Marriott Timeshares are usually credited with being the first hoteliers to get into the timeshare real estate business. In fact, some of the first hotel-branded properties were Sheraton timeshares. Sheraton timeshares have been in Hawaii since the 1960’s, and it is little surprise that today, as Starwood timeshare resorts, they continue to thrive in our fiftieth state.

In April, Starwood Vacation Ownership is opening their third vacation ownership (timeshare) resort in the Hawaiian Islands. The Timeshare Blog quoted Denise Wardlow, general manager of the new Westin Princeville Ocean Resort Villas as saying, “This property gives our travel partners more options to attract upscale clients who are repeat guests to the island of Kaua’i – guests who desire the convenience of a fully-furnished kitchen, washer and dryer, plus all of the luxurious amenities and services of a Westin resort.”

Located in Kaua’i, in the seaside community of Princeville, the new resort has classic Hawaiian plantation styling and includes seven buildings with a total of 179 timeshare condos, as well as a clubhouse, restaurant, and general store. Rack rates for a studio timeshare condo will start at $600 per night, $800 per night for a one-bedroom timeshare condo, and $1400 per night for a two bedroom timeshare condo.

The Westin Princeville Ocean Resort Villas will combine state of the art amenities with traditional island charm, but before you reach for your checkbook, make sure you look at other opportunities in Hawaii timeshare resales and Hawaii timeshare rentals.

Here are some of the excellent opportunities available to you to buy timeshare or rent timeshare through Sell My Timeshare NOW:

• Westin Ka’anapali Ocean Resort – North Villas Resales
• Westin Ka’anapali Ocean Resort – North Villas Rentals
• Westin Ka’anapali Ocean Resort Villas Resales
• Westin Ka’anapali Ocean Resort Villas Rentals

Orlando’s Local 6 TV News stirred up an old issue this past November when they interview David Siegel, founder and CEO of Westgate timeshares, regarding the company’s no-smoking policy for employees.

But this is not “news”. Westgate Resorts timeshares put their no-smoking ban in place in 2003. Westgate Resorts timeshares is part of the behemoth corporation, Central Florida Investments Inc, a conglomerate that includes hotels, magazines, travel services, insurance, real estate, internet companies, oil and even cattle, and is the largest single employer in the Orlando area. And Westgate timeshares in not alone in its crackdown on employee smoking. Other Florida companies have made similar moves. Thanks to the 2002 Florida Clean Indoor Act, smoking is already prohibited in restaurants, malls, workplaces and most interior areas. Many Florida employers prohibit smoking anywhere on company property while other companies also charge employees who smoke higher rates for their health insurance premiums. Westgate timeshares simply took its opposition to smoking a step further by saying: if you smoke, you won’t work for Westgate Resort timeshares.

Legal?

In the state of Florida it most certainly is. And from the perspective of companies, always watching their bottom-line, you have to see their side of it. Smokers increase insurance premiums across the board for all employees. As a general rule, they have lower productivity simply because of the time lost to smoke breaks. Where smoking is permitted on property, cleaning and repair costs to carpet, upholstery, and painted surfaces escalate.

On the other hand, does your employer ethically have the right to tell you that you cannot smoke off property and on your own time?

Dicey questions, and you can count on David Siegel to (pardon the pun) fan the flames of controversy with one of his straight to the point comments. As quoted in the Orlando Sentinel, Siegel says, “When I found out it was legal to discriminate against smokers (in 2002), those were my marching orders.”

Westgate Resorts is the third largest timeshare company in the world, with resorts throughout the US. To learn more about Westgate timeshare resales and Westgate timeshare rentals, visit Sell My Timeshare Now.

• Westgate Lakes Resort and Spa – Orlando, Florida
• Westgate Leisure Resort – Orlando, Florida
• Westgate Palace – Orlando, Florida
• Westgate South Beach – Miami Beach, Florida
• Westgate Branson Woods – Branson, Missouri
• Westgate Branson Lakes – Hollister, Missouri
• Westgate Tunica Resort – Robinsville, Mississippi
• Westgate Painted Mountain Golf Resort – Mesa, Arizona
• Westgate Blue Tree – Lake Buena Vista, Florida
• Westgate Daytona Beach – Daytona Beach, Florida
• Westgate River Ranch – River Ranch, Florida
• Westgate Towers – Kissimmee, Florida
• Westgate Town Center – Kissimmee, Florida
• Westgate Vacation Villas – Kissimmee, Florida
• Westgate Miami Beach – North Miami Beach, Florida
• Westgate Flamingo Bay – Las Vegas, Nevada
• Westgate Smoky Mountain Resort – Gatlinburg, Tennessee
• Westgate Park City Resort and Spa – Park City, Utah
• Westgate Historic Williamsburg – Williamsburg, Virginia

According to Forbes.com, in a real estate section article titled, “Soft Market Secrets to Selling a High –End Home,” new home sales are at their lowest level in over 12 years. Home mortgage applications have fallen to their lowest level in a year, and people with homes they must sell are learning that the real estate market tolerates few miscues by home sellers.

But the science of selling residential property in a tough market offers us some value insight about selling timeshare real estate. Consider the three important observations Forbes writer, Matt Woolsey, makes in his article:

1. Price your property right from the very beginning. A 2002 University of the Pacific study examined almost 3500 home sales and found that sellers who priced their property high, and later reduced the price, took longer to sell and ultimately sold for less than homes that were priced competitively the day they went on the market.
2. The perks you add to your deal may not be what actually creates the sale, but they are the incentives that create interest in your property, and the more buzz you create, the more likely you are to find a buyer.
3. Using the internet is huge. The National Association of Realtors estimates that three quarters of all homebuyers begin their searches online.

It is not rocket science to see how much all three of these residential sales facts carry over to the buying and selling of timeshare real estate.

Sell My Timeshare NOW urges timeshare owners who want to sell timeshare to look seriously at competitive properties on the market and then price their timeshare unit to sell. Sure, you can price high, and lower your asking price later, but what do you really gain by this approach?

Next, remember why you bought the timeshare condo or timeshare unit to begin with, and make sure you emphasize to prospective buyers the benefits and advantages of buying timeshare at your resort.

Lastly, if you think the internet is huge in helping homebuyers find residential property, double or triple that impact for helping you sell timeshare. When you want to sell timeshare, you can’t count on Sunday afternoon drive-bys to bring you your buyer. You have to deal with a timeshare advertising and marketing company that can put your property in front of a global audience of prospective timeshare buyers—and for that, there is no better choice than Sell My Timeshare NOW.

Visit our website to learn more about selling timeshare in today’s competitive market.

Solana Beach could become the first city on the California coast to ban the development of California timeshare resorts. While I understand their objective of protecting their tourism dollars, I personally don’t think banning timeshare condos and timeshare resorts is the answer.

The problem has arisen because some Solana Beach residents and business people view the conversion of coastal hotel properties into timeshare resorts as “privatizing” beachside property that should be available to tourists. The San Diego Union Tribune says that the Solana Beach city council has been considering this move for more than a year.

On December 12, the council approved a ban that includes three types of property within the commercially zoned areas of Solana Beach: condo-hotels or condotels; fractional ownerships, including traditional timeshare real estate; and any other timeshare arrangement for property ownership not covered by the first two. Some existing timeshare real estate in Solana Beach is to be excluded because it is considered to have ownership through non-conforming use agreements.

While timeshare real estate and condotels sound to most of us like they should be good for tourism, the Solana Beach city commission’s concern is that some condotels cost as much as $600 per night, a price they consider to be out of the range of many tourists. Yet as one Solana Beach property owner says, “Why would you want to make a financially reasonable way to own property in our very desirous town unattainable to many? By outlawing this form of ownership you would be needlessly shutting out opportunity to many.”

The city is expected to formally approve the ban in its next meeting, which would then make it effective 30 days after the approval.

Overall, this question has been raised in many locations. Do timeshare owners spend less money than hotel guests spend in the local restaurants and at area attractions because they tend to stay on property at the resort, using eat-in kitchens and other timeshare resort facilities? Or, because they save money in the long run on their vacation costs, do timeshare owners have more money to splurge on dining out, recreational activities, shopping, and themed attractions?

I’d love to hear your take on the situation. If you’d like to share your thoughts, be sure to post your comments here on the blog.

And if you are looking for opportunities in California timeshare resales and California timeshare rentals, visit Sell My Timeshare NOW. Here is a list of a few of some of the many good deals you will find in timeshare resales in the San Diego area:

• Lawrence Welk Resort Villas
• Winners Circle Beach & Tennis Resort
• Harbor Vacations Club San Diego
• Gaslamp Plaza Suites
• Wyndham San Diego at Harbour Lights
• Lawrence Welk Resort Villas on the Greens
• Four Seasons Residence Club Aviara