The Timeshare Authority blog continues in efforts to spread the word about the changing situation at David Walley’s Hot Springs Resort and Spa Timeshare, brought about by the bankruptcy of Celebrity Resorts timeshare earlier this year.

On March 30, 2010, the Property Owners Association (POA) for Walley’s sent a letter to timeshare owners telling them that a proposed $900 special assessment was “dead” and that an emergency special assessment of 5% of the annual dues would be as follows, with the greater amount for each timeshare unit being identified as for “whole” and the lesser amount being for “alt.”:

Last week the POA posted an acknowledgement that is great timeshare news to hear. As of that point, the Timeshare Resort Assistant Manager had received some 2,000 letters from timeshare owners at David Walley’s Hot Springs Resort, most reportedly including checks for the special assessment fee. Equally good to hear is that many of them contained words of encouragement and support.

This is a great reminder that the majority of timeshare owners are highly satisfied with their ownership, enjoy their timeshare vacations, and are committed to stepping up in tough times if necessary.

Here’s more news from The Timeshare Authority blog on David Walley’s Hot Springs Resort and Spa Timeshare:

• Updates for Timeshare Owners at David Walley’s Hot Springs Resort and Spa Timeshare (April)
• David Walley’s Hot Springs Resort and Spa Timeshare Updates to Timeshare Owners (March)

In the midst of all our blogging recently about the ARDA Convention wrapping up this week in Las Vegas, we can’t overlook another important event for timeshare owners.

The National Timeshare Owners Association (NTOA) will meet on Sunday, March 21, 2010 from 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM in Orange County, California.

Although the meeting is open to all NTOA members who pre-register to attend, the event offers a particularly outstanding opportunity for California timeshare owners and Nevada timeshare owners to meet face-to-face with industry experts.

You’ll hear firsthand insider information about buying timeshares, selling timeshare, timeshare exchange, and how to fully enjoy and maximize the rewards of being a timeshare owner.

When you join the NTOA, you not only gain access to their regional educational events, but you earn other benefits including:

• Discounted costs and liability protection for timeshare rental.
• Serious discounts when you are ready to buy timeshare.
• Legal assistance for dealing with timeshare as a charitable donation, in your will, during a divorce, and more.
• Lower interest fees for financing timeshare or refinancing timeshare.
• Monthly news and tips from timeshare owners and experts.
• Timeshare exchange opportunities without the membership fee, and at the lowest timeshare exchange rates.
• Reduced closing costs for direct timeshare transfers.
• Security and members-only discounts when you sell timeshare.
• The only comprehensive “bible” on timesharing available exclusively through NTOA.

To learn more about the NTOA or to plan to attend the California timeshare event or future educational events for timeshare owners, contact the National Timeshare Owners Association, by emailing hastry@aol.com or calling (410) 719-0064.

You can also download an NTOA membership form by clicking the link below:

Membership Application 2010

With Celebrity Resorts timeshares filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy, timeshare owners at the 13 Celebrity Resorts properties are naturally concerned as to what this means for them.

David Walley’s Hot Springs Resort and Spa timeshare has posted the following information for their timeshare owners and timeshare guests:

• The website, http://www.dwrinfo.com has been established to provide information to timeshare owners at David Walley’s resort.
• David Walley’s Hot Springs Resort and Spa timeshare is currently open.
• Two board members were removed from their seats at the Members’ meeting on February 27, 2010. William Prowse was elected by the Board to fill one of the open seats. The board will review resumes of Members who wish to be considered for the other open seat.
• Members interested in being on the board should send their resume to: POA Board Candidates at (630) 681-8995 via fax.
• A third board member seat will become open in May 2010, when current Treasurer, Gary Grottke’s term ends. Grottke plans to resign as quickly as new board members are appointed and are up to speed on the open issues.
• The restaurant & deli at the timeshare resort closed effective March 12, 2010.
• All reservations will be for the Bodie building with the Dillion buildings uses for overflow. The Aurora and Canyon building will be temporarily closed.
• Reservations will be suspended for 30 days. Reservations beyond that time, should be submitted by mail to Quintus Resorts PO Box 1090, Genoa, NV 89411-1090. Include the following information: timeshare owner number, name, email address, and three choices for your reservations marked as your first, second, and third preferences. You will receive a response by email within 30 days of the receipt of your reservation request.
• Ground maintenance for 2010 is being reduced.
• The expectation is that Celebrity will continue to operate the spa building for the remainder of 2010.

In an interview with the Record Courier, Gary Grottke that, “the association is also looking for a new management company for the time-shares, although they can’t hire a new firm until the old contract is terminated and the action approved by the bankruptcy court.”

This is clearly a fluid situation at the moment and timeshare owners at David Walley’s Hot Springs Resort and Spa timeshare should stay in touch through the special website where updates will be made and additional information is available.

If you want more information on ways to buy, rent, or sell timeshare at David Walley’s Hot Springs Resort and Spa timeshare, go to Sell My Timeshare NOW.

TATOC, The Timeshare Association, has announced its schedule for the upcoming 2010 TATOC Conference, titled: “Working Together.”

The global event for the timeshare industry will be held at the Nottingham Belfry, Nottingham, England, on March 26 to March 28. Stephen J. Cloobeck, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Diamond Resorts International® has been announced as the keynote speaker for the event that is expected to draw timeshare sales and timeshare support industry representatives from around the world and to surpass previous conference records for attendance and sponsorship.

The preliminary TATOC Timeshare Association Conference schedule includes:

• Friday March 26, 2010
• Registration: 5 PM
• Reception: 7-8 PM
• Dinner: 8 PM
• Saturday March 27, 2010
• Breakfast: 7AM.
• Conference begins: 9 AM with usual coffee breaks and lunch
• Conference ends: Approximately 5 PM
• Reception: 7-8 PM
• Dinner and Speaker: 8 PM
• Sunday March 28, 2010
• Breakfast: 7AM.
• Conference begins: 9 AM
• Conference ends: Approximately 11 AM
• TATOC AGM: 11:30 AM
• Lunch: 1PM

Booking forms are now available to download at www.timeshareassociation.org.

Continue following The Timeshare Authority for more updates on the 2010 TATOC Conference, and all the timeshare news and information.

For more TATOC information:

Telephone 00 44 (0)161 237 3611

Fax 00 44 (0)161 237 3611

Previous The Timeshare Authority posts on TATOC events:

TATOC Announces Guest Speaker for Timeshare Conference
TATOC Announces More Info on 2010 Timeshare Conference

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Topics: Diamond Resorts Timeshare, European Timeshare, Las Vegas Timeshare, Nevada Timeshare, Timeshare Blog, Timeshare News

Stephen J. Cloobeck, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Diamond Resorts International®, will be the keynote speaker at the 2010 Timeshare Association conference.

Cloobeck has more than 25 years of experience in development, management, construction, operations, marketing and sales of real estate including hotels, vacation ownership resorts, timeshares, retail shopping centers, and office and apartment buildings. Diamond Resorts International timeshare is one of the world’s largest timeshare brands with 160 branded or affiliated timeshare resorts throughout the US and in 26 countries worldwide.

As the TATOC Conference organizers explain, “Mr. Cloobeck is widely recognized as one of the most innovative, successful and accomplished entrepreneurs in the global vacation ownership industry and under his leadership, annually, nearly 1.4 million owners, members and guests enjoy the simplicity, choice and comfort Diamond Resorts International® offers through its branded hospitality experience”.

The 2010 TATOC Timeshare Conference will be held March 26 to March 28 and hosted at the Nottingham Belfry, Nottingham, England.

Learn more at: www.timeshareassociation.org and continue following The Timeshare Authority for details about the 2010 TATOC Conference, and all the timeshare news and updates.

For more TATOC information, please contact harry.taylor@timeshareassociation.org

Telephone 00 44 (0)161 237 3611

Fax 00 44 (0)161 237 3611

The long-awaited 52-story Westgate residential, vacation ownership, and timeshare resort, PH Towers at Planet Hollywood, officially opened this week. Grand opening of the 1,201-room resort began with room availability to timeshare owners and will be followed on December 28 by rooms available to the general public.

The resort’s timeshare units account for approximately 20 percent of the total number of rooms at the property and include studio timeshare units, and one and two bedroom timeshare units. Many feature dramatic city views with floor to ceiling windows, marble accented bathrooms, spa tubs, and other luxury amenities. But perhaps the real draw of Las Vegas timeshare at the PH Towers is its location at the heart of the Vegas Strip, on four acres next to the Miracle Mile Shops. At build out, you’ll find some 170 specialty stores and thirty restaurants in what Westgate timeshares describes as “retail bliss” for the “semipro shopper”.

The PH Towers at Planet Hollywood Resort and Las Vegas Timeshare is a partnership development between Planet Hollywood Resort and Westgate timeshare. In opening the PH Towers, more than 800 hospitality professionals have been hired.

The Ritz-Carlton Highlands at Lake Tahoe is scheduled to open on December 9 of this year, meaning that you could plan now and be skiing in Tahoe this winter at your own Ritz Carlton Club vacation ownership timeshare. One of the reasons this new vacation ownership property is so exciting is because it is the first new-build resort to be constructed in the Lake Tahoe area in decades. And one of the reasons vacation ownership is always so exciting is because once you “own” your vacation, you are not likely to bypass it, no matter what the economy looks like.

Here’s how the American Resort Development Association (ARDA) explains it, in a recent article by Howard Nusbaum, which appeared on Hospitality Net:

“No matter what the state of the economy may be, if you own your vacation, you will take it—pure and simple. The prepaid nature of our vacation product is very much a part of its magic, as it provides a disciplined means of guaranteed use. The consistent quality and assurance that your vacation will be what it was intended to be adds to that magic factor. Because of this, timeshare owners have become the “Cheshire Cats” of the Monday morning office water-cooler chats, as they tell coworkers of their travels and adventures from the previous week. Quite simply, they bought and paid for their vacations at a set rate, so now they are recession-insulated when it comes to taking annual holidays.”

Lake Tahoe Luxury at the New Ritz-Carlton Highlands Timeshare

Sitting slopeside between Lake Tahoe and Truckee, the resort will include 170 regular guest rooms, 23 private Ritz-Carlton Residences, and 25 Ritz-Carlton Destination Club fractional ownership residences. With a 17,000 square feet spa, yoga and spin studios, fitness center, and ski-in, ski-out access at Northstar-at-Tahoe, this luxurious timeshare resort is an ideal year-round vacation destination.

…And who among us wouldn’t like to be a “recession-insulated Cheshire Cat” enjoying a Lake Tahoe vacation?

Additional opportunities for Ritz-Carton Club vacation ownership at timeshare resale prices:

• Ritz-Carlton Club timeshare and residences in San Francisco.
• Ritz-Carlton Club Bachelor Gulch timeshare and residences in Avon, Colorado.
• Ritz-Carlton Club St. Thomas timeshare and residences in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands (U.S.).
• Ritz-Carlton Club, Aspen Highlands timeshare and residences in Aspen, Colorado.
• Ritz-Carlton Golf Club & Spa, Jupiter, Florida.

…but it is important for timeshare owners at Consolidated Resorts timeshare to continue to make payments and pay dues on the vacation property they own.

Consolidated Resorts, a Las Vegas timeshare company that filed for bankruptcy protection at the end of June, is the developer of the Tahiti Village Resort, the Tahiti Resort, and the Club de Soleil, (all Las Vegas timeshares). They also developed three Orlando timeshare resorts and nine Hawaii timeshare resorts. Almost all of the timeshare units at these resorts have been sold, meaning that the timeshare owners (not Consolidated Resorts) hold deeds to these properties.

According to ReviewJournal.com, the bankruptcy attorney for Consolidated and 12 of its affiliated companies, Lenard Schwartzer, has explained that the people who bought deeds to timeshares at the companies’ resorts should not be affected by the bankruptcy filing. “They (the timeshare owners) are able to call up and get their week as if this bankruptcy never happened,” says Schwartzer.

Since the collective of timeshare deed holders own the resorts, and all of the resorts have enough money to remain in operation, (plus the fact that none of the timeshare resort management companies were involved in the bankruptcy filing) there is really no reason for Consolidated Resort’s bankruptcy to become a problem for the resorts. Unless—and this is a very important detail—timeshare owners take it upon themselves to stop paying their annual fees, or stop making payments. If timeshare owners panic and stop paying what they rightfully owe, the timeshare owners themselves could become the downfall of their own resorts and vacation ownership.

Previous related post from The Timeshare Authority:

• Consolidated Resorts Timeshare says Bankruptcy Will Not Affect Timeshare Owners

Sources:

• ReviewJournal.com

Last week, rumors turned to fact when Consolidated Resorts filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy through the courts in Nevada. And when something like this happens, everyone feels a little concerned about what the future holds—whether you are employed by the industry, you own timeshares, or you are a vendor who serves timeshare resorts and timeshare owners. But as the Wall Street Journal pointed out this week, “So far this year, Consolidated is the only time-share developer to have said it will file for bankruptcy protection.“

Despite some cutbacks, layoffs, and the assorted challenges that the industry faces, timeshare resorts across the US and around the world are still providing timeshare owners and timeshare renters with quality vacation experiences. And when you consider that the timeshare industry has been hit from more different directions than most by the complexities of the weak economy and poor credit market, the very fact that only Consolidated has been forced to make this move says a lot about the strength and solidity already in place.

In quotes that appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Steve Holmes, Wyndham timeshare‘s chairman and chief executive, says he anticipates the securitization market eventually will loosen a bit for time-share deals. “I’m not calling for a return to the kind of liquidity that existed 18 months or two years ago, but I think, over time, there will be a middle ground that’s found.”

Las Vegas Timeshare Was Expanding

What’s especially sad for Consolidated Resorts is that they were expanding one of their three Las Vegas timeshare properties, the Tahiti Village on Las Vegas Boulevard at Interstate 215. The property has 860 timeshare units but room for expansion, space the other two Las Vegas locations, the Tahiti and Club de Soleil did not offer. Completion of the expansion would have given the company more timeshare to sell, something it needed greatly as its existing inventory was low.

The bottom line is that none of us knows exactly what the bottom line will be in this economy. But timeshare companies, developers, and timeshare resales companies are stepping up their efforts, and scrutinizing how they can improve their product, their services, and their business models. Some of the details may change, but your opportunity to enjoy vacation ownership through timeshares and timeshare resales, remains.

Consolidated Resorts Inc., a Las Vegas based timeshare company along with its affiliated companies, has commenced the process of filing for Chapter 7 protection this week in Nevada bankruptcy court. A Chapter 7 liquidation filing means that trustees will sell the timeshare company’s assets and then apply the proceeds to repay debtors.

Last month Consolidated Resorts Timeshare Company announced it was closing its sales and marketing offices but that the resorts would remain open for timeshare owners. Consolidated spokesman Ken Chupinsky told The Las Vegas Sun, “…timeshare interval owners will continue to have full use and enjoyment of the resorts.”

According to officials at Consolidated Timeshare Resorts, a management company that has not filed for bankruptcy protection will run the condominium associations that are responsible for each resort, adding that resorts are owned by the timeshare owners. Ken Chupinsky was quoted in The Las Vegas Sun as saying, “This has nothing to do with the timeshare owners. The timeshare owners are in fine shape.”

The timeshare company pointed to lack of financing available to timeshare owners to purchase new timeshares and a dwindling inventory as contributing to the problem. Consolidated Timeshare Resorts includes 14 timeshare properties; 3 that are Las Vegas timeshare resorts, 1 Orlando timeshare resort and 9 Hawaii timeshares.

It is hard to predict what the immediate or long-term responses will be by timeshare buyers and sellers.

Here are links to timeshare resales at Consolidated Resort’s 9 Hawaii timeshare properties:

• Sands of Kahana Vacation Club
• Kahana Beach Resort
• Hono Koa
• The Gardens at West Maui
• Kahana Villa Resort
• Maui Beach Vacation Club
• Maui Banyan Vacation Club
• Kona Islander
• Imperial Hawaii

Sources:

• Las Vegas ReviewJournal.com
• The Las Vegas Sun