Timeshare Owners

Yesterday, Westgate confirmed rumors that they have purchased the former Las Vegas Hilton Resort. The resort, now known as the Las Vegas Hotel & Casino (LVH), will be rebranded as the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino. The new Westgate sign is expected to replace the LVH sign sometime today.

Featuring 1,500 guest rooms, the LVH was the biggest resort in the world when it opened in 1969.The resort was originally built by Kirk Kerkorian to house over 800 Elvis concerts in the 1960s and 1970s. The resort also featured performances from the legendary Liberace and Barbara Streisand. More recently, the resort has been upgraded to include 2,956 guest rooms and 305 suites. The resort also features a 74,000 square foot casino and Las Vegas Monorail station. [Read more…]

If you haven’t already heard, Marriott Vacation Club is raising their prices on Marriott timeshares, again.

This change will take effect on June 19, 2014. The price increase will affect all Marriott Vacation Club Destinations Ownership Points purchased directly through Marriott.

This is becoming a trend for the timeshare brand, as Marriott also increased their prices in June 2013.

How will this affect timeshare resales?

While it’s unclear if this change will affect current members, it will have little or no effect on Marriott resales.
While Marriott must increase the price of destination packages to cover sales and marketing overhead, resales are typically sold at their base market value. Typically these developer costs can raise the price of a timeshare by 50% or more. Buyers on the secondary market do not have to pay extra fees to cover these costs. They buy directly from the owner, eliminating the extra fees.

However, be aware that there are two types of Marriott timeshares: Marriott Weeks and Destination Points. Timeshare weeks are purchase at a specific “home resort” and can be traded through Interval International for an extra fee. Destination Points can be traded within Marriott’s internal exchange network, as well as through Interval International.

Currently, you can only buy a points-based membership from Marriott, but you can still buy weeks on secondary market. Owners have enjoyed great vacations from both types of membership. Nevertheless, ask yourself, “What is the better value?”

Visit SellMyTimeshareNow.com for more information on Marriott Timeshare Resales.

Summer Bay Resorts has announced that they will re-brand the timeshare company as Exploria Resorts.

On May 24th the company celebrated the rebranding by raising the new Exploria flag at their resort in Orlando. Over 300 employees gathered for a countdown and released balloons to commemorate the event. On this day they also introduced Exploria Resorts’ newwebsite and the hash tag #exploriaresorts.

The company currently owns 6 timeshare resorts, including their flagship location in Orlando, Florida. The flagship “Summer Bay Resort” has also been re-branded to Summer Bay Orlando, By Exploria Resorts.
CEO Paul Caldwell shared, “We will continue to introduce exciting new destinations into the portfolio of existing resorts as we are currently finalizing the business model of a new member Club product to be introduced to prospective owners by fall, 2014.”

Exploria Resorts also announced plans for a renovation of Summer Bay Orlando. The renovation will consist of a two year project, scheduled for completion in 2015.

Summer Bay Orlando Renovation

During the renovation, all 500+ guest rooms will be refurbished. The furnishings, flooring, lighting, kitchen appliances, bedding, and bathrooms will all receive upgrades. The resort is also building two new three-bedroom villas. These timeshare villas will feature private entry, a garage, patio, and private pool. Summer Bay Orlando already offers 25 similar villas on property.

In addition, the resort will also add a state-of-the-art Activities Center. The proposed 10,000 square foot structure will be used for entertainment and activity spaces for guests. The Activity Center will include a movie theater, arcade, fitness center, and members-only lounge.

Perhaps the most exciting expansion is The Buccaneer Bay Adventure Park, a new outdoor playground. This pirate themed outdoor park will feature zip lines, a rock climbing wall, bumper boats, bungee jumping, and a “Wipe-Out” obstacle course. The resort will also add a new food & beverage station, seating area, and entertainment area.

This month, the Australian-based Classic Holidays group hosted their second annual “Work Inspiration” program. Through a partnership with a local high school, students joined Classic Holidays employees at work for mentoring and career experiences.

Program Coordinator and Classic Holidays’ Sandy Point Resort Manager, Julia Whitton said, “The ‘Work Inspiration’ program at Classic Holidays has gone beyond our expectations as a work experience platform. Everyone has embraced this program, and we are seeing it really take off in its second year with more schools coming on board.”

Thirteen students from Helensvale High in Queensland, Australia visited the Classic Holidays’ corporate office for a two-day experience. Here the students shadowed employees to get a feel for what it would be like to work for Classic Holidays.

Whitton continued, “The structure of the program is what the kids really enjoy – it’s fun and engaging for everyone, particularly our Classic Holidays staff who act as mentors to the students. This year, with the support of Partnership Brokers, we are also making a film of the ‘Work Inspiration’ journey, which will be a great tool for promoting the program further.”

Classic Holidays also hosted a Work Inspiration program at two of their resorts. At the Golden Shores Resort, Horticulture students participated in a two-day grounds experience. While at Surfers Royale, hospitality students shadowed at the resort’s Reception desk. Classic Holidays is planning additional Work Inspiration events to take place in the next few weeks.

“Later this month we will be presenting ‘Work Inspiration’ to Emmanuel College staff and students, and we will be welcoming more students from Varsity College later in the year to Classic Holidays following the success of the pilot program with Varsity last November,” said Whitton.

The support from the students and employees has encouraged Classic Holidays to make Work Inspirations a long-term program. To show their enthusiasm, Classic Holidays has committed to 100 Work Inspiration events throughout the rest of 2014.

On this note, Whitton shared,

“The feedback from participating students has been 100% positive. They learn a lot about their own personalities, skills and strengths through the various talks and workshops, inspiring them to think about what kind of career they would like to have. For Classic Holidays, it’s every bit as rewarding to share behind the scenes of our business and see the students form bonds with our Classic Holidays mentors.”