According to an article that was reprinted in HOTEL magazine and originally appeared in The New York Sun, occupancy rates in New York City are up. Isn’t it good to hear positive news about the US economy for a change?

We already knew that New York timeshares have been, like the timeshare industry in general, either holding their own or gaining, despite the sluggish economy. Many hoteliers have been leaning on the timeshare side of their businesses to keep them solid during these challenging and unpredictable times. But according to figures released last week by the official marketing and tourism organization for New York City, (known as NYC & Company,) the average cost of a hotel room in New York in May climbed by $50 over the same month in 2007.

Hotel room nights sold in New York City in May increased from 2 million last year, to 2.05 million for 2008, and the occupancy rate for the same period increased by 1 percent. Additionally, New York City’s food and beverage services and its retail sector have added 6,000 new jobs and 3,000 new jobs respectively over the past year, despite the fact that unemployment in general has increased throughout the city, as it has in the nation.

New York Hotels and New York Timeshares

Foreign travelers from many countries are still benefiting from favorable exchange rates, although the travel and tourism industries are reporting a slowdown in foreign visitors to the US, perhaps indicating that interest in US travel on discount currency has peaked. Nevertheless, there are, as always, still good values in New York timeshare resales and New York timeshare rentals that can be enjoyed no matter which legal tender you use.

Manhattan offers travelers and vacationers wonderful options in urban timeshares. Timeshare resales and timeshare rentals at the Manhattan Club and the Hilton Club are ideal options whether you are in town to see shows or to conduct business. Currently SellMyTimeshareNOW.com offers more than 250 Manhattan Club timeshare resales and approximately 20 timeshare resales or rentals at the Hilton Club.

Check out the New Rock and Roll Hall of Fame during your New York Timeshare Vacation

And here’s one fun place to visit during your New York timeshare vacation - next year the city plans to open a new Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as an annex to the Cleveland-based Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. New York’s Mayor, Michael Bloomberg says it is only appropriate that the city that gave us rock legends including Blondie and Paul Simon should house an annex to the original Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Singer-songwriter and New York-native Billy Joel, who was also at the news conference announcing the planned museum, said, “New York gave me my words and my music, and rock and roll gave me a place for that music to live.”

Rock on, New York. The new museum is expected to boost tourism and create new jobs within the city.

Number 99 on Sell My Timeshare NOW’s HOT 100 List is the Hilton Club New York, a timeshare resale property we have written about many times before. It’s elegant, it’s energetic, and yet it’s affordable New York City accommodations with style.

Located at 1335 Avenue of the Americas, New York City, the Hilton Club New York timeshare is in midtown Manhattan, conveniently within walking distance to cultural and entertainment hot spots like Rockefeller Center, The Museum of Modern Art, shopping on Fifth Avenue, Radio City Music Hall, Broadway, Times Square, Central Park, as well as major corporate locations.

The Hilton Club Timeshare Resales

This property is urban timeshare in every sense of the word. True, you won’t find any golf courses or ocean views at this timeshare resort. But that’s not what you come to Manhattan to enjoy. The Hilton Club timeshare is where you close that big business deal. It’s where you stay to Christmas shop at Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Bloomingdales. Or you immerse yourself in culture with an afternoon at the Museum of Modern Art, and an evening enjoying classics on Broadway like “A Chorus Line,” or new hits like “Cry-Baby“. The Hilton Club New York is, simply put, where you go to be upscale and uptown.

Hilton Timeshare Amenities

With wall-to-wall windows, these timeshare suites offer dramatic skyline views. The property includes the largest grand ballroom in New York City (as well as 3 other ballrooms); large meeting and exhibition space (150,000 square feet of meeting area); restaurants and bars; an 8,000 square foot fitness club; and all of it recently revitalized by an $148 million renovation and redesign.

Hilton New York timeshare owners can expect generous suites, on-property laundry service, and the service of a luxury hotel, at the price of a timeshare resales. Sell My Timeshare NOW is your very best resource to learn more about Hilton New York timeshare resales and Hilton Club New York timeshare rentals.

Your purchase of a Hilton New York timeshare resale is points-based, right to use ownership at a location that is priceless. Except you will pay the competitive discounted rate of a timeshare resale.

…And for an Interesting Twist to Your Hilton Club New York Timeshare Vacation

For a totally different perspective on your very elegant timeshare vacation in the Big Apple, you might want to swap your Manolo Blahniks for running shoes and try a guided running tour of the city. City Running Tours, Inc, is a unique company that helps you see a city up close and from a native’s perspective, while you tick off the miles on your daily jog. City Running Tours offer escorted pre-mapped runs through many of your favorite cities, with an expert runner who is also a fitness trainer and a knowledgeable city guide. As an interesting addition to your Hilton New York timeshare vacation, discover the city, named by Runner’s World as one of the top three best running cities in the US.

To whet your appetite for Broadway fun, enjoy this YouTube from Cry-Baby:

Sell My Timeshare NOW has just released its HOT 100 list featuring the timeshare resales and timeshare rentals that received the most offers to buy through our company in 2007 - more than 48,000 offers to buy timeshare or rent timeshare on properties at these 100 resorts alone!

Some interesting trends are evidenced in the list, including just how stable the top ten properties have been over the past year. The 8 timeshare resorts that top the list this year, all made the top 10 last year. Noteworthy is the jump WorldMark by Wyndham, multi-destination timeshare made from seventh on the previous list, to claim the top spot at number one for this year.

Two other trends are also shown. First, Hawaii timeshares claimed four places among the top ten: Westin Ka’anapali Ocean Resort Villas in second place on the list; Diamond Resorts Ka’anapali Beach Club in fifth place; Marriott’s Maui Ocean Club timeshares in sixth; and the Ko Olina Beach Club timeshares, new to the top ten list this year, claiming the tenth spot. WorldMark by Wyndham’s multi-destination timeshare locations includes 4 resorts in Hawaii: Kapaa Shore; Valley Isle in Lahaina; Kihei; and Kona in Kailua-Kona.

The other trend that the HOT 100 list reveals is that Marriott is clearly a favorite timeshare brand, with Maui Ocean Club, Marriott’s Aruba Surf Club, Newport Coast Villas, and Ko Olina Beach Club and all making the top ten list.

HOT 100 Timeshare List

The complete top ten list is shown below. You can view the full report, Sell My Timeshare NOW’s HOT 100, by clicking this link.

1. WorldMark by Wyndham, (Multi-Destination)
2. Westin Ka’anapali Ocean Resort Villas, Maui, Hawaii U.S.A.
3. Orange Lake’s West Village, Orlando, Florida U.S.A.
4. Marriott Timeshare’s Aruba Surf Club, Palm Beach, Aruba
5. Diamond Resorts Ka’anapali Beach Club, Maui, Hawaii U.S.A.
6. Marriott Timeshare’s Maui Ocean Club, Maui, Hawaii U.S.A.
7. Marriott Timeshare’s Newport Coast Villas, Newport Coast, California U.S.A.
8. Harborside Resort at Atlantis, Paradise Island, Bahamas
9. Manhattan Club, New York, New York U.S.A.
10. Marriott Timeshare’s Ko Olina Beach Club, Oahu, Hawaii U.S.A.

Click this link to read Sell My Timeshare NOW’s press release about the HOT 100

The September 25, 2006 Timeshare Owners Blog told you about Hilton Breaks Ground on New York Timeshare Resort, reported on the groundbreaking of this exciting project. So it was very nice to read this week’s press release from Hilton timeshare, announcing that they are topping off their West 57^th Street Hilton Club project. “Topping off” doesn’t mean the project is complete and ready for your next timeshare vacation, but it does mean that the final bucket of concrete has been poured for the superstructure.

The Hilton timeshare company considers this project to be a significant milestone. According to Mark Wang, president of Hilton Grand Vacations, “Our vision to create a distinctive shared ownership project from the ground up in New York City is another step closer to becoming a magnificent reality. Built in the heart of one of Manhattan’s most prestigious neighborhoods - and upon the legacy of the Hilton commitment to excellence - West 57th Street by Hilton Club transcends traditional timeshare and continues to experience high demand. After years of planning, and working alongside world-class developers including Tishman Construction, we will soon be able to accommodate our owners and guests in unprecedented style.”

Hilton Timeshare Luxury

When complete, the Hilton Club timeshare resort will offer guests the first Spa Chakra in New York City, featuring massages, facials, body treatments, and signature Chakra Health therapies. The property includes 161 luxurious timeshare condos, from studio, to one-bedroom and penthouse suites, all with dramatic floor-to-ceiling windows, fine linens, upscale furnishings, flat screen televisions, entertainment systems and marble and granite detailing. On property will be valet laundry service, a 24-hour doorman, concierge, outdoor dining terrace, and the private Owners Lounge for food and beverage service.

As we have mentioned before, the location couldn’t be better. Timeshare owners or timeshare guests will be within walking distance of Central Park, the Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, the Museum of Modern Art, Radio City Music Hall and shopping on Fifth Avenue.

Currently the resort is on schedule to open in the second quarter of 2009.While Hilton timeshare originally listed these timeshare condos as starting at $40,000, up to $100,000, they now quote prices as starting at $58,000.

The Other New York Hilton Timeshare Option

Hilton timeshare already boasts a fabulous Manhattan timeshare resort, the Hilton Club New York. Currently Sell My Timeshare NOW has Hilton Club New York timeshare resales available, starting at around $14,000. The Hilton Club New York timeshare, located at West 53rd Street and Avenue of the Americas. (Sixth Avenue) is also convenient to the Midtown attractions you want to enjoy. As Hilton’s flagship New York property, it has undergone a multi-million dollar renovation, adding dining options in both the New York Marketplace and Etrusca Ristorante, and a new 8,000 square foot fitness center and spa.

To get started enjoying Hilton timeshare ownership in New York City, visit Sell My Timeshare NOW.

A weakened US dollar may be creating a tighter economy here at home, but international travelers are enjoying the benefits.

According to a recent article in Hotels Magazine, titled, “Weak Dollar Becomes US Welcome Mat,” not long after Saks Fifth Avenue opened its all-shoe floor last summer, one hundred European women chartered a plane to New York for the sole purpose of shopping - shoe shopping!

International consumers spent almost $3 billion in New York City stores in 2007, insulating many NYC merchants against the economic slump felt by other retailers across the US. Recognizing the value of the foreign shopper, many New York merchants are directing their advertising dollars toward an international clientele.

Historically, New York City is the number one destination for foreign travelers to the US but other cities, such as Miami and Los Angeles, also benefit from international tourist dollars. “According to NYC & Co.,” 46 million people visited the city in 2007, an increase of 5 percent over the previous year. And of those visitors, 8.5 million were non-American, a whopping 20 percent increase for the same time period.” (source: Hotels Magazine ©2008 international herald tribune, February 6, 2008, Special Report; pg. 11. Katie Weisman, The New York Times Media Group, New York)

Saks has partnered with The Daily Telegraph in London, offering four day excursions to New York City this spring. Bloomingdale’s has long maintained an international marketing department in addition to their marketing and sales promotion division, because they recognize the importance of the foreign dollar in their New York stores. Bloomingdale’s also cultivates their foreign consumer at their stores in Miami, Chicago, and San Francisco. At their New York City store, where the employees collectively speak more than 40 different languages, Bloomingdales saw an increase of 35 percent in the number of foreign shoppers for 2007.

As the Hotel Magazine article points out, “No one expects revenues from international shoppers to totally compensate potentially flat or declining sales due to continued economic woes of the American economy.” Yet the reality for timeshare owners is that you do not have to depend on the US economy alone if you are looking to sell timeshare or rent timeshare; but you do have to advertise and market your timeshare resales and timeshare rentals in a place that provides vast global exposure. Look for a timeshare advertising and marketing website with a strong and leading presence on the World Wide Web; look for Sell My Timeshare NOW.

The Timeshare Owners Blog first updated you about Hilton’s plans for a new Manhattan timeshare in our September 25, 2006, blog. The Hilton Hotels Corporation describes this new timeshare property as Hilton’s first “purpose built” timeshare in Manhattan, meaning that it is being designed and built from the ground up to meet the needs and preferences of Manhattan-bound travelers and timeshare owners.

Although work was originally scheduled to commence in January of this year, the 28-floor Hilton Grand Vacations Club property is now finally under construction, with the official groundbreaking this past week, on June 28. When purchased directly from Hilton as new timeshares, timeshare units there will start at about $40,000 for a studio and go up to about $100,000 for a penthouse, per one-week timeshare interval. While Hilton Grand Vacations Club properties historically hold their value well, it would not be unreasonable to expect to be able to purchase a previously owned timeshare unit at this property for a lower price in the future.

If you are currently a member of Hilton Grand Vacations Club, you can look forward to perhaps exchanging for time at this new venue in early 2009. With its location on West 57 Street, between 7 Avenue and the Avenue of Americas, the new Hilton timeshare resort will be convenient to Carnegie Hall, the Lincoln Center, and many of the most popular business and entertainment destinations in Manhattan.

If you are looking to buy or rent Manhattan timeshare resales NOW, the Manhattan Club and the Hilton Club New York are excellent choices for owning midtown luxury and convenience at a realistic price.

Hilton Hotels Corporation has announced plans to build a 161-unit timeshare resort on West 57th Street in Manhattan. With its midtown Manhattan location, between the Avenue of the Americas and Seventh Avenue, the 28-story property marks the first Hilton “purpose-built” timeshare in Manhattan.

President and CEO of Hilton Grand Vacations, Antoine Dagot, was quoted by TradingMarkets.com as saying, “After decades of leadership in all hotel segments throughout Manhattan, Hilton has achieved a development milestone that has never before been accomplished in the New York hospitality industry. The ability to build, from the ground-up, a timeshare product tailored exclusively to meet our customers’ distinctive preferences offers extraordinary advantages.”

Construction is scheduled to begin in January 2007 with a target completion date of early 2009. Hilton Grand Vacation Club already offers Manhattan timeshare units in some of their existing hotel properties.