Online company takes the lead in providing great customer service.

A few weeks back, BusinessWeek (“Customer Service Champs,” March 5, 2007) released their “Customer Service Elite List“.

This was a first-time endeavor for the magazine, in which they identified the best 25 US companies for customer service excellence.

USAA took top honors on the list. In case you are not familiar with USAA, they provide banking, insurance services, and financial planning to people in the US military and their family members. Other than USAA, the rest of the names on the list are all household words. They are:

1. USAA
2. Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts
3. Cadillac
4. Nordstrom
5. Wegman Food Markets
6. Edward Jones
7. Lexus
8. UPS
9. Enterprise-Rent-A-Car
10. Starbucks

A couple of things really stood out to me about this list. Because our company, Sell My Timeshare NOW deals with most of our customers by phone, email, or sometimes fax and letters, and because we take the business of providing good customer service so seriously, I was pleased that the number one company also delivers their services the same way we do—online! It proves what we say at Sell My Timeshare NOW. You don’t have to meet your clients face to face for them to know that you appreciate their business and are committed to working your hardest to help them buy, rent, or sell timeshare in a way that is efficient and economical for them.

I was also pleased that in addition to (#2) Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, the list included (#11) the Ritz Carlton, and (#22) JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts. Three of the top twenty-five companies on the Customer Elite List are in the hotel, timeshare, and fractional business. This is a good endorsement of why you can buy a Four Seasons, Ritz Carlton, or Marriott Vacation Club International timeshare resale with confidence that you and your family will enjoy many great timeshare vacations there.

Disney announces the timeshare expansion we predicted months ago.

In November of 2006, I wrote about Disney’s planned expansion on the western perimeter of it’s Orlando, Florida, Walt Disney World Vacation property. On March 1, 2007, the management at Walt Disney World Resort made the announcement official. Their “Western Way” development plan calls for approximately 4500 timeshare condos and hotel units, as well as a retail shopping village that will include restaurants, grocery stores, and shops.

This mixed-use tourism district will focus primarily on value-priced lodging and numerous services will be directed both at tourists and at the many Disney employees. Workers at Walt Disney World go by the title of “cast member” and currently number about 60,000 people in the Central Florida area.

Disney also announced plans for a luxury resort to be developed on the northeastern side of their sprawling property, in partnership with Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. The land for the expansion will include the current Eagle Pines and Osprey Ridge golf courses (two-eighteen hole courses) that will be replaced with a luxury hotel, one eighteen hole championship golf course, fractional ownership vacation properties, and single and multi-family vacation homes.

Walt Disney World president Meg Crofton says, “…we are thrilled to be able to bring Four Seasons to our resort.” Kathleen Taylor, president and chief operating officer of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts says, “the resort will have all the ingredients needed to create memorable vacations: gracious and caring staff; beautiful surroundings that are thoughtfully designed; and services and amenities that make every experience one to cherish.”

Recently I mentioned the World Travel Trends Report 2006/07, which revealed that today’s traveler has fewer vacation days, but demands higher standards of luxury and service. When Disney adds a 5-star Four Seasons Hotel to their Orlando family vacation destination, you can assume they are also aware of this trending toward upscale accommodations.

Before you buy vacation property, learn the facts.

According to statistics recently released by the National Association of Realtors, four out of every ten homes sold are purchased either as investment properties or as a second home. As today’s baby boomer generation enters their peak income earning years, as well as comes into inherited money from previous generations, this trend is expected to escalate.

The vacation home market it thriving and with it comes new options for ownership beyond the traditional cabin in the woods or condo on the beach. Fractionals and private residence clubs are choices for people looking to buy deeded property to use on a part time basis. Destination clubs are another option in which owners do not acquire a deed to a specific property but instead gain the right to use a portfolio of homes.

Condo hotels or condotels are actual operating hotel properties that offer some or all of their suites for sale to individuals. While the hotel units may be privately owned, the condo hotel management assumes responsibility for running the hotel and providing contracted management of the units to be rented like regular hotel rooms. Owners can schedule the units at any time for their personal use.

And of course, there are timeshares and vacation club memberships which offer a variety of products from deeded ownerships, to right-to-use, to points-based programs. Timeshares enable you to buy vacation property yet pay for only the days and nights you actually schedule to use. While new timeshare in 2005 sold for an average price of more than $17,000 per week or interval, resale timeshare is available at much lower prices. If you are among the many people who are looking for vacation ownership, ARDA, the American Resort Development Association, has developed the following questionnaire to help you decide which option is best for your lifestyle and your budget:

1. How much time will we be using the vacation home?
2. Is the destination choice difficult to purchase in, or seem over-valued due to location popularity?
3. Are we looking at this second home as an investment and/or family legacy, or perhaps primarily as an annual ‘go to’ vacation spot?
4. How much time and money are we willing to invest in home maintenance or decor?
5. Is it important to be in the same vacation home every time we visit the area, or do we prefer variety?
6. What level of luxury are we seeking, and are we realistically able to achieve it in a second home?
7. Is it important for the vacation home to be deeded?
8. What is our annual vacation budget?

Here’s one more important addition to the list: Before you buy any vacation property, visit www.sellmytimesharenow.com and look into your opportunity to buy resale timeshare at excellent prices.

Gatlinburg, Tennessee is seeking to curb overly enthusiastic timeshare sellers.

“Thank you, I’ve already been asked,” is the badge some tourists will be sporting when they visit the Smokey Mountain resort city of Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

Vickie Simms, executive director of the city’s chamber of commerce, told The Mountain Press that they were receiving too many complaints about the “repetitiveness and behavior” of timeshare sales people soliciting on the streets. The chamber’s intention is not to discourage those who are interested in viewing timeshares and attending timeshare sales presentations. However, they do want to offer visitors the choice to request the sticker and hopefully be spared repeated overtures by the OPC’s—the off-premise contacts (or off property contacts) who represent timeshare sales. Simms was quoted as saying, “As the tourism industry is the lifeline of the business community, it is the chamber’s goal to provide our visitors with the most gratifying and memorable experience possible.”

You can also shop for Smokey Mountain timeshare resales and timeshare rentals at www.sellmytimesharenow.com. You will by-pass all the eager OPC’s who want to sign you up for presentations you don’t really want to sit through. Instead, you can browse the inventory of right-priced vacation ownership properties on your own schedule and without any heavy-handed sales pitches trying to sell you something that is not right for you.