Marriott Vacation Club International Reports Missing Backup Tapes

Marriott Vacation Club International (MVCI), the vacation ownership division and subsidiary of Marriott International, Inc. said today backup computer tapes containing data pertaining to approximately 206,000 associates, timeshare owners and timeshare customers were missing from the corporate office in Orlando Fla.

"We regret this situation has occurred and realize this may cause concern for our associates and customers," said Stephen P. Weisz, MVCI president. "We have recently mailed notifications to associates, timeshare owners and timeshare customers and are available to answer any questions they may have."

Although the tapes require specialized equipment to access content, MVCI continues to encourage recommended steps to safeguard against misuse. Included in the notification letters, MVCI is offering to individuals impacted by the situation an opportunity to enroll in a credit monitoring service at no cost to them. After enrollment, each person will be regularly notified of credit report activity so they can take action if needed.

As soon as the backup tapes were discovered missing, MVCI immediately began an investigation to search for the tapes, determine how they disappeared and resolve how to prevent a recurrence. That investigation is ongoing. MVCI also initiated steps to monitor for any unusual activity or possible misuse of the data. Further, the company notified appropriate governmental authorities of this matter.

For those impacted associates, timeshare owners and timeshare customers, the company has established a special contact telephone number of (800) 952-8145 and a website at http://www.vacationclub.com/datasecurity, or impacted individuals may e-mail the company at datasecurity@vacationclub.com.

Several reports have reached the Belize Tourism Board (BTB) office regarding Time Share Operators (TSO) on Ambergris Caye. Complaints were of tourists getting beleaguered by TSO’s when they were enjoying their relaxing vacation on “La Isla Bonita.”

On Thursday, December 8th, 2005, representatives of the various TSO’s met with Lloyd Enriquez, Registrar of Hotels and Tourist Accommodation, police officer and members of the San Pedro Town Council to come to an amicable resolution. During this important meeting, the Off-Premises Contact (OFC) was thoroughly discussed and the following were the conclusions reached:

All TSO were asked to cease and desist from soliciting time share sales in public areas, which means no soliciting on the streets or beaches, effective immediately.

The second resolution reached was that all TSO’s need to apply for a trade license for their respective time share booths at the San Pedro Town Council. These booths will be confined to private properties or buildings and no licenses will be granted for booths residing in public areas. The San Pedro Town Council will embark on this feat to ensure that all unlicensed booths be removed from the streets of San Pedro Town and that the proper procedures regarding trade licenses are followed.

With regards to the issuance of a license under the Hotel and Tourist Accommodations Act, Chapter 285 of the laws of Belize, these stipulations will compromise part of the terms and conditions of said license. Application must be received for the licenses prior to December 31st, 2005.

These agreements will outline the terms and conditions of the Time Share Operator’s License issued by the BTB. Although TSO were given the opportunity to police themselves according to the regulations, enforcing these laws will be the San Pedro Town Council, Belize Tourism Board and the San Pedro Police Department. Any TSO who breaks said regulations will be faced with penalties, ranging from issuance of violation tickets, suspension or cancellation of their license to operate and the complete closure of the property.

TSO’s present at the meeting were The Villas at Banyan Bay, Captain Morgan’s Vacation Club, Aquamarina Suites, Seven Seas Resort, Costa Maya Reef Resort and the Belize Yacht Club (Island Club Resorts).

For further information, kindly contact Lloyd Enriquez, Registrar of Hotels and Tourist Accommodation at 223-1910.

Interest in Vacation Timeshare Evolves Mightily Since Early 90s

The evolution of the vacation timeshare industry through the eyes of the lone timeshare website operator in the early 90's.

(PRWEB) December 17, 2005 -- Little known historical facts about what is today a large industry, Vacation Timeshare, are soon to be published in a book authored by the operator of the world's oldest Internet timeshare website, Larry Hayden. As the sole timeshare broker who was online on the Internet in the early 90's he shares his unique perspective and first-hand knowledge of the very beginnings of timeshare marketing on the Internet.

Back in 1991, which was before the Internet became popular, Larry was the only one marketing timeshare resales via electronic computer bulletin boards. Bulletin boards were a very important part of corporate business for small and large businesses alike. Bulletin boards as they were used then have now disappeared with the advent of the Internet.

But, Larry recalls being fascinated by a book he read about a little known subject called the Internet.

As he read the book, he states that it quickly became obvious to him that vacation timeshare would be the perfect vehicle to market to a worldwide audience, and the Internet was a worldwide medium. After all, is there anyone in the entire world who doesn't like to vacation?

With computer bulletin boards, people had to place a long distance telephone call in order to connect and use the bulletin board. How marvelous it was that with the Internet, the connection did not require payment of a long distance telephone call. Larry saw that his bulletin board would soon be moth-balled along with the several thousand dollars he had spent in programing the software for it.

The Internet was developed and used only by the government for non-commercial activities, so back in those days it was considered an abuse to post anything of a commercial nature, and the Internet purists predicted that commercial activity would be the end and downfall of the Internet.

Well, in effect, they were right. There was no way that such a powerful worldwide medium would not be used and overtaken by commercial interests, and the end of the Internet, at least as the purists had conceived it, did in fact take place. The connection was done via a telephone line, so anyone with a telephone had potential access to the online world.

Connection via a telephone line was the standard for a couple of years, but, behind the scene, entrepreneurial cable and telephone companies were feverishly working to develop the technology for a faster connection that is commonly known today as "broadband" meaning cable or dsl connectivity. Technology development to attain ever faster speeds continues to this day.

Back in the computer bulletin board days, Larry knew nothing about web design or html language.

HTML stands for hyper text markup language. It is the computer language source that causes web pages to display and read the way they do, such as the layout, the fonts displayed, the colors, the graphics, etc. When you are viewing a web page, you can view the html code that creates the page you are viewing, by clicking on "view" then click on "source". So when web designers create a web page, they create the html, not what you are looking at when you view it online.

Larry has since learned a good deal about writing html and he wrote a good portion of what appears on his company website.

But back years ago, Larry hired someone to design his first website and launched it immediately. Back then there was only one search engine, Yahoo, and for the search term "timeshare" there was only one website that came up, which was Larry's. It actually remained that way for months.

Larry remembers talking to other timeshare brokers who seemed casually interested in the Internet but who really didn't seem to grasp the powerful marketing potential of the Internet as a worldwide medium.

But Larry's "monopoly" on Internet timeshare marketing was not to last long.

Larry states: "I remember the first time when some other company came up in the search engines, a now defunct company that was designed by a former employee of RCI. That marked the beginning of the end of my Internet timeshare "monopoly", and as the years progressed, untold numbers of companies, legitimate and otherwise have crowded the online world. I just did a search on Google for the term timeshare, and it returned 3,870,000 hits. That is a few more than my 1 hit years ago."

Says Larry, "I will leave it to you decide if the Internet is a good or a bad thing. Like all modern marvels it has elements of both. But I can't imagine the world without it now, can you?"

For more information, visit Larry's website at www.alltimeshare.com.

About Timeshare Resales Worldwide:

Timeshare Resales Worldwide in Carlsbad, CA, deals exclusively in timeshare resales, specializing in premium resorts and RCI Points. The company maintains the net's largest timeshare resales website, which contains a searchable database of over 9,000 resale listings for sale world wide.

The company does not charge any sort of upfront fee as a requirement for sellers to list their timeshare for sale.

Timeshare segment enters growth phase

Chennai: The buoyancy in the economy has been reflected in the growth in the leisure travel and vacation segment. Today in Sify Finance

B.S. Rathor, Chairman and Principal Advisor, All India Resort Development Association (AIRDA), said that the domestic holiday market has boomed in the recent years. According to the Tourism Ministry, there are about 500 million domestic tourists annually.

Rathor said that timeshare is the fastest growing component of tourism and provides a number of options for leisure trips and family holidays. The timeshare industry in India, which had seen tough times and has now entered a growth phase, registered a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 20 per cent over the last three years.

He said at present there is a membership of about 2,00,000 with over 60 timeshare resorts and 8-lakh people using timeshare every week. The average cost of a timeshare week in India ranges from about Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 5 lakh.

Recently, the hospitality industry got a fillip with the government notification allowing mixed use of timeshare and hotel as per global industry standards, Rathor said. The mixed use will allow timeshare resorts and hotels to co-exist and optimise the facilities.

The timeshare industry is not an urban focused one, but is largely centred on resort locations. This step by the Government will encourage the hotel companies to set up new projects in tourist destinations. This would provide employment, he said.

He said that in the US, where the timeshare concept originally evolved, the CAGR is about 4 per cent while in Asia the growth is about 13 per cent. India and China are the key markets in this region, he said. The other markets are Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia. The growth in India is higher than the Asian average, he said.

Timeshare units in Ludlow stopped

Time might have run out for a WorldMark timeshare development proposed by Trendwest in Port Ludlow. And if the sale of that property doesn’t go through, residents are wondering where developer Port Ludlow Associates (PLA) will get the capital to build a new golf clubhouse.

The 120-unit timeshare project was dealt a major setback Dec. 7 when appellate hearing examiner John Galt upheld appeals by Port Ludlow residents Les Powers, Richard Rozzell and Lewis Hale, who had argued, among other things, that Trendwest’s planned timeshare development is not a use allowed by the Jefferson County zoning ordinance.

The only recourse for PLA, which had applied for the permit on behalf of Trendwest, is to file suit in Superior Court.

“We have nothing to say,” PLA President and CEO Greg McCarry said Monday regarding the sudden change. Last week, McCarry had said that about 80 percent of the money for the long-awaited golf course clubhouse would come from the pending land sale to Trendwest.

With all but 350 of the 2,600 permitted residential units in the Master Plan Resort built, some residents have questioned whether PLA will have the money to build a new clubhouse. Ludlow has a championship quality 27-hole course, a standard not matched by the existing clubhouse either for members or visiting golfers.

Although McCarry has said that PLA has every intention of building a proposed $4.5 million clubhouse, he noted that there is no legal requirement that PLA do so.

About 200 people showed up for the Dec. 1 Port Ludlow Village Council meeting, and the apparent sentiment of many was that PLA would build a golf course but for the land use appeals. And Jefferson County officials confirmed that PLA representatives brought in a set of construction drawings – not mere renderings – to discuss permits for the clubhouse in November. McCarry subsequently announced that PLA would not build the clubhouse as long as the appeals were outstanding.

Powers, Hale and Rozzell have all declined to comment on the outcome of their appeals. All three men have residences in Port Ludlow.

WorldMark is one of the largest and best-known timeshare organizations. Trendwest acquires and develops properties, then sells to WorldMark. The company operates a resort on Discovery Bay.

“No, we’re not throwing in the towel,” Trendwest spokesman Jim Cohn said Tuesday. He said the company feels it has “overwhelming support” in the community and is hopeful that a solution can be worked out so the project can move ahead.

Olympic Terrace

Meanwhile, visiting Superior Court Judge Ken Williams is to hear a motion from the South Bay Community Association (SBCA) at 1 p.m. Friday, Dec. 16 to intervene in a separate suit brought by Powers and Rozzell against the county and PLA concerning the 80-lot Olympic Terrace II subdivision.

“There won’t be a clubhouse. That’s the way it looks right now,”

said Larry Elton, an SBCA board member. “PLA doesn’t have an obligation to provide any of these things [amenities],” and SBCA is doing what it can to get the clubhouse built, he said.

“The fact that it [the new clubhouse] hasn’t come about is lost on new residents,” said Village Council President Elizabeth Van Zonneveld of several clubhouse proposals have come and gone since PLA bought out Pope Resources in 2001. “It’s hard to understand why they targeted that particular property [Trendwest]” as the primary source for funding the clubhouse, she added. Some of the capital would come from other developments such as Olympic Terrace II, according to PLA.

Van Zonneveld noted the advisory-only Village Council had agreed to support Trendwest, but only if the company would agree to CC&Rs (codes, covenants and restrictions) similar to other Ludlow residential developments. Trendwest “flat-out refused to do so,” she said.

Examiner’s decision

The 22-page decision by appellate hearings examiner Galt looked into what development rights might have been “vested” in the Trendwest site pursuant to an application filed in 1995 by PLA’s predecessor, Pope Resources.

To be vested, a use would have to have been both allowed in 1995 and referenced in that application, Galt explained. He concluded that the 120-unit timeshare is significantly different from the 64 multifamily units that were referenced but not well defined in the old application, and therefore not vested. Moreover, only multifamily housing – not transient accommodation – was allowed by the 1995 zoning ordinance, Galt determined.

“A Trendwest resort is, under the applicable definitions, a transient accommodation, not a multifamily residential development. Therefore, the proposed Trendwest resort is not permitted under either the 1995 G-1 zoning or the current single family residential zoning,” Galt wrote.

New research from PricewaterhouseCoopers shows that the timeshare industry is changing with increased interest from branded hotel groups, a greater focus on mixed-use developments and higher quality, more regulated products stimulating fresh interest from consumers.

While analysts and practitioners broadly agree that the old-style, mass market timeshare product is static, demand for higher-quality, branded products and new styles of timeshare such as fractional ownership and condo hotels is strong.

Liz Hall, Hospitality and Leisure research manager, PricewaterhouseCoopers commented:

'Although the timeshare industry in Europe has not provided the investment returns and industry growth predicted 10-15 years ago, it clearly has a role to play in leisure development.

'Increased regulation, more experienced operators and a more informed public have all contributed to changing perceptions and fostering growth in the timeshare sector.

'You just have to look at the increased investment from the branded hotel chains to realise that the sector is quite buoyant at present.'

The research, published in PricewaterhouseCoopers latest 'Hospitality Directions - Europe Edition,' examines the timeshare sector in Europe including new business models, market trends, owners, the resorts, key players, the rationale for investment and typical financial profiles as well as key issues and future outlook.

It reveals that factors helping to change perceptions of timeshare include:

• New product models: the timeshare industry now encompasses fractional ownership schemes, private residence clubs, points clubs, condo hotels and partial hotel conversions as well as 'classical' timeshare schemes, allowing developers and purchasers a greater selection of opportunities.

• New players: the involvement of some of the major branded hotel companies such as Hilton, Marriott, Disney and Starwood in the US has helped raise the profile and credibility of the sector. In Europe, branded hotel groups are also entering and/or expanding their activities for example, Macdonald Hotels & Resorts, De Vere Resort ownership and Sol Melia.

Liz Hall, Hospitality and Leisure research manager, added:

'Many hotel companies have changed their position from regarding timeshare as a threatening competitor to looking at timeshare as an increasingly attractive means of raising additional revenues.'

Despite the renewed interest in the timeshare sector, the research expects steady rather than rapid growth for the sector over the next five years, which is in line with overall travel and tourism growth rates.

Key findings of the research for the timeshare sector in Europe include:

• 1,450 timeshare resorts

• 3.75 million weeks of accommodation

• 1.3 million timeshare owners in Europe in 2001 (latest available data)

• fewer timeshare owners in Europe now than four years ago

• branded hotel groups now entering the market

• quality standards are rising

• perception of the industry is changing

• new models being developed

• regulation is a key issue and is helping improve the industry


Notes:

1. Definitions:

Classical timeshare schemes - the user purchases an interval, typically in multiples of one week, in a holiday property with the right to use the unit each year, typically for a fixed-term of between 20 and 80 years.
Fractional ownership - a concept also associated with the acquisition of business jet aircrafts or boats. Under the terms, the purchaser acquires part-ownership of the equity in a unit within a given property and typically the fractions purchased are divided into larger proportions of a year than with timeshare.
Condo hotels - a further variant on interval ownership is to be found in the condo hotel model. This offers an equity-based ownership of a unit, typically a hotel room, studio or a one or two bedroom apartment within a hotel setting. The unit owner is entitled to a certain number of days usage and also benefits from rental income when the unit is let to other guests.
Private Residence Clubs - this concept is similar to the fractional ownership model and operates at the most exclusive end of the sector, with costs to match.

2. Hospitality Directions - Europe Edition is available electronically as is the full Timeshare article. Copies for the media are available from Rohan Hutchings, PricewaterhouseCoopers on +44 (0) 20 7804 7509 or rohan.t.hutchings@uk.pwc.com

3. Launched in January 2000, PricewaterhouseCoopers Hospitality Directions - Europe Edition is a biannual research journal, with quarterly forecast updates, offering original research on the European hotel industry. The journal draws on PricewaterhouseCoopers economic modelling skills and industry knowledge.


A copy of the report is available [url="http://www.timesharetalk.co.uk/forum/Timesharestudy.pdf"]here

Alleging high-pressure and misleading sales tactics, Attorney General Jay Nixon is suing Festiva Resorts L.L.C., which sells timeshares at the Cabins at Green Mountain, located in Branson.

Jefferson City, Mo. - infoZine - In a suit filed in Taney County Circuit Court, Nixon says Festiva violated Missouri consumer protection laws by misleading customers into buying timeshares. The lawsuit alleges Festiva lured consumers by falsely promising to:

Help them sell other timeshares they owned.
Help them rent out timeshares they bought from Festiva.
Help them get good deals on condo rentals in attractive locations.
Help them get good deals on vacation packages.
Give refunds to those dissatisfied with their purchase.

Nixon also says Festiva didn't give consumers enough time to make decisions, creating a sense of urgency and a high-pressure sales environment.

"Consumers buy vacation property because they want a place to relax. For these consumers, Festiva delivered anything but that," Nixon said. "Branson is one of the nation's most popular tourist destinations, and I want to keep it that way. This kind of lawsuit is intended to punish those who give Branson a bad name and put other abusers on notice that we're watching them."

In the lawsuit, Nixon is asking the court to order Festiva to refund more than $200,000 to consumers who were misled into buying timeshares from the company. The lawsuit also seeks preliminary and permanent injunctions, fines of up to $1,000 per violation of the law and reimbursement to the state for its investigative and legal costs.

Chicago-based Global Hyatt Corporation has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the upscale extended stay brand and franchise system of 21 Summerfield Suites branded hotels and acquire 6 owned Summerfield Suites hotels from partnerships between affiliates of The Blackstone Group, the Gencom Group and Lehman Brothers. The contract closing is scheduled for early January 2006.
This acquisition comes on the heels of another high-profile deal for Global Hyatt Corporation, which earlier this year acquired the upscale, select service 146 unit AmeriSuites hotel chain. Senior executives and design teams at Global Hyatt Corp., along with industry leading architects and interior designers, have created a new leading edge hotel concept in the upscale select service segment called Hyatt Place. The first newly built Hyatt Place hotels will be under construction in early 2006 and the conversion of AmeriSuites hotels to Hyatt Place hotels is expected in late 2006.

With its acquisition of Summerfield Suites, Global Hyatt continues adding to its brand portfolio by expanding its brand presence into the upscale extended stay category.

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 a new Hyatt-branded extended stay product. Like Hyatt Place, the new concept will feature a similar emphasis on exciting new interior and exterior design, forward thinking technology and unique applications of sensory branding into its hotels. Many of these new features will be incorporated into existing Summerfield Suites hotels as they are converted to the new Hyatt extended stay brand. Details of these plans, including the new brand for Hyatt's extended stay product, will be developed in early 2006.

About Global Hyatt Corporation

There are 214 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 and Hyatt Place hotels) and U.S. Franchise Systems, Inc. (which franchises Hawthorn Suites, and Microtel Inns and Suites).

In January 2005, Global Hyatt Corporation also added an additional 143 U.S. properties to its growing portfolio with the acquisition of the upscale, limited service AmeriSuites hotel chain. These properties will be renovated and repositioned under the new Hyatt Place select service brand in 2006.