An independent study conducted by Penn Schoen Berland on behalf of Marriott International was released this past week. The study surveyed over a thousand world travelers and thought leaders from Germany, Spain, Brazil, China, France, India, the United Kingdom and the US.

The results showed:

77 percent felt “the more people experience other countries and cultures, the more peace will spread.”

Describing our times as a “Golden Age of Travel,” Arne Sorenson, Marriott International’s CEO-elect and current president, reflects, “Travel opens up your mind (and) your heart … This survey shows it is also a powerful form of soft diplomacy in the world today.” Adding that Marriott applauds President Obama’s announcement to reform US visa and entry systems to welcome more international visitors, Sorenson said he believes, “… opportunities to do business and travel abroad are opening up like never before.” (See: Obama in Orlando With Plans to Boost International Tourism).

Timeshares Make it Easier to Explore the World

When you own timeshare, travel planning gets easier. You’ve made the commitment that travel, vacationing, leisure and exploring the world are important in your life. You’ve picked timeshare ownership with timeshare exchange or perhaps membership in a timeshare exchange service to enhance your commitment.

Timeshare owners can explore the world knowing that they have preplanned for accommodations where they will feel safe and comfortable, which makes their international travel planning simpler. With timeshare ownership it becomes easier to focus on the trip ahead; your energy is not consumed by tracking down hotels or condo rentals. Even those who rent timeshare benefit because timeshare rentals, whether in the US or abroad, afford some of the most competitively priced vacation and travel accommodations in the world today.

As part of the vast tourism industry, timeshares provide jobs worldwide, enriching the lives of individuals and families, supporting local economies, and strengthening  local and regional tax revenues. But far beyond the contribution of timeshare to the world’s economic picture are the more important factors of enhancing and encouraging travel and exploration of cultures and countries—they make it easier for people to open their eyes and subsequently their hearts.
As Mark Penn, CEO of Penn Schoen Berland and CEO of Burson-Marsteller explains,  “International travelers advance people’s understanding of different cultures and reinforce all that we as humans have in common with each other.”

Timeshares can, in fact, make a big world seem a whole lot smaller.

Yesterday’s edition of The Timeshare Authority blog looked at Interval International, 35 Years of Serving Timeshare Owners Plus New Features All the Time, specifically at the program Club Interval Gold, launched last spring.

Today we explore Interval Platinum, the program Interval International considers is its most prestigious level of membership. If you missed yesterday’s post, you will probably want to read it too, to make it easier to compare these two elite levels of timeshare exchange that Interval International now offers.

Interval Platinum, More than Timeshare Exchange

Interval Platinum was developed for timeshare owners who want high-end travel experiences and very personalized attention. This membership level offers all of the benefits and services of Interval Gold membership plus many travel-related products, an expanded level of exchange and Getaway perks, and always, very personalized service.

While some Interval Platinum benefits may vary by geographic region, generally some of the most available and most popular include:

• Platinum Service, which affords members specially trained advisers to assist with their vacation planning.
• Complimentary Exchange and Getaway Guest Certificates making it easy to gift travel to friends or family.
• Getaway Discounts of an extra $50 off already reduced Getaway vacation rentals.
• Interval Options, making it easy to exchange timeshare intervals or points for golf, cruise and spa vacations.
• Special Rates on companion airline tickets when members book two round-trip tickets to participating cities.
• Membership in Hertz# 1 Club Gold.
• ShortStay Exchange for trading weeks or points for multiple stays of less than 7 nights.
• Priority Getaway Access, providing priority viewing and booking of Getaway vacation rentals.
• Platinum Escapes, which are deeply discounted vacation rentals offered via email invitations.
• Personal Concierge assistance for purchasing concert tickets, dinner reservations, tee times and more.
• Discounts on hotels, dining, and other leisure activities.
• Airport Lounge Membership in the Priority Pass program at more than 600 airports.

Many Interval International timeshare exchange members see Interval Platinum is pretty special. As David Mier, Interval’s vice president, products and services explained to Perspective Magazine: “Within the first three months, (since launching Interval Platinum) we exceeded our annual forecast … it’s been very strong in Latin America and extremely strong in particular markets in Europe; Italy for instance, upgrades at twice the forecasted rate.”

Interval International Timeshare Exchange, 35 Years Young

Recognizing that no one way to vacation and no single membership option is ever right for all its members, Interval International continues to refine its products and services to its members. Today, with some 2600 timeshare resort destinations in more than 75 countries, Interval International is a powerful and most importantly—flexible—timeshare and vacation services option, providing value-added benefits for it members.

Related timeshare news:

Interval International Timeshare Exchange Platinum

Interval International timeshare exchange recently announced expanded and extended services for King’s Creek Plantation LLC. (Additional info here: Kings Creek Plantation Timeshare Owners Gain Customize Services with Interval International).

Kevin Jones, cofounder and president of King’s Creek Plantation LLC, says, “Maintaining our strong partnership with Interval supports our customer-first culture, while opening the door for new products with more options. We are excited about our continued relationship and the many opportunities it will bring in the near future.”

Along with news of the extended relations with King’s Creek Plantation, the announcement included important updates about the new King’s Creek points-based vacation club, known as Club Explore.

Interval International is providing reservation services and special opportunities for Club Explore members. Timeshare owner / members who enroll in Club Explore expand their vacation options by being able to convert their timeshare points into club currency. They can then utilize the currency for vacationing at King’s Creek properties or for timeshare exchange within the vast Interval International global network of resorts.

In addition to timeshare exchange, Club Explore Points mean:
·         Members can choose to upgrade timeshare locations, unit size or season
·         As part of Interval Gold®, members can use ShortStay ExchangeSM to take long weekends or mini-vacations
·         Members can opt to exchange for (or purchase) great deals on cruise, golf and spa vacations
·         Access to personal concierge service available 24/7 via phone and e-mail
·         And that members receive complimentary Hertz #1 Gold® membership, as well as special offers on hotels, retail shopping, and restaurants

The spacious timeshare units, cottages, condos, (King’s Creek Plantation cottages and townhomes) and estate homes (King’s Creek Plantation Estates) at King’s Creek Plantation, with their convenient location near the attractions of Williamsburg are great reasons to be a King’s Creek Plantation timeshare owner. Now Interval International has added even more!

Wyndham Vacation Ownership timeshare has now completed renovations on the Wyndham Vacation Resorts Royal Garden at Waikiki, making it the Wyndham Resort’s 15^th Hawaii property.

Franz Hanning, president and chief executive officer, Wyndham Vacation Ownership, states that the addition of this timeshare resort solidifies Wyndham timeshare’s position in the industry as Hawaii’s, “largest and most successful timeshare developer.”

Hanning adds, “We are very proud to provide yet another world-class property in this highly desirable destination for our more than 800,000 owners and guests.”

Opportunities in Wyndham Timeshare Exchange

Wyndham Vacation Ownership (Wyndham timeshare) acquired the Wyndham Vacation Resorts Royal Garden at Waikiki, formerly called The Royal Garden Hotel and Spa, in 2007. The resort has remained operational during the renovation period, with rentals being offered through Extra Holidays by Wyndham, a subsidiary of WVO specializing in resort condominium rentals.

Soon this Hawaii timeshare will welcome Wyndham’s timeshare owners and will also begin timeshare sales there. Wyndham Vacation Resorts Royal Garden at Waikiki will be part of  CLUB WYNDHAM^® Plus, the company’s points-based timeshare exchange program. With this, owners will have access to exchange at more than 70 timeshare resorts as well as other vacation exchange opportunities including cruises and tour vacations.

You can also learn more about Wyndham’s Extra Holidays at www.extraholidays.com.

RCI Timeshare Exchange just keeps growing!

Earlier this year, RCI,  a Wyndham Worldwide brand, announced the addition of 34 new timeshare and resort affiliations. This brings the total addition of properties new to affiliation with RCI to 56 for the year 2011. Included among the newcomers are:

Palmyra Resort & Spa in Jamaica

Fiesta Americana Villas Acapulco in Mexico

Inn at St. Ives in Michigan

Huangshan Grandview Resorts Hotels in China

Geoff Ballotti, CEO, RCI, explains, “We have welcomed some fantastic new properties to our global network of affiliated resorts in the first two quarters of 2011. All of these destinations add to our portfolio of high-quality exchange resorts, which is already the largest in the world, and will give our subscribing members even more choice and flexibility in planning their next vacations.”

Each of the new timeshare resort affiliations for RCI exchange has been added in one or more of the following RCI timeshare exchange programs: the RCI® Weeks program, the RCI Points® program or The Registry Collection® program. Nine of the new additions are under construction at this time and will become available as they open.

See the RCI media release here.

Additional related The Timeshare Authority blog news:

RCI Timeshare Exchange Announces Expansion to China

RCI Announces Over 100 New Affiliated Timeshare Resorts (2010)

RCI Timeshare Exchange already offers over 4,000 affiliated resorts in approximately 100 countries. This week, the timeshare exchange company, which is part of Wyndham Worldwide, announced it is expanding its network through affiliation with China’s Shining Star Vacation Club, Xing Yao Shui Xiang Resort.

Adrian Lee, managing director, RCI Asia, says, “The addition of Shining Star Vacation Club, Xing Yao Shui Xiang represents another opportunity for RCI to offer great exchange options to our 3.8 million members worldwide. Located in a region that consistently boasts great vacations, this development reaffirms RCI’s commitment to offering great vacations in highly desirable destinations in Asia and globally.”

Located in the Jia Lize wetland in Kunming, the Shining Star Vacation Club, Xing Yao Shui Xiang Resort includes more than 10,000 diverse vacation accommodation spread across theme resorts, hotels, holiday villas and town houses. Within the resort area are theme parks, a conference center, an equestrian club, a fishing club, a Phil Mickelson designed golf academy and driving range, and shopping and dining areas.

Additionally, this China timeshare resort offers spaces that sound delightful but may not typically be found in most US timeshare resorts. These areas include an ecological wetlands park, extensive lavender and sunflower fields and an organic fruit and vegetable garden.

Li Ji Feng, assistant general manager of sales for Shining Star Vacation Club, says, “This affiliation with RCI represents an important opportunity for us. We are excited to be able to expand our business areas, provide new opportunities for our customers and bring the beauty of China to new global audiences.”

The first annual GNEX 2011 conference was held this May at the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas. The beautiful destination and the opportunity to discuss many of the timeshare industry’s burning issues, as well as network and build business alliances, attracted representatives from over 80 timeshare or timeshare related companies. Sell My Timeshare NOW was proud to have participated in this inaugural event.

And as we have already shared here on the Timeshare Authority blog, GNEX 2012 will be heading to Cancun, Mexico and the Ritz Carlton Cancun; the only AAA Triple Five Diamond oceanfront resort in the world. Dial an Exchange (DAE) timeshare exchange has already made their commitment to GNEX 2012 as a Gold Sponsor.

To see video highlights from this year’s conference, go to GNEX 2011 Highlights. And for comments from Jason Tremblay, CEO of Sell My Timeshare NOW, click on the video below.

Related topics in the Timeshare Authority blog:

Timeshare Industry GNEX 2012 Convention Among the Many Events Headed to Mexico

Timeshare Industry’s GNEX Expo Chooses Christel House as Charity of Choice

Sell My Timeshare NOW at Global Timeshare Conference GNEX

A round of applause, on our feet, and loud cheering for Vivienne Noyes-Thomas who has made it to Mount Everest Base Camp! Vivienne is a former RCI timeshare executive who has taken on the Himalayan challenge of climbing Everest and in the process is fundraising for Christel House charity.

Making it to Everest Base Camp took 10 tough days to reach the destination, which is 17,600 feet above sea level. As Vivienne explains, “It was physically very hard work, sometimes mentally very hard work too. But I was fit enough, thank goodness, and have very few issues with the altitude, just some flashing lights in the eyes during darkness, a typical Khumbu cough as they call it here, which is very common because of the altitude and some swelling around the eyes and in my toes.”

Vivienne continues, “We were very privileged to be able to spend the night at Base Camp, thanks to our connections with US climber Charlie Wittmack, who is making his second summit attempt on Everest, plus Nuptse and Lhotse, later this month. His team had prepared a little tented village for us on the ice of the Khumbu glacier, 2-person tents in the middle of that vast wilderness of ice and rocks!

“It was surreal to be there with the full moon hovering right over Everest in the moonlight on the top of the world – an unforgettable 24 hours in my life, even more so for the heroic cancer survivors who were part of our group.”

You can read more about Vivienne Noyes-Thomas’ experience at RCI Ventures: Everest no match for Noyes-Thomas.

So far, her efforts have raised more than £2,400 from the expedition, but you can still donate to her venture. Your donations, through Christel House, help needy children and their families around the world.

Dial An Exchange (DAE) North America timeshare exchange has announced its new partnership with some very special resort properties—and they are not timeshare resorts.

Through the creation of daeOptions, the more than 300,000 timeshare owners and DAE members will now be able to rent or exchange their timeshare week for a seven-night stay at a large number of non-timeshare properties. Rentals for DAE members at non-timeshare properties will be at highly discounted rates while exchanges will be available to them when they deposit their timeshare week and pay an exchange fee that ranges between $350 to $450.

The new resort destinations for daeOptions include Chicago, Illinois; San Antonio, Texas; St. Petersburg, Florida; Orlando, Florida Braintree, Massachusetts; Cambridge, Maryland; San Diego, California; Anchorage, Alaska; Oahu, Hawaii; and Whistler, British Columbia.

Tanya Bleuel, Director of Yield Management for DAE, says, “The new program opens a world of vacationing options to our members. Whether the member exchanges or rents at members’ only prices, they are getting a great deal.”

More about Dial An Exchange Timeshare Exchange

It’s interesting that Dial An Exchange has made the timeshare ownership experience better by adding non-timeshare properties to their offerings. Dial An Exchange has always been a fast growing, forward thinking leader in the industry, including offering a no-membership fee option for its member/owners. Through Dial An Exchange, timeshare exchange fees are not billed until the exchange is confirmed.

Today, DAE has offices in Europe, the United States, New Zealand, South Africa and Asia, and the United Kingdom to better serve its members.

Last week at the first annual GNEX Timeshare Conference and Awards, Dial An Exchange (DAE), one of the world’s largest independent timeshare exchange organizations, earned three prestigious awards.

GNEX, the Global Networking Expo & Perspective Magazine Awards Gala, held its first global timeshare conference at the Atlantis Resort, Paradise Island, Bahamas. The awards presentation gala was an important part of the two days of meetings and networking.

In the category: “Best Industry Leader,” Dial An Exchange CEO, Francis Taylor, was named the winner, while the timeshare exchange company itself was selected as the “Best Place To Work” in the international competition. Dial An Exchange’s customer service team was honored as the timeshare industry’s “Best Project Team.”

Timeshare Exchange

Timeshare exchange offered through Dial An Exchange or other timeshare exchange companies greatly expands the flexibility of timeshare. Gone are the days when owning timeshare meant you had to be locked into a selected week and a single venue.

Today at Dial An Exchange, with over 300,000 members around the world, and offices in Australia, the New Zealand, South Africa, Asia, the United Kingdom and the US, timeshare owners are benefitting from more ways to vacation better and greater options in timesharing.

Related DAE and Sell My Timeshare NOW news: Dial An Exchange Hosts Important Timeshare Owners Education Seminar

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