PH Towers Westgate opened this past December and currently says only about 20 percent of its timeshare units have sold. But the rest of this Las Vegas timeshare’s units are not sitting empty; they are being used as hotel inventory by Planet Hollywood resort (which is owned by Harrah’s Entertainment Inc).

The 52-story, 1200-room Las Vegas timeshare is described by Westgate timeshare as both the world’s largest timeshare building (all units contained within a single structure) and the only timeshare in the world that is fully integrated with a casino.

The timeshare’s builder, Tutor-Saliba Corporation, has filed a foreclosure lawsuit in Nevada’s Clark County District Court against Westgate Planet Hollywood Las Vegas LLC. Tutor-Saliba alleges that Westgate owes the company $19.3 million based on the terms of the 2007 Las Vegas timeshare construction contract. According to the Las Vegas Sun, Westgate Resorts timeshare plans to fight the lawsuit against their newest Las Vegas timeshare property and says that liens filed against the resort by Tutor-Saliba and liens filed by subcontractors cover duplicate issues.

Westgate Timeshare Tells Its Side of the Story

Mark Waltrip, chief operating officer of Westgate Resorts, was quoted as saying, “We have exhausted every effort to work cooperatively with Tutor-Saliba to resolve these issues. We have previously provided Tutor-Saliba a well-documented position that has been independently verified by a third-party construction management firm and proves that not only are these claims totally without merit, but in fact Tutor-Saliba owes Westgate in excess of $18 million. In addition, Tutor-Saliba signed an agreement subordinating its claim to the lenders on this project and therefore has no right to pursue this course of action. We not only intend to vigorously defend these claims brought by Tutor-Saliba, but also seek recovery of millions of dollars in claims due to Westgate, including overcharges, credits due for unperformed work, liquidated damages for untimely performance and failure to comply with the plans and specifications of the project.”

So Westgate timeshare and the construction company for this Las Vegas timeshare agree that somebody owes somebody between 18 and 19.3 million dollars. One thing is certain, until this is resolved, only the attorneys involved benefit by the situation.

Orlando, Florida-based Sol Meliá Vacation Club offers beautiful timeshare resorts in popular vacation destinations including Mexico timeshare, Puerto Rico timeshares, Central America, the Canary Islands and Spain timeshare. Sol Meliá Vacation Club is part of the fifty-year old hospitality leader, Sol Meliá Hotels & Resorts, which is headquartered in Spain.

In what the timeshare and hotel company predicted last year would an “insipid” recovery, the company released its first quarter 2010 financials last week, with Sol Meliá showed a profit of one million Euros. This marks a 124 percent increase over the same period in 2009. EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) for the company also increased for the first time since the presentation of the annual results in 2007.

The company is hinging part of its optimism about future earnings on the economic recovery in the US, saying, “The economic recovery in the United States, our most important feeder market for Latin America and the Caribbean makes Sol Meliá confident, nevertheless, that results will improve overall for 2010 in the region; and in particular the reactivation of hotel occupancy from the US (60% of our total guests in the region) also points towards a recovery in Sol Meliá Vacation Club.”

Unpredictable Challenges for Mexico Timeshare, Dominican Republic Timeshares, Venezuela Timeshares, and Spain Timeshares

The company also acknowledges the impact of events additional to the poor economy on its business. These events include the effect the Influenza A virus in Mexico; of earthquakes in Haiti on bookings in neighboring Dominican Republic timeshares; the devaluation of the Bolivar in Venezuela; and the impact of volcanic ash fallout on Spain timeshare and other resorts in Europe.

Sol Meliá currently employs more than 33,000 people worldwide and was one of a select number of RCI timeshare exchange affiliates to meet RCI’s standards of recognition as a top-performing partner. Sol Meliá Vacation Club received the award based on the company’s volume of business.

Just because callers claim to be affiliated with RCI, doesn’t mean they are.

This is the costly lesson some timeshare owners are learning. To combat the recent problem, RCI is notifying it’s subscribing members to be on the lookout for a timeshare scam in the form of misleading timeshare resale or timeshare rental offers. Some “entities” have been contacting timeshare owners and either claiming or implying to be connected with RCI.

These businesses may then ask for fees or even power of attorney in order to conduct business (supposedly a timeshare sale or timeshare rental) on behalf of the timeshare owner. RCI suggests that timeshare owners with any questions about the authenticity of a call they receive, simply contact RCI directly at 800-338-7777 for confirmation.

If you are an RCI subscribing member and did not receive RCI’s letter, signed by RCI North America President, Gordon Gurnik, or you are a non-member, but you wish to learn more, go to the website for InnSeason Resorts and click on the words– Alert: RCI Resale Advisory. InnSeason Vacation Club has helpfully posted the letter there.

As reported on Ask Mando, RCI has been recognized among Indiana’s 2010 ‘Best Places To Work’. RCI is part of Wyndham Exchange & Rentals, and a global leader in timeshare exchange, with approximately 65,000 vacation and timeshare resort properties in 100 countries worldwide.

And when you learn about some of the RCI timeshare employee benefits, it becomes clear that the company has every reason to have earned this award. Consider how much employee satisfaction could be generated if all employers offered, on-site, a massage room, a meditation room, and a fitness center. How about Wii and Xbox gaming systems, ping pong tables, basketball courts, and shoe shine service to go with it? And once you throw in the annual vacations to timeshare resorts in desirable destinations such as Cancun or the Bahamas, it gets easy to see why RCI timeshare employees rate their employer so highly.

Recognition of RCI Timeshare Indiana

Though a project created by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, BizVoice, Inside INdiana Business, the Indiana Youth Institute, the Indiana Economic Development Corporation and Best Companies Group, exemplary Indiana employers were recognized from a category that includes: businesses that have at least 25 employees in Indiana, have a facility in Indiana, and have been in business for a minimum of one year.

Winning companies had distinguished themselves through the company’s workplace policies, practices and demographics, and based on an employee survey that measures the employee experience.

Gordon Gurnik, president, RCI North America says, “We are thrilled to have been named one of the Best Places to Work in Indiana for the second year in a row.” He noted that RCI Indiana was also named as a Top Work Place by the Indianapolis Star.

Corporate-wide, RCI in New Jersey was honored as a top company to work for in New Jersey in 2010. Worldwide, RCI employs more than 7000 lucky employees, over a thousand of whom are based in Carmel, Indiana.

Follow this link to read about RCI Indiana and the Biggest Loser: RCI Timeshare Exchange Employees Rebrand Themselves as ‘Losers’