Wyndham Worldwide, parent company of Wyndham Vacation Club (Wyndham timeshare), thinks conversion to US and Caribbean timeshares is a viable solution for an estimated 5000 unsold condos and hotel units. Wyndham Worldwide’s CEO Steve Holmes not only believes it is do-able but feels that it can be profitable and beneficial for Wyndham.

Currently in a recovery period, (like much of the timeshare industry) Wyndham expects to generate around $1.8 billion in revenue this year from timeshare sales, financing, and property management fees, according to an article by Brad Berton on Forbes.com.

But Wyndham’s conversion-to-timeshare plan, it seems, has a second-hand element to it—or maybe that’s third-hand. Rather than put up the equity of fifteen to forty percent typically required in converting thousands of condos to timeshare units, Wyndham plans to do so on a third-party basis. The company will not be assuming the risk of being principal developer in this massive effort.

Wyndham timeshare currently includes approximately 820,000 timeshare owners and some 20,000 timeshare units at more than 150 resorts.

And following up on other recent attention-getting news by Wyndham timeshare is the observation that the referee involved in the ball-tossing altercation with Wyndham Vacation Club CEO, Franz Hanning, was, as predicted, suspended for one game by the NBA for his role in the incident. See: Would You Play Ball With Wyndham Timeshare CEO Franz Hanning?

Are you familiar with the concept of the reverse mortgage? A reverse mortgage or reverse equity mortgage is a financial instrument through which senior citizens (age 62 and over) can create an ongoing cash flow tied to the equity in their home. In simplified terms, homeowners who have reverse mortgages receive a lump sum payment followed by periodic payments (typically monthly) or a credit line from the holder of their reverse mortgage. Reverse mortgages are somewhat like home equity loans, except that no repayment of the loan is required until the property is sold or the homeowner dies. At that point, the loan plus interest is then repaid.

But from time to time the question comes up about using a reverse mortgage for a timeshare condo. Despite the fact that reverse mortgage have been available for condo owners and for co-op owners, they have never been available for owners of timeshare condos. Timeshare condo owners, no matter how many weeks of timeshare they own, cannot utilize reverse mortgages.

While the laws are changing regarding reverse mortgages and condo ownership, don’t expect any change on the matter of timeshare condos. With the changes, most condominium owners who want to obtain an FHA-insured reverse mortgage must apply for the loan and receive a counseling certificate prior to a designated cut-off date of October 1 of this year. Yes, there will still be reverse mortgages available to condo owners after that date, but most of the condos that had been previously certified to qualify for these mortgages will have to be re-qualified, and none of them now or after requalification will be timeshare condos.

Imagine a floating city, rising 1200 feet in the air, designed to generate its own electricity, withstand hurricane winds, and eliminate the need for automobiles within its structure. This is the vision for the New Orleans Arcology Habitat, (NOAH) and if you think it looks like something out of The Matrix, you are right.

Now imagine owning timeshare there.

The project has been proposed for placement in the Mississippi River gulf, adjacent to the commercial district of downtown New Orleans. With an estimated 30 million square feet at build out, the NOAH project would include 20,000 rental condos, three hotels, and 1500 timeshare units, with the timeshare averaging 1100 square feet each.

The proposal also includes 3 casinos; 500,000 square feet of commercial space; parking for 8,000 cars; cultural facilities; public works; schools; admin offices; and a hospital.

I can’t say if or when this will come to fruition, but when you consider the visionary construction that has been undertaken in Dubai at “The Palm” and the Dubai Tower, (which both offer Dubai timeshare) we shouldn’t be too quick to dismiss this as “overly futuristic”. New Orleans timeshares have always been a popular vacation destination and one can only imagine the interest that timeshares within this environmentally green, hurricane resistant, innovative property could create.

Tangram 3DS LLC, (a firm specializing in visualization and computer animation) is responsible for creating the computer-generated images and partnering with the designer Kevin Schopfer to visualize his concepts throughout the design process. Here’s a video look at a rendering of the exterior of this amazing structure, courtesy of Tangram 3DS LLC:

In the Lynchburg, Virginia area of Huddleston, a Smith Mountain Lake resort community is making plans for a new waterfront condominium complex.

The Mariner’s Landing Development will construct the new resort, to be known as “Longview at the Pointe”. Plans are to sell the two and three bedroom condo units in four-week intervals, although full ownership options will also be offered.

The Point Is Not Selling Timeshare; It’s Buying Vacation Ownership

Jay White, a marketing consultant whose family owns the resort community, calls it, “…Just another type of ownership at Smith Mountain Lake.”

Good point! The developers didn’t wake up one morning and think: Our business goal is all about selling timeshare.

Instead, they looked at an opportunity (for their business and also for families in need of vacation options), and they considered how they could make vacation property ownership available to more people.

White, in an interview with The Lynchburg News and Advance, called the pricing, “… affordable compard with other offerings at the lake…”

“It’s just another way for people to enjoy the lake and not bankrupt themselves,” said White. “In my mind, the goal is to offer an affordable product someone can buy young and continue to upgrade until they want to retire and get the (vacation) home of their choice.”

Selling Timeshare Probably Started in a Cave

Once upon a time, there were no doubt two cave dwellers who wanted the same rock shelter. In order to accommodate the wishes of both, they decided to share the space, alternate who slept closest to the fire pit, and both contribute by dragging home freshly killed stegosaurus steaks. In every sense of the word, the two were involved in shared ownership, marked by the intervals of whos turn it was to sleep by the fire.

Timeshare shouldn’t be thought of as some suspicious idea, nor should it be viewed as a get-rich-quick plan by anyone in the business. Timeshare is really a very simple concept of shared ownership, enabling people who could never afford the cost and upkeep of sole ownership to still enjoy their little piece of vacation heaven.

Today’s timeshare is an evolved business model that translates to making vacation ownership available to the greatest number of people possible. And every day, through the sale of both new timeshare and of timeshare resales, vacation ownership is happening.

As Jay White so aptly put it in talking about the Smith Mountain Lake property, “This is really becoming a great destination, a great resort, and it needs to be affordable for people to enjoy it. If it’s going to be successful, it’s got to be available to people who can afford $750,000 or $50,000.”

Now let’s throw in the idea of timeshare resale properties, some of which are priced at $5000 or less, and you truly get: Affordable Vacation Ownership.

Follow this link to learn more about Virginia timeshare resales.

Plans are underway to transform Slains Castle – the castle that inspired Bram Stoker to write the horror classic, Dracula – into timeshare condos.

The cliff top ruins of Slains Castle are near Cruden Bay in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It was originally built in 1597, which leads one to assume that calling the renovations extensive is an understatement, yet plans continue to move forward on this £6 million timeshare project.

Understandably, some people have raised objections to the idea of turning a structure of such historic significance into a timeshare, but supporters point out that if Slains Castle is not renovated in this way, it will continue to deteriorate, crumbling down the cliffs and into the sea.

According to Timesharing Today, the architect behind the development, Douglas Forrest said, “Work has already started on the new plans and it’s going well.” He also explained that the intention was to restore the castle to the way it was during its prime.

…Sounds like it may be a while before you can start scheduling weeks at this timeshare condo resort. Until then, you may want to vacation in Scotland timeshare resales and Wales timeshare resales. Both countries offer beautiful timeshare resales and timeshare rentals, amazing castles and ruins to explore, and who knows, perhaps even a vampire or two.

HOT 100 List timeshare number 53 is Marriott’s Ocean Pointe timeshare in Palm Beach Shores. This Florida timeshare puts you right on the beach, with the Intercoastal Waterway to the west and big, blue Atlantic Ocean on the east.

Florida Timeshare on Historic Singer Island

Palm Beach and Palm Beach Shores have long been a favorite getaway for those who want to escape winter weather and enjoy sun and sand in upscale style. The Marriott Ocean Pointe timeshare is luxurious and in keeping with the affluent charm and lifestyle that defines Singer Island, which boasts some of the most expensive real estate in the world.

The island is named after the twenty-third son of the founder of the Singer Sewing Machine company, Paris Singer, who developed the nearby city of Palm Beach. It is believed that Mr. Singer originally purchased the island as a gift for a woman he loved. Sadly, she failed to appreciate his grand gesture, so Singer and architect Addison Mizner, set about to develop the property with a large resort on either end of the island and a golf course in between.

The combination of the 1928 hurricane and the 1929 stock market crash brought development of the resort properties on the island to a halt, until 1947 when railroad tycoon, A. O. Edwards, bought 240 acres of land on the island and began building hotels and luxury vacation homes. After Edwards’ death in 1960, financier John D. Macarthur bought the Edwards estate and came to be the largest landowner in Palm Beach County, with more than 100,000 acres of real estate. Having built his empire by founding the Chicago’s Banker’s Life and Casualty Insurance Company, MacArthur reigned over his multi-billion dollar kingdom from a coffee shop booth in the island’s Colonnades Hotel, reporting for work there daily until his death in 1976. Today, Marriott’s Ocean Pointe Resort stands on the spot where MacArthur once ran his business.

Enjoying Your Marriott’s Ocean Pointe Resort Timeshare

For soaking up the sun, the Ocean Pointe Marriott timeshare gives you choices: there’s the Singer Island Beach, (which is closer to the Gulf Stream than any other point in North America), three heated pools, a whirlpool, and a children’s pool. There is also an onsite fitness center, and within a short drive you will find 145 holes of golf in Palm Beach County. The island has 47 miles of white sand beaches, as well as a nearby zoo, science museum, and a drive through safari.

So now the question is not “if” you want a Marriott’s Ocean Pointe Resort timeshare vacation, it is only a matter of “when”. The timeshare resales and timeshare rentals specialists at Sell My Timeshare NOW, can answer those questions today. With two and three bedroom Marriott timeshare resales starting at around $10,000, you can enjoy a lifetime of glitz, glamour, sun, and sea breezes in a Palm Beach Shores Ocean Pointe timeshare resort all your own.

Club Casa Dorada Beach and Golf Resort timeshare in San Jose del Cabo, Mexico is as beautiful as any beachside resort you have ever dreamed of visiting. Located on El Medano beach, which is one of Cabo San Lucas’ best beaches for swimming, Club Casa Dorada Beach and Golf Resort offers guests a relaxing Mexico timeshare vacation destination, featuring access to an amazing range of amenities.

Timeshare owners and vacationers who rent timeshare at Club Casa Dorada Beach and Golf resort timeshare can enjoy their days with time on the beach or at the four health spas, the equestrian center, or teeing it up at one of the two oceanfront championship golf courses at the resort. Adjacent to Cabo Real Desert Park Reserve’s 3000 acres of protected land, your timeshare vacation can include ATV trail riding, mountain biking or hiking. There are perfect places for swimming as well as for personal watercraft use, kayaking, fishing, and snorkeling. But you might prefer to simply relax by the timeshare resort’s pool, shop the boutiques of Cabo San Lucas, and dine at one of the resort’s many fine dining or casual restaurants.

Club Casa Dorada Beach Timeshare is an RCI Golf Crown Resort

This exquisite Mexico timeshare resort is part of the exclusive 3500 acre Cabo Real Master Plan Community, which offers more than three and a half miles of some of Cabo’s best and most beautiful beaches. Club Casa Dorada Beach timeshare resort is an RCI Gold Crown property and is part of Melia Los Cabos Hotels in Los Cabos Mexico.

Offering timeshare owners and guests one, two, and three bedroom vacation ownership suites, most timeshare condos at Club Casa Dorada Beach Timeshare have private terraces, ocean views, kitchens or kitchenettes, and rooms with an elegant, clean-line décor. Jetted tubs, flat-screen televisions, and wireless internet provide you the comforts of home, with an upscale touch.

Buy Timeshare Resales at Club Casa Dorado Beach Timeshare

If you are reading this on the day this blog posts to The Timeshare Authority, then it’s Labor Day weekend, a traditional ‘long-week’ holiday in the US. And chances are, you are not on vacation. Because as much as I like to think of this timeshare blog as ‘gripping’ reading, it’s not the kind of thing most people read during their vacations…The Timeshare Authority is what you read when you are dreaming about a vacation.

So if you set aside a little time during your busy Labor Day weekend and peruse the incredible opportunities in Mexico timeshare resales and Mexico timeshare rentals, (timeshare resales and timeshare rentals available anywhere else in the world) advertised at www.sellmytimesharenow.com, then next time a holiday rolls around, you can be doing instead of dreaming; enjoying vacation ownership with your own affordable and luxurious timeshare.

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.

Earlier this month, Resort Condominiums International, known as RCI, announced an agreement with Al Ghaith Holdings regarding the Bavaria Executive Suites timeshare resort. Al Ghaith Holdings is a leading timeshare resort development company, based in Dubai. The new agreement will make the Bavaria Executive Suites timeshares part of RCI timeshare exchange.

RCI Timeshare Exchange Helps Shape the Face of Dubai Timeshare

RCI has played an integral role in bringing timeshare resorts and vacation ownership to Dubai. RCI, along with many timeshare developers has worked with regulatory agencies and lawmakers to assist in creating timeshare legislation that protects both the timeshare company and the timeshare buyer, while safeguarding Dubai’s cultural considerations and traditions. Nick Turner, managing director of Group RCI Middle East, commented on the forethought Dubai has demonstrated in preplanning its entry into the timeshare market, saying, “This aims to be well thought through and protects the interests of the consumer, developer, and brand of Dubai.”

The Bavaria Executive Suites will consist of two condominium towers, with a minimum of 450 one and two bedroom apartments. As the first timeshare resort on Shiekh Zayed Road, one tower will flank each side of the highway, giving the property prime access to Dubai’s new commercial and residential hub, and a location adjacent to Dubai Media City and the access route to the Palm Jumeirah. The timeshare resort will be conveniently close to the Mall of the Emirates, Jumeirah beach, golf courses, and many of the city’s attractions and business destinations.

The timeshare resort will include eight restaurants, sports centers, the newest Anagsana Spa, and a shopping arcade. As proof that the timeshare company hopes to attract both business travelers and vacationers, the Bavaria Executive Suites will include 40 fully equipped offices and a meeting center that can be configured to accommodate between 10 and 1000 business people.

The Future of Dubai Timeshare Sales

Dubai has aggressively committed to becoming a global destination for luxury vacations and tourism, yet has embraced timeshare real estate in a cautious and deliberate manner. Dubai is in the enviable position of being able to observe the smart moves and the errors made by other countries in regulating timeshare sales and timeshare resales and avoid mistakes others have made in the past.

People who want to buy timeshare or who are already timeshare owners should keep their eye on timeshare sales in Dubai…it could easily become one of the world’s top timeshare vacation destinations in the near future.

You can now be a Wyndham Vacation owner (Wyndham timeshare) at Yellowstone Park, with the recent opening of a new timeshare resort, located less than one mile from the park’s entrance. The Orlando, Florida based timeshare company, Wyndham Vacation Ownership, has just opened WorldMark West Yellowstone. This new timeshare resort, (according to the official press release issued by Wyndham Vacation Ownership) is the only major branded vacation ownership resort in West Yellowstone, Montana.

Mountain Lodge Amenities at New WorldMark Timeshare

West Yellowstone is a significant location, not only because Yellowstone is America’s oldest and most famous national park, but because it is the geographic cross point where the states of Idaho, Wyoming and Montana meet. The timeshare resort is part of WorldMark: The Club Portfolio and offers 112 timeshare condos in one, two, and three-bedroom units, along with four-bedroom Presidential Suites. The three-story, mountain lodge-style timeshare resort includes an indoor pool, a recreation and fitness center, and other amenities.

According to Franz Hanning, the president and CEO of Wyndham Vacation Ownership, “As the only flagged vacation ownership property in the West Yellowstone area, WorldMark West Yellowstone offers our owners and their guests a world-renowned, year-round vacation experience. When combining the rugged beauty of Yellowstone National Park with the unparalleled service and comfort people have come to expect from our Wyndham-branded resorts, we are providing a truly unbeatable vacation experience.”

To learn more about becoming a WorldMark timeshare owner by buying timeshare resales or taking advantages of opportunities in WorldMark timeshare rentals, visit Sell My Timeshare NOW.

And to keep an eye on Old Faithful, the largest geyser at Yellowstone National Park, enjoy this link to Old Faithful Geyser Live! – Video WebCam