Timeshare Weeks

Despite the challenging economy, the cruise industry continues to grow, year over year, according to information released during the Cruise Lines International Association’s seventh annual conference, Cruise 360.

Last year, in the US alone, the cruise industry contributed $40 billion to the economy and created 350,000 jobs. And although 15 million passengers enjoyed one or more cruises in 2010, with 72 percent of them being from the US, Canada, or Mexico, only 20 percent of Americans have ever been on a cruise, indicating a large, untapped market of future cruisers.

Timeshare Exchange for Cruises

Obviously not all timeshare can be exchanged for cruises. In some cases, timeshare exchange for a cruise is made through the timeshare company; in other cases, it is made through a timeshare exchange service. And sometimes timeshare points are “spent” to “buy” a cruise instead of their typical use for timeshare vacation weeks. Because of the variety of ways to exchange timeshare for a cruise, the protocols and requirements of each avenue vary.

When you exchange timeshare or use timeshare points for a cruise, be sure you ask about any additional costs that may or may not be covered by the exchange. One example is your port fee.

Port fees are typically included in the cost of a cruise when you buy the cruise directly, but when you are using timeshare exchange or timeshare points to cover the cost of your cruise, the port fees may be an add-on. Port fees cover the change for the cruise ship to dock and include a wharf or passenger charge; a port entry fee; and a dockage fee depending on the ship’s size and length of stay.

Other fees that are not always covered by timeshare exchange could include things like taxes, transportation to and from the ship or while in port, and charges that would be add-ons for any cruiser, no matter how you paid for the experience.

Bottom line: Be sure you understand fully what your timeshare exchange covers and which expenses will be up to you to cover out of pocket. Then pack your flipflops and your suntan lotion for a Bon Voyage!

Additional Timeshare Resources

Timeshare exchange company, Trading Places International was recently named one of the top 75 companies in Orange County (California) on the Orange County Register’s Top Workplaces for 2009 List.

“We’ve always been conscious of the fact that our employees seem to enjoy working for us, and our goal has always been to create an atmosphere in which we can strike a balance between working hard and having fun.” says RJ Jackson, president of Trading Places International timeshare company and timeshare exchange. “It is very gratifying to discover, through the results of the employee survey, that we have indeed succeeded in that goal.”

Trading Places International has been in the travel, vacation ownership, and timeshare exchange industries for more than thirty-five years. The company has over 71,000 timeshare owner members at more than thirty timeshare resort locations, including South America timeshares, Mexico timeshares, United States timeshares (mainland), and Hawaii timeshares.

Trading Places International, which boasts a 95 percent confirmed timeshare exchange request rate, is a preferred partner of Sell My Timeshare NOW. Timeshare owner benefits of timeshare exchange with Trading Places include:

• No mandatory membership fee
• Low exchange fees
• Search available inventory before depositing your timeshare week
• Online exchange services available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
• Additional discounts and perks for Trading Places’ Vacation Exchange Club members

All of the companies that made the OC Register‘s Top Workplaces List were selected based on a survey involving 31, 311 employees at 121 companies across the county. The survey addressed compensation and training, company leadership, workplace flexibility, and diversity.

Click here to read a Q & A about Trading Places International timeshare company:
Trading Places International: The perks of being a small business

Timeshare exchange is one of the reasons timeshare owners love their vacation properties. It’s hassle-free vacation ownership with the opportunity to enjoy a different location every time you travel.

Trading Places International is a timeshare exchange company with over 35 years of experience in helping timeshare owners just like you. Best of all, you don’t have to pay an annual membership fee to take advantage of many of the timeshare exchange opportunities they provide.

With hundreds of timeshare resort destinations in their inventory, Trading Places International offers an easy way for you to exchange your timeshare, paying only an internal exchange fee (swapping timeshare at your own resort) or an external exchange fee when you want to vacation at a different resort. Fees range from approximately $109 to $159, depending on location and the type of exchange. You can also bank your timeshare through Trading Places International, meaning that you can “turn in” your timeshare now and enjoy a different timeshare resort in the future, up to three years from the date you make your deposit.

If you have more specific timeshare exchange needs, Trading Places International offers paid membership benefits, further expanding your timeshare exchange opportunities.

Timeshare Owners Have Choices When it Comes to Timeshare Exchange

In addition to Trading Places International timeshare exchange, there are other companies, including the two largest, RCI (Resort Condominium International) and II (Interval International). There are also timeshare exchange companies that specialize in properties in a certain region as well as several companies that, like Trading Places International, offer a no annual fee option.

With so many choices available to you, anyone interested in timeshare exchange should be able to find a company that fits his or her needs and vacation desires. As a timeshare owner (or prospective timeshare buyer), remember that timeshare exchange is a benefit of ownership you can really make work to your advantage; it is flexible and available in a variety of formats to fit every vacation need.

In the first change in timeshare points used at the Disney Vacation Club in over 18 years, the Disney Company is redistributing the number of timeshare points needed for lodging at its resorts. Points represent the timeshare owner’s percentage of ownership in the Disney Vacation Club properties.

Up until now, Disney timeshare required more points – almost twice as many – for weekend accommodations as for weeknight stays. The fact that weekday/weeknight timeshare stays required so many fewer timeshare points created greater demand for vacations Monday through Thursday than for accommodations on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights.

Now, Disney Vacation Club is redistributing (reallocating) throughout the week the number of timeshare points required to stay in their properties. Their objective is to more evenly distribute the occupancy levels for weekdays vs. weekends. In so doing, they are also taking away much of the consumer saving gained by avoiding weekend stays.

With the changes, weekday stays will still require fewer timeshare points, but will now be much closer in points required to weekends than in the past. Florida State law permits a timeshare company to make this type of reallocation to their points values during the year as long as the total number of timeshare points required for a timeshare week at a Disney Vacation Club or Disney resort property remains the same.

Interesting Info about Timeshare Points at Disney Vacation Club

Unlike many other types of timeshare, Disney Vacation Club membership is not held in perpetuity. Instead, Disney Vacation Club membership expires on January 31, 2042; timeshare membership at Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa expires on January 31, 2054; while timeshare membership at the Animal Kingdom Villas ends on January 31, 2057.

Disney Vacation Club timeshares is defined as a real estate interest and does carry a deed, deeded ownership at a Disney timeshare resort simply expires on the predetermined date.

Although you are buying a “real-estate interest” and your purchase is actually deeded, your ownership ceases to exist after these dates.

For many families, this time structure is ideal as it means that at a predetermined point in the future, they will be free from the commitment to their timeshare, after having had the benefit of enjoying it for many years.

Source: The Orlando Sentinel and others.