California Timeshare

The sale and rental of new timeshares and of timeshare resales benefits the economy both directly and indirectly.

The American Resort Development Association, known as ARDA, recently released statistics on the economic effect of the timeshare industry in certain geographic regions. The study showed that the timeshare industry positively impacts regional, state and local economies in measurable ways. In fact, resale timeshares specifically are a significant and sometimes overlooked economic contributor within the industry.

The studies prepared for ARDA by PricewaterhouseCoopers and released by ARDA International Foundation, show that the Florida timeshare industry contributed $12.3 billion to that state’s economy in 2005, and the Nevada timeshare industry contributed $2.8 billion to the Nevada statewide economy during the same period. While many states in the US gain considerably from the presence of the timeshare industry, Nevada and Florida head the list, with California and South Carolina coming next in line.

Timeshares positively impact the economy through the sale of new and resale timeshares, job opportunities created by the industry, direct and indirect expenditures of timeshare vacationers, and revenues realized through local property taxes. Every time someone buys a timeshare resale, two positive things happen. First, a new owner takes possession of the timeshare unit, begins to use it, and feeds money back into the economy where it is located. But secondly, a person who no longer wants or needs that particular timeshare is relieved of the on-going cost of vacation property ownership and is freed-up to put his or her money into something else, including even new timeshares.

One Nevada developer has finally received government approval to commence constructing six timeshare units at Homewood, Nevada, in the Lake Tahoe area. The West Shore development received the go-ahead earlier this month after the developer agreed to downsize the plan from nine timeshare units to six timeshare units. The proposed timeshare vacation homes will be constructed on Highway 89, across from Homewood Mountain Ski Resort approximately twenty miles north of South Lake Tahoe and six miles south of Tahoe City.

Conditions of the approval, according the website for Placer County, California government, include demolition of an existing property known as the Marina Lodge; constructing a facility for washing boats; building screens to block views of existing boat racks; and contributing $100,000 to the Homewood Home Owners Association for public beach access.

This particular project is one more instance where local government officials agonize over whether an area should be zoned for use as residential property, traditional hotel property, timeshare units, or as fractional ownership. I think it is the concept of fractionals that has really added to the justifiable confusion and concern of planning boards.

Residential property has predictable patterns for use, density, and the type of traffic, tax revenue, and demands on government services it will create. The pros and cons of hotel use are equally predictable. In both cases, a zoning or planning board can realistically project what an area will be like in five, ten, or even fifteen years, based on its zoning. But when you add timeshare vacation property—most especially fractionals—to the mix, neither the standard projections for residential property or for hotel property accurately apply.

As developers of fractional properties or timeshare units often explain, fractional ownership (whether it is one week at a time or a thirteen-week increment) creates more business for area restaurants, attractions, and other businesses and services that benefit from tourist trade. On the other hand, fractional owners generate less business for services such as dentists, hardware stores, or computer repair shops, which are all good examples of places a vacationer is less likely than a resident to spend money. And from a third perspective, some restaurateurs argue that timeshare units (because so many of them have kitchen and dining areas) and fractionals (which essentially offer all the features of a private home) hurt their business by comparison to hotels, where guests often have little choice but to dine out three times per day.

It’s always a tough call for those who carry the responsibility of planning our cities’ futures, but this past year, I have definitely seen more instances like this one. City planning boards are compromising and permitting developers to intermingle small developments that have a limited number of fractionals or timeshare units, into areas that are traditionally zoned for residential use only.

To learn more about other Lake Tahoe timeshare resales and rentals, or Nevada timeshare resales and California timeshare resales, visit the website for Sell My Timeshare NOW.

Disney will be offering timeshares at Animal Kingdom.

Walt Disney Vacation World in Orlando, Florida will soon be adding 458 new timeshare units to its Animal Kingdom Park. The timeshares will include new construction and renovated accommodations in part of the Animal Kingdom Lodge. This means that members of the Disney Vacation Club will soon have a brand new option for timesharing.

The African themed décor of the new property will offer guests views of the open savannah-like area where animals roam freely in ways that replicate their natural habitats. Some of the timeshare units will be available as early as Fall 2007, with a full project completion date set for Spring 2009.

With the inclusion of the new vacation ownership venue at Animal Kingdom, members of the Disney Vacation Club will have their choice of eight Disney-branded timeshare properties. Disney Vacation Club timeshares include the beachside resort at Vero Beach, Florida; the golf and tennis resort at Hilton Head Island, South Carolina; and the five other Orlando Magic Kingdom properties: Saratoga Spring Resort and Spa at Downtown Disney; the Old Key West Resort; the Villas at Wilderness Lodge; the Disney Beach Club Villas; and the Boardwalk Villas. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urR9_UWyCJ8

Members can also exchange their points for vacations at resorts in other Disney parks, including Disneyland in California and Disney Paris, as well as exchanging through Interval International for more than 300 affiliate locations worldwide. Animal Kingdom is the largest Disney park and covers more than 500 acres.

I recently wrote about the new Starwood timeshare vacation property at Desert Willow, scheduled for development under the Westin brand in late 2007 or early 2008. I want to share a few enlightening facts about California’s Coachella Valley, the fastest growing area in all of Southern California.

And while I am not prognosticating or recommending that anyone plan a timeshare deal based solely on this information, I think you will find these statistics very interesting. Knowing the next “hot spot” destination can prove to be valuable insight for anyone looking to buy or sell a timeshare condo.

The Coachella Valley is a geographic area that extends roughly 45 miles from Palm Springs to the Salton Sea. Nine cities are located inside this target area: Rancho Mirage, Palm Springs, Cathedral City, Coachella, Indian Wells, Indio, Desert Hot Springs, La Quinta and Palm Desert. There are over 100 great golf courses located here, included the world famous courses at Mission Hills, La Quinta, PGA West, Indian Wells and Tamarisk, to name only a few. And according to research developed by the Global Hospitality Group, the population of the Coachella Valley increased by 59 percent between the years 1990 and 2004.

So what is attracting the influx of both new residents and vacationers to this area?

Surprisingly, despite the number of luxury homes and magnificent resorts, the cost of living in the Coachella Valley beats that of Los Angeles, San Diego or greater Orange County. And the Coachella Valley still represents the desert playground of old-time movie glam stars like Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby. While all this fast growth and projected development will gobble up nearly 200,000 acres of undeveloped land in the valley, the good news is that despite such expansion, there will still be roughly a million acres of vast, awesome, spectacularly unique undeveloped desert land.