Artist rendering courtesy
of ECS Florida LLC.

Marriott Vacation Club International is formally debuting it’s new Florida timeshare resort, Marriott’s Oceana Palms on prestigious Singer Island. The Oceana Palms will be open to timeshare owners and guests starting tomorrow; it is more than 55 percent booked for opening. Timeshare management expects to see 80 percent booking by the following Friday. Vacationers and guests can also rent Oceana Palms timeshare units as timeshare rentals.

According to the Sun Sentinel, this upscale resort features (in phase one) a 19-story tower with 75 two-bedroom, two-bath timeshare units available now, swimming pools (including a zero entry pool with the Splash Zone and a waterslide), a fitness center, a restaurant, and other amenities. When a second tower is built (in phase two), the number of timeshare units at the Marriott timeshare resort is expected to double.

Timeshare is Good for Timeshare Owners and Good for the Economy

Located at 3200 North Ocean Drive, in Riviera Beach, the new Marriott timeshare resort is built on the oceanfront site of the former Crowne Plaza hotel and is being received with enthusiasm by local residents and business leaders. Jorge Pesquera, president and chief executive of the Palm Beach County Convention and Visitors Bureau, was quoted by the Palm Beach Post as saying, “This is a renaissance of Singer Island. It (the new Marriott timeshare) adds another option to the Riviera Beach/Singer Island corridor, which used to be very significant for tourism.”

Local authorities not only appreciate the jobs created during the construction phase of the resort and the fifty-plus jobs created now that the timeshare resort is operational, but they anticipate a ripple effect from tourists spending dollars at local restaurants, clubs, and stores. Marriott’s Oceana Palms will also create a boost to the tax revenue base.

Later this month, January 29, and 30, the members of WIN, (women in the timeshare industry), will be meeting in Orlando for their Florida Regional Conference.

The group’s Welcome and Reception will be head at The Fountains Resort, a Bluegreen timeshare resort located on International Drive while the Networking and Education sessions will be at The TEC (Talent Experience Center) at Marriott’s Cypress Harbour Resort.

Scheduled speakers include:

1. Nico March, Sr. VP Investments with The March Group of Wells Fargo Advisors who will deliver an Economic Update: “How and What Women should be considering for their personal finances.”
2. Kit Armour, General Manager of Breckenridge Grand Vacations on: “Managing, Communicating and Working with Intergenerations”.
3. Dr. Pat Heim with a video and discussion on: “Gender Differences in the Workplace”.

The WIN Florida Regional Conference is sponsored by Bluegreen, Marriott Vacation Club, and Mobius Vendors.

You can find out more about the event on the association’s website: http://www.womenintheindustry.org/florida_meeting.html

And learn more about the history and development of this non-partisan global organization that provides leadership mentoring, philanthropic and educational opportunities to women and those that support women both on the association website and in these past issues of The Timeshare Authority:

• Women Changing the Face of Timeshares and Timesharing (Part I)
• Women Carving Out their Future in the Timeshare Industry (Part II)
• WIN – Association for Women in the Timeshare Industry Hosting Special Events at ARDA Convention

There are some anniversaries you don’t want to see roll around. Such is the case of Jennifer Kesse, a missing person case we have followed on The Timeshare Authority blog since it first became national news in January of 2006.

Investigators believe Jennifer Kesse disappeared either while preparing to go to work or en route to her job at Orlando-based Westgate timeshares. She was 24 years old at the time. Despite a massive search effort there has been little in the way of leads. Three months into the search, David Siegel, founder of Westgate timeshare, posted a $250,000 reward to anyone who provided information that lead to the safe return of Jennifer. He reportedly said that the money could be considered a reward, or a ransom but it would only be available for one month.

Now, frustrated with the lack of progress on the case, the Kesse family is again offering a now-or never reward; this time for $1,000,000. But, the clock is ticking. This reward money is available only until February 24, 2010.

For more information on the case read The Criminal Report Daily as well as these previous posts on The Timeshare Authority:

• New Update on Missing Westgate Timeshare Employee, Jennifer Kesse
• Remembering Missing Westgate Timeshare Employee, Jennifer Kesse

To help spread the message of Jennifer Kesse, described by law enforcement as, “an endangered adult,” post information about her on your blog, your Facebook page, your Twitter account, and anywhere that helps spread the message. Jennifer’s family and many of the investigators involved with her case believe she is the victim of human trafficking. Remember that other missing persons have been found and returned to their families, long after their abduction, and someone, somewhere, DOES know what has happened to Jennifer.

Jennifer’s picture and the flyers about her disappearance are available at www.jenniferkesse.com for printing and copying. Her family asks that you visit the website, print copies of the flyers there and:

• Tape them to your car windows.
• Ask everyone you know to put one on his or her car window.
• Send copies to anyone in your family that doesn’t have a printer and lives in Central Florida.
• Ask others to put them on their cars.
• Stop by every truck stop you see and talk to some of the drivers and give them flyers. Ask them to drop them off at their next stop.
• Stop by businesses with fleet vans and ask them to put the flyers in their side windows.
• Most grocery and department stores use front windows for displays, display these flyers there.
• Phone booths are rare, but tape flyers on the ones there are.
• If you have family in Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana or South Carolina, send them the links and ask them to do the same thing.
• And remember – The objective is to turn Central Florida into a moving billboard of Jennifer’s profile. The more flyers moving through the area, the more eyes we’ll have out looking for her.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if Jennifer could be found and we never again have to write this tragic story on The Timeshare Authority blog?

Katharine McPhee, runner up in Season 5 of American Idol, says her favorite places to relax are Cabo San Lucas, Mexico timeshares. Her heavy-duty travel schedule keeps her in and out of hotels, many of which this self-professed “clean freak” says she re-cleans herself because they do not meet her standards. Explaining that she always removes the spreads and blankets and relegate them to the closet, McPhee adds that she sometimes uses the hotel towels to cover a dirty floor or carpet.

It seems, however, that timeshares suit the singing star much better. In an article published by ShowbizSpy, McPhee says her favorite resort destination is, “Cabo (San Lucas, Mexico) because it’s two hours from my home in Los Angeles and you feel like you are in a different world. It’s quick and easy and I love the restaurants. My family has a timeshare so I try and get down there at least once per year.”

“Lying on the beach or sitting by the pool is so amazing. Every once in a while I will rent jet skis. There is nothing quite like jet skiing on the open ocean.”

Katharine is not alone in her love of Mexico timeshares; many vacationers believe them to be some of the most beautiful resorts in the world. And you have it straight from a clean freak that although many hotels fail to live up to her standards, her favorite Mexico timeshare is an ideal place to vacation and relax.

Follow this link to learn more about Cabo San Lucas timeshares and Cabo San Lucas timeshare resales or rentals.