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With the sunshine, beaches, and upbeat nightlife, most people don’t need yet another reason to plan a Miami timeshare vacation. Even if it doesn’t tempt you today, let winter set in with its long nights and cold, cold days, and a Miami holiday will likely start calling to you. So how about adding the fun of the 2013 Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival Presented by FOOD & WINE magazine to your Miami timeshare plans, just to make things really fun?

This week tickets for the event went on sale. Act quickly and grab yours and don’t forget to book a Miami timeshare resale or timeshare rental to ensure your trip is both luxurious and affordable.

SOURCE: Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival

2013 Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival Presented by FOOD & WINE Tickets on Sale Monday, October 22nd

MasterCard® Cardholders Have Presale Access Through Sunday, October 21st

General public ticket sales open at 12:00 AM (EDT) on Monday, October 22, 2012 for the 12^th annual Food Network South Beach Wine &Food Festival presented by FOOD & WINE.  Taking place February 21 – 24, 2013, the Festival has raised over $16 million to date for the Florida International University (FIU) Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism Management and the Southern Wine & Spirits Beverage Management Center. The 2013 edition boasts a unique program of tastings, parties, dinners, and seminars designed to please everyone’s taste buds!

The disparity between hotel occupancy rates and timeshare occupancy rates is often startling. For example, Smith Travel Research, published in  the STR Monthly Hotel Review revealed that for 2011, timeshare occupancy rates topped those of hotels, with timeshare occupancy rates reaching 79 percent compared to a 60 percent rate for hotels.  

The Orlando Sentinel has now reported that hotel occupancy rates in the Orlando area limped along during September, dropping to 55.2 percent. The decline in bookings combined with a reduced average daily rate (ADR) produced revenues that Orlando hoteliers described as “disappointing.”

Information specifically looking at Orlando timeshare occupancy for the month of September 2012 as not been released, yet it is safe to assume that Orlando timeshare occupancy rates exceeded hotel rates during this period. 

 The following article by Sara Clarke, appeared in the October 23, 2013 edition of The Orlando Sentinel. 

Orlando’s Hotel Industry Suffers Slow September

Occupancy Dropped to 55.2% and ADR Fell 1.4% Over September 2011 Levels

Orlando’s hotel industry stalled out during the slow month of September, as hoteliers filled fewer rooms and charged lower average prices than a year ago.

According to a new survey from Smith Travel Research, hotels in the Orlando area filled 55.2 percent of their rooms this September, compared with 56.5 percent during September 2011. The average daily rate for the market fell 1.4 percent to $80.35.

September is typically not a busy month for Central Florida hotels, with children having returned to school and conventions still near low ebb. The local market underperformed the south Atlantic region and the nation as a whole, both of which saw relatively flat occupancy and rising room rates during the month.

Locally, the key tourist corridors of Lake Buena Vista and International Drive both reported declines in occupancy, while the north Orlando and central Orlando submarkets — known for catering to business travelers — reported gains.

“September was a very disappointing month for us, and it was primarily attributed to a lack of group business or convention business,” said Greg Hauenstein, area managing director of the Buena Vista Palace Hotel & Spa, a 1,014-room hotel near Walt Disney World. “On the flip side, our leisure business saw a nice uptick from what we saw last year.”

The decline in the occupancy rate in the Lake Buena Vista area was attributed in part to an increase in room supply. Smith Travel Research reported the number of rooms available in the submarket grew by 6.1 percent compared with a year ago.

Disney World, whose hotels do not participate in Smith Travel’s monthly surveys, opened its giant Art of Animation Resort earlier this year for budget-minded travelers.

Michael Terry, a professor in the University of Central Florida’s Rosen College of Hospitality Management, said the area is also feeling the effects of the addition or renovation of several big hotels that are all hunting the same type of business — large groups, such as meetings and conventions.

“Lake Buena Vista — in my mind, they’re showing some signs of all that new product out there,” he said.

Hauenstein, at the Buena Vista Palace, said that business appears to be picking up.

“In October, we’re seeing an uptick over last year. November will be up over last year, and December and the holidays look very promising,” he said.

It’s almost time for the next Shared Holiday Ownership Workshop. Here is an announcement for the timeshare and shared ownership industry from FractionalLife.com.

Further to the success of the Shared Holiday Ownership Workshops earlier this year in Istanbul and Vienna we are pleased to present a further half day Shared Holiday Ownership Workshop on:

Tuesday 13 November, from 12:30, at the
Macdonald Houstoun House Hotel, Edinburgh West, Scotland

Visit www.SHOWorkshops.com for more information:

The Shared Holiday Ownership Workshops programme will incorporate:

• Why Shared Holiday Ownership?
• The range of Shared Holiday Ownership Options e.g Timeshare, Fractional, Mixed use
• How do the products work
• Legal Structures – trustees, sipps, EU rules
• Efficient & effective sales and marketing
• Customer Care
• Regional Case Study
• Networking event with sponsors and delegates

These events will be highly interactive with lots of audience participation. Registration to attend the half-day session is £75 plus VAT per delegate and will include lunch.

Who should attend the Workshops:

• Developers
• Brokers
• Tourism Authorities
• Real Estate
• Press
• Hoteliers

For more information and to register please contact [email protected]. Corporate sponsors for the event include: RCI; Best International; The Registry Collection; HVS; FNTC; Hutchinson; Generator; and media partners Perspective Magazine and FractionalLife.com.

How far would you travel on a golf vacation to see Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods? How about a United Arab Emirates timeshare golf vacation in beautiful Dubai?

With news just released that Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods will be part of a stellar international field at the 2013 Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, golf fans will be scrambling for accommodations to see the showdown this tournament could produce. 

Abu Dhabi timeshare is still limited, but opportunities to stay in nearby Dubai means Dubai timeshare resales and timeshare rentals, as a luxurious yet affordable way to plan a golf vacation in one of the world’s most glamorous destinations. 

Read more details about the tournament below (Source: The Travel Mole) and follow this link to the website for the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship.

Woods and McIlroy in Abu Dhabi showdown

Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods will head an impressive field at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, running January 17-20 at Abu Dhabi Golf Club.

McIlroy, the current world number one, and Woods, a 14-time Major winner, will lead the battle for Abu Dhabi’s falcon trophy and a share of the event’s USD2.7m prize purse.

HSBC global head of sponsorship and events, Giles Morgan, said, “Next year marks our tenth anniversary as a major international sponsor of golf and this is a great way to kick off a landmark year for us.”

One of the family-friendly tournament’s key off-course attractions, the Championship Village, will offer a range of activities, attractions, prizes, games, competitions and live performances to complement the National Course action.

Championship tickets are priced at AED50 (USD13.3) for a daily pass and AED150 (USD 40) for a four-day pass.

HSBC customers can redeem exclusive ticket offers by presenting their cards at the entry gate during tournament week.

Popular United Arab Emirates Golf Vacation Accommodations

The United Arab Emirates occupies only some 34,000 square miles (slighter smaller than the state of Maine) but has nearly two dozen golf courses  to play and a year round golfing climate.

• Dubai Lagoon Vacation Club
• Royal Club at Palm-Jumeirah