Don’t criticize timeshares because they are not something they were never intended to be.

Last week, the blogsite http://www.channel4.com/, an independent news agency based in Belfast, Ireland, published a post titled, “Timeshare Properties ‘Worthless’“. Channel 4’s blog posting was based on a PA News release that came on the eve of the European Commission issuing proposals to tighten legal protections for consumers who buy or resell timeshare vacation properties.

But the loud banging noise you hear as you read this, is the sound of me, jumping up and down on my soapbox.

The Channel 4 blog posting frustrates me because it depicts the timeshare resales industry as a floundering failure. The blog describes a situation that has come about, in their words, because of the, “apparent market slump in timeshare second-hand prices…now so poor that ‘existing timeshare owners are having very great difficulty getting rid of their ownership.'” The post goes on to say, “Far from keeping pace with house price inflations, the value of a partial stake in a holiday home has slumped in parts of Europe.” Channel 4 also quotes Sandy Grey, of the Timeshare Consumers Association, who says, “…timeshare owners who thought they were making an investment are now finding there is no residual value in something they may have spent £10,000 on.”

My frustrated response to this is: wrong, wrong, wrong! The timeshare resales industry is far from floundering. In 2006, timeshare owners who advertised their timeshares units or timeshare intervals for sale or rent with Sell My Timeshare NOW received $229,962,492 in offers to buy or rent their resale timeshares. And while Sell My Timeshare NOW is the best timeshare resales and timeshare rental advertising company in the business, we are certainly not the only company. Think about it—that’s a quarter billion dollars in offers generated by one timeshare resales company alone. You just can’t put timeshare resellers on a list of failed or failing industries.

Now let’s look at the second part of this misunderstanding. Timeshares have never been intended to be an investment for financial return. No one should buy a timeshare with the idea that it will appreciate in the same way a residential or commercial property may appreciate. As I have often said, even implying that a timeshare is an investment vehicle, is a breach of Security and Exchange Commission law.

Timeshares are an investment in quality vacations, an investment in a lifestyle. Timeshares greatly encourage holiday time enjoyed with your family and friends or as a much-needed quiet getaway. Because timeshares afford you the opportunity to lock-in the price of vacation accommodations, they may even net you a savings on the cost of vacationing over your years of timeshare ownership. And timeshare vacation ownership is one of the easiest ways for busy people to plan and book vacation accommodations. But the fact that something does not appreciate doesn’t, and shouldn’t, stop you from enjoying ownership of it. If that were the case, who would ever purchase an automobile? Criticizing timeshare ownership or lambasting the timeshare resales industry because timeshares do not typically increase in value is pretty much like saying a thoroughbred horse is a worthless animal because it doesn’t have wings and fly around the stable.

Understand and enjoy timeshares for what they are. And to help keep timeshare depreciation to a minimum, don’t pay the developer’s price for new timeshare. Buy resale timeshares that accurately reflect the market value of the property.

Interesting survey about how hotel guests avoid the pricy mini-bar.

Here’s one more reason to love timeshares…

You know exactly what it is like. You are in a hotel room; it’s too late to order room service, or perhaps you only want something small, and the mini-bar in your room sits there, tempting you. You really don’t want to put on your shoes and go search for a vending machine, so you open the door to see if this happens to be the first mini-bar in history with reasonable prices.

The can of nuts is $15 and the bottled water is $7. You close the door quickly, hoping that just rummaging around inside won’t show up as a charge on your hotel bill.

Don’t you wish you were staying in a timeshare resort?

HotelExecutive.com recently reported on a survey made by the people at TripAdvisor ® involving 1,600 travelers worldwide. The survey revealed, “…price, not selection, is the most important factor when it comes to using the mini-bar.” Ninety-four percent of all travelers surveyed said they would use the mini-bar more often if it wasn’t so expensive. And thirty-three percent of those surveyed said they never use the mini-bar at all.

Here are a few other interesting points the survey revealed:

• More than one third of the travelers surveyed said they had been inaccurately charged for something in the mini bar or fridge.
• More than a quarter said they had disputed a mini-bar item on their bill at checkout.
• Sixteen percent of the travelers surveyed said they had been charged for a mini-bar item, even though they had only used the space to refrigerate items of their own. (This is because some mini-bars are equipped with weight and motion sensors.)

You and I both know the solution to “mini-bar rip off”. When you travel, whether it is for business or leisure purposes, plan to stay in a timeshare with a fully equipped kitchen. You can put what you want in the refrigerator and more importantly, take out what you want—when you want.

Nothing makes it easier to launch a midnight raid on the fridge, or to adhere to your personal dietary plan, than the convenience afforded by the kitchen and dining area in a timeshare resale or timeshare rental.

Part II on Donald Trump’s plans for developing a Timeshare and Golf Resort in Scotland.

(Part I to this blog post appeared on June 11, 2007)

Donald Trump’s plans sound fabulous for the construction of new golf courses, a hotel and a timeshare resort that would mean a substantial boost to the local economy and job market near Aberdeen, Scotland. But Scotland’s Daily Record quoted Robin Payne, the Grampian area manager, as saying, “SSSIs (sites of special scientific interest) are established to protect the most important 10 to 12 percent of Scotland’s natural heritage and our duty is to have regard for that on behalf of all of Scotland’s people.”

As global consciousness for protecting our environment heightens, we must all come to terms with the fact that we can’t keep negatively impacting our planet and expect it to continue to sustain our growing population. Yet with a potential 6,000 jobs in the offering, it is increasing difficult to know where and when to draw the line.

Ironically, the Trump Organization and many environmental groups have found themselves united on one front—both groups have objected to an offshore wind farm proposed by Aberdeen Renewable Energy Corporation. Trump’s opposition to the wind farm is that the turbines would spoil the ocean views from parts of the golf courses and timeshare villas. Environmental groups object to the wind farm because they view its offshore location as seriously detrimental to aquatic life. The Scottsman.com quoted conservation organization spokesperson, James Reynolds, as saying, “The cold shallow seas off the Aberdeenshire coast play host to hundreds of thousands of seabirds, ducks and divers…the complete coastal strip is like a motorway of birds, streaming from nesting areas to offshore feeding grounds…In the sea, pods of bottle-nosed and white-beaked dolphins follow the shoals.”

How paradoxical that the resort developer and the conservationists both find themselves objecting to plans for an “environmentally positive source of renewable energy.”

As with other developing topics related to timesharing, I promise to keep you informed as more information is available. In the meantime, there are fabulous opportunities for a timeshare vacation in Scotland at timeshare resorts including:

• Scandinavian Village
• Loch Rannoch Highland Club
• Moness Country Club
• Edinburgh Residence
• Hitlon International Grand Vacations at Hilton Coylumbridge and Hilton Craigendarroch
• Great Glen Water Park Club
• Sunterra Resort Kenmore Club
• And Cameron House

Donald Trump’s planned golf courses and timeshare resort have attracted attention from environmentalists and economists alike.

When Donald Trump announced plans to build Trump International Golf Links in Scotland, the Scots were supportive of the idea—at least in theory. In Scotland, the birthplace of golf, people are always up for another great golf course, and with Trump’s reputation for building championship facilities, enthusiasm for the project was high. That is, until some area residents and environmentalists found out just how big Trump’s plans are.

Trump, whose heritage is half Scots, describes his mother as, “seriously Scotch.” Trump’s vision for the proposed, Trump International Golf Links in Scotland, can only be described as, “seriously Trump-like.” Project designs for the approximate-1000 acres, call for two championship golf courses to be co-designed by Donald J. Trump Signature Designs and golf course architect, Tom Fazio II. Additionally, the resort would have a clubhouse, a 450-room luxury hotel, between 500 and 1000 timeshare villas or vacation residences, a golf academy, and a turf grass research center. Work was scheduled to begin on the golf resort and timeshare villas project in September 2006, with a target opening date planned for early 2008. Reports indicate that the project is now at least one year behind schedule.

As with any situation, there are two sides to it. Here’s a look at some of the key issues of the proposed development:

• AGAINST: An article by Craig Better of GolfVacationInsider.com says, “Trump’s plans call for stabilizing a network of sand dunes so they don’t encroach on his golf courses.” The sand dunes in question are part of a chain of dunes that runs along the North Sea; it is the largest dune system in Scotland. According to Scotland’s Daily Record, “Scottish Natural Heritage said it (the planned development) would ‘seriously damage’ an important nature conservation area. They also warned (that) the proposal would destroy a third of a crucial site of special scientific interest just north of Aberdeen.”
• AGAINST: Scottish Natural Heritage warns that the golf course and timeshare resort construction plans could wipe out crucial habitats because of the loss of rare plants.
• FOR: Scottish Natural Heritage says they are not opposed to the construction of one championship golf course; their objections are to the scope of the project.
• FOR: The Trump Organization was quoted by TheScottish-Enterprise as saying, “Our goal is to create the greatest links golf courses in Scotland as part of a golf development that will become the finest in Europe, if not the world.”
• FOR: The geographical location of Trump International Golf Links would position it so that golf enthusiasts could plan a holiday at the resort with side trips to other renowned courses including Cruden Bay, Murcar, and Royal Aberdeen. Trump International Golf Links could even be home base for golfing excursions that include the legendary courses of St. Andrews, Carnoustie, Prestwick, Turnberry, Royal Troon, Nairn, and Royal Dornoch.
• FOR: BBC News says the project could, “…generate tens of millions of pounds for the local economy and secure hundreds of jobs.” In the same report, BBC News went on to say that the project could, “create 6,000 jobs”.

Because this topic is so very complex, I am going to continue with more on the issues in tomorrow’s blog, looking at still other aspects of the “pros” and “cons” of building the Trump International Golf Links, timeshare resort and hotel in Aberdeen, Scotland.