Timeshare Resorts

According to a recent online article from the Virginia Gazette, the answer is “yes”.

A recent online article in the Virginia Gazette makes for a good read on a cool autumn night.

Joe Cantrell, vice president for finance at King’s Creek Plantation, answers a variety of questions posed by the Gazette. A decent amount of ARDA data is presented here, along with King’s Crest’s own findings. From what I’ve seen in the industry, I think that this depiction of Williamsburg timeshares could be highly analogous to the state of time-sharing properties anywhere.

Of particular interest is the discussion on the “point of saturation” – a hypothetical condition in which a particular area is over-developed to the point of outpacing the existing demand for timeshares. Though such a condition is not likely to occur anywhere anytime soon, it is somewhat refreshing to see frank discussion on this subject. Then again, it’s nice to absorb timeshare information that doesn’t rely overmuch on “warm sandy beaches” and “ice-cold mai tais”…

Guest speakers to include a number of CEOs and other major players in the industry.

From today, October 17, through October 19, The Peabody hotel in Orlando hosts the seventh annual Timeshare and Resort Investment conference. This gathering has attracted some of the most successful, high-profile companies and individuals representing the vacation and hospitality industries.

Timeshare owners might find some interesting information in these presentations, but for the most part these sessions are geared toward investors and developers who want to break into this lucrative industry. Fractional ownership, condo hotels and other recent timeshare trends will be explored, as well as legal issues and marketing challenges.

The list of speakers is very impressive, including a number of CEOs from the biggest names in the timeshare world.

As I glanced at the schedule of presentations, I didn’t notice any sessions specifically dealing with industry ethics. It might be a good idea for future conferences to devote more coverage to this issue.

This conference follows close behind the latest Timeshare and Resort Investment conference, held in Dubai in late September of this year. 

For more on the Timeshare and Resort Investment conferences, visit the official site at http://www.timeshareinvestment.com/orlando/orlando.html.

Silverleaf Resorts, a resort company, issued information about the state of Silverleaf’s Texas timeshare resorts following hurricane Rita.

Silverleaf Resorts issued a press release yesterday following hurricane Rita. The Dallas-based company manages two properties on and around the Gulf Coast of Texas, Silverleaf’s Seaside in Galveston and Silverleaf’s Piney Shores Resort, located in Conroe Texas, north of Houston.

Though all four Silverleaf timeshare resorts in Texas escaped with minimal damage, the release also states that significant revenue was lost, due to a temporary suspension of timeshare sales as well as the mandatory evacuations throughout the area.

The entire text of the release can be found at:

 http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20050926005619&newsLang=en

This author finds it encouraging that resort companies are trying to keep people informed about changing conditions at timeshare resort locations. This trend may be construed as more evidence that the timeshare industry is moving away from a pattern of obfuscation and is responding to real needs of timeshare owners.

In New Orleans, flooding resumes while tornadoes spawned by hurricane Rita damage parts of Louisiana and Texas.

Still in the Gulf of Mexico, hurricane Rita has downgraded to a category 3 storm, but is still capable of causing considerable damage to the vulnerable Gulf Coast. High winds, sea swells and rains are already threatening recovery efforts in New Orleans, and a number of Texas communities including Houston, Port Arthur, and Galveston are concerned about the impact this storm will have.

The vast majority of Galveston residents have been evacuated successfully, but mayor Lyda Ann Thomas plans on remaining in town until the hurricane passes. Though most people are confident that Galveston’s seawall will divert any seawater that pours over it, this optimism is tempered by the fact that Galveston is vulnerable to hurricane damage in ways that few other cities are. The worst natural disaster in American history occured in 1900, when a hurricane killed thousands of people and virtually obliterated the island of Galveston. The city’s seawall was built thereafter in order to thwart future hurricanes, but many experts question the seawall’s efficacy as a last line of hurricane defense.

With hurricane Katrina still fresh in everyone’s minds, more residents are willing to evacuate in the path of a new hurricane. Mayor Thomas expressed gratitude over successful evacuation efforts. In particular, letting evacuees bring their pets with them has made “all the difference in the world”. This development comes on the heels of hurricane Katrina, when people were told by rescue workers that pets could not be brought along. In New Orleans, many residents opted to stay with their pets, regardless of life-threatening consequences.

Hurricane Rita is expected to make landfall north of Houston by Saturday morning.