The Timeshare Owners Blog first updated you about Hilton’s plans for a new Manhattan timeshare in our September 25, 2006, blog. The Hilton Hotels Corporation describes this new timeshare property as Hilton’s first “purpose built” timeshare in Manhattan, meaning that it is being designed and built from the ground up to meet the needs and preferences of Manhattan-bound travelers and timeshare owners.

Although work was originally scheduled to commence in January of this year, the 28-floor Hilton Grand Vacations Club property is now finally under construction, with the official groundbreaking this past week, on June 28. When purchased directly from Hilton as new timeshares, timeshare units there will start at about $40,000 for a studio and go up to about $100,000 for a penthouse, per one-week timeshare interval. While Hilton Grand Vacations Club properties historically hold their value well, it would not be unreasonable to expect to be able to purchase a previously owned timeshare unit at this property for a lower price in the future.

If you are currently a member of Hilton Grand Vacations Club, you can look forward to perhaps exchanging for time at this new venue in early 2009. With its location on West 57 Street, between 7 Avenue and the Avenue of Americas, the new Hilton timeshare resort will be convenient to Carnegie Hall, the Lincoln Center, and many of the most popular business and entertainment destinations in Manhattan.

If you are looking to buy or rent Manhattan timeshare resales NOW, the Manhattan Club and the Hilton Club New York are excellent choices for owning midtown luxury and convenience at a realistic price.

You often find me blogging about golf, the PGA Tour, and timeshare resorts with great golf courses. Timeshares and golf go together in part, because on-property or nearby to so many timeshare resorts are fabulous golf courses. Often this means that timeshare owners can enjoy reduced rates on tee times and even play the course at times when there are no tee times available for non-owners. Overall, the demographic of timeshare owners includes a large number of people who enjoy golf recreationally or as a spectator sport. And in a recent study by ARDA, over 22 percent of the timeshare owners surveyed ranked “golf” as the most attractive characteristic of a resort area.

Recently I learned that the relationship between golf and timeshare vacation resorts goes beyond the consumer level. Textron Inc., is a multi-industry company whose brands include Bell Helicopter, Cessna Aircraft, Kautex, Lycoming, Greenlee, and E-Z-GO golf cart and turf maintenance vehicles. What I did not realize was that over the years, Textron Financial has expanded their financing of golf courses to include financing hotels and timeshare resorts.

Textron Financial offers hotel and timeshare resort financing for acquisition and development loans, construction loans, inventory loans, and notes receivable financing, in amounts that range from $5 million to $80 million. Their investment portfolio includes hotel properties and timeshare resorts in the US, Canada, the Caribbean, and Mexico.

Textron Financial sees timeshare resort financing as a logical choice for their company because their strong presence in the golf industry positions them to recognize the long-term value of golf course investment strategies for a resort. When major companies don’t hesitate to put big money into underwriting timeshare resorts, the rest of us ought to also feel pretty comfortable about the wisdom of buying one or more timeshare intervals to enjoy with our families.

Timeshare is a great way to vacation—if you actually use it. But according to figures recently released by ARDA, the American Resort Development Association, only 35.8 percent of timeshare owners surveyed personally used their timeshare intervals or timeshare units themselves, during the last twelve months.

Does that mean it is a bad idea to buy timeshare?

Not at all!

A high percentage (47.4 percent) of the timeshare owners surveyed either exchanged or banked their timeshare vacation, meaning they traded their interval for a different week or different location, or they arranged to hopefully use their timeshare at a future date. But let’s face it. Life changes. Vacation ownership may have been an excellent idea once upon a time, but career changes, marriage, divorce, illness, financial challenges—a whole litany of things can make it reasonable to sell your timeshare.

When you sell timeshare you already own, you put an immediate end to ongoing maintenance fees and any taxes you may be paying. You no longer have to think about trying to rent your timeshare to recoup these fees, or even a timeshare exchange, on the chance you will get to enjoy your timeshare interval at a future date.

When you sell timeshare, you end a commitment that may no longer be right for you. You also free yourself up to buy timeshare that may be much better priced than your original purchase, because this time, you know that the best timeshare deals are on the resale market. When you sell a timeshare that does not work for you, your free yourself to buy timeshare that affords you the flexibility your lifestyle demands.

Let’s face it. There is simply no reason to hold on to a timeshare vacation property that you no longer use and enjoy. Declare July 4, 2007 as your own personal independence day and take advantage of the easiest and most effective way to resell timeshare. Let a timeshare resale by-owner service with a vast global outreach help you market, advertise, and SELL your timeshare.

Now here’s a new twist on timesharing that I couldn’t resist bringing to your attention. The Mira Vista Resort in Marana, Arizona is planning an expansion that will include timeshare units. What makes this unique is that Mira Vista is a clothing optional guest ranch near Tucson.

Mira Vista Resort currently is a small, charming destination with 14 guest suites, a pool, spa, and restaurant. The historic property was once a stagecoach stop on the Butterfield Line for passengers traveling between St. Louis and San Francisco in the mid 1800’s. Later, in the heyday of the classic Western, movie stars including John Wane, Katharine Hepburn, Greta Garbo, and Cary Grant stayed at what was then known as the Saguaro Vista Guest Ranch.

Along the way, Mira Vista has also been a retreat for the families of alcoholics; a health resort; and, according to an article in the Arizona Daily Star, a guest ranch catering to gay and lesbian vacationers.

About a year ago, Mira Vista reopened as a nudist vacation destination. Now, the ownership has announced that planned expansion will include 100 new guest suites to be sold as timeshare units.

I am not very familiar with clothing optional resorts, but as I thought about this, I decided to place a call to the American Association for Nude Recreation. According to my conversations with AANR, Mira Vista is the first clothing optional destination to go timeshare, but it never really surprises me where timesharing shows up because it is one of the fastest growing segments of the vacation and hospitality industries today.

…You know I usually like to include photos with my blog posts, but this time, I just wasn’t sure what photos to use!