Have you been to our website lately? In April we launched a new look for our website, making it more user friendly and generally easier to use for timeshare buyers, timeshare sellers, and timeshare renters.

At the time, we did not announce the new look and new features with a lot of fanfare. We wanted to put the site in play…letting our clients and customers use it and report to us on it. If there were more improvements to be made, we wanted time to make them.

May was our first full month for evaluating the Sell My Timeshare NOW website’s performance, and frankly, we are very pleased. Despite the tight economy and rising cost of gas, offers to buy timeshare and rent timeshare went up at Sell My Timeshare NOW.

• Sell My Timeshare NOW’s website traffic was up 22 percent, year over year for the month of May.
• Unique visitors to the website increased 24 percent compared to last May.

But here’s where the news really gets exciting:

• In May, Sell My Timeshare NOW received 10,466 offers to buy or rent timeshare. That’s a 135 percent increase over May 2007. And the amount of these offers made to timeshare owners was $37,979,158 – that’s right, nearly $40 MILLION in the month of May. That’s an increase of 131 percent!

To read the full press release on the Sell My Timeshare NOW website’s new look go to: http://www.prweb.com/releases/SellMyTimeshareNOW/TimeshareResales/prweb1052164.htm

And to check out the look and improved usability of the site for yourself, follow these links to shop for great deals in timeshare resales and timeshare rentals.

Back in April, when The Timeshare Authority reported on complaints against Royal Holiday Timeshare, we weren’t the only one talking about the problems and alleged problems at this vacation club company. First, there was the investigation by ABC’s 20/20, and then came all the sources that followed up the 20/20 story. Among the publications covering the topic was TimeSharing Today, a timeshare owners magazine that has been in print since 1991.

To get caught up on the matter, you may want to read our past blog posts on the subject:

• Royal Holiday Timeshare Making the News for All the Wrong Reasons – Part I
• Royal Holiday Timeshare Making the News for All the Wrong Reasons – Part II

A Response from Royal Holiday Club Timeshare Company

In short, some timeshare owners at Royal Holiday felt that the product they bought was not as it was represented to them in the timeshare sales pitch they attended. Louis Laara Gonzalez, Director General of Royal Holiday Club, responded to the matter in general, and specifically to TimeSharing Today’s coverage of the situation, with a letter that included the following…

In his letter, which TimeSharing Today ran as a front cover item, Gonzalez went on to describe Royal Holiday Club as one of the largest and most successful vacation clubs in the world with a 25-year track record of providing outstanding service and vacation experiences. And in the spirit of fairness, the magazine additionally ran an article from a couple who have owned Royal Holiday Club timeshare since 1998 and who had only good things to say about the years they have spent with them.

For all of us involved in timeshare sales, timeshare resales, and timeshare rentals, it is important that we tell timeshare owners about problems, fraud, or scams that may be out there. But it is just as important, that we all also report on when and how these matters are remedied.

When financial analysts for Goldman Sachs looked at the timeshare industry recently, they may have overlooked something very important – the impact of timeshare resales.

In an article released last week, CNN.com reported that financial analyst Steven Kent, had observed that the timeshare industry would be one segment of the economy likely to see growth in 2008. Kent noted that the timeshare industry would probably see gains despite the real estate slump and the credit crunch. But he overlooked one other very important fact; he failed to give credit to timeshare resales for also slowing the sales of new timeshare.

While the lodging industry overall is feeling the crunch as consumers tighten their grasp on their dollars, timesharing is one segment of the hotel and lodging arena that continues to grow. But the timeshare industry isn’t escaping the weak economy totally unscathed; increases in the number of timeshares sold will be only slightly greater in 2008 than they were in 2007. In other words, timeshare sales are predicted to increase this year, but the percentage of growth will be less than it has been in the past.

The Associated Press article noted that Marriott International Inc, shares had fallen by 17 cents to $28.25 after hitting an earlier three-year low of $28.01. Similarly, Wyndham Worldwide Corp had gained 26 cents, but only after having already dropped to a low of $18.64 earlier that same day. While analysts may point their finger at the overall weak US economy, they are remiss in not addressing the effect timeshare resales have on the sale of new timeshares.

The Attraction of Timeshare Resales

Thanks to online timeshare advertising services like Sell My Timeshare NOW, it has become remarkably easy for timeshare owners to advertise their timeshare for sale, gaining global visibility on the World Wide Web. People interested in buying timeshare are turning to the resale marketplace to buy the same properties sold as new timeshare, but at a fraction of the price.

To quote James Carville, in advising former President Bill Clinton during his successful political campaign against former President George H. W. Bush, “…it’s the economy, stupid.”

But in this case, it’s also the value and ease of buying timeshare resales.

Economists, peering into their crystal balls, are negligent when they overlook the incredible impact that timeshare resales have on the sale of timeshares purchased from developers. As more and more people come to understand that the best values in vacation lodging today are in timeshare resales and timeshare rentals, bought or rented directly from the people who own them now, timeshare developers will continue to see changes in the timeshare marketplace.

…And that’s okay. The automobile industry can handle the co-existence of dealers that sell new cars, dealers that sell previously owned cars, dealers that sell both, and current car owners that resell their cars themselves…it works with cars…and it works with timeshares.

The Grand Mayan Riviera Maya timeshare resort comes in as HOT List property number 95 on this year’s list of the timeshare resorts that received the most offers to buy or rent through Sell My Timeshare NOW. This beautiful resort is located just 20 miles from Mexico’s Cancun International Airport at Playa del Carmen, where the aquamarine waters of the Caribbean meet white sand beaches along Mexico’s Riviera coast. The locals call this beachside city, “Playa”.

Many vacationers and timeshare owners at the Grand Mayan Riviera Maya find Playa to be just the right mix of nightlife and sizzle paired with an authentic Mexican laidback lifestyle.

From this timeshare resort, you can take the ferry to Cancun, explore the Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza, Uxmal or Tulum/Coba, or enjoy all the beachside activities for which the warm, clear waters of the Caribbean are famous.

What to Expect in Your Grand Mayan Riviera Maya Timeshare Unit

Timeshare units at the Grand Mayan Riviera Maya are categorized as: Master Rooms (with two double beds, designed to accommodate 2 adults and 2 children); Suites (with a king-size bed and 2 sofa beds, designed to accommodate 4 adults and 2 children); and Master Suites (with a king-size bed, 2 doubles, and 2 sofa beds, designed to accommodate 6 adults and 2 children).

All suites include a stove, mini-fridge, microwave, small kitchen appliances, and dinnerware. Every timeshare unit at the resort has air conditioning, satellite or cable television, marble bathroom fixtures, ceiling fans, ironing boards, an electronic safe, and the vacation luxury of room service.

Besides the pool, tennis courts, and unique Nicklaus Design 18-hole, par 54 golf course, there is a spa, on-site medical services, and a cyber café.

Under development are plans to create a shopping area (in addition to the current Jade Boutique), a meeting and convention center, and a water park on-property at the timeshare resort.

Opportunities in Grand Mayan Riviera Mayan Timeshare Resales

Like all the properties on Sell My Timeshare NOW’s HOT 100 List, there are excellent opportunities for you to buy timeshare resales or rent timeshare at Riviera Mayan. You’ll find one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and two-bedroom lockout timeshare units for sale and for rent, with timeshare rental prices starting at under $100 per night along with many timeshare rentals listed as “negotiable”.

And when you plan your Grand Mayan Riviera Maya timeshare vacation, here are some interesting travel tips:

Follow this link to learn more about Mexico timeshare resales from Sell My Timeshare NOW.