The highly respected timeshare and hospitality resort design experts, The Lubner Group, have been named as a finalist in the Resort Design Division of the American Resort Development Association’s (ARDA) annual Awards Program.

The Lubner Group has earned this prestigious award based on its design work at Bluegreen Harbour Lights vacation ownership resort in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and the Carriage House Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada, which have been selected as finalists in the Resort Refurbishment Category of the ARDA awards.

Dan Lubner, President of the Lubner Group and Clive Daniel Home in Naples, Florida explains, “We are extremely pleased with this important recognition from ARDA since it reflects the high quality of our work within the vacation ownership resort and hospitality industries.”

The Lubner Group provides purchasing and design services for commercial and shared-use properties including timeshare resorts, hotels, fractional ownership and private residence clubs plus developers of condominiums and single-family communities in North America and abroad.

Other Recent News Lubner Group News from The Timeshare Authority blog:

• Before and After Look at a Florida Timeshare Transformation
• The Lubner Group Completes Renovation on Key West Timeshare

This could be your sweetest Valentine’s Day ever if you and your sweetie plan a getaway to Bluegreen timeshare’s The Suites at Hershey.

Spend Valentine’s Day at a romantic destination where the air is fragrant with chocolate. The community of Hershey, Pennsylvania, home to The Hershey Company, Bluegreen timeshare’s The Suites at Hershey, and all the chocolate-themed magic of Hersheypark, is known as the sweetest place on earth. Relaxing at Bluegreen’s The Suites at Hershey makes all that sweetness even sweeter.

Enjoy spacious, modern two-bedroom, two-bath accommodations, with kitchen and dining area. Explore the countryside of rural Pennsylvania, historic sites, charming shopping and dining venues and, of course, everything chocolate at Hersheypark. With a year-round indoor pool, seasonal outdoor pool, fitness center, comfy beds and romantic fireplaces, you and your Valentine can relax and enjoy your getaway or bring along all your “little Valentines” for a family fun vacation.

Great deals are available in Bluegreen timeshare and Bluegreen timeshare resales and rentals.

More Bluegreen timeshare and The Suites at Hershey news from The Timeshare Authority blog:

• Chocolate-ly Goodness, The Suites at Hershey Bluegreen Timeshare
• Bluegreens Hershey Timeshare Resort Hosting Fans of WWE SmackDown
• A Chocolate Flavored Timeshare Vacation
• Hershey Timeshares and Chocolate—It’s All Good News
• Cool Technology for Bluegreen Timeshare Owners, Good Move for the Industry

Bluegreen’s The Suites at Hershey are among an elite number of timeshare resorts that carry the RCI Gold Crown property designation.

Bluegreen timeshare’s Daytona Beach resorts Daytona SeaBreeze and Fantasy Island Resort II, are getting ready to welcome timeshare owners and guests attending Mozart’s Don Giovanni, presented by the Daytona Beach Symphony Society and the Mozart Festival Opera Company, part of the Daytona Beach Winterfest,  Friday, January 27, 2012.

Harold Channell, General Manager at Bluegreen’s Daytona SeaBreeze resort says, “Daytona SeaBreeze is conveniently located right on the World’s Most Famous Beach. It is the perfect place to relax after witnessing what is considered to be one of the best operas ever written—Mozart’s Don Giovanni. If your vacation brings you to Daytona in January, you definitely won’t want to miss this performance.”

The Mozart Festival Opera Company’s presentation of Don Giovanni begins at 7 PM,  Friday, January 27, 2012. But is only part of the Winterfest music schedule for that weekend, which includes: The Canadian Brass on January 28 and Russia’s internationally acclaimed St. Petersburg State Orchestra on January 29. For music lovers, a weekend at the beach doesn’t get much better than this, especially when your days begin and end in the comfort of a Bluegreen timeshare resort.

The 2012 WIN Orlando Regional Conference will be held January 27-28, 2012, at The Fountains, a Bluegreen Resort and the Talent Experience Center at Marriott’s Cypress Harbour Resort timeshares in Orlando, Florida. This will be the third annual Orlando Regional Conference for Women in the Industry (WIN).

Women in the Industry (WIN) was established to advocate, educate and connect women in the timeshare and vacation industry, with the primary purpose of fostering the growth of women in the shared ownership and timeshare industry.

This year’s Orlando event will open with a networking reception on Friday night; and will include the WIN Boutique for shopping; and Saturday programs which will  feature an introduction to the WIN mentoring program, WIN program updates, presentations from the 2012 WIN philanthropic recipients, and informative educational sessions including Work-Life Balance Panel and the Career Advancement Panel.

You can learn more about WIN at: www.womenintheindustry.org, as well as finding out more about WIN meetings and events on the ARDA website at www.womenintheindustry.org

Note: Registration for the Orlando WIN Regional Conference is now sold out.

The always-popular Bluegreen timeshare resort, The Suites at Hershey, have received a Gold Crown Resort property designation from RCI timeshare exchange.

Jay Lloyd, General Manager of The Suites at Hershey, says, “We are proud to be recognized by RCI for our accomplishments in resort facilities and services. As part of the Bluegreen Resorts community, we strive to provide our guests with excellent service, outstanding accommodations and many opportunities to enjoy time with friends, family and loved ones during their stay.”

The Suites at Hershey, Bluegreen Timeshare

The Suites at Hershey are among an elite number of timeshare resorts that carry the RCI Gold Crown property designation. This distinction is awarded based on several factors, including accommodations, hospitality and timeshare owner feedback.

The timeshare villas at The Suites at Hershey provide modern two-bedroom accommodations including living areas and full kitchens. With the aroma of chocolate in the air and the fun of the Hersheypark nearby, Bluegreen timeshare’s The Suites at Hershey are an ideal venue for a family vacation your children and grandchildren will remember for a lifetime.

For more news about Bluegreen timeshare’s The Suites at Hershey, and the fun of being a Bluegreen owner, view the following The Timeshare Authority blog posts:

• Bluegreens Hershey Timeshare Resort Hosting Fans of WWE SmackDown
• A Chocolate Flavored Timeshare Vacation
• Hershey Timeshares and Chocolate—It’s All Good News
• Cool Technology for Bluegreen Timeshare Owners, Good Move for the Industry

Last June, Bluegreen timeshare rolled out its new Owner Update website. This is a WordPress platform website (meaning it is built on the highly versatile WordPress blogging platform) that offers Bluegreen timeshare owners an easy-to-navigate, highly user-friendly way to stay current on the news, updates and offerings of Bluegreen Resorts.

Now to expand the functionality of its Owner Update website, Bluegreen is also offering the Owner Update in a format specifically designed  for web tablets.

Izzy Pycher, vice president, Creative Services  at Bluegreen says, “This web tablet is a leading edge timeshare innovation that gives owners access to the Owner Update site from anywhere they take their tablet.”

What Timeshare Owners Want and Where the Timeshare Industry Ought to Be

The business model of expecting consumers to adapt to a business or industry’s marketing style, (simply because the industry has always done it that way) is outmoded in any industry. To be competitive, businesses must now go to consumers in the ways and places consumers prefer to find them.

It is no longer optional to have a strong, active presence where your clients and future clients already hang out: on the web, on Twitter, on Facebook, LinkedIn and other social media venues. Successful businesses and thriving industries are delivering information via all the types of technology consumers are using in their daily lives.

As Wendy Poe, Chief Customer Officer for Bluegreen Corporation explains, “I really think that future communications and reservations activities for our owners will be heavily transacted on mobile applications and especially tablets. As the costs for smart phones, IPADS, digital readers and tablets become more affordable, and we all get more comfortable living in a “highly connected” world, it will no longer be necessary to plan your vacations over the phone or even on a computer – you will be able to do it “on the go” from one vacation to the next!”

Great comment and great vision from Bluegreen Corporation, and a very positive step forward in serving the vacation ownership needs of today’s (and tomorrow’s) consumer.

When the staff at Bluegreen’s Harbour Lights Resort in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina looks back at 2010, no doubt they will rank as one of their most significant accomplishments the week they hosted some twenty wounded US warriors and their families.

Many of these special guests of Bluegreen timeshare were wounded soldiers who had spent months, and in some cases years, in the hospital. As the soldiers arrived from Walter Reed Medical Hospital in Washington, DC, the Bluegreen timeshare staff at Harbour Lights Resort, along with over one hundred people from the community and from the media, turned out to welcome the soldiers.

As Kathleen Palmer, general manager of the timeshare resort, explained to Management Operations Magazine, “What began as a donation of a few rooms quickly mushroomed into an amazing effort by the resort’s team and local area business to show their appreciation and support for the visiting and wounded warriors.”

The staff and community came together donating and collecting snacks and souvenirs for the soldiers and their families, hosting the welcome reception, and even baking individual cakes that were placed in the soldier’s timeshare units the day they arrived.

More about Bluegreen’s Harbour Lights Resort Myrtle Beach Timeshare

Located less than five miles from the activities and entertainment of Myrtle Beach, on the Intracoastal Waterway, Harbour Lights timeshare is a family-friendly resort destination. Bluegreen timeshare owners love Harbour Lights for its relaxing amenities and easy-going style.

Whether they spend their days at the beach, shopping in the six nearby outlet malls, enjoying live entertainment, golfing, biking, or at the resort’s pools (both indoors and outdoors), or tubing along in the lazy river water feature, vacationers find themselves returning again and again to the laid-back charms of a Harbour Lights holiday.

With the 28th Annual Caring Chefs Event scheduled for tomorrow in St. Augustine, Florida, Bluegreen timeshare reminds you that the Villas at World Golf Village, is an ideal resort destination for timeshare owners and renters who plan to attend the event.

For 28 years, Florida chefs have been cooking it up to benefit The Children’s Home Society of Florida. In an event held at The Avenues Mall in Jacksonville, Florida, more than 50 restaurants, caterers, wine vendors, and specialty shops will offer tasting samples of their signature food and drinks. The 28th Annual Caring Chefs Event starts at 7 PM to 9:30 PM, and tickets are available for purchase.

Vesko Ivanov, General Manager of Grande Villas at World Golf Village says, “The Caring Chefs Event is a nice addition to any owner’s vacation experience. It will allow attendees to really sample some of the area’s best restaurants for dinner while helping a noteworthy cause.”

Golf and Bluegreen Timeshare

Of course, when you stay at Bluegreen timeshare’s the Villas at  World Golf Village, you are staying in a true golfer’s paradise destination. You can enjoy golf on the two championship golf courses designed by golf legends, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer, with both courses available for year-round play. You can also tour the sports museum at the World Golf Village, the World Golf Hall of Fame®.

More The Timeshare Authority blog news about golf vacations at Bluegreen’s Villas at World Golf Village:

Play Timeshare Golf, Perhaps Wind up in the World Golf Hall of Fame

Plan a Bluegreen Timeshare Vacation and Golf TPC Sawgrass

Bluegreen Resorts - Grande Villas At World Golf Village

Congratulations to the Lubner Group, that has recently been named as a member of the American Resort & Development Association’s (ARDA) VIP member program at the prestigious Chairman’s League level. Lubner Group is widely known and highly respected for providing quality interior design and furnishings to the hospitality and timeshare industry.

Bob Craycraft, RRP, VP of Industry Relations, says, “We congratulate Lubner Group for their participation in our Chairman’s League. ARDA’s VIP members represent the vacation ownership industry’s premier leadership of developers, property management companies, outstanding law firms and quality vendors. These members are committed to the industry’s growth and excellence and are dominant participants in networking events, regional and national annual events and receive recognition on ARDA’s website (www.arda.org) and in print publications. ARDA’s Chairman’s League was born over 12 years ago, in response to members’ requests for a higher level at which professionals could showcase their commitment to the industry.”

A Timeshare and Hotel Décor Tradition

Lubner Group is a name consumers and industry professionals associate with such classic and legacy resort properties as: The Breakers Palm Beach; City Centre in Las Vegas; some of the Disney World resorts; many Bluegreen timeshare resorts; and other popular destination resorts in the Caribbean and Latin America.

Dan Lubner, principal and CEO, the Lubner Group (www.LubnerGroup.com), is pleased with this distinctive recognition by ARDA, and says, “We have the utmost respect for ARDA and intend to do everything possible to closely align ourselves with this wonderful association as they continue to exert positive efforts on behalf of the shared-use resort industry.”

This year’s ARDA Southeast Regional Meeting will be here in only a few weeks. Scheduled for September 26-27, 2011 at the Marina Inn at Grande Dunes in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, this will be a great opportunity, as always, for industry thought leaders to connect and reconnect.

The events will launch with golf at Pine Lakes Country Club. At 4 PM, our friends from Holiday Inn Club Vacations, Brooke Doucha, and Stacey Sutherland will lead a session on social media, called “Brass Tactics: Using Social Media to Connect with New Media, “the Blogger”. And later that evening there will be an opening session with product showcase.

Talking about Timeshare Resales and More

I will be there, along with Richard Caron of Foley & Lardner LLP and Paul Goodrich of SPM Resorts, speaking on “HOA Challenges and Solutions: Postcard and Rescue Companies, Resales, and Rentals.” We will get into the types of issues we all know are facing the industry, including some of the problems of HOAs in today’s economic environment.

We’ll take a frank and eye-opening look at:

• Positive methods for HOAs to find replacement owners with association maintenance fee delinquencies increasing.
• What HOAs can do about weeks being transferred into trusts, clubs or to individuals who have no intention of paying the fees.
• And how the current challenge is putting the reputation of timeshare resales on the line.

Ken McKelvey of Defender Resorts, will moderate the discussion.

The next session will turn to a question weighing heavily on the minds of many, especially in the wake of the recent brush fires, hurricanes, floods and earthquakes, as well as the ever-present 9-11 reminder of how the unthinkable sometimes becomes a reality. This session, called, “When Crisis Strikes,” will include John Farrow of FARROW Commercial Construction as moderator as well as, Zach Brandau, Paul Tappana, Mickey Lincoln, and Larry Vanderhoof.

Tuesday’s agenda also includes a networking Lunch with ARDA-ROC and State Legislative Updates lead by Chris Stewart of ARDA State Affairs.
The 2011 ARDA Southeast Regional Meeting promises to be beneficial and informative and if you haven’t registered to attend, there’s still time: ARDA Southeast Regional Meeting REGISTRATION