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Leading timeshare developer, Diamond Resorts International has expanded its network of resort properties with the acquisition of Aegean Blue Holdings Plc. The company’s media release, first distributed October 8, provides more information about this exciting expansion. 

Diamond Resorts International® Closes Acquisition of Aegean Blue

Purchase Adds Five Resorts and 7,400 Owners to Diamond Resorts International® Network

DIAMOND RESORTS INTERNATIONAL®, a global leader in the hospitality and vacation ownership industries, today announced that it has closed, through its subsidiary Diamond Resorts AB Acquisition Company, Ltd, the acquisition of all of the issued and outstanding shares of Aegean Blue Holdings Plc. This transaction adds five resorts located on the Greek islands of Rhodes and Crete, as well as approximately 7,400 owners to Diamond Resorts International®.

“Our growth strategy is clear as the expansion of the Diamond portfolio remains a high priority in effort to provide more destination choices to our owners, members and guests”

“Our growth strategy is clear as the expansion of the Diamond portfolio remains a high priority in effort to provide more destination choices to our owners, members and guests,” said Stephen J. Cloobeck, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Diamond Resorts International®. “We are pleased to finalize this acquisition and bring these resorts into our portfolio. We look forward to integrating the current Aegean Blue owners into the broader Diamond Resorts International® network, offering opportunities to vacation at our more than 220 resorts in 28 countries around the world. In addition, we look forward to an expanded relationship with Guggenheim Partners.” Financing for the acquisition of Aegean Blue Holdings Plc was provided by Guggenheim Partners.

Aegean Blue has resorts in the following locations:

• Village Heights Golf Resort, Hersonissos, Crete, Greece
• Sun Beach Holiday Club, Ialyssos, Rhodes, Greece
• Leoniki Residence, Rethymnon, Crete, Greece
• Grand Leoniki, Rethymnon, Crete, Greece
• The Village Holiday Club, Koutouloufari, Crete, Greece

Diamond Resorts International®, with global headquarters in Las Vegas, Nevada, is one of the largest hospitality companies in the world with more than 220 branded and affiliated resorts and over 27,000 guest beds in 28 countries with destinations throughout the continental United States and Hawaii, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, South America, Central America, Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa. Offering simplicity, choice and comfort to more than 497,000 owners and members through the branded hospitality service of approximately 5,000 team members worldwide, Diamond Resorts International® is dedicated to providing its guests with effortless and relaxing vacation experiences every time, for a lifetime.

Annually, nearly 1.4 million owners, members and guests enjoy the simplicity, choice and comfort Diamond Resorts International® offers through our branded hospitality experience.

About Guggenheim Partners

Guggenheim Partners is a privately held global financial services firm with more than $125 billion in assets under management. The firm provides asset management, investment banking and capital markets services, insurance, institutional finance and investment advisory solutions to institutions, governments and agencies, corporations, investment advisors, family offices and individuals. Guggenheim Partners is headquartered in New York and Chicago and serves clients across North America, Europe and Asia from more than 25 offices in nine countries. For more information about Guggenheim Partners, visit guggenheimpartners.com.

Recently released news from Mumbai, India shows that Sterling Holidays Resorts, a leading India timeshare and vacation ownership company, is experiencing significant growth in its nonmember business. 

Sterling Holidays Resorts (India) grows nonmember business

Vacation ownership company Sterling Holidays Resorts (India) is now looking at growing its non-member business alongside its timeshare owner (member) business.

Ramesh Ramanathan, managing director, Sterling Holidays Resorts (India), explains, “It is a conscious effort to strengthen the non-member segment. There is a huge market and we are working with the trade and MICE for this.”

He goes on to explain that although members are the mainstay for Sterling Holidays Resorts, and they represent the company’s long-term plan, non-member business is a great way to introduce Sterling timeshare resorts to the market and also generate member business for the future. Currently the company’s member and non-member business is at a ratio of 70:30.

Business for Sterling Holidays Resorts (India) has seen good growth, said Ramanathan. In the quarter ending June 30, 2012, the company recorded income from sales of vacation ownership plans increasing by 250 per cent from Rs 45 million in the previous year to Rs 158 million. The quarterly total operating income of the company was reported as Rs 317 million, as compared to Rs 185 million for the same period of the previous fiscal year, representing a 71 per cent growth. The company declared an EBITDA of Rs 10.80 million, reflecting the positive growth trend. (Need a link to a currency converter to better understand the Indian rupee? http://finance.yahoo.com/currency-converter)

Currently, Sterling Holidays Resorts (India) has 75,000 members. The company is also looking at opening  India timeshare resorts in new locations, Daman, Dharamshala, and Sariska, in the coming two to three months.

“Our revenues have seen an increase with the increase in our members and change in our style of services as well,” Ramesh Ramanathan adds. “Our resorts have been designed keeping a family in mind. A family is not made of one individual, but of different people with different requirements.”  He points out that  Sterling Holidays Resorts offer an array of activities to cater to the varied interests of vacationing families.

On November 12, the Jewish National Fund will honor Eric A. Danziger, Chief Executive Officer of Wyndham Hotel Group, with its Tree of Life Award. A longtime member of the hospitality industry, Danziger’s work history includes Carlson Hotels Worldwide, Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, DoubleTree Hotels, and the former Wyndham International.

Jewish National Fund to honor CEO of Wyndham Hotel Group at Annual Tree of Life award dinner

Actor and Comedian Paul Reiser to Serve as Emcee

Jewish National Fund (JNF) will host its annual Tree of Life™ Award Dinner at The Pierre Hotel on Monday, November 12, 2012. The event will honor Eric A. Danziger, Chief Executive Officer of Wyndham Hotel Group, and feature master of ceremonies Paul Reiser. Cocktails will be served at 6:00 pm, and the program will begin at 7:00 pm.

Proceeds from the Tree of Life™ Dinner will benefit JNF’s work with Aleh Negev, a state-of-the -art rehabilitative village in Israel’s Negev Desert that provides people with severe cognitive and physical disabilities with high-level medical and therapeutic care to help them realize their full potential. Major General (Res.) Doron Almog, chairman of Aleh Negev, will receive the Guardian of Israel Award.

The Tree of Life™ Award is a humanitarian award given in recognition of outstanding community involvement, dedication to the cause of American-Israeli friendship, and devotion to peace and security of human life. Eric A. Danziger is a lodging industry veteran. He joined Wyndham Hotel Group, the world’s largest hotel company, as President and Chief Executive Officer in 2008 after serving in executive leadership roles for some of the world’s most well-known hospitality companies including Carlson Hotels Worldwide, Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, DoubleTree Hotels and the former Wyndham International. He has served as chairman of the American Hotel & Motel Association’s Strategic Planning Group and as a trustee of the American Hotel & Motel Federation.

Danziger holds an honorary doctorate from Johnson & Wales University in Providence, RI, where he is a distinguished visiting professor. He is a 2011 UJA-Federation of New York honoree, and recipient of numerous industry awards and honors, including the 2005 Northern California Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year award in the category of real estate, hospitality and construction.

Major General (Res.) Doron Almog served in the IDF from 1969-2004. Key landmarks in his career include participating in the 1976 Entebbe Operation, commanding elite paratroopers during the first Lebanon War, airlifting more than 6,000 Ethiopian Jews to Israel, and heading the Southern Command from 2000-2003. The focus of his voluntary activities is Aleh Negev-Nahalat Eran, which is named for the General’s son Eran, Aleh Negev’s first resident, who passed away in February 2007 of a rare illness.

A friend of JNF and Aleh Negev, Paul Reiser is a seasoned actor, writer, and stand-up comedian. He co-created and starred in the NBC series Mad About You, which garnered him Emmy, Golden Globe, American Comedy Award and Screen Actors Guild nominations. He has also written three books: Couplehood, Babyhood and Familyhood. In November 2010, Reiser released the album Unusual Suspects with longtime friend, singer/songwriter Julia Fordham. Most recently, he wrote and starred in the semiautobiographical 2011 NBC comedy series The Paul Reiser Show. Reiser is generously donating his time for the Tree of Life™ Award Dinner.

The dinner will take place at The Pierre Hotel at 2 East 61st Street at 5th Avenue, New York, NY. For more information or to RSVP, please contact Amy Penchansky at 212.879.9305 ext. 804 or [email protected] by October 29, 2012.

JEWISH NATIONAL FUND (JNF) began in 1901 as a dream and vision to reestablish a homeland in Israel for Jewish people everywhere. Jews the world over collected coins in iconic JNF Blue Boxes, purchasing land and planting trees until ultimately, their dream of a Jewish homeland was a reality. JNF gives all generations of Jews a unique voice in building a prosperous future for the land of Israel and its people. JNF embodies both heart and action; our work is varied in scope but singular in benefit. We strive to bring an enhanced quality of life to all of Israel’s residents, and translate these advancements to the world beyond. JNF is greening the desert with millions of trees, building thousands of parks, creating new communities and cities for generations of Israelis to call home, bolstering Israel’s water supply, helping develop innovative arid agriculture techniques, and educating both young and old about the founding and importance of Israel and Zionism. JNF is a registered 501(c)(3) organization and United Nations NGO, which continuously earns top ratings from charity overseers. For more information on JNF, call 888-JNF-0099 or visit www.jnf.org.

Zipcar is offering 50 percent off its regular fee if you rent a Zipcar today to go and cast your ballot to vote. What is Zipcar? Very simply, it’s timeshare for cars.

Described as “car sharing,” Zipcar is a Massachusetts based company that allows its members to scan their membership cards on a card reader that works through the windshield of the Zipcar. Scanning, opens the doors and logs the transaction. Members are then free to use the car as they choose, returning it afterwards to same parking spot where they picked it up. And today, in an Election Day special, Zipcar is offering any member who makes an hourly reservation in any U.S. Zipcar city, (between 5am and 9pm local time) a 50 percent discounted rate. No coupon is required and you don’t have to prove that you voted—it’s an honor system.

You can find out more about this discount savings at this link for Zip-to-the-Polls.

The Timeshare Authority is not affiliated in any way with Zipcar, but we do hope you vote today, November 6, 2012, and we are always keen on the idea of timeshare, whether it is timesharing the car you drive or timeshare vacation accommodations. Timeshare is a smart way to enjoy more while spending less.