Florida International University has announced that its hospitality school has been named the Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, in honor of Harvey R. Chaplin and the Chaplain family. (See: http://hospitality.fiu.edu/)

Harvey R. Chaplin is the chair and CEO of Southern Wine & Spirits of America, a company known by many for hosting the Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival. Southern Wine & Spirits of America, Inc. is the nation’s largest wine and spirits distributor and broker with operations in 35 markets. Included at FIU’s School of Hospitality and Tourism Management  is the Southern Wine & Spirits Beverage Management Center, a 4,500 square-foot facility, built in 1999, that affords the latest technology for beverage tasting and analysis. The Center serves the needs of both FIU students and industry professionals including winemakers and distillers.

The Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism Management provides top rated learning opportunities for students pursuing careers in the hotel, timeshare, and food service industries, and all aspects of tourism. FIU’s School of Hospitality and Tourism is particularly distinguished by its campus locations, expert faculty, and fast-track career advantages in the international areas of the tourism industry. The Marriott Tianjin China Program, established in 2006, is FIU’s largest international program, with a capacity for up to 2,000 students.

FIU is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools(SACS). The Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism Management offers a number of Bachelors and Masters degree programs as well as non-degree certifications.

The Lubner Group, an internationally respected design firm responsible for the outstanding design, refurbishing, and décor at some of your favorite, timeshares, hotels, and resorts, recently completed work on a very unique project at The Coconut Beach Resort, a Key West, Florida timeshare. (See: The Lubner Group Completes Renovation on Key West Timeshare).

In addition to revitalizing an already beautiful resort, this project carried unique historic significance. The Coconut Beach Resort property was once owned by the late Senator John Spottswood and has been a landmark property in the community. Over the years, the property has been  further developed by the Spottswood family and The Sita Group, the marketing firm owned by John Sims and Fawni Spottswood. The Spottswood family has been a cornerstone of Key West real estate, politics, and society for more than 150 years. The Spottswood Companies, Inc. and its affiliates own all or partial interest in multiple hotels, timeshare, marina and other commercial properties in the Florida Keys and throughout the US.

The video below takes you through the renovation and refurbishment of  The Coconut Beach Resort. Fawni Spottswood, Vice President Spottswood Hotels, says, “We are totally delighted with the finished product. Nancy did a tremendous job representing the ambiance and character of our historical architecture and natural surroundings, while preserving our resort’s charm with a design theme that is all about guest comfort and relaxation. Throughout the entire renovation process, the Lubner Group maintained the highest possible levels of integrity, professionalism and dedication to completing our job on time and within our budget. The new units have been extremely well received by owners and guests and will play an important role in increasing rental revenues in the future.”

View the video to see the transformation at The Coconut Beach Resort, which has now been named as an Interval International Select Resort.

The internationally respected Lubner Group has recently completed property renovation and the installation of new furnishings for five “Old Conch” styled buildings at the Coconut Beach Resort.

Always charming, the Coconut Beach Resort, a Key West, Florida timeshare, now has a total renovation to enhance its timeless Old Florida appeal. Located on the Atlantic side of Key West, Coconut Beach Resort timeshare offers ocean views from breezy verandahs, in a quiet haven, nestled among lush tropical landscaping and gardens.

The iconic resort’s facelift was handled by The Lubner Group, which is internationally respected for its hospitality and commercial design work. The renovation and refurbishing was handled under the direction of Nancy Woodhouse, IDS, Lubner Group’s Vice President of Design & Product Development who says, “Our intention at Coconut Beach Resort was to embrace an easy living lifestyle by designing and crafting comfortable, yet durable pieces that are eco-friendly. It was important to achieve a timeless design that would last many years, reflecting the vibrant color palette and charm of Key West while preserving the inspiration of the original property, which the owners requested. An extra touch included the addition of custom logo inspired hardware and hand-etched mirrors for each unit.”

The five buildings of the Coconut Beach Resort vacation ownership property offered unique challenges, as two of the buildings were previously single-family homes, and room sizes at the property range from 800 to 1,150 square feet, with differing ceiling heights. Foremost in the project was blending the existing historic, Victorian gingerbread architecture of the buildings with a fresh and updated tropical design that invites guests to relax in serene tranquility.

The results at this charming Florida timeshare? Well, see for yourself in these beautiful photos. And to learn more about how The Lubner Group created this and other resort transformations, visit us tomorrow here on The Timeshare Authority blog.

Previous news about this and other projects from The Lubner Group:

• Timeshare Industry Welcomes Newly Launched Lubner Group
• Who is Decorating Your Timeshare?

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.

From your Orlando vacations, you are probably already familiar with Kissimmee (even if you can’t figure out how to pronounce it the way the locals do). You may even know about charming Winter Park and quaint Mt. Dora, both nearby communities rich with history and the flavor of ‘old Florida’.

But it’s entirely possible that despite your Florida holidays, Orlando timeshare vacations, and all the days you have spent in the theme parks and other well-known tourists attractions, you may have missed one of Central Florida’s most interesting communities—historic  Eatonville.

Eatonville, Florida is America’s oldest incorporated African American municipality. With a current population of just over 2,000 people, this small community was formed after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation to create a place where people could live and raise their families in peace and safety.

Rich in cultural history and tradition, Eatonville claims many talented natives and adopted sons and daughters including author Zora Neale Hurston, who was  best known for her 1937 novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God.

If you are enjoying an Orlando vacation or long weekend as part of the Martin Luther King Jr holiday, you may want to follow this link and check out these scheduled events: Martin Luther King Jr Day in Orlando.

Each month for the past three months, ARDA, through its Vacation Better website has turned the spotlight on the most powerful message the timeshare industry can share: the testimonial of happy owners.

The timeshare owner spotlight for November focused on happy Holiday Inn Club Vacations timeshare owners, while in December it was turned to shine on timeshare owners at Hilton Grand Vacations. Now, the New Year begins with the focus on Wyndham Vacation Ownership, where as one Wyndham owner says, “We have never regretted a single minute of it; it has been the best investment we’ve made in our lives, to spend time with each other.”

Included on the Vacation Better website is another great story of a happy Wyndham timeshare owner who spent this past Thanksgiving, with 38 family members at Wyndham’s beautiful Bonnet Creek Resort in Orlando. Be sure you visit the site (www.vacationbetter.org) to find out how a timeshare turned out to be the ideal choice for one family’s holiday-family reunion combo event. You’ll even find their  Thanksgiving menu and one of the family newsletters this Wyndham timeshare owner created when they started making their plans last July.

The bottom line is this: Nobody explains why timeshares are such an ideal way to vacation better than the owners themselves who love and enjoy their timeshare vacation ownership.

Previous Vacation Better Videos from Happy Timeshare Owners:

VacationBetter.Org Unveils New Look for Timeshare Vacations Website

Raging Fans and the Truth about Timeshare

Orlando, Florida based Wyndham Vacation Ownership, will soon be moving into new offices. Wyndham timeshare, part of Wyndham Worldwide, has signed a lease to move into a building previously occupied as the headquarters of Harcourt, Inc., a company you may be familiar with as the publisher of the textbooks you read in school as a child.

The eight-story building has floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking SeaWorld and the hub of Central Florida’s tourist area, International Drive. Previously, Wyndham Vacation Ownership’s 1350 employees have been operating from four separate buildings. With the move, not only will the company gain the convenience of being housed in one building, but they will be expanding personnel, adding 231 new positions.

The new space offers more meeting and gathering places, a full-service cafeteria, natural light, covered parking, and the opportunity to add amenities such as a childcare center, a nature trail or an outdoor meeting venue.

Franz Hanning, president and chief executive officer of Wyndham Vacation Ownership was quoted by the Orlando Sentinel as saying, “When it’s tough like this, people are going to stay in a job, but they will [leave] the first opportunity they get. We want to be the employer of choice. And we do a lot of things to separate ourselves from our competitors.”

The Orlando Business Journal reports that Wyndham timeshare is receiving as much as $277,200 in tax incentives from Orange County for creating the new jobs, which are anticipated to pay an average annual salary of $60,425. The Orange County incentives, to be paid out over six years, are the local share of a $1.4 million package Wyndham requested under the state of Florida’s Qualified Target Industry Tax Refund Program.

Floridians, and many vacationers, are already familiar with the building as a local landmark, originally built by textbook giant, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Inc. Although the Harcourt Company had many corporate partnerships, (including Harcourt, Brace & Howe; Harcourt, Brace & World, etc,) since its founding in Chicago in the early 1900s, it was during the 1970s and 1980s, as Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich (HBJ) that the company became its most diversified, including the purchase of SeaWorld and other theme parks. HBJ acquired SeaWorld in 1976 for $46 million and in 1989, divested its theme park division for $1.1 billion.

The building was once a showpiece, with its exterior including a public area with fountains and even a play space in the shape of a giant map, however, now, parts of the building have been empty for several years. Julie MacPherson, vice president of facilities for Wyndham is overseeing plans to renovate the building’s interior. MacPherson points out that with employees who put people on vacation, Wyndham timeshare is looking for ways to make the workplace help feel as if the employee themselves are on vacation.

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.

You may not have realized it yet, but 2012 is a leap year. Meaning, of course, that the calendars we commonly use in the world today will insert (it is properly called intercalate) an extra day in the month of February to ensure that the calendar, over time, stays in sync with the solar year.

But what does a leap year really mean for you?

Well, if you work for yourself, you have one extra day to earn income in the month of February, while if you work for a salary, your boss or your company picks up an extra day of your labor. But perhaps a better way of thinking about Leap Year is that it means, in this 366-day year we all have an extra day to live life to its fullest and an extra day to show our friends and family how much they matter to us.

Which for anyone vacationing in the Magic Kingdom® Park in Florida or Disneyland® Park in California, Leap Year 2012 is being translated into a never-before celebrated, 24-hour Leap Day. For the first time ever in the history of the parks, they will be open to guests for 24 straight hours of fun. Beginning at 6 AM on February 29, 2012, select attractions and entertainment within the parks will operate—for one magical day—around the clock!

What better reason do you need to plan a Disney Vacation Club, California timeshare or Orlando timeshare vacation right now?

Leap Day 2012, make plans and make it count for something extra special!

For Christmas, consider not one, but three Santa’s that could make your holidays a whole lot merrier.

The Wyndham Santa Barbara Resort and Yacht Club is an amazing resort but it may not be where you expect. Located along the Intracoastal Waterway in Pompano Beach, this Florida timeshare resort was formerly known as the Santa Barbara Resort and Yacht Club. It’s an ideal destination for leisurely cruising along the waterways of Fort Lauderdale, soaking up sun at the beach or taking advantage of special golf and spa privileges at its nearby sister resort, Wyndham Palm-Aire.

Las Brisas de Santa Fe is a modern resort getaway in the heart of old Santa Fe, New Mexico. Perfect for winter ski vacations or summer shopping and museum excursions, Las Brisas de Santa Fe lets you take in the quaint charms of the old Southwest while enjoying a luxury condominium that’s part of a residential condo community.

Or how about finding Santa at Club Intrawest’s Palm Desert resort, a California timeshare in the beautiful Santa Rosa Mountains? With more than 90 nearby golf courses, along with hiking, horseback riding, shopping, museums and casinos nearby, this visit to “Santa” is sure to please everyone in the family.

Santas apparently, are everywhere! From a sunny beach in Florida to a snow-covered slope in New Mexico to a golf course in southern California, you can find “Santas” that are guaranteed to make your New Year ahead merry and bright.

… From everyone at Sell My Timeshare NOW and Timeshare Broker Services, we hope you are enjoying a safe, happy, and blessed holiday this year.