With the Fractional Summit USA underway in Miami today, it is great time to also mention a new book by David Disick: Fractional Vacation Homes: Marketing and Sales in Challenging Times.

David Disick’s book is designed to help timeshare and fractional developers, marketers, and sales agents attract more buyers to the fractional market, while closing more sales and generating more profits. Launching early this month, you’ll find 14+ testimonials from industry leaders—people who know when they are getting straight talk about the fractional and timeshare sales process.

Disick is a former Wall Street attorney with Davis & Cox, and is highly experienced in raising capital and financial structuring. He developed the first private residence club in American, the Franz Klammer Lodge in Telluride, Colorado, with a business and sales model that paved the way for much of the private residence and fractional market in the US today.

Disick is a former Wall Street attorney with Davis & Cox, and is highly experienced in raising capital and financial structuring. He developed the first private residence club in American, the Franz Klammer Lodge in Telluride, Colorado, with a business and sales model that paved the way for much of the private residence and fractional market in the US today.

To learn more about the book, you can contact David Disick at ddisick@msn.com or by calling (001) 435-657-9722. To hear Dave Thackeray’s interview with David Disick for Fractional Focus and RCI Ventures (podcast) click here: Play in new window

I am very excited to have been part of an interview with Phil Watson, who is the managing director of Worldwide Timeshare Hypermarket in the United Kingdom. We spoke with interviewer Dave Thackeray of RCI Ventures on the very critical topics of timeshare resales and the changing dynamic of timeshare sales. If you are interested in selling timeshare on the secondary market, you will definitely want to take a few minutes and catch this internet radio podcast.

I share a story you may never have heard—how I came to be part of the timeshare resale industry. This is a very candid interview, where you’ll hear me say, “the timeshare resale industry is wrought with fraud.”

Have I got your interest? Want to know how Sell My Timeshare NOW is working hard to change the face of timeshare resales?

Please listen in…

• I will tell you why Sell My Timeshare NOW is one of the fastest growing timeshare resales companies in the world today.
• You’ll hear me tell what it has been like to be an unwelcomed newcomer in the timeshare industry and what we’ve done to earn the respect of both timeshare developers and very importantly, the timeshare owner, timeshare buyer, renter, or timeshare seller.
• And I’ll take on the existing timeshare sales process and tell you what’s wrong with it—and how it can be made better for the benefit of timeshare buyers and timeshare owners and the health and vibrancy of the industry.

You have several ways to hear this podcast. You can click the link below to play now, catch us on iTunes or download the interview to hear later.

Play it via iTunes or subscribe at iTunes to Today’s Timeshare (and its sister show Fractional Focus).

Listen to today’s show now: Play in new window

Or save it and listen to it later: Download

RCI timeshare exchange offers an amazing number of benefits (see: 10 Things about RCI Timeshare Exchange You May Not Know – And Should!). One of their newest features — known as RCI SnapBook™ has been specifically created to help you make the most of your timeshare vacation experience, capturing and sharing special memories.

Using a downloadable iPhone app, (available at the iTunes App Store) you can use RCI SnapBook to capture photos, notes, videos, or audio files about your vacation. Once your files are saved online, you can revisit them at any time, and as often as you like, creating blogs, stories, and albums to preserve your timeshare vacation memories and for easy sharing with family and friends. You can even share your experiences as they happen using real-time updates.

When you use RCI SnapBook to capture the magic and memories of your timeshare vacation you can choose to create multiple albums, using as many themes as you like, and then make specific albums available to targeted lists. For example, you might have one album with images, videos, sights, and sounds you want to capture for your co-workers and office friends and a different album that targets your family members and the grandparents. And when your uploads apply to multiple categories, you can update them simultaneously, and sync them in one easy step.

You know that timeshare vacation travel log you always mean to keep, but never write in after the first day … RCI SnapBook makes it fun to do and so easy you can do it in ‘snap’.

For some thirty-six years, RCI has been serving a critical role in the timeshare industry, expanding the options for timeshare owners and enhancing the services of timeshare developers. RCI, a division of Wyndham Worldwide, is an expansive company, and there are probably features and benefits RCI offers timeshare owner members that you don’t know about … even if you are an RCI member.

Here are ten of the reasons that RCI is the world’s largest timeshare exchange company; see how many of them you already know:

1. In 2009, RCI brought more than 100 new properties into its network of quality timeshare resorts, while retaining 97 percent of the properties that are already part of its extensive network.
2. RCI has nearly 2000 call center employees located strategically throughout their worldwide service area.
3. From their call centers, RCI representatives take or place over 10 million calls annually, welcoming their new members and introducing them to RCI’s extensive services; making or canceling reservations; and resolving issues should they arise.
4. No hablo ingles? No worry. There’s an RCI call center representative to serve your timeshare needs in twenty different languages.
5. Think green… RCI timeshare exchange does. Wyndham Worldwide, the parent company to RCI was ranked by Newsweek magazine as one the top 100 greenest companies in America.
6. RCI communicates with its timeshare owner members and its future owner members through not one but two video network “channels” known as RCI TV.
7. RCI offers RCI SnapBook ™ where members can store their vacation videos and photos for organizing, creating travel journals and vacation blogs, and sharing with their friends.
8. RCI Shopping Perks® offers cash back rewards.
9. Using state-of-the-art technology, RCI offers, Enhanced Search, an online search tool that 85 percent of surveyed users say improves their search experience.
10. The elite RCI The Registry Collection offers more than 175 of the most luxurious vacation ownership opportunities in the world.

As August rolls in, many people see this month as their last opportunity to take a “summer vacation.” August also means that it’s time for The Timeshare Authority to post the last updates on the 2010 HOT 100 List of timeshare resales and timeshare rentals. Remember, these timeshares received the greatest number of offers to buy or rent at Sell My Timeshare NOW. They are the “HOTTEST” timeshares on the consumer list to purchase or rent on the secondary market.

Orange Lake’s West Village Timeshare, a Popular Orlando Timeshare

Ranking as number 5 on the HOTTEST 10 list is Orange Lake’s West Village, an Orlando, Florida timeshare resort. Providing you easy access to all the amenities at Orange Lake, West Village timeshare units are the most centrally located at the resort. You’ll be nearby the Disney Planning Center, the RCI timeshare exchange desk, the Connections Business Center & Internet Cafe, (all located in the West Village Clubhouse) as well as close to the Gary McCord Golf Academy, the movie theater, game arcade, and the resort’s pools and hub of water sports.

Westin Ka’anapali Ocean Resort Villas Timeshare, in Demand in Maui

The Westin Ka’anapali Ocean Resort Villas is one of two Hawaii timeshares to make the top five on the Sell My Timeshare NOW HOTTEST 10 list. Located on a pristine stretch of north Ka’anapali Beach in Lahaina, Maui, this beautiful Hawaii timeshare resort has an all-villa design, with each unit including luxurious jetted spa tubs and fully equipped kitchens complete with marble countertops. From the beautiful beach to the lagoon pools, the Westin Ka’anapali Ocean Resort Villas promise you an elegant island holiday at the property ranked number 4 on the list of the HOTTEST 10 timeshares.

Marriott’s Ko Olina Beach Club Timeshare in Oahu, Hawaii

Coming in as number 3 on the list is Marriott’s Ko Olina Beach Club, located in Oahu, Hawaii. Outstanding Marriot timeshares have dominated the HOTTEST 10 List again this year, and the Ko Olina Beach Club is no exception, from the lush tropical foliage, to the coral reefs, to the 18-hole championship golf course. Marriott’s Ko Olina Beach Club is only thirty minutes from the shopping and entertainment of Honolulu, but tucked in a tropical hideaway, it is worlds apart from the demands of daily life.

And although these three hot timeshare properties all offer you endless reasons to finally get around to that vacation you have been promising yourself, don’t decide just yet, because tomorrow’s The Timeshare Authority blog will look at the timeshare resorts that made the list as number 1 and 2!

Women in the Industry (WIN) is a non-profit organization created to promote, educate and connect women in the vacation and timeshare industry. In May, WIN launched its second annual Travel Auction that offers WIN members and their friends and families the opportunity to bid on donated vacation weeks beginning at $200 and including timeshare vacation opportunities at resorts worldwide.

The auction raised $9,348 in support of The Auskell Medical Clinic, located on Abaco Island in the Bahamas. Donors included Bluegreen, Island One, Festiva Resorts, Hawaii Vacation Club, ResorTime.Com, Interval International, RCI Endless Vacations, Dial an Exchange, San Francisco Exchange, Vacations Only, Lagonita Lodge/Alderwood Advantage, Marriott Vacation Club, Massanutten Resort, Shell Vacation Club, American Resorts International, Pollard Brook and Ron Jon Cape Caribe, Condominium Travel Club.

A Lifesaving Effort

This year’s target was to raise money to help fund the purchase of a mammography machine for The Auskell Medical Clinic. Because of the efforts of the women of WIN, five women have been saved through early detection provided by a previous mammogram machine that WIN replaced.

With a threefold purpose to unite and ignite combined strengths; to offer education scholarship and research opportunities; and to partner with charities that support the health, education and welfare of women and adolescent girls in need, the women of WIN represent the timeshare industry well.

To learn more about WIN, go to www.womenintheindustry.org

Buying timeshare just does not mean what many people think it means. Instead of a one-week holiday each year in the same timeshare resort, year after year, many timeshare programs are points based and function like currency.

When you buy timeshare in a points based system, or when you take advantage of timeshare exchange, you may have options that include exchanging your timeshare for other travel benefits including airfare and cruises.

Timeshare owners who are members of “The Regency Collection,” for example, can exchange timeshare for one-of-a-kind travel experiences, which include Cunard cruise lines, Crystal Cruises, Azamara Cruises, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Oceania Cruises, Silversea and The Yachts of Seabourn. The Regency Collection members also have options that allow them to take advantage of members-only discounted cash options on other cruise lines including Disney, Princess, and Celebrity.

The savings to timeshare owners who want to enjoy luxury cruises can add up quickly. One option offers credit exchange where a portion of “The Regency Collection” members’ credits afford them a savings of up to $1,500 USD per cabin, based on double-person occupancy.

The Regency Collection Timeshare Owners

Currently some 30,000 timeshare owners are members of Wyndham Exchange and Rental’s The Regency Collection, giving them access to over 175 luxury properties worldwide, including condo hotels, timeshare resorts, high-end fractionals, private residence clubs, and fractional yachts. The July 4 holiday weekend is a great time for backyard cookouts, parades, and fireworks. But if you were a member of The Regency Collection, you could be spending this holiday (and many more to come) on board one of the finest cruise ships in the world.

…And although we all appreciate hotdogs with those crispy black edges from being cooked over an open flame, sometimes we just need (and deserve) a little time with a gourmet chef and cruise ship crew at our beck and call.

When the US economy began to visibly dip, and then for many industries plummet, timeshare sales companies, timeshare developers, and some timeshare resales companies were forced to lay off employees. Yet despite the layoffs, many companies in the timeshare industry are repeatedly recognized as outstanding employers. They may have in the past had to cut back staffing, but clearly, these timeshare companies are not cutting back on their respect and concern for employees.

The Timeshare Authority Blog frequently reports on the recognition timeshare companies receive as top employers for which to work. (Recent post: RCI Timeshare Exchange Makes Best Places to Work List)

Two timeshare companies gaining notoriety as great places to work include:

• Shell Management Hawaii, Inc. which has been recognized as the “Number 1 Best Place to Work in Hawaii for 2010,” and
• Wyndham Exchange & Rentals New Jersey, honored among 2010, “Best Places to Work in New Jersey”

Shell Management Hawaii, Inc. (Shell Vacations Club) was honored this spring at an awards dinner at the Sheraton Waikki, Hawaii, as recognized by Pro Service Hawaii and published in Hawaii Business Magazine. Shell Management took the honors in the category for large employers (150 employees or more) and beat out other timeshare companies including Wyndham Vacation Ownership and Starwood Hotels & Resorts, both nominated in the same category.

Linda Anthony, Regional vice president of Shell Management Hawaii said, “Shell Management Hawaii’s recognition as the number one best place to work in Hawaii resulted from a magical blend of amazing employee-centric programs and policies carried out by a deeply committed team of managers.”

Wyndham Exchange & Rental (Wyndham Timeshare) was recognized by NJBIZ as one of New Jersey’s best employers that benefit the state’s economy, workforce and business. Geoff Ballotti, president and CEO, Wyndham Exchange & Rentals says, “It is because of our passionate, dedicated and incredibly enthusiastic associates that we continue to generate tremendous engagement and a caring community culture through our offices here in New Jersey and around the world.”

Ballotti also pointed out that Wyndham’s Indianapolis location was named among the top companies to work for in Indiana in 2010, for the second year in a row, as well.

We love the news we receive from TATOC Timeshare Association. Here’s what they said in their last news release. It is just so intriguing we want to share it with you in exactly their own words:

“Wednesday 26th May 2010 was an important day for the timeshare industry. There was no scandal, no new legislation nor a consumer television programme about to reveal all. But in a hotel in Manchester (England) there were representatives from every facet of the industry meeting for the first time to discuss the challenges and problems of the industry and more importantly to discuss action to overcome them.”

TATOC (Timeshare Association Timeshare Owners and Committees) is known as the only elected consumers association to represent the interests of timeshare owners in Europe. The topics of their watershed meeting sounded very much in harmony with the issues brought up last week, here in the US at the ARDA New England Regional Meeting. TATOC members addressed, with concern, the fact that the media perception and consequently much of the consumer perception about timeshares is not healthy for the industry. One spTimeshare resales, timeshare news, timeshare blog, timeshare owners, timeshare exchange, RCI timeshare, Interval International, European timeshareecific prevailing topic that the industry is working hard to resolve is that of how to best respond to timeshare owners who wish to resell timeshare.

Harry Taylor, the CEO of TATOC, explains, “Following our very successful Annual conference in March and as an Association who represents the consumer, we felt, that we should keep the impetus going and use this opportunity to move forward as a cohesive body. It is a TATOC initiative and we have been very encouraged as to the companies and interest taken by the industry and also the commitment to address these issues.”

Executives from Worldwide Timeshare, Club la Costa, Diamond Resorts International©, FNTC, RCI, Resort Developers Association, Resort Properties, Resort Solutions, Interval International, and Dial an Exchange participated.

Learn more about TATOC:
www.timeshareassociation.org
Or contact Harry Taylor CEO on +44 (0)845 230 2430

This week I had the opportunity to be part of the 2010 ARDA New England Regional Meeting that was held at the Marriott Providence Downtown in Providence, Rhode Island.

First, let’s give well-deserved accolades to all of the sponsors of the event.

Presenting Sponsors: Interval International and RCI.

Event Sponsors: Customer Count, and Gallagher, Callahan and Gartrell.

National Sponsors: ARDA-ROC, Aspen National Collections, Concord Servicing Corporation, MasterCorp Inc., Ski and Sea International, and TimeShareWare.

Regional Sponsors: BiddingForGood, Inc., Centron Data Services, Inc., Colebrook Financial Company, LLC, Continental Central Credit, Inc., Cotapaxi Custom Design & Manufacturing, GScf Furnishings, Lodging Kit Company, Magna Timeshare Software, Meridian Financial Services, Reservation Services International (RSI), TRITON Timeshare Software and VisitNewEngland.com.

2010 Signature Sponsors: American Express, Equiant Financial Services, Holiday Inn Club Vacations, Holiday Systems International (HSI), International Cruise & Excursions, Inc., Interval International, RCI, RedWeek.com ResortCom International, Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., and VacationGuard, Inc.

The Timeshare Sales, Timeshare Resales, and Supporting Industries Work Together

The weather in Providence was spectacular (vacation weather!) and it is always great catching up with your colleagues who inevitably wind up becoming your friends. One of the very best parts of meetings and conferences when representatives of the timeshare industry get together is that you’d think it was a family reunion.

There’s a great deal of camaraderie in the business, which is part of the reason timeshares, as a vacation product, are constantly being improved—the industry works to together for change that is beneficial to timeshares and timeshare owners. Working together is a natural process that happens to be becoming a real business model for the timeshare industry—which leads into the points made by the event’s keynote speaker Howard Nusbaum, ARDA’s President and Chief Executive Officer.

Howard Nusbaum stressed five important directions that are the American Resort Development Association’s top priorities for 2010. In summary, here is key point number one:

1. Seeking solutions to help ‘unfreeze’ capital.

In 2008, timeshare sales reached $9.7 billion. In 2009, they slipped to $6.3 billion. Did people suddenly decide timeshares were not a desirable or affordable product? No. Far from it. If anything, consumers, realizing the potential for long-term vacation savings by buying timeshares and timeshare resales, had an increased interest to learn more. But because lenders were simply not lending, and access to capital for timeshare developers and timeshare financing was so locked up, new timeshare development and new timeshare sales took a hit.

Although it would be easy to assume that actual demand in timeshare sales declined, this just isn’t the real issue. Instead, there has been little to no access to capital by developers and limited money available for financing timeshare sales. And as with many aspects of economics, the problem fed other problems. As timeshare sales and development declined, so did the funds available within timeshare companies for maintaining and supporting sales and marketing. As outreach from the timeshare companies weakened, so did response, which led cyclically to smaller staffs that inevitably led back to decreased timeshare sales. The problem is now self-perpetuating, greatly in need of lenders to free up more growth and investment capital.

I’ll publish “ARDA Regional Meeting Emphasizes Timeshare Solutions and the Importance of Timeshare Resales (Part II)” in tomorrow’s edition of The Timeshare Authority. In it, I’ll be sharing ARDA’s Top 5 Priorities for 2010, numbers 2-4, as well as my thoughts and comments.