Let’s face it, you wouldn’t be reading about a timeshare resale or timeshare rental if you weren’t already a savvy consumer, who knows where the good deals are. But since many people have no choice but to travel for business, and all of us enjoy traveling for vacation and leisure, there is no such thing as too many good tips for travelers.

Whether your next trip is to your timeshare, involves a timeshare rental, or a hotel stay, here are four suggestions that will either save you money or enhance your travel experience—or will do both!

1. Turn to travel experts when it comes to packing your luggage. Two good places to start are TravelSmith and Magellan’s. Both offer packing tubes or bags that make it easy to pack clothing either by type or by outfit. Packing pouches that you use inside your suitcase reduce wrinkling, simplify your system, and make it more likely that you arrive at your destination with all the gear and apparel you meant to bring.
2. Know your perks and benefits programs. Most travelers never fully utilize all their frequently flyer miles, hotel discounts, or other benefits that come with their membership either in a travel association (such as AAA); as a timeshare owner, as a member of a timeshare exchange program; or because they carry a branded credit card. When possible, pick your memberships based on benefits you will actually use; learn what those benefits are; and then take advantage of them.
3. If you travel frequently or like to enjoy last minute vacation opportunities, keep a checklist on your computer and print as needed. A checklist makes it easy to remember all those small items that make travel more pleasurable. You might even consider keeping a suitcase or bag packed with all your basics so when last-minutes travel deals crop up, you are ready to take advantage of them.
4. Finally, wherever you travel, smile, speak up, and engage others in conversation. Beautiful scenery and thrill rides at the theme park are great, but nothing tops the memories you create when you meet new people, chat with the locals, and perhaps launch friendships you will keep for a lifetime.

Follow this link to learn more about great deals on last minute timeshare rentals.

Common sense tells you to take more vacation time. You doctor, spouse or significant other, and best friend probably say the same thing, too. But with money tight for many people, how do you manage this?

Here are five ways you can enjoy your vacation without blowing your budget:

1. If you fly, the more flexible you can be, the more you can save. Besides being flexible about your travel dates, consider if there are nearby or alternative airports for your departure. If you are willing to drive a little further first, you may be able to save as much as 40 percent on airline ticket cost.
2. Look for membership benefits. Members of the American Automobile Association and members of AARP are frequently entitled to savings on theme park and attraction tickets. Bank of America cardholders get free admission to more than 100 museums across America. And Target stores offer a program called “Arts & Wonder” that offers reduced admission prices and sometimes even free admission to select cultural events and museums. Anyone can take advantage of Target’s program; just go to their Arts & Wonder webpage and search by city for the events and the days of the week Target underwrites.
3. Check out Restaurant.com for discounts at your favorite eateries. Through this website you can buy discounted gift certificates for restaurants in cities across the country; for example, you might pay $30 for a $50 restaurant gift certificate that you print yourself and then “gift” to yourself to offset the cost of vacation dining.
4. Buy your theme park tickets online before your trip. By purchasing in advance on the website for the theme park you plan to visit, you will be able to not only take advantage of discount pricing but you will not be standing in line to buy a ticket once you arrive at the park.
5. Discover the deals available to you in timeshare rental. Many timeshare owners are eager to use their timeshare or vacation club as a rental during times they cannot make use of it themselves. Renting timeshare offers a way for timeshare owners to offset or cover their costs of annual fees and taxes while offering vacationers some of the best opportunities around in travel accommodations. And don’t assume that these plans have to be made months in advance. The inventory of last minute timeshare rentals is excellent, with some timeshare owners highly motivated to negotiate. As Howard Nusbaum, ARDA president and CEO, explains, “Many vacationers don’t yet realize that they can rent a week or two at a fabulous resort and stay in spacious accommodations with one or more bedrooms and bathrooms, a kitchen and a living room – all the comforts of home.”

Maybe you are one of the millions of Americans who worked their job today, and if so, the rest of the country is very appreciative. We need hospitals to run, fire stations manned, and servers in our restaurants. But whether you take time off today or you select another day, just be sure you schedule as many Un-Labor Days as you possibly can.

This week, the hotel management company, Benchmark Hospitality International, released its Top Ten Beverage Trends for 2010. Benchmark is a worldwide leader in the management and marketing of hotels, resorts, conference centers, and Personal Luxury Hotels™. Based in the Woodlands, Texas, Benchmark has a regional office in New Jersey, and international offices in Tokyo, Japan, and Santiago, Chile.

This year, after releasing their annual dining trends report in June, Benchmark Hospitality found demand was strong for them to assess beverage trends as well. And since enjoying timeshare vacations and travel often includes celebrating with good food and drink, The Timeshare Authority blog thought we’d pass this report on to our readers.

A Noteworthy Sommelier

Mary Watson-DeLauder is Benchmark’s chief sommelier and is recognized as one of the few female wine experts in the US. She was previously the award-winning sommelier for Lansdowne Resort’s On the Potomac restaurant in Leesburg, Virginia; was instrumental in developing an acclaimed curriculum of food and wine for the Culinary University classes; and has developed the wine programs for numerous Benchmark properties. Watson-DeLauder says, “This is an exciting time for the beverage industry, with lots of positive changes occurring. Some of the changes are economically driven, some taste oriented, and still others created out of necessity in response to changing palates and a new generation of consumers.”

So for all who appreciate a fine wine, here are the findings of the report:

Whether you are at your timeshare resort or relaxing in your own backyard, we hope you are finding some time this holiday weekend to do the things you love the most. …To share laughter with friends and family; hike your favorite trail; catch a new movie or savor an old one… and even to sip your favorite beverage whether it is fine wine or sweet tea. Carve out a space for yourself; de-stress and unwind. Tuesday morning will be here soon enough.

It’s not too soon to remind you of the upcoming 2010 Vacation Ownership Investment Conference. Although many outside the timeshare industry blame its recent slump in sales on an economically challenged consumer market, most people inside the timeshare industry would lay the blame more specifically on the tight credit market.

The VOIC is scheduled for October 4-6, 2010, at the Peabody Hotel in Orlando, Florida. This important timeshare and vacation ownership industry event primarily targets three groups:

1. Lenders who want to learn more about opportunities in vacation ownership financing and lenders interested in meeting new and current timeshare developers.
2. Timeshare resort developers who are developing a vacation ownership property or are considering developing such a property or product.
3. Anyone in the industry seeking capital or development opportunities.

This year’s keynote speakers will include Marci Rossell, PhD, a former economist for the Federal Reserve and past CNBC chief economist. Rossell reminds us that all financial crises follow a pattern and the current conditions in the US are no exception. Recognizing this, we, as Americans, could learn and benefit by studying the pattern and the successes and failures of past responses to the pattern.

Other Important Info to Be Gained at the 2010 Vacation Ownership Investment Conference

When you attend the VOIC, you’ll hear from experts on current performance statistics about the US timeshare and vacation ownership industry along with learning about relevant research on the industry. These key facts not only tell the tale on what’s happening today but serve as important indicators about what to expect in the future.

You will gain insider insights from lenders about the capital challenges facing today’s economy and learn what facts you will need to present if your timeshare related business or business venture is seeking investment or growth funding.

For all who are affiliated with the timeshares and vacation ownership industry, the VOIC is a critical event always packed with insights and information. To find out more, contact Information@VacationOwnershipInvestment.com or call toll-free 877.700.1153 or 305.668.3495.

Hotel and Motel Management recently ran a report on social media, a topic we feel strongly about at Sell My Timeshare NOW and The Timeshare Authority blog. (Apply marketing basics to social media to sell timeshare)

As they correctly observed, timeshares and social media are a logical match, with author Stephanie Ricca pointing out, “The timeshare industry is known for its marketing savvy, so it makes sense that this segment hit the ground running when it came to adopting social media strategies.”

Much of the report addresses what it defines as, “using social media outlets to strengthen the bond with the most critical mass—current timeshare owners.” This is a good observation and brings up the issue we made in a blog post this past Sunday (Social Media and the Timeshare Industry at the VOASA Conference)

Timeshares inherently have a special need for social media. Timeshare owners may buy timeshare from a developer who gives them plenty of attention, right up until they become a timeshare owner. After that, some timeshare owners feel they are “on their own” when it comes to gaining updates and general information about the opportunities of vacation ownership. This feeling of “aloneness” can be even greater for timeshare owners who bought timeshare as on the resale market. Who do they turn to with their questions? Where is their support system?

But as Howard Nusbaum, president and CEO of ARDA (the American Resort Development Association), explains, “We’re trying to educate our members that viral and word-of-mouth marketing now has a huge megaphone…This is an opportunity every day to ensure you’re igniting your fans and answering your detractors.”

Timeshare Owners Need a Voice…and a Listening Ear

Social media is often called “new media” for a reason. The old way the business world used to communicate with consumers has come to an end. No more one-sided conversations where advertising executives strategize the message, trying to shape the way consumers feel about the product.

Instead, social media has given consumers the voice they should have always had. Whether the product is timeshares, other travel and vacation products, or consumer goods and services, social media is providing the platforms for individuals to express and share their likes, dislikes, needs, and opinions. New media is one of the best directions business has taken in many years, even though it has left most industries—timeshare included—working hard to get up to steam with a presence in all the places its market wants to be heard.

The Timeshare Authority Blog and Sell My Timeshare NOW hope you will follow us on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jasontremblay_ and http://twitter.com/vacationhotdeal

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

Your Boston timeshare resale or Boston timeshare rental is a great place to spend the Labor Day Weekend holiday, enjoying the 26th Annual Gloucester Schooner Festival. Celebrated some 30 miles from Boston, in the charming nautical town of Gloucester, this event commemorates historic contributions of the fishing schooner and the seamen who sail them.

Gloucester is the oldest fishing port on the North American Atlantic coastline and its historic harbor will be filled with the billowing sails of more than fifty authentic schooners. There will be three sailing events (Traditional Small Craft Races; Parade of Sail; and the) Mayor’s Race) as well as a host of activities, good fun, and good food.

Go for the Friday night block party, featuring music, dancing, and cinema under the stars. Take the Saturday Walking Tour of Gloucester’s Working Waterfront, tour the US Coast Guard Station, and visit the Gloucester Maritime Heritage Center. Saturday night features the Parade of Lights and fireworks over the harbor. Sunday, you’ll want to witness the Parade of Sail, where all of the participating schooners hoist their sails and take to the harbor with fanfare and pageantry you’ll never forget.

Massachusetts Timeshare Vacation, Leave Your Daily Demands Behind

Experiencing old New England at the 26th Annual Gloucester Schooner Festival provides you and your family a chance to step back in time, leave behind the demands of your daily schedule, and live a page out of America’s colorful past. With all the options available to rent Massachusetts timeshare or exchange timeshare you already own, you don’t have to miss out on special New England getaways and relaxing holidays that offer you the fun and the relaxation you both deserve and crave.

Interval International timeshare exchange welcomes Mai Khao, Phuket’s West Sands resort to its network of vacation ownership exchange properties. Rebranded as West Sands Vacation Club, the eco-friendly Phuket timeshare is expanding its offerings to timeshare owners and their guests, seeking to be more competitive through greater flexibility.

In order to make it easier for owners to enjoy vacations and holidays even when their schedules or budgets are limited, the resort is transitioning from timeshare interval ownership to a timeshare points based system. Additionally, West Sands Vacation Club has affiliated with Interval International timeshare exchange to provide its member-owners with expanded options in timeshare exchange.

An Eco-Friendly Timeshare Resort

West Sands Vacation Club is located in its own bit of paradise, on 48 lush acres with over 500 yards of private beachfront on Phuket’s popular west coast at Mai Khao Beach. The one-, two-, and three-bedroom timeshare units all feature kitchens and balconies overlooking the pool, the garden area, or the Andaman Sea. The entire property was designed to be low impact on the environment while offering guests and timeshare owners both the beauty of natural Phuket along with the fun of West Sands Water World, one of the largest water parks in Asia.

“We are very pleased to have added West Sands Phuket Beach Club to our exchange network,” says Interval International’s Asia Pacific Executive Director, Joe Hickman. He adds, “Along with its high design standards, the eco-friendly development will contribute to preserving the environment and to more enjoyable and economic living.”

SPI Software, providers of software for the timeshare industry, has announced that Matt Brosious, vice president of sales, is a speaker at this week’s Vacation Ownership Association of Southern Africa (VOASA) conference. The VOASA conference, (August 29-31) is being held in Durban, South Africa. Brosious will speak on the topic: Positioning Your Brand and Social Media.

SPI Software, a Miami, Florida based company, has been providing software to the timeshare, vacation ownership, fractional, and private residence club industry since 1978. Their software is effective for both traditional timeshare and timeshare points based ownership programs. The proprietary timeshare software utilizes Microsoft .NET-based software either as an enterprise suite called Orange Systems, or in specific modules to handle sales, marketing, finance, property management, centralized reservations maintenance fee and receivables servicing, or Website access operations.

Why Social Media Matters When it Comes to Timeshares

Timeshares inherently have a special need for social media. Timeshare owners may buy timeshare from a developer who gives them plenty of attention, right up until they become a timeshare owner. After that, some timeshare owners feel they are “on their own” when it comes to gaining updates and general information about the opportunities of vacation ownership. This feeling of “aloneness” can be even greater for timeshare owners who bought timeshare as on the resale market. Who do they turn to with their questions? Where is their support system?

A strong network of connectivity through Facebook, Twitter, blogging, and other social media platforms can be a difference maker in the satisfaction level timeshare owners feel after their initial purchase. Matt Brosious will no doubt be reinforcing this message, offering insights to the VOASA conference attendees that will help everyone involved in the industry be more responsive to timeshare owners and their needs.

More news from The Timeshare Authority on the VOASA Conference:

South Africa Timeshare and the VOASA Conference 2010