I can’t wait for a day when I can write about timeshare owners at the old Royal Oasis timeshare resort in the Bahamas who are leisurely relaxing poolside, enjoying their vacation ownership Bahamas timeshare property. Last June, The Timeshare Authority posted that after three years of bad news, followed by some hopeful-sounding news, all we could give timeshare owners at Royal Oasis was “no news”.

This week, in what is becoming an anniversary topic, The Freeport News posted their own story of “no new news” about happenings at this Caribbean timeshare property. Their article chronicled the events since 2004, when Hurricane Frances permanently closed the already struggling Bahamas timeshare resort. As the article concluded, “In an attempt to get an update on the Royal Oasis project yesterday, The Freeport News contacted Harcourt’s Grand Bahama office (Harcourt Development Company, the owners who purchased the property in 2007) and was told that Archer (reference to CEO Donald Archer) was out of office and, Minister of Tourism Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace did not return our call up to press time.”

Will a Thriving Resort Return at this Caribbean Timeshare Property?

The failure of this once popular Caribbean timeshare is not a typical story in the world of vacation ownership. And despite the relational damage that has occurred between the former resort management, the property’s new owners, and the individual timeshare owners, I can’t help but think that at some point in the future, there will again be a luxurious Caribbean timeshare on this property. If for any reasonthe rebuilding of a successful Bahamas timeshare fails to happen here, it will not be because of lack of effort on the part of the owners association or of the Bahamian government. Both groups having put forth extensive efforts to support the return of a successful and thriving resort at this Caribbean timeshare property.

Archive of The Timeshare Authority Blog Updates on the Royal Oasis Caribbean timeshare:

• Dissent Continues Over the Royal Oasis Timeshare Resort
• Uncertain News about Royal Oasis Timeshare Resort
• Royal Oasis Timeshare Resort: A Litany of Problems
• Important Information for Royal Oasis Timeshare Owners
• Updates about Royal Oasis Timeshare
• Optimistic News about Bahamas Timeshare Resales
• Recent Announcement Regarding Royal Oasis Timeshare
• The Other Victims of the Royal Oasis Timeshare Owners Fiasco

Starting July 16, 2009, the Marriott Vacation Club timeshare program will change its timeshare points system by integrating Marriott Vacation Club properties into Marriott Rewards Categories.

The good news for Marriott timeshare owners is that as part of this change, their timeshare stays will now be eligible for Marriott’s Fifth Night Free program, which Marriott describes as follows, “Guests must reserve a stay for a minimum of 5 redemption nights at one hotel to receive the fifth night for free. The fifth night free will be automatically applied when guests reserve for a minimum 5-night redemption stay.”

Marriott Vacation Club Timeshare Assigned New Rankings

According to Marriott Vacation Club, the strategy behind the change involves assigning hotel category levels to the Marriott Vacation Club timeshare resorts. Most timeshare properties will be ranked as a category 5, 6, or 7, in the Marriott Rewards system. This means that a one-night stay will require 25,000 points; 30,000; or 35,000 points respectively, based upon a deluxe guestroom, and depending upon whether the resort is a category 5, 6, or 7 property.

Upgrading from a deluxe guestroom to a one-bedroom timeshare will require an additional 5,000 points per night; a two-bedroom timeshare will call for 10,000 more timeshare points; and a three-bedroom timeshare will be 15,000 more points per night, all above the base points requirement for that resort.

One simple way to look at this is that at a category 5 resort, the cost in points will be 210,000 points for 7 nights in a two-bedroom timeshare. That rate increases to 240,000 points for the same number of nights, and the same size timeshare unit at a category 6 resort, and 270,000 points at a category 7 resort. These numbers include the benefit of using your one free night that is available to you when booking five or more consecutive nights.

Receiving Your Marriott Rewards Credit for Marriott Timeshare Stays

Remember that in order for a Marriott Vacation Club International owner to ensure receiving Marriott Rewards credit for Marriott Vacation Club International nights, he or she should present his Marriott Rewards member ID at either the time of check-in or check-out. The option for Marriott timeshare owners to count timeshare nights towards qualifying for the next level of Marriott Rewards Elite status, went into effect last June 30 (2008) but still comes as a surprise to many Marriott timeshare owners.

The new timeshare points system applies to reservations booked on or after the July 16 effective date. If you have already scheduled to use your timeshare points after the effective date the timeshare rates at the time of booking will prevail.

You may wish to also visit Marriott Vacation Club Rewards FAQs, if you have additional questions.

Holiday Inn Club Vacations continues to expand their timeshare resorts and destinations.

Did we tell you Holiday Inn Club Vacations timeshares now includes a ski destination? Not long after Holiday Inn timeshare announced their new resorts in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin; Panama City, Florida; Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; and Gatlinburg, Tennessee (More Timeshare Resort Destinations for Holiday Inn Vacation Club Timeshares) they followed it with the announcement of a ski-in, ski-out resort at the foot of Vermont’s Ascutney Mountain.

“We’re excited to include Ascutney Mountain Resort as the fourth Holiday Inn Club Vacations property as part of our alliance with Orange Lake, with our fifth and sixth resorts joining the brand in April,” Christian Hempell, vice president, Holiday Inn Club Vacations.

While the new Holiday Inn Club Vacations timeshare at Ascutney Mountain Resort is the only timeshare ski resort in the Holiday Inn US portfolio, the resort itself is truly a year-round destination. On site or nearby, the timeshare resort offers indoor and outdoor pools, a fitness center and spa, an arcade, convenience store, a café and a full service restaurant.

Don Harrill, president and CEO of Orange Lake Resorts timeshare, describes the property as a popular drive-to destination for thousands of timeshare owner/members living in the New England area. Clearly the Holiday Inn timeshare company sees a great future in timeshare development as they continue to seek properties in North America and to finalize plans to build a new flagship timeshare resort in Orlando, increasing their Orlando timeshare units by as many as 2500.

As part of the timeshare brand’s portfolio, Holiday Inn Club Vacations timeshare at Ascutney Mountain Resort will be owned and operated by Orange Lake, a privately held company. For an overview of how the Orange Lake Resorts/Holiday Inn timeshare arrangement works, you may want to revisit this past The Timeshare Authority post: Another Major Hotelier Entering the Timeshare Resort Industry.

Marriott Vacation Club International has opened their new Marco Island, Florida timeshare resort.

Marriott’s Crystal Shores timeshare resort has opened with 71 timeshare units in Phase I. This new Florida timeshare is an exciting Marriott timeshare destination and the first beachside Marriott vacation ownership property on Florida’s Gulf of Mexico.

Florida Timeshare at Marco Island is an Ideal Destination

The white sand beaches of Marco Island and the turquoise waters of the Gulf of Mexico make an ideal setting for this Marriott timeshare vacation destination. Imagine a zero-entry pool with waterslide, whirlpool spas, and poolside cabanas. The timeshare villas have been designed to take full advantage of the amazing views, while offering architecture and interior design in keeping with the casual lifestyle of the resort community.

Timeshare units at this Marriott timeshare resort range in size from spacious floor plans at approximately 1,100 to 1,450 square feet. Décor is cool, serene, and wonderfully casual with furnishings of natural materials and a blue and sage green color palette. Each timeshare villa offers floor to ceiling glass walls that open to a private patio or balcony where you can relax and enjoy the sea breezes.

The timeshare owner’s lounge (when complete) will provide a large terrace and indoor/outdoor seating area with a view of the beach. When complete, the property will include two swimming pools, a MarketPlace Express convenience store, and a fitness center.

Each timeshare unit has a fully equipped gourmet kitchen with granite countertops; spacious living and dining areas; a washer/dryer; multiple flat-panel televisions; DVD players in living room and bedrooms; and Wi-Fi access.

Marriott Timeshare’s Attention to Getting Things Just Right

The Crystal Shores Florida timeshare resort is a perfect example of Marriott’s attention to creating excellence in the vacation ownership experience for Marriott timeshare owners.

Stephen P. Weisz, president of Marriott Vacation Club International says, “As Marriott Vacation Club International commemorates 25 years of delivering unforgettable vacation experiences, we are thrilled to welcome Owners and guests to Marriott’s Crystal Shores. After more than 17 years of searching for just the right location on Marco Island, we couldn’t be more pleased to see this resort come to fruition on this prime beachfront setting.”

At buildout, this Marriott timeshare resort will have approximately 219 two and three-bedroom timeshare villas and is certainly a wonderful addition to the fine family of Marriott Vacation Club International timeshare resorts.

Home furnishing industry manufacturer, Ethan Allen, is expanding into the timeshare and hotel furniture industry.

After reaching a monthly high in April 2007 of $10.4 billion, US home furniture sales have declined, down by 14 percent in January 2009, year-over-year from 2008. But the creative minds at furniture industry cornerstone, Ethan Allen Interiors, Inc., may have found their solution for declining sales of home furnishings. Ethan Allen is turning to the timeshare industry and the next timeshare unit you buy or rent, may contain furnishings by Danbury, Connecticut based manufacturer, Ethan Allen.

According to The Advocate (Stamford CT), “The manufacturer and retailer of furniture and accessories has started a contract division that will provide furniture for the hospitality, condominium, villa and timeshare markets, in the United States and abroad.”

Furniture industry expert, Ray Allegrezza, editor-in-chief of Greensboro, NC based Furniture Today magazine, says that companies have to look for markets wherever they can and projects that Ethan Allen residential rivals could begin competing as timeshare and hotel furnishing rivals too. Companies mentioned included La-Z-Boy Inc., Ashley Furniture Industries Inc., and Furniture Brands International Inc., as possible competitors for the large timeshare resort and hotel furniture market.

More Good News about Furniture Companies that Serve the Timeshare Resort Industry

The Ethan Allen announcement came on the heels of last week’s North Carolina-based Kellex Corp., announcing that their Valdese, NC offices have met and exceeded their hiring goals. Kellex Corp., is known for manufacturing upholstered commercial furniture for the hospitality, timeshare, and health-care industries.

Despite all the reports of timeshare companies that are failing to meet their goals and releasing weak quarterly reports, stories like this about Ethan Allen and Kellex Corp reminds us that it is not all bad news. Clearly, new timeshare resorts are being furnished and older resorts are being refurnished – the timeshare industry is moving forward with a positive eye on the future.

It has been less than a month since Holiday Inn Club timeshares announced that the Orange Lake timeshare resorts in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin and Panama City, Florida are joining the Orange Lake Resort in Orlando as Holiday Inn Vacation Club branded timeshare resorts. This week, the timeshare company announced two more additions to its timeshare resort portfolio, with the acquisition of new destinations in Myrtle Beach SC, and Gatlinburg, TN.

The two new resorts are the current South Beach Resort in Myrtle Beach and the Crown Park Resort in Gatlinburg. The 256 timeshare unit South Beach Resort will be known by the Holiday Inn Club Vacations brand and the 109 timeshare unit resort in the mountains will be renamed the Smoky Mountain Resort. The acquisition was made by Orange Lake Resorts under their exclusive licensing agreement with IHG to brand the properties as Holiday Inn Club Vacations timeshares.

New Timeshare Resorts in Popular Timeshare Destinations

The South Beach Resort, built in 2003 and located in the popular timeshare vacation location of Myrtle Beach, offers indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a lazy river, fitness center, and best of all – private access to a beautiful section of beach.

The Smoky Mountain Resort was originally a Crown Park Resort. Situated near the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, this resort first opened in 2006; it offers timeshare owners and their guests indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a fitness center, and easy access to many area attractions.

Holiday Inn Club Vacations timeshare assumed management of both timeshare resorts on Feb 13 and expects to begin conversion of the properties by April of this year.

Follow these links to read more about the new Holiday Inn Vacation Club timeshares:

• More Orange Lake Timeshare Resorts Join the Holiday Inn Club Vacations Brand
• Holiday Inn Timeshare Unveils New Orlando Timeshare Resort
• Another Major Hotelier Entering the Timeshare Resort Industry

South Africa’s Southern Sun Hotel Interests Limited “Southern Sun” has signed an affiliation agreement with Interval International timeshare exchange company.

Included in the agreement are Southern Sun’s six existing Lifestyle Resorts, (timeshares) which represent one of the largest South African vacation ownership programs. Any Southern Sun Hotel properties added during the term of the contract between Southern Sun and Interval International will also fall under the affiliation agreement.

Interval International will provide the Southern Sun South Africa timeshares with a comprehensive package of customized services, including back-office points based reservation services and program-design support and enabling Southern Sun hotels and timeshares to offer both deeded and points based timeshares.

South Africa Timeshare is a Destination on the Rise

South Africa timeshare offers vacation options that range from big game to beautiful beaches to great golf and safari explorations. For US travelers (and vacationers from many other parts of the world), a South Africa timeshare vacation includes an added perk … a beneficial currency exchange rate. Currently the US dollar still exchanges at approximately 1 US dollar = 10.2005427 South African rand. This means that your money will go a long way paying for food, restaurant dining, entertainment and travel within the country, making your South Africa timeshare resale a truly excellent vacation opportunity.

More Opportunities in South Africa Timeshare from Sell My Timeshare

• Bushman’s Nek Berg and Trout Resort Timeshare Resale
• Chakas Rock Chalets Timeshare Resale
• St. Michaels Sands Timeshare Resale

Sell My Timeshare NOW’s HOT 100 list timeshare property number 44 is the Westin Kierland Villas timeshare resort in Scottsdale, Arizona. Located within the 730-acre master-planned community of Kierland, on ten beautiful acres, this Westin timeshare is an ideal destination for a quiet retreat or a romantic getaway.

Serene and low-key, the décor of this relaxing resort reflects the colors of the desert. Timeshare villas at this popular Westin resort include one-bedroom timeshare villas, one-bedroom premium timeshare villas, and two-bedroom lockoff units.

One-bedroom villas sleep four vacationers comfortably with 543 square feet of living space and 106 square feet of balcony. A larger, 871-square foot one-bedroom premium timeshare villa is actually the lockoff side of a two-bedroom lockoff unit. Two-bedroom lockoff units will sleep up to eight adults. Each side of a two-bedroom villa includes its own fully equipped kitchen and living area as well as its own bedroom and bath.

All of the Westin Kierland timeshare villas include the famous Westin Heavenly Bed ®, granite counter tops, solid maple cabinets, a 32-inch color television, a flat-screen television, CD player, Bose AM/FM radio, DVD player, fully equipped kitchen, dining area and access to a washer and dryer.

The timeshare villas at the Westin Kierland are adjacent to the Westin Kierland Hotel and Spa, making it easy for you to take advantage of all the spa treatments and services for which the resort is so well known. This is also an excellent vacation destination for golfers, bikers, horseback riding, relaxing by the pool, or enjoying local attractions including the Desert Botanical Garden, the Arizona Science Center, the Heard Museum, The Phoenix Zoo, the Pioneer Living History Museum, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West, and the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art.

Own a Westin Timeshare Resale

Currently Sell My Timeshare NOW offers more than 50 timeshare units for sale at Westin Kierland Villas. These are all timeshare resales, meaning that you can buy them directly from the owner for substantially less than they sold for originally.

To learn more about this HOT 100 list timeshare, visit the website for Sell My Timeshare NOW, then buy timeshare resales at Kierland Villas and enjoy the pleasure and convenience of vacation ownership at a truly affordable price.

While it sounds drastic to say, cutting out your timeshare vacation could be hazardous to your health. According to an article that appeared on Womens-Finance.com one study shows that, “… women who vacation at least twice a year have 50 percent less chance of dying of heart disease compared with those who don’t take vacations. Likewise, men who take more-frequent vacations reduce their risk of dying of heart disease by almost 30 percent.”

The article goes on to quote Dr. Mel Borins, (author of Go Away: Just for the Health of It), an authority on the medical benefits of vacationing, a proponent of the health advantages of timesharing, and a timeshare owner himself. Dr. Borins says, “To ensure I use my vacation time, I became a timeshare owner and joined RCI’s timeshare exchange program to help create a structure for vacationing in my life. It ensures that I take at least one seven-day vacation every year.”

Dr. Borins points out that because timeshares represent a pre-paid vacation, we are more likely to take them rather than work through our vacation time. He calls timeshare vacations a ‘no surprises’ solution to vacationing, meaning that with very little preplanning, you can enjoy a relaxing and luxurious timeshare vacation, knowing before you go that the resort will meet your standards for safety and on-site amenities. Lastly, Dr. Borins points out that timeshare units essentially represent a home away from home, allowing you the features you are accustomed to, including the opportunity to prepare your own meals, avoiding restaurant foods that may not be well suited to your health and dietary needs.

These days, when everyone is cutting corners, perhaps cutting out your vacation time, is not the healthiest choice. Instead, look at the values available to you in timeshare resales and timeshare rentals so that you enjoy the health benefits of a vacation, without breaking the bank in the process.

We have a new division at Sell My Timeshare NOW – it’s called Vacation Property Solutions. This is a revolutionary new business-to-business resale solution for timeshare resorts and timeshare developers. Vacation Property Solutions is a one-stop solution for the types of timeshare resale needs facing developers and resorts and it will utilize the services of both our brokerage arm: Timeshare Broker Services, and our closing company: Transfer My Timeshare.

Vacation Property Solutions expands our services at Sell My Timeshare NOW, to include brokers, resorts, travel clubs, and wholesalers, helping them solve the timeshare inventory problems of their customers. Working directly with timeshare developers and with resorts, we can offer them discounted rates for bulk business.

Vacation Property Solutions lets us take the same types of great services and expansive internet visibility that we already offer consumers, and offer them to timeshare developers and timeshare resorts. Developers looking to rent out timeshare weeks or Home Owners Associations needing to liquidate their delinquent inventory, have access to the more than 2 million monthly visitors to the Sell My Timeshare NOW website. Vacation Property Solutions offers a way for developers to buy back inventory, helping to stabilize prices on the resale market, and to solve the ownership dilemmas of buyers who already own intervals but are looking to buy into a new timeshare resort.

Vacation Property Solutions, an Important Part of Sell My Timeshare NOW

Freda Stemick, at Vacation Property Solutions, is the timeshare industry’s point of contact. Freda says, “Vacation Property Solutions is both developer-friendly and resort-friendly, building a bridge between the retail and secondary markets of the timeshare industry.”

Freda brings over 20 years of experience in timeshare sales, starting with her first timeshare industry job at Virginia’s Massanutten Resort.

Click here to read the press release for Vacation Property Solutions.