timeshare news

Maybe vacation time for your family was slim this summer as everyone counted their pennies and watched their dollars, but you could make up for it by planning an unforgettable family Thanksgiving, Christmas, or winter holiday. All it takes is a great deal on a timeshare resale, or timeshare rental, and a family ready for some relaxation and recreation.

Before you say, “No timeshares for Turkey Day,” let’s give this a closer look. For many families, Thanksgiving means everyone piles in at Grandma’s house for food and football. While Grandma—or whoever is the lucky family member to host the traditional frenzy—claims to love the event, we all know there’s an overload of angst, vacuuming, and food prep involved in the process. And unless Grandma’s house is the size of small motel, many family get-togethers involve inflatable air mattresses and showers only on alternating days as too many people try to fit in a space that is too small to enjoy.

Solution: Turkey Dinner at Your Timeshare

Now think about the next family holiday if you spent it at a gorgeous timeshare resort. Your options are practically unlimited. The families with all the cousins could opt to share a three or even four-bedroom timeshare unit designed to sleep 12 to 16 people. Maybe the snorers in the bunch would choose (or be relegated to) a studio timeshare, while the young couples who want their privacy or have the baby that wakes up at all hours would decide that the lock-out side of the timeshare unit is just right for them. The point is, timesharing gives you choices to select as much or as little togetherness as you and your extended, blended, or happily-ever-after family like.

With a full-size kitchen, you can still take on turkey preparation but you might decide that this year, someone else can deal with cooking and clean up. Maybe you’ll choose to dine out or to bring catering into your timeshare. Either way, you can kick back with a turkey leg and enjoy the view, the football game on the flat screen TV, or the children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews who are absolutely thrilled that this year, when the pumpkin pie is finished, they’ll be swimming, snorkeling, biking, or perhaps skiing and snowboarding. A timeshare holiday is an excellent way to plan a vacation that suits the needs of family members of all ages and interests. Best of all, it doesn’t have to break the bank.

Follow this link to see Sell My Timeshare NOW’s Featured Timeshare Properties

Who benefits from owning timeshare? Are timeshare resales really a better deal than new timeshare? To get an idea of whether a new timeshare or a timeshare resale is a good idea for the way you vacation, do a simple comparison.

First, look at what it will cost you over the years you own your timeshare in comparison to your typical vacation spending for lodging. Divide your total expenditure (that’s the down payment, monthly payment, loan costs, and annual fees) by all of the years you plan to own your timeshare.

If the total purchase cost of the timeshare is equal to or less than the amount you would be paying for hotel lodging or vacation home rental during this same twenty-year period, then buying timeshare makes excellent sense for you. And if it is greater than the amount you would anticipate paying for other types of vacation lodging, you might decide that that the convenience of pre-planned, pre-paid vacations is nevertheless worth the additional cost. Many timeshare owners feel that paying in advance during their high-income years for timeshare vacations they will enjoy even during their retirement (and presumably lower income years) is a very smart move.

But what if, instead of paying $17,000 to buy timeshare, you paid only $8,000? What if you paid only $5,000 or even $3,000? Suddenly the economics of timeshare ownership become very different. Instead of a timeshare being a breakeven situation as compared to future vacation expenses, at these lower rates, timeshare becomes genuinely cost effective. And while the average purchase price of a new US timeshare is roughly $17,000 when purchased from the developer, on the timeshare resale market, you can realistically buy timeshare for half or even one-third of this amount.

So how do you actually compare buying new timeshare property with buying timeshare resales?

In many ways, you simply can’t.

KTVZ.com released news yesterday that the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services has levied fines in excess of $2 million against companies and individuals from the US, Mexico, and Panama, who were involved in an investment scam. The fraudulent deal claimed more than $428 million dollars from individual investors.

This unlawful soliciting of funds from Oregon residents, many of them elderly, involved a complicated strategy where unregistered securities were sold as an investment. The securities involved Mexico timeshare along the Yucatan Peninsula, which the investors were told would be rented and would yield a high yearly return to them. According to the sales pitch consumers received, related or affiliated companies would rent these Mexico timeshares through universal leases.

David Tatman, administrator for the Division of Finance and Corporate Securities (DFCS) says, “It’s unfortunate that many elderly Oregonians lost their hard-earned retirement funds by unwittingly investing in this scheme.”

He explains, “… the subject of the fraudulent investments can be diverse—from timeshares to technology to commodities like silver and gold—the one characteristic they share is that they are sold by agents who are not licensed to sell securities. State licenses are not ‘one-size-fits-all.’ For example, an insurance agent is by no means automatically authorized to sell investments.”

To find out more about an individual’s credentials and licensing to do business in the state of Oregon, call DFCS Oregon at 1-866-814-9710, 503-378-4140, or go to www.dfcs.oregon.gov

If you have similar concerns or questions, contact the Office of the Attorney General for the state in which you live. At least ten other state securities regulators have filed or concluded a civil action case against the people behind this timeshare investment scam. The US Securities and Exchange Commission also has a pending civil case and the US Department of Justice has a pending criminal case against them.

Bottom line: With major hoteliers and timeshare developers challenged to make suitable return on their massive number of timeshare resorts, it stands to reason that it is virtually impossible for the average person to get into timeshare development as an investment strategy.

But what is a possibility, is that by buying a right-priced Mexico timeshare resale, you and your family could enjoy many years of outstanding vacations.

Last week the Hilton Hotels Corporation announced that the company was officially becoming Hilton Worldwide, a name change they feel better reflects their global image and position. To go with the name change, they relocated corporate headquarters from Beverly Hills, California to McLean, Virginia.

They also threw out their old logo and they are in the process of replacing it with a new one that is surprising similar to the old one. Instead of the previous blue Hilton logo, which featured an upright letter “H”, Hilton Worldwide will be using what appears to be an “H” turned over on its side. The color scheme has also changed from blue to a platinum and gold combination.

According to executives at Hilton, the name and logo change should make it easier for consumers to recognize hotel and resort properties that are part of the Hilton Worldwide’s HHonors program. HHonors will share the same new logo as the hotel division, but branded with the words HHonors instead of “Hilton Worldwide”.

And while none of this seems like such a radical change and actually makes a lot of sense for a corporation that is part of the hotel and timeshare industry where many companies are reevaluating their focus and direction, Hilton sure has drawn criticism for their actions.

It seems that suddenly people “loved” the previous Hilton logo and now are very critical of the new one, which as I mentioned, doesn’t look so very different from the previous one. Critics have been quick to jump on the bandwagon saying that the cost of replacing the logo, companywide, is frivolous in the current economy. But let’s face it, every branded item, from business cards to hotel signage has a shelf life and is due to be replaced sooner or later anyway.

Taking Potshots at Hotels, Timeshare Companies, and Timeshare Resales Companies

It appears to me (IMHO) that some people like to take pot shots at companies and corporations, thinking that they are an easy target and can always be painted as the greedy bad guy. But let’s just remember that companies and corporations are nothing more than people, like all other consumers. They are built and carried on the backs of individuals working hard for a living, paying taxes, serving their communities, and trying to get by. I can’t imagine that most of these people wake up each day and say, “Let’s see how much corporate money we can waste today.”

There’s no defending greed, and certainly we have all seen indications that some people at the helm of various companies have demonstrated self-indulgence and a lack of respect for their companies, co-workers, and the customers who helped grow these companies with their business. But for every one greedy executive who makes the news, there are dozens, hundreds, thousands, and perhaps tens of thousands of individuals who work for that company and strive every day to serve their clients and customers at the highest levels.

Corporate responsibility isn’t dead, even though it may not be making headline news. And just because there are some rotten apples out there, you can’t paint all companies and corporations with the “ugly” paintbrush. People rush to the press, to social media platforms, and online bulletin boards with all sorts of criticisms of companies both large and even those as small as Sell My Timeshare NOW.

But perhaps it is time—maybe past time—for Americans to start pulling together more. For us to stop looking for scapegoats and whipping posts in politics, business, or any other segment of life. If you have a valid complaint or issue, contact the company. They will probably bend over backward trying to accommodate you. And before you launch an online campaign of complaints, remember that that corporate identity you are attacking, is nothing more than real people, trying to do their best every single day.

Follow this link if you are interested in learning more about genuine opportunities in Hilton Grand Vacation Club timeshare resales. Or Hilton timeshare rentals.