The word “branding” used to conjure up visions of a cattle drive and a sizzling imprint stamped on bovine buttocks. But somewhere along the way, the business concept of a company’s “brand” or market image evolved from a noun to a verb, and “branding” became an industry buzzword for the process of spreading one’s corporate image to other goods or services.

Many experts today say that the hospitality industry changed when major hotel brands got into the business of selling vacation ownership and interval timeshare. It is true that big names including Hilton timeshare, Hyatt timeshare, Disney timeshare, along with Marriott, Four Seasons, Starwood and others have had an enormous impact on the timeshare industry as a whole.

The presence of these cornerstone hoteliers made the idea of owning interval timeshare more familiar and more comfortable to many consumers. When big names aggressively entered the timeshare business, a struggling or less reputable timeshare company was certain to be forced out of it. And there is no disputing that a company as large and powerful as Disney timeshare or Marriott timeshare has strong lobbying power on matters of regulating and improving timeshare ownership across the board. But when it truly comes to buying a timeshare vacation property to use and enjoy, remember that there are as many opportunities to buy a fabulous resale timeshare from a company whose name you may not know as there to are to purchase a timeshare owned and branded by a famous hotelier.

Consider the timeshare company known as Bluegreen timeshare. Bluegreen is a leader in developing quality timeshare resorts and vacation ownership properties, yet their name is not necessarily a household word. As a corporation, Bluegreen is a respected builder of residential communities, along with fabulous timeshare condos and timeshare vacation resorts. Yet, many buyers new to timesharing, may not know Bluegreen’s name or realize that this successful company has sold over 54,000 residential and golf community homes in 32 states and is on Forbes’ list of “The 200 Best Small Companies” and FORTUNE’S list of “America’s 100 Fastest Growing Companies”.

Brand loyalty is wonderful. Brand loyalty often allows you to trade perks from one aspect of a company’s services to another, such as loyalty points awarded for hotel stays that can also be used at a timeshare condo. And, if you enjoy one particular hotel chain more than you do others, then automatically booking with that chain takes the guesswork out of travel planning. But when you shop for a timeshare vacation property, whether new or resale, it is a good idea to consider both brand names you know AND those names with which you might not be familiar.

Whether or not you go with a hotel branded timeshare, now is a good time to buy. There are excellent deals available in all types of timeshares and vacation clubs.

I recently wrote about the new Starwood timeshare vacation property at Desert Willow, scheduled for development under the Westin brand in late 2007 or early 2008. I want to share a few enlightening facts about California’s Coachella Valley, the fastest growing area in all of Southern California.

And while I am not prognosticating or recommending that anyone plan a timeshare deal based solely on this information, I think you will find these statistics very interesting. Knowing the next “hot spot” destination can prove to be valuable insight for anyone looking to buy or sell a timeshare condo.

The Coachella Valley is a geographic area that extends roughly 45 miles from Palm Springs to the Salton Sea. Nine cities are located inside this target area: Rancho Mirage, Palm Springs, Cathedral City, Coachella, Indian Wells, Indio, Desert Hot Springs, La Quinta and Palm Desert. There are over 100 great golf courses located here, included the world famous courses at Mission Hills, La Quinta, PGA West, Indian Wells and Tamarisk, to name only a few. And according to research developed by the Global Hospitality Group, the population of the Coachella Valley increased by 59 percent between the years 1990 and 2004.

So what is attracting the influx of both new residents and vacationers to this area?

Surprisingly, despite the number of luxury homes and magnificent resorts, the cost of living in the Coachella Valley beats that of Los Angeles, San Diego or greater Orange County. And the Coachella Valley still represents the desert playground of old-time movie glam stars like Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby. While all this fast growth and projected development will gobble up nearly 200,000 acres of undeveloped land in the valley, the good news is that despite such expansion, there will still be roughly a million acres of vast, awesome, spectacularly unique undeveloped desert land.

The Illinois Securities Department says they are acting on a complaint filed by Unite Here Local 1, the labor union that represents some Chicago hotel workers.

According to an article recently published online by Chicago Business (www.chicagobusiness.com), Tanya Solov, a spokesperson for the state regulatory agency, says, “We’ve looked at a number of these offerings…we haven’t taken any action, but we do have open inquiries.”

Solov’s comments referred specifically to the Shangri-La Hotel, owned by Teng & Associates, a major Chicago-based developer. The union alleges that the development company gave printed marketing materials that include monthly rental income projections for the condotel rooms to potential buyers of the condotel units.

Condo-hotels or condotels are a fast-growing concept in vacation ownership. They allow individuals to purchase a hotel room or suite, often bought during the pre-development phase. The unit is then available to the individual owner for their personal vacation and travel use, but can also be rented through the hotel in the same way hotel guests would rent any other room or suite.

Because the individual owner stands to receive roughly 40 to 50 percent of the room rental revenue, many purchasers of condotel units buy hoping to see a financial return for their expenditure. And while such prospects look good, the individual owner is also responsible for all on-going maintenance, taxes and other costs associated with home ownership.

The Securities and Exchange Commission views the sale of condotel units the same way as they view the sale of timeshare vacation units. Because these types of sales do not comply with the state and federal registration and disclosure requirements governing the sale of securities, no seller can legally represent them as a purchase to be made for investment potential.

Buy timeshare vacation property and condotel units as an “investment” in a lifetime of luxury vacations and a lifestyle committed to regular relaxation and rest. Invest in yourself and your own well-being. And as over-worked as many of us feel these days, that type of “investment” just might turn out to be far more valuable than any other you will ever make.

Starwood Vacation Ownership, a Florida timeshare company, has announced plans to build a multi-million dollar timeshare project in Palm Desert, California.

Starwood Vacation Ownership timeshares (a division of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.) has purchased 28-plus acres of land from the Intrawest Company. Intrawest is a Canadian-based vacation ownership club, (a timeshare company) and already owns the 88-unit Club Intrawest timeshare condos at Palm Desert’s renowned Desert Willow Golf Course.

At the time the property was acquired in June 2006, Intrawest had requested and received government approval to develop 215 timeshare units there. Starwood timeshare seeks to increase the number of units to approximately 300, but must first obtain approval from the Palm Desert Architectural Review Committee, who will look at the issue of density as well as the aesthetic elements of the timeshare company’s overall plan.

Construction for the project is scheduled to begin in 2007 or early 2008. All timelines are tentative, based on obtaining the necessary permits and approvals. The proposed Desert Willow timeshare project will be Starwood Vacation Ownership’s second timeshare condo property in the Coachella Valley. It is part of the plan announced this past July by Starwood Resorts Worldwide to continue development and construction on projects throughout the US, Mexico and the Caribbean.

Raymond L. “Rip” Gellein, Jr., chief executive officer of Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc. says, “Starwood Vacation Ownership continues its robust growth under our Sheraton, Westin, and St. Regis brands, driving our aggressive expansion plans in new and existing domestic and international markets.”

The Desert Willow timeshare promotion will be branded as a Westin vacation ownership resort.