…continued from yesterday’s blog post, “Wyndham Worldwide Resorts and Wyndham Timeshare Releases 2007 Financials”

Despite all the good news in Wyndham’s financial report released this week, here’s the part of it I really don’t like to see. I will quote it exactly as it appears from the Wyndham report:

“Gross Vacation Ownership Interest sales (which exclude the effect of deferred revenues) were $488 million for the fourth quarter of 2007, up 4 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2006, driven by marketing efforts resulting in increases in tour flow and volume per guest based on strong performance by our sales force and continued strength in transaction pricing.”

Let’s face it, part of the reason Wyndham timeshare, purchased as new timeshare weeks or new timeshare condos from the Wyndham company, is making them so much money, has to do with how much they make by loaning you the money to buy timeshare in the first place.

When you buy timeshare as new property, you pay the full developer price, which can be shockingly higher than the cost to buy timeshare as a resale. More importantly, if you buy timeshare and finance it through the developer, you are adding significantly to your purchase price through the interest you will pay over the life of the loan.

Timeshare Resales: You Owe It to Yourself to Learn More

Wyndham timeshare is a fabulous way to vacation and owning timeshare is one of the few ways you have to lock in the current price of vacation accommodations. But before you buy timeshare, you owe it to yourself to visit Sell My Timeshare NOW and look at the many Wyndham timeshare resales that are available to buy or rent at very competitive prices.

Often, people find that when they buy timeshare resales, the savings is so significant that they no longer have to use long-term financing in order to pay for their vacation ownership property. In other words—timeshare resales enable them to benefit from a double-savings, first on the purchase price, and then on all the interest they are saving by not financing their purchase.

To learn more about the excellent opportunities in Wyndham timeshare resales and timeshare rentals, go to Sell My Timeshare NOW and search “Timeshares for Sale” under the Wyndham name or the location of your next dream vacation.

This week, Wyndham Worldwide and Wyndham Timeshare released both their fourth quarter 2007 and their annual 2007 financial reports. The company showed their net income for 2007 increasing by 40 percent to $403 million, compared with a 2006 net income of $287 million. And revenues for the full year 2007 increased by 13 percent to $4.4 billion. I’d say, if the people at Wyndham or their customers think there is a recession pending, it certainly isn’t reflected in numbers like these.

Wyndham Worldwide and Wyndham Timeshare CEO and Chairman, Stephen P. Holmes says, “Our company continues to benefit from a global portfolio of economically resilient businesses and brands and from our multiple revenue sources, with more than half of our revenue generated from fee-for-service businesses. We continue to believe that our business model solidly positions us for continued growth, even in what looks like a tougher economic environment in 2008.”

Wyndham Timeshare is an Important Part of the Picture

Wyndham WorldWide Resorts categorizes their business under three headings, with vacation ownership (Wyndham timeshare) being a very important one of the three. In 2007, Wyndham timeshare added more than 1500 timeshare units or timeshare condos to their portfolio of timeshare resorts. Wyndham timeshare revenues and gross vacation ownership sales increased 14 percent, year-over-year for 2007.

Significantly, despite the threat of pending recession and the media’s coverage of slow retail sales during the holidays, Wyndham timeshare saw a 17 percent increase in timeshare revenues and gross vacation ownership in the fourth quarter of 2007, compared to the same quarter during 2006.

Wyndham timeshare exchange members increased by 5 percent for the full year 2007 compared to 2006, and set a new Wyndham timeshare record with more than 3.5 million timeshare owner members.

What Wyndham Timeshare’s Strength Means to Timeshare Owners

When Wyndham timeshare releases strong numbers like these, Wyndham timeshare owners should feel comfortable with their decision to buy Wyndham timeshare. The Wyndham Worldwide Corporation can never ignore the significant contribution that timeshare owners make to the company’s overall revenues.

If you want to buy timeshare at Wyndham, you can expect that Wyndham should continue to grow and nurture their timeshare division with attentive property maintenance and a commitment to offering their timeshare owners excellent locations, amenities and benefits. You also know, that as a Wyndham timeshare owner, demand for your timeshare weeks will stay strong in the timeshare resales market or if you choose to use your timeshare as a vacation rental.

But as with most things, there are two sides to this story. In tomorrow’s Timeshare Owners Blog, I am going to continue talking about Wyndham timeshare, as we look at this financial report again and do a little reading between the lines…

With a late-season surge in the flu going on in many parts of the US, it is easy to assume that most travel-related illnesses are airborne, but according to a recent health edition article on Forbes.com, experts estimate that up to 50 percent of travel related illnesses are contracted from contaminated water or food.

Many people today find it difficult to work more than one vacation into their schedules and budgets each year; for others, those treasured vacation days roll around even less frequently. So what could possibly be worse than saving dollars and vacation days for months, even years, only to plan a trip and spend any part of it feeling ill?

The Forbes online article quotes Dr. Susan McLellan, director of the Tulane University Travel Clinic and associate professor of medicine in infectious disease at Tulane University School of Medicine as saying, “Traveling without taking some precautions is like driving without your seatbelt. You’re probably going to be fine-unless something bad happens.”

Here are some worthwhile tips about staying healthy on vacation, and a few thoughts on how owning a timeshare or timeshare resale makes guarding your health when you travel even easier.

Playing it Safe with a Timeshare Condo

Everyone knows that they should drink only bottled water when traveling abroad. And most people even remember that rules applies to the water they use when they brush their teeth, or wash a piece of fruit. But here’s something many travelers don’t know: play it safe with bottled water and drink only from bottles that you open personally.

Restaurants have been known to serve bottled water to guests, but to “graciously” remove the bottle cap first. While you may think they are being accommodating, (and maybe they are) they may, in fact be serving you tap water that has been poured into the bottled water container as a cost saving measure.

And here’s another food-handling tip that could make the difference in a great vacation and a week spent tethered to the bathroom: the fewer times food is handled, the lower the risk of it making you ill. As Forbes writer Allison Van Dusen points out, “You might be better off eating something straight from a street vendor’s boiling pot than off a swanky hotel buffet that’s been sitting around for a while.”

A week in an exotic location may be just the recharge your brain and body needs. Even a not-so-exotic location, like Mexico timeshares, can offer you the sun, sand, and the climate change your body craves, without traveling halfway around the world. But wherever you go, vacationing in a timeshare condo with kitchen facilities might turn out to be the difference between a fabulous holiday and a miserable experience.

You don’t have to bypass dining in restaurants when you go on a timeshare vacation; new and diverse cuisines are part of the fun of travel. But the truth is: you dramatically improve your odds of avoiding travelers’ illness by limiting the number of times you eat food prepared by others. An in-suite kitchen and dining area is a rarity in most hotels, and not available in every timeshare resort. But there are plenty of timeshare resorts in the US and abroad that do offer kitchen and in-room dining areas. Selecting a timeshare condo that provides a kitchen means you personally have control of the food handling and safety of the meals you and your family eat. Like the experts say, you’ll be fine, unless something bad happens…so when you plan a vacation, make it a timeshare vacation. You will be improving your odds of staying healthy as well as enjoying wonderful accommodations and amenities.

To learn more about the opportunities in timeshare resales and timeshare rentals visit Sell My Timeshare NOW.

You own timeshare weeks. You get a call, out of the blue, from a timeshare sales company that tells you they have someone interested in buying your timeshare real estate. Maybe you were thinking about selling…maybe the idea to sell timeshare you own had not crossed your mind before. Either way, if there really is an interested buyer, you think…perhaps this is a good time to sell my timeshare.

So you send the timeshare sales company a refundable deposit, typically between £ 400 and £ 1000 (approximately 750 to 1900 US dollars). The timeshare company calls the fee a “guarantee”. Once they have the deposit, they explain to you that they will hold your deposit for up to twelve months, awaiting the timeshare sale they had implied was imminent.

So you wait…and wait…and finally called the timeshare sales company, who tells you either that there has been a paperwork slowdown or perhaps, does not even take your call at all.

You are the victim of a timeshare scam.

Your timeshare real estate won’t be sold and you probably won’t see your “guarantee” money again, or at best not more than a small percentage of what you paid, should the legal system be able to intervene on your behalf. While this and other timeshare scams have happened before, this particular scenario describes Yacht Trading UK, a timeshare sales company that now faces charges in British High Court, following an investigation by the UK governmental Companies Investigation Branch.

In reality, Yacht Trading UK was never more than a post office box in Manchester, England, from which mail was then forwarded to Spain. Checks were cashed, some “company executives” (and I use the phrase loosely) were living the good life, and not one single timeshare resale was ever sold, nor did any of the timeshare owners receive their money back.

The petition to wind up the company in the public interest was presented in December 2007 and the company went into compulsory liquidation earlier this month. Good that they have been shut down, but the people behind this company have been part of other timeshare scams in the past, and are likely to surface again.

If you have had problems with Yacht Trading UK Timeshare company, and would like additional information about the investigation, contact: The Official Receiver, Public Interest Unit, PO Box 326, 17-21 Chorlton Street, Manchester, England M60 3ZZ. Telephone: 0161 934 4182 Email: [email protected]

Also, here is an interesting link to HolidayWatchdog.com where you can read about the problems others have had with this timeshare sales company. You are also welcome to post your comments here on the Timeshare Owners Blog.