Author: Staff Contributor

What a great experience I had on Sunday with members of the National Timeshare Owners Association. Approximately 130 members of NTOA took advantage of the opportunity to meet in Baltimore, Maryland for an educational conference on timeshare ownership.

I had an opportunity to speak at the timeshare conference, along with Shep Altshuler, who publishes Timesharing Today, the Independent Voice of Vacation Ownership and Paula diPaola and Woody Cary, both from Platinum Interchange timeshare exchange.

The best part of the meeting was probably the question and answer time, because that’s when timeshare owners had the chance to ask the speakers for explanations and updates. The Q & A time dealt with many different aspects of timesharing that really matter to them as owners, often as owners of multiple timeshare weeks and at multiple resorts.

Timeshare Owners and the Right to Know

One of the challenges of vacation ownership is that sometimes when people buy timeshare they find that after the sale there is no one around to answer their questions or address their concerns. And while the ins and outs of timeshare exchange, timeshare resales, timeshare rentals, and other points about ownership aren’t rocket science, they aren’t self-evident either! Many timeshare owners today miss the full range of perks and benefits that go with vacation ownership simply because they don’t really understand them and unless they are members of a timeshare owners organization such NTOA, they have no one to ask.

An important point brought out in the discussions on Sunday is that, as a timeshare owner, you should know who your board members are. Who sits on your Homeowners Association Board? How can you get in touch with them? If you don’t know the answer to these questions, then push until you find out. You have a right to know who is making decisions concerning property in which you have an ownership. And on that same vein, you have a right to know the names and contact information of the other people who share ownership of a timeshare unit with you.

Good Things are Happening for Timeshare Owners

Thanks to NTOA and other owner-based timeshare organizations, the experience of owning timeshare continues to get better and better. As NTOA founder and president Ed Hastry is fond of saying, “Educated timeshare owners are happy timeshare owners.”

I really support that attitude. Critics of timeshare are often people who simply don’t know all the facts. And this type of misunderstanding and misinformation can be found everywhere from forums and bulletin boards to governmental agencies – a matter we are going to look at more closely in upcoming blog posts.

In tomorrow’s The Timeshare Authority blog, I am going to share with you, some of the same information I gave the National Timeshare Owners Association. I want to first debunk the myth that timeshares don’t resell. I have the statistical data to prove that not only can you resell timeshare, but that advertising your timeshare online is one of the very best ways to do it.

Like the popular TV show on the Discovery Channel, I’m going take on some of the worst and most damaging pieces of misinformation, and I am going to be a “myth buster.”

Enjoy this humorous clip from MythBusters.

In an aggressive and proactive move, Marriott Global Sales in the Middle East and Africa has announced the launch of the Marriott Sales Revolution Initiative, designed to counterbalance the impact of a downturn global economy.

According to Samir Daqqaq, President of Global Sales Middle East and Africa for Marriott International, the purpose of the initiative is to build new business in that region. The plan is, Marriott explains, one that demonstrates the company’s commitment to overcoming economic challenges.

Each Tuesday during the global initiative, Marriott will mount a sales blitz to focus on driving business to their properties in the Middle East, Africa, and to the Marriott Global Sales network. Included in the targeted blitz are the Marriott hotel and Marriott timeshare properties in the United Arab Emirates, which we have written about here on The Timeshare Authority many times as an important target for timeshare sales and vacation ownership sales.

The Khaleej Times quotes Daqqaq as saying, “The Marriott Sales Revolution Initiative is aimed at reinforcing our presence in the region. We wish to strengthen our relationships with our customers and maximize our sales efforts at all Marriott International branded hotels across the globe.”

The Marriott sales blitz even includes special uniforms for employees to wear during this time. In other words, Marriott hotels and Marriott timeshares are not sitting on the sidelines worrying about what today’s economy will do to their business. Instead they have equipped an army—new uniforms and all–and launched a blitz.

Kudos to a company that is taking action and not sitting by waiting on someone else to guarantee their future.

Retirees and Baby Boomers are redefining the opportunities of vacation ownership and timeshare sales. According to HotelsMagazine.com, approximately 78 million Baby Boomers will be retiring in the next 15 years, and as the article points out, with their retirement comes a new release of wealth by a strong and financially comfortable demographic.

With all the news about dwindling retirement accounts and a struggling, strangling economy, it is easy enough to forget that some segments of the population are still quite financially sound. John Cottrill, senior vice president for The Ritz-Carlton Club and Residences says, “Baby boomers have revolutionized the term ‘retirement’. Many work well into their golden years, while increasing leisure time and activities such as traveling, spending time with their families and seeking new and one-of-a-kind experiences. Their incomes and expectations lead them to seek the lifestyle and amenities that can only be offered by The Ritz-Carlton.”

Ritz-Carlton Club timeshares are among the many timeshare companies today that are aggressively marketing to the 50+ and soon to be 50+ segments of the population. As Hotels Magazine points out, “Once the economy turns around, hopefully in late 2009 or early 2010, companies will be salivating at the chance to pitch Boomers on the benefits of fractional ownership, as well as timeshare and vacation clubs.”

John Burlingame, executive vice president of Hyatt Vacation Ownership (Hyatt timeshare) Inc. explains, “The Baby Boomers are at the age where they’re thinking about how they’re going to spend quality time with extended family, and this product appeals to them because if they own something like a timeshare or a fractional, they’ll have a vacation opportunity that their children or grandchildren would want to experience.”

What do Baby Boomers Want from Timeshare Resorts?

At timeshare resorts, today’s Baby Boomer tends to seek hi-tech entertainment and communication; multi-generational amenities so they can enjoy traveling with their children and grandchildren; and cosmopolitan sophistication so they can enjoy traveling without them!

According to Franz Hanning, CEO of Wyndham Vacation Ownership, “People are telling us they love to go to the cities. They tell us when they go to these urban areas that they don’t necessarily need a two-bedroom, two-bath condo – they’re more interested in being connected and having high-end electronics.”

For both the economy as well as for the timeshare industry, this is all good news!

Sell My Timeshare NOW has changed the way people buy, rent, or sell timeshare. By providing an incredible platform for timeshare owners to advertising their timeshare resales and timeshare rentals online, Sell My Timeshare NOW’s website traffic reached over 25 million visitors in 2008. It’s all about putting control back into the hands of consumers. Perhaps people are looking around at big business and thinking corporate America has not done a very impressive job; whatever the reason, the way in which consumers and industry interact is definitely changing.

Celebrity Ashton Kutcher drew attention to this very point this past week when he challenged CNN to a duel to see which could rack up the greatest number of followers on Twitter. The goal was a million followers, and needless to say, Kutcher reached the target number before CNN did. He described the competition as “the people vs. the establishment”.

When the Kutcher-CNN showdown began last Thursday, CNN had 966,363 followers to Kutcher’s 953,268. In less than 12 hours, Kutcher reached the one million mark first, but to be fair, CNN was new to Twittering, having had their account only one day prior to Kutcher issuing his challenge.

As Kutcher pointed out, “I think it’s a huge statement about social media for one person to actually have the ability to broadcast to as many people as a major media network. I think it sort of signifies the turning of the tide from traditional news outlets to social media outlets, social news outlets.”

Clearly we live in changing times when traditional models of business are being challenged. The test has been inspired partly from the inevitable impact of technology on all our lives and partly because many of the current and past business models have proven to be either disappointing or outmoded. But I think the timeshare industry is looking change squarely in the eye and rising to the challenge.

In case you are interested, Kutcher’s handle on Twitter is @aplusk. CNN’s handle is @cnnbrk.

Here’s a YouTube video (further proof of our changing world) of Kutcher calling out CNN.