RCI Timeshare

A free webinar promises a new look at the up-and-coming fractional industry.

NorthCourse Leisure Real Estate Solutions is a division of the RCI Global Vacation Network, that specializes in providing advisory services, research, and asset management to the leisure real estate industry. Their clients include ARDA, Walt Disney, Shell Vacation Ownership, Vistana, the Marriott Corporation, Hilton Timeshares and Hotels, the Hard Rock Café, Hyatt Timeshare, Fairfield Resort Timeshare and Trendwest Timeshare Resorts, to name only a few. On February 27, 2007 NorthCourse will host the seventh annual Fractional Interest Symposium as a free webinar.

Although this online symposium is directed primarily toward persons already in, or contemplating entering the fractional industry, many consumers will be interested in this discussion of the vacation ownership industry. The seminar is free, however, participants must pre-register and receive approval in order to listen to the 90-minute session.

Topics of discussion will include a general look at the latest industry facts and trends, including the findings from the 8th Annual Fractional Interest Report, which documents that the fractional industry in North America increased by 32 percent between 2005 and 2006. Other topics will look at opportunities for growth in the fractional market in the Middle East, Europe, China, and Australia.

Kevin Wallace, chief executive officer of NorthCourse Advisory Services, says, “Our latest research indicates that the fractional ownership industry is growing by leaps and bounds.”

If you are interested in learning more about one of the fastest growing aspects of timesharing, the fractional market, you may want to visit the NorthCourse website.

Research compiled during a timeshare symposium conducted by RCI Middle East will greatly benefit timeshare developers in that region. As a current timeshare owner, or someone who is interested in buying a timeshare, you can also use this research to help you identify hot markets and desirable locations for timeshare exchange.

The Pan Arab Research Centre interviewed one thousand high-income citizens of Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras Al Kaimah, Oman, Jordan, MacKay Qatar, Egypt, Madinah and Lebanon in order to understand the travel preferences and timeshare vacation interests of the Middle Eastern family on holiday.

The results of the study, released last spring by RCI Global Vacation Network and industry consultant Ragatz Associates, reveals the following trends:

• All of the one thousand participants said they travel regularly.
• When traveling, shopping ranked as the number one activity. Food and dining options are also important, as many Middle Eastern travelers look for Halal certified food sources (food permissible according to Islamic law).
• Travel is a group experience, including the fact that 46 percent of vacationers from the United Arab Emirates take their parents with them when they travel and 40 percent of Saudi Arabians take their household staff.
• Currently Dubai and the United Arab Emirates are the most popular destinations for a timeshare vacation.
• Interval timeshare ownership can be structured to be compatible with the Muslim concept of “Sukok” through a timeshare bond that conforms to Islamic laws and Muslim principles. As the managing director for RCI Middle East, Vivienne Noyes-Thomas explains, “Sukok gives Muslims complete confidence… that what they’re buying into is safe and acceptable. The new Le Meridien Towers, an RCI affiliate, and the ZamZam Towers projects are positioning their marketing around this concept.”

Most of the interviewees expressed an interest in vacationing close to home or within “the kingdom” although Orlando, Marbella and London are also popular destinations among this group of travelers.

Over 30,000 residents in the Middle East currently own interval timeshare or fractionals. Non-owners within the surveyed group expressed interest in fractional ownership or purchasing a timeshare vacation property. Many are particularly interested in owning interval timeshare in the Islamic centers of Makkah and Madinah, both popular destinations for Muslim pilgrims.

The historic golfing tradition of the Greater Greensboro Open — a professional tournament that has been in place nearly 70 years — has officially become the Wyndham Championship, effective with the 2007 playing season.

According to Stephen P. Holmes, chairman, president and CEO of Wyndham Worldwide, as quoted in the Greensboro News-Record (www.news-record.com), Wyndham is excited about the sponsorship because many of the people who buy a Fairfield resort timeshare or a Trendwest timeshare (both part of the Wyndham Worldwide brand) are from the Greensboro and Raleigh Durham area of North Carolina. As Holmes explained, “this is a large market for our customers.”

Wyndham Vacation Ownership, as a timeshare company, is the world’s largest vacation ownership business. Through their two primary timeshare company brands, Fairfield Resort timeshare and Trendwest Timeshare, Wyndham Worldwide has developed or acquired more than 140 vacation ownership or timeshare promotion properties with over 18,000 individual timeshare condo units.

The Wyndham Worldwide brand includes Wyndham Vacation Ownership, a timeshare company involved in timeshare promotion for Fairfield Resort Timeshare and Trendwest Timeshare. It also includes the Wyndham Hotel Group and the RCI Global Vacation Network Group. The RCI Global Vacation Network is the world’s largest timeshare condo exchange network and is one of the world’s largest global marketers of vacation properties for rental or timeshare promotion.

The 2007 Wyndham Championship will be part of the PGA Tour’s Fed-Ex Cup schedule, which is itself a new departure for US professional golf. While all of the fine points have yet to be established, the Fed-Ex Cup is patterned loosely after NASCAR’s Nextel Cup, which allows the top 10 drivers to compete for the cup in a 10-race series. Until this year, a PGA Tour member’s status to play the following year was determined almost entirely upon dollars won in each tournament played.

Special terms apply when canceling bonus timeshare

Earlier this week I mentioned the incredible values offered by RCI through bonus time. The same types of great timeshare deals can be had from Interval International, and in many cases, through your resort itself. Timeshare bonus time represents some of the best-priced vacation opportunities available on any terms and with timeshare vacation pricing this good, you can’t complain about the cancellation fees. You do, however, need to realize that cancellation penalties exist and that the rules are different for changing last minute timeshare (bonus time) than they are for changing your regular timeshare weeks or points.

As an example, look at the cancellation policies for Resort Condominium International. RCI’s current policy is: cancel within 24 hours of confirming the reservation and as long as the start date of the reservation is fifteen days or more in the future, you receive a full refund on your payment. You receive 50 percent refund if you cancel between 15 and 60 days of your start date and 70 percent refund if you cancel 61 days or more before the first day of your confirmed start date. However, if you cancel after 24 hours of making your timeshare reservation, and it is within two weeks of your scheduled reservation start date, you receive zero refund.

Know the policy before you buy and then take advantage of incredible vacation pricing as often as you can.