timeshares, taking advantage of the competitive prices of timeshare resales as well as a Canadian dollar that has strong buying power in the US.

For Canadians interested in buying Canada timeshare, global economic challenges again work to the benefit of Canadian buyers. American and European buyers have tightened their belts, cutting back on purchases of luxurious ski resort or mountain retreat timeshares in Canada, creating reduced demand and driving the price of Canadian vacation ownership even lower.

Buy Safe and Buy Smart

If you see the value in locking in the price of a lifetime of vacation accommodations at today’s prices and recognize the convenience and time savings of having a pre-paid, pre-planned vacation that rolls around year after year, then a timeshare resale is likely to be a great purchase for you. Know before you buy, that timeshares are an investment in vacationing, not a traditional investment from which you seek to gain financial return or appreciation.

Look at the cost of maintenance fees and or taxes you will need to pay annually. If you want to vacation in different destinations each year, consider the exchange value of the timeshare you are purchasing. Timeshares in peak times at high-demand destinations are easier to exchange than are smaller timeshares in off-season or low-demand resorts. Look at the potential cost to exchange your timeshare. Some resorts offer timeshare owners an internal exchange at a select group of resorts for little to no exchange fee. Timeshare exchange may also be made through membership with a timeshare exchange company. Such companies vary in cost, with some charging an annual membership fee and others charging you only a flat fee at the time of exchange.

In addition to which timeshare you buy, you also have options regarding how you buy it. You may wish to purchase a timeshare resale through a timeshare by-owner service or you may want to deal only with timeshares sales facilitated by a timeshare broker. Whichever option you choose, do your homework first.

Look to see what other comparable units or intervals are selling for as resales at the resort you are considering. If you are buying through a by-owner service or timeshare broker, look for one with a large, well-established website, and ideally a company that is a member of both ARDA (the American Resort Development Association) and CRDA (the Canadian Resort Development Association). Be extra cautious of timeshare sold through online auctions, as they may have many hidden fees or costs that aren’t evident until you are deep into the closing process.

Before you buy, understand that typically purchases of timeshare are governed by the law of the country in which the timeshare stands, but can occasionally be governed by the country in which a timeshare company is headquartered. Canadian law, like those in other countries, has ramped up in recent years, taking a tougher position on timeshare sales and resales for the increased protection of the consumer. You can view the most current Canadian regulations at Can LII under the heading: Time Share and Points-Based Contracts and Business Regulation.

Consider renting timeshare at a location where you are interested in buying as a way to try before you buy. Although over 80 percent of timeshare owners use and enjoy their timeshare, vacation ownership is not the right choice for everyone. Before buying a timeshare resale, take your time to shop, study and understand what you are buying; timeshare that you don’t use is never a smart way to spend your hard earned money

Related posts from The Timeshare Authority blog:

Canada Timeshares and Sell My Timeshare NOW

Alberta Canada Passing Tougher Timeshare Laws

CRDA Timeshare Conference and the Future of Canada Timeshare

Canadian Vacationers and Timeshare Owners Tired of Staycations

Banff Rocky Mountain Resort, a beautiful Canada timeshare

Festiva Hospitality Group, Inc has announced the selection of the organizations that will benefit from the 2011 Festiva Charitable Fund. This is the fifth year Festiva timeshare has supported select non-profit organizations through a flexible endowment.

The organizations chosen for this year are:

• The Kids’ Ranch in the Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, (home to Festiva’s Mirror Lake & Tamarack resorts), an early intervention and prevention program which connects youth, ages 6 through 10, with community members to build self esteem and self-respect through educational and recreational programs with a focus on literacy.
• Bus-Pass-It-On, in Asheville, North Carolina, a grassroots initiative formed to address the issue of transportation for homeless individuals. The initiative’s mission is to reduce and prevent homelessness in Buncombe County by meeting the transportation needs of residents who are on the verge of, or currently experiencing, homelessness.
• The Grandfather Home for Children, located in Banner Elk, North Carolina, (home to Festiva’s Blue Ridge Village resort) a children’s home established in 1914 that provides love and healing to more than 600 children and youth annually who have experienced deep hurt and trauma from neglect or abuse.
• Preble Street in Portland, Maine, (where Festiva Adventure Club’s primary sales center in the Northeast is located), an organization whose mission is to provide accessible barrier-free services to empower people experiencing problems with homelessness, housing, hunger, or poverty.
• Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust, in Rangeley, Maine, (home of Rangeley Lake Resort), and organization dedicated to preserving natural areas, scenic beauty, critical wildlife habitat, including the mountains, lakes, rivers and forests to the moose, eagles, wild trout and salmon as well as the rich historic traditions of logging and fishing.

The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting and expanding philanthropy, manages the Festiva Charitable Fund. For more information on Festiva Hospitality Group, Inc., the Charitable Fund or The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina, visit www.festiva.travel or www.cfwnc.org.

Follow these links for more information about timeshare resale and timeshare rental opportunities in Festiva Timeshare Resales and the Festiva Resorts Adventure Club.

Festiva Charitable Fund

Related news from The Timeshare Authority blog:
Festiva Timeshare Charity Auction Proves Sometimes Less Can Mean More