CareerBuilder’s annual survey has found that workers feel they need a vacation this year more than ever. Roughly 56 percent of the working population says they are more in need of a vacation in 2010 than they have been in past years.

Besides needing a summer holiday, timeshare vacation, or recreational travel, 36 percent of the US workforce surveyed (more than 4800 people) say they feel more comfortable about taking a vacation this year than they did last year, and attribute that feeling to a general sense that the economy is improving.

Career Builder‘s research shows that 64 percent of workers say they have already taken a vacation or have one planned. Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources at CareerBuilder says, “It is good news that workers’ anxiety around taking vacation time appears to be lessening this year compared to last. Now workers need to follow through and actually utilize their full vacation benefits; 15 percent reported that they didn’t use all of their allotted time last year. Utilizing time off to recharge batteries is even more important today as staffs have shrunk over the last 18 months and workers are dealing with added responsibilities and pressure.”

Here are four important steps to take so that you can truly enjoy your time off and not feel as if you are still tied to your job.

1. Plan early.

Staffing in many workplaces has been reduced which means jockeying for your desired days off can be challenging. Pre-planning is also valuable in scheduling your timeshare vacation if you are considering timeshare exchange. But even if you find yourself facing last minute travel, there are always great deals you can pick up in timeshare rentals, typically for far less than you pay at a hotel.

2. Have someone in place to pick up the slack.
If you can, coordinate with a coworker so that he or she can be on the alert for red flags, deadlines, and other “office fires” that can come up in your absence. If you have already filled someone in on the possibilities, that person may be able to take necessary action without interrupting your relaxation—just be prepared to return the favor for it is his or her turn to take holiday time.

3. If you have to work during your timeshare vacation or summer holiday, do it during a scheduled time.
Let your office or co-workers know you will make yourself available to them during certain hours each day. Work when you have to, and then put the stress of work time on the back burner during the other hours of the day.

4. Start a trend.
If you demonstrate your skill in managing vacation time and work time, others in your office will follow suit. As the vacation experts at VacationBetter.org remind us, “…studies point to increased stress levels, health risks and strained relationships as contributing factors from too much work and not enough vacation.” It only stands to reason that if and your coworkers all manage some much needed time for vacation, overall workplace productivity should increase while stress levels decrease.

(Source: www.careerbuilder.com)

We love the news we receive from TATOC Timeshare Association. Here’s what they said in their last news release. It is just so intriguing we want to share it with you in exactly their own words:

“Wednesday 26th May 2010 was an important day for the timeshare industry. There was no scandal, no new legislation nor a consumer television programme about to reveal all. But in a hotel in Manchester (England) there were representatives from every facet of the industry meeting for the first time to discuss the challenges and problems of the industry and more importantly to discuss action to overcome them.”

TATOC (Timeshare Association Timeshare Owners and Committees) is known as the only elected consumers association to represent the interests of timeshare owners in Europe. The topics of their watershed meeting sounded very much in harmony with the issues brought up last week, here in the US at the ARDA New England Regional Meeting. TATOC members addressed, with concern, the fact that the media perception and consequently much of the consumer perception about timeshares is not healthy for the industry. One spTimeshare resales, timeshare news, timeshare blog, timeshare owners, timeshare exchange, RCI timeshare, Interval International, European timeshareecific prevailing topic that the industry is working hard to resolve is that of how to best respond to timeshare owners who wish to resell timeshare.

Harry Taylor, the CEO of TATOC, explains, “Following our very successful Annual conference in March and as an Association who represents the consumer, we felt, that we should keep the impetus going and use this opportunity to move forward as a cohesive body. It is a TATOC initiative and we have been very encouraged as to the companies and interest taken by the industry and also the commitment to address these issues.”

Executives from Worldwide Timeshare, Club la Costa, Diamond Resorts International©, FNTC, RCI, Resort Developers Association, Resort Properties, Resort Solutions, Interval International, and Dial an Exchange participated.

Learn more about TATOC:
www.timeshareassociation.org
Or contact Harry Taylor CEO on +44 (0)845 230 2430

It’s Sunday morning and hopefully you are lingering over a second cup of coffee or perhaps sitting on your patio surveying the flowers in bloom. Summer is in full swing and if you have a Florida timeshare vacation planned, the tourism industry of Florida wants you to know that at this time, suntan oil should be a bigger concern for you than any oil spill on the beach.

As we now near the two-month mark since the tragic oil spill off the Louisiana coast, we have all heard an assortment of reports. Some seem to overplay the severity of the situation, while others brush over it too lightly. It is hard to know what is accurate, yet it is clear that our entire planet will no doubt be impacted by this nearly unfathomable environmental tragedy.

But the beaches of Florida, Florida timeshares, and the tourism industry are all begging you not to stay home and make the economic component of this tragedy worse than it already is. On Thursday, “Visit Florida” held its first industry-wide web­inar to update business owners and others about the organization’s plans to promote tourism in the wake of the spill.

Almost all the Florida beaches are clean and oil-free. If you are worried about whether your Florida timeshare vacation could be compromised by poor beach conditions, here are some resources that may help you.

Florida’s official response to the oil spill: www.dep.state.fl.us/deepwaterhorizon/

Florida’s official trajectory and forecast information: visit NOAA’s site.

Real-time images, webcams, Twitter feeds, beach condition updates, and videos from people in the Sunshine State now: Go to Florida Live.

And for one man’s interesting appeal to beach-loving tourists everywhere, play the video below.

Following up on yesterday’s post on The Timeshare Authority, I want to share more with you about this past week’s ARDA New England Regional Meeting held in Providence, Rhode Island.

Howard Nusbaum, President and Chief Executive Officer of the American Resort Development Association, was the keynote speaker, discussing ARDA’s key issues for 2010. Point one, along with my thoughts, appeared yesterday in The Timeshare Authority, so you will want to check out that post, if you missed it.

And now here’s a look at the next four important areas of focus for ARDA and the timeshare industry as a whole:

2. Working to foster growth in the secondary marketplace:
This point is part of an overriding and significant theme for the timeshare industry. Timeshare fraud is the exception, but to any degree, it cannot be tolerated. Laws must be adhered to and the timeshare industry on all levels, including timeshare sales and timeshare resales, must be able to show itself to the world with transparency and creditability.

3. Nurturing and supporting timeshare owners:
The timeshare industry is not, and never can be, solely about new timeshare sales and timeshare resale. Instead, we must all be about nurturing and supporting customers and honoring the dream that customers purchased in becoming timeshare owners. Timeshare ownership products must be maintained as strong, vibrant, and fulfilling products.

4. Utilizing social media technology:

It is no longer acceptable for any business or any industry to rely on drawing consumers into the store or onto a webpage. Instead, through the power of social media, the timeshare industry must reach out to timeshare owners, timeshare buyers, timeshare renters, and prospective clients, connecting with them in the online locations they already frequent. Embracing social media marketing is one of the most timely and relevant sales and marketing strategies for spreading the message of what a great product timeshares really are.

5. Changing business models:
ARDA is working to help the timeshare industry explore new business models and evolve old business models. Thought leaders of timesharing and vacation ownership are addressing how products can be revised to better suit consumer buying profiles and vacation patterns. One of many points in question is that of ownership in perpetuity, which may no longer have the desirability factor it once did. In response to that, new products that offer short-term ownership opportunities are being explored.

It’s all good, isn’t it? When the goal of any industry is to work together to make its products more consumer-focused and more desirable, under an umbrella of forthrightness and complete transparency, then only good things can come of that effort. Timeshares are a great product, getting better all the time, and frankly, I am proud to part of an industry that focuses on bringing affordable vacation opportunities to individuals and families in ways that are relevant, timely, and flexible.