Now that Hurricane Dean has made its way across the Yucatan Peninsula, residents and business owners are left to face the clean up and disruption to life (and often revenues) that follows in the aftermath of a hurricane.

Timeshare owners of Cancun timeshare or Cozumel timeshare can breathe a sigh of relief that reported damage to the resorts there does not generally seem to be extensive. The timeshares and resorts of Cancun and Cozumel missed the worst of Hurricane Dean, even though pounding waves potentially may have caused serious beach erosion.

By midday (Eastern Time) on Tuesday, August 21, 2007, the Palace timeshare resorts were reporting that guests who had been relocated to a secure area onsite, had already returned to their rooms. Throughout the Palace Resort properties, the restaurants were reopening and clean up of poolside areas had already begun.

The Cancun tourist area still shows signs of repairs from Hurricane Wilma in 2005. Although fast-moving Dean was a stronger hurricane, many experts expect the damages to be less than those of Wilma, which stalled over the Yucatan Peninsula, pounding it for more than a day.

For a first hand report on timeshare resorts in Cancun, check what they say on the Storm Carib blog which says, “Club Internacional de Cancun, Royal Sands and Royal Haciendas are fine. It is too soon to tell the exact condition of the beach at Royal Mayan, Royal Caribbean, and Royal Islander.”

Hurricane Dean made landfall as a Category 5 hurricane and at one point had a wind speed of 165 miles per hour, with gusts up to a staggering 200 miles per hour. The Costa Maya area, known for its diving and sports fishing, is identified as ground zero where Dean made landfall. The largest city in the Costa Maya area, Mahahual, is roughly 230 miles south of Cancun.

Prior to the storm, 250 small communities were evacuated according to Quintana Roo (just north of Belize) Governor Felix Gonzalez in an Associated Press interview published by MSNBC.com. Damages of the coastal areas where Dean came ashore will no doubt be severe, but as often happens after such storms, blocked roads and downed phone lines make immediate assessment difficult. If you own timeshare at the Sole Vacation Club at Sunscape Tulum, your Mexico timeshare may not have fared as well as did most of the timeshare resorts in Cancun and Cozumel. However, I have no definitive information about Sole Vacation Club in Tulum, Mexico at this point.

A few weeks ago, the Timeshare Owners Blog offered a series of posts dealing with what to do if a hurricane threatens during your timeshare holiday, what to expect from your timeshare resort if hurricane repairs are necessary, and even a look at travel insurance designed especially for timeshare owners.

To add to this, I have included links to the Palace Resort timeshare’s hurricane policy, which says in part: “If guests wish to postpone their vacation and travel at a later date, we will protect original rate for travel up to one year after original departure date. Bookings must be rescheduled within 30 days after a hurricane strikes. Based on availability and black out periods apply.”

To review the full details of this hurricane policy, visit the Palace Resort timeshare’s main page and then follow the link labeled, “2007 Hurricane Policy” that appears at the bottom of the page.

And to learn more about Mexico timeshare resale and Mexico timeshare rental visit Sell My Timeshare NOW.

Tomorrow I’ll share the updates I find about timeshares in other parts of the Caribbean impacted by Hurricane Dean.

Earlier this month, Hospitality Net reported on a Deloitte & Touche, research survey that shows the Middle East hotel market continuing to enjoy double-digit growth for the fourth straight year. Historically, where hotel growth booms, so does growth of timeshare and vacation ownership properties.

Looking at the hotel industry, individual Middle Eastern markets performing particularly well include Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates; Muscat, Oman; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; and Damascus, Syria.

The only hotel markets reporting declines were Doha, (in Qatar) which had an exceptional year in 2006 while hosting the Asian Games, resulting in a decline only by comparison to the 2007 figures, and Beirut. Understandably, civil unrest and political tensions between Israel and Hezbollah are blamed for driving Beirut hotel occupancy rates to the lowest in the region.

Rob O’Hanlon, (Tourism, Hospitality, and Leisure Partner, Deloitte Middle East) was quoted by Hospitality Net, explaining this exceptional business growth in this way, “The hotel industry continues to benefit from increased airline capacity, events and new attractions. Infrastructure developments and effective marketing campaigns are also all helping to raise the profile of (the Middle East) region worldwide.”

RCI Middle East Managing Director, Nick Turner, explains the situation further by saying, (as quoted in Khaleej Times online) that based on company research, “…the introduction of timeshare property, a form of shared vacation property ownership, to the market in early 2008 would spark the return of the red-hot Dubai property market’s early days.”

Dubai may lead the way in hotel development in the Middle East, but because of a few less-than-ethical business people in Dubai’s early timeshare history, Dubai government officials wisely put a halt on all Dubai timeshares until solid legislation could be put in place to protect the consumer. While Egypt timeshares, Lebanon timeshares, Israel timeshares and vacation ownership in other parts of the Middle East have been available for several years, timeshares are only now becoming a viable part of the Dubai real estate market.

Dubai’s Department of Economic Development (DED) is considering the following as they set up timeshare regulations to encourage development from legitimate timeshare companies while safeguarding the rights of the individual:

• • Establishing a cooling-off or rescission period for timeshare contracts, yet still permitting timeshare sellers to accept deposits.
• • Establishing escrow accounts or bank guarantees on money paid to purchase pre-construction timeshares.



• • Creating standardization of timeshare contract language across the board.
• • Prohibiting timeshare developers or timeshare sellers from conducting business in private homes, either their own or that of the prospective timeshare buyer.
• • Mandatory licensing and bonding of timeshare resort operators and timeshare sales agencies.
• • Full disclosure on all documents related to the sale and ownership of timeshare.

But perhaps the best news of all is that a number of leading timeshare developers, timeshare companies, and associated industries are not only embracing Dubai’s carefully laid plans but are actively serving as advisors to Dubai’s lawmakers and regulatory agencies.

Many timeshare companies and timeshare developers have now analyzed their second quarter 2007 figures and issued their earnings reports on how business is trending. Here’s a summary of what some timeshare industry leaders are saying:

Wyndham Worldwide Corporation reported that second quarter income increased by 28 percent to $96 million. Wyndham timeshare stock has experienced a 21 percent increase over the past year. The Orlando Business Journal quoted Wyndham Chairman, Stephen P. Homes, as saying in a Reuters interview, “Timeshare is going like gangbusters”.

Hospitality Net reported that the Hilton Corporation listed a second quarter 2007 net income of $165 million compared with $144 million in the same quarter of 2006.

Only stock purchase projections for Starwood timeshare resorts have cooled slightly, but this is attributed to construction delays impacting the opening of new properties. Despite this, as of early August, A.G. Edwards & Sons are still maintaining their “buy” rating for Starwood stocks, as is Terry Ruffolo, in his blog for Zacks Investment Research. Ruffalo says, “…we believe that the pullback (for Starwood stock) has been overdone, and that the current share price represents an attractive entry point.” According to information released by Starwood and quoted on Bloomberg.com, “This year’s earnings may be $2.78 a share, up from the $2.57 predicted in April.”

I thought Michael B. Baker, who writes for Business News Travel Online, made an interesting observation about the hotel industry overall, saying, “Hurricane Katrina’s aftereffects negatively skewed year-over-year comparisons in the first half of the year, with displaced Gulf Coast residents and emergency workers inflating demand in early 2006.” In other words, Baker was noting that some industry analysts think, had it not been for the many individuals displaced by hurricane Katrina, along with all the aid and reconstruction workers, artificially driving up hotel revenues for much of early 2006, hotel and timeshare figures for 2007 would seem even more impressive than they already do. Baker goes on to point out, however, “Although not all analysts agree on Katrina’s impact on performance metrics, it will no longer be a factor in the months ahead.”

The Timeshare Owners Blog never offers financial or investment advice. Even when I report to you on how good the timeshare industry is looking, you should always do your own due diligence, consulting experts in the fields of financial forecasting and investment counseling, before you part with your hard earned cash. But although I never advise on stock purchases, I can confidently say that buying timeshare or a timeshare resale has proven to be a great decision for many people, if they like to vacation and they commit to using their timeshare regularly.

The second annual Middle East Leisure Real Estate Symposium will again be scheduled for Dubai. On September 9, 2007, at the Grosvenor House Hotel, Group RCI (Resort Condominiums International) and NorthCourse (SM) will host the event designed to serve as a forum for learning more about the Middle East’s important growth industry of vacation ownership.

According to a press release that appeared in Arabian Business, “with …destinations like Dubai being billed by experts as the next Orlando, …it’s important to understand the vital role timeshare plays in satisfying consumer demand for a wide choice of vacation accommodation options.” The news release goes on to say that the symposium organizers anticipate that, “nationals in the Gulf region will spend US $1.2 billion annually on shared ownership leisure real estate within the next 12 years…”

With those kinds of numbers being thrown around, it is no wonder that RCI executives were quoted in Khaleej Times online as saying that the introduction of timeshare property developments could result in a “property market frenzy”.

In Tuesday’s Timeshare Owners Blog, we will look at what government officials in Dubai are doing to establish timeshare industry regulations here.