The draft 2008 budget shows a substantial increase in Turnover Tax (TOT) revenues, while the wage tax revenues will also continue to increase steadily. Also the condominium fee, which will replace the boarding and time share taxes, will be introduced during the course of next year.

The lion’s share of government’s budgeted revenue of NAf. 315 million for 2008 will come via wage tax.

NAf. 116 million has been projected in wage tax revenue for 2008. Compared to 2007, this is an increase of NAf. 8 million. The increase has to do with better collection of the wage tax.

Profit tax revenues have been calculated at NAf. 27 million. With the proposed increase of the TOT, the projected revenues from the TOT compared to 2007 will more than double.

The TOT revenues will be based during the first six months of 2008 on the current three per cent. The Island Government has initiated negotiations with the Central Government to increase the TOT by one per cent. In 2007, the TOT revenues were budgeted at NAf. 23 million, while the expected revenue for 2008 will be NAf. 53.6 million.

The island taxes will also go up by NAf. 10 million compared to 2007. The island taxes are the condominium fee to be introduced in 2008 (NAf. 3 million), the GEBE concession fee (NAf. 4 million), the harbour concession fee (NAf. 5.2 million), increased director’s licence fee (NAf. 3.5 million) and more efficient collection of taxes (NAf. 3.3 million).

The total island taxes amount to NAf. 19 million in 2008, of which NAf. 9 million will be allocated to pay for new policies of 2007. The road tax will not be increased for the owners of the estimated 21,000 cars on St. Maarten.

The draft legislation for the condominium fee is being worked on and will replace the existing boarding and timeshare taxes. The “ordinance stay-over tax” will bring in an estimated NAf. 3 million in 2008, but by 2013 this should have increased to NAf. 10.5 million.

The GEBE concession fee of NAf. 4 million is based on 17,000 connections on the island generating NAf. 20 per month each. The harbour concession contribution will be NAf. 5.2 million in 2008, of which NAf. 4.2 million will be used for the beautification of Philipsburg.

Billionaire U.S. developer Donald Trump said Monday attacks by opposition politicians have put his plans for a $2 billion golf resort in Scotland in jeopardy.

The Trump Organization said the controversy over the Scottish government's decision to "call in" the application -- meaning the government would have the final say on the matter -- endangered the project.

Trump vowed to build in Northern Ireland instead, The Independent reported.

In addition, Liberal Democrats called or an independent inquiry into the Scottish government's handling of the project.

First Minister Alex Salmond, who heads the Scottish cabinet, may be the subject of the investigation, The Scotsman newspaper of Edinburgh reported.

Salmond has been under pressure over his role in the progress of the development after it emerged he had met with Trump executives at a luxury hotel near Aberdeen Dec. 3 -- the day before ministers called in the application.

Shortly before, a local planning board vetoed Trump's plans, which call for a 2,000-acre seaside resort with two championship golf courses, a modern gothic hotel, 500 private homes nearby and 950 timeshare condominiums.

Salmond insisted he attended the meeting simply as a local member of the Scottish Parliament.

Wellington Financial, as the exclusive timeshare lending correspondent for Middletown, Connecticut-based lender, Liberty Bank, recently closed a deal to provide $37.5 million in receivables financing for Dallas-based Silverleaf Resorts.

“Working with the knowledgeable team at Wellington Financial and Liberty Bank made for a relatively smooth process,” says Silverleaf Senior VP Thomas J. Morris. “Their familiarity with the product and the industry, and the receptiveness of Liberty Bank, really helped us work through the negotiations and documentation processes speedily and professionally.”
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Wellington Financial Closes Loan for Silverleaf Resorts
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Wellington Financial President Ron Goldberg said, “We have been acquainted with the principals of Silverleaf for many years and have been working for some time to renew our lending relationship. We are very gratified to have entered into this agreement with them and look forward to a long and satisfying relationship.”

Wellington (www.wellington-financial.com) has originated over $3.0 billion in loans to the timeshare industry since its inception in 1981. The finance and service company offers a full range of products, including receivables hypothecation, purchase and conduit facilities; pre-sale and working capital lines of credit; acquisition, construction and renovation financing, as well as mezzanine and equity debt financing.

Established in 1825, Liberty Bank (www.liberty-bank.com) is Connecticut’s oldest mutual bank, with more than $2.6 billion in assets. Liberty has been actively lending to the timeshare industry throughout the U.S. for over 25 years. The bank’s commitment to superior service has resulted in lending relationships with some of the industry’s largest and most successful developers.

Silverleaf Resorts, Inc. is based in Dallas, Texas and owns and operates timeshare resorts with a wide array of country club-like amenities, such as golf, clubhouses, swimming, tennis, boating and organized activities for adults and children. For more information, visit www.silverleafresorts.com.

Wellington Financial is based in Charlottesville, VA and has been providing financing for land and timeshare developers since 1981. President Ron Goldberg can be reached at 434-295-2033, ext. 30 and by email at rgoldberg@wellington-financial.com.

A committee of peers has welcomed the European Commission's plans to better protect consumers against rogue holiday club traders.

In a new report published on Tuesday, the Lords European Union committee said the new directive would help regulate the timeshare industry.

However although the select committee backed the proposal, it is pressing for an extension from 14 days to 21 days of the period during which consumers can cancel an agreement.

Britons account for one-third of all timeshares in Europe, and even though the committee's report acknowledged that complaints regarding the schemes were "substantially" down, the number that related to long-term holiday clubs has "grown dramatically".

In June this year, the Commission announced proposals to replace the 1994 EU timeshare legislation so that consumers would receive greater protection "in respect of certain aspects of timeshare, long-term holiday products, resale and exchange".

The committee agreed that a "cooling-off period have benefited purchasers of timeshares and the industry, and these rights should be maintained for timeshare and extended to cover long-term holiday clubs".

It added: "We recognise that as a consequence of a longer cooling-off period more consumers may cancel purchases of timeshares and long-term holiday products but we suggest that, if this occurs to a significant extent, the problems lie with the products and the way in which they are sold."

In a recent meeting with Goldman Sachs analysts, Wyndham Worldwide Corp. CEO Steve Holmes said he thinks time-share sales can hold up despite a sputtering economy.

Wyndham"On time share, Mr. Holmes reminded us, 'it is sold, not sought.' Local management can more aggressively market product during slowdowns by adjusting tourflow and incentives," Goldman Sachs analyst Steven Kent wrote in a recap of his meeting with Holmes. (Wyndham's time-share arm, Wyndham Vacation Ownership, is based in Orlando.)

Kent echoed the optimistic assessment himself, adding, "We note that the typical purchaser of timeshare product is 58-years-old with a decent-sized 'nest egg,' significantly more interested in leisure travel and less exposed economically."

Holmes did acknowledge that the sluggish economy could hurt hotel-room rentals, according to the recap. But he also argued that Wyndham could benefit because its hotels are mostly in the economy and mid-price ranges and more consumers may begin opting for more affordable lodging.

Holmes "stated we are at a stage in the country's life where vacations 'have become a birth right,' and people will work creatively to fit vacations within a tighter budget..." Kent wrote in his recap.

Equity Marketing Corp. must pay nearly $100,000 for using deceptive marketing and advertising tactics under an agreement the firm reached with the Florida Attorney General's economic crimes division.

More than 100 customers filed complaints that the Altamonte Springs-based company, which operates under the name Resort Equity Marketing, used misleading telemarketing pitches to obtain clients for its timeshare resale advertising business.

The company promised two free airline tickets to several predetermined locations if it failed to sell a customer's timeshare within 180 days. The attorney general's office says Resort Equity Marketing failed to advise customers that the airline vouchers came with very restrictive conditions, including additional fees or required stays at specific hotels at very high rates.

As part of the settlement agreement, the company will refund $50,000 to customers and will reimburse the attorney general's office $45,000 for the cost of the investigation. In addition, Resort Equity Marketing must modify its solicitation and marketing techniques to comply with the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act and the Florida Telemarketing Act. The company must also honor timely cancellation requests and provide better customer service.

"Timeshare resale businesses are often mistaken for real estate brokers when they are simply providing an advertisement service to promote the sale of a consumer's timeshare. Unfortunately, many consumers misunderstand and do not receive the services they believed they have paid for," says Attorney General Bill McCollum, in a prepared release.

Silverleaf Resorts Inc., an operator of timeshare resorts, said it has opened the "Beach Club" in Flint, serving the Dallas-Fort Worth market.

Dallas-based Silverleaf (NASDAQ: SVLF) said the Beach Club section of The Villages Resort will be sold as an upgrade product to existing Silverleaf timeshare owners.

The new portion of the resort, which will include 144 units at full build-out, has 16 units that were recently completed.

The resort is located on the shores of Lake Palestine, near Tyler.

Amenities include a 3,000-square-foot outdoor swimming pool, a beach volleyball court, shuffleboard courts and a children's water play area. Owners also have access to the lake's beach for sunbathing and beach-related activities.

INSOLVENCY SERVICE News Release (Ins/Coms/43) issued by The Government News
Network on 19 December 2007
Three timeshare companies have been wound up in the High Court following
investigations by Companies Investigation Branch.

T-One (UK) Limited, Mediterranean Leisure (UK) Limited and Kingswood Property
Management Services Limited were United Kingdom registered companies but
their activities were largely controlled by directors based in Spain.

T-One (UK) Limited ("T-One") made unsolicited telephone calls to timeshare
owners offering to sell their timeshares free of charge until a purchaser
had been found. In order to encourage customers to retain its services,
T-One would inform customers that there had buyers waiting to purchase their
property. Upon customers agreeing to retain the services of T-One they were
sent confirmation in writing that their timeshare had been placed on the
company's website.

Customers were then notified by telephone or letter that a purchase offer for
their timeshare had been made and that a deposit had been taken. The sale was
stated to be dependent on the purchaser providing the balance of the agreed
sale price within 90 days. At the same time, customers were asked to pay legal
and administration costs of either £395 plus VAT or £495 plus VAT depending on
the purchase price. Customers were given the option of paying the fee by credit
card, cheque or bank transfer. The majority of customers paid using a credit
card, which was recommended by T-One in light of the protection that credit
card companies offer to customers. The credit card payments were processed
through the "World Pay" account of a connected company, Mediterranean Leisure
(UK) Limited ("Med-Leisure"). Over £2,000,000 was taken in this way.

The customers were also told that, if the purchase did not proceed because
"the offer is not accepted by either party, yourselves or the potential
client, you will be put onto our high priority marketing and re-sale list
guaranteeing subsequent offers within 12 months of the expiry of the original
offer. If no sale has been achieved within this time scale then a refund of
your legal and administration fees will be issued".

After paying the requisite fee to T-One, customers were sent a further letter
informing them that the sale could not proceed. That letter stated, "due to
circumstances beyond our control, the purchaser has not been able to complete
the transaction...and subsequently declined to purchase the accommodation".

During the course of the investigation into T-One, Companies Investigation
Branch contacted a random 5% sample of T-One's customers using a database
containing the details of 3,774 people. From 190 sample clients, 140
responded. Without exception all of the sample clients received a letter
informing them that the purchase would not be completing. The letter gave
no details of the reason why and gave no explanation of what would happen
to the purchaser's deposit, purportedly being held by T-One.

None of the 140 clients' timeshares were subsequently sold as a result of
being placed on T-One's "high priority marketing and re-sale list" nor did
they receive a "full refund of the legal and administration fees".

Med-Leisure sold holiday club memberships from Wakefield, West Yorkshire where
a sales team was based. The sales team was provided with details from Spain
of possible members together with appointment dates. Potential members were
then individually seen at the offices in Wakefield or at 'roadshows' held
around the country. Med-Leisure did not buy timeshares and the public were
not offered cash for their timeshare but it did accept existing timeshares
as a 'trade in' against the cost of membership of the holiday club.

There were different periods of membership, the most common being 10 year,
20 year and 50 year costing £7,495, £9,595 or £11,595 respectively, if no
timeshare was exchanged. The majority of clients had timeshares that they
wished to sell and these were taken in part exchange.

Kingswood Property Management Services Limited never traded but was used to
contact clients of both T-One and Med-Leisure.

At the winding up hearing the Court heard that the companies dishonestly
misrepresented their services. Customers were sent standard letters which
misled them into believing that a purchaser had been found for their
timeshare and a deposit was being held by T-One. The letter invited them
to pay an administration fee to T-One, which was collected by a separate
company, Med-Leisure, without disclosing that fact. There was no evidence
of timeshares ever having been sold and no details of either the purported
purchasers or the mechanism by which T-One purportedly took deposits from
such purchasers. Customers were subsequently informed that the purchase
would not complete and that according to the terms and conditions of their
agreement with T-One, the administration fee would not be refunded unless
and until 12 months had expired from the date of the original purchase offer
and T-One had been unable to find a subsequent purchaser.

T-One misrepresented to its customers that a purchaser offer was "guaranteed"
within 12 months of the original. There was no basis for offering such
a guarantee and, indeed, offers were not forthcoming. Upon refunds being
requested after the relevant 12 months had expired, customers were given
various explanations as to why T-One would not be able to refund them the
full amount due as promised. The money paid by clients had been processed
and retained by Med-Leisure with no mechanism by which such monies would be
ring-fenced in order to allow T-One to pay its liabilities to customers.

T-One operated a rogue enterprise whereby customers were misled into handing
over an administration fee on the false assurance that it would be fully
refunded if no purchase completed of their timeshare. Customers received
no service to justify the fee and did not receive the full refund due to
them. There was no evidence of T-One ever having attempted to provide the
service it offered to customers.

NOTES TO EDITORS

1. T-One (UK) Limited was incorporated in January 2003. Its registered office
is at 122-126 Kilburn High Road, London, NW6 4HY. Mediterranean Leisure
(UK) Limited was incorporated in October 2003. Its registered office is
at 6 Appleton Court, Calder Business Park, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, WF2
7AR. Kingswood Property Management Services Limited was incorporated in
January 2006 and its registered office is also at 6 Appleton Court, Calder
Business Park, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, WF2 7AR.

2. The petitions to wind up the companies in the public interest were presented
on 23 August 2007 under Section 124A of the Insolvency Act 1986. The companies
were compulsorily wound up by the Court on 5 December 2007.

3. Companies Investigation Branch is part of the Insolvency Service and
carries out confidential enquiries on behalf of the Secretary of State for
Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform.

4. The Insolvency Service administers the insolvency regime investigating all compulsory liquidations and individual insolvencies (bankruptcies) through the Official Receiver to establish why they became insolvent. The Service also authorises and regulates the insolvency profession, deals with disqualification of directors in corporate failures, assesses and pays statutory entitlement to redundancy payments when an employer cannot or will not pay employees, provides banking and investment services for bankruptcy and liquidation estate funds and advises ministers and other government departments on insolvency law and practice.

5. All public enquiries concerning the affairs of the company should be made to the Official Receiver at Public Interest Unit, The Insolvency Service, 21 Bloomsbury Street, London WC1B 3SS. Public Enquiries 0207 637 1110.

6. Further information about the work of The Insolvency Service is available from http://www.insolvency.gov.uk

After six years of repeatedly going back to the drawing board, the proponents of the Tahoe Sands redevelopment in Tahoe Vista have received permission to move forward with the timeshare project’s environmental analysis.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency’s Advisory Planning Commission gave developers the green light to proceed with a joint environmental document that will satisfy the agency’s requirements as well as those set by Placer County. Officials predicted a draft would be released to the public for comment within a year.

In his fourth project application, property owner Jeff Rose reconfigured the development’s layout, moved parking lots, adjusted building height and opened up view corridors to address concerns previously voiced by its Tahoe Vista neighbors.
“This go-around with this latest submittal, I think we’ve made it further in the process in terms of doors opening,” Rose said. “We feel really good about this submittal.”

But Rose said he’s still bracing himself for anticipated public feedback.

“I don’t know how anybody doing a project in Tahoe Vista can avoid that confrontation, for lack of a better word,” he said.

Rose has proposed redeveloping the Tahoe Sands Resort, built as a dormitory for the 1960 Winter Olympic Games, into a timeshare lodging with 103 guest units and six affordable-housing units. The project site covers both sides of Highway 28, and the proposal calls for buildings up to three stories in height.

Architectural styles will draw from the surrounding natural environment, using neutral colors and materials to blend into the mountain setting, Rose said.

The redevelopment falls in line with the 1996 Tahoe Vista Community Plan, which promotes Tahoe Vista as a tourism destination. To meet this goal, the plan encourages “diversification of recreational and commercial attractions to create the high quality development expected in a destination resort community.”

This week, a Placer County planner said the proposal appears consistent with the community’s goals.

“Our community plan encourages this kind of work,” said Allen Breuch from the Placer County Planning Department. “We definitely support what they’re doing — this revitalization of their property.”

But the neighborhood is the location of several proposed redevelopment projects besides Tahoe Sands. Some residents worry the plans will detract from the town’s character, and if not designed appropriately, place additional strain on Tahoe Vista’s limited infrastructure and capacity.

“The difficulty is that you’ve got to build a project that makes sense. And making sense in today’s world is making money,” said Karen Van Epps, a Tahoe Vista resident involved with the grass-roots North Tahoe Development Watch. “So trying to reach those goals, and to protect the environment and to meet the desires of the community, are very difficult.”

Van Epps acknowledged the changes made in the Tahoe Sands proposal to address community concern. But the details won’t be on the table until the environmental document is released, she said.

The environmental study will analyze the cumulative effects of the Tahoe Sands proposal within the context of other anticipated projects, in addition to the project’s impact on land use, coverage, water quality, lighting, traffic, noise and air quality.

The analysis will review six alternatives, including the developer’s plan, scaled-down versions, an additional affordable-housing option and a no-build alternative.
Tahoe Vista resident Jerry Wotel said he thought the Tahoe Sands developers were sensitive to community desires and concerns. Rearranging the buildings and parking, as well as providing an expansive view corridor, are changes that Wotel cited in describing Tahoe Sands as “one of the better projects.”

What else is happening for Tahoe Vista?
• Sandy Beach. Placer County Planner Stacy Wydra said the proposed 45-unit tourist redevelopment, located on an existing campground, is going back and forth between the agencies and the drawing board — a process that will iron out the wrinkles in the environmental document before it is released to the public. Wydra would not release a tentative date for the environmental draft’s public debut, but said “you will probably see it soon.”

• North Tahoe Marina. Owner Jim Walsh said the proposal to expand the marina is waiting for a littoral drift study that will analyze the marina’s impact on the sand and currents in Lake Tahoe. The study will likely be conducted over the coming winter season, and Walsh said he is looking to present the results to the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency next spring or summer. The marina expansion will proceed if the bistate agency approves the study’s results.

• Vista Village. At the end of the summer, developer Andrea Clark of Pacific West Communities said the firm is reviewing and evaluating concerns expressed during the environmental review’s public comment period. A majority of the received comments had a negative tone, Clark said in August. But the developers said they remain committed to providing affordable housing on the property.

Have you dreamt of spending your hard-earned retirement jetting between properties in the hip cities of Paris and Milan, the golf courses of Florida and the Algarve and the beaches of the Riviera and the Caribbean? For most of us it remains just that, a dream.

However, dreams can occasionally come true. There is a growing market for the destination or residence club, a hospitality product that is becoming widely available on the market at relatively affordable prices. Members are attracted to these clubs, because instead of spending their life savings buying their own villa in Spain, they are able to spend a similar amount buying a share in a number of holiday properties around the world.

Clubbing Together

Have you dreamt of spending your hard-earned retirement jetting between properties in the hip cities of Paris and Milan, the golf courses of Florida and the Algarve and the beaches of the Riviera and the Caribbean? For most of us it remains just that, a dream.

However, dreams can occasionally come true. There is a growing market for the destination or residence club, a hospitality product that is becoming widely available on the market at relatively affordable prices. Members are attracted to these clubs, because instead of spending their life savings buying their own villa in Spain, they are able to spend a similar amount buying a share in a number of holiday properties around the world.

Fractional ownership

This trend is part of the growing concept of "fractional ownership" that is now being applied to leisure properties, supercars, yachts and executive jets. London recently saw its first trade show dedicated to the fractional ownership market. This market is creating an affordable way of accessing a lifestyle that would otherwise be out of reach for many of the target customers.

Destination and Residence Clubs

Destination clubs and residence clubs have been a long-standing feature in the US hospitality industry. They are now beginning to become more common in the UK and Europe. Fractional ownership schemes in Europe have been tainted by timeshare scandals at the low end of the market. But the new generation of residence and destination clubs are a large step up from timeshare. These clubs are often run by highly reputable hotel companies, who are leveraging their knowledge and expertise in hospitality to exploit the fast-growing fractional ownership market.

The term "residence club" often refers to members’ shared ownership in just one property or unit within a larger property. An example in London is Marriott’s 47 Park Street. A "destination club" (or "vacation club" as they are often known as in the United States) is a club that owns a number of different properties in different locations.

But the terms "destination club", "residence club" and "vacation club" are often used interchangeably and the products available do not always neatly sit in one definition or the other. For example, at 47 Park Street, you can trade your usage rights for stays at other Marriott Vacation Club properties around the world.

Club membership rights and costs

To join a destination club, a member pays a lump sum deposit and usually a smaller annual service charge. Some of the deposit is returned when the member leaves or sells their membership. Membership buys the right to use a number of residential properties owned by the club. These are often apartments or villas in holiday, golf or ski resorts. The member is entitled to a fixed number of weeks or points per year that can be exchanged for stays at club properties of their choice.

The majority of the clubs on the market at the moment require initial deposits of around £100-300,000 and annual service charges of around £5-15,000. These are firmly in range of anyone who might otherwise have considered purchasing a second home. Some at the very top of the market will cost millions to join for extended use of some of the very best properties money can buy.

Equity clubs

Equity destination clubs are less common. These are clubs where the member actually acquires an equity interest in the club and hence a share in the underlying values of the properties. Unlike other destination clubs, an equity destination club allows the member to share in any capital appreciation of the properties within the club. This is on top of the rights to use the properties throughout the period of membership. They are often marketed as investments with extra benefits of usage, rather than simply as a leisure product.

Club structures

Non-equity clubs can simply be a form of contractual relationship between the members and the club operator and property owner and as a result, their structures are both more flexible and more simple.

Equity clubs are more complicated due to the need to vest a share of ownership of the real estate in each member and also the fact that the marketing of memberships as investments are often strictly regulated by financial services laws in the jurisdictions in which the club and its members are located.

Equity clubs consist of a corporate or partnership vehicle in which members acquire shares or a partnership interest. The properties may be held by that vehicle, but for tax reasons (and especially if the club’s properties are spread across several jurisdictions) the properties are more likely to be held by separate corporate vehicles owned by the club holding vehicle. The club will then enter into a management agreement with the manager who will maintain the properties on behalf of the club and operate the reservations system that allocates time to members based on their requirements and their usage rights.

The home jurisdiction of the club will depend not only upon where the properties are located but also the target market for members. For example, if all members were to be recruited from the United Arab Emirates, then for tax and securities laws reasons, you would choose a different jurisdiction than if you were marketing the same club to UK and Irish members. Detailed knowledge of international tax treaties is vital to find the most efficient tax structure for members and the property holding companies.

Reservations systems

One of the biggest challenges for clubs has actually been the reservations policy. Some clubs operate a first-come, first-serve basis, but popular weeks or properties use up more points to even out demand. Other clubs have a rotating priority system where all requests from members are collected and allocated according to a strict rotation. Coming up with a system that will give all members fair access to all the properties, whilst still retaining the flexibility demanded by people who are used to getting what they want, can be the most difficult part of setting up such a club.

This article was written for Law-Now, CMS Cameron McKenna's free online information service. To register for Law-Now, please go to www.law-now.com/law-now/mondaq

Law-Now information is for general purposes and guidance only. The information and opinions expressed in all Law-Now articles are not necessarily comprehensive and do not purport to give professional or legal advice. All Law-Now information relates to circumstances prevailing at the date of its original publication and may not have been updated to reflect subsequent developments.

The Cedar City Council conducted a public hearing during its Dec. 12 work meeting to consider development of approximately 288 acres east of Fiddler’s Canyon that is being referred to as McComic Ranch.

Barry McComic, chief executive officer of McComic Consolidated, said his company is involved in developing large-scale master-planned communities. He said the proposed development in Cedar City would not be called McComic Ranch, but that was an interim name.
He said his company started looking at Cedar City well over two years ago.

“As I have told the mayor and others, I liked Cedar City almost instantly,” McComic said.

He also said his company has been diligent to make sure it develops a low-density project that protects the landscape of the area.
Ray Whitchurch, associate with IBI Group, outlined the plans for the development. He said he and his group of planners understand the topography and site conditions in the area.

“Our goal is to let the land design the project and interfere with that as little as possible,” Whitchurch said.
He said the first phase of the project would be a condominium hotel, which would include two specialty restaurants. The hotel would drive the market for the housing developments that would include single-family detached and attached homes.

Mayor Gerald Sherratt asked how the condominium hotel would function, and whether people would buy a whole condo or buy a timeshare arrangement.

McComic said the hotel does not have to be condominium-style. He said, in fact, he has had some reservations in recent weeks about whether they should design a condominium hotel because the concept around the country has not received the level of acceptance that had been expected.

He said he could expect the hotel to have larger rooms along with more suites and parlors than the average stand-alone hotel.
He also said the definition of a condominium hotel is that units are sold, and then owners put the units back into the hotel’s pool of units to be rented out when the owner is not occupying the unit.
Whitchurch said the development would include about 63 percent open space, which could include a large park, and there would be both hard and soft surface trails. Trails would run through the development and along the outside of it.

Councilor Jolene Goff asked if the private roads would be primarily in the residential areas.

Whitchurch said the smaller private roads would only be in the residential areas, and the homeowners’ association would maintain them.

Whitchurch said there have been two meetings with community members regarding the proposed development. He said the first meeting had 116 in attendance and lasted longer than two hours, and the second meeting brought in only six people with concerns.

“In my experience it tells me that they were pretty comfortable with where we were going,” Whitchurch said.

Mike Hake, the project facilitator for McComic Ranch, said he has put a lot of time into coordinating with city officials and working with the school district in identifying traffic situations.
Sherratt said the project was being met with a lot of enthusiasm.
“Well and beyond that, it does something for Cedar City to have a four-star hotel like that,” he said.

The agenda also included a presentation to the council by Jenifer Harris, owner of Blue Sky Recycling, regarding a voluntary recycling program in Cedar City.

Harris said she did a lot of research on one of the largest recycling cooperatives in the country called Head Waters, located in Montana. She said a combination of their name and her company’s name was used in forming a non-profit organization called Blue Waters.
Harris said the mission statement of Blue Waters is to implement a sustainable and successful recycling program in Southern Utah, including Cedar City.

She said Blue Waters provides drop-off bins within an entity to allow easy access to recycling. It is not a curbside recycling program, but a way of providing drop-off areas at convenient locations where people normally go such as Wal-Mart.

Harris said a mandatory curbside recycling program in Lewiston, Idaho, collected 600 tons of recyclable material in 2006 in comparison to 2,500 tons collected by a voluntary program in Bozeman, Mont.
“We want to promote recycling here, and just take care of the community we live in,” Harris said.

She also said people want to see tangible benefits from recycling. She said basing her organization’s budget on commodity sales is a little scary because the prices fluctuate so much. Instead commodity sales are taken out of the equation by taking any money earned from commodities and investing it back into the community.

Harris said the next step would be a feasibility study performed by her and the retired general manager from Head Waters Recycling. She was asking the council to give her the green light to proceed with a feasibility study.

She said the Blue Waters recycling program would not put a stop to other forms of recycling in the community, but it would make recycling accessible to everyone at the lowest cost possible. The cost would be $2 per capita per year or 17 cents per capita every month.
Sherratt asked if Harris was expecting the city to pay for the recycling program.

Harris said the city could charge residents an additional fee of $2 every year in whatever way the city decided to charge the fee. She said Blue Waters has to be paid for its operational costs. However, everything Blue Waters earned from the sale of recycling material would be invested back into the community.

Goff said if everyone in the city is required to pay for the recycling program, it becomes mandatory. She said she is in favor of recycling, but she has concerns about the city competing with private industry.
Councilor Nina Barnes said community recycling has other benefits, such as delaying the necessity of having to find a new landfill.
“It teaches our community stewardship and avoids a big expense down the road,” Barnes said.

Oswald Rahming started working at the former Princess Towers turned Royal Oasis Resort in Grand Bahama more than 32 years ago. Back then Freeport was bristling with tourist activity and the property was a central piece of the tourism puzzle on the island.

Today, Mr. Rahming is an invalid who frequently suffers from seizures and is in dire need of private medical attention, according to his wife Bulah Rahming.

Hard pressed to deal with her husband’s dismal circumstances, Mrs. Rahming was among scores of people who lined up at the Hilton Outten Convention Centre on Settler’s Way in Freeport yesterday, eager to receive either the balance of or their total separation payments. Hundreds of the workers were left jobless when the hotel closed in 2004 after sustaining massive damage in Hurricane Frances.

Mrs. Rahming’s hopes of having some financial form of remuneration for the three decades that her husband worked at the property were dashed, however, when she was told that his name was not on the list of persons to receive settlement payments.

"He worked for Royal Oasis for 32 years and he was terminated from the hotel in November 2003 and had not received not one dollar and now he is disabled," she lamented.

"When they terminated him, he had a seizure and was in a coma and did not remember anything…I would like to know what has happened or if the government is going to compensate him. He put down his name when they called for everybody to come in."

Mrs. Rahming said she was informed yesterday that if her husband’s name was not on the list, then there was nothing for him to collect.

"I am hoping that some consideration will be made because in his case he is sick and he is not able to be employed any longer. He is near to retirement. He is 61 years old."

Several other people who turned out to be compensated also lodged complaints indicating that either their names were glaringly absent from the list of payees, or the amounts that they received were woefully inadequate.

Virginia Brown was employed as a maid at the timeshare unit of the Royal Oasis and at the main property for some 24 years. She was not pleased with what she discovered yesterday.

"When I came, they told me there is no more pay for me…" she said.

"I don’t know how it happened, so that means they only gave me one week for every year [I worked] instead of two weeks out of every year and I am not pleased with it because it is not my salary. And it is not only me, more employees out here are in the same position. It is not fair. It isn’t justice to Royal Oasis workers."

The separation cheques handed out yesterday by Department of Labour officials in Freeport was the latest round of payments made in the aftermath of the resort’s closure.

The first payout happened under the former Progressive Liberal Party administration.

Director of the Department of Labour Harcourt Brown said three categories of Royal Oasis workers were paid; those persons who had been paid below the minimum wage and were given the difference of what they were entitled to, those individuals who never received any settlement in the resort’s closure and those persons who had received partial payments and were given the difference.

"We understand that there area a number of persons who say their names are not on the list and their names should be on the list," he said outside the Hilton hall.

"Money is being paid out today and so we have to be absolutely sure that the people who are being paid are entitled to be paid so we are going to go through the list, take note of every complaint, we are going to go back and do the research and if it is, indeed, determined that there were some persons who were left off the list, then those persons will be paid."

He said no one group would be treated better than any other.

Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham said in the House of Assembly this week that the former Christie government had previously paid out $4.7 million or so to about 200 workers who were laid off from the Royal Oasis, with about $1.4 million left to be disbursed.

Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance Zhivargo Laing told the Bahama Journal yesterday that the present government paid out the $1.4 million sum in relation to the workers who were owed a balance and also paid total sums to more than 131 others who had not received anything.

Not everyone was displeased with what they received.

Shirley Demeritte, a former senior night auditor, said while her sum was not quite what she expected, she was satisfied.

"I was pleased with what I got," she said. "I am very thankful. I am not going to complain. God is good. I have a lot of bills to pay."

Eugene Duncanson started working for the property 30 years ago when it was named the Princess Towers. The former hotel worker turned motel owner was one of the persons who had received partial settlement a few years ago.

"I got 50 percent the first time and this time I got a little bit more than the 50 percent and I am quite pleased. I think it was done in an orderly manner and it came at a good time. I really appreciate it.

My plans are to invest further in my business."

This week in the House of Assembly, Prime Minister Ingraham laid out the history of the troubles at the property, going back to the year 2000, when the original owners exited The Bahamas and the tourism industry, but kept the Royal Oasis while the government and the Grand Bahama Port Authority looked for a new owner, at the FNM government’s request.

The property once employed around 1,500 people, and even Mr. Ingraham described it as "an anchor property" in Freeport.

Mr. Ingraham said the government he led (the former FNM administration) approved the purchase of the Royal Oasis by the Driftwood Company, with the condition that the Hotel Corporation would no longer charge a fee for the casino management – one of two charges levied on casino operators in The Bahamas.

Once the troubles started in 2004 with hurricanes Frances and Jeanne, and again with Wilma in 2005, Mr. Ingraham said it became clear that neither Driftwood, nor its financier, Lehman Brothers, would move to repair the extensive damage to the property, and reopen the hotel in a timely fashion.

He said the Christie government then undertook an extensive search for a buyer. The Harcourt group has purchased the property.

Las Vegas, an ever-changing fantasy-land and global playground, has seen unbelievable growth since it sprung from the desert 100 years ago.

The sights and sounds of Las Vegas are enjoyed by over 38.9 million visitors every year according to the Las Vegas Visitors and Convention Bureau. The best part of Las Vegas is it can be whatever you want it to be. It can be a relaxing experience with luxury pools, spa treatments and 5-star cuisine. It can keep you on the edge of your seat with elaborately decorated casinos, world-renowned shows and dance clubs that stay open until the early morning hours. Whatever you're craving, Las Vegas is a city with options to satisfy all your senses.

The Strip is the center of the Las Vegas experience and is a coveted location to stay while you are there. In the past, people felt the need to sacrifice comfort to stay on the Strip and many travelers found themselves staying in cramped hotel rooms that were far from luxurious. Better options have emerged. With the arrival of opulent vacation ownership resorts designed by the world's leading hospitality companies, timeshare is becoming a very popular, luxurious and affordable alternative for discerning travelers.

Companies such as Hilton Hotels have created exclusive resorts and membership benefits unheard of 20 years ago. In the United States alone, 3 million households own 4.9 million weeks of timeshares according to timeshare exchange company Resort Condominiums International.

Owning a timeshare guarantees you luxury accommodations right on the Strip. With easy access to all of the Las Vegas fun, you can simply walk out your door and start your journey to one of many intriguing destinations. When you need to relax, you can come back to your luxury villa, kick back and rest.

Companies like Hilton Grand Vacations realize the high demand of quality resorts at prime locations such as the HGV Club on the Las Vegas Strip. Designed in a "Desert Deco" style, this exquisite new resort is ideally located on a 10-acre site, and features a variety of amenities designed to enhance your stay -- a state-of-the-art fitness center, heated swimming pools, interactive fountains and whirlpool spas. A seasonal pool bar and grill, an on-site deli and shop and lounges enhance the comfort of this spectacular new resort.

Some of the reasons that people are choosing timeshare ownership include:

* Value - Timeshares provide luxury vacations that you own and will save money.

* Flexibility - Timeshare ownership guarantees your high-end Las Vegas experience, and gives you access to an exchange program which can include ocean and river cruises, and vacations at any of the Hilton locations around the world.

* Luxury - From studios to three-bedroom penthouses, rooms provide a vacation experience unlike anything you can experience in a hotel room.

* Convenience - Condos have full kitchens and large living areas equipped with plasma TVs and a washer and dryer. You get all the comforts of home combined with all the excitement of Las Vegas.

Companies like Hilton Grand Vacations often promote their properties through discounted packaged tours. For a limited time, Hilton Grand Vacations Club is offering visitors highly discounted stays at their Las Vegas resort. Simply visit www.HiltonGrandVacations.com to learn more and register for your Las Vegas experience.

Developers are proposing new hotels for the area around Disneyland following fears that the shaky economy and political turmoil were driving builders away from the tourist zone.

At least 10 plans are in the works to add more than 2,700 rooms in new hotels, time shares, villas and expanded lodges. Those include Disney-brand hotels, boutique-style settings and family-friendly suites. Anaheim now has more than 20,000 rooms.

The hotel proposals are coming at a time when occupancy rates are high, the tourism and convention markets are booming and new attractions are planned in the resort area. Disney recently announced a $1.2 billion expansion of its California Adventure theme park and the nearby Anaheim GardenWalk outdoor mall is due to fully open in May.

"I think the whole hospitality market in Anaheim is on the brink of another big lurch forward as far as quantity and quality," said Bill Stone, who is heading the GardenWalk project, where two hotels and one time share are slated to be built.

Hotel developers also appear to be returning to Anaheim after shying away from the political debate over whether housing should be allowed in the Disney area. Some property owners had hoped to capitalize on the residential market that has since lagged. Some developers have turned to Garden Grove down the street, where they receive more incentives.

Garden Grove, which has seen great success with its first wave of hotels in the resort area, now is struggling to draw more big names farther south on Harbor Boulevard. Ryan Industries, a developer that had an exclusive negotiating agreement to build a Starwood-brand Westin Hotel on Harbor, pulled out of a Garden Grove project earlier this month, Economic Development Director Chet Yoshizaki said.

At the same time, another developer turned in plans this month to build two Starwood-brand hotels in Anaheim closer to Disneyland, where the Jolly Roger Inn now sits. Tarsadia Hotels is proposing a Westin-brand Element and an Aloft – a boutique-style hotel. Both are new concepts that will debut in Anaheim.

MARKET SHIFT

The flurry of proposals indicate that the market has changed since a 2005 city-commissioned report found that new hotels would not be needed for 24 to 55 years in some parts of the Anaheim Resort, a 2.2-square-mile area designated for tourism surrounding Disneyland. That argument was used by developer SunCal to persuade the City Council to support plans for a 1,500-home complex in the resort, which Disney vehemently opposed.

Since SunCal's deal has soured, a hotel-retail developer has entered into an agreement to buy the property.

GardenWalk also turned away three or four companies that wanted to build in the mall after it entered into negotiations with Disney to run two hotels.

"Markets change, and very, very quickly, and we're not quite sure what happens here. But it only bodes well for the resort," said Sheri Vander Dussen, the city planning director.

The hotels will also serve the city well: The bulk of the Anaheim tax revenue was generated by hotels – about $80 million in 2006-07. Part of the money also goes toward paying off $510 million in bonds from improvements in the Anaheim Resort.

TOURISM DEMAND

Room costs and occupancy rates are at the highest that Charles Ahlers, president of the Anaheim/Orange County Visitor & Convention Bureau, can remember.

The average room cost this year was projected to top out at $105.98 a night – $25 more than five years ago.

Occupancy rates are expected this year to reach 74.6 percent – 10 percent higher than 2002. Anything above 60 or 65 percent is generally profitable, Ahlers said.

"I think a lot of people are looking at developing right now because the hotel and tourism (market) is so strong," said Alan Reay, president of Atlas Hospitality Group, Irvine-based hotel consultants. "The economics make sense to build in today's market."

HOTEL PLANS

Ahlers said hotel developers are responding to the needs of theme-park guests and conventioneers who want more business-oriented and boutique hotels. Garden Grove also is working on a negotiating agreement with a Sheraton developer to build another Sheraton next to the hotel that's now under construction.

Developer Phillip Schwartze said he is trying to take advantage of a location near the resort in the Platinum Triangle, where new office and residential buildings are going up in a downtown-like setting. He envisions business travelers heading both to the convention center and new offices staying at his location.

"I think Anaheim has always had a very strong market for hotels," Schwartze said. "You've just got to find just the right piece."

Kiran Patel, president of DKN Hotels, already owns two Disney-area hotels, so he has seen first hand that families want more suite space when they travel to theme parks. He is proposing a new Marriott brand on the site of the closed-down Cattleman's Wharf restaurant on Ball Road.

"It's just that Anaheim is becoming a hot spot for development," Ahlers said. "The synergy is good. The more mass we create; it lifts everything else in the area. It's conceivable that Anaheim will be a new business center for Orange County."

In a press release on Dec. 13, ILX Resorts announced that it will not pay the last quarterly installment of its $0.50 per share annual dividend for the calendar year 2007.

The company also said that it is discontinuing payment of future dividends until further notice.

“We believe it is prudent at this time to preserve cash to fund growth, with a view to considering resumption of cash dividends as operating performance and available capital resources relative to growth and investment opportunities warrant,” ILX

Chairman and CEO Joe Martori said.

On Nov. 14, ILX reported a loss of $0.09 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 versus a gain of $0.18 in the same quarter of the prior year.

With 3.5 million shares outstanding, each due an installment or reinvestment allocation worth $0.125 each, the company will save approximately $441,000.

Controlling more than 600,000 shares owned personally and also as part of Martori Enterprises, Martori stands to lose the most in the company’s change in policy, foregoing approximately $75,000 if he had received the fourth-quarter payment in cash.

The next largest indirect holders are the firm’s employees through the company’s employee stock ownership plan and trust which holds 560,000 shares.

Dimensional Fund Advisors is the stock’s largest institutional holder with 260,000 shares and these would have yielded $32,000 at the end of the quarter if the dividend were paid.

According to its most recent financial filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, ILX primarily acquires, develops and operates premier timeshare resorts in the western United States and includes eight resorts in Arizona and several other properties in the U.S. and Mexico.

Although Yahoo Finance and some other financial Web sites associate ILX with the resorts and casino sector — a comparison group that includes many companies like Harrah’s that are primarily gambling and entertainment operations — ILX falls more logically within the financial sector’s subgroup of property management.

For comparison, Bluegreen Corp., trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker BXG, is considered the only pure timeshare stock left since The Former Company Corp., formerly traded on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol SNRR, was delisted and subsequently purchased by privately held Diamond Resorts.

While ILX stock was below $3 per share at press time, BXG stock is also suffering, trading at $6.53 per share, or $0.27 above its 52-week low of $6.26.

Both stocks’ 52-week highs had been above $13.

Although investors who were looking forward to their quarterly income from ILX will be disappointed, halting a dividend is considered a positive step by lenders and others who see conservation of cash as a good first step in correcting poor financial results.

Lake Las Vegas Resort announces that Hilton Hotels Corporation through its timeshare division Hilton Grand Vacations Company, LLC, will build a spectacular resort featuring 200 Hilton timeshare units and a 50-unit luxury fractional Waldorf=Astoria component within the Lake Las Vegas Resort in Henderson, Nevada.

The Lake Las Vegas Resort project will be developed on a 17.5 acre lakefront parcel overlooking the 17th hole and the 18th tee of the Jack Nicklaus designed Reflection Bay Golf Course. Development of the project is currently in the design phase, with groundbreaking targeted for early 2008 and an opening date projected for fall of 2009.

In January 2006, The Waldorf Astoria Collection(R) of luxury hotels was announced to extend the cachet of New York's legendary Waldorf=Astoria(R) hotel. The Waldorf Astoria project at Lake Las Vegas Resort will be the first fractional lodging product to be developed by Hilton. "Hilton Grand Vacations is thrilled to announce that this spectacular new ownership project, including our first luxury fractional component, is being planned to enhance Hilton's lodging portfolio in Las Vegas," said Antoine Dagot, President and CEO, Hilton Grand Vacations, LLC. "Lake Las Vegas is a spectacular location, offering us an extraordinary opportunity to provide our clientele with two distinctive, upscale ownership options -- one bearing the renowned Hilton name and one a luxurious Waldorf=Astoria."

Hilton Grand Vacations Company will be responsible for the sale of ownership interests and the property management of the Hilton Grand Vacations(TM) and Waldorf=Astoria products. The project will offer a distinctive array of guest amenities highlighted by an expansive full-service spa, golf course privileges, and access to the 320 acre Lake Las Vegas resort.

"We are very excited about the development of Lake Las Vegas for Waldorf Astoria Collection fractional residences. We believe these new fractional residences, our first in this arena, is a great brand extension for The Waldorf Astoria Collection of hotels and will set a new standard for its luxury offerings and its outstanding features," said David Greydanus, senior vice president -- brand management for The Waldorf=Astoria Collection.

"The Hilton timeshare and the Waldorf Astoria fractional projects are the perfect addition to Lake Las Vegas Resort," said Ronald F. Boeddeker, Chairman of Transcontinental Properties, Inc., the managing partner of Lake Las Vegas Resort. "Lake Las Vegas Resort offers residents and guests top-quality lodging and living choices by some of the world's top hospitality names and the nation's top builders. We welcome the addition of the Hilton developments to our unique resort destination."

Lake Las Vegas Resort is a premier residential resort destination situated on a privately owned, 320-acre lake located 17 miles from the Las Vegas Strip. Within the 3,592-acre master planned resort are residential offerings including custom home sites, waterfront and golf villas, resort condominiums and luxury executive homes. Lake Las Vegas Resort is also home to a collection of three challenging golf courses by Jack Nicklaus and Tom Weiskopf, with a fourth course currently under construction designed by Tom Fazio. For more information, call (877) LLV-LAKE (558-5253) or visit http://www.lakelasvegas.com/.

The Waldorf Astoria Collection launched in January 2006, is the new elite brand designation of Hilton Hotels Corporation, building upon the legend that company founder Conrad N. Hilton called "The Greatest of Them All." The Waldorf=Astoria in New York City. The Waldorf=Astoria Collection currently has hotels in New York City, La Quinta, California, Maui, Hawaii, Phoenix and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The brand announced Waldorf=Astoria Residences for Las Vegas at the Conrad Las Vegas (2009), and have announced two new Waldorf=Astoria Hotels: Bonnet Creek/Orlando (2009) and Beverly Hills (2010).

Hilton Grand Vacations Company, LLC (HGVC) is a division of Hilton Hotels Corporation, recognized as the leading global hospitality company. Headquartered in Orlando, Florida, Hilton Grand Vacations develops, markets and operates a system of brand name, high-quality vacation ownership resorts in select vacation destinations. The company also manages two innovative club membership programs, Hilton Grand Vacations Club(R) and The Hilton Club(R), providing exclusive exchange, leisure travel and reservation services for 114,000 Club Members. Visit http://www.hiltongrandvacations.com/ for more information.

he number of lawsuits pending against the developer of the massive BayView project in the Village of Suttons Bay grew to nine last week.

On Dec. 12, National City Bank filed suit against Suttons Pointe Development, L.L.C. The suit also names the corporation’s resident agent, Marcus Yono of Livingston County, and partner Jeffrey Roth of Wayne County, as defendants. Yono, Roth and Suttons Pointe owe the bank more than $625,000, the suit alleges.

Roth is a member of the family owning the former Frigid Foods property where much of the BayView development is located. The Roth family also owns the RLTD Railway Corporation that formerly owned a railroad corridor through Leelanau County now known as the Leelanau Trail, operated by Traverse Area Recreation and Transportation (TART) Trails, Inc. Plans call for the trail to be extended through portions of the BayView project.

The Roth family first proposed plans for developing their Frigid Foods property in 2001, working with a Lansing-based developer, the Granger Group. However, the family’s agreement apparently fell through, and one other developer was considered for the project briefly before the Roths inked a deal with Yono. Yono’s Livingston Building Company and Suttons Pointe Development, L.L.C., are the developers of Phase One of the BayView project.

Jeffrey Roth is also listed in public documents as Yono’s partner in Leelanau Hills Development, L.L.C., a corporation set up to develop Phases Two through Four of the BayView project in the hills west of M-22, up Scott Hill Road. If all four phases of the BayView project are completed as planned, the development will add more than 500 new housing units to the Village of Suttons Bay, more than doubling its size. So far, streets and other infrastructure items have been constructed in Phase Two of the project, along with the uncompleted shells of five “model” homes.

“National City Bank made a loan of $600,000 to Suttons Pointe Development, L.L.C.,” explained William Eiler, a spokesman for National City Bank. “The loan is currently in default and National City has filed an action to recover the funds. Repayment of the loan was guaranteed by the two individuals named in the complaint,” Eiler said.

National City Bank’s suit alleges that Yono and Roth signed documents in June 2007 promising to pay off the bank’s $600,000 loan to Suttons Pointe Development, L.L.C.

Roth could not be reached for comment and Yono did not return a reporter’s phone call.

Eight other lawsuits are also pending against the BayView developer. Three are from people who want their deposits back on BayView units they no longer want to buy. One is a potential “class action” suit from a number of condo unit owners concerned that units they bought for “single family” purposes are now being marketed for “timeshare” or “fractional ownership” sales.

Three of the lawsuits are from contractors seeking payment for work they did for the developer. And one lawsuit is from a furniture company that claims the developer took delivery of furniture for a “model unit” then sold the unit as a “furnished unit” without paying for the furniture.

Yono is named individually in four of the nine suits; Roth in just the latest.

Consolidating the foray in the international travel and tourism business, Panoramic Universal acquired the business of Future Travels - a travel agency based in the heart of New York City. This acquisition marks its diversification in US business where it already owns 5 hotels with 900 rooms under operation.

Future Travels is the number 1 consolidator with Air India and Kuwait Airways and has a large business with other airlines such as Delta, Air France, Lufthansa, British Airways, American Airlines etc. The gross sales are over USD 10 million a year achieved through its client base of 600 big and small businesses and over 15,000 satisfied customers including NRI`s. It is a prime travel agency in New York with operations dating back to over 30 years.

The company recently acquired a controlling stake in an Indian travel agency Hi-Flyers Travel Services, a travel agency catering to premium corporate and HNI clients like Sharekhan, Akruti Foundation, SSKI, Jam Irrigation, Supreme Industries, Boroughs India and several others.

``Panoramic has plans to launch a travel portal of its own very shortly. We intend to offer a comprehensive travel solution to our customers right from travel arrangements to staying in our own hotels,`` says Sudhir Moravekar, chairman of the company. He added, ``We are also looking at acquiring travel agencies in Europe to compliment the inbound as well as outbound tourism for all these countries.``

The company is looking ahead to a synergistic drive with the combination of its hotel, timeshare and travel business. With Panoramic, a business or leisure traveler would have one window service for all their travel needs.

The company owns and operates in all nine hotels in US, India and New Zealand. Besides these it manages India`s largest nightclub, AREA 51 in Pune. The company is looking at expansion in the hotel portfolio in India through greenfield projects as well as acquisition of running hotels. It has short listed Jaipur, Panvel (Mumbai), Kumarakom (Kerala) Pune, Thane (Mumbai), Durgapur (West Bengal), Usgoan (Goa) and Hyderabad as the destinations for its hotel projects.

Shares of the company declined Rs 2.2, or 1.81%, to settle at Rs 119.10. The total volume of shares traded was 32,753 at the BSE. (Monday)

Silverleaf Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ: SVLF) today announced the opening of the new Beach Club section of The Villages Resort in Flint, Texas, which serves the Dallas/Fort Worth market. The Beach Club will be sold exclusively as an upgrade product to existing Silverleaf owners and all amenities are scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2008. Once fully developed, it will contain approximately 144 units.

“The addition of the Beach Club to The Villages Resort signifies the growing demand for our timeshare products in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and beyond. As we expand our resorts, we will continue to deliver new products and amenities to enhance our owners’ vacation experience,” said Sharon K. Brayfield, President of Silverleaf Resorts. “The first Beach Club building, comprised of 16 President’s units, was recently completed and has been very well received by our owners,” Ms. Brayfield added.

The Villages Beach Club is located on the shores of Lake Palestine, a 40,000-acre lake and one of the larger water-sports playgrounds in the Southwest used for boating, swimming and other recreational activities. The Beach Club amenities are located on five acres along the lake and include a 3,000-square-foot outdoor swimming pool which features an additional spray ground play area. Other amenities include a beach volleyball court, shuffleboard courts, a children’s water play area, gazebo and numerous cabanas and umbrellas for relaxation and enjoyment. Owners will also have access to one acre of beach sand for sunbathing and beach related activities.

A international hotel developer has bought the former Adam's Mark hotel site for about half what a condo developer paid for the same beachfront property just 21/2 years ago.

Salt Block 57 LLC, which is affiliated with Ocean Properties Ltd., bought the Clearwater Beach property Thursday from an affiliate of Taylor Woodrow for $17.5-million.

Ocean Properties proposes to build a 230-room hotel and timeshare project on the 2.5-acre site.

That would be a welcome addition to the beach, say city officials who have seen numerous hotel rooms disappear during the condo boom.

"We're pleased," Mayor Frank Hibbard said Monday. "We want somebody who is going to do a straight hotel project."

The project, along with a separate hotel project that Dr. Kiran Patel is exploring, would help create "that critical mass of hotel rooms we need," Hibbard said.

The seller, Taylor Woodrow, took a major hit. In June 2005, the English company paid $31.5-million for the Adam's Mark. It was the second-most expensive purchase ever on the beach.

The property is assessed at $16.4-million for tax purposes.

Taylor Woodrow had planned to build the $180-million Indigo Beach Residences & Suites, consisting of 112 luxury condominiums and 78 condominium-hotel suites, at the south end of the BeachWalk promenade.

But condo sales on the beach have dried up. And last spring, the developer put a halt on the Indigo Beach project and refunded deposits to those who had signed contracts.

This fall, Taylor Woodrow submitted plans to build a hotel to the city, hoping to attract a buyer.

Ocean Properties is a "significant operator, with a pretty significant track record," said Ed Armstrong, a Clearwater attorney who represents the buyer.

The company, with U.S. headquarters in Delray Beach and Portsmouth, N.H., owns and operates more than 100 hotels in North America and 35 in Florida.

Ocean Properties has hotels with brands that include Marriott, Hilton, Sheraton, Holiday Inn and Westin. But Armstrong said he's not sure which brand will grace the Clearwater Beach site.

The new owner plans to seek approval to build the hotel from the city's community development board Jan. 15, with plans to build the hotel next year.

"We're anxious to go ahead and make our case to the board and proceed to build the project," Armstrong said.

Orlando-based Marriott Vacation Club International announced this morning that it has appointed Chad Jensen to be general manager of the company's Newport Coast Villas timeshare property in Newport Coast, Calif. Jensen, a 17-year Marriott veteran, most recently ran a Marriott time share property in Hawaii, and prior to that had been the company's director of association governance for resort services at the company's Orlando corporate offices.

During his tenure at Marriott's Ko Olina Beach Club on Oahu, Hawaii, the resort was recognized three times as Marriott Vacation Club International's Resort of the Year for the Hawaiian Region in 2003, 2004 and 2005.

Throughout his time in Hawaii, Jensen held the position of chairman of the American Resort Development Association (ARDA) Hawaii Executive Committee, vice president of the Ko Olina Kai Community Association Board of Directors, chairman of the Kapolei Christian Business Association, and was an active member of the Hawaii Hotel Operators Roundtable.

With 47.8 million visitors in 2006, tourism generated $29.82 billion for the local economy, according to an economic impact study by Global Insight and Fishkind & Associates. According to the report by Global Insight, Inc., the 45.1 million domestic visitors to Orlando in 2006 (94 percent of total visitation) represented 83 percent of visitor economic impact, totaling $24.6 billion. The area's 2.7 million international travelers accounted for 6 percent of visitation, but were responsible for 17 percent of visitor spending, contributing $5.2 billion to the local economy.

2006 Economic Impact
Metro Orlando Visitor Spending
The $29.8 billion in visitor spending estimated by Global Insight for 2006 supports local employment, pays for government services and creates tax savings for area residents. According to a report prepared for the Orlando CVB by Fishkind & Associates, the tourism industry in Orange County generated $141.1 million in surplus revenues for the Orange County and City of Orlando governments, supporting many services that would otherwise be paid for by area taxpayers. Tourism also generated a net fiscal surplus for the Orange County School Board of $57.6 million. These surpluses do not represent excess revenue but the degree to which tourism pays its share of government expenses while helping to lower the tax burdens of area residents. In 2006, the combined net fiscal impact for Orange County, the City of Orlando and the Orange County School Board was $198.6 million. Fishkind & Associates estimated that government revenue from industry related sources such as tourism business property taxes save each Orange County household $489 in additional taxes.
As Central Florida's largest industry, tourism accounted for 224,057 direct industry jobs in 2006, 23 percent of the total employment in the tri-county area (Orange, Osceola and Seminole), according to Global Insight. The tourism industry also accounts for 154,959 indirect and induced jobs, bringing the total to 379,017 jobs. Wages generated through direct industry jobs totaled more than $8.3 billion. Indirect and induced employment added an additional $7.4 billion in wages for a total of $15.7 billion.

2006 Domestic Visitation
Among domestic travelers, leisure visitation decreased 4.8 percent to 34.5 million while business travel increased 1.9 percent to 10.6 million visitors. Of the business travel segment, overnight visitors attending meetings and conventions increased by 3.6 percent to 4 million. Visitation to Orlando by Florida residents totaled 23.9 million in 2006, down 2.8 percent from 2005. Visitation by non-Florida residents decreased 3.9 percent to 21.2 million. The division between Florida and non-Florida resident visitors remained unchanged from 2005 with Florida residents accounting for 53 percent of domestic visitation. The overall number of domestic leisure visitors staying overnight in the destination decreased by 3.8 percent to 22.7 million in 2006.

The average leisure travel party in 2006 consisted of 2.9 visitors who spent an average of $1,617 in Orlando over the course of 2.7 nights. Average party size and length of stay remained unchanged from 2005. Those who spent at least one night in Orlando averaged 4.2 nights in the destination. Families with children accounted for 39 percent of domestic leisure travelers, a decrease from 46 percent in 2005. Additionally, 67 percent of domestic leisure travelers visited a theme park, making the attractions the top activity for visitors.
The usage of different types of accommodations by domestic leisure visitors reveals some changes in visitor behavior. In 2006, 65 percent of domestic leisure overnight visitors stayed in a hotel or motel, an increase from 62 percent in 2005. Timeshare usage decreased from 15 percent in 2005 to 13 percent in 2006. The proportion of domestic leisure overnight visitors staying in a home, apartment or condominium increased to 17 percent in 2006 from 16 percent in 2005.

2006 International Visitation
Total international visitation remained unchanged at 2.7 million in 2006, but continued to fall short of the year 2000 peak of 3.7 million international visitors. With increasing competition in both domestic and global travel markets, Orlando's share of overseas arrivals to the United States has declined from 11.4 percent in 2000 to 9.2 percent in 2006. With 973,000 visitors in 2006, the United Kingdom accounted for 48.8 percent of Orlando's 2 million overseas arrivals – making it Orlando's top international market. Canada follows the United Kingdom with 693,000 visitors, a 5.5 percent increase from 2005.

Recap of Key 2006 Visitation Numbers


Visitor Segment 2006 2005 2004 % change 2005/2006
Domestic Visitation 45.1 million 46.6 million 45.2 million -3.3%
Leisure 34.5 million 36.2 million 35.2 million -4.8%
Business 10.5 million 10.4 million 10 million 1.9%
International Visitation 2.7 million 2.7 million 2.6 million 0.5%
Overseas Visitors 2.0 million 2.0 million 1.95 million -1.1%
United Kingdom 973,000 1.06 million 1.05 million -8.2%
Canada 693,000 657,000 631,000 5.5%
Total Visitation 47.8 million 49.3 million 47.7 million -3.1%

Sources: D.K. Shifflet & Associates; U.S. Department off Commerce; and Orlando CVB
Research

Global Insight, Inc., formerly DRI-WEFA, is an international economic research, analysis and forecasting company headquartered in Waltham, Mass. The company employs more than 450 professional analysts, researchers and economists at 23 offices in 13 countries across North and South America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
As one of Florida's premier economic consultants, Fishkind & Associates, Inc. has extensive experience in economic and fiscal impact analysis, forecasting and finance throughout Florida and the United States.

D.K. Shifflet & Associates Ltd., a travel research firm, specializes in consumer-based travel data. DKS&A's DIRECTIONS® Travel Intelligence SystemSM collects detailed monthly travel data on more than 150,000 trips annually collected from a sample of US households.
The Orlando CVB is the official branding, sales and marketing organization for the Orlando area responsible for generating brand awareness, increasing travel to the area and booking conventions and meetings. For more information, visit orlandoinfo.com/cvb/research.

Diamond Resorts International® (DRI) announces the completion of $325 million of variable funding notes by The Former Company Issuer 2007, LLC. The notes are backed by vacation ownership receivables originated by subsidiaries of Diamond Resorts International® and represent the financial community's belief in the credibility and security of the company's long-term business plans.

"In an asset-intensive industry, our debt financing strategy is a critical factor in our expansion and acquisition goals," says Stephen J. Cloobeck, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of DRI. "Having the commitment and confidence of global finance partners in our brand potential and leadership experience gives us the solid foundation we need to develop and acquire the destination choices our owners have requested and so much more."

Timeshare companies have not historically sought conduit financing primarily due to the stringent due diligence of the process. Led by a seasoned financial team seeking innovative means to facilitate cost-effective funding, DRI has become one of the few timeshare companies to leverage this source.

"The lower cost of financing is a major coup in building a world class organization," says DRI President and Chief Operating Officer Simon Crawford-Welch Ph.D., RRP. "We qualified based on the solid paper we carry and low volatility of our current portfolio. Now, these realized savings can positively influence our ability to invest in new product development, team member training and significant upgrades in the comfort of our properties."

The funding notes have not been and will not be registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration requirements.

A Haines City toddler drowned in his family's pool, the fourth child to die in a water-related accident in recent days in Polk and two neighboring counties.

Evan Swinburne, 2, of 501 Scenic Highway, drowned Saturday evening.

His parents were at a Christmas party and an adult baby sitter was watching the three Swinburne children.

"The baby sitter was at the house watching the three children, and while the older children were playing, apparently the 2-year-old walked outside and ended up drowning in the pool,'' said Detective Sgt. Jay Hopwood.

"There was no foul play at all," he said. "It was just one of those horrible, tragic accidents.''

The medical examiner's report said the cause of death was accidental drowning.

Parents Alan and Kristin Swinburne said they wanted people to know it was an accident.

"It's just terribly important to me that it is very clear and understood that there wasn't anything wrong done. There's no one to blame,'' Kristin Swinburne said.

Three other children have died in unrelated drownings in Osceola and Orange counties.

A 3-year-old vacationing with his family died at Florida Hospital Celebration Health on Wednesday after family members found him in a swimming pool at their vacation home in northwest Osceola County.

A few hours later 15-month-old Octavius Johnson died at the same hospital after relatives found the boy in a bathtub at a timeshare unit.

On Tuesday, 15-month-old Isaiah Whalen, died after falling into a pool during a Christmas Day celebration at a home in Orange County, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

ILX Resorts Inc. issued a statement Thursday saying there has been no material development in its "undisclosed business and affairs" to explain the drop in stock price from more than $9 a share to less than $3 over the last six weeks.

Phoenix-based ILX (AMEX:ILX) operates timeshare resorts primarily in the Western United States, including Los Abrigados in Sedona and seven other Arizona locations.

The company's stock traded between $9 and $9.55 a share from Oct. 9 through Nov. 13 before beginning a downhill trend that dipped to a low close of $2.41 Dec. 24. Its high over the last 52 weeks was $13.37. Shares closed Thursday at $2.90.

The company's statement did note that it made two disclosures on Dec. 13. One reported a decision to discontinue its common stock dividend to preserve cash for growth. The other said ILX was discontinuing efforts to assess strategic alternatives for the company. It had engaged Silver Portal Capital LLC as a financial adviser earlier this year after receiving two unsolicited queries from third parties.

Third-quarter financials were released in mid-November announcing a net loss of $289,741, or 9 cents a share, compared with a gain of $636,901, or 18 cents for the same quarter in 2006. Revenue also was down slightly to $12.1 million from $13.7 million in third-quarter 2006.

The biggest political decision in the history of the town of Riverhead -- one that likely will change the face of the town forever -- will just have to wait a few more days.

The town board was to have voted Friday on the approval of a contract with Riverhead Resorts to sell 750 acres of town-owned land at its Enterprise Park at Calverton to the private development firm for $155 million, with millions of dollars in additional payments while the project went through reviews and a permitting process expected to take 23 to 36 months.

Riverhead Resorts wants to build a resort center with eight separate themed areas, each with its own hotel and ability to attract one-day visitors -- a wilderness area, an indoor/outdoor sports lifestyle area, an equestrian center, a water park, a rejuvenation center, a corporate conference center, a heritage village resort and, as its signature area, a man-made 350-foot indoor ski mountain.

Company officials have said that, if they do not get the environmental approvals and necessary town code variances to build the huge mountain, they will have another, smaller winter sports resort.

Each of the individual parks would have its own hotel rooms and timeshare units -- about 4,000 in all. The precise number will be determined by the planning and environmental review process.

"You will have a hotel resort at the terminus of the Long Island Expressway and the gateway to Eastern Long Island," said Riverhead Supervisor Phil Cardinale, a strong supporter of the sale. "It's an idea that could have an enormous impact on the town of Riverhead...the biggest decision in the town's history."

But after a public hearing Thursday in which outgoing town councilman Ed Densieski and others in the audience urged that the vote not be made by a lame-duck town board but by the 2008 town board -- it will have two new members -- Cardinale polled each of the four other board members privately.

The board voted to cancel its 2 p.m. meeting Friday, and instead to put approval of the sale on the agenda for the first meeting of 2008, which will be held at 2 p.m. Jan. 2 in Riverhead town hall.

The keys to putting off the vote, Cardinale said, were outgoing town councilman George Bartunek, who said he would not object to the change, and John Dunleavy, who said he will continue to support the project.

Cardinale said he also spoke to the principals of Riverhead Resorts, who did not object to the delay.

Both of the incoming town board members, Timothy F. Buckley and James M. Wooten, asked the town board on Thursday to delay its vote so they could review the proposed sale and have the opportunity to vote on it. Each said they do not yet know enough about the sale to support or oppose it.

Cardinale plans to meet with each of the new board members Dec. 31, and has sent them copies of the proposed contract -- which runs about 35 pages, plus attachments -- to familiarize themselves with their decision.

All 56 passengers and crew aboard an Atlasjet flight in Turkey have been reported dead following a crash this morning.

The domestic flight from Istanbul to Isparta crashed in mountains less than eight miles from its destination. The privately-owned Turkish airline reported not adverse weather conditions and was unaware of any technical problems with the aircraft, a McDonnell Douglas 83.

Atlasjet is a domestic low-cost carrier based in Istanbul that also operates charter flights between Turkey and a substantial number of German cities, Italy, Spain and other European capitals, but no services from the UK.

It was launched in 2001 and is owned by two Turkish tourism group ETS and tour operator Oger Tours. Atlasjet has a fleet of 15 aircraft.

The deal on open skies to the US is in danger of collapse if the UK sticks to its pledge to withdraw unregulated access from Heathrow.

Virgin Atlantic chief executive Steve Ridgway told the Future of Air Transport conference in London yesterday: “The European Commission has not delivered on its mandate and threw away the prize of Heathrow. There will be a withdrawal of rights [at Heathrow] if it all goes up in smoke. That is what the [UK] Government has said.”

The EC concluded a deal this year to liberalise flights between the US and Europe from next March, giving European and US airlines unfettered access to Heathrow but maintaining restrictions on the operations of European airlines in the US.

Hopes of extending the agreement foundered on US domestic opposition. The UK Government criticised the deal, but withdrew its veto in return for a commitment to a second-tier liberalisation by 2010.

In theory, the Government could revert to the existing restrictions on access to Heathrow and revoke the rights of carriers such as Continental Airlines, Delta and Air France that have announced new services to the US from the airport next year.

Ridgway’s view was backed by aviation analyst Professor Rigas Doganis of Cranfield University and Professor Brian Havel, director of the International Aviation Law Institute in Chicago.

Doganis dismissed hopes of a further agreement, suggesting the promise of a second-stage deal was “a sop to Britain to accept the first stage”.

Havel also ruled out a stage-two agreement. “Access to Heathrow is what the US airlines wanted and they have lost interest in the process,” he said.

Paul Gretch, director of the office of international aviation at the US Department of Transport, insisted the US government was serious about further talks. But he warned: “There is not going to be a change [in policy] by this administration and it will be difficult with a new one.

“Our vision is not the same as the European Commission’s vision of an open aviation area between Europe and the US. An open aviation area is not going to happen.”

Charter airlines have been the biggest losers from the low-cost carrier boom in Europe.

Traffic on many summer-sun routes from London have halved since 2000.

Cranfield University professor Riga Doganis told the ­Future of Air Transport Conference: "Low-cost carriers have not so much created new traffic as directed traffic away from the charter airlines."

He predicted no more than three major charter carriers will survive in Europe. However, Doganis also predicted the failure of most no-frills carriers. "The majority will go out of business," he said. "There is too much capacity in too many markets."

Doganis referred to a Civil Aviation Survey of No-Frills Carriers published this year that showed charter traffic from London to many popular summer destinations fell by 51% between 2000 and 2005.

The charter carriers have even suffered on longer routes such as the Canary Islands, ­Turkey, Cyprus and Crete, to which no-frills airlines have barely developed services.

The CAA showed an average 11% fall in charter passengers on such routes from London in the five years to 2005.

Royal Caribbean International has announced that its newest ship will come into service two weeks ahead of schedule.

Independence of the Seas will arrive in the UK on Friday, April 25 with UK celebrations taking place from April 26 - 30 in Southampton which will be attended by the trade and also for the first time, consumers.

The early launch date will allow the ship to offer two additional sailings in early May.

Royal Caribbean International, UK and Ireland managing director Jo Rzymowska said: "The extra couple of weeks provide our trade partners with further opportunities to earn commission, particularly over the peak booking period during the festive season and in the New Year. This complements our Turn Of Year campaign which has launched earlier than ever before."

The two additional sailings include a four night Cork cruise that departs on May 2 and an 11 night Canary Island cruise that departs on May 6.

Guests who have already booked onto the inaugural sailing on the May 17 will have the option to move to the new maiden voyage on May 2 at no additional cost.

Any guest wanting to change to the new date should contact the cruise line by December 12 in order for their booked stateroom to be reserved on the new sailing date.

Royal Caribbean International is writing to all its trade partners to provide details on re-booking any client that wishes to switch to the earlier sailing. The new sailings are live for re-booking from Friday.

People working in the travel and hospitality industries are among the most likely to stay home because of a cold or flu, a survey has revealed.

According to the study by Beechams, 21% of respondents working in hospitality or travel had exaggerated their condition so they could stay in bed, while 44% had played up their illness to avoid going to work.

Contrary to general perceptions, more men than women fight a cold or flu. Most likely to battle on are men aged 45 to 55 living in Newcastle and working in manufacturing, while women aged 18 to 24 working in media and living in Nottingham, Brighton and London were least likely to go to work.

The survey also revealed some bizarre excuses for missing work, such as "my cat is depressed", "my hamster died", "a bird pooed on my head" and "Watford got relegated so I couldn't face work".

Po‘ipu resident Andy Siegel rises early most mornings to jog along Kaua‘i’s world-famous South Shore.

On an average run last week, the avid surfer stooped to pick up pieces of litter near a pair of sunbathers at Brennecke’s Beach.

He apologized to the two island visitors for the less than pristine coastline before ambling on across sandy strips fronting Po‘ipu Beach Park, Sheraton Kaua‘i Resort, Prince Kuhio condos, Lawai Beach Resort and Grand Hyatt Kaua‘i Resort.

“Cigarette, cigarette, bottle cap, cigarette, cigarette, plastic bag, cigarette, soda can ...” Siegel said as he walked and talked, pointing to trash tucked along seawalls, scattered among flora and strewn across walkways to nearby parking lots.

Neighboring community members have rallied in recent months to halt sprawling development on hundreds of acres and several individuals recently formed an online coalition to track progress at

PoipuStory.org.

At least 10 simultaneous projects stir up the area’s characteristic red dust despite efforts by developers to keep it wet and shield neighbors with 10-foot tall black tarps around construction zones.

Detour signs dot the roads and traffic plagues commuters. But the building of hundreds of multi-million dollar homes and accommodations for visitors continues.

“What do we do as concerned citizens?” Siegel said.

The county Planning Commission last month approved an expansion timeshare project for the Sheraton that will consist of 382 one-, two- and three-bedroom condo units and 948 parking stalls.

Of the existing 413 rooms within the hotel, 227 hotel rooms and all other existing improvements within the Garden Wing parcel will be demolished, the permit request states.

The proposed development will also include a new access road with a public sidewalk and bikeway, and the undergrounding of existing overhead utility lines along the mauka side of Hoonani Road east of Kapili Road.

An analysis of months of testimony that started July 10 indicates the vast majority opposed the project for various reasons, county records show.

Residents said they fear the impact on cultural sites, outdated infrastructure, drainage and the area’s fragile coastal ecosystems.

They called for at least an environmental assessment prior to approving the project, but their request was denied after county Planning Department staff found no trigger for the study.

Tessie Kinnaman, of Kalaheo, worked throughout the proposed Sheraton expansion to show commissioners that cement slabs in the ocean encroaching on the shoreline near the hotel and likely secondary impacts from the construction and additional population warranted an environmental assessment.

State Transportation Department Director Barry Fukunaga in a May 18 letter urged the county to consider the overall traffic impact of the proposed Sheraton expansion in conjunction with the other ongoing development projects.

“It is important for regulating transportation purposes that the full cumulative effect from all of the existing, upcoming and future development projects in Po‘ipu be determined and addressed rather than examining each development project on a piece-meal basis,” he says.

The director recommended the county have Po‘ipu developers contribute to the local highway transportation improvements “ahead of, but no later than parallel with issuance of construction approvals for each increment.”

Planning Department Director Ian Costa did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

The Special Management Area use permit agreement requires the developer, SVO Pacific, to finish construction within five years, develop a Hawaiian cultural program, follow the Dust Hui protocol and produce a blasting plan among other restrictions.

“The proposed Sheraton Kaua‘i expansion project ... will not have any substantial adverse environmental or ecological effect,” the Planning Department states in its Oct. 10 approval recommendation letter to the commissioners.

Any effect that may result, the letter continues, will be “minimized to the extent practicable” and is “clearly outweighed by public health, safety and welfare.”

“We don’t need 1,000 more people a day on this beach until they take care of this first,” Siegel said, referring to overdue roadwork and other maintenance.

Siegel filled two trash bags with litter he picked up during one of his morning shoreline runs and hauled it into a Planning Commission meeting in August to demonstrate his point that more people will equal more damage to the beaches resorts sell to attract visitors.

An Aug. 31 letter to the Planning Commission from South Shore residents Peter and Linda Baldwin said they were offended “by the individual who brought in the bags of trash.”

“My guess is 95 percent of that trash is from residents of the island and not the tourists,” the letter states. “Po‘ipu has been designated for tourism. Protect the rest of the island, make it hard to rezone ag land, but don’t penalize the people playing under the rules.”

The problem for some local residents, such as Rupert Rowe and Billy Kaoheleulii, is the process being an unfair game.

Rowe acknowledged the public’s ability to submit testimony on pending permits, but questioned the extent those voices are heard.

He maintains a particular concern in preserving sacred Hawaiian sites.

South Shore developments are rising up around Kaneiolouma Heiau, the state’s largest intact cultural site, and encroaching Heiau at Kiahuna, a PoipuStory.org map shows.

“How does a race protect its future?” Rowe said. “This is not the way to live in paradise.”

An online video tour of Kaneiolouma Heiau reveals artifacts at the ancient center of all South Shore activities, he added.

“Money is talking,” regular island visitor Emily vanHouten said. “Everything is happening too fast.”

A new 288-acre commercial development off Collier Boulevard has opened the gate for new hotels in Collier County.

City Gate will be home to two Marriott hotels, a 102-room SpringHill Suites and a 109-room Fairfield Inn & Suites. The development is sprouting out of the ground near exit 101 off Interstate 75.

Few new hotels have opened in the Naples area since 2001, the year terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon grinded tourism to a near-halt.

The hotel market has been overbuilt for years, but it appears that demand is starting to catch up with supply.

"We welcome the new development," said Jack Wert, executive director of the Naples, Marco Island, Everglades Convention and Visitors Bureau.

He said there is "still a small surplus of hotel rooms in the offseason of spring, summer and fall," but there is a demand for limited-service hotels, such as the Fairfield Inn.

In the past six years, the only new hotels that have opened in the Naples area are The Ritz-Carlton, Golf Resort off Vanderbilt Beach Road and the Bellasera Resort in downtown Naples, Wert said. The Naples Bay Resort is scheduled to open in East Naples early next year.

By the time the two Marriott hotels open "the demand should be sufficient to drive their occupancy," Wert said.

CHM Naples Hotel Partners LLC is developing the new hotels.

Managing partner Michael Bou-Sliman said the market is ready for new rooms, especially at the south end of town where there has been a lot of growth.

“There is really nothing mid- to upper-scale in that area,’’ he said.

The Marriotts will be the first to be built along I-75 in Lee and Collier counties. It’s a multimillion-dollar investment.

The hotels are expected to draw out-of-towners who are visiting residents in the Golden Gate area, and business travelers from the east coast of Florida. They’ll be about a two-hour drive from Miami International Airport and about a half hour from Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers.

The hotels also will be convenient for visitors going to Marco Island, where hotel rooms have shrunk with the conversion of the Radisson into a timeshare.

“Marriott has a very strong following, a very loyal crowd,’’ Bou-Sliman said.

Within 2 1/2 miles of City Gate there are 2,600 apartment units. Also nearby are several golf course communities with 11,000 homes.

While the housing market is in a slump, Bou-Sliman said he’s confident it will pick back up again and when it does a lot more growth will come to the area because it’s one of the last to be developed in Collier County.

Bou-Sliman developed the Hampton Inn off Immokalee Road, and another Hampton off Corkscrew Road in Estero near I-75.

The Marriotts are the first projects he’s done with two partners in Tennessee.

The SpringHill Suites already is coming out of the ground and construction on the Fairfield Inn is expected to begin in February.

“We've had so much negative news about real estate. Each one of these hotels will employ 30 people and contribute taxes to the local government,” said Ron Rice, president of City Gate.

In less than 24 months, about $15 million in real estate has been sold at the development, he said.

Nine of 16 commercial lots in front of the project have sold. About 14 acres is still available, Rice said.

In the back, there is another 250 acres for sale, reserved for distribution and light industrial uses.

City Gate is a develpment of regional impact, or DRI, zoned for a variety of uses.

The project, which Rice describes as “a mile deep,” has more than 3,000 feet of frontage on Collier Boulevard.

British Petroleum purchased two sites for a gas station, which is open and selling 250,000 gallons of regular and diesel fuel a month. Next door, a City Gate Car Wash is beating its projected sales, Rice said.

Lots have also been sold to a Burger King franchise and Naples-based TIB Bank.

TIB has “banked the land” for future expansion, but a branch office may not be built until 2010, said Ed Crann, the bank’s executive vice president.

“We see that as a good growth area out there,” he said. “But we are just going to have to let the area grow.”

GE Capital has purchased two sites. A division of the company buys land and builds restaurants for large chains, Rice said.

He said a deciding factor for purchasers has been the project’s location next to I-75.

Sales began in early 2005.

Others have shown interest in buying into the project, but Rice won’t reveal their names until the deals are done.

“There are some people who talk about things that haven't happened,’’ he said. “But I don't.’’

Luzerne County Controller Maryanne Petrilla said Monday her office would review monthly statements of county debit card purchases to see if the cards were misused.

“I certainly will look into that,” she said. “There should be receipts. Hopefully, they should have some. If not, then we will have to make some kind of determination (into what was bought).”

Luzerne County officials used county debit cards to rack up charges that totaled $41,819 over the last 21 months, and officials have not produced any receipts that could verify the appropriateness of the debit card purchases.

County Commissioner Stephen A. Urban said officials should reimburse the county for all improper purchases, and he said Petrilla has the ability to subpoena information as controller.

Petrilla won a term as county commissioner in the Nov. 6 election, and she plans to resign as controller to begin her term as commissioner on Jan. 7. Officials have acknowledged they violated the county’s 2005 policy on debit card use by not submitting receipts and reimbursement forms to the controller’s office.

On Oct. 25, County Manager/Chief Clerk Sam Guesto suspended use of county debit cards.

“We now see where we had a problem with our policy,” Guesto said Monday. “We collected all the cards. They have not been released, and we are not sure if we will do that in the future.”

The county produced the debit card statements Wednesday in response to a Right to Know request filed Oct. 26 by The Citizens’ Voice. The statements show the date and amount of each transaction and the name and location of suppliers.

The statements also breakdown transactions from seven debit card accounts. Each debit card is tied to a 16-number Visa charge account, and the account names are: Guesto, Deputy Chief Clerk Bill Brace, Commissioner Greg Skrepenak, Deputy Warden Sam Hyder, Human Resources Director Doug Richards, former Commissioner Todd Vonderheid and the Bureau of Elections.

According to the statements, 12 transactions from various card accounts cost a total of $2,918 and were spent on “Manhattan Club Timeshare.” Guesto said the expenses were for overnight hotel lodging at the Manhattan Club when officials were in New York City to learn about crime fighting from the New York Police Department. The typical transaction was for $208.44.

“We went out to precincts in the Bronx,” Guesto said. “We looked at their warrant system. We went on rides along with these individuals. They showed us ways to prevent crime.”

The expenses were associated with a county crime suppression initiative, which resulted in a $3 million proposal for a computer system that would let law enforcement agencies across the county share information on crimes, incidents and warrants.

Urban questioned the appropriateness of using county debit cards to buy gas at local stations and buy meals at local restaurants. He also said officials violated the debit card policy by issuing cards to specific officials without a vote of approval from the commissioners. Urban is the Republican minority commissioner and didn’t possess a debit card.

Guesto said the meals he charged were “a cost of doing business” and involved meetings with union representatives. He also said gas was purchased when county vehicles were being used.

Employees who use their own cars get reimbursed, and the amount is based on the number of miles traveled. The debit card policy says officials could use the cards “for travel and work-related expenses.” County officials and employees who don’t possess debit cards get reimbursed through the controller’s office for business and travel expenses.

Hyder said the card in his name was used to pay for prison expenses.

“It’s not Sam Hyder’s credit card,” he said.

More than $2,500 was spent on meals and lodging this year when corrections officers received immediate response training at a state training facility in Lancaster County. About 30 officers are now certified as members of the immediate response team to handle disturbances or fights in the prison, Hyder said.

Hyder said he and another official spent $1,819 in October 2006 on food and lodging when traveling to Canandaigua, N.Y., to inspect the design of a prison. Luzerne County officials are considering plans for a new prison.

In December 2006, six prison officials went to a training conference in Las Vegas that was sponsored by the American Jail Association, and they used the debit card to spend more than $4,000, Hyder said.

“There were workshops on use of force and legal issues,” Hyder said.

Three companies that operated a timeshare and travel club sales center in Crown Point have been sued by the Indiana Attorney General’s Office for alleged fraud. The lawsuit filed in Lake County claims that Harbor Management Corp., Harbor Management of Colorado, LLC and Vacation Resort Management, Inc. misrepresented terms of consumer contracts, failed to provide products and services and refused to honor refunds and prize giveaways.

The Indiana Attorney General’s Office is seeking penalties and restitution from three companies that operated a timeshare and travel club sales center out of Crown Point, Indiana before closing last summer. Harbor Management Corporation, Harbor Management of Colorado, LLC, and Vacation Resort Management, Inc. are alleged to have misrepresented terms of consumer contracts, failed to provide products and services, and refused to honor refunds and prize giveaways.

“This operation was like a vacation bait and release program based on the information we’ve received,” Attorney General Steve Carter said. “This is a marketing strategy that has gone awry and caused thousands of dollars of damage to people along the way.”

The lawsuit alleges that the companies did business in Indiana under various assumed and fictitious names, including Harbor Resort Management Group, Harbor Management Resort Group, Harbor Resorts, Vacation Resorts, Star Vacation Club, Star Vacations, and VRM.

The violations alleged by the attorney general include:

-- Failing to disclose the retail value or odds for the prizes listed in mailing notices sent to consumers
-- Failing to disclose all the eligibility limitations and additional costs to receive prizes
-- Failing to provide promised prizes or an adequate substitutes
-- Telemarketing to consumers and making false representations of winning a prize or gift
-- Failing to file the required registration to sell timeshares in Indiana
-- Misrepresenting to consumers that they would receive a free prize or gift
-- Misrepresenting terms of contracts with consumers
-- Misrepresenting consumers’ financial obligations to third party finance companies
-- Misrepresenting the consumers’ rights and remedies and obligations for refunds and cancellation terms
-- Misrepresenting that they would perform the enrollment and fulfillment services for the consumer’s timeshare interests and vacation exchange club memberships.

The three companies operated from 5263 Commerce Drive, Crown Point, Indiana from 2005 until last summer. The companies and their principal officers also have ties three other states, including Illinois.

Vacation Resort Management has offices in Batavia, Illinois and Oak Brook, Illinois. Harbor Management of Colorado, LLC has another location in Broomfield, Colorado.

Harbor Management Corporation has a location in Las Vegas, Nevada. The principal officers named in the lawsuit are Madeline M. Allerton of Illinois, David W. Haddad of Las Vegas, Nevada and Lisa B. Jantalezio (a.k.a. Haddad, Alonso & Rogers) with addresses listed in Arkansas & Nevada.

The lawsuit names nearly 15 consumers who entered into contracts and submitted down payments on timeshares and vacation club packages or memberships with the companies. The contracts ranged between $1,000 and $8,900. The attorney general’s office anticipates that number to rise as more complaints are processed.

Harbor Management and Vacation Resort Management also have ties to another group sued last week by the attorney general’s office for making illegal pre-recorded telemarketing calls and for violating the Indiana Do Not Call law.

Sonnenschein Financial Services, Inc. and two related companies are named in a lawsuit filed by the Indiana Attorney General’s Office earlier this month in Porter County. At least one consumer who received a pre-recorded message from “Paul at the Prize Claim Center” indicated they were invited to a sales presentation in Crown Point for Vacation Management Resorts. The number the call was traced back to was registered to Sonnenschein Financial Services.

The lawsuit filed this week is in the Lake Superior Court.

After six years of repeatedly going back to the drawing board, the proponents of the Tahoe Sands redevelopment in Tahoe Vista have received permission to move forward with the timeshare project’s environmental analysis.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency’s Advisory Planning Commission gave developers the green light to proceed with a joint environmental document that will satisfy the agency’s requirements as well as those set by Placer County. Officials predicted a draft would be released to the public for comment within a year.

In his fourth project application, property owner Jeff Rose reconfigured the development’s layout, moved parking lots, adjusted building height and opened up view corridors to address concerns previously voiced by its Tahoe Vista neighbors.

“This go-around with this latest submittal, I think we’ve made it further in the process in terms of doors opening,” Rose said. “We feel really good about this submittal.”

But Rose said he’s still bracing himself for anticipated public feedback.

“I don’t know how anybody doing a project in Tahoe Vista can avoid that confrontation, for lack of a better word,” he said.

Rose has proposed redeveloping the Tahoe Sands Resort, built as a dormitory for the 1960 Winter Olympic Games, into a timeshare lodging with 103 guest units and six affordable-housing units. The project site covers both sides of Highway 28, and the proposal calls for buildings up to three stories in height.

Architectural styles will draw from the surrounding natural environment, using neutral colors and materials to blend into the mountain setting, Rose said.
The redevelopment falls in line with the 1996 Tahoe Vista Community Plan, which promotes Tahoe Vista as a tourism destination. To meet this goal, the plan encourages “diversification of recreational and commercial attractions to create the high quality development expected in a destination resort community.”

This week, a Placer County planner said the proposal appears consistent with the community’s goals.

“Our community plan encourages this kind of work,” said Allen Breuch from the Placer County Planning Department. “We definitely support what they’re doing — this revitalization of their property.”

But the neighborhood is the location of several proposed redevelopment projects besides Tahoe Sands. Some residents worry the plans will detract from the town’s character, and if not designed appropriately, place additional strain on Tahoe Vista’s limited infrastructure and capacity.

“The difficulty is that you’ve got to build a project that makes sense. And making sense in today’s world is making money,” said Karen Van Epps, a Tahoe Vista resident involved with the grass-roots North Tahoe Development Watch. “So trying to reach those goals, and to protect the environment and to meet the desires of the community, are very difficult.”

Van Epps acknowledged the changes made in the Tahoe Sands proposal to address community concern. But the details won’t be on the table until the environmental document is released, she said.

The environmental study will analyze the cumulative effects of the Tahoe Sands proposal within the context of other anticipated projects, in addition to the project’s impact on land use, coverage, water quality, lighting, traffic, noise and air quality.

The analysis will review six alternatives, including the developer’s plan, scaled-down versions, an additional affordable-housing option and a no-build alternative.

Tahoe Vista resident Jerry Wotel said he thought the Tahoe Sands developers were sensitive to community desires and concerns. Rearranging the buildings and parking, as well as providing an expansive view corridor, are changes that Wotel cited in describing Tahoe Sands as “one of the better projects.”

Following a poor season last year and a slow start in 2007, the Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO) reported 6.4 per cent year-on-year growth in September, partly fuelled by an early onset to winter in parts of mainland Europe.

“We had a late start to the season this year, but many of the hotels were full through to the end of October, much later than usual,” a hotelier in the south eastern coastal resort of Agia Napa told TTN.
According to the CTO and the government statistics office, 1,972,493 tourists visited Cyprus between January and September 2007, with the September figures showing a particularly encouraging resurgence in visitors from the UK. There were 4.7 per cent more British tourists in September 2007 than in September 2006, or 9,000 extra visitors in one month from a single market.

Other growing markets are Russia – up 43.9 per cent to 22,839 visitors; France up by 35.5 per cent; and Sweden, up by 22.5 per cent.
Surprisingly, German arrivals were down 5.9 per cent in September compared to the same period last year.

A turnaround over February figures, which had shown an overall five per cent decrease in arrivals (with arrivals from the UK down 15.2 per cent; down 17.5 percent from France, but up from Germany by 17.2 and up from Greece by 11.8 per cent respectively.)

Property on the island is open to foreign investment, with EU nationals now having the same property rights as Cypriots. Many visitors to the island already own property there, and analysts say there is a move by visitors towards making their own flight and accommodation reservations over the internet in preference to taking standard all-inclusive package holidays – a move fuelled partly by the advent of a number of low-cost carriers.

The CTO has been pushing for a general upgrade of leisure and tourism infrastructure while developing the MICE market and specialist leisure holidays.

In addition to the development of sports facilities – which have increasingly led to Cyprus being selected as a top destination for winter sports training camps by teams from northern Europe – the government is supporting the development of new marinas and there are currently proposals to build eleven new 18-hole championship golf courses.

Many of these proposals will take years to implement, and among the concerns of the island’s planners are the feasibility, economic and social costs of irrigating such ‘thirsty’ projects. The government has determined that all golf courses will have to rely on desalination and water treatment plants for their irrigation in view of their huge demand for the already scarce resource.

Environmental impact studies were carried out for proposed international standard 18-hole golf courses in Lemesos (Pentakomo); Larnaca (Oroklini); and Ammochostos (Agia Napa) with the gov-ernment then saying it would offer public land to a consortia of local authorities and hoteliers on a long-term lease.

In May 2005, the government passed legislation to assist in the development of the new golf courses, recognising that they were unlikely to be economically viable unless linked to real estate development. The legislation carried certain specifications, including a minimum floor areas for houses; a requirement for hotels to be five star and not above three storeys in height; that the developments had to be in keeping with the character of the local environment; building materials had to be in harmony with those of the traditional villages; and that the masonry colours must match the local terrain.

The legislation even requires ‘luxurious clubhouses’ with separate areas for members and visitors; a driving range, practice holes, putting greens and practice chipping areas.
As the president of the Cyprus Golf Federation says, “To ensure quality and preclude any possibility of cheap developments, little is left to the absolute discretion of the developer.”

One property developer, Paphos-based Kouroushi Brothers, has branched into timeshare or fractional ownership properties, citing the outstanding success of the concept in the mainland Spain and Tenerife markets. Over the last 13 years, the Kouroushi Group has built and sold many residential properties in and around the Paphos area, and also in Lefkosia (Larnaca) and Lemesos (Limassol).

In addition, the group teamed up with the Paradise Group for a timeshare resort (already operational) in Paphos, and has two more Kouroushi Lion Resort fractional ownership projects in the pipeline. Joint founder Kypros Kouroushi told TTN “Spain and Tenerife have reaped the benefits of timeshare, with 35 per cent of the properties sold to foreign investors in Spain, and 90 per cent in Tenerife being timeshare. Cyprus can also benefit from these kinds of developments, which is why we have decided to move into the market”.

Rural Tourism, winter skiing, spring nature trails, historical and religious tourism, are also being developed to overcome the seasonality of a product previously marketed on a ‘sea, sand and sun’ basis.

How solid are hotel earnings? Demand from corporate customers remains strong and well-positioned hotel companies still wield the formidable pricing power that pushed profits through the roof in recent years.

But some consumers are cutting back on discretionary spending, and vacations are about as discretionary as it gets. Hotel share prices have plunged on worries about timeshare and the prospect that occupancy rates may slip next year. The Standard & Poor’s hotel index has dropped 12 per cent since October 4 when bellwether Marriott said timeshare earnings would be volatile and property sales would dilute earnings – even as revenue per room and margins continued rising. That was hardly a statement of impending doom. The industry’s group booking revenues and negotiated corporate rates are still rising. Same-hotel profits have only just recovered to 2000 levels.

But profitability can be volatile. Each hotelier’s business is a different mix of management contracts and owned properties. Since room “rents” change nightly, the industry’s fate is determined by the magnitude and type of any economic slowdown. If economic pressures are mainly on personal spending, most hotel owners may see little effect, especially in upscale segments. But conditions will worsen markedly if companies rein in travel expenses. An analysis by PKF Hospitality Research suggested a recession could depress US lodging revenues by more than 6 per cent.

Buy-out firms such as Blackstone, which increased its hotel exposure by buying Hilton, will be watching demand. Investors – from Marriott to Morgan Stanley – are boosting their presence in Europe and Asia. The US lodging industry cratered in 2001 owing to overbuilding, a corporate-led recession and lack of demand. Without those conditions, the sector seems better insulated against a violent drop in profits.

New company ready to offer trades provided improvements take place soon

Vernon — Legends timeshare owners say their future appears less bleak with the offer from Miami-headquartered Interval International to accept them as members with full exchange privileges. That is, provided the property is “improved” by March 31, 2008.

The renovation of Legends is a key part of one of the two redevelopment ordinances that apply to the McAfee section of Vernon. The Metairie Corp., which owns Legends, has shown the planning board full-color drawings of the renovations envisioned for the deteriorating resort on Route 517.

Interval arranges vacation exchanges for timeshare owners and is a competitor of RCI, the company that handled timeshare exchanges for Legends owners for several years, before withdrawing in August 2005 after citing the need for multiple repairs and renovations.

Before full timeshare exchange privileges are granted, however, Interval says it would require “significant improvements be made to the exterior and common areas of the property.” Those were the words of David Callaghan, vice president of resort sales and service for Interval in Nov. 15 letter to Hillel Meyers, CEO of Metairie Corp.

“Critical to our evaluation of the property will be the availability and operational status of services and amenities ... and our evaluation of the overall vacation experience we believe the property will be delivering to inbound exchange guests,” Callaghan wrote.

According to Interval’s Web site, the company has been in business for more than 30 years, and has a network “in excess of 2,200 resorts in 79 countries and serves its clients and nearly 1.9 million members through 28 offices in 19 countries.”

Timeshare owner Robin Barron said she was happy to see progress being made, but will take a wait-and-see attitude, having been disappointed so many times in the past.

Interval’s offer is the most recent stanza of a saga that’s been going on for over two years.

Last May, owners of timeshare units at Legends told the Vernon Township Council they were weary of being jerked around, ripped off and lied to. After having spent thousands of dollars to purchase the Legends timeshare and a significant amount of money for maintenance fees, they say conditions at the building have continued to worsen.

Just before the May meeting, owners received an unsigned, undated letter from the “Legends Team” in which they were offered a chance to trade their unit at Legends for a “trade-in purchase price of only $1,500 to $3,000” for a week in Metairie Corp.’s resort in Star Island, Fla. They also were offered “a complimentary membership in ICE Platinum Rewards,” which promises discounts on “cruises and resort purchases,” according to its Web site.

After years of repeated violation of what the Department of Community Affairs deemed mandatory, the state asked Metairie to set aside reserve funds to fix up the resort. In a class action suit a group of timeshare owners has filed recently, they demand to know what has become of the reserve funds.

Now, owners also have gone for help to the New Jersey Real Estate Commission, which began regulating timeshares in August 2006.

Real Estate Commission spokesman Marshall McKnight said that by policy the commission wouldn’t comment on or confirm ongoing investigations until an administrative action occurred.

The outlook for the timeshare industry is decidedly sunny, according to the latest AIF (ARDA International Foundation) annual benchmark study by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). The report, which analysed the financial performance of the timeshare market in the USA, highlights a consistently robust track record within this growing holiday and leisure sector.

The study, which focused on an industry subset of 40 companies comprising 298 timeshare resorts in active sales, showed that companies posted a healthy 14.3 per cent growth, on average, during 2006.

The findings reveal that the industry subset has reported $5.8 billion in USA originated sales (net) while average net sales per active report were $19.6 million.

Howard Nusbaum, President and Chief Executive Officer of ARDA (American Resort Development Association), said: "This latest research demonstrates that the industry's financial performance remains on track with satisfying the growing popularity and consumer demands for vacation ownership."

While many timeshare companies continue to sell timeshares based on ownership of weeks at specific resorts, points-based products, such as Club La Costa's Vacation Club, which allows owners enhanced flexibility -- such as choice of dates, resorts and upgrades -- are rapidly rising in popularity, with points-based sales accounting for 42.3 per cent of holidays in the US, with 57.7 per cent of holidays sold as weeks.

Although timeshare sales are strongest during the third quarter (July to September), Club La Costa's Resort Director Richard Fletcher, says there's a shift towards year-round bookings, with many CLC owners opting for "holidays between holidays", such as mid-week or weekend breaks at one of the Club La Costa's three UK luxury flagship resorts, Duchally Country Estate near Gleneagles and Hustyns and Trenython, both in Cornwall.

Richard Fletcher commented: "Short breaks are great value holidays for families. We've seen a significant increase in bookings at our UK resorts as members want to use their Vacation Club points to squeeze in a quick holiday after summer and before Christmas, or perhaps for a special celebration like a wedding anniversary."

Major hospitality brands such as Starwood Hotels, De Vere, Hilton, Marriott and Disney are enjoying unprecedented success with their shared vacation ownership divisions, while major players such as Butlins and Club La Costa -- one of the original founders of the Organisation for Timeshare in Europe, an industry organisation that works to raise standards and protect consumers' rights -- are leading the way in Europe.

Club La Costa owns 22 resorts in Europe and is currently expanding into Turkey and other Mediterranean locations. Its exclusive Club La Costa Yacht Club will be in the Red Sea region from mid-December until the spring for a new winter sailing season following the success of its Mallorca-based Yacht Club this summer.

One of Cathedral City's oldest landmarks - formerly a Butterfield Overland Stagecoach stop and an Elizabeth Arden beauty farm - is changing ownership again.

he Villa Resort Palm Springs boutique hotel, acquired by San Diego academics Bob Grinchuk and Reuel Olin in October 2003 as a $2 million anniversary present, was auctioned on Oct. 2. It sold for $4.7 million, according to Braun Co., the agent and listing broker for the sale.

Now owned by a Canadian investor, the sale is expected to be finalized soon, said Todd Wohl, vice president of Los Angeles-based Braun.

"Ultimately there were two bidders that wanted it," Wohl said. "It was a real bidding war.

"The expectation was it'd be bought well below $4 million and it went for nearly $5 million," he said.

The compound - which boasts 45 rooms, two bars, a pool, Jacuzzi, restaurant and lounge, fitness center, fully equipped kitchen and more - was on the market for nearly a year before its owners put it up for auction.

The couple invested more than $3.5 million in renovations to create what they described as the "finest full-service gay resort in the world."

Plans for the resort are unclear, but some have already expressed concern about what may happen to the property - including demolition.

"I would be sad to see that happen," said Jeff Muller, a Seattle resident who owns a timeshare in adjacent gay-and-lesbian vacation spot, Villa Mykonos.

"It was a spice in the gay culture and in enclaves around the country," Muller said. "It is a big part of the desert tourism. They strived off having a circuit there - a bit of a gay oasis."

The Villa Resort Palm Springs reportedly was renovated to such a point it ultimately put the venture into bankruptcy, Wohl said in August.

Grinchuk declined to comment on details of his ownership or its sale, but called owning the resort "a good experience."

SCOTTISH ministers have pledged to rescue Donald Trump’s plan for a £500m luxury golf resort after it was rejected by local planning officials last week.

Alex Salmond, the first minister, who has backed the development, is said to be “furious” that councillors narrowly rejected the proposal on Thursday, by eight votes to seven.

Aberdeenshire council is to call an emergency meeting to discuss options for overturning the ruling, which has provoked a backlash from politicians who fear it will send the wrong message to foreign entrepreneurs thinking of investing in Scotland.

If it is not reversed, the American billionaire, who has already warned that he may take the project elsewhere, could appeal to the Scottish government. Last week senior Scottish National party sources indicated that such an appeal would be regarded favourably by ministers.

“I think that to say there is astonishment in the government that it was rejected would be an understatement,” said a senior source. “There is no basis in planning for that application to have been turned down.”

Another SNP source added: “Ministers are very unhappy about the decision. The message it gives is that Scotland is not interested in doing business.”

“I’m encouraging Mr Trump to appeal,” said Brian Adam, the Nationalist MSP for Aberdeen North. “I’m more than happy to put my head above the parapet because I feel this is the kind of development we want for Scotland.”

One senior Nationalist politician said 6,000 jobs had been threatened “just because some yahoo on the planning committee” said no.

The proposed golf complex on Trump’s 2,000-acre Menie estate at Balmedie, near Aberdeen, would include two championship golf courses, a hotel, a clubhouse, 500 private houses and 950 timeshare holiday flats.

The resort, described by Trump as the “greatest golf course in the world”, would generate almost £60m a year for Scotland in tourism and employment spin-offs.

It has been opposed by environmental campaigners, who claim that it would destroy 4,000-year-old sand dunes, designated a site of special scientific interest and home to rare feather moss, lichens and other plants.

Ministers are keen to find a swift solution, aware that Trump has held talks with the authorities in several other European countries, which would be keen to attract the golf resort.

The tycoon told The Sunday Times last week that he would probably appeal to the Scottish government but was reluctant to become mired in further wrangles.

“I’m disappointed,” he said. “The polls told us that 91% of people were behind me. I’ve already had many calls from across Europe begging me to take my golf course there.”

Donald Trump wants to build a billion-dollar resort on a rural Scottish shore. But he’ll have to do battle with this man first — who says he won’t budge for love or money

After thousands of years of continuous human settlement, something interesting has happened in Balmedie. The locals don’t know where to look. Camera crews from America have arrived; tourists have eaten at their chippy; reporters with strange accents have booked rooms in their only hotel.

The unusual attention is all because of a man most people in this Aberdeenshire backwater have never met: Michael Forbes, the fisherman who defied Donald Trump. It is a story that has been likened to the 1983 film Local Hero – in which an American oil billionaire attempts to buy the property rights to a Scottish village in order to build a refinery, only to be stymied by a grubby beachcomber who will not sell his land – but life is never as neat as Hollywood.

True, Trump, the follically absurd American property developer, entrepreneur and star of the US version of The Apprentice, is, like Local Hero’s billionaire Felix Happer, a self-caricature. His plan for a huge golf, hotel, timeshare and spa development in 1,400 acres of farm and parkland just north of Balmedie is in keeping with his fondness for Freudian displays of affluence. The Washington Post once said that “everything in Trumpworld is fabulous, or in first place, or better looking, or richer, or taller, or it has bigger breasts,” and the Trump International Golf Links will be no different.

In a region where a two-floor farmhouse is considered a provocation to the elements, Trump’s 450-room gothic hotel will stand 10 storeys high. There will be 950 holiday-home “units”. The conference centre will be 10,000 sq ft. Its golf course, which Trump hopes will one day hold the Open championship or the Ryder Cup, will be “the best golf course in the world”. At the heart of the estate is Menie House, a 14th-century baronial home that “the Donald” (as his first wife, Ivana, styled him) bought two years ago – a suitably grand base for his lairdly plans.

His adversary Michael Forbes, meanwhile, is, like Local Hero’s Ben Knox, a quiet sort, and a little rough around the edges. But the similarities end there. Now 55, Forbes’s life story shows not a dreamer, but a man intimately aware of the changing landscape around him. A fisherman at heart, Forbes has, to keep his head above water, variously worked the rigs, the quarry and his land. The reasons he won’t sell that land – which sits plumb in the middle of Trump’s proposed site – are as much to do with the American and what he represents as with the land itself.

And Balmedie? It is not, as some have wished it to be, a quiet village where everyone knows each other’s business. The town itself, a Barratt Homes symphony in brown and grey, is a commuter spot with 2,000 residents tucked between the A90 dual carriageway and the sea. Its residents drive shiny new cars and work in Aberdeen. When they meet, at the Co-op or the White Horse for a pint, they generally agree that Trump is a damn fine thing. “Think of our house prices,” they say, or: “I’ll certainly use the spa.”

North of Balmedie, where the A90 slims into a two-lane road, is an older community – albeit one that spends little time together except for a shared nip at Hogmanay – comprising farms and cottages backed up against the rolling dunes. This is where Forbes lives. Up here, the mood towards Trump is more ambiguous. Indeed, one group of residents, led by the genial, chain-smoking former Clash producer Mickey Foote, has been at the vanguard of opposing the Trump invasion. Calling themselves Sustainable Aberdeenshire, Foote’s gang find themselves outnumbered (letters to the council approving the scheme outweigh objections three-to-one) but not out-shouted. Indeed, addressing such issues as the fact that the development contravenes the region’s housing plan and that the back nine holes of Trump’s proposed “greatest golf course in the world” run straight over a sand dome – part of an environmentally sensitive mobile dune system, and protected Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) – Foote will oppose any planning approval with legal action, and, if needs be, will lobby for a public enquiry.

It will be a lonely battle. Trump’s PR machine, which has promised a £1 billion investment in the area, has been so effective that not only is much of the region thoroughly in favour, but so are Scotland’s politicians. Before Trump went public with his proposition, the erstwhile First Minister Jack McConnell’s private meeting with Trump, to give the Trump organisation a “direct line into the government in Scotland”, was exposed by Scotland on Sunday. Although Alex Salmond has been more circumspect, he too has indicated his willingness for the project to succeed. Indeed, Salmond attended a dinner with Trump in New York this year, on a trip to promote foreign investment in Scotland.

Against this, what chance for the antis? “When Trump came to Scotland last,” says Don Banks, an objector whose house will back onto the new development, “he was practically carried shoulder-high through the streets… It seems that everyday people are subject to normal planning rules and restrictions, but Trump is not.”

Oddly, it was Trump who made Forbes a hero. The American had flown into Scotland at the beginning of October after a series of objections from disgruntled locals had threatened to derail the procession to planning approval. At a press conference, Trump cracked, saying Forbes’s land was “in total disrepair”. “Take a look and see how badly maintained that piece of property is,” he said. “It’s disgusting. There are rusty tractors, rusty oil cans. I actually asked him, ‘Are you doing this on purpose to try and make me look bad, so I have to pay some more money?’ ”

The Mill of Menie, Forbes’s farm, could, it must be said, do with a lick of paint. On the single-lane drive down to the property, one is struck by the homespun chaos of the place. In the centre, there is a small house, where Forbes lives with his wife, Sheila. Beyond that is a mobile home, or “chalet” as Forbes calls it, where his 83-year-old mother, Molly, lives. In front of the house lie hulking barns filled with farm gear, and equipment for restoring vintage trucks – a hobby of Forbes’s nephew. On the outside of one of the barns, a slogan reading “No Golf Course” has been daubed in angry red letters.

Having made Forbes two offers – one of £350,000 and one of £375,000, including a job worth £50,000 a year at the new resort – Trump has given up. He says he doesn’t need Forbes’s land, and his representative in Aberdeenshire, project manager Neil Hobday, says that if Forbes doesn’t sell, his presence will add to the local charm and become a “curiosity”. Really? Forbes’s land is directly adjacent to the front nine holes of the proposed golf course, and between the links and the hotel. It’s hard to imagine Sergio Garcia lining up a putt next to a flock of squawking chickens and a sign saying “No Golf Course”.

Forbes meets me in his mother’s place (which Molly has named Paradise). Thick-set and red-faced, his arm is in plaster, after ligament damage caused from a lifetime of “hauling and pulling”. Forbes is now on sick leave from his normal job, as an assistant manager at the quarry in Belhelvie, but in the past he has worked on the rigs for the French oil-detection company Schlumberger, and fished on the trawlers. Between February and August, he always works his coastal salmon fishing spot – although, last season, he caught only one salmon and one trout in six months.

When I tell him that many of his neighbours think he is just holding out for money – one even said he was “loving the attention” – Forbes laughs. “Och, they can think what they like. I know the truth.” And what is the truth? If Trump came to him with an open chequebook and asked him to name his price, would he ever sell?

“Never,” he says. “Never to Trump. Someone else, I might consider. In the beginning, I never minded about a golf course. As long as they don’t damage the dunes, it doesn’t bother me. But I don’t agree with the hotel and houses. They should be building houses young folk who’ve just been married can afford, not for the rich.”

Forbes, it is clear from his CV, is a pragmatic soul. He may have long roots here – his great-grandfather grew up by the quarry in Belhelvie and his family have been in the area ever since – but he is not so wedded to the land he could not spend weeks offshore making money with Schlumberger. But he is sure about his stand against Trump. When Trump first bought in the area, at a time when many locals were counting the forthcoming fortune from their house sales, Forbes was asked by a reporter from the local Evening Express if he would ever sell. He said no. What about for £1.5m, they asked. He said: “I’d maybe think about it for a couple of minutes, then I’d say no.” The story the following evening ran that he would sell for £1.5m. But, says Forbes, he has always been adamant to stay. Why?

“It’s the hassle he’s given me,” says Forbes. “He tried to stop my access to the beach. It might be a coincidence, but I’ve also had people down here asking me whether I’ve got a licence for my shotgun. We’ve had the RSPCA down here, asking whether we’re treating our animals right [Forbes keeps chickens, cats and geese as pets]. And we had environmental health down, asking whether the old tanker at the back of the land was full of diesel. It’s not – it’s full of water. We use it for our vintage rallies.

“I knew what kind of people they were the first time I met them… George Sorial [Trump’s US lawyer] invited me up to the big house about three months back, and offered me £350,000 for everything. I said, ‘What? I could build one house on my land and sell it for that.’ Sorial said, ‘We’ll make sure that never happens.’ I thought, ‘So that’s the way you want to play it, is it?’

“People like Trump, they don’t understand that there are some people who don’t want lots of money. I’ve worked hard all my life to get this place and to keep it. What would I do with lots of money at my time of life?”

Forbes takes me from his land, across a strip of Trump property, to the dunes and then the beach. Even in the flat grey light that settles on Scotland’s east coast during winter, the wispy long grass and the sand throw off a sparkle. The beach, which runs 10 miles from the Bridge of Don to the Ythan Estuary, is deserted. A curious seal bobs near the shore. Forbes grows reflective. “When I tell people I only caught one salmon and one trout this year, they ask why I do it. I say, ‘It’s in my blood.’ When you’ve grown up fishing, you have to fish. I remember a day in the 1970s when my uncle and I caught 500 salmon off four nets. I think the seals are maybe coming in too close now. But I still feel the same. I have to fish.”

Forbes, though, could sell his land at Menie and still fish a patch he owns three miles up the beach. A more compelling reason for staying is his mother. “When my dad died of cancer nine years ago, my mum was living on her own,” he says. “She was heartbroken. I said she should come and live with me, but she says, ‘I’m not biding with you, son.’ We came to a compromise. I got her the chalet. And now she’s like a kid again. I wouldn’t change that for anything.”

) ) ) ) )

Neil Hobday, Trump’s man at Menie House, is the anti-Forbes. With his Trump International Golf Links splash-proof top (a garment he will hope is not hubristic), and his fulsome cheeks, he looks like a plumper, balder version of David Cameron. In fact, he was educated at Fettes with Tony Blair, whom he remembers as “not a team sports sort of person”.

Hobday rebuffs each and every objection to the proposed development with professional ease. The sand dome they are intending to turn into nine holes of golf is not an environmental jewel but “a menace – sand that blew in off the beach”. Trump, he says, will do everyone a favour by planting grass on top of it. The hotel will not only be glorious, but absolutely necessary. “This area is pathetic,” he says. “It has so few hotels. Every room in Aberdeen is booked. Oil executives are bussed to Dundee, to stay the night, because everywhere is so full in Aberdeen… We’ll be booked round the year.”

Although Hobday says this project “starts and finishes with golf”, he will admit the accountants saw no way to make the development make enough money without the hundreds of homes that will also be built on the site. But, I suggest, it was never in the local housing plan to build so many expensive houses in this area. How has Trump persuaded the local council (who are positive about his planning application) that Balmedie needs this development?

“Currently there is nothing in the local plan to accommodate our housing requirement, that’s true. But you should realise that [a local council] can only imagine so much will happen in the future. They could never have predicted this would come to Aberdeenshire – not in a month of Sundays – a £1 billion investment… here!”

It is the Trump organisation’s manner that has most irked the antis. Before the plans were even on the table, for instance, several locals received a visit from someone calling himself Peter White, who expressed an interest in buying their house. Peter White turned out to be Neil Peter White Hobday. Why the cloak and dagger?

“If they’d known I was from Trump, they’d have raised their prices,” says Hobday, without a hint of embarrassment. “More importantly, it was a confidentiality issue. It was important that no one knew about Mr Trump’s investment here. It’s standard practice in US development that you make a few confidential enquiries round a proposed development.”

The trouble is, even when Hobday and Project Trump have been playing with their real names, they’ve faced accusations of dissembling. One farmer, Mike Ingram – who back in the early 1980s sold Forbes his 23 acres for £24,000 – sold Trump a large swathe of farmland, under the impression it was going to be used as a “buffer zone”. It now emerges this land is going to be used for residential development, and Ingram is irked that he did not get a fair price.

“He did a deal,” says Hobday. “He’s a farmer, a landowner, a businessman. He sold land. It doesn’t matter if I’d told him I want to build a hospital on it, or I want it for housing, or I want it for a buffer zone. He sold it. He was a willing seller. So for him to be crying his eyes out now…”

Such is the way with development, and such is Trump’s desire for a mighty golf complex in this exact spot. But why here? Trump has made much, recently, of his Scottish mother, Mary, who came from the Isle of Lewis. There is, it seems, no ancestor from Aberdeenshire. Still, Trump is set on Balmedie.

“What it came down to,” says Hobday, “is we wanted to build a fabulous course that could host the Open.” [Remember the Trump motto: fabulous, first place, better looking, richer, taller, bigger breasts]. “We looked all over Europe, but with Mr Trump being half-Scottish and Scotland being the home of golf, this was his first choice. Eventually, we found the perfect spot. The site attributes here are spectacular. There’s nowhere else in Britain or Ireland that has the natural topography that this place does. It’s near a major city, so good infrastructure. Near an airport. We think a golf course here would be capable of fulfilling all the criteria for the R and A [golf’s governing body and the hosts of the Open].”

) ) ) ) )

Hobday is right. The “site attributes” – what you and I call the countryside – are bleak and haunting and very beautiful. A golf course or two would please many people, especially the legions of Americans with Scottish grandmothers who arrive in “the home of golf” every year to walk about in the rain.

It will not, however, please Mickey Foote, whose house looks out on this wilderness but will soon look out onto a 10-year development site. Foote’s mother used to live in his cottage and, in his pre-Clash childhood years, he used to come to Balmedie often. Now the owner of a waste-management franchise in London, he had hopes of retiring here.

“At first, I don’t think any of us were really worried about it,” he says. “It seemed like a golf course, a hotel, and associated paraphernalia, which didn’t seem like the worst thing. I’m not a golfer, but that didn’t bother me. The development was going to cost £300m. Then, suddenly, the investment sky-rocketed. Suddenly, they were talking about this billion-pound thing. A few of us thought, ‘Hang on, this isn’t a golf course we’re talking about – this is a marketing exercise in selling luxury homes.’ ”

Hobday certainly suggests that the golf course on its own could not sustain itself financially. Trump says “the golf course is the amenity that makes it all work. Frankly, it’s the thing I’m most interested in, but if we don’t have the houses or the hotel it doesn’t work”. Either way, Foote is determined that Trump be called to account for the way he has trampled over local housing, environmental and structural plans.

Foote’s concerns have struck a note with a number of people in the local rural community. One farmer, Raymond Davidson, who keeps sheep and runs a horse-livery business out of the farm just north of Trump’s land, is incensed. “I can’t put a spade in the ground in the dunes, because it’s an SSSI,” he says. “I wouldn’t want to either, because I like it how it is. But what’s the use of rules if they only apply to some people?”

“I can’t believe that he’s going to get permission for this,” Davidson continues. “A planning application for one house was turned down just recently on the A90. One house! And [Trump] wants to build 900! It won’t ruin my life if he builds it, but it’s the principle of the thing. That the rules only apply if you aren’t rich.”

But Foote’s gripes, it seems, have not spread as far as the town of Balmedie, where most people are either apathetic or in favour.

“It seems like everyone has been caught up in the spin,” says Foote. “They think, ‘Great – Donald’s here! We’re going to have Disneyland!’ They don’t think about how the area’s going to change. Part of that is the attitude up here. There is a part of the Aberdeenshire mindset that is very forelock-tugging. I think it might be something to do with having the royal family nearby, but people can’t see beyond the big man – the celebrity. They’re not cynical.”

When the local Foveran Applications Committee approved the proposal on November 20, before sending it down to the “infrastructure committee” on November 30, they saw an application with many caveats. Environmentalists are concerned about building on the sand dome, the RSPB are worried about the effect on two species of rare birds, and the council committee have concerns about whether the area can take the sheer scale of the operation. But all will have been balanced by what is called the “considerable economic benefits” of the development. If the scheme gets the final go-ahead from the Scottish government, work could start in January.

Here, it seems, is the crux of the matter. This scheme, this feud, this ruffle of feathers, does not start and end with golf – it starts and ends with money. Aberdeenshire at present is one of the most affluent places in Britain. It has next to no unemployment. And even if there were mass unemployment, one suspects that the 1,400 jobs Trump has promised would not be taken by local people. How many Brits does one now see working in British hotels? So the area might not need a massive development. But nagging at the back of people’s minds is what they see through the passenger window as they drive from Balmedie to the city. The sea is not the bounty chest it once was. Aberdeen may still call itself the oil capital of Europe – its hotel clocks may still tick to Aberdeen and Houston time – but in 30 years, the black gold will be as good as gone.

Is that what this is about? Lorna Jack, a representative of Scottish Enterprise, a body that has gently paved the way for Trump’s proposal, said that Trump’s project could be as economically significant as the discovery of North Sea oil. Perhaps the notion has stuck.

What might strike you as odd is that Trump – with his acquisitive American braggadocio and alabaster teeth – has been welcomed with open arms, while the local boy, Forbes, is treated with cynicism. It shouldn’t. They may live in less splendid houses, they may drive themselves to work, they may have less pneumatic spouses, but when it comes to ambition, the good people of Balmedie have more in common with “the Donald” than they might care to admit.