India tourism and timeshare industry is serious about plans for growth.

India is one of many countries beginning to realize the importance timeshare resorts and timeshare vacations could mean to their economy. In a recent panel discussion that included representatives from RCI Global Vacation Network, Fraser Serviced Residences, Samara Capital, and Portman Holdings, several significant points about the timeshare vacation industry both globally and specifically in India were raised.

Event moderator Sachin Shah described the alternate hospitality market (meaning condo-hotels, fractionals, vacation ownership homes, and timeshare resorts) as still in its nascent (or emerging) stages. Express Hospitality (www.expresshospitality.com) quoted Bupesh Yadav, Regional Director of Fraser Serviced Residences, as saying, “After the SARS epidemic, terrorist attacks in different parts of the world, people started looking for low-risk vicinity which is less populated and alternate hospitality like condos and service apartments are almost like second homes.”

In general, the group assessed timeshares and vacation ownership projects as a popular alternative to buying a second home, and an idea that is quickly growing in metropolitan markets all over the world. While India is seen as a “late entrant” to the market for fractional and vacation ownerships, it is identified as, “making steady progress.”

Ministry of Tourism is promoting an international marketing campaign called, “Incredible India.” Tourism and development leaders in India recognize that, for a country with over a billion people, India had only 4.5 million tourists in 2006. By comparison, Dubai, with a population of only 1.3 million, was host to 6 million tourists during the same period. India’s long and short term plans to grow tourism and recognition of India as a vacation destination include both marketing and enriching the country’s infrastructure, which includes items like highways and public transportation.

If the idea of owning a timeshare resale in a country that stretches from the beaches along the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea, to the snow and ice of the Himalayan Mountains appeals to you, you might want to peruse this interesting collection of Incredible India microsites for a little India “site-seeing”. Besides the obvious attraction of the Taj Mahal, Buddhists temples, and a rich heritage of art and history, visitors travel to India for other reasons. Both the US and the UK have large segments of their populations with cultural or familiar ties to India who represent an enthusiastic market for owning India timeshares and India timeshare resales.

Many US and European companies are either outsourcing work projects and services to India, or relocating divisions of their corporation there. India is also a recognized center for medical research and has one of the largest pharmaceutical industries in the world. People travel to India from many countries to take advantage of India’s cutting edge medical technology and age-old wisdom of alternative medicine.

With all of these evolving factors in play, India represents an interesting market when it comes to buying timeshare resales and timeshare rentals.

The transition from Fairfield timeshares to Wyndham timeshares is underway.

In March, the beautiful Bonnet Creek Resort, located on 70 acres in south Orlando, was known as the Fairfield Orlando at Bonnet Creek Resort. Today it is the flagship property of Wyndham Vacation Ownership, and is officially known as the Wyndham Bonnet Creek Resort.

Interior and exterior signage is already being changed at Wyndham Bonnet Creek timeshares and timeshare rentals. In the extensive project to re-brand all Fairfield timeshare resorts under the Wyndham timeshare name, it makes sense that Wyndham timeshares would choose Bonnet Creek as one of their first resorts. Wyndham Bonnet Creek has over 25,000 timeshare owners of its nearly 300 units, but when current expansion is complete, the timeshare resort will include nearly 1600 timeshare units. Franz Hanning, Wyndham Vacation Ownership president and chief executive officer says, “We’re extremely proud to showcase our flagship resort to the community and our timeshare owners who rank Orlando as one of their most popular vacation destinations.”

Also under construction on the property is a new Waldorf-Astoria and the Hilton Bonnet Creek Hotel. If you want to learn more about timeshare resales and timeshare rentals at Bonnet Creek, you may be interested in the great timeshare deals available at Sell My Timeshare NOW.

Starwood Resorts reports an extremely positive first quarter.

When Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc., released their first-quarter profit numbers for 2007, the numbers were impressive. And when Starwood hotels and Starwood timeshares are enjoying good business, that’s also good news for people who have Starwood, Sheraton and Westin timeshare resales and Starwood or Westin rentals.

Starwood Resorts owns the brands St. Regis, Westin, and Sheraton, as well as other famous hotel and resort properties, along with all of the Starwood Vacation Ownership timeshare resorts. Starwood Resorts’ first quarter financial reports for 2007 showed a net income of $122 million, a substantial increase over the same quarter in 2006.

A number of factors individually and collectively contributed to the gain, including the sale of the Westin Boston Waterfront Hotel for a one-time gain of $18.3 million. Reuters (http://www.reuters.com) and other major news sources have quoted Bear Stearns financial analyst Joe Greff as attributing the earnings increase in part to timeshare gains, along with higher management and franchise fees.

Starwood Vacation Ownership has 18 timeshare resorts, with the greatest concentration of them being Florida, Colorado, the Caribbean and Hawaii timeshares. As long as demand is high for Starwood timeshares as new properties, you can count on there being a good market for Starwood, Westin, and Sheraton timeshare resales and timeshare rentals. If you are looking to buy a Starwood, Westin or Sheraton timeshare vacation property, you can expect good service and good accommodations. The Starwood timeshare company will be putting money back into their timeshares in the form of renovations and updates, recognizing that this is a valuable segment of their market.

When you purchase a Starwood timeshare resale, be sure you understand all of the terms of your purchase. Resale timeshare transactions vary greatly. You may or may not receive full (or any) use of Starwood timeshare points. Some owners of Starwood timeshare resales have reported that in cases where they own Starwood timeshare resale weeks, but did not have access to the Starwood points, they were able to negotiate points (StarOptions, StarPoints, and Elite Status) for their resale timeshare by purchasing new Starwood timeshare and making the sale contingent upon their resale timeshare receiving points status as well.

Let me reiterate that I am passing along unconfirmed information here. Have I done this with a Starwood, Sheraton, or Westin timeshare? NO. Has anyone with the Starwood timeshare company told me this is an option or even a possibility? NO. Do I personally know of anyone who has done this? Also, NO. But I have heard of people who owned timeshare resales, and reportedly have been able to accomplish this negotiation.

The key piece of information here, is to remember that timeshare, whether purchased as new or resales property, is almost always a highly negotiable purchase. If you have specific needs or requests, you have nothing to lose by bringing them to the table. And although the best value in buying a timeshare is always to purchase it as a resale, owners of timeshare property who want to sell—whether it is new timeshare or a timeshare resale—want to sell. You never know what kind of timeshare deal you can make, unless you try.

As you make a plan to honor the special moms in your life, think about the possibilities that timeshare resales have to offer.

With Mother’s Day tomorrow, all of us find ourselves with someone to honor. It may be your mother, your wife, your sister, your dear friend, or even yourself—but every single one of us knows a special, hardworking “Mom” who deserves to be recognized and appreciated.

By the very definition of the job, motherhood calls for being on-duty twenty-four hours a day with a job description that practically knows no limitations. In a world where so many mothers combine professional careers with all of their responsibilities as a mom, finding time for themselves is a rare treasure.

Timeshare vacations are just right for every mom. They are the easiest holidays to plan, and can be customized to fit the preferences of moms who are old, young, adventurous, or would just love a chance to relax and put their feet up. Moms who take timeshare vacations never have to hassle with finding hotel rooms or risk sharing their vacation resort with noisy convention-goers or business people with their ringing cell phones.

Timeshares offer luxurious accommodations with excellent places to relax, retreat, and enjoy much-needed down time. Because so many timeshare resorts include supervised activities for children, as well as kiddie pools, playgrounds and lots of things to keep children safely, happily occupied, timeshares mean that moms on vacation, can truly be, “on-vacation”.

You may never be able to give your mom (or your wife) a mountain chalet or seaside cottage, but a timeshare resale offers an affordable way to give her a lifetime of vacations she will never forget. And if you’re the mom in the family, and nobody’s thought about the value of a timeshare resale before, then use this as your chance to do something especially nice for yourself—that the rest of the family will think you did just for them.

Think about the most relaxing destination you can imagine, and then search the great buys in timeshare resales and timeshare rentals at Sell My Timeshare NOW for timeshare deals that perfectly fit both your dreams and your budget. And enjoy a Happy Mother’s Day!