The May issue of Perspective Magazine, carries an excellent article about Orange Lake Timeshares, pointing out that it is a steadily growing resort company despite the economy. This Orlando timeshare is located near Walt Disney World on roughly 2000 scenic acres that include four golf courses (good golf courses!), restaurants, pools, and retail shops.

What is particularly interesting about Orange Lake Country Club timeshare is their financial solidity. Don’t try to tell the management of this successful Orlando timeshare that there’s a recession going on. Not only are they not laying off timeshare employees, but Orange Lake timeshares has been hiring. Since 2004, Orange Lake timeshare’s staff has doubled to 2400 employees. In 2007, Orange Lake experienced a 20 percent increase in sales; in 2008, an additional 20 percent increase. Impressively, sales in the first two months of 2009 have outperformed sales during the same two months of 2008.

This Orlando Timeshare Has the Right Idea

But where does this kind of rock-solid business positioning come from? Here’s how President and CEO Don Harrill explains it, “To date, we’ve not been impacted by the credit freeze. Four years ago, (with) none of us knowing the credit squeeze was going to be at our door; part of the plan at the time was to engage our bankers.”

In a long-term plan that involved extensive due diligence; developing a technology platform; creating the legal structure; recruiting professionals with club experience; and expanding the resort network; Orange Lake Country Club timeshare resort mapped out their plan for growth and acquisition. It was a carefully laid plan with apparently the right balance of conservatism and aggressiveness.

“We laid out the performance metrics in excruciating detail and developed very strong local relationships with SunTrust and Wachovia. Our bankers have been on this journey with us for these four years, and they have seen played out everything we said we were going to do in managing and growing our business,” says Harrill. He adds that their bankers have celebrated with them in their successes and year-over-year increases.

But perhaps one of the most striking statements by Orange Lake Country Club timeshare’s head man is this, “We’re not a huge, billion-dollar company, but we operate in a sweet spot that is financeable by regional bankers.”

In a time when a great deal of public sentiment regarding businesses and corporations in America has shifted from support to suspicion, from respect to resentment, Orange Lake timeshares are sending a timeless business message. They aren’t in trouble now and they haven’t felt the bite of the tight economy simply because they didn’t try to overgrow their business or their market. They did the research and then carefully moved forward—basic business fundamentals that too many companies seem to have forgotten.

Congratulations Orange Lake timeshares on your growth and success! You represent the timeshare industry proudly and serve as a great example of what good business is really supposed to mean in this country.

We’ve looked at only a tiny part of Orange Lake timeshare’s impressive story, including their new branding alliance with Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts, which we have discussed several times this past year, here on The Timeshare Authority.

Recent The Timeshare Authority blog posts about Orange Lake Country Club.

• Timeshare Resales and Timeshare Rentals that Make the 2009 HOT 100 List
• Orange Lake Timeshare’s Alliance with Holiday Inn Timeshares is Good for the Economy in Many Ways
• Holiday Inn Timeshares Not Slowing Down in this Economy
• More Timeshare Resort Destinations for Holiday Inn Vacation Club Timeshares
• More Orange Lake Timeshare Resorts Join the Holiday Inn Club Vacations Brand

Last week, Sell My Timeshare NOW released the HOT 100 List for timeshare resales and timeshare rentals. Let’s take a closer look at some of the trends the report reveals, especially about the HOTTEST 10 timeshare resorts – those popular ten at the very top of the list.

For the second consecutive year, WorldMark by Wyndham timeshares rank number 1 in the number of offers received to buy or rent. These timeshares are multi-destination ownership, meaning that your WorldMark by Wyndham timeshare gives you a choice of nearly 60 luxurious timeshare resorts in the US (including Hawaii), Mexico, Canada, and Fiji.

Marriott timeshare (Marriott Vacation Club International) claimed four spots on the HOTTEST 10 list. Marriott’s Aruba Surf Club in Palm Beach, Aruba was number 2; Marriott’s Newport Coast Villas, Newport Coast, California was number 3; Marriott’s Grande Vista, Orlando, Florida was number 8; and Marriott’s Maui Ocean Club, Maui, Hawaii was number 9.

One of the few changes in the HOT 100 List, this year over last year, is that Marriott’s Grande Vista in Orlando is new to the HOTTEST 10, while Marriott’s Ko Olina Beach Club in Oahu, Hawaii, was number 10 on last year’s list but slipped to number 11 on this year’s list.

By geographic destination, Orlando timeshare dominated, including the Marriott property already mentioned, and two other popular Orlando timeshare resorts: Orange Lake’s West Village, which ranked number 6, and Hilton Grand Vacations Club at SeaWorld International Centerdo, new to the list at number 10.

Rounding out the HOTTEST 10 timeshare resales are: the Westin Ka’anapali Ocean Resort Villas in Maui, Hawaii, number 4 on the list, the Harborside Resort at Atlantis, Paradise Island, Bahamas, number 5 on the list, and the always popular Manhattan Club, in New York City, moving up from last year’s number 9, to be number 7 on this year’s list.

For the ten resorts making the HOTTEST 10 List, Sell My Timeshare NOW received 23,317 offers to buy or rent in 2008.

Click here to view the entire HOT 100 List for Sell My Timeshare NOW timeshare resales and timeshare rentals.

And if you are interested in comparisons, this link will take you to information about last year’s HOT 100 List: Sell My Timeshare NOW Releases HOT 100 List for 2008.

Sell My Timeshare NOW has released its annual HOT 100 List, which shows the top 100 timeshare resales and timeshare rentals advertised on www.sellmytimesharenow.com. The list is based on the number of inbound offers to buy or rent timeshare.

This year’s HOT 100 List reveals some interesting trends, most notably a 56 percent increase in the number of offers to buy or rent timeshare on the HOT 100 List, compared to the previous year. The total number of offers for the HOT 100 List was 70,700.

The report also shows remarkable consistency from last year to this year in the timeshare resale and timeshare rental resort properties that make the top of the HOT 100 List — those on the Top 10. The timeshare resorts that made the Top 10 received 23,317 offers to buy or rent.

Here’s the HOTTEST Timeshares of the HOT 100, the Top 10:

• WorldMark by Wyndham, Multi-Destination Resorts (Number 1 for the second year in a row.)
• Marriott’s Aruba Surf Club, Palm Beach, Aruba
• Marriott’s Newport Coast Villas, Newport Coast, California
• Westin Ka’anapali Ocean Resort Villas, Maui, Hawaii
• Harborside Resort at Atlantis, Paradise Island, Bahamas
• Orange Lake’s West Village, Orlando, Florida
• Manhattan Club, New York, New York.
• Marriott’s Grande Vista, Orlando, Florida
• Marriott’s Maui Ocean Club, Maui, Hawaii
• Hilton Grand Vacations Club at SeaWorld International Center, Orlando, Florida

The full report on all 100 HOT timeshare resales and timeshare rentals is available here: Sell MyTimeshare NOW HOT 100 List, and our official press release is available here: Timeshare Resales Offers up 56 Percent on HOT 100 List as Americans Seek Vacation Savings

The early success realized by Orange Lake timeshare now under the brand umbrella of Holiday Inn Vacation Club timeshare is creating positive results beyond the timeshare industry.

In Four Corners, Florida, Orange Lake timeshare is a major employer. And while Four Corners may not be an area that is familiar to you, urban planners recognize Four Corners (just south and west of Orlando and the popular Kissimmee/ St. Cloud vacation area) as one of the fastest growing cities in Central Florida.

Russ Manion, vice president of regional operations for Orange Lake timeshare says, “The economy is not as bad as everyone thinks it is.” And considering that the company, under Holiday Inn’s new timeshare resort brand Holiday Inn Vacation Club, is growing and thriving, timeshare is giving the economy in Four Corners a real boost.

In an article that appeared in The Reporter, Manion was quoted as saying, “We like to brag a little bit … Despite the economy, our alliance with Holiday Inn hotels has brought on 40 million members to the club brand.”

The benefit of new timeshare owner members is exactly the reason Orange Lake timeshare is growing, buying new timeshare resorts, and expanding its offerings in timeshare exchange. It’s also the reason the timeshare company is a favorite employer in Four Corners, Florida.

To learn more about the opportunities for you to become an Orange Lake timeshare resale owner, or to rent Orange Lake timeshare, talk to the timeshare resale specialist at Sell My Timeshare NOW.

Recent timeshare news about Holiday Inn Vacation Club timeshares:

• Holiday Inn Timeshares Not Slowing Down in this Economy
• More Timeshare Resort Destinations for Holiday Inn Vacation Club Timeshares
• More Orange Lake Timeshare Resorts Join the Holiday Inn Club Vacations Brand

Holiday Inn Club Vacations continues to expand their timeshare resorts and destinations.

Did we tell you Holiday Inn Club Vacations timeshares now includes a ski destination? Not long after Holiday Inn timeshare announced their new resorts in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin; Panama City, Florida; Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; and Gatlinburg, Tennessee (More Timeshare Resort Destinations for Holiday Inn Vacation Club Timeshares) they followed it with the announcement of a ski-in, ski-out resort at the foot of Vermont’s Ascutney Mountain.

“We’re excited to include Ascutney Mountain Resort as the fourth Holiday Inn Club Vacations property as part of our alliance with Orange Lake, with our fifth and sixth resorts joining the brand in April,” Christian Hempell, vice president, Holiday Inn Club Vacations.

While the new Holiday Inn Club Vacations timeshare at Ascutney Mountain Resort is the only timeshare ski resort in the Holiday Inn US portfolio, the resort itself is truly a year-round destination. On site or nearby, the timeshare resort offers indoor and outdoor pools, a fitness center and spa, an arcade, convenience store, a café and a full service restaurant.

Don Harrill, president and CEO of Orange Lake Resorts timeshare, describes the property as a popular drive-to destination for thousands of timeshare owner/members living in the New England area. Clearly the Holiday Inn timeshare company sees a great future in timeshare development as they continue to seek properties in North America and to finalize plans to build a new flagship timeshare resort in Orlando, increasing their Orlando timeshare units by as many as 2500.

As part of the timeshare brand’s portfolio, Holiday Inn Club Vacations timeshare at Ascutney Mountain Resort will be owned and operated by Orange Lake, a privately held company. For an overview of how the Orange Lake Resorts/Holiday Inn timeshare arrangement works, you may want to revisit this past The Timeshare Authority post: Another Major Hotelier Entering the Timeshare Resort Industry.

It has been less than a month since Holiday Inn Club timeshares announced that the Orange Lake timeshare resorts in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin and Panama City, Florida are joining the Orange Lake Resort in Orlando as Holiday Inn Vacation Club branded timeshare resorts. This week, the timeshare company announced two more additions to its timeshare resort portfolio, with the acquisition of new destinations in Myrtle Beach SC, and Gatlinburg, TN.

The two new resorts are the current South Beach Resort in Myrtle Beach and the Crown Park Resort in Gatlinburg. The 256 timeshare unit South Beach Resort will be known by the Holiday Inn Club Vacations brand and the 109 timeshare unit resort in the mountains will be renamed the Smoky Mountain Resort. The acquisition was made by Orange Lake Resorts under their exclusive licensing agreement with IHG to brand the properties as Holiday Inn Club Vacations timeshares.

New Timeshare Resorts in Popular Timeshare Destinations

The South Beach Resort, built in 2003 and located in the popular timeshare vacation location of Myrtle Beach, offers indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a lazy river, fitness center, and best of all – private access to a beautiful section of beach.

The Smoky Mountain Resort was originally a Crown Park Resort. Situated near the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, this resort first opened in 2006; it offers timeshare owners and their guests indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a fitness center, and easy access to many area attractions.

Holiday Inn Club Vacations timeshare assumed management of both timeshare resorts on Feb 13 and expects to begin conversion of the properties by April of this year.

Follow these links to read more about the new Holiday Inn Vacation Club timeshares:

• More Orange Lake Timeshare Resorts Join the Holiday Inn Club Vacations Brand
• Holiday Inn Timeshare Unveils New Orlando Timeshare Resort
• Another Major Hotelier Entering the Timeshare Resort Industry

Orange Lake timeshare resorts in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin and in Panama City, Florida are now officially part of the Holiday Inn Club Vacations Brand Portfolio. Already branded by the new Holiday Inn Club Vacations timeshare is the Orange Lake Resort in Orlando, Florida.

Christian Hempell, vice president, Holiday Inn Club Vacations FL, says, “We’re pleased to offer leisure travelers and their families two more destinations for the ultimate resort vacation experience. Whether they’re looking for a great golf experience, spa treatments, a ski getaway or a sunny beach escape, our guests will find that Holiday Inn Club Vacations provides the comfort and value of Holiday Inn in a full-service resort style environment, and they can now take advantage of two more Holiday Inn destinations to spend their precious leisure time with family.”

Not the Typical Timeshare Deal

The formation of the new Holiday Inn Club Vacations timeshare company was announced last September, uniting IHG hotelier with Orange Lake Resorts, companies that already shared a history and a working relationship. One of the most interesting things about the alliance is that Holiday Inn’s involvement is through a licensing and marketing agreement and involved no capital investment. Orange Lake timeshare continues to own and operate the timeshares while benefiting from the global brand identity of Holiday Inn.

While other timeshare companies are shaking their piggy banks and tightening their belts, this is a noteworthy time for Holiday Inn to be stepping into the timeshare business on any terms. On the other hand, the timing could turn out to be just right.

Holiday Inn is a brand with roots in America’s happier times, when visions of hitting the open road, day tripping, or driving Route 66 with the top down all beckoned. Young baby boomers were loading their family in their Chevy Impala or Ford Galaxy, eager to see America. Holiday Inn was part of their dream, providing accommodations that travelers knew would be safe, clean, and affordable, whether they were visiting the Grand Canyon or simply in route to Grandma’s.

As today’s Americans reassess how they spend their money, they are looking for symbols of those happier, more hopeful days. This recessionary economy is proving to be good business for companies that are perceived to be affordable and to offer predictable standards in their products. McDonalds and Burger King are weathering this depression just fine; and the comfort and familiarity of a name such as Holiday Inn, which has long stood for reasonably priced accommodations, could be exactly what America is looking for.

Do you suppose if Dinah Shore was still singing about Chevrolet, that Detroit would be in better shape today? If you have any appreciation for nostalgia, be sure you play this YouTube video:

The first Holiday Inn timeshare was unveiled on Monday, at the Orange Lake timeshare resort in Orlando, Florida. Through a contract with InterContinental Hotels, Orange Lake Resorts will sell timeshare for the newly created, Holiday Inn Club Vacations.

The new Holiday Inn Club Vacations resort offers 2,412 timeshare villas located near the Walt Disney World vacation complex. The resort includes a water park, four championship golf courses, seven swimming pools, an 80-acre lake for water sports, retail and pro shops, and five restaurants.

In the company’s official press release, Christian Hempell, vice president, Holiday Inn Club Vacations, was quoted as saying, “Guests know and trust Holiday Inn, and we’re excited to offer them the opportunity to experience the brand in a new way through timeshare ownership.”

The Orlando timeshare property is the first of several timeshare resorts planned by Holiday Inn Club Vacations timeshares, including Panama City, FL.; Ascutney, VT.; and Lake Geneva, WI. All are locations where Orange Lake timeshares already had vacation ownership resorts.

Holiday Inn Resorts and Holiday Inn Timeshares in the Future

With other timeshare companies in downsizing mode, it is interesting timing that InterContinental Hotels Group, the owner of the Holiday Inn brand, has chosen now to launch a new timeshare product. Maybe this is a sign of America returning to its roots. Holiday Inn was one of the first and most popular names in “Americana-style” hotel/motels, rising to popularity in the 1950’s and 60’s as American families took to the roads for vacation and travel. Holiday Inn Hotels and Resorts is the most widely recognized lodging brand in the world, with nearly 1,400 hotels worldwide.

In 2007, the company began a $1 billion relaunch of their brand, trying to create a more contemporary image, increase the quality of their resorts, and improve consistency from one Holiday Inn resort to the next. The brand relaunch is expected to be complete by 2010.

Recent The Timeshare Authority blogs on the new Holiday Inn timeshares:

• Another Major Hotelier Entering the Timeshare Resort Industry
• Orange Lake Timeshare Resorts Expanding in Vermont

On Wednesday, InterContinental Hotel Group released an announcement that they are developing a new timeshare brand under the Holiday Inn corporate umbrella. The company, whose North American headquarters is in Atlanta, Georgia, has formed a licensing and marketing alliance with Orange Lake Resorts, creating Holiday Inn Club Vacations.

Beginning in December of this year, Orange Lake timeshare, with its 1400 acres, will be rebranded as a Holiday Inn property. The popular Florida timeshare resort has 2412 timeshare villas, golf courses, and a water park, and is located in the Disney area of Orlando. The other Orange Lake timeshare resorts (located in Wisconsin, Vermont, and Panama City, Florida) will also assume the Holiday Inn Club Vacations brand at a later date.

Under the terms of the agreement, Orange Lake will retain ownership and operations as a privately held company. According to The Orlando Business Journal, “Under the deal, Holiday Inn will build a hotel at the Orlando resort and Orange Lake villas will be marketed through IHG’s reservation and distribution systems. IHG affinity program members will earn points for staying at Orange Lake resorts.”

The business relationship between Orange Lake timeshare resort and Holiday Inn is not new. Kemmons Wilson, the founder of Holiday Inn, also founded Orange Lake resort in 1952.

Andy Cosslett, CEO of IHG, was quoted in the Orlando Business Journal article as saying, “This deal reinforces the strength of the Holiday Inn brand as we are able to move into the timeshare market with a good partner who knows the business well.”

Developing Timeshare Resorts in this Shaky Economy

At a time when it seems like the economy is highly questionable, what spurs this hotelier to move forward into the timeshare industry? Perhaps the answer lies in the very instability of the economy itself. Many hotel companies are finding that timeshare sales are currently anchoring their business. While business travel is still strong, one can only wonder to what degree the US’s current economic situation will eat away at business travel, or how much more domestic vacation travel will continue to fall off.

At the same time that many Americans are cutting vacation time shorter, they are still committing that they will make room in their family’s budget for the restorative affects of time spent on holiday. And as they start to look for more economical ways to do this, the idea of buying timeshares or timeshare resales is looking more and more like a viable vacation solution than ever before. Buying timeshare today, locks in the price of your vacation accommodations for as long as you own the timeshare. Only fees to maintain the timeshare, or your portion of property taxes on it, (depending upon how your timeshare ownership is structured) are subject to increase as the years go by.

To learn more about vacation ownership at Orange Lake timeshare resales, , explore timeshare resales at these Orange Lake properties:

• Orange Lake at Lake Geneva – Lake Geneva, Wisconsin
• Orange Lake’s East Village – Kissimmee, Florida, United States
• Orange Lake’s North Village – Kissimmee, Florida, United States
• Orange Lake’s River Island – Kissimmee, Florida, United States
• Orange Lake’s West Village – Kissimmee, Florida, United States

Recent Timeshare Authority blog posts related to Orange Lake Timeshare:

• Orange Lake Timeshare Resorts Expanding in Vermont
• Making the Timeshare HOT 100 List is Orange Lake’s East Village Timeshares
• New Look at Orange Lake Country Club Timeshare

According to information in the Orlando Business Journal, the Orlando-based timeshare company, Orange Lake Resorts has just purchased 26 existing timeshare villas in Vermont.

Located at Ascutney Mountain Resort, Orange Lake Resorts already owns 34 timeshare villas there, purchased in 2007. After the acquisition, Orange Lake Resorts spent over $3 million renovating the timeshare units. According to the company’s president and CEO, a similar renovation is planned for the just-purchased 26 units. Orange Lake will manage all of the resort facilities except for the ski area.

A Look at Orange Lake Timeshare Resorts

Currently, Orange Lake Timeshares includes family-favorite timeshare resorts in:

• Lake Geneva, Wisconsin
• Ascutney, Vermont
• Panama City, Florida
• And the company’s flagship property in Orlando, Florida

Orange Lake Orlando (also known as Orange Lake Country Club) is one of the larger timeshare resorts in the US with a 1,250-acre property adjacent to Walt Disney World® Resort (shuttle bus service to the park is available for a fee). The sprawling resort includes a 12-acre water park, Splash Lagoon and 5 pools, a movie theater, and 54 holes of golf.

Follow these links to learn more about timeshare resales at Orange Lake Orlando:

• Orange Lake’s West Village timeshare resales
• Orange Lake’s East Village timeshare resales
• Orange Lake’s North Village timeshare resales
• Orange Lake’s River Island timeshare resales