SummitPacific.com, already a leader in marketing Kauai vacation rentals, is now allowing owners of timeshare units a free way to advertise timeshare resales at Hanalei Bay Resort.

Hanalei Bay Resort, a beautiful 22 acre destination resort on the north shore of the Hawaiian island of Kauai is located next door to the new St. Regis Princeville Hotel. The resort has both timeshare ownership and also full unit ownerships. SummitPacific has long provided a way for owners to advertise full owner condos for rent in the popular vacation rentals market, but now for the first time, SummitPacific is also allowing those that have purchased timeshares at Hanalei Bay Resort a way to resale their interval ownerships.

Advertising timeshare resales at Hanalei Bay Resort is free on Summit Pacific.

“What we’re trying to do is offer those that purchased timeshare ownerships at the resort a way to resale those units without incurring a lot of expenses.” said Doug Porter, president of Summit Pacific, Inc (and also a condo owner at the resort). “Creating an aftermarket for timeshares is healthy for the market and takes a lot of uncertainty and fear out of decision to buy a timeshare because people know when they buy they will also have a way to resale it later if they need to.”

Of course the timeshare resale market is great place to pick up deals on vacation rental ownership; especially right now when many people are struggling with financial problems caused by the poor economy. “We’re seeing people offering their weeks for unbelievably low prices – sometimes as low as 10 cents on the dollar.” “This is primarily a short term result of the bad economy and also by the frustration people have had in not having a good way until now to re-sale their units.” “Once these deals are gone, we expect the market to stabilize.”

Summit Pacific is not affiliated with Hanalei Bay Resort or the primary resellers of timeshares at the resort. “We feel we’re more affiliated with the individual condo and timeshare owners at the resort than we have been with the resort operators,” says Porter.

The Contact Five Investigators have been covering timeshare marketing companies operating in South Florida.

State investigators say the scheme used by some is simple. Telemarketers call up timeshare owners, who are anxious to sell their property, and tell them there is a buyer. All the owner has to do is pay a deposit to the marketing company. The truth is; there is no buyer, no sale and the timeshare owner loses their money.

That’s the way state investigators say Creative Vacation Solutions of West Palm Beach does business.

“We have visited the business twice this year,” said Terry McElroy, the spokesperson with the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. “We have fined them $17,000 this year for several violations including-employing unregistered sales agents and operating at an undisclosed location.”

Investigator Shannon Cake tracked down the company, which she found operating in an office building on Woodlake Boulevard in Greenacres, Florida.

Several disgruntled employees came outside and told Contact 5 they worked for the company, but were not receiving their pay.

"I need my money,” one employee, who wanted to remain anonymous, said. “I got a daughter at home I'm trying to feed. I didn't get paid for 3 weeks straight."

Another employee, also claiming she got stiffed three weeks pay, told Contact Five the pitch and promises she makes to timeshare owners over the phone are bogus.

"All of it's a lie,” the woman said, who wouldn’t share her name. “You ain't never gonna get your money back."

Contact Five has received more than two hundred phone calls and emails from people across the country claiming they're being scammed by other timeshare marketing companies that operate in Palm Beach County.

"It's almost like they are predators out there going after these people,” said Mike Gavlin with the Southeast Florida Better Business Bureau.

The BBB has given Creative Vacation Solutions an F rating.

Contact Five tried calling the business, but no one returned our calls.

Florida's Attorney General has filed an injunction and a lawsuit against Creative Vacation Solutions.

The top consumer cop is charging the company, its owners and operators with unfair and deceptive trade practices.

Twenty-two people accused of running a bogus timeshare scam have been detained in Malaga and Tenerife.

Madrid – Spanish police said Monday they had arrested 22 people accused of running a bogus timeshare scam.

Police said the suspects, who were detained in the southern city of Malaga and on Tenerife in the Canary Islands, tricked their victims into believing they had found people who wanted to buy the right to use their homes.

But once the victims had handed over money they thought was to cover expenses for the deal, the intermediaries and those supposedly interested in using their homes would disappear, according to a police statement.

After this initial scam members of the network tricked several of the victims again by pretending to be lawyers and offer to help those who had been defrauded, police alleged.

"They would claim to have recuperated the money that had been defrauded and assured them that it would be returned to them, demanding fresh payments for their services," police said in a statement.

Police did not disclose the nationalities of the suspects. They carried out 11 searches as part of their operation and seized two guns, an electric shock device, several shackles and more than EUR 30,000 in cash.

A timeshare involves people buying an entitlement to stay for a period each year in a property.

The system has given rise to a string of bogus timeshare scams across Europe, particularly in Spain.

Research from Deloitte found that nearly 50 percent of U.S. consumers have planned to take an overnight leisure trip in a hotel, motel, or timeshare for Thanksgiving until March.

In Florida state alone, AAA estimated that over two million citizens will travel for the
Thanksgiving holiday, which marks a three percent increase over Thanksgiving travels last year. Across the country, more than 38 million people will travel past 50 miles for the Thanksgiving weekend.

“We take the projected increase in travelers as a sign that economic recovery may finally be taking root and we believe many Americans certainly share the same hope,” said Kevin Bakewell, senior VP of AAA Auto Club South.

The Better Business Bureau (BBB), which works in behalf of Washington state, says that it has received numerous complaints about International Timeshare Consolidators (ITC)—a Seattle-based company that tries to help consumers sell their timeshares.

Since September, BBB representatives said that they have received more than 150 inquiries about the ITC, including some serious complaints.

“Some owners find that their time share did not sell or never received the promised paperwork. Complainants also allege that ITC will not return phone calls or refund money,” explained a BBB official.

Upon investigating ITC’s office address, BBB found out that the company location posted on the website is fake.

As of press time, ITC has yet to respond on the BBB allegations.

The attorney general has filed suit against a Worcester-based company for allegedly devising a scam to defraud the owners of timeshare units in Dennisport.

Martha Coakley's office yesterday also obtained a temporary restraining order against Jeffrey Riebman and his company, Timeshare Advocates.

For months, Riebman has contacted owners of timeshares at the Edgewater Beach Resort, saying he could help them obtain full refunds, according to the complaint.

Several of these owners have contacted the Times over the last several months, concerned about the letters they had received.

Some of the letters reference a story the Times ran in May about the financial troubles of Leon Narbonne, who owns the Edgewater along with several other Dennisport resorts.

"These developers have illegally double-sold many units, sold thousands of people illegal timeshare units and may bankrupt all the resorts to escape their debts," Timeshare Advocates' letter, attached as part of the suit, says. "Because of their actions, you may be entitled to a full refund, including your purchase price, any interest and closing fees."

Calls to two numbers listed on the letters for Timeshare Advocates were not immediately returned.

Owners of at least two of Narbonne's other resorts — the Breakers and the Soundings — reported receiving similar letters from the Timeshare Consulting Group, run by Christopher Moss.

In July, Narbonne filed suit against Moss, claiming he was turning his customers against him.

There has been no legal action initiated by the state against Moss to date. The attorney general's office yesterday would not say if any is forthcoming.

Both Moss and Riebman apparently asked the timeshare owners to go to meetings at local hotels. Both claimed that the owners were entitled to refunds because the timeshare owners had not properly recorded the deeds for their property.

At his meetings, Moss apparently asked the owners for $500 in exchange for a packet of demand letters they could mail out themselves.

Riebman allegedly told the owners they could send out complaints themselves — a process that was extremely "complicated" and "cumbersome" — or pay him up to $1,000 to do it for them, according to the attorney general's suit.

"For numerous reasons, Riebman explained, the only viable way for the owner to recover his refund was to enlist the services of Riebman," the complaint filed in Suffolk Superior Court states.

To some owners, he allegedly promised a 100 percent guarantee. To others, he said there was a "really good chance" they would get a refund.

He told some owners that he represented a law firm trying to settle claims against the Edgewater, the complaint states. He is not licensed to practice law in Massachusetts.

Under the temporary restraining order, Riebman is barred from soliciting or collecting payment from consumers in connection with recovery of funds for timeshare properties, among other conditions.

The state is seeking restitution for the timeshare owners and civil penalties.

A hearing on the injunction is scheduled for Wednesday.

While the tourism, hospitality and leisure (THL) sector continues to be challenged by current economic conditions, a new survey from Deloitte suggests reason for cautious optimism heading into the holiday and winter travel season.

Deloitte’s survey of 2,000 consumers in the United States revealed that almost half (45 percent) will take a vacation or leisure trip that involves staying overnight in a lodging facility, such as a hotel, motel or a timeshare, from the beginning of Thanksgiving week through March of next year. Additionally, the survey showed:

-18 percent will travel overnight and stay at a lodging facility during the Thanksgiving week and weekend
-22 percent will travel overnight and stay at a lodging facility during December through New Year’s Day
-32 percent will travel overnight and stay at a lodging facility after New Year’s Day through March
When asked to compare their overnight travel plans for the same time period a year ago, 45 percent of respondents said they will take the same amount of trips this year involving an overnight stay at a lodging facility, while 25 percent said they will take more and 28 percent said they will take fewer trips.

“Conditions appear to be stabilizing in the travel industry as signs of an economic recovery take hold. Room rates are still low, which is impacting revenue, but consumers are finding special offers and incentives on hotel accommodations which is helping to increase occupancy,” said Adam Weissenberg, U.S. Tourism, Hospitality and Leisure leader, Deloitte LLP.

Weissenberg added, “Hotel companies should continue focusing on driving demand and building long-term customer relationships with their guests through innovative marketing and loyalty programs. When business travel gets back on track, the industry will see further improvement leading to a more complete recovery.”

Survey results also suggest that some respondents may still have concerns about economic conditions, with 64 percent saying they are more cost-conscious when traveling. With the economy only in the early stages of a turnaround, respondents appear to remain cautious and are fairly evenly divided on spending plans. More than a third (35 percent) report they will spend less this year; 37 percent expect to spend the same amount; and 27 percent plan to spend more money while traveling. As might be expected, those planning on spending less were younger, with lower incomes, and more likely to have children in the household.

“This season, spending likely won’t return to levels that the industry enjoyed prior to the recession, but some segments of the population are showing more confidence in the economy,” said Weissenberg. “This could lead to some improvement over the near-term for hospitality companies and restaurants and should translate to improved long-term conditions as the economy strengthens further.”

Reflecting on activities planned during the holiday/winter travel season, the majority of respondents will travel domestically and visit family and friends. Additional survey results include:
-70 percent of travelers will visit a U.S. state and/or city
-74 percent will visit relatives or friends
-16 percent will visit a foreign country
-38 percent will spend at least one vacation doing warm-weather activities (swimming or golf)
-18 percent will take a ski vacation or do other cold-weather activities
-34 percent will visit a historic site or a national park
-22 percent will visit an entertainment park or facility
-8 percent plan to do philanthropic or environmental work while traveling
Additional Key Findings

The Digital Traveler
Fifty-seven percent of respondents say they often read consumer-written reviews or comments online related to travel. Interest was high across all age groups except retirees, 65 years-old and older. Further, 41 percent have used mobile devices for travel-related assistance, such as reservations or obtaining information. More than a quarter, 26 percent, have visited a travel-related company’s social media fan page. Upper income households were the most active group among all three activities.

Customer Loyalty Programs
Forty percent of travelers say they currently belong to at least one rewards or customer loyalty program from a hotel or other lodging facility. Travelers with the highest income levels were most likely to belong to a program.

“With 60 percent of travelers not belonging to any loyalty program there is an opportunity for hotel companies to build new relationships with these travelers through programs that create long-term brand loyalty and drive repeat business,” said Weissenberg.

Sustainability Remains Important
Being green may still be an important factor to respondents who are traveling, with 59 percent saying they try to be environmentally conscious when traveling. Almost half, 45 percent, said they generally think that lodging facilities are acting responsibly with regard to green issues.

“Hotel companies are continuing to pursue sustainability initiatives that are reducing operational costs through increased energy and water efficiency,” said Rod Millott, sustainability leader for Deloitte’s Tourism, Hospitality and Leisure sector. “There are also significant tax credits and incentives available that are making these initiatives more financially attractive. Many of these initiatives are backend and not visible to guests, so there is a real opportunity for hotel brands to communicate their sustainability success and build loyalty with their guests as environmental stewardship continues to be important.”

The luxury Ritz-Carlton hotel chain will cease to be a stand-alone division under the Marriott International umbrella as part of a reorganization that the Bethesda-based company plans to complete by 2011.

Marriott, the largest hotelier in the United States, until now has kept a firewall between its eponymous chain of mid-priced hotels and Ritz-Carlton, which is the company's high-end attraction.

Company executives have said over the past few weeks that it was reorganizing into four units divided along geographic lines -- the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia -- each with its own president and resources.

Marriott's current divisions are U.S. and Canadian operations, global timeshare, international and Ritz-Carlton. Global timeshare will continue to be outside the four regional units.

Marriott spokesman Tom Marder said Wednesday that the restructuring "enhances operations and connections to customers."

In a recent interview with Travel Weekly, Marriott President Arne Sorenson said the move was designed to decentralize the corporate structure and allow the regional presidents to "have the resources necessary to make decisions and so those decisions can be faster, more efficient, more local."

"The number of jobs lost will not be very large," Sorenson told Travel Weekly. As far as the effect on Ritz-Carlton, Sorenson told Travel Weekly "the front of the house will still be very much a Ritz-Carlton brand experience." The company has said it will not move Ritz-Carlton's headquarters from its current location in Chevy Chase, Md.

Analyst John Arabia of Green Street Advisors, said the reorganization made sense.

"It represents the fact that over the past several years, the Middle East and Asia are much larger pieces of the Marriott business and offer great opportunities going forward," Arabia said. "It allows decision-making in the field."

Marriott, with 3,200 properties worldwide, has been facing the same recession headwinds as the rest of the lodging industry.

The company recorded a third-quarter loss of $466 million, compared with a profit of $94 million one year ago. Excluding the pre-tax write-down of $752 million in its timeshare sector and other special items, Marriott posted third-quarter net income of $53 million. That's less than half of what the company earned excluding one-time charges in the same quarter of 2008.

Earlier this month, Marriott announced it was launching a new brand called the Autograph Collection, aimed at tapping customers who prefer independent, high-end hotels.

The Autograph Collection will allow independent hotels, many of which have lost business in the recession, to maintain their character while using Marriott's economies of scale to bring in more customers and save on costs. The new hotels in the Autograph Collection will operate as franchises.

A DIRECTOR of a timeshare company and his sales manager defrauded 50 victims of nearly £500,000 in a seven-month “sales drive”, a court heard yesterday.

The pair offered free breaks at their holiday park in North Wales to the owners of existing timeshares, and then pressured their victims into paying for part-exchange rights that were “worthless”.

Judge John Rogers QC told the pair, who were both jailed for two-and-a-half years, that they had “tainted the good reputation of the tourist industry in North Wales”.

Both Arthur Goddard, 60, a director of Graig Park Village at Dyserth, near Rhyl, and sales manager Alan Hill, 51, had denied fraudulent trading, but were convicted after a four-week trial.

Mold Crown Court heard that between May 2007 and December that year, the pair colluded to sell timeshares at the 94 lodges at Graig Park that Goddard and his brother David, 55, had built between 1996 and 2003.

Both David Goddard, 55, and the park’s manager Christopher Gibbs, 37, who is Arthur Goddard’s son-in-law, were charged with fraud, which they denied, and were cleared by the jury.

The court heard Hill was the expert who arranged the presentations and obtained the money from customers, while Arthur Goddard provided the facilities at Graig Park for the fraud to take place.

Robin Spencer QC, prosecuting, said that people who accepted the free breaks came under severe pressure to sign up, the safeguards of the Timeshare Act 1992 were flouted, and many people were not informed of their right to cancel the agreement.

Most people were required to pay a deposit on the spot, usually £1,000.

“If people already had time shares, they would be offered tempting, generous, part-exchange allowances,” he said.

But Mr Spencer said the purchase price had been vastly inflated so that apparent generous part-exchange allowances were worthless.

The promise of taking over the existing part-exchange never materialised, so that the customers found themselves liable for two sets of maintenance charges.

Several dissatisfied customers complained to their local trading standards officials in Durham, Salford and Lancashire, and Denbighshire County Council started “a huge investigation” in August 2007.

Mr Spencer told the jury: “In total, you will be able to see the patterns of abuse and fraud across 120 agreements, sold for well in excess of £1.1m.”

The actual value of the fraud was £461,000, he said.

Judge Rogers said Arthur Goddard handled the investigation into the affair with “arrogant indifference”.

He was said to have threatened the chief investigator, Philip Richards, that if he persisted then “I will come after you”.

Goddard was banned from being the director of a company for eight years and was given six months to pay nearly £600,000 made up of £111,200 in court costs, £25,405 compensation to the victims and repayment of the £461,000 fraud.

Sales manager Hill, who is bankrupt, was disqualified from being a company director for five years. A £1 nominal order was made against him. The effect of the order means that if he comes into funds in the future the prosecution can seek the money.

Sentencing Goddard and Hill, Judge Rogers said: “You ignored your statutory obligations and deceived purchasers – and ignored their requests for redress.”

AssureSign LLC of Altamonte Springs has announced a partnership with Riptide Software Inc. of Orlando to market electronic-signature technology.

AssureSign offers an online system that allows users to add electronic signatures to documents that are forensically identifiable. That allows immediate execution of agreements when parties at far apart.

Under the agreement, the value of which wasn’t announced, Riptide will collaborate with AssureSign to integrate the signature system into various Riptide sales applications.

Riptide products include real estate and timeshare sales systems and an online employment recruiting system.

Marriott International is undertaking a corporate restructure that will see it split into four autonomous divisions whilst bringing the formerly stand-alone Ritz-Carlton brand into its corporate offices.

Marriott President Arne Sorenson said that details of the plan still need to be finalised but confirmed that “the number of jobs lost will not be very large”.

He said there would be four continental offices, each of which will have its own president and resources to operate independently, including separate sales and marketing, revenue management and finance.

The idea is to decentralize power so that the regional presidents “have the resources necessary to make decisions and so those decisions can be faster, more efficient, more local,” Sorenson said.

However, he emphasized that the change “will be entirely invisible to the guest”, and focussed on the back-of-the-house, rather than the front of the house Ritz-Carlton brand experience.”

Marriott is currently split into four divisions: Ritz-Carlton; global timeshare; international lodging group; and U.S. and Canadian operations.

It will be reorganized into four divisions, Sorenson said: the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Only the timeshare business will function outside the new regional structure, Sorenson said.

The reorganization will be completed by 2011. But Sorenson said the new presidents for Europe and the Americas had already been appointed.

A Nevada-based time share repurchaser has agreed to pay more than $120,000 in restitution and penalties to settle claims it violated Vermont law.

Apex Professionals, LLC, will pay more than $64,000 to 15 Vermont consumers and $65,000 in penalties and costs to the state over the alleged violations.

"If out-of-state companies offering an economic benefit to consumers in Vermont violate the state's consumer laws, they can expect strong enforcement and serious consequences," state Attorney General William Sorrell said.

Apex representatives began soliciting Vermont consumers in the spring of 2009 to transfer ownership of their unused timeshares to allow the original owners to be relieved of timeshare maintenance fees, taxes and other costs.

The Apex representatives met with consumers in March at the Courtyard Burlington Harbor in Burlington and in March and May at the Capitol Plaza Hotel in Montpelier. The meetings were advertised in postcards mailed by Apex that stated, "Don't play the waiting game in this economy! If you accept our offer we will put your timeshare into closing immediately."

Consumers who went to the meetings with Apex went with the understanding that Apex would offer them money in exchange for their timeshares. Apex instead charged them a fee of several thousand dollars to transfer ownership of their timeshares, Sorrell said.

Apex representatives then told consumers that the several thousand dollar payment could be offset by filing for a federal income tax deduction for investment losses on their timeshare, the value of which was claimed to be equal to or greater than their payment to Apex. Sorrell says this claim was not true as consumers had purchased the timeshares for personal, not investment, purposes, which made them ineligible for a tax deduction.

The Canary Islands are a big hit amongst European travellers, including timeshare owners, according to the destination's tourist board.

The Canary Islands are growing increasingly popular amongst European travellers including timeshare owners, according to a report by the Canary Islands Tourist Board.

Figures reveal that Tenerife is the most popular island, Lanzarote is the next popular island, closely followed by Gran Canaria.

The figures support statistics published by On the Beach which show that Tenerife is proving to be the most popular winter sun destination with sales up 11 per cent year on year.

Paco Gutierrez, promotions executive from the Spanish Tourist Office, revealed that Britons were an important market for the islands although the Germans were a strong market for some of the islands.

Mr Gutierrez explained that for mainland Spain, tourism is more summer-orientated, but more people head to the Canary Islands during the winter.

A number of different festivals are set to take place in Spain over the course of next year, and this includes the Canary Islands Music Festival which is the only European festival held in winter. The event will run from January to February 2010 and helps to promote high level cultural tourism on the islands. The festival will showcase an ensemble of classical music pieces.

Planet Hollywood Resort saw lower revenue and bigger losses in the third quarter than the Strip property experienced a year earlier.

The hotel-casino posted revenue of $55.1 million in the quarter that ended Sept. 30. That’s down 20.5 percent from $69.3 million in the same quarter of 2008.

The company’s third-quarter loss grew to $17.5 million, up 63.6 percent from $10.7 million a year ago.

In the first nine months of 2009, Planet Hollywood took in $172.7 million in revenue, down 20 percent compared with $215.5 million in the first nine months of 2008. It lost $42 million from Jan. 1 to Sept. 30, up 26.9 percent from $33.1 million in losses in the same period a year ago.

Work also continues on the property’s 1,201-room PH Towers expansion, a joint venture with Westgate Resorts. The timeshare project is scheduled to open in December.

Planet Hollywood is privately owned, but must report its earnings to the Securities and Exchange Commission because of an $860 million term loan.

The companies involved come in various guises but they all have one common goal – to defraud you of your hard earned cash.

Timeshare Resale Scams - How often have you answered the phone to hear a bubbly voice saying they have a buyer for your Timeshare who is willing to pay a lot more for it than you did? Sounds familiar? Welcome to the murky world of the resale scammers.

The companies involved come in various guises but they all have one common goal – to defraud you of your hard earned cash.

Today’s fraudsters are a sophisticated bunch who are highly skilled at extracting large amounts of cash from recession-hit owners desperate to sell their Timeshare. And that is what makes these con merchants doubly sickening – they prey on the very people who have the most to lose.

Most often the scam process starts with a “cold call”. The professional-sounding caller will inform you that they have a corporate buyer or a wealthy client who is so interested in your Timeshare that they are willing to pay well over the odds for it – often two or three times the original price.

The victim is then directed to a slick website, or sent a copy of the alleged contract, in order to enhance the company’s credibility before the scammer goes in for the kill. Citing a range of fictitious costs – legal fees, tax costs, security bonds, registration fees or administration costs – the fraudster will turn on the pressure to extract an upfront fee, typically somewhere between £500 and £1,500.

What happens next depends on the sophistication of the resale scam company. Some will just disappear leaving an empty office with no forwarding address. Others, with a higher level of organisation, will move onto the next stage of the fraud.

Once the upfront fee has been paid, the fraudsters will often insist that the seller produces a non-existent tax form that is supposed to be crucial to the sale. When the victim fails to produce it they are deemed to be in default of contract and the resale scam company washes its hands of any obligation to complete the deal.

Other scammers have an even more devious way of adding insult to injury. Once the upfront fee is safely in their bank they will contact the seller saying that the buyer has dropped out of the deal. However, the seller should not worry because there is another buyer who is interested in their Timeshare and wants to meet them to finalise the deal.

But there is a catch. On November 17th 2008 BBC Watchdog broadcast an episode that established a very strong link between the resale scammers and the bogus Holiday Pack companies. The program featured a couple who had been persuaded by a telemarketer to pay nearly £1,000 in upfront fees to sell their Timeshare.

They were told a few weeks later that the prospective buyer was in fact a corporate client and they would have to fly to Spain for a meeting to seal the deal. Having already paid a substantial sum they had no choice but to buy some flights and make their way to Spain to meet the buyer.

But the person they met on arrival was not interested in buying their Timeshare. Instead he was a salesman for a dubious Holiday Pack and was only interested in trying to sell them his product for a further £4,500.

What started off as a financial lifeline for someone keen to sell their timeshare ended up being a disaster and the only winners were the resale scam company and the con people who work for them.

The Office of Fair Trading is currently seeking evidence of Timeshare resale scams to help the Spanish authorities in their enforcement actions and have published a set of guidelines to help protect consumers from these shady fraudsters. They are warning Timeshare owners to exercise caution if they are approached by a company claiming to be able to sell their Timeshare that:

• requests an upfront fee such as an administration fee, VAT, land registry charge or insurance cover
• offers an unrealistic purchase price – often higher than the original price
• says they have a confirmed buyer waiting or a “corporate buyer”
• asks you to go abroad to complete a sale

There are genuine companies out there who can help you sell your Timeshare but it is advisable to take advice first and check out the company that is making the offer. If they are not members of Resort Developers Organisation (formerly called Organisation for Timeshare in Europe) the best advice is to steer well clear.

Two of Finland's most respected timeshare companies will form a partnership in a bid to increase the demand for new timeshare contracts.

Ski resorts in Finland are set to become more accessible for British timeshare owners, following the merger of two of Europe's most respected holiday clubs.

Aho Group Oy, Family Business of the Year 2008, is to form a partnership with Holiday Club Resorts Oy with the aim of turning the ski resorts Ruka and Pyha into all-year-round holiday destinations.

Ski resorts in Finland are set to become more accessible for British timeshare owners, following the merger of two of Europe's most respected holiday clubs.

Aho Group Oy, Family Business of the Year 2008, is to form a partnership with Holiday Club Resorts Oy with the aim of turning the ski resorts Ruka and Pyha into all-year-round holiday destinations.

Ski resorts in Finland are set to become more accessible for British timeshare owners, following the merger of two of Europe's most respected holiday clubs.

Aho Group Oy, Family Business of the Year 2008, is to form a partnership with Holiday Club Resorts Oy with the aim of turning the ski resorts Ruka and Pyha into all-year-round holiday destinations.

Ski resorts in Finland are set to become more accessible for British timeshare owners, following the merger of two of Europe's most respected holiday clubs.

Aho Group Oy, Family Business of the Year 2008, is to form a partnership with Holiday Club Resorts Oy with the aim of turning the ski resorts Ruka and Pyha into all-year-round holiday destinations.

Both Aho Group and Holiday Club are aiming for a strategically fruitful partnership in the long term, with a view to raise the demand for several new timeshare contracts over the next few years.

In order to attract visitors all year round, the Hotel RukaVillage will be refitted with new, luxuriously equipped rooms while the HolySuites rooms in Pyha will be refurbished.

Vesa Tengman, the managing director of Holiday Club Resorts Oy explained that the demand for the weekly timeshares is on the rise.

The Holiday Club has already seen a surge in its profits this year as sales of timeshare flats grew by 15 per cent.

Fast response to changing trends is at the core of Club La Costa Resorts & Hotels’ ability to snatch success even from the jaws of the worst global recession to affect the holiday industry.

Recently, the company moved to close down four of its five off-site sales operations in the UK, due to the country’s continuing economic battering, to refocus on new programmes aimed at increased Fly-Buy/SIV activity.

CLC’s prestigious sales and exhibition centre in London’s best postcode, the West End, continues to operate, but a decision was taken to shut its other UK off-sites as their effectiveness in the current financial climate was under question.

“Right now, the best thing we can do is offer great price family holidays where customers can come and sample the quality and value of the Club La Costa experience, and we are doing this through a number of channels,” said chairman Roy Peires.

Club La Costa’s Essex-based marketing operation is at the centre of a flurry of Fly Buy activity handling data from a mix of sources, such as shopping centre booths, emailings and websites, while independent marketers have promotions at airports both in the UK and Spain.

UK off sites have been integral to the company’s success across its 25-year history, resuming in 1991 after a break in the 1980s. However, the continuing poor shape of the UK economy, have led to a major sales rethink.

Editor’s notes

* Club La Costa Resorts & Hotels is widely regarded as a leading provider of holiday products in Europe.
* Founded in 1984, the company has more than 50,000 members and 23 wholly owned resorts in England, Scotland, mainland Spain, Tenerife and Austria.
* CLC Estates is the company’s successful real estate business.
* Club La Costa also has its own in-house travel agency and resort management arm.
* Developing a mixed use model of whole ownership homes - offered with a leaseback programme - and timeshare resorts, Club La Costa has expanded into Turkey during 2009, opening a new resort with a second planned for 2010.
* In 2007, Club La Costa launched its unique Yacht Club with sailings in the Red Sea, Turkey, around Mallorca and, planned for next year, Greece.
* Across its operations, Club La Costa employs more than 2,000 employees.
* The company is a founding member of the Organisation for Timeshare in Europe, now the Resort Development Organisation (RDO) of which it continues to be a key supporter.
* The Smile Foundation, a charitable organisation which Club La Costa helped found and helps raise funds for, and the private Roy Peires Foundation, help many needy causes.
* Club La Costa prides itself on impeccable levels of service, innovative products, a pioneering spirit and the outstanding quality of its resorts, which occupy top locations and offer a wide range of excellent facilities.

As a result of the current economic environment, disreputable companies are using unscrupulous tactics to take advantage of owners who may need to sell their timeshares. In fact, several state attorneys general have addressed concerns about resale “scams.” Since the re sale industry is largely unregulated, the American Resort Development Association or ARDA is working with its members, including reputable resale companies, to ensure transparency on both the buying and selling process.

In September, ARDA released two consumer advisories to help consumers and timeshare owners navigate through the secondary market, which includes timeshare resellers, Internet advertisers and other resale companies, to ensure a safe and positive selling experience. The advisories were developed to help dispel the growing misinformation and confusion in the secondary marketplace by providing specific tips on reviewing timeshare resale companies, their practices, costs and services in the marketplace. Howard Nusbaum, president and CEO of ARDA, delivered this statement in response to the Florida Attorney General’s Office move Monday, November 2, to seek an emergency injunction against a West Palm Beach timeshare resale operation for fraudulent practices

“This is not an indictment of our reputable resale company members, but rather a problem faced by everyone who loves this industry being painted with the same ‘timeshare scam’ brush,” said Nusbaum. “We continue to work with stakeholders to craft what we believe will be guidelines for best practices and legislation,” added Nusbaum.

Although there are many reputable companies that provide resale services, the largely unregulated secondary market also includes some that use unscrupulous tactics to take advantage of owners who may wish to sell their timeshares. The Florida Attorney General’s Office took action against Creative Vacation Solutions, a timeshare resale operation in West Palm Beach, for charging nearly $2,500 in marketing fees from hundreds of customers but did little or nothing in return.

The first of the two consumer advisories focuses on the types of timeshare resellers with four steps to guide consumers through the process: utilizing existing resources, understanding timeshare resale companies, choosing the best option, and following basic rules. The second advisory provides tools to evaluate resale companies with a list of tips.

Added Cindy Thomas, Stoneridge Resort Manager: “It’s simply a matter of buyer beware. With the state of the economy today, a large number of our owners are being approached by a variety of companies, with offers of previously unheard of rental revenues or resale prices, and even just “getting out from under” one’s timeshare week. Many of these offers are hard to understand, even for the savviest of timeshare owners. Unfortunately, we have heard from many owners who were dissatisfied with the end result of these transactions and little can be done about it after the fact. As always, if a deal sounds too good to be true, it just might be. Be aware and be diligent. Do your own research and check with your own timeshare resort association before doing anything.”

“We applaud the efforts made by Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum to investigate dishonest resale companies whose actions taint the industry’s reputable resale companies ARDA continues to work with its members to ensure transparency on both the buying and selling process,” said Nusbaum.

ARDA encourages consumers and timeshare owners to conduct research and due diligence on any resale company or advertiser in advance of paying any money or signing any contract or agreement.

Wyndham Worldwide Corp.'s (WYN) third-quarter profit decreased 27% as the company's hotel and timeshare businesses continued to suffer amid broad industry weakness.

The company also expects fourth-quarter earnings of 35 cents to 38 cents a share. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected 32 cents. It also reaffirmed its 2009 earnings forecast.

Shares were up 1.9% to $17 in premarket trading as the third-quarter results edged forecasts. The stock has more than doubled this year.

There have been some signs the lodging sector is stabilizing. Marriot International Inc. (MAR), Host Hotels & Resorts Inc. (HST) and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. (HOT) posted better-than-expected results in the latest quarter, supporting the view the worst may be over for the industry, although challenges remain. Wynn's latest results were generally in line with expectations.

The operator of the Ramada, Howard Johnson and Days Inn hotel chains posted a profit of $104 million, or 57 cents a share, down from $142 million, or 80 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding restructuring and other impacts, earnings fell to 58 cents from 83 cents. Wyndham was expecting 53 cents to 57 cents.

Revenue slid 17% to $1.02 billion on continued weakness in the global lodging industry and unfavorable exchange rates. Analysts projected $1 billion.

At Wyndham's lodging business, total revenue per available room decreased 17%, dropping 16% in the U.S. and 22% internationally.

At its timeshare business, vacation-ownership interest sales fell 36%. Wyndham and its main timeshare rivals have dramatically pared their timeshare businesses over the past year to reflect weakening demand and falling prices. Wyndham, which owns 150 resorts globally, counts 830,000 time-share owners.

Timeshare resort owner and operator Silverleaf Resorts Inc. has posted a third-quarter net loss of $3.9 million, which the company attributes to an $18.5 million write-down on uncollectible revenue.

Dallas-based Silverleaf Resorts Inc. (NASDAQ: SVLF) said that net loss is down from the company’s 2008 third-quarter profit of $2.9 million, or 7 cents per share, on revenue of $68.4 million.

Revenue in the most recent third quarter fell $15.6 million to $52.8 million.

During the first nine months of the year, Silverleaf Resorts' total revenue dropped 10.2 percent to $183.7 million, down from $204.5 million during the same period of 2008.

The offers are very appealing. Who wouldn't want two free airline tickets to anywhere in the country?

Well, sort of free.

You still have to spend a couple of hours watching people try to sell you a timeshare.

But in one case, you have to jump through some dangerous hoops in order to qualify.

One Valley resident e-mailed ABC15 saying "the offer was two airline tickets and hotel stay."

The request was to submit two W-9's and a copy of their credit cards front and back.

Could this be a form of identity theft?"

Plain and simple, yes, if that information is used incorrectly.

But Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard says it's not illegal to ask in this case.

He says it doesn't appear they were required to provide it.

So, why would you provide it?

Goddard says there are two reasons they would want your cards: they either want to check your credit or use it.

"In the case of a free award, I don't see any reason they want to check your credit," Goddard said. "So bottom line, I would be very suspicious that the free tickets would be paid for tickets."

Don't give out credit card information unless you're buying something.

And as for the W-9's, they are forms with your tax identification number and social security number.

It's information you do not want to give out, especially at something like a timeshare presentation.

Shares in British Airways PLC and Iberia SA rose Friday morning as the market reacted to the airlines' confirmation late Thursday that they had agreed to merge.

British Airways shares were up 3.2 percent at 222 pence on the London Stock Exchange, up from about 180 pence at the start of the month. Iberia's were up 3.8 percent to euro2.30 on the Spanish stock market.

Earlier in the morning, Iberia reported that it had lost euro16.4 million ($24.5 million) in the third quarter, compared to a profit of euro30.4 million in the same period of 2008.

More than nine out of ten active leisure travelers in the United States report they are familiar with the concept of timesharing, reinforcing the wide-spread belief that this form of vacationing has established itself as a recognized, understood, and increasingly popular alternative to more traditional lodging accommodations.

And among those familiar with the concept, approximately 2.3 million households state they are interested in purchasing some form of vacation time during the next two years.

For more information visit this link

Since 2003, John Frost has taken his family to the beaches of Corpus Christi for summer vacation. "We all love to come here," Frost said.

He and his family all stay at the Mustang Island Beach Club – a timeshare property. But lately Frost and others in the 'club' say they feel cheated.

Several years ago, Frost and others who bought the Corpus Christi timeshares agreed to pay a special fee of up to $3,000 for each week they own. They were told the money would be used to refurbish one of the three condo buildings.

But Frost and others say they were stunned to find out they no longer had access to the units they paid to renovate. "We have no rights to those properties now," claimed Frost. "We have been put into older units that are not of the same value."

Sue Dansby of Denton shares Frost's frustration. "Yes, I'm angry," she said. Dansby says she's owned a timeshare in Corpus Christi for more than 20 years. "I wanted a place for my son and I to come on a vacation that wasn't too far from home," she said.

Dansby said her deed was for the refurbished building and now she's worried. When asked where her deed was, she said "I have no earthly idea."

The deeds belonging to both Frost and Dansby are for units in building "A". They're all new inside with new kitchens, appliances, floors, bathrooms, and living rooms. But both say they're assigned to buildings "B" and "C". Inside those units, some of the kitchen appliances are broken, bathrooms are old, and the hot tubs have fallen apart.

"It's disgusting is what it is," Frost said.

So the timeshare owners, including Frost and Dansby, recently went head-to-head with the developer and association president Randy Turner of Dallas.

During a specially-called meeting, timeshare owner Jim DeForest told Turner, "I have no documentation from you or any of your organizations saying that this was moved."

Another time-share owner, Bill Knowles, shouted at Turner, "You didn't have the right to put us in that dump right there."

John Frost asked Turner, "How do we not own them if we have a deed that says we own them for a week in building A?" Turner replied, "Then I filed a correction deed." Frost answered, "To equal value, but it was not of equal value." Turner responded, "Well, I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder."

Turner pointed out that nearly all of the units in the three buildings, renovated or not, are appraised at about the same value, nearly $130,000.

CBS 11 News asked Turner if he thought buildings "B" and "C" are just as nice as building "A". He replied, "No, I'm not saying that."

Turner says the refurbishment fees timeshare owners agreed to pay weren't enough to finance renovations. "There are a lot of these people who are still paying and haven't completed paying," he said. "We have got over $200,000 that has not come in yet."

For Sue Dansby and John Frost, they're fighting for more than just a vacation. "This has been home away from home in the summertime," Dansby said of the property. And for his family Frost said, "We have a lot of history here."

Nine complaints against the association have been filed with the Attorney General's office.

Consumer lawyers advised that the timeshare owners can try to take over the association from Turner, and if they can't resolve their dispute can sue him.

Experts say do your homework, and know your rights before you sign on the dotted line.

Total delinquencies and monthly defaults on U.S. timeshare ABS declined in the third quarter of 2009 (3Q'09), according to the latest timeshare ABS index from Fitch Ratings. However, due to seasonal patterns, Fitch expects that performance will worsen in the coming months.

"Timeshare performance will continue to follow traditional seasonal delinquency patterns, resulting in increasing delinquencies and defaults through the winter months," said Director Brad Sohl. "However, ample credit enhancement within these transactions should continue to ensure limited negative rating actions."

Most timeshare ABS are structured with significant levels of credit enhancement to senior classes, shielding those classes from some potential downgrades. While a few transactions include less enhanced subordinate classes, these classes have so far been able to support multiples of expected defaults commensurate with current ratings. As such, Fitch's outlook for asset performance remains declining, while the Rating Outlook remains Stable for the U.S. timeshare ABS sector.

Total delinquencies decreased to a 2009 low of 4.36% in July, down nearly 22% from the all time high of 5.58% realized in February. This reduction is consistent with the seasonal performance improvement that is typically seen in timeshare ABS. However, total delinquency levels have since increased, reaching 4.64% at the end of 3Q'09, 13% higher than the same period in 2008.

Default experience has followed a similar pattern, as expected. Monthly defaults receded to .71% in August 2009, the lowest level since October of the prior year. However, September default activity increased to .76%, lagging the delinquency performance deterioration by one month. On an annualized basis (rolling 12 months), default experience continues to breach historical peaks, reaching 9.21% for the index in September, as US timeshare borrowers continue to struggle in the current economic environment.

Fitch's timeshare ABS index is an aggregation of performance statistics on pools of securitized timeshare loans originated by various developers. Expected cumulative gross defaults on underlying transactions can range from 10% to above 20%. While delinquencies and defaults may vary on an absolute basis, most transactions supporting the index exhibit similar overall trends.

The Fitch timeshare performance index summarizes average monthly delinquency (over 30 days) and gross default trends tracked in Fitch's database of timeshare asset backed securities (ABS) dating back to January 1997 and is available on a quarterly basis.

Fitch's quarterly index can be found at 'www.fitchratings.com' under the following headers:

Sectors >> Structured Finance >> ABS >> ABS Indices >> Timeshare

Holiday wars are still raging at peaceful Loch Rannoch, one of the UK’s most remote timeshare resorts, as an owners’ committee fends off the two management companies it has dismissed and continues a 10-year legal battle.

At a fiery annual meeting of the Loch Rannoch Highland Club, its elected committee beat off challenges from

disgruntled owners and insisted it would continue to manage the resort itself, using volunteers, book-keeping software, and an auditor, having dismissed first Macdonald Hotels and then a successor company set up by owners at the instigation of the committee itself.

In the past year the club has paid out £550,000 plus over £200,000 in legal fees to settle court action by Macdonald, and been served with a claim for £389,000 for wrongful termination of contract by Timeshare Management Services Ltd (TMSL), whose founders are now agitating against the committee.

“The auditors have been given the job of running the club, which means the committee has infringed its own constitution,” said TMSL director Eddie Monks.

But the club with 3200 members has cut management costs at the resort from well over £100,000 under Macdonald to a £40,000-a-year auditing fee.

Macdonald Hotels, meanwhile, the UK’s leading timeshare operator, has been manoeuvring to try to harness owner discontent and eventually regain the contract for managing the resort next to its Loch Rannoch hotel, which it lost in 2003 after taking dozens of owners to court, refusing industry mediation, and banning holidaymakers from the hotel bar.

Donald Macdonald, founder of the Bathgate-based group which he took private six years ago with backer Bank of Scotland, has admitted for the first time to “shortcomings” in the group’s past resort management.

“When we lost the management of the club there were issues which our management people badly handled … we paid the price for our shortcomings,” he told The Herald. But he says the business has “moved forward enormously”.

But when asked whether Macdonald might regain control of the resort, committee member Allan Kenneth told The Herald: “Not a chance.”

The hotels group has tried unsuccessfully to use the Timeshare Association, which styles itself an ‘independent consumer body’ but works closely with resort companies, to promote the case for Macdonald at Loch Rannoch.

The association’s director Harry Taylor said it had offered to contact all the owners using a membership list retained by Macdonald.

“We got a letter back from their solicitor saying keep out of it. The committee rules with an iron rod, they are not taking any notice of anyone, and they are taking the resort into oblivion.”

Kenneth said: “They call themselves an independent consumer body but regrettably they are not.” He went on:

“We have a viable model, we have an improved management structure. When we went independent in 2003, we spoke to a number of different timeshares and it was obvious that the most successful ones were the self-managed ones.”

But Harry McKerral, an owner, said: “You can’t manage any company or business by committee, particularly a committee of people who are spread around the country.” He added: “The committee really don’t want to

get into bed with Macdonald, though a lot of members think they could keep them at arm’s length.”

Simon Jackson, managing director of Macdonald Resorts, said discussions over lifting the ban on access to the hotel swimming pool had broken down. “We would still be prepared to sit down with them … But old sentiments kept coming to the forefront, they couldn’t let go.”

A decade ago the then Barratt International Resorts, 50% owned by Macdonald, took almost 200 owners at four Scottish resorts to court in an attempt to recover £250,000 of disputed management fees. Owners were unhappy that full accounts were not available to enable them to scrutinise expenditure, and that the Macdonald-managed resorts were being used to cross-subsidise leisure facilities for the group’s adjacent hotels.

But the firm refused to join an international industry body offering mediation, ignored a government report on timeshare contract disputes which said “most of the complaints concern resorts owned by a particular developer”, and also launched a £50,000 gagging action against an owner couple who had set up a consumer website.

Then in 2003 Macdonald, which had bought out Barratt and taken full control of the resorts business, served interdicts on six owners at Loch Rannoch in an attempt to stop them taking the £1.4m management contract away from the group, which was still listed on the stock market.

But the Court of Session refused to uphold the interdicts, and also blocked Macdonald’s plans to hold its own special meeting to rubber-stamp the renewal of the long-term contract when it expired. Three committee members who had been served with interdicts were then re-elected on large votes in a four times normal turn-out.

Macdonald then threatened to ban owners not only from the hotel’s swimming-pool but even from the hotel bar if its contract was not renewed, it slapped an injunction on the resort’s full-time manager, and it refused to hand over the list of club members until outstanding debts of £803,000 were settled personally by the committee.

In February 2004 owners at the 85 lochside lodges voted by four to one to replace Macdonald with TMSL, which cut fees and improved facilities. Four months later the hotels group lifted the ban on lodge owners

using the bar at Loch Rannoch Hotel, paving the way for a fresh initiative by Donald Macdonald.

In 2005, he contacted most owners, saying the resort had lost its international exchange status and its weeks were “selling for £150 on Ebay”. But his offer to buy back owners’ weeks in order to regain control of the club, then sell them back to the members “once normality is restored”, secured only a third of acceptances.

McKerral commented: “The whole tenor of the site improved under TMSL, we didn’t have Macdonald on our backs.”

In 2007, Macdonald had what he said were “amicable” discussions over selling the hotel to the club for £3m, which came to nothing, while the group continued to withhold management fees for the 163 holiday weeks in its ownership, some 4% of the total, and to pursue the £803,000 claim against three committee members.

The settlement on the steps of the court saw Macdonald bank £550,000 but also hand back its owned weeks, which Donald Macdonald said last week has “saved the group £1.5m” in a capitalised ongoing liability.

Kenneth, however, said it marked a retreat by Macdonald which was “losing interest in the fight for Rannoch”.

Jackson said Rannoch had now been de-listed by international exchange group RCI.

Macdonald said the group was still interested in the resort.

Macdonald Hotels has banked a £550,000 windfall after winning its claim against the timeshare owners’ club which dumped the hotel group from running the Loch Rannoch Highland Resort in 2003.

Macdonald was ousted from managing the resort next door to its remote Loch Rannoch Hotel amid owner discontent when the club committee handed the contract to Timeshare Management Services Ltd (TMSL), a company set up by former committee members to run the resort.

But the independent-minded committee faces a rough ride at the club’s annual general meeting in Stirling today after making the bumper pay-out to Macdonald despite running up an estimated £200,000 in legal fees to fight the claim, and taking back a potential £60,000 a year liability for unsold timeshare weeks previously owned by Macdonald. Meanwhile the sacking of TMSL has triggered a £389,000 legal claim against the club for termination of contract.

Donald Macdonald, executive chairman of MacDonald Hotels, said of the £550,000 win: “We had written off that debt, whatever we wrote back was a bonus to our business.”

But MacDonald said that more important was the transfer of liability for the group’s historic ownership of 163 weeks a year in the 85 lodges.

“We were paying an annual fee of £60,000 in perpetuity. If you were to capitalise the liability they have created in the club, it would be the thick end of £1.5m.

“I don’t think they understood this.”

One owner who plans to question the committee today said: “Members were quite happy with TMSL, they did a pretty good job and they reduced management fees.”

Another said that under TMSL the club’s reserves had grown from nil to £800,000 in five years, but now looked depleted. The resort is now run by the committee with the help of an auditor.

However Allan Kenneth, a member of the club committee, said last night they were “comfortable” with defending the claim from TMSL.

On the settlement with Macdonald, he said: “We were recommended to pay them off. Otherwise, our QC said we were in for a 30-year war.”

He said the club had “considerable reserves” and was happy with its new business model, adding: “We have had a number of votes over the years and all these votes have been very much in support of the committee.”

He added the club had been “delighted” to take back the 163 weeks as it meant Macdonald was forfeiting votes and “losing interest in the fight at Rannoch”.

However, Simon Jackson, managing director of Macdonald Resorts, said he had made various proposals to the club and the group would still interested in discussing a management contract.