Timeshare Resorts

The upscale condo-hotel, Residence Waterfront, located in Alagoas, Brazil, has now become another vacation exchange option for members of Interval International. A very special property from its inception, Residence Waterfront is situated overlooking the ocean near Maceió.

To make the vacation experience even more amazing is the fact that this purpose-built property includes a white sand, private beach for guests. Phase I on Residence waterfront offers 20 one- or two-bedroom units and six penthouse units, that feature covered roof terraces and dramatic views of Ipioca Beach.

“Maceió is such a sweet spot on the coast of Brazil that we have already begun expanding Residence Waterfront. The 20 one-bedroom apartments in the second phase will sit just behind the current building, still only 65 feet (20 meters) from the white sand,” said Gian Piero Berneri, managing director of Havengrid do Brasil Ltda., developers of the resort. “Our partnership with Interval International is an important aspect of our vision for Waterfront and we look forward to welcoming its members who visit on exchanges.”

Marcos Agostini, the Interval International senior vice president of resort sales and business development for Latin America, adds,“Waterfront is the brainchild of several Italian real estate and tourism professionals, who are extending their successful operations into shared ownership. We are delighted to add this impressive resort to our worldwide network.”

… No doubt Interval International timeshare exchange members are delighted the beautiful beachfront property is part of the Interval network of vacation exchange, too.

Normally it takes months for a business that files an S-1 prospectus with the SEC  to go forward with an IPO. But thanks to the Jumpstart our Business Startups (JOBS) Act, the process can be highly streamlined, as it appears to be for Diamond Resorts International. (See: Diamond Resorts Timeshare Files Public Offering)

Diamond Resorts International initially filed confidentially on January 24, 2013. Confidential filing allows companies to test the waters and gauge the interest because their private SEC filing is available only to qualified investors. The lead underwriters for this initial public offering  include Credit Suisse, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, JPMorgan, and Guggenheim Securities. Diamond Resorts International will list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “DRII.”

The Las Vegas-based timeshare company owns and operates 79 resorts in the US, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Europe. Diamond Resorts International has some 490,000 member families and includes a network of 295 vacation destinations as well as four cruise itineraries.

Since the beginning of the year, 94 IPOs have been filed according to IPO Financial.com and CNBC.com; of which sapproximately 48 were JOBS Act deals. Experts estimate that there could be another 40 or more companies set to also file before the end of the summer.

The 11-acre beachfront resort, Gurney’s Inn Resort and Spa in Montauk, New York has changed ownership with a sale earlier this summer. The Long Island, New York timeshare resort has been a Montauk landmark since the 1950’s.

George Filopoulos is a name you may not know outside Metrovest Equities in Manhattan, where he is the investment company’s president. In fact, Metrovest is a strong New York investment and development company known for being deeply committed to thoughtful urban planning. As Metrovest explains on its website, the company has, “has successfully acquired and redeveloped obsolete institutionally-owned properties; they’ve restructured, rehabilitated, and re-energized challenging HUD subsidized properties; and they’ve envisioned highly praised plans for urban renewal.”

Where once the ocean-side New York timeshare resort had some 5700 owners, it has in recent years dwindled to fewer than 2000. But the failure of the resort’s ownership to pursue timeshare resale of defaulted ownerships has been only one of numerous points of contention between Gurney’s Inn Resort and Spa timeshare owners and its management. Issues ranged from high maintenance costs, to special assessments, including a $21 million assessment in 2008, to management so troubled that the resort was featured last fall on a Travel Channel episode of “Hotel Impossible,” with host, Anthony Melchiorri.

According to the East Hampton Star, Filopoulos promised the remaining Gurney’s Inn Resort and Spa timeshare owners  to,  “regularize the finances” of the hotel and spa. Additionally, he offered to roll back the maintenance charges and see that the ongoing lawsuit regarding the property was concluded if 51 percent of them agreed to his terms. Filopoulos’ terms required individual owners to commit to one of the three options:

• Turn in their shares in December in exchange for a 20-percent maintenance reduction for 2012.
• Turn over their shares and keep their units until the end of 2017, with no maintenance or assessments during that time.
• Keep their units until the end of 2017, and take their chances that the inn will be resold at a profit after that point.

Eighty-seven percent of owners accepted one of the three options. Filopoulos reportedly seeks to restore conditions and operations of the resort and resell it by or before 2018.

While it is not official as far as we can tell, MyrtleBeachOnline is reporting that the Crystal Blue Investment Group is working with Hilton Grand Vacations Club on a proposed new  Hilton timeshare. Whether the  resort will be purpose-built as a new Myrtle Beach timeshare or is planned for a mixed use resort is unclear.

The real estate under discussion is currently occupied by two Beach Villa apartment towers and is oceanfront on stretch of Myrtle Beach between Schooner II Beach and Racquet Club and Boardwalk Hotel on North Ocean Boulevard. Estimated cost of the project is nearly $42 million and includes improvements the developer would be required to make for the benefit of the city.

Although growth in Myrtle Beach has been slow since 2009 with no new resorts built during this time, the area remains a popular beach vacation destination. Mark Kruea, a spokesperson for the city says they are seeing a return of confidence in the economy and are benefiting from tourism advertising being done by the community. Sonship Hospitality announced earlier this year its plans to develop a 14-story Homewood Suites Oceanfront Resort & Conference Center  in Myrtle Beach and a 150-room Residence Inn-SpringHill Suites Oceanfront Resort.

If the Hilton Grand Vacations Club project information becomes a reality, it will add a second Hilton timeshare to the area, joining the luxurious Hilton Grand Vacations Club at Anderson Ocean Club and possibly increasing interest in the great deals already available on Hilton timeshare resales in Myrtle Beach.