Yesterday’s Sunday Business section of the Jamaica Gleaner included an article by Avia Collinder, titled: “Caribbean Timeshares Most Sought After-Industry Expert.” In it, ARDA (American Resort Development Association) Treasurer and industry expert, Robert Webb, points to the Caribbean as a highly sought destination for timeshare vacations. Webb, who is senior hospitality partner at the law firm of Baker Hostetler, explains that a relative scarcity of Caribbean timeshare units, enhanced by the popularity of the “Jamaica brand,” proximity to the US mainland, and the country’s rich natural resources and cultural diversity are all promising signs for Jamaica timeshare.

Yet despite this, the growth of timeshare in Jamaica remains stymied. Passing effective Jamaica timeshare laws appears to be running on, well, island time.

Previously here on The Timeshare Authority blog we published a post titled: Caribbean Timeshare in Jamaica, Maybe Sooner than You Think. We suggested that laws to strengthen and refine Jamaican timeshare would be happening quickly; but the date of that post was July… July of 2009.

In yesterday’s Gleaner news article, Rob Webb is quoted as saying, “ARDA believes Jamaica is uniquely positioned to further leverage the valuable economic development resource that the vacation ownership industry provides … However, timesharing will not catch on in Jamaica without a focused, meaningful timeshare law that enables the product to flourish and that protects both developers and consumers.”

Come On Mon! Jamaica Timeshare is Jamaican Me Crazy

While limited vacation ownership property is currently available in Jamaica, developers and existing resort property owners need to see new Jamaican timeshare laws in place before they embrace expanding the product to its true potential. When they do, the island then becomes ripe for the economic growth and development that the industry’s presence could bring.

And although Jamaican Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett has stated that progress is being made, the Gleaner reported last week in its article, “Timeshare Market Inertia,” that the process “has stalled.”

Located just south of Cuba, between the Cayman Islands and Haiti, the English-speaking island of Jamaica is known for its vibrant culture, beautiful beaches, reggae music and kicked back way of life. From its bobsled team to Bob Marley, Patrick Ewing to Ursain Bolt, much of the world already knows and loves Jamaica; most of us can even sing along with Marley’s famous, “One Love, One Heart,” that has come to be the signature song of the island.

As Rob Webb reminds us, “My ARDA colleagues and I encouraged the (Jamaican) Government to design a realistic timeshare law that would facilitate the conversion of hotel rooms into timeshare units, and we offered our assistance in helping to draft such a law. That offer still stands.”

Enhancing the Jamaica timeshare market is a worthy idea that would expand Caribbean timeshare options while likely benefiting the Jamaican economy. So come on Jamaica, “Let’s get together and feel all right…”

As 2011 nears its end and 2012 awaits, we thought we’d look back at the top 5 timeshare resales and rentals for the year.

These popular vacation resorts all earned their ranking in the top 5 based on the overall number of offers to buy or rent made through Timeshare Broker Services and SellMyTimeshareNOW.com listings and ads.

Four of the five top timeshares are coastal or island destinations although their beaches vary from the Caribbean to the Pacific. All five represent top names in vacation ownership, but it’s important to remember that there are thousands of other fabulous resorts that didn’t happen to make this year’s Top 5, but are just as ideal for your next vacation or getaway.

You are invited to view the Top 5 List revealed in the slides below and then to visit us at www.timesharebrokerservices.com or www.sellmytimesharenow.com to learn more about these 5 resorts as well as to peruse all the great vacation opportunities we offer.

Vacations matter. They clear our minds, restore our bodies, enhance our relationships and create lifelong memories to cherish. Along with your intent to lose weight, exercise more, save money, and clean the garage, how about adding a very positive intent to your 2012 Resolutions?

How about making this your year you finally start taking the vacation time you need, deserve and have so rightfully earned?

Americans have always enjoyed vacationing in Europe. According to US government travel research, 5.2 million US travelers visited Europe between January and July of this year, accounting for 18 percent of all US outbound international travel.

But during the first 6 months of 2010, US travelers to Europe accounted for 25 percent of the outbound travel, indicating not a decline in the overall number of travelers but a drop in the number of US travelers headed expressly for a European vacation.

Other parts of the world dropped by percentage as well. Fewer Americans are visiting South America, with a 17 percent decline in US outbound tourism there during this same period. While South American visitors to the US continue to climb, the trend is not reciprocal, with South America being the destination with the greatest decline in number of US visitors.

So, where are we going when we travel, vacation, and enjoy timeshare holidays abroad?

Well, travel to the Middle East is on the rise. With some 665,000 US travelers visiting the Middle East during the first six months of 2011, this region saw an 11 percent gain. We are also vacationing abroad but staying in our own backyard by heading more and more frequently to the Caribbean. 3.2 million US travelers visited the islands of the Caribbean in the first six months of this year, accounting for a 3 percent gain in US travel to this area.

And it makes sense. Travel to the Caribbean is easy from much of the US with great air and cruise connections, competitive prices and deals on travel, and overall ease of access. The Caribbean is also considered a safe destination, friendly to US travelers and easy to enjoy with English spoken throughout the islands.

On top of this, much of the Caribbean has been involved in extensive campaigns to attract US vacationers, a plan that seems to be paying off well.

The US Virgin Islands has passed a bill to legalize and regulate OPC activity in the Virgin Islands.

OPC, stands for off property contact, outside public contact, or off premises contact. Either way, the acronym refers to the timeshare sales individuals who approach you for the purpose of engaging you in a timeshare sales presentation. They typically make contact with you when you are shopping, sightseeing, walking through the lobby of your hotel, or otherwise enjoying your vacation time.

The new Amendment 29-627, attached to Bill 29-0114, will require all OPCs to obtain a business license through the US Virgin Islands Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs.  Follow this link to view more about the bill,  however, the bill itself is not the key to this action. Instead, it is specifically Amendment 29-627, which was attached.

Passing with a vote of 14 to 1 in favor of the bill, regulating OPC’s was an easy argument. Requiring licensing of OPC’s helps control the activity, generates tax revenue, perhaps creates jobs, and hopefully helps enhance an environment that is appealing to tourists and future tourism.

Until a few years ago, OPC licensing was actually required in the US Virgin Islands. Then a law was passed banning “street barking” which coincidentally did away with licensing for OPC’s. The notes attached to the amendment state, “The loss of a license to OPC has severely impacted the sale of timeshare.”

Governor de Jongh, is expected to sign the bill into law this week.

You may be preparing to eat your Thanksgiving turkey around your dining table this year and then take in a few hours of sports on your big screen TV. Sounds pretty good, but what if you were spending Thanksgiving somewhere warm and sunny, and the sports you were watching were courtside?

Many people will be doing exactly this, enjoying early season collegiate tournaments in NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball while soaking up some sun at a relaxing timeshare resort destination.

For example, fans of Chaminade, Duke, Georgetown, Kansas, Memphis, Michigan, Tennessee, or UCLA can be taking in the fun of Hawaii timeshare and enjoying the EA Sports Maui Invitational.

Fans who root for Arizona State, Dayton, DePaul, Fairfield, Indian State, Minnesota, Texas Tech or Wake Forest can enjoy the Old Spice Classic at Disney’s Wide World of Sports as well as all the amenities of Orlando timeshares, perhaps choosing Disney Vacation Club timeshares to be close to the sports action as well as the theme part fun.

UConn, Harvard, UMass, Charleston, UCF, FSU, UNC Ashville and Utah fans have the option to enjoy basketball at Harborside Resort during the Battle 4 Atlantis College Basketball Tournament, held for the second year at the amazing Atlantis Resort in Nassau, Bahamas.

Although the Maui Invitational has been a staple of college basketball’s Thanksgiving tournaments for more than 20 years, it’s only been in recent years that Mexico, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas and other popular resort destinations have begun hosting collegiate tournaments. But based on the success of these events so far, maybe it’s time to start thinking about which fabulous timeshare resort you’d like to be roasting your turkey at next year.

Are you missing NBA basketball? Or just excited for the start of college hoops?

How does the idea of basketball in paradise strike you? That is exactly what’s happening next week as eight of college basketball’s most distinguished teams square off for the Battle 4 Atlantis College Basketball Tournament, at the amazing Atlantis Resort in Nassau, Bahamas.

If you are a sports fan, you need to be there; the pairing of the Bahamas and basketball is just too good to pass up.

Scheduled for November 23-27, Thanksgiving week, each of the 8 teams will play in 3 games over 3 days, giving you a chance to see your favorite teams in a total of twelve, Division I collegiate battles.

Contested in the 50,000 square foot Imperial Ballroom, (converted for the event), you’ll see the men’s basketball teams for:

• University of Connecticut, the 2011 NCAA Champions
• Harvard
• University of Massachusetts Amherst
• College of Charleston
• University of Central Florida
• Florida State University
• University of North Carolina Ashville
• University of Utah

The Harborside Resort Caribbean Timeshare

And when you’re not cheering on your team, you’ll be at one of the most luxurious, and entertainment-packed venues in the world, the famous Atlantis Resort.

Located in Nassau, Bahamas, the Atlantis Resort is renowned for its excellent spa, casino and a 34-acre waterscape complete with eleven pools. Now, and throughout the year, you will find great deals on Atlantis Resort timeshares, including the popular, Harborside Resort.

Imagine a Harborside Resort timeshare rental –already a great price–and sharing the cost of the spacious accommodations with your friends? Or a great deal on a Harborside Resort timeshare resale, so that you can come back year after year?

Now imagine spending Thanksgiving Day on the beach in Nassau, poolside at the resort, and in the stands cheering on your team … that has all the makings of a Thanksgiving to truly be thankful for and we can help you make it happen.

The addition of new air service from San Juan, Puerto Rico’s Luis Munoz Marin Airport (SJU) has made getting to the beautiful Caribbean timeshare resorts of St. Maarten easier than ever.

New daily direct JetBlue Airways service to Princess Juliana Airport (SXM) in St. Maarten begins today. David Clarke, director of route planni3ng for the airlines, says, “Puerto Rico has become a very strategic and important market for us; this new route to St. Maarten is a natural add. We’re pleased with how the community has responded with a great welcoming and a lot of support.”

The short (under an hour), new direct service from San Juan is scheduled to arrive once daily into St. Maarten at 2:56 PM. It provides convenient connections from New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK); Orlando International Airport (MCO); Bradley International Airport (BDL); Boston’s Logan International Airport (BOS); Hartford Tampa International Airport (TPA); Jacksonville International Airport (JAX); and Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport (FLL).

“We are very excited about the launch of new daily flights from San Juan as it augments our existing non-stop JetBlue service from New York and Boston and allows travelers from other JetBlue gateways throughout the U.S. to connect to ‘the friendly island’ more conveniently,” says Honorable Franklin Meyers, Minister of Economic Affairs, Tourism, Transportation and Telecommunications.

Easier Access to Caribbean Timeshare Vacations with JetBlue’s Beachy Keen Week-Long Celebration

The new service becomes JetBlue’s second intra-Caribbean route adding to the service between San Juan and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Other JetBlue flights being added this week to enhance US and Caribbean air travel include:

• Westchester County Airport’s only international with the commencement of JetBlue’s new daily nonstop flight to Nassau, Bahamas.
• Twice-weekly nonstop service from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to La Romana, Dominican Republic.
• Nonstop flights launch from JFK to Liberia’s new Daniel Oduber Quiros Airport in Costa Rica

Follow this link to learn more about the opportunities of St. Maarten timeshare resales and rentals

Much that is positive, exciting, and invigorating for the timeshare industry has been discussed these last two days at the VOIC Shared Ownership Investment Conference in Orlando, Florida, which is hosted by Interval International. And frank talk has gone on about all the challenges of the industry, the economy, and the ways (both good and bad) that the industry has engaged with consumers in the past.

But some of the most interesting insights about timeshare and fractionals comes from a simple look at the numbers. Very often in business, the numbers speak louder than the words.

Here is a look at some recent research about Interval International member/owners:

• US resident members of II own approximately 1.9 weeks of shared ownership vacation time or its equivalent and travel an estimated 22 nights per year solely for leisure purposes.
• They report household income of approximately $121,175 per year.
• Twenty percent expect to buy additional vacation time in the future.
• Timeshare owners are attracted to warm-weather locations (Florida, California, Hawaii, Arizona, South Carolina timeshares and Caribbean timeshares) and family-style accommodations.
• Most are interested in, or have a preference for, two-bedroom timeshare units. Just under ten percent prefer three-bedroom timeshares.

And this may be the most industry-relevant factor of all: 83 percent of Interval International’s US members say they are satisfied with their timeshare ownership.

As David Gilbert, Interval International, executive vice president of resort sales and marketing, says, “Even in challenging economic times, it is very encouraging to see that the appeal of vacation ownership remains strong among our members.”

The Cayman Islands Department of Environment and Marine Conservation, partnering with Cayman Island brewery, CayBrew, has launched the world’s first conservation lager project.

Recognizing that the world’s sharks, and of particular concern the world’s largest species of sharks, are rapidly declining in numbers, this collaborative project seeks to underwrite the cost of research to help protect the species. This is a first of its kind project and is motivated in part by alarming statistics that show up to 90 percent decline in some shark species.

For every can of its White Tip lager that is sold, CayBrew is donating a nickel to the Sharks and Cetaceans Project. Additionally, when consumers scan a bar code on the can using their smartphone, they connect with the Cayman Islands Department of Environment website and gain information about, and updates on, the project.

Your Cayman Islands Timeshare

Of course, to enjoy the beers crafted by CayBrew, you really need to go to the Cayman Islands. Right now at your house, the leaves are turning and the crisp smell of fall is in the air, but you know the pleasant days are short lived. A few months from now, sleet, snow, and its-so-cold-my-car-won’t-start will be part of your daily routine.

Yet in the Cayman Islands, the sun will be beaming, the sand will be pristinely white, and the Caribbean waters will be warm and sparkling. Wouldn’t it be nice to know that at a Cayman Island timeshare there was a beachside chair waiting for you, perhaps one with an icy cold CayBrew beer sitting beside it?

Ten Reasons to Plan a Cayman Islands Timeshare Vacation Today

1. 7 Mile Beach Resort Timeshare, 2 bedroom, 2 bath condos with a fabulous on-site dive shop.
2. Castaways’ Cove Timeshare, offers access to private, serene beaches.
3. Coral Sands Resort, Grand Cayman Timeshare, a small resort located close to downtown Georgetown with easy walking to shopping, restaurants, and nightlife.
4. Grand Caymanian Resort Timeshare, located on the majestic North Sound, adjacent to the award-winning Links at SafeHaven 18-hole golf course.
5. Morritt’s Grand Resort Timeshare, located on the secluded East End of Grand Cayman Island with amazing ocean views from your private patio.
6. Morritt’s Tortuga Club Timeshare, offering a complete diving, snorkeling, and windsurfing program.
7. Morritt’s Tortuga Seaside Timeshare, for days snorkeling through the coral reef and five-star dining in the evenings.
8. Plantation Village Beach Resort Timeshare, ideally located on south end of famous Seven Mile Beach.
9. Royal Reef Resort Grand Cayman Timeshare, 1600 feet of white sand beachfront.
10. And because the sharks are counting on you.

Royal Reef Resort Grand Cayman Island timeshare

The Lubner Group has recently completed the second phase of a five-year renovation project on the Las Vegas timeshare, the Carriage House.

Located only a block off the “Strip” in Vegas, the Carriage House has 155 timeshare units, ranging in size from 350 to 1,800 square feet. Renovations include new flooring, complete kitchens with cabinetry, appliances and fixturing. The timeshare unit redesign also includes new headboards, nightstands, a custom crafted wall unit that both houses the flat-screen TV and serves as a space divider between two areas of the timeshare, and new case goods and soft goods. Of the 17 units included in this phase of the redesign, two were completed as ADA units.

Carriage House General Manager Amy Lowell says this of the Lubner Group, “We wanted to work with a company that could handle the entire turnkey project. They helped us with design, fabrication, installation and warehousing of materials. Throughout the entire process, they have been extremely well organized and highly responsive to our needs. We continue to be impressed with their services and the quality of their furnishings.”

Among the many renovations done by the team at The Lubner group are:

• The Breakers Palm Beach
• City Centre in Las Vegas
• Projects at Disney World
• Multiple Bluegreen timeshare resorts
• And many popular timeshare and fractional properties in Branson, Jamaica, Anguilla, and Costa Rica

Related news from The Timeshare Authority Blog:
Timeshare Industry Welcomes Newly Launched Lubner Group

Find great deals on Carriage House timeshare resales and Carriage House timeshare rentals.