Author: Staff Contributor

Are we appreciating our vacations more, now that times are tougher? Or are hoteliers and timeshare resorts stepping up their game, becoming better listeners and doing a better job of serving their guests and timeshare owners? Perhaps the answer is: both.

According to the J. D. Power and Associates 2009 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study, guest satisfaction at four of six types of accommodations within the hotel industry improved for this year, compared with 2008, when guest opinion remained stable across all six types. Only extended stay properties (and these are extended stay hotels, not timeshare resorts or vacation ownership) saw a decrease. The six areas or types of hotel properties evaluated by the study were: (1) luxury, (2) upscale, (3) mid-scale full service, (4) mid-scale limited service, (5) economy/budget, and (6) extended stay hotels.

Satisfied Timeshare Owners

The timeshare industry uses various types of studies to measure timeshare guest or timeshare owner satisfaction. The State of the Vacation Timeshare Industry: United States Study 2009 prepared primarily from data provided by timeshare resorts, timeshare developers, and management companies, (through a survey commissioned by the ARDA International Foundation (AIF) and conducted by Ernst & Young LLP) showed demonstrated owner satisfaction with timeshares. One fact cited by the study pointed out that forty-one percent of timeshare sales are from timeshare buyers who already own a timeshare with that developer. The AIF report also showed that timeshare resorts were able to add timeshare units and that timeshare occupancy rates have actually increased, with approximately 67 percent of resorts being at least eighty percent occupied, and 40 percent having occupancy of at least ninety percent, according to the Ernst & Young LLP study for the ARDA International Foundation.

Hoteliers and Timeshare Companies Rising to the Challenge

Michael Drago, director of the global hospitality and travel practice at J.D. Power and Associates, says, “Many hotel brands have successfully focused on guest satisfaction, despite steep rate discounts, staff declines, reductions in in-room amenities and a halt on renovations.” He points out that the hoteliers know that “… providing extraordinary guest service in a consistent manner, in both good times and bad, is a recipe for continued success.”

The hospitality industry has long been a vital part of the US economy. When hotel guest and timeshare owner satisfaction climbs it is evidence that hotels and timeshares are building stronger client relationships despites these tough times, working, as Drago says, “to provide extraordinary guest service.”

Follow this link to read our July 2009 Business Synopsis, which shows an increase of 15 percent year-to-date in offers to buy or rent timeshares advertised with Sell My Timeshare NOW.

The Palm Desert, California timeshare, Marriott’s Shadow Ridge resort, has completed phase 7 of a 14-phase development plan. Phase 7 construction at the timeshare resort included 2 buildings and 73 two-bedroom Marriott timeshare villas. At this time, 19 buildings have been completed, housing 523 timeshare villas, of the planned 972 timeshare villas.

Phase I development on this California timeshare property began in 1999, when a timeshare sales office and maintenance facility were started. Today the property includes the clubhouse, restaurant, spa, registration center, 2000 square foot pool with bar, grill and children’s beach, along with the timeshare units. The additional golf amenities are particularly outstanding including a golf pro shop with swing studio, lockers, club fitting, and golf admin center, adding to the pleasure of play and practice at Marriott’s Shadow Ridge Golf Club and the Faldo Golf Institute by Marriott, both part of the overall resort.

Construction on Phase 8 at the 300-acre resort is not scheduled to begin until 2010, at which time R. D. Olson Construction will resume their work to complete the rest of the planned development at Marriott’s Shadow Ridge Timeshare Resort.

“This project allowed us to use our inventiveness and skills to build a desert resort with one-of-a-kind design elements that create intrigue and entertainment,” said Robert Olson, CEO/president, R.D. Olson Construction.

Click here to read the Olson media release about the work at Marriott’s Shadow Ridge Timeshare: http://www.prweb.com/releases/construction/resorts/prweb2675244.htm

And follow these links to learn more about vacation ownership opportunities at this beautiful desert oasis, just perfect for golfers or spa and poolside relaxation in a California timeshare:

• Marriott’s Shadow Ridge Timeshare Resales
• Marriott’s Shadow Ridge Timeshare Rentals

Here’s some timeshare industry good news as Sell My Timeshare NOW releases its July 2009 Year-to-Date Statistical Synopsis, showing continued growth and expansion by our timeshare resale and timeshare rental advertising company.

We’ve increased our staff, opened a new timeshare advertising sales call center in Orlando, Florida, and we are continuing to expand our services. Despite the challenging economy, we have received nearly $240 million in offers to buy or rent timeshare, year-to-date. This accounts for a 15 percent increase over figures through last June (2008) for timeshare resale and timeshare rental offers.

Offers to rent timeshare have been outstanding in 2009, showing a 140 percent increase over year-to-date timeshare rental offers from 2008, and a 79 percent increase in the amount of these offers. As I said in our company’s media release, Timeshare Resale Advertising Leader Sell My Timeshare NOW Releases Business Synopsis Demonstrating Growth and Expansion:

“A tough economy brings an excellent challenge to business to step up your game, deliver more, and work smarter. We think our growth and continued strength verify that what we do works for the timeshare owner and the timeshare industry.”

We are proud of our growth, expansion, and service. We are working hard to fill important needs for people who want to buy, rent, or sell timeshare, as well as, very specific needs within the timeshare industry. And as the economy, the timeshare industry, and the vacation needs of consumers change, we’ll keep adapting our products and services.

Click this link to download a copy of the Sell My Timeshare NOW July 2009 Year-to-Date Statistical Synopsis.

And click here to view our latest media release: Timeshare Resale Advertising Leader Sell My Timeshare NOW

Westgate Lakes Resort timeshare recently told timeshare owner Ray Nix that his shirt had to go. Nix, in an interview with WFTV News Orlando, said that he had paid $15,000 for a Westgate timeshare and that the company had failed to make good on a promise of timeshare exchange at a Park City, Utah Westgate timeshare resort.

As a way of venting his displeasure with Westgate timeshares, Nix had a T-shirt made to read, “Westgate ripped me off,” which he then wore to breakfast at one of the company’s Orlando timeshares.

In a post on the Sun Sentinel’s blog, “Floriduh,” author Barbara Hijek wrote:

“The security surrounded me (Ray Nix) when they saw me with my T-shirt on at the pool. They told me they could charge me $1,000 a day for wearing my T-shirt on the property,” Nix said. Nix took off his shirt and moved his protest to the street corner. But he says the resort still hit him with a $4,000 fine for the violation.”

Is This a Matter for Westgate Timeshare or for the Homeowners Association?

While some say that Westgate timeshare impinged on the timeshare owner’s right to free speech, others point out that free speech protects you from interference by the US government, but doesn’t ensure that any of us can stand at a place of business and say (or exhibit) whatever message we choose to put out there. Whether or not Westgate timeshares as a company had the right to squelch what Nix was communicating, or whether this falls under an issue of the timeshare management or even the homeowners association is something beyond my knowledge of the law. I do question who has the authority to levy fines for such action, unless Nix had previously signed a contractual agreement stating that he understood he could be fined in the event he ever wore an unacceptable T-shirt on the resort property.

But all of those details aside, here’s what jumps out at me. Westgate timeshare had an unhappy client. Instead of seeing the opportunity this holds, they turned the event into bad press and a polarizing situation. This could have been a time for Westgate timeshare to engage with the their dissatisfied client, work with him to resolve the issues, offer solutions or even compromises that he might not have considered, and find a way to turn a very dissatisfied client into a happy customer for life. And in deference to the fact that every story has two sides, none of us knows what, if any, measures Westgate timeshare had gone (prior to this event) in an effort to resolve the dispute.