Stephen J. Cloobeck, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Diamond Resorts International®, will be the keynote speaker at the 2010 Timeshare Association conference.

Cloobeck has more than 25 years of experience in development, management, construction, operations, marketing and sales of real estate including hotels, vacation ownership resorts, timeshares, retail shopping centers, and office and apartment buildings. Diamond Resorts International timeshare is one of the world’s largest timeshare brands with 160 branded or affiliated timeshare resorts throughout the US and in 26 countries worldwide.

As the TATOC Conference organizers explain, “Mr. Cloobeck is widely recognized as one of the most innovative, successful and accomplished entrepreneurs in the global vacation ownership industry and under his leadership, annually, nearly 1.4 million owners, members and guests enjoy the simplicity, choice and comfort Diamond Resorts International® offers through its branded hospitality experience”.

The 2010 TATOC Timeshare Conference will be held March 26 to March 28 and hosted at the Nottingham Belfry, Nottingham, England.

Learn more at: www.timeshareassociation.org and continue following The Timeshare Authority for details about the 2010 TATOC Conference, and all the timeshare news and updates.

For more TATOC information, please contact harry.taylor@timeshareassociation.org

Telephone 00 44 (0)161 237 3611

Fax 00 44 (0)161 237 3611

Considering that Sell My Timeshare NOW has been blogging since shortly after our company was founded, you’d think we would have included a blog roll as part of The Timeshare Authority blog before now. Well, better now than never, so this week, The Timeshare Authority blog rolled out (pun intended) the first blogs to be listed on our blog roll.

These blogs represent some (but certainly not all) of the best reading out there on travel, tourism, theme parks, timeshares, and the timeshare industry. We’ve included blogs that deal with travel to specific cities, states, regions or countries, including the California Beaches Blog; 1001 Things to Do in NYC; Canadian Tourism Blog; Happy Happens San Diego; Orlando Vacation Blog; and Tourism Central Florida — all popular destinations for timeshare owners or vacationers who rent timeshare.

Some of the excellent blogs we’ve added to The Timeshare Authority blogroll focus on theme parks, either in general or a particular park because almost anywhere you find great theme parks you will also find great timeshares. These blogs include: Disney Parks Blog; Mousekingdom Blog; Sea World San Antonio Blog; The Disney Blog; and Theme Park Rangers.

Timeshare Blogs, Timeshare Industry Blogs, and Travel Blogs

Included on our blog roll you will find Marriott on the Move; The Timeshare Blog; and VacationBetter.org; these are all blogs about timeshares and timesharing. Other blogs we’ve listed are travel and adventure blogs, including: Absurd Adventures; National Geographic Adventure Blog; Intelligent Travel; or travel industry blogs such as: The Tourism Research Blog; and The Travel Mole.

Finally, The Timeshare Authority’s blogroll includes some blogs that just fit into a niche all their own: Cruise@ddicts Blog; Get Outdoors; Hotel Check In; and The Mindful Tourist.

We’ve added this list to our timeshare blog because we want to share with you resources that you may find as helpful as we do. But we’ve only just begun with this travel and timeshare blog list. The internet is rich with fascinating and informative information, much of it brought to you in the form of blogs, so expect the list to grow and change as Sell My Timeshare NOW and The Timeshare Authority continue to expand this list of valuable resources for timeshare buyers, timeshare sellers, renters, and anyone interested in travel and vacation ownership.

By the way, if you haven’t already found it, our new blog roll is located on the lower right hand side of this page.

People who have money to spend these days are often home shopping and why not? The residential real estate market is flooded with homes at rock bottom low prices, supported by the lowest interest rates in decades. And if it is the right time to buy real estate, does this include buying timeshares or timeshare resales?

Yes, suggest Bankrate.com in an article titled, “Should you buy a timeshare now?” that was published on the real estate section of their website. The article starts by pointing to the 2009 decline in annual timeshare sales as validated by ARDA that reported timeshare sales down 8 percent from 2008 to 2007.

But—and this is a valid and unchanging truth about timeshare sales—DO NOT buy timeshare as an investment strategy. Bankrate.com quotes Judi Kozlowski, a broker with Re/Max Properties SW in Orlando, Florida who says, “Only those who want to use the timeshare should get into the market. Timeshare is an investment in your time and family, not a financial investment.”

Lisa Ann Schreier, founder of Timeshare Insights reinforces the message, “Timeshare isn’t a business for consumers; it’s a vacation alternative. A timeshare should only be thought of as an investment in your future vacations.”

Buy Timeshare and Timeshare Resales

I don’t know where you are investing these days; most of us are pretty perplexed by that challenge. But I do know that there are a few things definitely worth your “investment”.

• Invest your time in creating a greater sense of stability and more peace of mind. Buying timeshare today means you lock-in today’s vacation accommodation rates (currently at very competitive prices) for a lifetime of vacations. When you buy timeshare, you make vacation planning the easiest it can possibly be.
• Invest your heart in those people you care about most. Build stronger family bonds and create more meaningful moments and lasting memories. Even young children are affected by the negative news of an unstable economy, a collapsing job market, threats of terrorism, and today’s “reality”. Timeshare vacations afford you and your loved ones a time and place to forget about the daily grind, reconnect, and restore.
• Invest in yourself. Take better care of your health, which often includes both exercising more and relaxing more. Carve out time to recharge yourself in new venues and favorite vacation spots. Not only do you owe it to yourself, you owe it to those who depend on you.

As Howard Nusbaum, president and CEO of ARDA points out, a timeshare has a value proposition that comes from using it. Yes, now is a great time to buy timeshare, especially right-priced timeshare resales, but buy timeshare because you plan to use and enjoy it, and never because you are looking for a financial investment.

TATOC (The Association for Timeshare Owners Committees) has released more information about its upcoming 2010 annual timeshare conference. This year’s event is scheduled from Friday, March 26 to Sunday, March 28, 2008, and will be hosted at the Nottingham Belfry in Nottingham, England. Note: this is a rescheduled date for the event in order not to conflict with the ARDA 2010 Convention and Expo.

TATOC is one of the European timeshare industry’s oldest and most respected timeshare associations and was established with a mission to, “… safeguard and enhance the timeshare holiday experience for existing and prospective users and to be the voice of owners.” Last year’s TATOC Timeshare Conference, held in Warrington, England, was an outstanding success, a pleasure to attend, and a unifying and uplifting event for timeshare industry participants. Word is, this year’s conference will be even better.

The TATOC Conference is open to attendance by TATOC members and nonmembers, and for sponsorship participation.

Booking forms and sponsorship opportunities are available at: www.timeshareassociation.org or call: 01612373611 for more information.

For a look back at the 2009 TATOC Conference, click the links below:

• The Message at TATOC for Timeshare Resales
• Sell My Timeshare NOW Says “Thank You” to TATOC for an Outstanding Conference
• What I Missed at The Association for Timeshare Owners Committees Conference

How much pumpkin pie did you eat over the holiday? A little too much sweet potato casserole or one (or several) too many buttery dinner rolls?

What a day to be talking about weight loss! But we have to commend the employees of >RCI timeshare at RCI’s Carmel, Indiana office, who have lost a combined total of more than 1,800 pounds. In a commitment to live healthier, by incorporating more fitness and a healthier diet into their lifestyles, the RCI timeshare team set out on a 12-week wellness contest.

In addition to the personal rewards gained through weight loss, exercise, and an improved diet, the efforts of the RCI “losers” served double duty. For every pound lost, RCI donated a pound of food to a not-for-profit food bank. Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana, Inc, then redistributed the food through more than 400 charities.

Gordon Gurnik, president of RCI timeshare North America, says, “This contest has created a tremendously positive buzz among our associates. What started out as a fun idea among a few associates quickly grew to a contest involving more than 270 associates looking to incorporate healthier activities into their day-to-day lives. Because of the fantastic response, we’re planning to roll it out at other RCI offices in 2010.”

And you can’t be an RCI timeshare biggest loser without gaining the attention of a real “Biggest Loser”. Bill Germanakos, season four winner of NBC’s hit series, “The Biggest Loser,” visited the site to celebrate the RCI timeshare exchange employees’ success.

Mark Twain wrote:

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.
So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails.
Explore. Dream. Discover.”

At this time of year, when we all give pause to think about those things for which we are most thankful, I realize that I am as thankful for “possibilities” as I am for “realities”.

Yes, I am very thankful for family, friends, and good health. I am thankful for my co-workers and dedicated team at Sell My Timeshare NOW, who started out helping build my dream, but soon began to dream the dream themselves. It is not a dream to be wealthy or powerful, but instead, it is the dream of helping people realize their own dreams of special moments shared with family, adventures to new places, and the opportunity to relax more, learn more, and savor new experiences and new horizons.

Dreaming is great privilege and one for which we should all be thankful. Dreams fuel our passions. They give us inspiration, motivation, and a vision of what might be. Because of dreams, great things happen. Visionary men and women climb mountains, discover marvels, and blaze paths for other to follow.

We are almost to the end of the first decade of the “New Millennium.” It seems to have gone by in a flash. As you set sail into the next decade, don’t forget to keep dreaming. Wherever you are in your life, be thankful for those realities you treasure, and those possibilities of what is yet to come.

Happy Thanksgiving from Jason Tremblay, The Timeshare Authority, and All of the Team at Sell My Timeshare NOW!

RCI Timeshare Exchange has announced the launch of the “RCI Going Green Award” for its affiliate resorts in the Pacific.

Focusing on timeshare resort operations, the RCI Green awards will include recognition at the Gold, Silver, and Bronze levels for the top three ‘green’ timeshare resorts.

Working in conjunction with Griffith University, RCI Timeshare Exchange’s Going Green Award will include a two-phase assessment. First, timeshare resorts will be asked to assess the green or environmentally conscious practices they have in place, supporting these efforts with documentation when possible. The second phase will be an on-site inspection. Timeshare resorts that scored well in the phase one self-assessment will be visited by an expert in sustainable tourism and evaluated on their ‘green’ efforts.

Griffith University’s Dr. David Weaver, a professor of Tourism Research, will be participating with RCI Timeshare Exchange in both phases of the evaluation and award assessment.

Dr. Weaver was quoted by Hotel Interactive as saying, “I am absolutely delighted to be working on this initiative with RCI. I expect an award program such as this will really raise awareness of and participation in environmentally-friendly best practices within the sector.”

RCI Timeshare Exchange, Recognizing the Efforts of Timeshare Resorts

RCI Timeshare Exchange plans to announce the winners of the first-ever Gold, Silver and Bronze RCI Going Green Awards at the Australian Timeshare and Holiday Ownership Council annual conference in Christchurch in September 2010.

RCI Timeshare Exchange is working to promote and encourage the sharing of environmental sustainability best practices and green ideas with its associates and affiliates through a Green Council, under the support of its parent company (Wyndham Worldwide and Wyndham Timeshare) which has launched the WyndhamGreen sustainability initiative.

Less than a week to go, but still time to register for the 2009 Vacation Ownership Investment Conference to be held at The Peabody Orlando. This year marks the 11th annual VOIC event, each one better than the last.

The VOIC conference is a timeshare and vacation ownership industry event targeting topics of timeshare development, successful timeshare project financing, industry branding, timeshare resort management, and vacation ownership marketing and selling. Educational sessions cover new issues and ongoing directions.

This year’s Orlando timeshare VOIC conference, appropriately titled, “Opportunity in Adversity” will focus on:

• The viability of different opportunities in vacation ownership from private residence clubs, to fractional development and resort conversions.
• Emerging trends in the habits of travelers during the current economy.
• Financial strategies for the “new normal” environment.
• How prepaid vacation ownership encourages usage, maximizing a project’s earning potential and generating additional revenue.
• And the opportunity for attendees to exchange insights and make valuable contacts with vacation ownership experts, timeshare developers, lenders, hoteliers, government and tourism officials, and others.

The conference’s featured guest speaker will be economist and author Dr. Robert Genertski, who will discuss the, “Outlook for the Economy and Financial Markets”.

To learn more about this outstanding timeshare industry event go to www.vacationownershipinvestment.com

Happy Labor Day to all who have been observing this US holiday that is so welcomed this time of year, signaling for many the end of summer and the return to school and all-too-familiar routines. If you have been vacationing this weekend, good for you! And if you have been on the job this weekend, well, that’s can be a good thing too especially considering today’s economy.

However you schedule your leisure time and days off, just be sure you do work vacationing into your routine. Not just because you deserve it, which you certainly do, but also because you NEED it.

We’ve said it here before, but it bears repeating: Men who don’t vacation regularly are 32 percent more likely to die of heart attacks while women are 50 percent more likely, according to experts cited by the American Resort Development Association (ARDA) at www.vacationbetter.org.

Referencing the research of John De Graaf, editor of the book, Take Back Your Time and frequent speaker on issues of over consumption and overwork in America, VacationBetter.org explains, “Doctors recognize the connection between vacation starvation and heart attacks, high blood pressure, stress and depression. Studies show the risk of these ailments can double or more for people who don’t regularly vacation. Americans are twice as likely to suffer from chronic illnesses as Europeans, who get a minimum of four weeks off each year.”

Timeshare Vacations Make it Easy

Statistics like these remind us that we don’t just need vacations for our mental health; we need them for our physical well-being. And if you are an over-worker and an under-vacationer, timeshares may be just the solution you need to make a vacation happen.

• Timeshares let you spread the cost of vacation accommodations over an extended period.
• If you buy a value-priced timeshare resale, you’ve reduced the headache of paying for a lifetime of vacation accommodations before you even start enjoying that first day of relaxation.
• Owning timeshare lets you skip the vacation scheduling and planning that you didn’t have time to do anyway, and transition seamlessly from “at-work” to “on-vacation”.
• The numerous amenities of most timeshare resorts mean that should you choose to, you and your family can enjoy a fully relaxing, fully entertaining vacation, without ever leaving the property… now what could be easier than that?

Here’s a little more insight on why vacation time is critical, not optional:

No news is good news, as Director of Communications Steve Luba explains.

 

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