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

Bonnie McLoud has recently joined Sell My Timeshare NOW as the new Senior Director of Sales.

Bonnie was formerly with American Passport Express, (a division of CIBT) the world leader in providing travel documents. Bonnie, who was the General Manager, was responsible for the company’s call center, its e-commerce platform for customers ordering passports and visas, and American Passport Express’ internet advertising campaigns.

Previously, she was a Vice President with Burst Media, where her clients included nationally recognized brands. At Burst Media, Bonnie managed online advertising campaigns, and she has handled ecommerce interphase in other positions in the past.

As a graduate of Lesley College in Cambridge, Massachusetts and of Holyoke Community College in Holyoke, Massachusetts, Bonnie holds degrees in Business Administration and Studio Art and Art Education.

Welcome to Sell My Timeshare NOW, Bonnie. Your leadership skills in sales, online advertising, and e-commerce, as well as customer service, will help Sell My Timeshare NOW continue to grow and better serve everyone who wants to buy, rent, or sell timeshare.

Follow this link to read Sell My Timeshare NOW’s full media release regarding this new-hire and our continuing growth and expansion phase.

The numbers are in and they look good! Sell My Timeshare NOW is continuing with strong growth trends during the first quarter of 2009 even in the face of the challenging economy. The number of offers to buy timeshare or rent timeshare increased by 95 percent over the same quarter in 2008. The total number of offers to buy timeshare resales in the first quarter of 2009 was 54,125.

Noteworthy Gains in Timeshare Rentals

Sell My Timeshare NOW has measured dramatic
gains in the number of offers to buy timeshare
resales or rent timeshare.

Dollar amounts of offers to buy timeshare or rent timeshare were also up. During the first quarter of 2009, the offers totaled $136,831,174. This is an increase of 51 percent above the amount of offers received during the same quarter last year.

While timeshare rental offers are included in the above stats, they are interesting to break out separately. Offers to rent timeshare show an increase of 146 percent in the number of offers as compared the first quarter of 2008. Sell My Timeshare NOW saw 34,425 offers for timeshare rental during the first quarter of 2009, at a total of $34,782,223, which is an increase of 125 percent over the amount of offers made during the same quarter of 2008.

To read the full press release on the Sell My Timeshare NOW Statistical Synopsis, click here.

And to download the report in full, follow this link: http://www.sellmytimesharenow.com/media/pdf/2009-smtn-1st-quarter-layout.pdf

I’ve heard it; you’ve heard it; you may even believe it. I am talking about the misconception that timeshares do not resell on the secondary market. Saying this is like claiming that no one ever buys a car that has been previously owned. It doesn’t make sense and it is simply NOT TRUE.

So as promised in yesterday’s The Timeshare Authority blog, I am going to show you proof that people are actively searching the internet in general, and the Sell My Timeshare NOW website in particular, for timeshare resales and timeshare rentals.

Proof that Consumers are Shopping the Internet for Timeshare Resales and Timeshare Rentals

Lately politicians have been using the word “transparency” to describe their practices and protocols, but, transparency in business is what Sell My Timeshare NOW has pledged to you since the first day we started, some five and a half years ago.

We publish – on our website – the real-time stats for traffic to the site. Timeshare owners who are considering advertising their timeshare resale or timeshare rental on Sell My Timeshare NOW can look at these stats and see for themselves how much traffic the website receives and what words people are typing into their search engines to get them to the site. And knowing what words or phrases people are searching for gives you a lot of insight about whether the visitors are buyers or sellers.

On the bottom right corner of the homepage for www.sellmytimesharenow.com you will see a symbol that looks like this:

When you click the symbol, you will find the Extreme Tracking results for Sell My Timeshare NOW’s website. Examine these results; they tell you everything from the operating system the website viewer has in their computer to the search engine they used to find the site, and so very much more.

Here is a screenshot from our website’s Extreme Tracking results that was taken today, April 23, 2009. This chart shows you the exact phrases or words that unique website visitors were using during a 6-minute window of time to reach the Sell My Timeshare NOW website. You will find names of different timeshare resorts, phrases like “timeshares for sale” and “time share resales” as well search terms about renting timeshare. You will see many different combinations, but an overwhelming number of the words verify a unique website visitor who had enough interest in buying or renting timeshare to be searching the internet for information and opportunities. Is there a market for timeshare resales and timeshare rentals? Clearly! And Sell My Timeshare has seen more than 54,000 offers to buy or rent timeshare in the first quarter of 2009 alone.

So the next time someone tells you how bad the timeshare resale market is, don’t believe it. Send them instead to Sell My Timeshare NOW’s website and let the numbers do the talking.

Today is the day things really get rolling at the American Resort Development Association Convention 2009 in Orlando, Florida.

The Sell My Timeshare NOW team and I will be reporting to you all week from the ARDA 2009 Convention and Exposition in sunny Orlando. We will also be providing you podcasts of interviews and other convention updates.

At 4 PM today, we will have the opportunity to hear the keynote address from Dr. Jeffrey Rosensweig, who is the director of the Global Perspectives Program at the Goizueta Business School of Emory University. Dr. Rosensweig specializes in financial, macroeconomic, and business estimations and predictions and is a professor of international business and finance. I know there will be valuable insights from him and I’ll be sharing them with you in a blog later this week.

So here’s the schedule for what to expect today, and keep reading The Timeshare Authority, where we will be filling you in on all the details.

Highlights for Monday March 30 at the ARDA Timeshare Convention

12:00 PM-3:30 PM
Industry Think Tank
Sponsored by Greenberg Traurig, LLP

4:00 PM-5:00 PM
Opening Keynote Speaker Dr. Jeffrey Rosensweig
Sponsored by Group RCI

5:00 PM-8:00 PM
Welcome Reception in Exhibit Hall
Sponsored by  Disney Vacation Club, Holiday Inn Club Vacations, Hyatt Vacation Ownership, Marriott Vacation Club International & Starwood Vacation Ownership

8:30 PM
ICE Breaker Party
Sponsored by International Cruise & Excursions, Inc. (ICE)

Heading out this week to the American Resort Development Association Conference (ARDA) in Orlando, Florida – officially known as the ARDA 2009 Convention and Exposition.

The ARDA Convention is always an excellent time; it is the premier event in the US for the timeshare industry and all who serve or support the timeshare industry.

For exhibitors, the ARDA Convention means access to almost 2,500 decision makers from over 40 countries, representing the largest concentration of timeshare industry purchasing power assembled this year. For all who attend, the ARDA Convention and Exposition offers the opportunity to hear from experts in sales, marketing, finance, technology, and resort management; it also provides a phenomenal networking atmosphere at the related social events.

What’s Coming Up First at the ARDA Timeshare Convention

On Saturday, March 28, activities start to get underway with the ARDA Supplier Certification Seminar and set-up time for the exhibitors.

Sunday, March 29 means tee time, with the Group RCI/AIF Open Golf Tournament and later that day, the Group RCI/AIF Kick-Off Party. The golf tournament will be on the beautiful Hawk’s Landing Golf Course.

The real meat and potatoes of the convention begins next Monday and several members of the Sell My Timeshare NOW team and I will be at the ARDA Convention. Throughout the next week, I will be posting blogs here on The Timeshare Authority, and hopefully some interviews, too. I will fill you in more on the Keynote Speaker, Dr. Jeffrey Rosensweig; on the daily events; the educational sessions; and the committees.

So keep checking in, as we share with you our experiences in Orlando during the next few days.

Europe’s Timeshare Association (TATOC) finds new and beneficial ways to improve timeshare ownership in Europe and the timeshare industry overall.

Last year, TATOC (the Timeshare Association Timeshare Owners and Committees) launched the HelpLine to handle concerns and complaints by timeshare owners. After its first full year, TATOC’s helpline believes it can conservatively say it has saved timeshare owners more than £1million (that’s close to 1.5 million US dollars).

In 2008, the TATOC HelpLine handled over 6,000 calls of which about 60 percent were general inquiries with the other 40 percent being complaints. The service is offered at no charge and in the first two months of 2009, handled more than 1400 calls. With the increase in call volume, The Timeshare Association Timeshare Owners and Committees has already begun enhancing services, opening a new office in central Manchester, (England) and recruiting additional employees.

Harry Taylor, TATOC’s chief executive says, “We have a good team in place, excellent office facilities and the knowledge and expertise of the timeshare industry to focus exclusively on the interests of timeshare owners and prospective owners,” he added.

The number to call in Europe is: 0845 230 2430.

To learn more about how TATOC, the only elected consumers’ association to represent the interests of timeshare owners in Europe, helps protect and enhance services, visit their website at: www.timeshareassociation.org

To learn more about the easiest way to buy, rent, or sell timeshare in the US, Europe, and around the world, visit Sell My Timeshare NOW.

Recent The Timeshare Authority posts about TATOC:

• Sell My Timeshare NOW Says “Thank You” to TATOC for an Outstanding Conference
• An Opportunity to Speak on the Timeshare Resales Panel at TATOC Conference
• Timeshare News Updates about TATOC
• TATOC — The Timeshare Association (Timeshare Owners and Committees)Buying European Timeshare Getting Safer than Ever

Sell My Timeshare NOW offers flexibility in timeshare sales services, with options to suit the need of every timeshare seller or buyer.

Some timeshare owners sell timeshare themselves, advertising it on our Sell My Timeshare NOW website. Other timeshare owners prefer to let a licensed real estate broker handle the process for them from start to finish. For those timeshare owners, we offer Timeshare Broker Services.

As a division of Sell My Timeshare NOW, Timeshare Broker Services is a successful fee-based timeshare brokerage that continues to demonstrate that timeshares are selling on the resale market despite the downturn in the economy. In 2008, Timeshare Broker Services closed sales on more than $12 million in timeshare resales. And this year, the number of timeshares sold has increased by 10 percent over this same time last year.

Don Nadeau is a licensed real estate broker and the managing director of Timeshare Broker Services. Don says, “Last year we sold over 900 timeshare resales at Timeshare Broker Services, and we took our commissions after the sale on each one of them. This attests to the strength, integrity, and customer-centric services of our company, and bears out the fact that we provide a much-needed service in the timeshare industry today.”

What Makes Timeshare Brokerage Services Stand Out

Timeshare Broker Services has built its success on a single strategic axiom. As Don reminds people, “We actually sell timeshare!”

Follow this link to read the full Sell My Timeshare NOW press release about the continuing success of Timeshare Broker Services. Or visit their website at www.timesharebrokerservices.com

And if you are planning on attending the ARDA Convention next week in Orlando, be sure you look for representatives of Timeshare Broker Services there.

Sell My Timeshare NOW announces William Lee Goss as the company’s new President and Chief Operating Officer.

Lee comes to us from a background that includes most recently having been the President and COO for Eons, Inc. (an online Boomer social networking site created by the founder of Monster.com). He was past co-investor in and the COO of Boston-based Yankee Group and has extensive deal-making experience having directed growth equity and buy-out investments for the Cambridge, MA-based venture equity firm, General Catalyst Partners.

Additionally, Lee led global merger integration activities for Terra Lycos in which the combined entities acquired more than thirty companies. Starting in the early 1990s, Lee sees his professional background as one of “growing up” in the travel and leisure industry as he climbed the ladder at American Airlines from analyst to Vice President.

Looking Ahead at Sell My Timeshare NOW

It’s great to have Lee as part of our team at Sell My Timeshare NOW. We are truly in an exciting and aggressive growth period for our timeshare resales and timeshare rental advertising and marketing company.

President Goss received his undergraduate degree with honors at the University of Virginia in computer science and his MBA at Duke University.

Follow this link to read Sell My Timeshare NOW’s most recent press release.