Wyndham Worldwide replaced a $900 million credit agreement with a new $950 million facility, the hotel operator said Wednesday.

The existing agreement was set to mature in July 2011, but the new facility gives Wyndham some more breathing room, as it will not mature until Oct. 1, 2013.

Wyndham also repaid a $300 million term loan agreement due July 2011. The outstanding balance of $153 million was repaid with some of the proceeds from an offering of $250 million senior unsecured notes due 2020.

The company said it will take an approximately $16 million first-quarter charge related to the early repayment of the term loan facility.

Last month Wyndham Worldwide Corp. reported that it returned to a fourth-quarter profit, helped by a slight increase in timeshare revenue.

This year's event promises to be one of the best yet, with keynote speaker Stephen J. Cloobeck, Chairman and CEO of Diamond Resorts International and Ramy Filo, President of ATHOC (the Australian Timeshare and Holiday Ownership Council) both confirmed for the UK conference.

Two of the industry's top names will attend the 2010 TATOC conference, entitled “Working Together”, at the Nottingham Belfry from Friday, March 26 to Sunday March 28. The organisers expect an exceptional turnout and the event is an opportunity for timeshare owners to network with industry executives.

Keynote speaker Stephen J. Cloobeck, Chairman and CEO of Diamond Resorts International heads up one of the biggest brands in the vacation ownership industry today, with 160 branded and affiliated resorts in 26 countries. Cloobeck's career so far spans 25 years in real estate and holiday ownership and he is widely recognised as one of the true innovators of the global timeshare industry.

Guest speaker Ramy Filo, President of ATHOC, will fly in to talk about the timeshare market in Australia. Harry Taylor, CEO of TATOC, said, “The response for the conference has been overwhelming and we are delighted that Ramy has been able to find the time to come and inform the delegates about the industry in Australia.”

In 2006 Ramy Filo was appointed Chairman of the Global Alliance for Timeshare Excellence (GATE) formed in 1999 by leaders of trade associations around the world.

Formed in 1989, TATOC is the timeshare association operated by timeshare owners for timeshare owners, and its objectives include upholding quality standards within the timeshare industry, lobbying on timeshare matters with government and trade bodies and providing consumer advice.

Fractional property exchange programme The Registry Collection has revealed that it added 24 new resort destination properties in 2009, bringing its total number of affiliates available for exchange or under development to 175 in 29 countries.

“Last year was another record year for The Registry Collection program – once again we saw great growth in the programme and it’s larger than ever before despite the challenging economic conditions,” said Geoff Ballotti, CEO, RCI – The Registry Collection's parent company. “Of the 24 new luxury destinations added, many were from Europe which has proven to be a region that is poised for ongoing growth in the high end fractional real estate segment. Moving ahead in 2010, we look forward to attracting more new affiliates around the globe and continuing to grow our membership base.”

Launched in 2002, The Registry Collection now serves more than 30,000 member families from reservation centres in Indianapolis; Mexico City; Johannesburg, South Africa; and Cork, Ireland. It recently received two key industry awards, the Fractional Life 2010 Services to the Industry Award and the Overseas Property Professional 2009 Best Fractional Services Award.

Harsh economic times have even caught up with Orlando billionaire timeshare developer David A. Siegel.

The 78-year-old founder and chairman of 40-year-old, Orlando-based Central Florida Investments Inc. has retained global-oriented Carlton Advisory Services Inc. of New York City to sell off about $352 million of company assets not directly associated with the timeshare industry.

The assets include timeshares, hotels, condos, raw land and rights to develop near Disneyland in Anaheim, CA, Siegel told the Orlando Sentinel.

About 75 percent of the assets are in Florida. The rest are in California, Missouri, Mississippi, Nevada, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

Real estate capital sources tell Real Estate Channel they estimate conservatively that the total assets could generate about 40 percent of their current listed value, or about $140 million.

Carlton Advisory sources do not deny the assets will be marked down to distressed-level prices.

The sale is expected to attract buyers worldwide, according to sources familiar with the current health of global real estate capital markets.

So dire has the cash-flow situation become at Siegel's sprawling real estate empire, the Miami Beach-born developer has even stopped work on his 90,000-square-foot mansion in Windermere, an affluent south Orlando community.

The mansion has been under phased construction for the past five years and is being built at an estimated cost of $500 per square foot. Construction industry estimators familiar with the mansion say the total estimated $45 million cost could be on the low side when the project is finally completed.

Siegel's flagship timeshare property is Westgate Resorts in Orlando, a wide-spread community with over 10,000 condominium units. Westgate Resorts operates about 30 timeshare resorts in more than 10 states

In addition to Westgate Resorts, CFI owns or has interests in magazines (I Love Orlando, I Love Vacations), real estate (Westgate Plaza Center retail space in Las Vegas), health spas (Papillon Spas), and restaurants (Westgate Smokehouse Grill).

Siegel has long held the reputation of being the biggest private timeshare developer in Florida and is also considered one of the largest timeshare developers nationally.

He is a big money contributor to political parties and is as well known in Las Vegas gambling circles as he is on California and Florida real estate fronts, according to persons who have known and done business with Siegel for years.

Carlton Advisory Services is part of The Carlton Group, an international real estate investment bank specializing in equity and debt placement, merchant banking, principal investment activities and commercial and residential loan sales.

Their clients include "some of the most successful developers and institutions globally," according to the company website. Founded in 1991, Carlton has closed over $45 billion of transactions since 1998 alone.

"To be honest, it's all looking bad," spluttered Steven Burrows when we tracked him down in 2008.

It's looking worse now an official report into his role in a huge timeshare scam has been published.

The 52-year-old from Caerphilly, south Wales, was the frontman for companies that promised to have timeshare buyers lined up. Sellers just had to just pay an up-front fee.

There was T-One (UK) Ltd which charged around £500 a time with a hollow promise of a refund in 90 days if no buyer was found.

The Insolvency Service says it "misled customers into believing that a purchaser had been found for their timeshare and that a deposit for the purchase was being held by T-One, when there is no evidence of any timeshares having being sold."

T-One, now in liquidation, has debts of £226,000 it can't pay.

Next there was Mediterranean Leisure (UK) Ltd which used its credit card facility to bank money paid to T-One. It took £353,000 and that's disappeared.

Yacht Trading UK Ltd also told victims it had buyers lined up and has sunk with debts over £500,000.

Harlequin Solutions Ltd took payments and collapsed owing £347,000. Burrows has been banned from being a company director for eight years.

There was no penalty, however, for timeshare toad Toni Muldoon, who had links with this £1.5million scam but was slimy enough to keep his name off the company paperwork.

Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum continues to go after those in the timeshare resale industry who engage in questionable and - in some cases - fraudulent practices.

Among the actions is what the AG's office calls "a significant settlement that could yield as much as $1.3 million in consumer refunds" and the filing of a lawsuit against a major player in the state's timeshare resale industry.

McCollum also unveiled ongoing investigations into at least 17 timeshare companies and their affiliates throughout the state for deceptive trade practices.

"Florida's consumers are trying to make prudent financial decisions," the attorney general noted, "but many timeshare resale companies are blatantly scamming people by promising sales or refunds and failing to provide services even after taking hefty up-front fees."

Timeshare resale complaints have recently surpassed mortgage-related complaints as the most commonly reported consumer complaint received by the office's Consumer Hotline.

ConsumerAffairs.com has received a sizable number of complaints about the practices of timeshare sellers from consumers across the nation.

"In September of 2007 I paid Timeshares Only almost $600 to list my timeshare which was to be a one time fee and they would run the ad until it sold," says Shannon of Harrisburg, NC. "Well, I have not had one call regarding an offer for my timeshare although I have reduced the price a few times. I also decided to check the ad myself on the web site and could not find it. When I contacted them to ask why they told me I had to periodically 'reactivate it'. If I paid you a fee and you agreed to run the ad until it sold, I should not have to call and reactivate it! This business is a complete SCAM!"

"I was told by timeshares only they guaranteed to sell my timeshare or rent it," John from Baltimore writes ConsumerAffairs.com. "Well it's been over three years since they took my money and still not one call to sell or even rent. I was also promised that they would refund my money if I sold it before they did. Well I did sell it and still no refund either."

The lawsuit filed in Florida against Resales Buy Owner.com, Inc. contends the company engaged in a systematic pattern of deception that improperly induced consumers to pay up-front fees for timeshare resale services that were never provided.

According to consumer complaints, the company would indicate it either had a buyer or renter interested in the timeshare and that there would be no problem renting or selling the timeshare within 90 to 120 days. The lawsuit maintains the company merely advertised the property listings, if taking any action at all, and allegedly charged consumers' credit cards even after consumers opted not to do business with the company. The lawsuit seeks an order prohibiting the company from engaging in further deceptive conduct and seeks full restitution on behalf of victimized consumers, civil penalties and reimbursement for fees and costs.

McCollum's Office also announced a significant settlement with Virtual Group, Inc., resolving allegations the company failed to provide promised refunds to consumers. Virtual Group, which does business under the name Realty Trade, offered timeshare resale and rental advertising services to consumers looking to sell or lease their timeshare properties.

As a result of the investigation, Realty Trade has already paid over $800,000 in refunds to 799 consumers. The company will also make another $500,000 available to consumers who make new refund requests.

In addition to the litigation and the settlement announced today, in recent months, the Attorney General's Office has subpoenaed 17 timeshare resale companies and their affiliates over allegations of potentially deceptive business practices.

Common complaints about these companies involve the use of false and deceptive claims to entice consumers to pay up-front fees, including assertions that buyers are allegedly ready and willing to buy or rent the consumers' timeshare.

Companies also often allegedly fail to honor cancellation policies, misrepresent the actual services that will be provided to consumers, and fail to comply with elements of state and federal telemarketing acts.

The initiative was launched in 2009 in response to the growing number of timeshare resale complaints received by the Attorney General's Office.

Grand Pacific Resort Management, a privately owned timeshare vacation ownership management company located in Carlsbad, CA has promoted Guy Hall to the newly created position of Area Manager. In this new role, Guy will be responsible for the day to day operations at Carlsbad Seapointe Resort as well as have direct oversight of Coronado Beach Resort.

According to Nigel Lobo, Vice President of Grand Pacific Resort Management, “As General Manager at Carlsbad Seapointe, Guy has taken the resort to new heights, both in occupancy as well as guest satisfaction, once again earning RCI Gold Crown status for the resort.

He has mentored and developed a solid team with the ’all hands on deck’ resort credo the Seapointe team developed and has consistently implemented creative programs and activities.”

In addition to new role as Area Manager, Guy Hall will play a key role in identifying acquisition and management contract candidates to add to Grand Pacific Resort Management portfolio of resorts.

Grand Pacific Resort Management is one of the oldest and largest vacation ownership companies based in California. Servicing over 45,000 owner-families every year, it manages over 1,000 units in California and Hawaii. For more information visit www.gprmgt.com or call Sharrie McIntosh at 760-431-8500.

The Cooperative Association of Resort Exchangers (C.A.R.E.) held its annual 1st Quarter Board of Directors’ meeting from January 29-January 31, 2010.

The annual meeting hosted by Global Connections, Inc. at their Beso del Sol Resort, Dunedin, FL, was attended by the entire C.A.R.E. Board of Directors including Jeanette Bunn, Vice President, Dave Dawson, Vice President, Vicki DiFabio, Treasurer, Tina Hill, Vice President, Linda Mayhugh, Vice President, Deborah Sansom, Secretary, James Wehrle, Vice President, Debbie Westby, Vice President, and Bonnie Kosco, Immediate Past President. The purpose of the meeting was to review and finalize all committee actions and plans for 2010.

According to Dave Dawson, “As a first term Board Member I was amazed at the amount of work that transpired and the teambuilding that was accomplished during the three day meeting. Global Connections, Inc. was pleased to be able to provide the setting for this important gathering of the C.A.R.E. Board.”

C.A.R.E.’s Strategic Planning Committee formulated the 2010 Strategic Plan. The plan identifies external and internal operating environments that affect C.A.R.E. and the resulting strengths, weaknesses, opportunities as well as the threats facing the organization. After evaluating this information, the committee established goals, objectives and strategies, and developed an action plan. The action plan was presented to the Board of Directors and accepted.

Final details for C.A.R.E.’s Silver and Gold Conference to be held in New Orleans, LA from April 24-27, 2010 were also discussed. Special preparations are underway to celebrate C.A.R.E.’s 50th Conference and 25th year at the Hilton New Orleans St. Charles. Past Board Members, Richard Gallardo and Pinnacle Award recipients are invited to attend the conference in celebration of the special occasion.

The Board of Directors also selected the 2010 recipient of the Richard Gallardo Award which will be presented at C.A.R.E.’s Silver and Gold Conference. The award was created in honor of Richard Gallardo, husband of C.A.R.E.’s first President, Kathleen Gallardo, who tirelessly served C.A.R.E. in numerous capacities for many years and is given in recognition of outstanding volunteer service to C.A.R.E.

C.A.R.E. is a non-profit trade association established in 1985 with members in the U.S.A., Canada, Mexico, Europe and Australia. The association offers over 2,500 vacation properties and member companies’ service over a million travelers annually. Resort developers and service companies, property management companies, homeowners associations, rental and exchange organizations, and travel clubs engaged in the vacation industry whose goal is to offer the tools to provide outstanding vacation services while remaining committed to the highest standards and ethics are C.A.R.E. member companies.

Private aviation operator Regent Jet says it has created a new concept in the fractional ownership industry and a new way for individuals and companies to manage their private aviation requirements. Its Private Jet Hedging services aims to give jet membership programme subscribers a way to reduce their cost-per-hour by hedging against their fixed-rate programmes.

The company says Private Jet Hedging offers clients access to pristine, late-model aircraft through a network of vetted aircraft operators, often at substantial savings over fixed-rate programmes.

“Jet membership programmes offer a generally high level of service with fixed pricing designed to produce outsized profits on some flights to offset other ‘loss-leader’ flights,” says Justin Sullivan, managing director of Regent Jet. “Regent Jet advises clients whether their programme offers the best value on a trip-by- trip basis. More often than not, we deliver a superior value.”

“Working with us is very simple – there are no fees or up-front deposits. We simply build a travel profile so that we understand each client’s preferences and requirements, and then provide clients with a 24- number to access our team. Clients either call or e-mail their travel requirements, and we analyze each trip, presenting a portfolio of options. Clients than choose the aircraft that is right for them, arrange for payment, and fly. There are no long-term commitments, no contracts and no strings attached,” said Sullivan.

Marriott International Inc., the largest U.S. hotel chain, plans to double the number of rooms in Europe to 80,000 by 2015.

"Europe is the largest lodging market in the world and holds enormous potential for Marriott," Amy McPherson, managing director of the company's European unit, told Bloomberg News in an e-mailed statement today. "We are confident we are well-positioned to achieve this ambitious expansion goal."

Marriott, based in Bethesda, Md., currently operates 174 hotels in 24 European countries, which generate annual revenue of almost $3 billion. It will open hotels in Moscow, Budapest and Ankara, Turkey, this year.

The company, which operates hotels and timeshare resorts across 66 countries and territories, has proportionally fewer overseas hotel rooms than rivals such as Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. Three-quarters of its 35,000 full-service hotel rooms under development are outside the U.S.

THERE will be a trial over allegations that five people connected to a holiday marketing firm in Exeter were involved in unfair trading practices.

Mark Herbert, Michael Girvin, John Girvin, Carol Small and Karen Henthorne pleaded not guilty to all 15 charges, at Exeter Crown Court yesterday.

Judge Philip Wassall said he was directing not guilty pleas for St Frances Marketing Ltd, as it had not sent a representative to the hearing. The firm will also face trial over the same 15 charges, whether or not a representative attends.

Allegations include selling holidays which were similar to timeshare schemes without telling customers; not giving them enough time to make a decision; claiming holidays were free when they involved a fee and wrongly informing them that they could not cancel a holiday product.

Judge Wassall said there would be a further plea and case management hearing on a date to be set. This could be on May 14 or the soonest date available after then.

A trial could potentially be held on November 1, although this has not been confirmed yet. The court heard that the trial could last up to five weeks.

Small, 45, is of Ide Lane, Exeter; Henthorne, 44, is also of Ide Lane. Herbert, 55, is of West Huntspill, Somerset; Michael Girvin, 49, of Salterton Road, Exmouth and John Girvin, 46, of Newlands Avenue, Exmouth. They were all jointly charged with 15 offences with dates in 2008 and last year, in a prosecution brought by Devon Trading Standards.

Three of these charges alleged that they engaged in unfair practices, by telling a customer that a holiday product was not a timeshare product.

The charges said that this was likely to have deceived the customer as the information was factually correct but the product was so similar to timeshare as to be indistinguishable.

They denied two charges of telling a customer that they had a free holiday, when in fact £49 had to be paid.

Four alleged offences were of fraud, involving dishonestly representing to customers that a holiday company was associated with organisations such the Association of British Travel Agents.

Another two charges involved allegedly falsely stating that a holiday product was only available for a limited time.

The charges said this would lead the customer to make an immediate decision and deprive them of time to make a considered choice.

A further charge of fraud involved dishonestly representing to a couple, in a letter, that they could not cancel their holiday product or contract.

The defendants also denied three further charges. The nature of these offences, or details of what they involved, were not explained when they were read out in court.

The court clerk said these were specimen charges, involving offences in 2008.

Details of the potential financial value of the 15 charges were not stated in the charges.

Judge Wassall released the defendants on bail until the next court hearing.

Marriott Vacation Club's Global Owner Services was recently named "Contact Center of the Year (Over 100 Seats)" at the Fourth Annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, which were presented on February 22 at the Eden Roc Renaissance Hotel in Miami Beach, Fla.

"Being recognized as the 'Contact Center of the Year' is a great honor and a wonderful acknowledgment of the daily commitment our Owner Services Associates in Salt Lake City put forth," said Ron Essig, vice president, global owner products and services for Marriott Vacation Club International. "The formula for our success continues to be our relentless focus on customer service."

Marriott Vacation Club's Owner Services is home to more than 450 Associates and provides outstanding customer service, worldwide reservations and Marriott Rewards assistance to over 400,000 Marriott Owners at more than 50 distinct resorts worldwide.

The Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service recognize and honor the accomplishments of sales, customer service, and call center professionals, departments and teams worldwide. This year's awards included more than 500 submitted entries across 27 categories for customer service and 41 for sales. The Stevie Awards' Board of Judges and Advisors, a group that includes many of the leading figures in business, selected winners from among the finalists that had been narrowed down by business professionals worldwide during preliminary judging.

Previously, Marriott Vacation Club International received the coveted Stevie in 2003, 2006 and 2008 for "Best Sales Organization" and in 2007 was recognized as the "Best Customer Service Organization" at the American Business Awards.

About The Stevie Awards
Stevie Awards are conferred in four programs: The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about the Stevie Awards at www.stevieawards.com.