Yesterday, here at the Dover, NH offices of Sell My Timeshare NOW, it was our privilege to host a visit from Senator John Sununu. Senator Sununu has a long history of working hard to advance internet technology and has been instrumental in effecting the passage of the 2007 Internet Tax Freedom Act.
As I have written in the Timeshare Owners Blog, so many times, affordable access to the internet is critical. Layering taxes on top of taxes on the use of the internet, including email and wireless devices like Blackberries, could put this vital lifeline out of the reach of many people. Internet based businesses, like Sell My Timeshare NOW’s timeshare resale advertising and marketing services and many other companies, would be seriously impacted by internet taxation.
Because of the efforts of Senator Sununu, and other dedicated lawmakers, the ban on internet access taxation has been extended until November 2014. In keeping with our niche as an internet marketing company, Sell My Timeshare NOW thought it appropriate that the award we gave Senator Sununu be an inscribed silver plated computer mouse.
Senator Sununu’s has said this of past efforts to levy taxes on internet access, “This seven-year ban nearly doubles the House proposal and further strengthens tax protections for e-mails and instant messaging. I will continue to fight for a permanent ban on access taxes, but this is a strong step forward. Taxing the Internet is wrong for consumers and wrong for the economy.”
The Internet Tax Freedom Act passed the House by a vote of 402 to 0. It passed the Senate in a unanimous voice vote, and was then signed into law by President George W. Bush.
Again today, I am bringing you Nevada timeshare resort news. The Thunderbird Lodge Timeshare Resort in Sparks, Nevada (the Tahoe area) is now officially part of the RCI network of timeshare exchange.
The Thunderbird Lodge has one and two-bedroom timeshare condos, and is located conveniently near the Sparks Marina. The property includes a swimming pool, is adjacent to an 18-hole golf course, and offers timeshare owners the opportunity to enjoy both water sports at the marina and snow skiing in the nearby mountains.
Thunderbird Lodge timeshare is part of Q M Resorts, which is based in Sparks, and also includes The Ridge Sierra Timeshares in Stateline, Nevada; North Lake Lodges and Villas in Incline, Nevada; Tahoe Chaparral Timeshares at the base of Diamond Peak Ski Resort; and the Victoria RV Park.
Group RCI, is part of Wyndham Timeshares and the Wyndham Worldwide corporation offer its members timeshare exchange opportunities at approximately 60,000 timeshare resorts in over 100 countries.
Luxury Hotels and Timeshare Resorts in Las Vegas Are the Trend
With changes in ownership, will Las Vegas’ historic cornerstone, Harrah’s Entertainment, hold its course or will it give in to new trends in hotel and resort development?
The recent trend in Las Vegas has been toward luxurious, uber-elegant hotels and resorts. The Wynn Resort and the Bellagio Las Vegas, along with other properties like the Planet Hollywood Towers currently under construction by Westgate Timeshare, give evidence to the fact that developers believe visitors are willing to pay more for a high-end vacation experience. With boutique properties gaining ground all the time as the latest trend in hotel accommodations, much of the industry seems to be betting their money on the idea that “more is more” when it comes to distinction, elegance, and a unique hotel or timeshare resort property.
Which leaves the legendary Harrah’s — the world’s largest gaming company — trying to decide whether to follow the pack or continue doing what it has done so well over the years. Harrah’s carved out its place in the resort and gaming market by catering to the needs of a middle income client who came to Vegas (or other destinations like Reno, Atlantic City, and Biloxi) to gamble, not to shop and not to spend time in his or her hotel room.
Harrah’s hotels along the Las Vegas strip include Harrah’s, the Rio, the Imperial Palace and the Flamingo. All are very nice but none are true ultra luxury properties. Instead, they afford Las Vegas visitors a pleasant place to sleep and shower before returning to the buffet lines, the shows, and most importantly, the gaming tables, which for many visitors are the sole reason they came to Las Vegas. None of the Harrah’s properties are timeshare resorts, nor are any of them particularly geared to the family vacation.
But Harrah’s is now facing new ownership. The private equity firms of Apollo Management and Texas Pacific Group are about to become equity partners in Harrah’s Entertainment. And while word on the street is that the investors will leave current management in place and let them continue to call the shots, who really knows what will happen in the months and years to come?
Harrah’s board of directors initially approved a buyout offer by the two investment companies in April 2007, and late last month Nevada regulators gave their approval. Some sources have claimed that the purchase of Harrah’s Entertainment is one of the largest leveraged buyouts in history. Apollo and Texas Pacific currently manage the investment monies, (around $70 billion) of endowments, charities, and pension funds.
The history of Harrah’s Entertainment goes back to an inauspicious origin as a bingo parlor in Reno in 1937. Currently Harrah’s has some $4 billion slated for new projects, but not all of it will go to the company’s Las Vegas properties. Many brands in many locations are part of Harrah’s Entertainment including some of the Bally Casinos, Caesars, Grand Casinos, Horseshoe, Paris Las Vegas, Showboat, and the World Series of Poker.
It will be interesting to observe the changes made by Harrah’s in the days and weeks to come. With the soft economy overall, will people who travel to Las Vegas be looking for better deals in hotel and timeshare accommodations? Or will the middle-income buyer curtail his trips to Vegas, leaving the demand primarily among the high rollers who are willing to pay the higher prices for plush accommodations? And how will all of this affect timeshares resorts in destinations with Harrah’s owned and managed properties – which are not limited to Las Vegas, Reno, and Atlantic City? Harrah’s Entertainment has resorts and or casinos in: Indiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Iowa, Arizona, California, Illinois, Louisiana, Missouri, Ontario, and Pennsylvania.
In the end, only time will tell. But current Las Vegas timeshare owners, looking to sell Las Vegas timeshare or use it as a timeshare rental, have plenty of reasons to remain optimistic about the Las Vegas timeshare resales market. Likewise, those of you who are ready to buy timeshare in Las Vegas should expect to find excellent deals on timeshare resales in the inventory of Sell My Timeshare NOW.
Plan on a Disney Vacation Club Timeshare holiday. Take the kids and see Cinderella, Mickey, and all the other lovable characters at Walt Disney World. But don’t plan on taking your children with you if you have reservations to dine at Victoria & Alberts at the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa.
Victoria & Alberts is the only Orlando Disney restaurant with a 5-diamond rating, and offers unquestionably some of, if not the best dining at Disney World. But this crystal and linen dining room serves 7-course meals that can last as long as three hours. Prices start at $125 per person and there has never been a children’s menu available at Victoria & Alberts. Obviously, the restaurant was never intended to attract family dining.
After Disney made the announcement, The Orlando Sentinel quoted Rosemary Rose, Disney World’s vp of food, beverage and merchandise operations, as saying that no more than two or three families a month brought young children to Victoria & Albert’s. Which now makes you ask, “So what was the problem?”
I wonder if Norman Van Aken, owner of Norman’s at the Ritz Carlton in Orlando, doesn’t have the right idea when he suggests that banning children from the restaurant is a clever marketing strategy that causes people to now view Victoria & Albert’s as extremely special. Disney’s announcement has certainly garnered plenty of press coverage as people examine their thoughts on the, “happiest place on earth,” no longer permitting children under the age of 10 in their best dining room.
But go ahead and plan your stay at your Disney Vacation Club timeshare. Whatever the reason for the new policy, the decision shouldn’t cause a problem for more than, “two or three families a month”.
Owning a Disney Vacation Club Timeshare is easy and affordable when you shop timeshare resales and timeshare rentals available through Sell My Timeshare NOW. To learn more about Disney Orlando timeshare visit the links below:
And for a retro view of the Happiest Place on Earth, watch this YouTube video of a 1971 television commercial for the (then) very new, Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom.
