Orange Lake Country Club

Holiday Inn Club Vacations continues to expand their timeshare resorts and destinations.

Did we tell you Holiday Inn Club Vacations timeshares now includes a ski destination? Not long after Holiday Inn timeshare announced their new resorts in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin; Panama City, Florida; Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; and Gatlinburg, Tennessee (More Timeshare Resort Destinations for Holiday Inn Vacation Club Timeshares) they followed it with the announcement of a ski-in, ski-out resort at the foot of Vermont’s Ascutney Mountain.

“We’re excited to include Ascutney Mountain Resort as the fourth Holiday Inn Club Vacations property as part of our alliance with Orange Lake, with our fifth and sixth resorts joining the brand in April,” Christian Hempell, vice president, Holiday Inn Club Vacations.

While the new Holiday Inn Club Vacations timeshare at Ascutney Mountain Resort is the only timeshare ski resort in the Holiday Inn US portfolio, the resort itself is truly a year-round destination. On site or nearby, the timeshare resort offers indoor and outdoor pools, a fitness center and spa, an arcade, convenience store, a café and a full service restaurant.

Don Harrill, president and CEO of Orange Lake Resorts timeshare, describes the property as a popular drive-to destination for thousands of timeshare owner/members living in the New England area. Clearly the Holiday Inn timeshare company sees a great future in timeshare development as they continue to seek properties in North America and to finalize plans to build a new flagship timeshare resort in Orlando, increasing their Orlando timeshare units by as many as 2500.

As part of the timeshare brand’s portfolio, Holiday Inn Club Vacations timeshare at Ascutney Mountain Resort will be owned and operated by Orange Lake, a privately held company. For an overview of how the Orange Lake Resorts/Holiday Inn timeshare arrangement works, you may want to revisit this past The Timeshare Authority post: Another Major Hotelier Entering the Timeshare Resort Industry.

It has been less than a month since Holiday Inn Club timeshares announced that the Orange Lake timeshare resorts in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin and Panama City, Florida are joining the Orange Lake Resort in Orlando as Holiday Inn Vacation Club branded timeshare resorts. This week, the timeshare company announced two more additions to its timeshare resort portfolio, with the acquisition of new destinations in Myrtle Beach SC, and Gatlinburg, TN.

The two new resorts are the current South Beach Resort in Myrtle Beach and the Crown Park Resort in Gatlinburg. The 256 timeshare unit South Beach Resort will be known by the Holiday Inn Club Vacations brand and the 109 timeshare unit resort in the mountains will be renamed the Smoky Mountain Resort. The acquisition was made by Orange Lake Resorts under their exclusive licensing agreement with IHG to brand the properties as Holiday Inn Club Vacations timeshares.

New Timeshare Resorts in Popular Timeshare Destinations

The South Beach Resort, built in 2003 and located in the popular timeshare vacation location of Myrtle Beach, offers indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a lazy river, fitness center, and best of all – private access to a beautiful section of beach.

The Smoky Mountain Resort was originally a Crown Park Resort. Situated near the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, this resort first opened in 2006; it offers timeshare owners and their guests indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a fitness center, and easy access to many area attractions.

Holiday Inn Club Vacations timeshare assumed management of both timeshare resorts on Feb 13 and expects to begin conversion of the properties by April of this year.

Follow these links to read more about the new Holiday Inn Vacation Club timeshares:

• More Orange Lake Timeshare Resorts Join the Holiday Inn Club Vacations Brand
• Holiday Inn Timeshare Unveils New Orlando Timeshare Resort
• Another Major Hotelier Entering the Timeshare Resort Industry

Orange Lake timeshare resorts in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin and in Panama City, Florida are now officially part of the Holiday Inn Club Vacations Brand Portfolio. Already branded by the new Holiday Inn Club Vacations timeshare is the Orange Lake Resort in Orlando, Florida.

Christian Hempell, vice president, Holiday Inn Club Vacations FL, says, “We’re pleased to offer leisure travelers and their families two more destinations for the ultimate resort vacation experience. Whether they’re looking for a great golf experience, spa treatments, a ski getaway or a sunny beach escape, our guests will find that Holiday Inn Club Vacations provides the comfort and value of Holiday Inn in a full-service resort style environment, and they can now take advantage of two more Holiday Inn destinations to spend their precious leisure time with family.”

Not the Typical Timeshare Deal

The formation of the new Holiday Inn Club Vacations timeshare company was announced last September, uniting IHG hotelier with Orange Lake Resorts, companies that already shared a history and a working relationship. One of the most interesting things about the alliance is that Holiday Inn’s involvement is through a licensing and marketing agreement and involved no capital investment. Orange Lake timeshare continues to own and operate the timeshares while benefiting from the global brand identity of Holiday Inn.

While other timeshare companies are shaking their piggy banks and tightening their belts, this is a noteworthy time for Holiday Inn to be stepping into the timeshare business on any terms. On the other hand, the timing could turn out to be just right.

Holiday Inn is a brand with roots in America’s happier times, when visions of hitting the open road, day tripping, or driving Route 66 with the top down all beckoned. Young baby boomers were loading their family in their Chevy Impala or Ford Galaxy, eager to see America. Holiday Inn was part of their dream, providing accommodations that travelers knew would be safe, clean, and affordable, whether they were visiting the Grand Canyon or simply in route to Grandma’s.

As today’s Americans reassess how they spend their money, they are looking for symbols of those happier, more hopeful days. This recessionary economy is proving to be good business for companies that are perceived to be affordable and to offer predictable standards in their products. McDonalds and Burger King are weathering this depression just fine; and the comfort and familiarity of a name such as Holiday Inn, which has long stood for reasonably priced accommodations, could be exactly what America is looking for.

Do you suppose if Dinah Shore was still singing about Chevrolet, that Detroit would be in better shape today? If you have any appreciation for nostalgia, be sure you play this YouTube video:

The first Holiday Inn timeshare was unveiled on Monday, at the Orange Lake timeshare resort in Orlando, Florida. Through a contract with InterContinental Hotels, Orange Lake Resorts will sell timeshare for the newly created, Holiday Inn Club Vacations.

The new Holiday Inn Club Vacations resort offers 2,412 timeshare villas located near the Walt Disney World vacation complex. The resort includes a water park, four championship golf courses, seven swimming pools, an 80-acre lake for water sports, retail and pro shops, and five restaurants.

In the company’s official press release, Christian Hempell, vice president, Holiday Inn Club Vacations, was quoted as saying, “Guests know and trust Holiday Inn, and we’re excited to offer them the opportunity to experience the brand in a new way through timeshare ownership.”

The Orlando timeshare property is the first of several timeshare resorts planned by Holiday Inn Club Vacations timeshares, including Panama City, FL.; Ascutney, VT.; and Lake Geneva, WI. All are locations where Orange Lake timeshares already had vacation ownership resorts.

Holiday Inn Resorts and Holiday Inn Timeshares in the Future

With other timeshare companies in downsizing mode, it is interesting timing that InterContinental Hotels Group, the owner of the Holiday Inn brand, has chosen now to launch a new timeshare product. Maybe this is a sign of America returning to its roots. Holiday Inn was one of the first and most popular names in “Americana-style” hotel/motels, rising to popularity in the 1950’s and 60’s as American families took to the roads for vacation and travel. Holiday Inn Hotels and Resorts is the most widely recognized lodging brand in the world, with nearly 1,400 hotels worldwide.

In 2007, the company began a $1 billion relaunch of their brand, trying to create a more contemporary image, increase the quality of their resorts, and improve consistency from one Holiday Inn resort to the next. The brand relaunch is expected to be complete by 2010.

Recent The Timeshare Authority blogs on the new Holiday Inn timeshares:

• Another Major Hotelier Entering the Timeshare Resort Industry
• Orange Lake Timeshare Resorts Expanding in Vermont