Just because callers claim to be affiliated with RCI, doesn’t mean they are.

This is the costly lesson some timeshare owners are learning. To combat the recent problem, RCI is notifying it’s subscribing members to be on the lookout for a timeshare scam in the form of misleading timeshare resale or timeshare rental offers. Some “entities” have been contacting timeshare owners and either claiming or implying to be connected with RCI.

These businesses may then ask for fees or even power of attorney in order to conduct business (supposedly a timeshare sale or timeshare rental) on behalf of the timeshare owner. RCI suggests that timeshare owners with any questions about the authenticity of a call they receive, simply contact RCI directly at 800-338-7777 for confirmation.

If you are an RCI subscribing member and did not receive RCI’s letter, signed by RCI North America President, Gordon Gurnik, or you are a non-member, but you wish to learn more, go to the website for InnSeason Resorts and click on the words– Alert: RCI Resale Advisory. InnSeason Vacation Club has helpfully posted the letter there.

As reported on Ask Mando, RCI has been recognized among Indiana’s 2010 ‘Best Places To Work’. RCI is part of Wyndham Exchange & Rentals, and a global leader in timeshare exchange, with approximately 65,000 vacation and timeshare resort properties in 100 countries worldwide.

And when you learn about some of the RCI timeshare employee benefits, it becomes clear that the company has every reason to have earned this award. Consider how much employee satisfaction could be generated if all employers offered, on-site, a massage room, a meditation room, and a fitness center. How about Wii and Xbox gaming systems, ping pong tables, basketball courts, and shoe shine service to go with it? And once you throw in the annual vacations to timeshare resorts in desirable destinations such as Cancun or the Bahamas, it gets easy to see why RCI timeshare employees rate their employer so highly.

Recognition of RCI Timeshare Indiana

Though a project created by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, BizVoice, Inside INdiana Business, the Indiana Youth Institute, the Indiana Economic Development Corporation and Best Companies Group, exemplary Indiana employers were recognized from a category that includes: businesses that have at least 25 employees in Indiana, have a facility in Indiana, and have been in business for a minimum of one year.

Winning companies had distinguished themselves through the company’s workplace policies, practices and demographics, and based on an employee survey that measures the employee experience.

Gordon Gurnik, president, RCI North America says, “We are thrilled to have been named one of the Best Places to Work in Indiana for the second year in a row.” He noted that RCI Indiana was also named as a Top Work Place by the Indianapolis Star.

Corporate-wide, RCI in New Jersey was honored as a top company to work for in New Jersey in 2010. Worldwide, RCI employs more than 7000 lucky employees, over a thousand of whom are based in Carmel, Indiana.

Follow this link to read about RCI Indiana and the Biggest Loser: RCI Timeshare Exchange Employees Rebrand Themselves as ‘Losers’

While deeded timeshare may not be as prevalent as it once was, there are still many timeshare owners who own their timeshare by deed in contrast to vacation club membership or Right To Use timeshare ownership. With deeded timeshare ownership, timeshare owners actually own a percentage of their timeshare unit and also may have shared ownership of the timeshare resort’s commons areas. In contrast, Right to Use ownership is much more like a lease agreement, granting the timeshare owner the right to use the property at a certain time, and typically for a predetermined number of years.

Deeded timeshare gives the timeshare owner many rights, but along with those rights may come certain responsibilities. In the US, deeded timeshare is typically owned in perpetuity. Most deeded timeshare is also transferable, meaning that the timeshare owner has the right to give the timeshare away (if it is fully paid for or the recipient takes over payments), to sell the timeshare, or to leave it to his or her heirs in a legal will.

But timeshare owners who have deeded fee interest ownership in a timeshare may also be responsible for any liabilities that arise in conjunction with the timeshare resort. For example, if someone is injured at the timeshare property and files a lawsuit naming the resort, the responsibilities can extend to the deeded owners.

Timeshare Owners Deserve Answers

Timeshare owners don’t always fully understand what they own. This lack of understanding can give rise to problems or at the very least, limit the timeshare owner’s enjoyment of his property. If you own timeshare, seek to be an educated timeshare owner. Ask questions of knowledge timeshare experts, such as the timeshare resale and rentals specialists at Sell My Timeshare NOW. Become a part of a timeshare owner’s consumer group, like the National Timeshare Owners Association. Read up on the subject, including Lisa Ann Schreier’s classic, Timeshare Vacations for Dummies.

Timeshare resorts sometimes look to convert deeded timeshare ownership to a points based or right to use system. If this happens at your resort, it’s good to know there are places you can turn for answers.

Wyndham Vacation Ownership (Wyndham timeshare) is moving in a new direction with a marketing and sales agreement with the Towers on the Grove LLC for a North Myrtle Beach timeshare property. The condo and timeshare units include studio, one, two, and three-bedroom fully furnished units, most with private balconies and many with ocean views.

Towers on the Grove is a beachside condominium for which Wyndham Vacation Ownership has become the exclusive sales and marketing agent. The arrangement will start with 137 units with 50 timeshare units more to be added over the next three years. Wyndham Consumer Finance will service all of the consumer loan originations associated with the sale of these 50 timeshare units. The consumer loan originations that occur for the other 137 timeshare units will be funded by Towers on the Grove South, LLC.

These 187 timeshare units sold or acquired by the company will operate as part of the CLUB WYNDHAM PLUS portfolio of vacation ownership resorts. The Towers on the Grove includes a total of 232 units, of which some 45 are wholly owned as condos. Wyndham Vacation Ownership is now managing the entire property and commenced timeshare sales and timeshare rentals there last month.

Wyndham timeshare already has a strong presence in the Myrtle Beach, South Carolina vacation area with Wyndham timeshares available at Myrtle Beach at Westwinds Timeshare.