Condo Resales

Pick an Ocean City, Maryland timeshare and you could be amazed by how much there is to enjoy in the beautiful state of Maryland. For example, did you know that the state of Maryland has a public park that is accessible only by water? St. Clements Island State Park is a 40-acre park that memorializes the spot where the British sailing ships, The Ark and the Dove, dropped anchor in 1634, and whose passengers became, essentially, the first residents of the state of Maryland.

A 26-passenger boat, the Water Taxi II, is US Coast Guard certified for touring and available for boat tours to and from the historic St. Clements Island State Park every weekend from June through September. The water taxi departs from the St. Clement’s Island-Potomac River Museum on a regular schedule throughout the day.

But St. Clements Island State Park is only one of the many unique experiences you and your family can enjoy during a Maryland timeshare resale or Maryland timeshare rental vacation.

Every summer, Maryland hosts wonderful seafood festivals along its shores, with many still ahead for the Summer of 2011. Seafood lovers may want to look into: the Annapolis Crab Feast (August 5, 2011); the Havre de Grace Seafood Festival (August 12 – 14, 2011); the Seafood Feast-I-Val (August 13, 2011; the Chesapeake Crab & Beer Festival (August 20, 2011 at the Waterfront at National Harbor) and the Maryland Seafood Festival (September 10-11, 2011 in Annapolis) to name only a few.

For activities that may take you away from the Maryland shoreline look for hubs of culture and creativity in Maryland that will be identified to you by the designation: “Arts & Entertainment Districts.” In these charming locations, expect to find outstanding art, theater, art, dining and shopping. Click here to find a complete list of officially recognized Maryland Arts & Entertainment Districts

 Vacation in an Ocean City, Maryland Timeshare

Maryland is a unique state for planning a timeshare vacation. Many Maryland timeshares can be found in the seaside resort town of Ocean City. Bordered on three sides by water, Ocean City timeshares are ideal for a classic beach vacation experience with plenty of water sports and boardwalk activities.

But Maryland offers a range of terrain and environments, and with that, a great variety in the types of vacations you can plan there. Whether you choose an Ocean City timeshare resale, or you vacation in the Appalachian Mountains, or anywhere in between from charming small towns to historic venues, Maryland is great (and sometimes overlooked ) place for planning a family vacation or a weekend getaway.

According to a feature article this week in the Summit Daily News, business is simply “booming” for Breckenridge Grand Vacations timeshares in Breckenridge, Colorado.

Breckenridge Grand Vacations chief financial officer Nick Doran, observes, “We are encouraged by the continued growth in our owner base, and we believe our product fits the needs of our clients who want deeded ski-in, ski-out ownership without paying millions of dollars for it.”

Timeshare Sales in a Slow Economy

Even in a vacation destination as desirable as Breckenridge, Colorado, condo sales have lagged and sales of new timeshares at many resorts have dipped over the past two years. Yet from 2009 to 2010, Breckenridge Grand Vacations saw an 8 percent increase in gross sales.

Of the three timeshare resorts the company operates in Breckenridge: Grand Timber Lodge, Grand Lodge on Peak 7, and Gold Point Condo, the newest is the Grand Lodge on Peak 7. There are approximately 3500 timeshare owners of the new property, even though construction on the project’s south building will not be completed until December, and on the north building, will not finish until Spring of 2011. In all, there are over 17,000 timeshare owner/members at Breckenridge Grand Vacations.

Breckenridge Grand Vacations was formed from Gold Point Lodging & Realty, Inc., which managed Gold Point Condo, and later Grand Timber Lodge, for 25 years. Brothers Mike and Rob Millisor own the company.

Sell My Timeshare NOW is the only Authorized Reseller for Breckenridge Grand Vacations.

More information about Breckenridge Grand Vacation timeshares on The Timeshare Authority Blog:

• Breckenridge Grand Vacations Timeshare Receives $10MM in Funding
• Timeshare Sales Good News for Grand Lodge Timeshares in Breckenridge, CO
• Grand Timber Lodge Timeshare Resort

Many will be surprised to learn that in an assessment recently released by an expert for the Gerson Lehman Group, the future of timeshares appears bright. Despite bankruptcies by Celebrity and Island One, most timeshare companies have been able to effectively cut costs, reduce payrolls, and sell more efficiently—taking much the same approach to living leaner that many individuals worldwide have used with their personal finances.

And for the timeshare industry, this belt tightening appears to be paying off. According to the GLG report, 12 to15 percent growth is a viable forecast for the timeshare industry over the next twelve months. While money for new timeshare construction may still be tight, the natural balance that so often comes to play in the economic world is evening things out, providing a ready-made inventory for timeshare expansion.

As residential and vacation condo development has become more available to acquire, (in the form of ‘failed condo projects,’) timeshare companies have been able to step in and creatively ‘shop’ for desirable properties in all stages of development—often at very attractive prices. On top of the developer’s capability to ‘bailout’ other construction projects, timeshare ownership itself has proven to be a much-needed stabilizer to the tourism industry. The author explains it, saying:

“One interesting point about this two-year dip in the economy, while many people postponed or shortened vacations, for the most part, they didn’t stop taking vacations. Those who owned their timeshare already, were able to use their previous purchase to minimize their vacation costs in this poor economy. Owning timeshare in this economy has been an advantage for many people.”

Ironic, isn’t it, that although the mainstream mindset is often critical of timeshares and timeshare ownership, in the end, the need for timeshare developers to expand to new properties and the stability of timeshare owners to continue to vacation, is proving to be an important contributor to the restoration of our economy.

In Tuesday’s The Timeshare Authority blog, (Where Timeshare Sales Lead the Real Estate Market) we looked at the strong timeshare sales numbers from The Village at Steamboat, a Colorado timeshare condo being sold under the brands WorldMark by Wyndham and Wyndham Vacation Resorts. Wyndham timeshare has sold more than 650 Village at Steamboat timeshare units so far in 2010—and that’s robust timeshare sales performance, especially in view of the current economy.

So what makes these timeshares so popular?

1. Brand loyalty matters. Many consumers have a high comfort level when buying the Wyndham brand either as new timeshare or as a Wyndham timeshare resale. If they know and like Wyndham’s hotel properties then they expect to enjoy a Wyndham timeshare. World¬Mark by Wyndham Vice President of Sales Mountain Region Ray Mason indicates that Wyndham is very aware of the power of brand loyalty, and describes Wyndham timeshare properties as being “more appealing” than they were 10 years ago.
2. Location…location…location! Consumers might be able to afford a privately owned lakeside condo or cabin in many locations. But purchasing private property (sole ownership) of a vacation home just near the ski slopes at Steamboat Springs or any other popular ski resort is out of the question for many consumers. Even very wealthy individuals find the price points on such resort property (if it even becomes available to buy) is just too high to afford. If they are going to have vacation ownership at a destination this pricey, they have to buy timeshare or a fractional in order to afford it.

   Rich Folk, executive vice president of sales and marketing for WorldMark by Wyndham, describes Steamboat by saying, “People can’t go there and pay less (to vacation) than they can with us.”

3. And again, location… location… location. Many of the timeshare sales at The Village at Steamboat have been initiated at Wyndham locations other the Steamboat property. Yet the simple fact that the resort has a primo property location where there is a high volume of visitors who are skiers, take ski vacations, and presently have the money to already be vacationing in Steamboat Springs—well, that’s clearly exposure to your target market.
4. Attention to customer service pays off. According to Folk, Wyndham timeshare management prepared for the recessionary economy by focusing its marking efforts on an affluent consumer—people whom they believed who have discretionary income to buy timeshare, even during tough times. To go with this approach, The Village at Steamboat ramped up its attention level on all the little details that make a big difference in the appeal and desirability of a timeshare resort, such as touching up the paint in each timeshare unit after every vacation usage.

Four simple details that add up to a big success story for Wyndham timeshare and The Villages at Steamboat.