I am not sure any of us are truly ready for human bed warmers, but apparently, Holiday Inn, UK, thinks maybe we are.

Introduced at Holiday Inn London Kensington Forum, Holiday Inn Manchester Central Park, and Holiday Inn Kingston South, hotel guests can, (during a trial period) reserve a human bed warmer to raise the temperature of their bed sheets. This service provides for a member of the human bed warmer team, dressed in an all-in-one-sleeper suit, to climb under your covers and pre-warm your bed using body heat.

Jane Bednall, spokesperson for Holiday Inn explains: “People want to leave the cold outside and climb into a warm bed. The new Holiday Inn bed warmers service is a bit like having a giant hot water bottle in your bed, warming it up before guests climb in to give them a great night’s sleep away from the cold. And of course they jump out before you jump in!”

I don’t know how I feel about this idea, but I do know there are some excellent cobranded Holiday Inn Orange Lake timeshare resorts in sunny Florida, where you could skip the need for this service all together.

Opportunities in Orange Lake Timeshare Resales and Rentals:

• Orange Lake’s West Village timeshare resales
• Orange Lake’s East Village timeshare resales
• Orange Lake’s North Village timeshare resales
• Orange Lake’s River Island timeshare resales

Last week, when a popular newspaper ran an article bemoaning timeshare ownership, they told the stories of unhappy timeshare owners. First, there was a woman who bought a timeshare four years ago and has yet to use it. Then came the timeshare owners whose job loss, compounded by the decision to start their own business, left them wishing they could get the timeshare company to “take the contract back.” And don’t forget the couple going through a divorce, who could no longer afford their timeshare.

These are very real stories, each valid, stressful, and sad. Worst of all, they are situations that are multiplied many times over, especially in light of today’s unstable economy and dwindling job market.

…But with that said, let’s get real.

How many products or services do you purchase and count on being able to quickly and easily find a buyer for, if you change your mind?

How often do people, when confronted with job loss, divorce, illness, or any of a number of other life events wish they hadn’t bought their home or hadn’t purchased that new car? How typical is it that any of us in a tough economic situation would regret the big entertainment system, the boat, the travel trailer, or any other luxury expenditure that left us wishing we had saved more, spent less, and done something differently in the past to have put us on better financial footing today?

When timeshares are criticized for having “iron clad” contracts, you have to wonder what type of contract one proposes they have instead? If you buy a home, buy or lease a vehicle, rent an apartment, or even just have a credit card, you deal with some pretty “iron clad” contracts. Good fences make good neighbors and typically, good contracts protect you in far more ways than they restrict you.

Two Sides to the Story of Timeshare Ownership and Timeshare Resale

Why single out one industry and look for unhappy consumers as if that tells the whole story? Yes, there are many timeshares for sale on the secondary market and this probably won’t be a record-breaking year for the sale of new timeshares, either.

There are also too many homes for sale in most neighborhoods, too many used luxury cars for resale on most car lots, and far too many diamond engagement rings hocked at the end of a broken marriage. Does that make owning a home, buying a car, or getting married all negative things?

Let’s back off painting timeshares with the “bad guy” brush. Solid industry research confirms that there are millions—millions—of timeshare owners who are satisfied with their purchase and use and enjoy it regularly. There are also rock solid timeshare developers as well as some reliable timeshare resale companies working to serve the needs of the secondary market.

One of the best things about Hawaii vacations is that you can, “get away from it all.” Blue skies, bluer water, beautiful beaches and far from the responsibilities of work and your daily grind.

Unfortunately, this “best thing” has also proven to be a challenge to Hawaii tourism this past year as budget conscious travelers opt for drive-to destinations or the dreaded, “staycation”. This leaves Hawaii rolling out the red carpet more than ever for travel, tourism, events, and attractions that refocus the world on Hawaii as a favorite place for a honeymoon, family vacation, or timeshare holiday.

Hawaii Welcomes Captain Jack Sparrow and Disney Vacation Club Timeshare

The fourth installment of the popular Disney movie, “Pirates of the Caribbean” series is scheduled for filming in Hawaii during the summer of 2010. Johnny Depp will return to his role as Captain Jack Sparrow in “On Stranger Tides.” The film, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, is estimated to mean roughly $85 million to the economy of Hawaii.

But Disney’s commitment to Hawaii, does not stop with Captain Jack. The fabulous Disney timeshare resort and hotel, “Aulani” will open in 2011. This luxurious Hawaii timeshare resort will offer 480 timeshare villas plus 350 hotel rooms, all located on 21 acres of beautiful oceanfront property.

The Timeshare Authority has been following the Disney timeshare project for a Hawaii timeshare since it was first planned. (Read more here: Disney Vacation Club Timeshare Makes for Optimism in Ko Olina; Disney Vacation Club Timeshare Moving Forward with New Hawaii Timeshare). Just this week Disney announced “Aulani” as the official name of what up until now, has been called the Ko Olina Resort.

Walt Disney Imagineering Creative Senior Vice President Joe Rohde explains, “We want this resort destination to reflect the vibrant culture that surrounds it. The name ‘Aulani’ expresses a connection to tradition and deep story-telling — and its roots are here in this land”

The word, “aulani”, according to Disney, means, “the place that speaks for the great ones” or “the place that speaks with deep messages.” I’d say the message is both great and deep when it comes to the wonder of Hawaii timeshares at a Disney timeshare resort … it would be enough to make even Captain Jack give up the Black Pearl.

Representatives of timeshare and vacation ownership companies met this week in Orlando, Florida for ARDA’s Timeshare Social Media Symposium.

In a full-day session titled, “What’s the Big Deal?” timeshare industry leaders looked at ways to put social media to work to better outreach to their market. Scheduled speakers included Howard C. Nusbaum, President and CEO ARDA; Peter C Yesawich, Chairman and CEO Y Partnership; Professor Sree Sreenivasan, Dean of Student Affairs and Digital Media Professor Columbia Graduate School of Journalism; Rob Tappan, President Weber Merritt; and other industry leaders.

How important is it that the timeshare and vacation ownership industries step up to social media?

Answer: Critical!

Just this week, the cover story for NewMediaAge is that both Coca-Cola and Unilever corporations are, “…moving away from sites created on a campaign-by-campaign basis in favour of investment in existing communities. While both companies will continue to create campaign sites for certain brands in the immediate future, they have said the long-term future lies with social media on platforms populated by their target consumers. Coca-Cola will position its official Facebook and YouTube pages as the lead online channels for upcoming international activity for its Coke Zero and Fanta brands, new media age understands.”

These two industry giants are among the many companies of all sizes and all types that are turning more and more to social media to build relationships. The bottom line is that social media enables companies to go where their consumers and potential consumers already are, rather than looking for ways to draw their market to them at their existing websites.

Here’s the critical message for all of us involved in timeshare development, timeshare sales, timeshare resales, management, and every other aspect of the timeshare and vacation ownership industry: You can lead or you can be left behind

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