Today, Chicago-based Global Hyatt Corporation announced the name of the Company's new upscale extended stay brand as Hyatt Summerfield Suites.
The announcement comes on the heels of Hyatt's recent acquisition of the upscale extended stay brand and franchise system of 21 Summerfield Suites branded hotels and six owned assets from partnerships between affiliates of The Blackstone Group, the Gencom Group and Lehman Brothers. The transaction was completed on January 5, 2006.

With its acquisition of Summerfield Suites, Global Hyatt continues the vertical integration of its portfolio, now expanding its brand presence into the upscale extended stay category.

"Building upon the past success of Summerfield Suites, the premier extended stay product in the industry, we will add the Hyatt name to Summerfield Suites brand and take its industry leading track record to new heights," said Jim Abrahamson, Hyatt's senior vice president of acquisition and development. "The welcome addition of Hyatt Summerfield Suites to the Global Hyatt family further enhances our portfolio, which now includes nearly 750 hotels worldwide."

The first Hyatt Summerfield Suites properties will be converted in late 2006 following renovations.

Global Hyatt will develop an extended stay prototype concept for new build hotels and new brand standards criteria for converting existing Summerfield Suites hotels to the new Hyatt-branded extended stay product. Similar to Hyatt Place, the new concept will feature an emphasis on exciting new interior and exterior design, forward thinking technology and unique applications of sensory branding. Details of these plans are now being developed.

About Global Hyatt Corporation

There are 216 Hyatt branded hotels and resorts (over 90,000 rooms) in 43 countries around the world, operating under the Hyatt®, Hyatt Regency®, Grand Hyatt® and Park Hyatt® brands. Currently, there are an additional 28 Hyatt hotels and resorts under development, including 10 new hotels in China. Hyatt Corporation (domestic U.S., Canada and Caribbean hotels) and Hyatt International Corporation (international properties) are subsidiaries of Chicago-based Global Hyatt Corporation. Global Hyatt Corporation is also the owner of Hyatt Vacation Ownership, Inc. operators of the Hyatt Vacation Club (timeshare and fractional residential product), Hyatt Equities, L.L.C. (hotel ownership), Select Hotel Group L.L.C. (which owns, operates and franchises AmeriSuites hotels, Hyatt Place and Summerfield Suites hotels) and U.S. Franchise Systems, Inc. (which franchises Hawthorn Suites, and Microtel Inns and Suites).

From the U.S. and Canada, reservations for any Hyatt hotel worldwide may be obtained by calling 1-800-233-1234 or logging onto www.hyatt.com.

Story courtesy of [url="http://losangeles.dbusinessnews.com/shownews.php?newsid=59166&type_news=latest"]dbusinessnews.com

Springfield, MO – January 2006 – Todd P. Graves, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Tennessee man was sentenced in federal court last Friday (January 6) for defrauding hundreds of victims of more than $20 million through an investment scheme involving two Branson, Mo., hotels.
Dennis Ray Weaver, 56, of Jackson, Tenn., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Richard E. Dorr to eight years and nine months in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Weaver pay more than $53 million in restitution to the victims of his fraud – $32,204,525 to his victims in the Western District of Missouri and $20,976,660 to his victims in a separate fraud scheme in the Northern District of Indiana.

“Weaver profited from an illegal Ponzi scheme to defraud hundreds of investors,” Graves said, “including some who lost their retirement savings.”

On Oct. 14, 2004, Weaver pleaded guilty to mail fraud. Weaver admitted that he marketed phony time-share investment opportunities in the Branson Inn and Dogwood Inn from July 2000 through August 2003, generating more than $27 million in revenue and causing an actual loss in excess of $20 million from several hundred victims.

Victims purchased their time-share lease from Weaver and were led to believe they would get a return on their investment by sub-leasing their hotel rooms through another company, Graves said. In reality, most of the rooms were never rented out. Any return the victims received actually came from money paid by other investors who also purchased leases, not from any vacationers renting the rooms.

Weaver served as president and treasurer of Branson City Limits (originally incorporated in February 2000 as Forever Country Theatres, Inc.), which purchased an entertainment complex in Branson consisting of two theaters, a restaurant, and a hotel named the Branson Inn, for approximately $27 million. The down payment of approximately $5 million was paid with money that came from First Choice Management Services, a corporation formed in the state of Nevada in which Weaver was on the board of directors and served as secretary. The remaining $22 million was placed in a promissory note that was secured by the complex. In addition to the $5 million down payment, at least another $1.6 million for operating expenses was transferred to Branson City Limits from First Choice.

Weaver began marketing “leisure leases” (also called “universal leases”) through Branson City Limits in July 2000. A leisure lease was a lease of a hotel room in the Branson Inn for one week each year for a term of years (usually 20 to 25 years). Leaseholders paid $4,500 for a leisure lease, which entitled them to stay in the room during that week each year. Leaseholders could sublease the room-week instead, or enter into an agreement with a third party management company for the third party to sublease the room-week. The management company would then pay the leaseholders rental income each year equal to 11 percent of the cost of the lease. Leaseholders were told that Branson Inn would be renovated and replaced with better quality condominiums. But Branson City Limits performed no significant renovation of and only minimal maintenance on Branson Inn, Graves said.

From the beginning, Graves said, Weaver knew that virtually all leaseholders were purchasing the leisure leases as investments based on the expectation a third party management company would pay them rental income equal to an 11 percent return on their investment, and many leaseholders purchased multiple room-weeks.

Branson City Limits offered to have a supposedly unaffiliated third party contact the leaseholder for those management agreements. In reality, Graves said, Weaver and others working with him sent all requests for information on third party management companies to a single entity. At first, the requests were sent to Realty Property Management in Branson. Later, they were sent to Ozark Ticket and Travel, also in Branson. Both companies followed the same general procedure, entering into agreements with leaseholders to manage the rental of their roomweeks, without any significant effort to actually rent the rooms. No records were kept to determine whether a particular leaseholder’s room had in fact been rented and for what rate. Instead, Graves explained, these firms simply computed the rental payments due each month and notified Branson City Limits, which then transferred that amount of money (plus the third party fee) to those firms. Realty Property Management and Ozark Ticket and Travel then mailed the appropriate amount of “rental income” to each leaseholder.

Weaver admitted that he knew no truly unaffiliated third party would agree to pay the leaseholders an 11 percent return, because the rooms at the Branson Inn could not be rented on a sufficiently regular basis or for a sufficient rate to pay the leaseholder $70 per night plus reasonable compensation to the third party for its services in managing the rental of the rooms. The “rental income” paid to leaseholders by Realty Property Management actually came from two sources, Graves said – money fraudulently obtained by First Choice Management Services and transferred to Branson City Limits, and from money paid by other leaseholders who signed up for leisure leases.

Branson City Limits had spent all the money it received from First Choice Management Services by the end of November 2000. In the spring of 2001, Branson City Limits began sending leaseholder requests for information about third party management companies to Ozark Ticket and Travel. As before, Graves said, the “rental income” paid to leaseholders actually came from money paid to Branson City Limits by other investors who purchased leases.

In May 2002, Weaver and some of those working with him formed Resort Hotels, Inc., headquartered in Florida. Resort Hotels purchased the Dogwood Inn in Branson for $5.1 million on May 3, 2002, paying $300,000 down, another $700,000 in 90 days, and a promissory note for $4.1 million. Resort Hotels obtained the down payment and most of the $700,000 from Branson City Limits. Weaver and others began marketing leisure leases for the Dogwood Inn under the same kind of arrangement with Ozark Ticket and Travel.

The Dogwood Inn’s operating expenses also exceeded its revenue. “As with Branson Inn,” Graves said, “the so-called ‘rental income’ paid to Dogwood Inn leaseholders actually came from money paid by other investors who purchased leases, not from any vacationers renting the rooms.”

Both Branson Inn and Dogwood Inn closed in November 2003. Weaver and others sold leisure leases in the Branson Inn from July 2000 through October 2002, generating more than $10 million in revenue.

Weaver and others sold leisure leases in the Dogwood Inn from June 2002 through August 2003, generating more than $17 million in revenue. Realty Property Management and Ozark Ticket and Travel returned less than $4 million to leaseholders in the form of “rental income.”

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas C. Bunch. It was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Story courtesy of [url="http://hospitality-1st.com/PressNews/USDOJ-011306.html"]hospitality-1st.com

The public hearings on a Pittsfield bylaw to regulate resort development have come to an end, and it is now in city officials' hands to draft sensible, equitable regulations. The debate is not confined to the Ponterril property that initiated it, as the city as a whole is affected. However, the Ponterril case presents the classic dilemma between the city's need to develop but also to preserve its rich history, in which that property holds a special place.
Ponterril, a scenic 115-acre site on Pontoosuc Lake, has been owned and put to good use as a recreational facility by the city's YMCA for the last four decades. However, the YMCA wants to sell the land for financial reasons, which is its right. The loss, however, would be tremendous not just for youth recreation in the city, but also the beauty of the land.

The YMCA has entered a deal with Black Pearl Company, which wants to build time-shares on the land, and neighbors have formed the East Acres Association in opposition. City officials advocating rules that would open the way for regulated resort development on sites such as Ponterril argue that current laws are inadequate, and without clear laws the developments are likely to spread without the city's input, which could mean less desirable growth.

Community Development Director Deanna Ruffer said that under the city proposal the Ponterril project would preserve at least 40 percent of the land as open space. The East Acres group argues that an aerial photo showing the footprint of the 45 buildings superimposed on the Ponterril property speaks for itself as to the extent of the damage that would be done. The group's attorney maintains



that time-shares can be limited without changes in the zoning code.

The time-share debate is one that snuck up on the city because until recently it never considered itself as desirable to tourists. Mayor Ruberto is clearly in favor of time-share development as a means to generate money by expanding the tax base of the city and inviting new people to shop locally. Time-share residents will spend money in the community without drawing on many resources, such as schools, but they are not the committed residents needed for a healthy civic life.

The Community Development Board and the City Council will have to make a choice on the recommended ordinance or risk leaving the rules currently in place as they are. Last year's debate involving a proposed strip club is revealing in this case, as Pittsfield's zoning laws are vague in too many instances. Time-shares can play a role in boosting the city's economy, but laws should specify where and under what circumstances they can be built. If under the current ordinance Black Pearl can build up to 375 units at Ponterril than the current ordinance isn't restrictive enough. The city is in uncharted territory here, but the way in which it handles this issue will reveal if city officials are up to the task of helping the city grow without forfeiting the qualities that make it attractive in the first place.

Story courtesy of [url="http://www.berkshireeagle.com/editorials/ci_3390765"]berkshireeagle.com

Fairfield Resorts received a building permit yesterday for its long-anticipated time-share development on a beachfront bluff top.

The seven-story, twin-tower project will be built on Pacific Street between Pier View Way and Civic Center Drive on land that once was part of the ill-fated Manchester luxury hotel project.

Grading for two levels of subterranean parking has been under way since late last year.

The project will include a public promenade of shops and restaurants, as well as 168 time-share units of one, two, three and four bedrooms. Completion is scheduled for spring 2008.

Fairfield, with 70 resorts, is the world's largest time-share operator.

It plans to call its latest resort Fairfield Oceanside at the Pier because the project is across Pacific from the Oceanside Municipal Fishing Pier.

Story courtesy of [url="http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/northcounty/20060119-9999-1mc19briefs.html"]signonsandiego.com

AWAY from the smart hotels, pristine villas and sparkling beaches, lurks another Tenerife, a dark and violent place of dirty deals and bloody murder.

While millions of British holidaymakers top up their tans, a handful of international gangsters and London thugs have turned this holiday mecca into the dodgy timeshare capital of the world.

This week an even darker shadow was cast over the island's once sunny reputation by the shocking murders of Billy and Flo Robinson.

The couple, middle-aged, always sun-tanned, always immaculate and very, very wealthy had made their fortune in the timeshare industry.

Florence, 55, was discovered bludgeoned to death in her two-seater Mercedes, yards from her home. Her 58-year-old husband was found less than a mile away, slumped on the back seat of his new Porsche Cayenne. His throat had been cut and he had been shot in the head.

The murders bore all the marks of a professional assassination, and present a telling glimpse into a sinister underworld of drugs and gang warfare.

Just days before, Billy and Flo had waved goodbye to their closest friends, the parents of former EastEnders actress Michelle Collins.

Mary and Sid, Michelle's mum and stepdad, had left their home in London to spend Christmas at the couple's villa in the remote area of Oroteanda Alta, near the prestigious Golf del Sur resort.

Still reeling from shock, Michelle struggled to put her family's grief into words.

"It's something that's very difficult," she told the Daily Mirror. "It's very hard, it's difficult, but we're supporting each other and we're there for each other through this. But it's horrible."


Local police believe the double murder is a brutal escalation of the tangled web of corruption, money laundering, extortion and even gun-running that has invaded their island.

The timeshare trade, which sees hordes of luckless British tourists accosted by touts and often persuaded to part with money they can ill-afford, has become a multi-million pound business - and a magnet for the criminal underworld.

OVER recent years, Russian hoods and eastern European gangs have muscled in on the lucrative industry.

Now the island's tranquility is often shattered by shootings involving Albanian, Kosovar and Romanian thugs.

And there is a darker, more dreadful side beginning to emerge. Profits from timeshare scams are believed to have funded Middle Eastern terror groups.

Police say a group of 18 people arrested in 2001 may be linked to the Hezbollah movement in Lebanon and the Syrian-backed Amal movement, although both groups denied any link.

The gang was believed to be raising money by forging credit cards and organising fraudulent time-share deals, mostly with Britons and Germans.

And where there are gangs, there are the drug cartels - cocaine is rife and the formerly idyllic island has earned the unwelcome nickname "the white island" among partygoers.

Police recently arrested a 24-year-old man, a drug mule who was carrying almost a kilo of cocaine in his stomach. Prostitution is openly offered through main street clubs, lap dancing bars are common, and pimping is profitable.

But the biggest money is still in selling timeshare holiday homes.

Two figures have attracted considerable interest in the wake of the Robinson murders. One is Billy's former business associate John Palmer, the notorious timeshare conman recently released from an eight-year jail sentence.

The other is a Lebanese man called Mohammed Jamil Derbah, Palmer's former "head of security".

The two men met in Liberia and Sierra Leone in 1988 while involved in the diamond trade, and Palmer encouraged Derbah to move to Tenerife.

And over an eight-year period, Palmer conned thousands of British holidaymakers into parting with their cash. Using a complex web of companies, he targeted existing timeshare owners and persuaded them to sell and buy again.

But while customers were told that Palmer's company would sell their old timeshare and make them a vast profit, it did nothing. Many of his victims lost their life savings.

Derbah, meanwhile, is said to have launched his own money-laundering activities and he and Palmer became locked in a bloody turf war.

The spate of violence between the rival gangs sparked outrage among the authorities in the Canary Islands, and back in England Palmer, 55, was finally jailed for his multi-million pound timeshare scams. And while Palmer cooled his heels in Belmarsh jail, Billy Robinson emerge from his shadows.

For most of his career, Billy had worked alongside Palmer but now Billy was building his own holiday club business, World Global Travel SL, while Flo continued to work in administration for Palmer.

The Robinsons' £1million villa in Los Cristianos is a monument to their success. Dotted with Cuban palms, the gardens include a pool and a landscaped lagoon filled with Koi carp. Driving her Mercedes sports car to her regular hair appointment, blonde, perma-tanned Flo was instantly recognisable. Billy was rarely seen without Sid and Nancy, the couple's beloved Jack Russells.

Since their deaths, many friends have paid tribute to their warmth and generosity. Flo was "the kindest and most beautiful woman a person could know", one mourner said at her funeral last Thursday.

BUT the Robinsons had known their cut of the timeshare industry was under threat, and their business rivals were dangerous men. Their luxurious villa was ringed by steel fences.

On the night their charmed lifestyle came to a bloody end, Billy and Flo met friends at a restaurant in Playa de Las Americas. Typically, Billy was in good form.

"We laughed over a new mobile phone which neither of us could make work," recalled friend Chris Collins, who dined with them. Speculation is rife over whether Billy and Flo were victims of the timeshare turf war, but there seems little doubt that the couple's business dealings attracted enemies. Their son Liam is said to have received a series of death threats.

Palmer's release from jail last August, after serving half his sentence, has raised tension on the island. Despite having his passport confiscated on release from Belmarsh jail, the former Somerset businessman was among mourners at the funeral.

So was Mohammed Derbah's brother, Sam.

A spokesperson for the Timeshare Consumer Association explained: "Billy and World Global Travel were marketing a holiday club system called Timelinx which was in competition with Palmer's timeshare businesses. But I don't think he'd take the competition this seriously."

Just how seriously he took the competition is something Spanish police will be anxious to uncover.

News courtesy of [url="http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=16610121&method=full&siteid=94762&headline=tenerife--name_page.html"]The Mirror

Planet Hollywood Towers by Westgate to Break Ground Thursday, January 19, 2006 1:30 PM

The Skyline Altering $750 Million 50-Story Tower Is Latest Addition to the Sizzling Harmon Avenue Corridor and Is Next Step in Planet Hollywood Brand Expansion.

David A. Siegel, founder, president, and CEO of Westgate Resorts, the world's largest privately held timeshare company, and Robert Earl co-chairman of Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino will break ground today on a 50-story luxury vacation ownership and condominium tower directly connected to the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino complex on the world- famous Las Vegas Strip. The partnership brings together two recognized industry leaders committed to providing the highest quality vacation experiences to their guests.

The $750 million development will include over 1,200 units ranging in size from one to four bedrooms, increasing the hotel room inventory for the resort by 2,800 rooms. The top four stories of the Towers will be comprised of 28 luxury condominiums ranging in size from 4,000 square feet to 10,000 square feet with prices starting at $4 million. The vision for the new Towers was to create a look that was both sleek and glamorous. The color palette is in keeping with the Planet Hollywood brand using red and blue accents to set off the soaring glass building.

The Towers, which will be located on the Southeast corner of the complex, at the corner of Harmon Avenue and Audrey, is being designed by Gerald B. Koi, Architect of the firm Morris Architects. The casual yet sophisticated interiors are being created by DiLeonardo International, Inc., recognized worldwide for its achievements and innovations in the hospitality industry. Overseeing the construction is Bovis Lend Lease Americas, one of this country's largest construction managers.

"Planet Hollywood Towers by Westgate will dramatically alter the Las Vegas skyline. Its majestic lines will add grace to the Harmon Avenue corridor and I am especially proud that our development is located steps away from the Las Vegas Strip," said David Siegel. "When completed in 2007, this will be the world's first vacation ownership resort directly connected to a major resort hotel and casino complex complete with over 12 restaurants, luxury resort amenities, as well as a full-service shopping mall with over 140 stores. We believe that this fully self-contained resort environment will provide our 350,000 timeshare owners vacation experiences unavailable anywhere else in the world."

"I am thrilled that we are here to celebrate the groundbreaking of the Planet Hollywood Towers by Westgate. Westgate Resorts is one of the largest and most successful vacation ownership companies in the world and this incredible building will dramatically increase guest traffic, room count, and the overall Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino experience. I could not be more pleased to be working with David Siegel, a pioneer and visionary in the tourism industry," said Robert Earl. "The development of this plot of land, coupled with the complete redesign of our façade and casino, and the agreement with the shopping mall on enhanced entrances, including access to the Planet Hollywood Towers by Westgate, has created a seamless and completely integrated resort complex. I would like to thank David Edelstein and Boulevard Invests for working diligently with us on integrating our collective properties."


Other unique features of the Planet Hollywood Towers by Westgate include:

Gross area of over 3.2 million square feet including 2.3 million square feet of living space

14,000 square-foot lobby and check in area

35,000 square feet of meeting and convention space, supplementing the resort's meeting space

16,000 square feet of eclectic dining

3,100 square-foot fitness Center

16,000 square-foot sales area

Outside amenities include a 40,000 square-foot elevated outdoor recreational pool area on the second level and an exclusive 46th floor Penthouse Pool.

About Westgate Resorts

Westgate Resorts is an Orlando based subsidiary of Central Florida Investments Inc., which operates and manages Vacation Ownership properties in Central Florida, and other parts of the United States. The company, founded in 1970 by David A. Siegel is the largest privately owned corporation in Central Florida and the third-largest Timeshare Company in the world with over 350,000 owners. Westgate Resorts provides affordable luxury vacation accommodations as well as offering worldwide travel solutions through their exclusive affiliation with Interval International, The Quality Interval Exchange Network comprised of over 2000 resorts in over 65 countries. More information is available by logging onto www.WestgateResorts.com

About Aladdin Resort & Casino

The Aladdin Resort & Casino, the future home of Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino is a joint venture partnership involving Robert Earl, Founder and CEO of Planet Hollywood International Inc, Bay Harbour Management LLC, and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. The property will continue to operate as the Aladdin Resort & Casino during the extensive renovation process, which is, scheduled for completion in the second half of 2006. Upon completion of renovations, the property will be re-branded and renamed the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, a Sheraton hotel. More information is available by logging onto www.aladdincasino.com

Interval International, a leading global vacation exchange company, is a Platinum Sponsor of the Caribbean Hotel Association’s (CHA) Caribbean Marketplace Conference that started yesterday and runs for four days at the Puerto Rico Convention Center in San Juan.

“Interval International has chosen to support the CHA Caribbean Marketplace Conference because it is a key event in bringing together Caribbean tourism departments and hoteliers with tour operators and wholesalers from across the world to plan ways in which they can work together to promote tourism to the region,” said David Callaghan, vice president of resort sales and service for Interval International. “By participating in this event, we can effectively help the Caribbean industry develop and expand.”

“CHA is once again grateful to Interval International for its continued strong support of our programs and for recognizing the importance of the Caribbean Marketplace Conference as a venue that attracts attention to the Caribbean region from tour operators and travel agents from around the world,” said Alec Sanguinetti, director general and CEO of the Caribbean Hotel Association.

The Caribbean has proven itself to be a very popular destination among current owners of the vacation ownership product. According to the Future Timeshare Buyers: 2005 Market Profile, the latest in a series of studies that offers resort developers unique insights into the vacation habits, preferences and intentions of leisure travelers who are interested in owning vacation time, the Caribbean is the preferred international destination of choice for US members after Europe.

As a Strategic Partner of the Caribbean Hotel Association, Interval has been a long#8209;time supporter of the tourism industry in the Caribbean. Interval and CHA continue to work together on issues relating to the support and growth of the hospitality and tourism sectors in the Caribbean. The alliance recognizes the importance of collaborating on matters that directly impact the economies of the region.

CHA is dedicated to the advancement of Caribbean tourism. The members of CHA represent the entire spectrum of the hospitality industry’s private sector. Some more than 800 member hotels in 35 national hotel associations, to allied members including airline executives, tour operators, travel agents, trade and consumer press, hotel and restaurant suppliers, and others. CHA is headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and maintains an office in Miami, Florida.

Interval International is celebrating its 30th year leading the vacation ownership industry as the exchange company of quality and innovation. Interval has a global network of more than 2,000 affiliated resorts in 75 countries, and serves its developer clients and nearly 1.8 million member families, worldwide vacation owners, through 29 offices in 20 countries. The company provides a variety of exchange services and year-round travel-related benefits to enhance members’ vacation experiences. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, Interval International is part of IAC/InterActiveCorp, which operates leading and diversified businesses in sectors being transformed by the Internet, online and offline. Other IAC companies include Ask Jeeves, Citysearch, Entertainment Publications, HSN, Lending Tree, and Ticketmaster.

TIMESHARE SUIT - Royal Oasis owners may be taken to court

Several time-share owners of the now defunct Royal Oasis resort are talking with lawyers and plan to file a class action suit.

Among those expected to be named in the suit are resort owner Driftwood Freeport, David Buddeyemer, president of Driftwood Freeport Limited, and Lehman Brothers.

The situation is leaving a bad taste in the time-share owners' mouths and a terrible impression on the government of The Bahamas.

"We don't want it to come to this, but with no information forthcoming, it seems we have no other recourse," says one frustrated owner, who has yet to use her time-share since her purchase in 2003.

Fifteen months ago, the Crowne Plaza Golf Resort and Casino at the Royal Oasis closed down, reportedly for much needed repairs after Hurricane Frances in September 2004.

The closure forced the lay-off of some 1,300 employees and subsequently the time-share arm.

With no word from the timeshare resort for several months regarding a pending sale or reopening of the resort, and virtually stuck with a time-share point system that is useless to them, several owners are threatening legal action.

Darlene Barber from Stafford, Virginia, paid cash for her timeshare "points" in July 2004 and says unlike many she can't stop her payment.

"I didn't take a loan, I didn't make monthly payments, I wrote a check for $12,000," Mrs. Barber told The Freeport News yesterday.

Just four weeks ago, she received a letter from RCI stating that there was a hold on her timeshare points.

She said, according to the letter, the "management company" (Driftwood or Royal Oasis) had notified RCI that she had not paid her maintenance fees. But Mrs. Barber explained that she had never received a bill.

With her points being frozen, she is unable to take advantage of any other time-share properties like she had anticipated.

"Now we are out in limbo. We can't go anywhere because RCI says our points are blocked and no one will return my e-mails or my phone calls and so I'm out of $12,000 and can't even go on a vacation," she said.

After the resort closed, she was told the owners were rebuilding, but she said red flags started shooting up when she received the letter.

"That's when I started making phone calls and realized that Driftwood had abandoned everything down there," she said.

Now, she says she doesn't understand how Driftwood can have property all over the Untied States and elsewhere and still be running and totally abandon the people who have invested in their project in Grand Bahama.

The resort closed only two months after she bought her points, adding insult to injury.

She says the situation is upsetting and even admits it makes her want to cry at times.

"Hopefully, I would get my money back," said Mrs. Barber, who is willing to go all the way. "Whatever I have to do."

Some owners even took out loans to buy their time-share, while others have been making monthly installments.

A number of owners continued with their monthly payments out of fear they would lose their points, but they now question where the funds were going since the resort remained closed and their points have been frozen.

Owners Francis Becker and Diane Sgro of Vernon, Connecticut, say they had not been impressed with the timeshare unit's "unprofessional system" even before the hurricanes.

The couple purchased their points in February 2004 and Ms. Sgro says it has been chaotic ever since they returned to the U.S., trying to get through to the time-share unit.

"It's unfortunate that they were hit with the hurricane; however, all of this could have been handled more appropriately," she said yesterday.

Ms. Sgro revealed they were unable to use their points in the first year before the hurricanes hit.

While she is not saying whether they are joining in on the class action suit, she said they are going to take some action for the thousands they have invested.

"We're going to do what we feel we have to do to recoup our money and also make sure that others are aware of their unprofessional manner of doing business," she said.

Some owners also feel the government is not helping either and have made attempts to get their plight heard via e-mails and telephone calls, but to no avail.

One Alberta, Canada, father and husband, in a recent e-mail to Prime Minister Perry Christie, explained that they had such a wonderful time here, they invested in the Royal Oasis timeshare, but now they fear their investment is lost.

In fact, they were planning to send their daughter and her friends on vacation here after they graduate high school next year.

Still anticipating his return to the island to bask on our "beautiful" beaches, he beseeched the prime minister, "I would like to ask for your attention to this situation so that this can be resolved quickly."

To-date, there has been no word on the status of the resort or the time-share unit.

FRACTIONAL BOAT SCHEME SET TO EXPAND IN EUROPE

The Royal Phuket Marina Cruising Club – a fractional boat ownership company in Thailand – is to expand its operations into Europe. A joint venture between Royal Phuket Marina and The Cruising Club International, it currently has franchise operations in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and the USA. Apart from Europe, the company also plans further expansion in Asia.

The Cruising Club offers prospective boat owners the opportunity to own an equity percentage of the boat of their choice from a range of luxury power and sail boats without the capital purchase and ongoing maintenance costs that are normally associated with larger vessels by syndicating the ownership and managing the ongoing maintenance of each vessel.

The Cruising Club system divides each vessel equity between two, five or in some cases as many as 10 or 14 owners. According to the company, it provides owners with “a high quality, hassle free boat ownership experience in a state of the art, luxury private boat for a very low entry and ongoing cost”.

PARADISE GROUP SEES MORE RESORT OPPORTUNITIES IN CYPRUS

Paradise Kings Club in Paphos expects to be 80 per cent sold out by 2008, according to Patrick O’ Doherty, director of operations, Cyprus.

Currently the third phase of its first property on the island is under construction. Some 67 units have opened in the first and second phases of the first purpose-built timeshare resort on the island. By the end of 2007, the property will have 110 units.

“There are further opportunities for Paradise Resorts to develop in Cyprus,” said Mr O’Doherty.

Forbes Jurors Told to Keep Deliberating

HARTFORD, Conn. — A federal judge on Thursday instructed jurors to continue deliberating in the accounting fraud trial of former Cendant Corp. Chairman Walter Forbes despite a deadlock.

Forbes, whose first trial last year ended in a mistrial because jurors could not reach a verdict, is accused of participating in a scheme that cost the company and investors more than $3 billion. He faces four charges -- conspiracy to commit securities fraud, securities fraud and two counts of false reporting to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Jurors, who have been deliberating since Dec. 8, sent a note to U.S. District Judge Alvin Thompson on Thursday, saying they had stalled.

"We have talked about the evidence, exchanged views amongst each other and have voted. We are not unanimous with our vote," jurors wrote. "May we please have some guidance?"

After listening to arguments from federal prosecutors and Forbes' defense lawyers, Thompson crafted a response that told jurors to continue deliberating but to not settle on a verdict merely to resolve the matter.

"As I told you before, in the end, your vote must be exactly that -- your vote," he told jurors. "As important as it is for you to reach unanimous agreement, it is just as important that you do so honestly and in good conscience and if you cannot agree it is your right to fail to agree."

Jurors will resume deliberations on Monday. Forbes faces up to 35 years in prison if convicted of all four charges.

In his first trial, Forbes faced 16 counts of conspiracy, securities fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, lying to the SEC and insider trading.

Forbes had claimed he didn't know about the fraud.

That jury convicted Forbes' co-defendant, Cendant Vice Chairman E. Kirk Shelton, of conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud, securities fraud and making false statements to the SEC.

Shelton was sentenced to 10 years in prison and ordered to pay $3.27 billion restitution to Cendant, including a lump-sum payment of $15 million and monthly installments of $2,000 after he is released from prison.

Prosecutors said Shelton inflated revenue by $500 million at Cendant's predecessor, CUC International, to drive up the stock price. The fraud was reported in 1998, causing Cendant's market value to drop by $14 billion in one day.

CUC, which ran a membership marketing operation, merged with HFS Inc., a travel and real-estate services company, to form Cendant. Cendant's brands include Ramada, Howard Johnson, Avis, Coldwell Banker and Century 21.

The Cendant allegations were among the first in a series of corporate accounting scandals in recent years that sparked outrage from investors. At the time, the $3 billion fraud was the largest case of accounting fraud in the country, prosecutors said.

Forbes was chief executive officer of CUC and Shelton was president before CUC merged with HFS Inc. to form New York-based Cendant in December 1997.

Four other former executives have already pleaded guilty in the scandal and have been cooperating witnesses.