Florida Timeshare

Perhaps the only thing that could make owning a Bluegreen Vacations timeshare even better would be if it came with no timeshare maintenance fees. For 11 lucky Bluegreen timeshare owners, that is exactly the deal.

Bluegreen Corporation (Bluegreen Vacations Timeshare) has announced the winners of its Encore Sweeps Contest. Grand Prize Winners, George and Mary Whelchel, of Liberty, SC, won ten years of paid timeshare maintenance fees. Eight other first-prize winners received one year of paid maintenance fees, and two second-prize winners received a 3-night stay in Bluegreen’s The Fountains Presidential Suite in Orlando, FL.

The inspiration for the timeshare contest is Bluegreen’s Encore Program, which awards owners who refer qualified friends and family to attend a Bluegreen timeshare sales presentation. These Bluegreen Vacations timeshare owners are always rewarded with Encore Dividends™ that they use as currency for various Bluegreen vacation products, however, during the contest, they also received an entry for each referral they made.

Because of the contest, more than 6300 prospective Bluegreen Vacations timeshare buyers have attended these sales presentations during the contest period. Winner Mary Whelchel says, “We enjoy going to the resorts. We’ve been extremely satisfied owners. The maintenance fees have increased over the years, as to be expected, so this prize really helps us a lot.”

SellMyTimeshareNOW.com, along with Timeshare Closing Services, and all the Vacation Ownership companies, join the American Resort Development Association (ARDA) and the ARDA Resort Owners’ Coalition (ARDA-ROC) in commending the actions of Florida Governor Rick Scott and the Florida Legislature. With Governor Scott’s signature, House Bill 7025 becomes law, effecting a new level of consumer protection for timeshare owners transferring the title (their ownership) of their timeshare points or interval.

Florida House Bill 7025 also should establish an additional level of help for homeowners’ associations (HOAs) in that it will further reduce the time and cost of timeshare lien foreclosure process. The amendments in HB7025 go into effect on July 1, 2013.

Howard Nusbaum, president and CEO of ARDA, says, “This legislation gives consumers more power in the transfer process. This legislation demonstrates a continuing commitment to make the timeshare transfer process more efficient for consumers and the industry. We would like to thank all of those who assisted the process, including Timeshare Closing Services, who provided valuable insight into the resale and transfer process.”

Conversations between Howard Nusbaum; Jason Gamel, ARDA’s Vice President of State Government Affairs; Scott Roberts, CEO of Vacation Innovations, and me, were much appreciated and hopefully lay important groundwork for inspiring changes in the way the timeshare industry works with timeshare resales companies and the manifest need of owners to sell timeshares.

Ken McKelvey, chairman of ARDA-ROC, adds, “With this enactment of reasonable regulation of transfer companies in Florida, timeshare owners and associations will now have additional security in the transfer process. Owners will also be able to get information about their timeshares that will assist them in selling or renting them.  Also, this bill fine-tunes the foreclosure process and streamlines the election process for members of the HOA boards of directors.”

When you take your Orlando timeshare vacation this summer, you’ll have an easy opportunity to share in a special way, perhaps even saving a life. The Central Florida Hotel and Lodging Association, in partnership with Wyndham Resorts is sponsoring the CFHLA Summer Challenge for blood donations.

Stepping up to Co-Chair the Summer Hospitality drive are Wyndham Lake Buena Vista Resort General Manager Jay Leonard and his daughter Karli. Karli, a young cancer survivor, and a patient whose recovery depended upon blood donations, says it makes her feel good to see all the people who are donating and saving lives. Karli explains, “Without blood, I wouldn’t be here right now. One pint saves three lives, and that’s three lives that need blood.”

Orlando timeshare and hotel guests, area residents, and members of the Central Florida hospitality community (those people who make your Orlando timeshare vacation or hotel stay fun and relaxing) are urged to step up, take the challenge and donate blood toward a goal of 5,000 units that are critically needed. To make it even easier for you to give, the “Big Red Bus” for blood donations will be making stops at many of the region’s hotel and tourist areas.

Some of the locations where you can find the Big Red Bus include: Hilton Orlando Convention Center and Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress (June 18); Disney Maingate annd Hilton Grand Vacations (June 19); Universal Orlando HR Gate, Universal Orlando various locations (June 26-29); the Gaylord Palms (June 19); Disney Vista Way, Downtown Disney, and Disney Epcot (June 20); and Disney’s Saratoga Springs, Disney’s Coronado Springs and Disney’s Magic Kingdom (June 27).

For more information on how and when you can donate, follow this link to One Blood(Florida Blood Services) or contact them at any of the following locations:

• 10100 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St. N. St. Petersburg, Florida 33716 (727)568-5433
• 1731 Riggins Road   Tallahassee, Florida 32308  (850)877-7181
• 8669 Commodity Circle  Orlando, Florida 32819  (407)248-5000
• 1700 N. State Road 7  Lauderhill,Florida 33313  954)735-9600

Last week Orange Lake Resorts, home to the Holiday Inn Club Vacations^®brand, announced changes and new appointments to its executive leadership team. The timeshare and vacation ownership company has been in a growth mode in recent years, seeing expansion in its resorts, revenues, and brand recognition. The reorganization of the company’s executive leadership will support and enhance the growth and momentum that has come to be identified with Orange Lake Resorts.

Tom Nelson has been announced as the new president and chief operating officer, effective immediately of Orange Lakes Resort. He will continue leading Orange Lake Resorts’ financial and technology areas and will now oversee the resort operations, club operations and human resources divisions. Nelson has been with the company since 2003, most recently serving in the role of executive vice president and chief financial officer. He was the top winner in the CFO category for the 2012 Orlando Business Journal’s  C-Level Awards.

Sonya Dixon has been announced as the new chief financial officer of Orange Lake Resorts, effective July 1, 2013. She has served as the principal partner with Orange Lake Resorts’ financial auditor, Grant Thornton, for 13 years. With more than 17 years experience in public accounting, most recently in the role of assistant audit practice leader, Florida, for Grant Thornton and prior to that with Arthur Andersen. Dixon’s experience includes partnering with major companies within the timeshare industry to provide large-scale auditing services.

Don Harrill will continue to serve in the role of chief executive officer, providing leadership to the legal and product development, sales and marketing and corporate communications and brand services divisions.

Harill says, “It’s an exciting time to work for Orange Lake Resorts. Right now, we’re positioning ourselves for future growth and opportunities. I’m pleased that we can nurture the talent within our organization and also with a long-time external partner to support this momentum. The changes we are making in our executive leadership team will provide laser focus on our people, products and services to create an even better company to work for and even greater owner and guest vacation experiences.”

For more information on career opportunities with Holiday Inn Club Vacations resorts, visit the Orange Lake Resorts page on LinkedIn.

To learn more about vacation ownership resales at Orange Lake Resorts visit