At our house, we haven’t had a reason to be thinking about new baby names recently, so I almost skipped over David Berkowitz’s article, “Searching for Zeke, the Unborn,” in the MediaPost Publications newsletter. But I am a regular reader of David’s newsletter and blog, (Inside the Marketers Studio – David Berkowitz’s Marketing Blog) and once again, he had a particularly interesting article.

David was writing about a technology developed by Icosystems, which the company describes as a “hunch engine”. Unlike a search engine, a hunch engine gives you more refined information and helps guide you to your target decision. The hunch engine is the basis of a program called Nymbler, which is designed to help people intuitively choose a baby name that is the “right fit” for them.

In developing Nymbler, Icosystems is essentially designing a technology (not unique only to Icosystems) that uses the responses you provide to train your own search algorithm. Berkowitz describes it as a “form of guided browsing… consumers use the ‘I’ll know it when I see it,’ test to find what they want.”

As I read about this new direction in technology, I couldn’t help thinking that Sell My Timeshare NOW has their own version of a hunch engine. Sure, our website allows you to search for timeshare resales or timeshare rentals by resort name, city, state, or country and that is a very helpful tool. But more importantly, we have nearly 100 highly trained timeshare specialists ready to serve you.

Call our offices at 877-815-4227 or contact us by email, and one of our timeshare resales and timeshare rentals experts will help you “intuitively” choose the timeshare vacation solution that is right for you. If you want to buy timeshare, we will help you find the right vacation club or timeshare real estate to fit the way you like to vacation, your budget, and your dreams.

If you are ready to sell timeshare, Sell My Timeshare NOW will help make that process as easy and efficient as possible. You can manage every aspect of your timeshare resales transaction yourself, or we will assist you in finding the right people to handle as many of the details as you like.

When you want to buy timeshare, sell timeshare, or rent timeshare, turn to Sell My Timeshare NOW. We are a state of the art company, with real people providing you real solutions and support, and I have a hunch that beats a hunch engine, hands down.

Last week, Wyndham Vacation Ownership (Wyndham timeshare) announced they have purchased land at the Grand Elk Ranch and Club community in Grandby, CO. The acquisition was made from Grand Elk, LLC, for the construction of 44 timeshare condos in a timeshare resort, to be operated under the brand of WorldMark by Wyndham.

The timeshare resort will be called WorldMark Grand Elk and opening is planned for the summer of 2009. President and CEO of Wyndham Vacation Ownership, Franz Hanning says, “With the addition of WorldMark Grand Elk and our recently opened resort in Red River, NM, we continue to develop a well – rounded portfolio of ski destinations to complement our many urban, mountain and coastal resorts for our more than 250,000 WorldMark owners.”

Located just north of the vacation destination, Winter Park, Colorado, in the Fraser Valley, WorldMark Grand Elk will offer studio timeshare condos, and one and two bedroom timeshare condos, as well as three-bedroom Presidential suites. At the timeshare resort, guests will be able to enjoy the pool, hot tub/spa, exercise room, and children’s play area, as well as the neighboring Grand Elk Golf Club. Located in the Rocky Mountains, the timeshare resort is perfectly situated for enjoying skiing, fly-fishing, hiking, and biking on mountain trails.

Currently WorldMark or WorldMark by Wyndham has four timeshare resorts in Colorado, located at Steamboat Springs, Durango, Estes Park, and Pagosa Springs.

Other WorldMark timeshare resorts located in Colorado or throughout the great Northwest:

• WorldMark Steamboat Springs – Steamboat Springs, Colorado
• WorldMark Estes Park – Estes Park, Colorado
• WorldMark Arrow Point – Harrison, Idaho
• WorldMark McCall – McCall, Idaho
• WorldMark Depoe Bay – Depoe Bay, Oregon
• WorldMark Eagle Crest – Redmond, Oregon
• WorldMark Gleneden – Gleneden Beach, Oregon
• WorldMark Seaside – Seaside, Oregon
• WorldMark Running Y – Klamath Falls, Oregon
• WorldMark Schooner Landing – Newport, Oregon
• WorldMark Birch Bay – Blaine, Washington
• WorldMark Discovery Bay – Townsend, Washington
• WorldMark Leavenworth – Leavenworth, Washington
• WorldMark Lake Chelan – Lake Chelan, Washington
• WorldMark Mariner Village – Ocean Shores, Washington
• WorldMark Seattle – Seattle, Washington
• WorldMark Surfside Inn – Ocean Park, Washington

Wyndham Vacation Ownership (Wyndham Timeshare) has announced plans to develop new timeshare resorts in South Carolina and Colorado. In South Carolina, Wyndham timeshare purchased 33 timeshare condos that are part of an existing development in Santee.

The new Wyndham timeshare properties were acquired from Ballards Pointe III, LLC, for an undisclosed amount. The agreement includes a commitment by Wyndham timeshare to purchase an additional 78 timeshare condos in two increments between now and early 2009.

The Wyndham timeshare official press release states that the South Carolina timeshare condos will operate under the company’s FairShare Plus by Wyndham exchange portfolio.

Franz Hanning, president and CEO of Wyndham Vacation Ownership says, “Santee may be one of the best-kept secrets in South Carolina…with spectacular lake views and a location near some of South Carolina’s most popular cities…”

At completion, the timeshare resort will offer two and three-bedroom timeshare condos as well as three-bedroom timeshare Presidential units. Each unit will include a garden tub, full kitchen and dining area and a washer and dryer. The timeshare resort will include a swimming pool, tennis courts, boat slips, and a clubhouse.

Located directly on Lake Marion, the new Wyndham timeshare is near I-95 and within a day’s driving distance of Myrtle Beach, Charleston, Columbia and Hilton Head Island. This timeshare property will be the sixth Wyndham timeshare resort in South Carolina.

In tomorrow’s blog, I will fill you in on all the details of Wyndham timeshare’s expansion in Colorado.

Great Deals on Wyndham timeshare resales at Myrtle Beach from Sell My Timeshare NOW:

• Wyndham Myrtle Beach at Ocean Boulevard Timeshare Resales
• Wyndham Myrtle Beach at Ocean Boulevard II Timeshare Resales
• Wyndham Myrtle Beach at Ocean Boulevard III Timeshare Resales
• Wyndham Myrtle Beach at Ocean Boulevard IV Timeshare Resales
• Wyndham Myrtle Beach at SeaWatch Plantation Timeshare Resales
• Wyndham Myrtle Beach at SeaWatch Plantation III Timeshare Resales
• Wyndham Myrtle Beach at The Cottages Timeshare Resales
• Wyndham Westwinds at Myrtle Beach Timeshare Resales

Reading the travel blog that Kitty Bean Yancey writes for USA Today always gives me new insights about travel, and particularly hotel accommodations. Her blog, the Hotel Hotsheet, cites Smith Travel Research showing that in November 2007, occupancy rates at luxury hotels were 68.9 percent compared to 51.8 percent at economy lodgings, but down overall from the same month last year.

Across the US, room rates are up 6 percent, bringing luxury hotel rooms in at $300 per night and economy rooms at $52 per night. According to figures from the American Hotel and Lodging Association, the average daily hotel rate is now over $100 per night.

Comparing Hotel Accommodations with Timeshare Condos

The average hotel room in America provides comfortable sleeping accommodations for one or two people in a queen size bed and rather cramped accommodations for 4 in two standard beds. It won’t have an in-room washer and dryer; is not likely to have a patio or balcony, and at that price, probably won’t have a separate living area.

Your $100+ per night room will not afford you multiple televisions and DVD players and the odds are very high it won’t have a full kitchen with dining area. In fact, for $100 per night, your hotel room will be little more than a bedroom, bathroom, and maybe a mini-fridge and an overpriced mini-bar.

Timeshare resales on the other hand, frequently feature all the amenities the hotel room lacks, as well as having many other perks that make your stay more comfortable in far more spacious accommodations. And the prices? Well, they just don’t compare.

For starters, your hotel room at $100 is subject to sales tax. In many areas, it is also subject to tourist or resort tax, sometimes known as a bed tax. In Orlando, Florida, for example, the tourist tax is an additional 6 percent on top of the 6.5 percent sales tax. Boom! Your $100 per night room, suddenly became – in reality – $112 and change each night.

With timeshare condos, you actually own your timeshare. You may in fact pay property tax outright or property tax as part of your annual maintenance fee, but you won’t pay sales tax or bed tax each time you vacation in your timeshare.

If you finance your timeshare condo, you may also be able to write off part or all of your mortgage interest as a deduction on your federal income taxes. Don’t expect to write off any part of your hotel room on your taxes unless of course, you are claiming it as a business expense, in which case you can make the same claim about the nightly cost of your timeshare condo.

Lastly, and this is the most important part of all, the money you spend on your hotel room is money gone for good and these days, those words are particularly hard to hear.

The money you spend on a timeshare condo pays for vacation ownership. A timeshare condo becomes a lifestyle that you own, can enjoy for years to come, and that actually becomes cheaper and cheaper the more often you use it and the longer you own it.

Hotel rooms are great for some types of overnight stays and travel. But in the big picture, money you throw out the window forever for a hotel room simply never compares to owning timeshares – especially timeshare you buy smart as timeshare resales.

To learn more about the opportunities in timeshare resales and timeshare rentals, visit Sell My Timeshare NOW on the web or call us at 877-815-4227.