timeshare news

Are you leaving yourself open to “vacation hacking” during your timeshare vacation and summer travel? Many people are, and they don’t even realize it’s happening.

As you head off to your favorite timeshare resort or other vacation destination, it can be handy to take along your laptop or smartphone. You can keep up with your business and personal emails and your online accounts, but in order to surf safe, you must be selective about where you do it.

A recent FOX News investigation found that travelers and vacationers place themselves at extreme risk for cyberhacking when they fail to use the same levels of internet security they have learned to use on their home computers. Many of the Wi-Fi networks in airports are simply not extremely secure. FOX News studied wireless security in 27 airports, 20 of which were in the US, 2 in Europe, and 5 in Asia. They found that 80 percent of the private Wi-Fi networks in airports surveyed were using Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP), a protocol that was hacked over 8 years ago. Even the most inexperienced web hackers may be able to get past WEP.

Other times, the point of exposure is not the airport’s Wi-Fi, but private, peer-to-peer networks that are not official hotspots and are run off someone else’s computer. Cybercriminals understand and exploit this vulnerability among travelers so frequently that the term, “vacation hacking” has been coined to describe the problem. Fake Wi-Fi hotspots abound and the bad guys are just waiting for you to log on, and check your bank balance, pay your Visa card, or buy stocks.

Quoting Symantec, the makers of numerous online security products, the FOX News report offered several suggestions for staying cyber secure when you travel, including this one, that may be the single most important of them all: “Always assume Wi-Fi connections are being eavesdropped on. Never enter sensitive data—Social Security numbers, bank account information, etc—when browsing the Web via a Wi-Fi network.“

Your timeshare vacation should be a time to get away from work and hassles, but don’t let it be a vacation from commonsense practices about internet use. Ask your timeshare about their own security protocol, and as you travel from your home to your timeshare destination, exercise extreme caution about where and how you use the internet.

Last week, rumors turned to fact when Consolidated Resorts filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy through the courts in Nevada. And when something like this happens, everyone feels a little concerned about what the future holds—whether you are employed by the industry, you own timeshares, or you are a vendor who serves timeshare resorts and timeshare owners. But as the Wall Street Journal pointed out this week, “So far this year, Consolidated is the only time-share developer to have said it will file for bankruptcy protection.“

Despite some cutbacks, layoffs, and the assorted challenges that the industry faces, timeshare resorts across the US and around the world are still providing timeshare owners and timeshare renters with quality vacation experiences. And when you consider that the timeshare industry has been hit from more different directions than most by the complexities of the weak economy and poor credit market, the very fact that only Consolidated has been forced to make this move says a lot about the strength and solidity already in place.

In quotes that appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Steve Holmes, Wyndham timeshare‘s chairman and chief executive, says he anticipates the securitization market eventually will loosen a bit for time-share deals. “I’m not calling for a return to the kind of liquidity that existed 18 months or two years ago, but I think, over time, there will be a middle ground that’s found.”

Las Vegas Timeshare Was Expanding

What’s especially sad for Consolidated Resorts is that they were expanding one of their three Las Vegas timeshare properties, the Tahiti Village on Las Vegas Boulevard at Interstate 215. The property has 860 timeshare units but room for expansion, space the other two Las Vegas locations, the Tahiti and Club de Soleil did not offer. Completion of the expansion would have given the company more timeshare to sell, something it needed greatly as its existing inventory was low.

The bottom line is that none of us knows exactly what the bottom line will be in this economy. But timeshare companies, developers, and timeshare resales companies are stepping up their efforts, and scrutinizing how they can improve their product, their services, and their business models. Some of the details may change, but your opportunity to enjoy vacation ownership through timeshares and timeshare resales, remains.

Are you concerned about vacationing in a Florida timeshare, Mexico timeshares, or other coastal destinations during hurricane season?

With a nod to the fact that it is officially hurricane season, NOAA’s National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center, says the US can expect a, “50 percent probability of a near-normal season. … Forecasters say there is a 70 percent chance of having nine to 14 named storms, of which four to seven could become hurricanes, including one to three major hurricanes (Category 3, 4 or 5).”

Researchers at North Carolina State University echo a similar thought stating, “2009 will bring a near-normal hurricane season, with storm activity in the Atlantic basin and the Gulf of Mexico slightly above the averages of past 50 years, but staying in line with those from the past 20 years (and) … 11 to 14 named storms forming in the Atlantic basin, which includes the entire Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. …the researchers expect two to four named storms to make landfall along the Gulf, and there is a 70 percent chance that at least one of those storms will be of hurricane status.”

Okay, that’s the weather report. And while the prediction is for a ‘near normal‘ hurricane season, one could ask, “what’s so normal about a hurricane?” So if the threat of inclement weather interfering with your timeshare vacation concerns you, there are ways to create a safety net.

Peace of Mind for Your Timeshare Vacation in Florida Timeshare, Mexico Timeshare and other Beach Locations

The good news is that hurricanes rarely sneak up on you. With the meteorological and technological advancements available today, forecasters do an excellent job of letting you know in advance when a hurricane could be a potential threat. If you pay attention to the forecasts given, and follow the advice of the authorities, you should always have adequate time to evacuate an area well in advance of a storm.

But abandoning a much-anticipated Florida timeshare or Mexico timeshare vacation isn’t a fun prospect. Your lost time, lost money, and lost vacation can’t be put back together again.

… This is where travel insurance comes into play.

Sell My Timeshare NOW does not sell, or have any affiliation with timeshare travel insurance products. But, we are passing on the word that these products are out there, that there are many types of travel insurance and a few, such as Nationwide’s Vacation Guard, that offer insurance specifically designed to meet the needs of timeshare owners and timeshare vacationers.

Because your timeshare vacation should be about peace of mind.

As the talented pros and amateurs take to the golf course this week at the 64th US Open, we will watch veterans of ladies’ professional golf along with some rising young stars, battle it out at Saucon Valley Country Club, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

The amateur’s field is young and extremely talented, including 13-year-old Yueer Feng; 16-year-old Jessica Korda (who last year finished T-19 in this event); and 14-year-old Alexis Thompson, who first qualified for the U.S. Women’s Open, at the age of 12, and has since won the 2008 U.S. Girls’ Junior Golf Championship.

Nearly 30 teenage or young adult golfers have already accomplished something spectacular just to be playing in this field as amateurs, not to mention the young pros Paula Creamer and Morgan Pressel, ages 22 and 21, who have already won 2 Majors and 8 LPGA Tour events between them.

So is your son, daughter, or grandchild, the next Tiger Woods or Annika Sorentam? Even if a pro career isn’t in the future for your offspring, how about a college athletic scholarship or simply the chance to build skills, character, and confidence that will carry him or her through a lifetime?

Timeshare Vacations and Family Golf Outings

Many timeshares resorts are at or near wonderful golf courses. Sometimes, owning timeshare even lets you get on courses where tee times are not available to the public, or affords you discount rates for play or practice. Timeshares and families go together, which makes it ideal that timeshares and golf go together so well, too.

The Welk Resorts timeshare in San Diego currently offers its timeshare owners or timeshare renters complimentary full swing golf clinics on Tuesdays; putting clinics on Wednesdays; and chipping clinics on Thursdays. They provide all the equipment, and you don’t even have to preregister.

Select Marriott Resorts allows children under the age of 15 to play free after 3PM when accompanied by a paying adult. Kids can also receive a free golf lesson when accompanied by an adult who is taking a fully paid golf lesson from a Marriott Golf instructor. (Availability and restrictions may apply.)

And while you will find lots of great deals on rounds of golf and golf instruction at your favorite timeshare resorts, here’s another possibility you may not have considered. How about the sunshine and blue skies of a Naples, Florida vacation with a GreenLinks Golf Resort rental? These luxury condos are located on the fairway, offering one, two and three bedrooms vacation rentals, and access to a Robert Trent Jones, Sr. signature course or Lee Trevino’s Mustang course.

The opportunities for a golf timeshare vacation, or golf condo rental are excellent and sometimes, the very best part, is that they create time for a family to be together, unplugged from their electronics and in-tune with each other.

Past News from The Timeshare Authority on Timeshares and Golf

• The PGA Tour Stops at One of America’s Favorite Timeshare Vacation Destinations
• Golf and Timeshare Go Together on Every Level
• Marriott Timeshare’s Desert Springs Villas I and Villas II are HOT 100 Properties
• Golf Just Got a Little Sweeter for Marriott Timeshare Owners