Last month, Joshua Gans, a contributing author to Forbes Magazine wrote an article called, “Why Disney would like you to subscribe to vacations.”

On a recent Disney World vacation with his family, Gans agreed to attend a Disney Vacation Club sales presentation in return for free “Fast Passes.” Fast Passes are the Disney’s handy equivalent of Mickey holding your place in line and then letting you cut in front of others; they move you to the front of the queue, even on the most popular rides in the park.

As the article’s author admits, “It didn’t take me long to work out that that would save us a couple of hours in queuing. So I’d happily trade-off hearing a sales pitch on the Disney Vacation Club for that any day.”

However, as it turned out, what author Joshua Gans heard was far from what he expected. In his own words, “… Disney has set up an organized market … that allows you to vacation at some 200 possible locations (near as I can count) at any time of the year you want.”

Gans goes on to explain, “… the demonstration of the costs and benefits was crystal clear in the pitch and stood up to my probing questions. If you are the sort of person who pays full price for vacations, you can, indeed, save 70 percent on accommodation but probably only if being a Club member turns you into the person who would plan for vacations and take advantage of discounts. Instead, for us, I believed it would have saved us 50 percent on what we paid for this year. That means that the Disney Vacation Club would pay for itself in 7 to 9 visits. Although it also would save me the days of planning for a vacation and researching options. Once you bought it, there’d be no reason to stress over that anymore.”

If you have ever thought about buying vacation ownership, wanted to know more about Disney Vacation Club, or thought there is no way you would ever want to own timeshare, you should read this article.

Disney Vacation Club Timeshare

Gan has nothing to gain (except the Fast Passes he was getting anyway for attending the sales presentation) in sharing the benefits of becoming a Disney Vacation Club owner. And he isn’t reporting through rose colored glasses. He identifies potential negatives or downsides to owning Disney timeshare, yet reports on his finding of far more positives than negatives.

Author Joshua Gans is to be commended on writing “Why Disney would like you to subscribe to vacations.” It is  a candid and factual look at Disney timeshare. And in a time when many in the media seem to like the idea of piling on as timeshare critics, (whether their commentary is accurate or not) Forbes is exemplary for telling the truth about timeshares in this informative article.

We all know intellectually that we need to vacation, but somehow, we too often fail to do it.

We let life, work, schedules and a dozen other things overrule the common sense message that our brains and bodies are sending us to take some time off and take a vacation.

This week, many are celebrating Easter, observing Passover, or simply enjoying the sense of rebirth to our planet that comes with the arrival of spring. But just as our earth renews itself each year, so must we make time to restore and refresh ourselves.

All of us at The Timeshare Authority wish you and your family a happy, peaceful, restful day and invite you to make holidays and vacationing better through easier vacation planning. Visit us at SellMyTimeshareNOW, Timeshare Broker Services, and soon, our new location on the web: VacationOwnership.com and let us help you plan the vacation time you so need and deserve.

SellMyTimeshareNOW.com and Timeshare Broker Services, both owned by Vacation Hotdeal Companies, Inc, announced today that the company is rebranding its timeshare resale and rental services, licensed timeshare brokerage, and resort services as VacationOwnership.com.

Founder and CEO Jason Tremblay says, “The timeshare industry and the vacation ownership product have changed significantly since our company was founded in 2003. As we approach 10 years in timesharing, we recognize how much our services have developed and evolved and that our future includes continued expansion and enhancement of services. With this in mind, we are unifying our products and services under one strong, all-encompassing name: VacationOwnership.com.”

The company sees VacationOwnership.com as a single brand that consolidates its messaging and will increase consumer understanding of its services. As part of VacationOwnership.com the company is launching a recently acquired domain that will be uniquely for its for-sale-by-owner (FSBO) timeshare resale and rental ads: TimeshareResales.com. Jason Tremblay explains, “We have no immediate plans to discontinue use of our existing brands, but we are very excited that going forward we will be representing the timeshare industry, specifically the secondary marketplace as VacationOwnership.com, a name that is compelling, memorable and comprehensively speaks to all aspects of timeshare vacationing.”

Equally as important as the company’s marketing to consumers is its capability to serve the needs of timeshare resorts, developers, and HOAs. “Changing your brand is a big move for a company,” says Tremblay. “We sought to develop a brand that would be more timeshare industry and developer friendly. Our current industry partnerships are numerous, strong, and growing; they are an important part of our business. We offer many customized owner services that resorts can depend on and we are constantly working to present our company and our services in ways that are embraced and accepted by the timeshare and vacation ownership industry.”

VacationOwnership.com is launching the first phase of its new brand rollout in conjunction with the timeshare industry’s premier event, ARDA World 2012, the annual international timeshare and vacation ownership conference hosted by the American Resort Development Association. ARDA World 2012 will be held, April 1-5, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Look for Jason Tremblay and other company representatives at the conference at Booth 532, and at other convention events. They will be easy to spot, as they will all be wearing hot pink badges proclaiming, “Now you can call us VacationOwnership.com”.

Although the company began solely as an online advertising service for by-owner timeshare resales and rentals, in 2006 it added licensed timeshare brokerage to provide vacationers more choice in how they bought, sold, or rented timeshare. In 2008, the company took on $10 Million in growth capital from Edison Venture Fund to expand its services and the following year, began providing customized owner services to resorts HOAS, timeshare developers, and timeshare management companies.

VacationOwnership.com is an industry leader in timeshare resale and rental services, with websites that average more than 1.8 million pageviews per month and yield a proven market of timeshare buyers and renters. Edison Venture Fund, known for its commitment to high-growth, entrepreneurial technology companies, is the company’s sole institutional investor. VacationOwnership.com is headquartered in Dover, New Hampshire with offices in Orlando, Florida.

Have you heard? The companies you have known and trusted for nearly a decade, Sell My Timeshare NOW and Timeshare Broker Services, are getting a new name and a new look.

Now you can call us VacationOwnership.com.

We are uniting our brands under one new, strong name that has been carefully and purposefully selected to both communicate well to the timeshare and vacation market and to resonate well with the timeshare and vacation ownership industry.

Under our brand, VacationOwnership.com, we will be bringing you timeshare broker services from licensed real estate agents; timeshare rental; and a variety of customized timeshare resort owner services.  As part of VacationOwnership.com, we will also be offering you by-owner timeshare resales (FSBO) and rentals at TimeshareResales.com

Change doesn’t happen overnight. And our team is going to be busier than ever in upcoming months rolling out our new brand. But along the way, we will still be providing you the same top quality service that timeshare owners, timeshare buyers, renters, and timeshare sellers have valued since 2003.

At SellMyTimeshareNOW.com and Timeshare Broker Services, we officially announced today that we are rebranding our timeshare resale and rental services, licensed timeshare brokerage, and resort services as VacationOwnership.com.

Now you can call us VacationOwnership.com

It’s a big move, and one we won’t be able to unroll overnight. But it’s a move that has us very excited. In an evolving industry and changing marketplace, we are changing to serve you better.

We are uniting our products and services under one strong, all-encompassing name.

VacationOwnership.com is a single brand that consolidates our messaging and will increase consumer understanding of our services. As part of VacationOwnership.com we will also be is launching a recently acquired domain that will be uniquely for our for-sale-by-owner (FSBO) timeshare resale and timeshare rental ads: TimeshareResales.com.

We are very excited that going forward we will be representing the timeshare industry, specifically the secondary marketplace as VacationOwnership.com, a name that is compelling, memorable and comprehensively speaks to all aspects of timeshare vacationing. The timeshare market spoke up; the industry spoke–and we responded.

We  sought to develop a brand that would be timeshare industry and developer friendly. Our current industry partnerships are numerous, strong, and growing; they are an important part of our business. We offer many customized owner services that resorts can depend on and we are constantly working to present our company and our services in ways that are embraced and accepted by the timeshare and vacation ownership industry.

Want to learn more? You don’t have to wait until May 15 when www.VacationOwnership.com is fully active … stop any of us at ARDA World 2012 next week ask us to tell you more. We’ll be easy to find– we’ll all be wearing the hot pink badges that say, “Now you can call us VacationOwnership.com”

We hear from many of our clients, praising our team at Sell My Timeshare NOW and Timeshare Broker Services. They call, email, and write us letters telling us what a good job we did and how they appreciate our service. But Jill’s letter stood out–actually Jill stood out.

Not only was she a lot of fun to work with, but she was upfront in telling us that the bad reputation of some timeshare companies made her nervous to do business with ANY timeshare company.

We understood. So we tried to do everything we we could, just as we do with all our clients, to assuage her concerns, eliminate her anxieties and ensure that she and her family enjoyed a vacation that was all that they wanted and more than they expected.

Jill is a delightful client and we are proud to be able to serve her. And she is far from alone. We serve many wonderful Jills… and Jacks… every day.

In a world where “thank you” is no longer said enough, we’d like to proudly share Jill’s  comments with you, and to say: “Thank you Jill and thank you to all our clients for entrusting us with your business and giving us the opportunity to help you make great vacation memories.”

Good Morning Mr. Tremblay,

I just wanted to take a moment to commend your rental staff at Sell My Timeshare Now.  To make a very long story short, I am extremely reluctant to use just any timeshare rental due to the many scammers that exist in the timeshare industry today.

Although, when our family decided we wanted to go on a vacation and rent a timeshare I knew my choice would be your company.  Due to the fact, two years ago I had the pleasure of working with Beth Breton and Mr. Curren and we had a tremendously happy experience.

For my new rental, to be used this summer, Mr. Curren went above and beyond to assist me and providing me in great hands with Wesley Figueroa.  Wesley and Mr. Curren went above and beyond to help me reserve the rental location my family enjoys visiting in Orlando, FL (Marriott’s Harbour Lake).  I contacted them numerous times to make sure everything was ok and to be reassured that the rental I was paying for would be legitimate.

I did have another rental company (timeshare) alternative to rent from, even at a lower price, but my choice is and will always be to rent from your company, due to the comfort of knowing you have a reputable company and there is always someone there to assist me as well as the exceptional customer service provided by your employees.  I know we will have a wonderful summer vacation thanks to your outstanding staff.  I will definitely be a return customer next time a fun and relaxing vacation is calling our name

Respectfully,

Jill S.

571-xxx-xxxx

If the beautiful beaches of the Gulf Coast of Florida aren’t calling to you these days, then perhaps it is only because your life is too caught up in the daily grind to hear the soft sounds of waves on the shore and wind in the palms.

Recently, Arthur Frommer announced that Sanibel Island, Florida is his favorite vacation destination in all the world. And we have to agree, whether you are planning a romantic getaway or a family reunion, there are few more beautiful and relaxing destinations on earth than a Sanibel Island timeshare.

The following article about Sanibel Island appeared in the vacation owners news letter for Casa Ybel Resort on Sanibel. We are very appreciative to them for permitting us to share it with you. www.casaybelresort.com

We think that as you read this article you may begin to hear that relaxing sound– it’s the waves, the gulls, balmy breeze. And it might be worth planning a Sanibel Island timeshare vacation and bringing home a few seashells, just so any time you wanted to, you hold one of those shells up to your ear and, for a moment, recapture the magic.

Sanibel Stoop Shellers Seek Record

Shell seeking is so revered on shell-laden Sanibel Island, there’s a socially correct posture for carrying it out. It’s called the Sanibel Stoop. While the angles may vary, the body is generally bent from the waist to retrieve shell treasures with the posterior up in the air.

In promoting this year’s 75^th anniversary of the Sanibel Shell Show & Fair (the longest running event of its kind in the country), the Sanibel Community Association enlisted participants in a competition to beat the Guinness World Record for group shelling. To break the “largest treasure hunt” record set by 250 schoolchildren in Bucharest, Romania, over 251 participants were needed. But once the word was out and tee shirts promised to the first 500 attendees, over 800 showed up!

The group-stoop enlisted islanders and visitors for a short “treasure hunt” at Bowman’s Beach on Feb 17, followed by an aerial photo of the shell-bent crowd to secure aerial evidence with images of hovering hineys reaching to the sky. The photos and participant registrations have been submitted to Guinness World Record for consideration with a response expected in about two months.

Shell-mania has run wild on Sanibel since the early 1900s, when guests at Casa Ybel Resort and The Matthews (now the Island Inn) engaged in friendly competition. Long considered one of the most spectacular shelling beaches in the world, the island’s shallow water shoreline and occasional storms and cold fronts trigger prolongs winds that push shells onto the beach. Sanibel’s curved “upside-down boomerang shape” and west-to-east orientation also helps to act like a trap for the 300-350 shallow water shell species that can be found here.

By the way, the Sanibel Library offers more than 350 shell-related books for your reading and research convenience.

Sanibel Ranked #1 In World by Frommer

Arthur Frommer has ranked Sanibel Island as his #1 favorite travel destination in the world – beating places like Bali and Paris (ranked #2 and #3)!!! The travel guru is the mastermind behind Frommer’s guidebooks and budget travel magazine.

Sanibel has won much recognition over the years, but being the personal favorite of such a renowned travel expert is high praise. Frommer calls Sanibel an “idyllic haven of white-sand beaches, condos whose sea-front apartments are available for weekly rentals, excellent restaurants, good shopping.” He then singles out for special praise, J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge, “visited by thousands of birds of every species, who bask in the sun after diving for fish and are one of the great natural sights of wildlife in America.”

We love Sanibel, not only for the reasons Arthur Frommer lists.

Photo credit: Lee County Visitor and Convention Bureau

There are two kinds of vacations. One involves returning to a familiar resort, year after year, where the memories of your family’s experiences at that timeshare resort are part of the vacation itself. You know what to pack, you know what to expect and you eliminate the decision making process, which for many people, allows their vacation to even be a holiday from travel planning.

But most of us also long to sometimes travel, explore, and experience new surroundings. That’s why timeshare exchange can make vacation ownership more fun and more rewarding. This week, the American Resort Development Association, ARDA, through its consumer vacation information website, VacationBetter.org, shared tips on how to effectively use timeshare exchange.

Combining both timeshare exchange best practices and tips that are specifically relevant to Interval International (II) and Resort Condominiums International (RCI), the world’s two largest timeshare exchange services, VacationBetter.org offers a list of 6 ways you can improve your experience with the timeshare exchange process.

Starting with, perhaps the two most critical pieces of advice for timeshare exchange, “Deposit Early” and “Be Flexible,” the list will help you discover how to benefit from your timeshare in ways many timeshare owners never imagine.

As Gordon Gurnik, President of RCI, explains, “… owners can expand their vacation options from one resort during the same period each year to thousands of properties throughout all four seasons.”

You’ll find the complete list under the News Room tab on the VacationBetter website: Make the Most of Your Timeshare Vacation with Vacation Exchange Programs. There you will also find many helpful insights for timeshare owners and vacationers.

LivingSocial recently conducted a survey of more than 4,000 Americans in the top 20 media markets and another 1,600 respondents in Ireland, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom about their experiences on vacation. The survey included those who vacation in hotels, hostels, timeshares, vacation rentals and other types of vacation accommodations.

Very few vacations, it seems, are perfect, and most vacationers have a few mishaps or horror stories to share. But, you may be surprised to learn how often things go right.

The Hotel and Timeshare Vacation Good News:

1. 79 percent of Americans say their luggage has never been lost by the airlines.
2. 79 percent had never experienced a vacation impacted by a weather disaster.
3. 81 percent have not found themselves extremely lost during a holiday or vacation.
4. 84 percent say they have not been overcharged by a salesperson during their travels.
5. 84 percent say they have always made all their flights and connections when traveling on vacation.
6. 89 percent of surveyed travelers say they have not experienced an injury, severe illness or medical emergency during a vacation.
7. 92 percent of the vacationers surveyed say they have had sufficient cash and no problems accessing money as needed.
8. 95 percent of the travelers surveyed say they have not encountered bedbugs.
9. 97 percent say they have never been arrested or had a run-in with law enforcement while on vacation.
10. And the statistic that is perhaps of the greatest interest to those of us in the business of timeshare and vacation ownership, 97 percent of the more than 4000 Americans surveyed say they have never been the victim of a scam while on vacation.

There is good news out there–there’s a lot of it–but it seems that all too often, it’s the bad news that gets the attention and grabs the headlines.

Marriott Vacation Club has marked the structural completion of the final 19-story tower of its resort, Oceana Palms, located on Singer Island, Florida, with a topping out ceremony. This construction milestone makes way for the build-out of 78 more two-bedroom/two-bath timeshare villas, which will combine for a resort total 159 villas at this Florida timeshare.

Since its opening, the beachfront timeshare, has experienced, on average, a rate of ninety plus percent occupancy, which has generated the need for the second tower.

Lee Cunningham, Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation executive vice president and chief operating officer-North America and Caribbean, explains, “Our Oceana Palms resort is truly spectacular and offers a very appealing and unique high-rise, beachfront resort experience for our Owners and guests to enjoy. We’re very pleased with the progress on the second phase and upon completion look forward to welcoming more of our Owners to vacation at this beautiful resort and destination.”

When completed, the second phase of timeshare at Marriott’s Oceana Palms will offer amazing coastal views from 1,100 square foot villas. Décor will be Florida vibrant yet contemporary, a perfect complement to the Palm Beach lifestyle. Villa amenities will include fully equipped gourmet kitchens, living and dining areas, flat panel televisions with DVD players, as well as in-unit washers and dryers.

This second phase of build out at this Marriott timeshare is expected to be completed by early next year.

Related posts from The Timeshare Authority blog:

New Florida Timeshare Means 50 Marriott Timeshare Resorts Worldwide
Marriott Timeshare Makes Singer Island Resort Official
Marriott’s Ocean Pointe Timeshare, a HOT 100 List Florida Timeshare (this blog post offers an interesting look at the history of Singer Island, as founded by sewing machine magnate, Paris Singer.)