Timeshare Owners

Hilton Grand Vacations Club (HGVC) has announced the plans for their latest project in Myrtle Beach. With the help of Strand Capital Group, they will build Ocean 22 by Hilton Grand Vacations Club. Strand Capital Group is the leading real estate and resort developer on the coast of South Carolina.

With years of experience developing Myrtle Beach Resorts, including one for Wyndham Vacation Ownership, HGVC is excited to work with Strand Capital Group on this project. This will be Strand’s 15th high-rise tower project and their second project with HGVC.

President of Hilton Grand Vacations, Mark Wang said, “Inspired by the tremendous success of our initial collaborative relationship with Strand Capital Group, Hilton Grand Vacations Club at Anderson Ocean Club, we are proud to introduce a sequel location in Myrtle Beach. We are confident that our ongoing collaboration with Strand will further strengthen our Hilton presence within this thriving region.”

Named for its location, Ocean 22 is located at Myrtle Beach’s North Ocean Boulevard and 22nd Avenue. The proposed dimensions for Ocean 22 will make it the tallest resort in Myrtle Beach. Projected to stand at 240 feet tall, the Ocean 22 will offer 24 floors of luxury timeshare accommodations.

Principal Partner with Strand Capital Group, Patrick Lowe commented, “We are pleased to yet again engage with Hilton Grand Vacations in bringing another first-class timeshare resort to the Myrtle Beach area.”

Construction is already underway on the tower and is expected to be complete in the summer of 2015. A total of 220 timeshare condos will be available for purchase, renting, and exchange. A variety of options will be available to HGVC members including one-, two-, and three-bedroom units. Units will feature either an ocean view or oceanfront balcony.

The resort ground will feature an indoor and outdoor pool, hot tub, fitness center, poolside bar, resort bar, quick service dining options, and a children’s play area. Overlooking the sands of Myrtle Beach, guests will have easy access to the beach through the resort.

Managing Partner of Strand Capital Group, Loyd Daniel shared, “This milestone project is further testament to the remarkable developments made possible only through this unique collaboration and innovative business model.”

For more information on Ocean 22, visit HiltonGrandVacations.com.

Wyndham Worldwide recently announced that Geoff Ballotti would become the new President and CEO of Wyndham Hotel Group. Former CEO Eric Danziger announced this week that he would be stepping down due to personal interests, effective March 28th, 2014.

Geoff Ballotti comes from Wyndham’s timeshare exchange and vacation rental division, where he served as president and CEO.

Chairman and CEO Wyndham Worldwide, Stephen P. Holmes said,

“During the past five years, and through some very challenging global economic conditions, Eric provided leadership that strengthened Wyndham Hotel Group’s service to its franchisees, expanded its hotel management offerings, and significantly grew its global footprint. As a well-respected hotel industry veteran, Eric brought real passion for hospitality to Wyndham, and leaves our hotel division set on a strong course for the future. We thank him for his leadership, congratulate him on his legacy within our industry, and wish him all the best in the future.”

Ballotti became the president and CEO of Wyndham Exchange & Rentals in 2008. Here he managed a portfolio of more than 107,000 resorts in over 100 countries worldwide.

“Geoff brings a unique perspective that combines his extensive experience building and growing storied hotel brands, as well as his proven track record of leveraging synergies among diverse hospitality segments and businesses throughout the world and at Wyndham Worldwide,” said Holmes.

Before joining Wyndham, Ballotti spent two decades with Starwood Hotels and Resorts. He held various leadership positions including President of the North American division. In this role he managed a group of 450 hotels and 65,000 employees. He also held leadership roles in real estate development, marking, sales, call center and travel distribution management, and regional brand management.
He continued, “Over the past six years, Geoff has led aggressive growth for our exchange and rentals businesses in both geographic reach and innovative offerings to customers. I am excited to now ask him to continue his leadership at Wyndham Hotel Group to further grow and strengthen our iconic hotel brands around the world.”

As Ballotti moves to his new role, Wyndham Exchange & Rentals will be managed by current CFO, Gail Mandel. During this time of transition, Gail will become chief operation officer of the division. She will work closely with Stephen Homes.

“In her additional role as COO, Gail will leverage her years of hospitality industry experience to steward the ongoing growth of our timeshare exchange and vacation rental businesses, where each has strong trajectories and proven leadership teams in place,” said Holmes. “We have built an exceptional culture at Wyndham Worldwide which continues to attract the best talent in the industry, and these transitions reflect the depth of our leadership and sound strategies that consistently drive our strong results.”

To learn more, visit WyndhamWorldwide.com.

Starwood Vacation Network (SVN) has just released their 2014-2015 Network Calendar and StarOptions charts. Owners use these charts to determine where and when they can travel. StarOptions dictate how many points are required to book a reservation at a Starwood resort. They also determine how many points SVN owners have to use towards trading and exchanging.

This year, many owners were surprised to see that the points required to stay at the Westin St. John timeshare resort, have substantially increased.

While Starwood has not commented on the cause of this change, many speculate that the points increase is due to new developments at the resort. Last year the resort broke ground on a new luxury segment, the Coral Vista Villas. With this new segment, we have seen a growth in the reservation and resale value at the Westin St. John.

This is the first time that Starwood has established such a wide points range for “premium” properties.

What does this mean for Westin St. John owners?

For Westin St. John owners, this is great news. With an increase in both StarOptions and StarPoints in 2015, these owners will have more leverage to book and exchange. Here is an example of the points increase for the Virgin Grand Villas segment of the resort.

Click image to view full PDF:

Here you’ll see that for a three-bedroom unit during weeks 1-18, 51-52, StarOptions increased from 196,900 to 257,700. For the same reservation, StarPoints increased from 76,800 in 2013 to 139,100 in 2015.

Not only will these owners have more flexibility to travel to other resorts, but they may benefit from an increased timeshare resale value. Now that the Westin St. John is valued as a premium SVN resort, the demand for timeshare resales at this home resort may also increase.

What does this mean for all other Starwood Owners?

For Starwood owners looking to travel to the Westin St. John, you may experience new restrictions. Now that more points are required to visit St. John, you may not be able to reserve your desired week or unit. With more points required to book a timeshare week, you may need to select a smaller room or travel during a non-peak week.

However, there are still ways to enjoy the same accommodations at the Westin St. John. You may be able to bank a portion of this year’s points to use next year, or the year after.

Starwood Vacation Network has not released any information in regards to similar changes at their other resorts. Check back with TheTimeshareAuthority.com for more details later this year.

Media Source: Starwood Vacation Network

The vacation ownership leader Diamond Resorts International has announced their newest sweepstakes, Vacations of a Lifetime. During the sweepstakes, owners will enter to win vacations at any of Diamond’s resorts.

These winners will have the chance to win a variety of prizes, ranging from one week vacations to a package of 80 Diamond timeshare weeks to use over the next 20 years. The sweepstakes prizes total a whopping $1.8 Million in value.

President and CEO of Diamond Resorts International, David Palmer said, “We are giving away a multitude of opportunities to experience the world, and it couldn’t come at a better time. Our recent study conducted by Nielsen Research confirmed what we already suspected: regular vacations reduce stress, improve health, relationships and careers, and ultimately, are critical to overall happiness. Simply put – taking vacations is good for you. We want people to think about how important it is to make a commitment to taking great vacations.”

Palmer continues, “We know that vacations are important, and we have an incredible sense of responsibility to provide our members, owners and guests with meaningful, relaxing and memorable vacation experiences. This sweepstakes was named and designed around our core mission, creating Vacations of a Lifetime.”

There is no purchase required to enter the Vacations of a Lifetime sweepstakes. The contest will run February 23–July 22, 2014. Once a month, Diamond Resorts International will select four winners. Each prize-winner will be awarded a seven night stay for up to four guests at any Diamond timeshare resort. All non-winners will be carried over into the next month’s drawing until the contest is completed.

At the end of the six months, Diamond will choose seven grand prize winners to each receive the vacation ownership package. These packages will contain 80 weeks of vacations that the winner can use over a 20 year span.
You can enter here at DiamondResorts.com.