Grand Timber Lodge Timeshare Resort is so much more than a timeshare vacation destination; it is a life style. And while owning and maintaining a year-round ski retreat in Breckenridge, Colorado may not be within your budget, owning a week or two of timeshare at Grand Timber Lodge can be very affordable, especially if you take advantage of reasonably priced timeshare resales.

Grand Timber Lodge timeshare is HOT 100 list timeshare property number 54 at Sell My Timeshare NOW. Of course timeshare owners at Grand Timber Lodge love the resort because of its ski-in and ski-out convenience. But there is also the Grand Victorian Day Spa, the swimming pools, hot tubs, athletic center, children’s playground and the arcade to love as well.

While many timeshare resorts offer excellent retreats for you and your family, the Grand Timber Lodge has units large enough to accommodate family groups of all sizes or you and your 9 best friends.

Timeshare Units to Accommodate Up to 10 People

The Grand Timber Lodge timeshare resort offers studio timeshare units, 2-room suites with kitchenettes, and one, two, and three-bedroom timeshare condos. The largest condos at the Grand Timber Lodge are 1,500 square feet and designed to accommodate up to 10 people. They include fully equipped kitchens with granite countertops, a washer and dryer, a private deck, gas fireplace, and complete dining service for 10 people. These timeshare units have 3 full bathrooms, (one with a jetted bathtub) and an entertainment center in the living area.

But you don’t necessarily have to go for the largest timeshare to enjoy luxury and comfort in a Grand Timber Lodge timeshare. Even the 2-room suites with kitchenettes are designed to sleep up to 6 people, and include one king size bed, 1 queen size bed, and 1 sleeper sofa. The kitchenette includes a mini fridge, a mini dishwasher, a microwave oven and a two-burner stove. These timeshare units also include an entertainment center and 2 full bathrooms.

If you are interesting in learning more about becoming a vacation property owner, paying for only the days and nights you schedule to enjoy at the Grand Timber Lodge timeshare, visit Sell My Timeshare NOW and learn more about the timeshare resales and timeshare rentals waiting for you.

Already thinking about fresh powder on the slopes at Breckenridge? Follow this link to check the Breckenridge snow report.

It’s back to the HOT 100 timeshare list today for The Timeshare Authority blog, as we look at timeshare resort number 63 on this year’s list: The Westgate Park City Resort and Spa timeshare.

This Westgate Vacation Villas timeshare resort, set in the scenic Wasatch Mountains, offers a true ski-in/ski-out experience with more than 140 ski runs that rank from the beginner level to the professional. Ranked Five Stars, the Westgate Park City Resort and Spa timeshare includes approximately 185 timeshare villas, from studio units to 4-bedroom timeshare suites. Most are equipped with a full kitchen, laundry, balcony with hot tub, fireplace in the living area, whirlpool tub in the master bedroom, and TV, DVD and entertainment center. Some of the timeshare villas offer steam showers. For true indulgence, try the famous Papillion the Spa located at this resort.

Amenities at the timeshare resort include a heated indoor/outdoor pool, tennis, gol, and basketball, as well as dining at the Westgate Grill, a full service restaurant that receives glowing reviews from patrons. Onsite is a wine shop, which can be a convenience, since state of Utah liquor laws regarding when and where alcohol can be sold sometimes catch travelers and vacationers off guard.

Planning Your Utah Timeshare Ski Vacation

… here’s some interesting information, as you plan your Utah timeshare ski resort vacation …

According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac , a weather resource since 1792, this year will bring average to above average snowfall in the ski country of the northwestern United States. On The Old Farmer’s Almanac map, geographic region number 13 is called “Intermountain,” and includes all or portions of Arizona, California, Colorado (including Colorado Springs and Denver, Idaho, Montana , Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. In this region, the winter is predicted to be much colder than normal, with snowfall, above normal in the north. The periods of the most snow are predicted to be mid-November, early and mid-December, mid- and late January, and late February.

Region 12, “The High Plains,” includes all or parts of Colorado (starting at Denver and heading east), Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming. In the northern portions of The High Plains, temperatures are predicted to be slightly above normal, but an average of two degrees below normal in the south. The Old Farmer’s Almanac states, “Precipitation will be near or slightly below normal, with below-normal snowfall. The snowiest periods will be in early December, mid-January, most of February, and early and mid-March.”

Based in Dublin, NH (just 80 miles from the Sell My Timeshare NOW offices in Dover, NH) The Old Farmer’s Almanac is North America’s oldest continuously published periodical. While no one can predict the weather with total accuracy, The Old Farmer’s Almanac claims that its weather predictions are on-target 80 percent of the time, which is amazing when one considers they are prepared as much as 18 months in advance.

Although it may still be warm outside, it’s not too early to track down your mittens and go wax your skis. And it is exactly the right time to start shopping Sell My Timeshare NOW’s huge inventory of timeshare resales and timeshare rentals at some of the most in-demand ski destinations in North America and around the world.

Not in the mood yet for a ski trip? Watch the snow silently falling in this short video, shot from the balcony of a Westgate Park City Resort and Spa timeshare.

Residents on South Padre Island, Texas are no strangers to what hurricanes can do, but like most people who live in hurricane country, they will tell you that “bad” hurricanes rarely happen in July. Hurricane Dolly, which hit South Padre Island with 100 mph winds last week, may have changed their opinions. It certainly caught many people unprepared. Some south Texas residents reported that they expected Hurricane Dolly to be only a “bad storm”… as it turns out, it was a very, very bad storm.

As of yesterday, many roads in the tourist resort and timeshare areas of South Padre Island, remained impassable; businesses were closed and areas were cut off by either floodwaters, lack of electricity, lack of gas, or all three.

According to the Houston Chronicle’s Chron.com, Dan Quandt, executive director of the island’s Convention and Visitors Bureau, said it was the first time he had ever urged people not to visit. Quandt was quoted as saying, “So many people are calling saying they want to come to the beach, and we’re saying, ‘No’. This is not a time to sightsee down here. We are actually going to have law enforcement at the causeway saying if you don’t have business being here, you’re going to have to turn around.”

The Inverness Resort Timeshare at South Padre Island has posted the following Hurricane Dolly update on their website:

We have no updates on the Galleon Bay Club timeshare or the Royale Beach and Tennis Club timeshare, also located on South Padre Island.

The Texas Attorney General’s Office advised people to call 800-252-8011 to report unethical business practices or price gouging.

The San Padre Island Convention and Visitors Bureau has released these contact numbers for further information: (956) 433-1231 OR (956) 761-3802.

In an article published July 15, in the Scotsman.com, Macdonald Hotels, Scotland’s largest independent hotel chain, is threatening to cut off power and water to Loch Rannoch timeshare resort. Loch Rannoch Highland Club represents 3,000 timeshare owners of 85 timeshare condos at Scotland’s Loch Rannoch Resort, which until 2003, was managed by Macdonald Hotels. In a decision by the timeshare owners, management was switched to Timeshare Management Services, a company managed by Edward Monks.

Somewhere in the change, someone failed to deal with the matter of water and electrical services, which Macdonald Hotels alleges now total £450,000. In a letter that The Scotsman says it has seen, the timeshare owners committee has been warned that unless, “full payment of the sum the hotel chain claims it is owed is made by 24 July the group would have no alternative but to cut off the lodges’ water and electricity.” …now that would make for an unpleasant timeshare vacation, wouldn’t it?

More to the Story at the Loch Rannoch Timeshare Resort

Based on the report in The Scotsman, there appears to be more to the story than who pays the light bill. Monks explained that they (the timeshare owners) had sent the hotel a check for £177,819 with the stipulation that it be accepted as payment in full. Both the timeshare owners, (led by Monk) and Macdonald Hotels agreed that the hotel owes the timeshare money for past management fees. On the other hand, the hotel says that the timeshare also owes them management fees.

But here’s the detail that may really be the sticking point. Settlement terms offered by the timeshare owners included the stipulation that they be allowed access to the leisure facilities at the Macdonald Loch Rannoch hotel, next door to the timeshare resort. They also asked that the management of the timeshare revert to Macdonald Resorts in 2010 when the current contract with Monk’s group lapses. The timeshare owners have been banned from using the resort facilities since the management change in 2003.

How This Timeshare Tale Will End

It is not likely that timeshare guests at Loch Rannoch will go without either water or electricity, even if the dispute remains unsettled by the target date. While the issues sound problematic, (and owing a half million pounds is nothing to sneeze at) matters such as these, have a way of being worked out.

Loch Rannoch timeshare is a lovely resort in an idyllic setting overlooking the sparkling blue Loch Rannoch. The area is renowned for its fishing and hiking, and overall picturesque tranquility. Let’s hope a little of that harmony rubs off on these two parties in conflict and they get this now 5-year old dispute settled.

More than 120 representatives of the timeshare sales and timeshare resales industry met June 2-3 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire to learn how they can play a proactive role in saving the environment.

The event was the 2008 ARDA New England Regional Meeting, and was opened by Ray Sirois, IT Director for Wright-Pierce, a civil engineering firm in Topsham, Maine. Sirois is one of approximately 2000 people worldwide who have been trained to give the presentation about climate change that Al Gore gave in his documentary, “An Inconvenient Truth”.

Here are some of the disturbing facts that Sirois shared with the group:

• Nine of the past ten years have been the hottest on record.
• At the current rate of carbon emissions into the atmosphere, Massachusetts will have the same climate as present-day South Carolina and sea level will rise by 2 feet by the end of the century.
• Nationwide, the production of electricity is the number one contributor to greenhouse gasses; but in New England, transportation is the number one culprit.
• Researchers at Princeton estimate that carbon emissions can be cut in half by 2050 by using technologies that already exist, but need to be put into place. The solution must include a combination of technologies (solar power, wind power, etc.) because the problem is so great and so pervasive.

The message was clearly that the time for change is now. Timeshare companies must step up as leaders in the hotel and leisure industry to show that we are taking responsible actions ourselves, and that we are setting an example for timeshare buyers, sellers, and timeshare renters.

To read the full Sell My Timeshare NOW press release on the meeting, follow this link.

And in case you have missed seeing An Inconvenient Truth, here is a YouTube link to the film’s trailer.

If you read our timeshare blog regularly, you have already figured out that there are easier places to build a timeshare resort than in Aspen. Yes, there are already beautiful, luxurious timeshare resorts and fractionals in Aspen, Colorado, but the city leaders don’t necessarily welcome timeshare properties with open arms.

So it is a big step that the Aspen Club and Spa timeshare has received preliminary approval from the Aspen Planning and Zoning Commission to build 20 timeshare units as part of an addition to an existing health club. The timeshare resort is planned to include three and four bedroom timeshare units to be sold in intervals that are approximately 3 weeks in length. The resort will include a 35,000 square foot addition to the current athletic club facilities, a 53-space underground parking garage and 45 surface parking spaces, as well as 12 two-bedroom units of affordable housing.

A Timeshare Resort with an Interesting Twist

The timeshare resort component of the property will be sold as Aspen Club Living, marketing the health and wellness aspect of the resort. When the timeshare units are not occupied, they will be rented like hotel rooms.

Perhaps it took the spin of the additional affordable living units, and the health and wellness center, to move this timeshare resort project ahead against the historically critical city officials of Aspen. But don’t book your airfare just yet to vacation at the Aspen Club and Spa, because the plan still has to pass the Aspen City Council, first in the developmental stage and again in a final review.

Other Options in Aspen Timeshare and Aspen Fractionals

If you are interested in owning timeshare vacation property in Aspen, you can buy timeshare resales at the St. Regis Resort, in increments of four nonconsecutive weeks. The St. Regis is the ultimate in luxury timeshare/fractional ownership, with access to skiing, summer mountain sports, and all the shops, dining, and entertainment charm of Aspen.

According to the Post and Courier’s Charleston.net, the city of Charleston, SC, and the Private Escapes Vacation Club have agreed to a settlement in their current court battle. Charleston zoning rules prohibit a timeshare company or vacation club from operating in an area of the city that has residential zoning. The Private Escapes Vacation Club’s Smith Street resort currently violates this law.

At Private Escapes, members pay both dues and up-front fees to stay up to 50 nights per year at the company’s resorts and private luxury homes, which are located worldwide.

Although an appeal by Private Escapes LLC was pending in the South Carolina Court of Appeals, the company agreed to the settlement with the city. Terms of the agreement include the City of Charleston agreeing to dismiss pending fines for zoning violations while the vacation club company agreed to stop offering accommodations at their Smith Street location, effective June 2, 2008.

Steep Price Tag on Some Luxury Vacation Clubs

Private Escapes bills themselves as a “luxury vacation club.” In 2007, Private Escapes and Ultimate Resorts announced a merger that the companies are still in the process of implementing. Private Escapes has resort properties in the Bahamas, Utah, Florida, New York, and South Carolina. Ultimate Resorts are located in London, Paris, St. Thomas, the Bahamas, Mexico, Wyoming, Hawaii, and South Carolina.

According to the Robb Report, membership requires a $325,000 deposit, $22,000 in annual dues, and nightly rates of $185. At the Ultimate Resort, Elite level members pay between $380,000 and $407,500 for 180 travel days in luxury homes that have an average value of $3 million.

Timeshare and Affordable Vacation Clubs

There’s no word yet on whether or not the Private Escapes plans to open a new resort destination in another part of the city of Charleston, although their partnership with the Ultimate Resorts expands their resorts to include a SC location, in Kiawah Island. But for all the people who want vacation ownership in Charleston, SC, there are plenty of great opportunities to buy timeshare resales or rent timeshare in this charming and historic seaside town.

If you can’t shop for vacation ownership with a $300,000 to $400,000 price tag, but you still expect luxury accommodations, go to Sell My timeshare NOW to learn more about timeshare resales and vacation club memberships.

Wyndham Vacation Ownership (Wyndham Timeshare) has commenced construction on their fifth Las Vegas timeshare resort, the Wyndham Desert Blue.

The initial phase of construction, which is scheduled for completion in 2010, will include a 19-story tower with 281 condominium-style timeshare units. Fifty of the timeshare condos will be penthouse style Presidential suites, while the rest will be one, two, and three bedroom timeshare suites.

The Desert Blue will be adjacent to the Las Vegas Strip and next to the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino.

Wyndham Timeshare Shows Commitment to Las Vegas

The addition of the Wyndham Desert Blue will give Wyndham timeshare 2400 timeshare units in Las Vegas. Franz Hanning, president and CEO of Wyndham Vacation Ownership says, “Our Las Vegas operations have continued to experience tremendous growth since our arrival in 2000. To date, we’ve sold nearly $1 billion worth of product in this market alone…We are committed to expanding our presence in this larger than life city, and once complete, Desert Blue will be one of the most in-demand properties in our portfolio.”

Wyndham Timeshare Resales and WorldMark Timeshare Resales

Currently the four Wyndham Las Vegas timeshare resorts are: the Wyndham Grand Desert, (part of the company’s FairShare Plus by Wyndham portfolio); the WorldMark Las Vegas; the WorldMark Las Vegas Spencer Street, and WorldMark Las Vegas Tropicana.

To find out more about excellent opportunities at these and other Las Vegas timeshare resales, visit Sell My Timeshare NOW.

This month’s edition of the Harvard Business Review included a very interesting article about the future of tourism both in the US and internationally. With the dark clouds of recession never far from view, it is very good news to hear knowledgeable experts forecasting positive trends in travel and vacationing.

Paul F. Nunes is an executive research fellow with the Accenture Institute for High Performance Business in Boston and London-based Mark Spelman is the global managing director of Accenture’s strategy practice. Together, they researched and wrote, “The Tourism Time Bomb”, which appeared in the Harvard Business Review’s April 2008 issue.

To understand their predictions, you have to start with the fact that they are forecasting the global emergence of a new middle class who will be shopping for vacations and travel. To quote their words, “Indian call-center employees, Russian petrochemical engineers, Chinese middle managers, and Brazilian salespeople are already scouring the web for deals on trips.”

Add to this list the changes in Cuba, (discussed in Saturday’s Timeshare Owners Blog) the American baby boomer, who is relatively insulated from the current US economic situation, Canadians who are enjoying a strong Looney, and other populations worldwide who are or will in the future be spending their money on travel and vacations. Suddenly, it begins to make sense that the United Nations is projecting that the annual number of international tourist visits will nearly double and reach 1.6 billion by the year 2020.

Could A “Bomb” Explode and Shower Us with Timeshare Resorts?

Nunes and Spelmen see three scenarios that could occur because of a surge in vacationing or what they call, “the tourism time bomb”.

The first possibility is that demand for hotel rooms in popular venues will outstrip supply. They go on to explain that the lodging crunch could become so tight, a new type of scalper could emerge, selling hotel rooms, air fares, and other travel related items at whatever top dollar the market will bear.

If this seems hard to imagine, remember that it is already happening in some segments of the travel industry, with the 2007 American Express Global Business Travel Report forecasting an 11 to 14 percent increase in the cost of travel for 2008. Can you envision a future where hotel room nights are pedaled at black market prices?

What A Travel Boom Will Mean to Timeshare Owners

If the predictions of Nunes, Spelman, American Express, or the United Nations turn out to be even halfway correct, then I can only see this as great news for timeshare owners. Timeshare owners will be ahead of the game because they own their vacation or travel accommodations, at a locked in price. These timeshare units will have been purchased at pre-escalation prices and if they were wisely bought as timeshare resales, then the timeshare owner will be even further ahead. When and if the timeshare owner decides to sell timeshare as a resale, he or she may find that the market has become extremely “seller friendly”.

The Tourism Time Bomb definitely gives us food for thought and paints the picture of a future environment that is beneficial for timeshare owners and timeshare real estate in general.

Check in on tomorrow’s Timeshare Owners Blog. I will share further information from this fascinating report and look at the other two travel industry scenarios the authors project.

Currently there are timeshare resorts in the Mozambique coastal cities of Ponta de Ouro and Tofo, and in the seaside province of Gaza (not to be confused with the troubled Gaza Strip on the Mediterranean Sea). But until now, the rest of Mozambique has been more or less cut out of the timeshare industry. Complex laws governing ownership of property have made it challenging for outside investors to own and develop properties of any type, but particularly timeshare real estate.

When Orlando Candu, the Mozambique national Inspector General of Tourism, spoke last week at the first Vacation Ownership in Mozambique Seminar, he explained, “Getting property rights, especially for commercial ventures, is difficult in the country but with new legislation like the regulation of timeshare, things would be easier.”

Candu is referring to Mozambique’s recent regulatory changes governing timeshare ownership that enable both local and foreign investors to enter the competitive timeshare real estate property market on an equal basis. At this time, the few existing timeshare resorts in Mozambique are owned by tourist operators from the neighboring countries of Zimbabwe and South Africa. Now, potentially both local business people and international hoteliers will have a green flag for developing in Mozambique.

Why You Should Keep Your Eye on Mozambique Timeshares

While Mozambique historically has been a country marked by political strife and a struggling economy, keep your eye on them as a potential timeshare resort growth destination - much like South Africa timeshares.

Mozambique offers miles and miles of sun-soaked, pristine beaches and tropical offshore islands. The country’s rich cultural heritage is an interesting mix of native Bantu tribes and the Portuguese colonists who settled there in the 1500’s. The Portuguese influence is still so strong that it remains Mozambique’s official language.

As the world continues to discover South Africa timeshares and as vacation ownership grows in this region, Mozambique could easily be the next stop on timeshare developer’s hot list. The perceived safety of vacationing at timeshare resorts will ease security concerns about traveling in Africa in the minds of many people. In addition, for US travelers facing the dollar’s declining value in Europe, Africa, where the US dollar remains strong, could become an increasingly attractive vacation destination.

To learn more about current opportunities in South Africa timeshare resales visit Sell My Timeshare NOW’s website. If you are interested in being ahead of the game in the timeshare industry, keep your eyes on Mozambique timeshare.

Enjoy this 30-second video of mysterious Mozambique: