Hyatt Vacation Ownership Inc. of Chicago has officially launched sales of a new timeshare property under construction in Aspen, the 51-unit Hyatt Grand Aspen Resort.

Preliminary sales already have raked in $35 million.

Located at the base of Aspen Mountain close to the gondola, the property will offer 30 three-bedroom units, 19 units with two bedrooms and two one-bedroom options. The spaces will range from 1,000 to 2,600 square feet in size.

"The location speaks for itself ...," John Burlingame, Hyatt Vacation Ownership executive vice president, said of the Aspen site in a statement.

Depending on time of year, most unit prices range from $80,000 to the high $200,000s. A penthouse taken at Christmas or New Year's can cost in the high $700,000s.

Most packages include 10 "best days" in winter or summer, plus 10 floating days at unassigned times.

"There's a huge variance between summer and winter," said Hyatt spokeswoman Angie Sell.

Ground recently was broken on the Hyatt Grand Aspen Resort, and the property is scheduled to open in December 2005.

Hyatt already owns and operates 10 timeshare properties nationwide, two of them in Colorado -- the Hyatt Mountain Lodge in Avon near the Beaver Creek ski area and Hyatt Main Street Station in Breckenridge. Another property, the Hyatt Wild Oak Ranch in San Antonio, Texas, also is being developed and will start sales soon.

Branson company ordered to pay more than $2 million restitution, fines

A southwest Missouri company accused of defrauding investors has been ordered to pay more than $2 million in fines and restitution.

U.S. District Judge Larry J. McKinney this week found Ozark Ticket and Travel and its owner, Lee Larscheid, liable for nearly $1.8 million in "investor funds that defendants wrongfully received."

In addition to $22,550 in prejudgment interest, Larscheid and his business must each pay $120,000 in civil penalties.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission attorneys sued Ozark Ticket and Travel and other defendants last year, accusing them of defrauding at least 600 investors out of more than $28 million across the country.

"The fines were exactly what we were hoping for," said Chicago-based SEC attorney Christopher Veatch. "It was a judgment in which we got full satisfaction of our claim against Lee Larscheid and Ozark Ticket and Travel."

"Lee has settled the case, and agreed to pay back money he received from parties in Florida," said John Appelquist, Larscheid's attorney.

Business operations will remain intact while restitution is made, he said.

SEC officials claimed four businesses, including Branson City Limits and Ozark Ticket and Travel, and eight people raised at least $28 million from investors since September 2000.

The defendants offered and sold securities nominally structured as hotel timeshare rental interests, the commission said.

The federal case is still pending against other defendants.

Florida-based Resort Hotels also is named in the suit. Other defendants in the case include Nevada-based Universal Financial Leasing; Patrick L. Ballinger, 55, and Dennis R. Weaver, 54, both of Jackson, Tenn.; Kosta S. Kovachev, 51, of Lake Worth, Fla.; Benny G. Morris, 46, of Palm Harbor, Fla.; Linda M. Sears, 50, of Seminole, Fla.; and Todd R. Walker, 44, of Tampa, Fla.

Sales sizzling as major hotels bring brands to projects

The hotel industry is filling rooms as fast as it can build them - in timeshares, that is.

Major hotel companies have experienced sizzling sales success with timeshares in vacation hot spots such as Hawaii and Florida. Now they're making their splash in the Valley with luxury timeshares next to the Westin Kierland and JW Marriott Desert Ridge resorts.

"The timeshare industry has just been absolutely booming," said Aaron Kuhl, director of marketing for Marriott's Canyon Villas at Desert Ridge, which began taking guests in January and celebrated its grand opening this week.

The timeshares are attracting guests for a week or more who help feed area restaurants, golf courses, spas, parks, stadiums, museums and other attractions.

Ed Kinney, vice president of corporate affairs and brand awareness for Marriott Vacation Club International in Orlando, said timeshare sales are the healthiest segment of Marriott International Inc.'s business.

Twenty years ago, the company did $5.4 million in timeshare sales in a year. Now it logs that much every 36 to 37 hours, he said. Last year marked the division's eighth consecutive year of 21 percent revenue growth annually.

"We don't see it slowing down," he said. "We think the audience of people will continue to grow."

Factors driving the boom include:


• Customer comfort with brand names like Marriott, Westin, Hyatt and Hilton behind the properties.


• Flexibility that allows owners to trade weeks for stays in other branded timeshares around the world or for nights in company hotels.


• Flexibility of not being locked into the same vacation week each year.


• Flat price for all future vacation lodging, excluding annual maintenance fees.


• Deeded ownership in one fifty-second of a condominium that can be passed on to children.


• Consumers' appetite for travel.


• More sophisticated marketing.

Rose Anne Oberheide from the Chicago suburb of Park Ridge, Ill., is an accountant who crunched the numbers carefully before buying a Marriott Canyon Villa with her husband, Bill.

"It does make sense," Oberheide said, relaxing Tuesday in one of the hot tubs as her two children played nearby.

The Oberheides enjoy traveling, but they like the flexibility and affordability associated with a timeshare over owning a second home somewhere.

"I think it's the affiliation with Marriott that made it more appealing," she said, noting the ability to get a familiar product in other desirable places.

Companies caution that timeshares are not a real estate investment, but an investment in vacations.

While hotels like the upfront revenue from timeshare sales and the traffic that timeshares generate for hotel restaurants, spas, bars and golf courses sometimes located adjacent to them, some Wall Street analysts have expressed skepticism. Among concerns, they've cited lower returns on invested capital vs. standard hotels and a diversion for companies from hotel operations into real estate.

J.W. Marriott Jr., chairman and CEO of the company his father founded, said Marriott has begun joint-venturing on timeshares, including Canyon Villas, to reduce development costs and increase returns.

"The business is growing at 20 percent a year. . . . It's a big contributor to our profits," Marriott said.

People like what they see. About 25 percent of those who look buy after a sales tour, Kinney said. Many finance their purchases.

David Matheson, vice president of corporate affairs for Starwood Vacation Ownership in White Plains, N.Y., said his company's timeshare segment is enjoying annual revenue growth of about 25 percent.

"The timeshare industry is not there yet, but it's quickly becoming a sought-after good," Matheson said, adding he's seeing more people comparison-shopping.

Starwood will open the first phase of its 158-unit Westin Kierland Villas next month, among more than a dozen worldwide, and counting. He thinks the hotel companies have only scratched the surface of the timeshare business.

Five years ago, 75 percent of the timeshares were sold by independent operators, he said. Today, 75 percent are sold by brand-related companies.

Chuck Wimmer, director of sales and marketing for Hyatt Vacation Club's Piñon Pointe property in Sedona, said sales are booming since the property opened last fall.

"It is now a much more consumer-friendly product" than it was 10 to 15 years ago, he said of buyer options.

Canyon Villas' Kuhl said 40 percent of his buyers are locals, who use the week for family or friends or to trade for other locations. They also can use the pool and fitness facilities free year-round.

Paul Lusman and his wife, Barbara, of Long Island, N.Y., enjoyed their two-week stay at their villa, which they used as a base to explore as far away as the Grand Canyon and Sedona.

"The museums and the culture and the city and the weather are what brought us here, rather than the golf," Paul Lusman said.

IFA Hotels & Resorts (IFA), Kersaf and Sun International (SI), Africa's leading tourism and leisure group, have announced that they have signed an agreement for the development of resorts in Palm Island, Dubai, Zanzibar and the Zimbali Coastal Resort in South Africa.


An aerial view of The Palm Jumeirah, Dubai

Under the agreement IFA and Sun International will be jointly responsible for all planning and related studies. SI will be responsible for the provision of development and operating management services. The agreement covers other potential projects in the Middle East, Africa and Indian Ocean, including the Maldives.

The proposed resorts, which will be operated under the Sun International brand, will have hotel accommodation together, in some cases, with timeshare that will be marketed and operated under the highly successful Sun International Vacation Club brand.

Sun International, was incorporated in 1983 and is listed on The Johannesburg Stock Exchange. The group's operations include resorts and luxury hotels in South Africa, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho and Swaziland. The group operates 22 hotels and in 2003 the group's hotel related revenues were in excess of $100 million.

Sun International is the only significant operator of superior luxury hotels and major resorts in southern Africa. This focus was initiated with the first hotel at the internationally recognized and acclaimed Sun City Resort in 1979. The success of these resorts and hotels lies in their appeal to the international markets and their ability to continue to attract customers from the upper end of the local market. The Palace of the Lost City, The Table Bay and Royal Livingstone are all members of The Leading Hotels of the World. SI has developed two of Africa's premier luxury hotel resort properties, Zimbali in KwaZulu-Natal and The Table Bay at the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront in Cape Town. These hotels have been linked to the internationally focused 'Route of the African Sun', a network of southern Africa's most popular attractions for tourists. Sun International has received a number of awards including Africa's Leading Hotel Group and Table Bay Hotel was voted as the leading hotel in Africa by Conde Naste.

The synergy that exists between IFA and Sun International includes the fact that Sun International is regarded as the premier hotel and timeshare operator in South Africa and has 20,000 timeshare members with a number of timeshare resorts affiliated to RCI.

IFA has acquired a 50% interest in the Zimbali Coastal Resort, north of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa and plans to develop a mixed use Hotel and Vacation club resort to complement the 5 star Zimbali Lodge. It is intended the resort be marketed and managed under the Sun International Vacation Club brand.

The Palm Sun Hotel & Resort, Palm Jumeirah, Dubai will be on a 150,000 sq m site. The property will have a beach frontage of 750 metres. IFA and SI plan to construct a luxury mixed-use hotel and resort consisting of up to 1,000 rooms at an expected cost of $200 million. The location of IFA's second resort on The Palm will be adjacent to the recently announced 2,000 room Atlantis, The Palm, a resort and water theme park located at the centre of The Palm Crescent, Jumeirah with an estimated cost of $1 billion and featuring a marine habitat, marina, and themed water attractions. International architects have been commissioned to develop the conceptual designs for the Palm Sun Hotel & Resort.

Zanzibar Sun Hotel & Resort – a 200 room hotel & resort to be located in Zanzibar and will include an additional up-market beach hotel which will feature a health spa, an 18-hole golf course, a golf academy, a beach clubhouse, children's village and a vacation club.

IFA anticipates strong Middle East demand for its properties and the tie up with SI will lead to significant travel avenues being opened up to the European and Middle East markets in line with the dedicated tour operator that is owned by Sun International, Sun International Dreams, and the fact that SI has dedicated marketing offices in UK, Germany, France, Italy and the USA. It is the aim of IFA Hotels & Resorts to link the proposed resorts in Zanzibar and Dubai to existing hotels and resorts in South Africa.

The alliance agreement was signed in Dubai by Jassim M Al Bahar, Chairman and Managing Director of IFA, Peter Bacon CEO Sun International & Kersaf Investments following meetings in Dubai that included David Coutts Trotter, Deputy CEO Sun International, Henrik Brand, Legal Affairs Director, Sun International and James Wilson, President & COO IFA Hotels and Resorts.

International Financial Advisors (IFA) listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange with a market capitalization of US $1 billion. IFA heads a consortium of several leading Kuwait and international companies including; Kuwait Real Estate Company (KREC), International Finance Company (IFV) and United Investments Portugal (UIP).

Jassim M. Al Bahar commented: 'IFA's alliance with Sun International will add tremendous value to our global network and presents an experienced and world class partner to develop various projects in the Middle East & Africa. It also represents further implementation of IFA's policy of providing first class multi use resorts, with this new resort on the Palm crescent complementing IFA's other 1,200 room Hotel & Vacation Club resort on the Palm Jumeirah trunk, adjacent to the Souq Palm - The Joint Venture between Nakheel and IFA - as well as the 246 luxury shoreline apartments facing Burj Al Arab on the six kilometre trunk. This latest addition by IFA will give tourists, as well as property/timeshare owners a variety of choices on the trunk and on the 11 kilometre Palm Crescent by IFA Hotels & Resorts.'

Peter Bacon, CE of Sun International, welcomed the strategic alliance with IFA stating: 'We have followed IFA's move into Zimbali and its other premium hotel and resort investments in Dubai, Portugal and Zanzibar and with SI's expansion plans we are pleased to have secured a strong international partner and we see a great deal of synergy between Sun International as operators and investors and IFA, a leading hotel and resort investor'.

IFA Hotels & Resorts will be responsible for the development and asset management of the respective investments and Sun International will be directly involved in the development management and ongoing operations that will include Hotel and Vacation Club Operations.

Jassim M. Al Bahar concluded: 'This latest alliance by our group is a further reflection of our positive outlook at the pace in which tourism in Dubai and Africa is developing. IFA is pleased to be part of that growth thereby providing its clients with world class networks in Middle East, Africa and Europe.'

Recently IFA Hotels & Resorts entered into a joint venture with The Palm developers Nakheel, for the development of two niche market shopping complexes Souq palm – and freehold residences – The Palm Residence Souq – covering 60,000 sq. metres on the trunk of The Palm Jumeirah. The complex will overlook a 1.5 kilometre canal side Corniche to be called 'The Golden Mile,' which will transform it into one of the world's most sought after Corniche-style shopping destinations. The joint venture's shopping and residential complex will cost US $300 million and will cover 780 luxury apartments as well as 220 boutique shops and restaurants.

Related Information

ABOUT IFA HOTELS & RESORTS

IFA Hotels & Resorts is a subsidiary of the Kuwait-based International Financial Advisors Company (IFA). The depth and strength of the group places it in the forefront of companies engaged in the development of tourism projects, hotels and resorts in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. It is the force behind the management of the super-premium Sheraton Algarve Hotel and Pine Cliffs Resort in Portugal; part of the Starwood's Luxury Collection, and behind the Zanzibar Beach Hotel and Resort – the largest destination resort on the historic spice island.

In 2003 IFA acquired a 50% shareholding in the existing Zimbali Coastal Resort (www.zimbali.co.za) in South Africa which covers 3.7 million sq. metres (370 hectares) and the expansion of the resort will add a further 3.0 million metres (300 hectares). Additionally, IFA Hotels & Resorts purchased 1 million sq. metres of land to build the Zimbali Hotel & Resort a 300 bedrooms, five-star hotel, golf course and vacation club.

IFA Hotels & Resorts aims to line its resorts in Zanzibar, Palm-Jumeirah, Dubai, South Africa and Portugal with future planned resorts in Lebanon. This will offer tourists in Europe, the Middle East and Africa a unique network linking the company's respective hotels, resorts, timeshare and vacation club destinations.

ABOUT SUN INTERNATIONAL

Sun International forms the major part of the Kersaf Investment Group which is listed on the JSE Securities Exchange in South Africa. Sun International invests in and provides development and operational management services in the hotel and resort industry. The portfolio currently comprises 22 hotels. These properties together with the related management activities generated revenues of R4.2 billion (circa $626 million) and EBITDA R1.3 billion (Circa $194 million) in 2003.

The Kersaf Investments Group is also invested in the City Lodge Hotel Group which operates an extensive limited services hotel chain in South Africa. The Kersaf Investments Group currently has a market capitalization of R3.5 billion (circa $522million)

For further information:

Kuwait
IFA Hotels & Resorts
Reem Al Ibrahim
Tel: +965 2403796
Fax: + 965 2407179

Dubai
IFA Hotels & Resorts
Barbara Saunders, MCS/Action
Tel: +9714 390 2960
Fax: +9714 390 8161

Portugal
IFA Hotels & Resorts
Teresa Chatillon
Tel: +351-289-500106
Fax: + 351-289-501795

South Africa
IFA Hotels & Resorts
Melanie Robert

Related site: http://www.ifahotelsresorts.com

‘THIS HAS KILLED MY WIFE’



TONY Perry, the former Allerdale council chief executive who was sacked after a £6 million timeshare project at Keswick failed, this week claimed the long-running battle to clear his name had contributed to his wife’s death.

And he told the industrial tribunal that he had been made a scapegoat for the crashed scheme.

Mr Perry, 75, who lives at Bassenthwaite, is claiming he was unfairly dismissed in 1991 by the council. He has been forced to wait so long for a tribunal because of civil litigation.

At the tribunal this week, he attacked a behind-closed-doors meeting of the full Allerdale council, held in January, 1992, which confirmed his sacking.

He claimed that councillors, who had already attended political group meetings beforehand, were subjected to a three-line whip.

He said: “They had used me as a scapegoat and saw me as the only way out of a corner that they had got themselves in.”

Mr Perry told the panel that his reputation had been shattered by the decision to sack him after a special committee of councillors ruled that he had misled their colleagues.

He said afterwards: “I have lived with this 24 hours a day for the past 12 years. It is there all the time although it does help a little that I have finally been able to put my side of the story.”

Mr Perry - who was cross-examined for about five hours by David Hesselberth, the barrister acting for Allerdale - broke down briefly while giving evidence on Tuesday at the mention of a trip to New Zealand.

He said: “This has killed my wife.”

He was ‘down under’ with his wife on a family visit at the time that the council took the decision to remove him from office following a disciplinary meeting.

Although he had some involvement in the controversial scheme, said Mr Perry, it was Charles Crane - his predecessor - who was the main player.

Mr Perry added: “I was making my contribution but at no time did he let go and hand the scheme over to me.

“I would like to claim it was my scheme but it wasn’t. I was doing my bit to assist Mr Crane get the matter before council.

“The principal player was Mr Crane who was chief executive and solicitor at the time reports were presented to the council in 1985 and 1986.”

Two firms were interested in developing a timeshare development at Keswick Bridge with any profits being used to fund a town swimming pool.

Mr Perry said it was his job to try and squeeze them to put more in and require less of the council.

He re-iterated that a report, presented in his name while he was treasurer, was not written by him but by his deputy Terry Goodwin. It had been vetted and approved by Mr Crane, he claimed.

Mr Perry said a second report, which asked the council to approve the creation of a limited liability company, was also someone else’s work.

The tribunal’s decision will be issued in a few weeks’ time.

RedWeek.com, a large timeshare marketplace from the founder of Classmates.com, now works with Chicago Title to provide both vacationers and owners greater security for private rental transactions. Travelers can find considerable savings on larger accommodations by renting a resort condominium directly from a timeshare owner. But renting from a private party sometimes causes apprehension.

RedWeek.com overcomes this by adding a convenient third-party handling service for its members wishing to make a cost-saving direct transaction. The service is called "Vacation Escrow," and Chicago Title orchestrates obtaining signatures for the Timeshare Use Agreement, collecting the deposit and final payment from the resort guest, and disbursing the payment to the owner based on the agreement.

Chicago Title is the largest title insurer in the world, with the National Timeshare Division exclusively servicing the timeshare industry.

RedWeek.com is a member-supported site where travelers can find bargains at roomy resort condominiums, and timeshare owners can post units to rent, sell or trade. The site has thousands of destinations worldwide with rental and sales deals, plus an e-mail notification service to watch for new postings at specific resorts. There are traveler-posted ratings and reviews, a vacation want ads area and a search function.

Charged with cheating 38 in $150,000 timeshare con

A MAN has been accused of cheating 38 people out of more than $150,000 by tricking them into believing he could help them sell their timeshare investments.

Tan Miah Soong, 43, the former director of International Timeshare Resale Consultant, was charged in a district court yesterday with 73 counts of cheating.

He also faces one charge of using the abbreviated form of 'limited' in the name of his business without incorporating it under the Companies Act.

Tan, now unemployed, is accused of committing the cheating offences between April 2000 and September last year.

He is alleged to have first collected registration fees of between $388 and $776 from the victims, after claiming he could help them sell their timeshares.

He purportedly collected larger sums of money from them later, ranging from $1,125 to $13,750, as fees to effect the sale.

Tan's case is scheduled for a pre-trial conference on April 1.

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Macdonald Hotels and Highland property group feud continues

TIMESHARE property owners at Loch Rannoch Highland Club in Perthshire will tomorrow ask the Office of Fair Trading to investigate the behaviour of Macdonald Hotels at the resort.

The holidaymakers are seeking redress because Macdonald barred them from its flagship Loch Rannoch Hotel after the timeshare owners removed a lucrative management contract from Macdonald.

ILX buys timeshare units at 2 properties in Valley.

Phoenix-based timeshare operator ILX Resorts Inc. announced Thursday that it has agreed to acquire 988 two-bedroom intervals (19 units) and available land for a minimum of 20 more units (1,040 intervals) at Rancho Mañana Resort in Cave Creek. It also acquired 150 timeshare intervals (two- and three-bedroom units) at the Scottsdale Camelback Resort, ILX said in a written statement.

"We anticipate annexing these properties to Premiere Vacation Club in the second quarter 2004," Joe Martori, chairman and CEO of ILX, said in the statement.

Meet the Money Conference Set for May 6, Forecasts Record Attendance as Hotel Economy Rebounds

More than 450 Participants Expected at 14th Annual Conference on Hotel Lending Trends.

Officials for Meet the Money(R), the hotel industry's only one-day conference that provides up-to-the-minute information on industry and lending trends, announced that its 14th annual event will be held Thursday, May 6, at the Sheraton Gateway LA Airport Hotel.

"With the hotel industry in the early stages of recovery, demand for loans has accelerated significantly," said Jim Butler, conference founder and Chairman of the Global Hospitality Group in the law firm, Jeffer Mangels Butler & Marmaro LLP (JMBM). "We already have signed a record number of Conference sponsors and expect that attendance will exceed 450, also a record for the conference."

Butler said participants include specialists in hotel development, mezzanine, CMBS lending, as well as developers, owners, operators and related hospitality consultants. "The rebounding economy, an increase in the number of hotel transactions coming to market and heightened interest in development all are influencing interest in this year's event. "We will have more than 30 lenders at the conference and 15 times as many people interested in what they have to say and offer," he said.

"We are entering the high season for hotel transactions, as well as increasing interest in development in this phase of the real estate cycle," Butler said. "While it is difficult to accurately estimate the actual lending capacity that will be represented at this year's Meet the Money, it is safe to say that it will be well in excess of $10 billion."

More than 80 speakers will make presentations or participate in timely panel discussions, ranging from hotel operating trends to hotel mezzanine financing to CMBS lending trends. Timeshare issues will be discussed for the first time at the 2004 Meet the Money Conference. Among the key speakers at the event will be Mark Lomanno, President of Smith Travel Research.

The one-day event kicks-off at 7:45 a.m. and concludes at 5:30 p.m. with a Dealmakers Forum and Reception, at which lenders and borrowers will have an opportunity to meet face-to-face and exchange ideas and business proposals in an informal setting.

Early registration is $350. Additional information may be found at the Conference's Web site, www.MeetTheMoney.com, or by calling (310) 785-6707.

Meet the Money, founded by Jim Butler in 1990, is the hotel industry's only one-day conference that focuses on hotel-related lending issues and financing trends and policies. In addition, the Conference provides a venue for lenders and potential borrowers to meet in a casual, networking atmosphere.

Florida Based Timeshare Firm Plots Growth Strategy

Orlando-based Celebrity Resorts, a time-share company formerly known as Resort World, is growing again and looking for more deals.

The privately held company recently bought the management rights and unsold inventory for six properties from Las Vegas-based Leisure Resorts, giving the company nine properties from Florida to Hawaii.

The $18.3 million acquisition roughly doubles the company's time-share ownership base to about 50,000 people and boosts employment by about 125 workers to a total of 450 to 500, Chief Executive Officer Jared Meyers said.

"We're pretty excited about this," Meyers said. The company is also preparing to move into a new headquarters in leased space on the sixth floor of a new office building near the Mall at Millenia.

Celebrity Resorts is owned by Meyers' father, retired dentist Neil Meyers, and the general counsel is one of Jared Meyers' uncles. The family got into the time-share business in the 1970s in the Caribbean and then in the Orlando area in the 1980s, when Resort World was one of four main players in the region.

But while the other three players -- Orange Lake, Westgate Resorts and Vistana -- expanded over time, Celebrity Resorts, or Resort World as it was known then, sold off much of its holdings to Sunterra.

Resort World changed its name and rebranded itself last year, Jared Meyers said, after some of the family-member partners split because of differences over the direction of the company. Another of Jared Meyers' uncles, Hillel Meyers, for example, continues to own and operate Star Island vacation ownership in Kissimmee, originally part of the Resort World group.

"We're now ramping up for growth," Jared Meyers said, in part by taking on veteran industry executives. Chuck Rybos, a former Marriott Vacation Club financial officer, is now the chief financial officer for Celebrity Resorts, and Ron Leventhal, a former senior executive with several time-share companies in the region, is chief strategic officer, in charge of looking for new acquisitions. Chief operating officer is C. Craig Lewis.

Celebrity Resorts' existing properties are in Kissimmee, Lake Buena Vista and north of Daytona Beach in Palm Coast. The newly acquired sites, purchased out of bankruptcy court, are in Honolulu; Reno, Nev.; New Jersey; Indian Shores, just south of Clearwater Beach; and two properties in Steamboat Springs, Colo.

The company took on debt to close the deal, Jared Meyers said, but took on no debt from the acquisition itself, which includes mortgage receivables. The unsold inventory at the new properties, Meyers said, ranges from 4 percent to more than 50 percent.

Timeshare trend raises questions

Soaring waterfront prices have inspired a new real estate trend in Southwest Florida.

The notion was enough to scare residents of at least one community, who likened it to a transient hotel being built in their backyard.

Called fractured, or shared ownership, the concept is similar to a timeshare, but it involves luxury single-family homes. Multiple owners — as many as four or five — pay as much as $500,000 each to use the house a couple of months a year.

Fractional ownership is becoming the upscale residence of choice in resort areas like Aspen, Colo., Mexico and Hawaii. It’s been widely successful for other luxury items like jets and yachts.

Realtor Denny Grimes said it’s a novel concept for single-family homes.

While Lee’s multimillion-dollar real estate market — homes $2 million or more — is up 250 percent, there’s still more than four years worth of inventory to sell, said Grimes, of VIP Realty in Fort Myers.

“Buyers are value-shopping,’’ he said.

Shared ownership fits that mind-set, Grimes said. “It makes a lot of sense. It’s a not the money people are concerned about; it’s rationalizing the cost of ownership.’’

Particularly, when the homes are used for a few weeks or months a year, he added.

But it’s being met with opposition on Sanibel Island.

At issue was the proposed sale of a $3.1 million home in the Kinzie Island neighborhood. Recently, the Brandywine Owners Club attempted to buy the home, with plans to turn around and sell it to four owners for upward of $900,000 each.

The company, whose corporate offices are in Ocean., N.J., called it the “sensible” way to own a luxurious second home without all the expense, according to its Web site.

Neighbors were outraged. There were threats of lawsuits. The homeowners association, which represents the 24 homeowners, voted overwhelmingly to change its rules.

“Obviously, we couldn’t stop the sale,’’ said Patrick Tzanis, association president.“But we could limit the use to a single family.’’

The association also limited the number of guests and how many times they could visit in a given year.

The sale fell through and now Sanibel city officials are reviewing their zoning to see what they can do to provide the same restrictions.

“There’s nothing that specifically precludes shared ownership in single-family zoning,’’ said Ken Cuyler, Sanibel city attorney. At least for now. “We’re looking at what discretion the city council has in passing regulations.’’

Throughout Southwest Florida, zoning laws restrict timeshares to areas where there are condos or resorts, not single-family homes. The question remains whether or not these qualify as timeshares.

“I understand the problem if 52 wanted to buy it,’’ Grimes said. But, “I don’t know how they could stop it.’’

The Sanibel planning staff hopes to have a recommendation on how to stop it to the council by the end of the month.

Sanibel may be the first to deal with the issue, but it’s not likely to be the last. Brandywine’s Web site reports it is looking for a home in Naples, as well as other resort locales.

Brandywine officials did not return repeated phone calls seeking comment.

“Since the average family only uses a second home for only 60-90 days every year, the Brandywine Owners Club allows second homeowners to enjoy 100 percent of the benefits of homeownership, with only 20 percent of the associated costs,’’ according to the Web site.

They are advertising a 6,800-square-foot Fort Lauderdale home with a 37-foot SeaRay Sundance. The price tag: $650,000 for a 20 percent share of the house.

According to the Web site, “you and yours can live life to the fullest and be fiscally responsible at the same time.’’

Some suggest the issue is more concentrated on income discrimination than zoning. Shared ownership opens up sales to the middle-class wealthy, not just the wealthy wealthy, said John McIlwain, housing expert with the Urban Land Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit real estate research group.

“Underlying this is the fact that homeowners don’t want people who don’t have as much money as they do,’’ he said. “But we’ve been doing that in our suburbs for 50 years.’’

Sanibel is a wealthy barrier island enclave, where the median family income is $92,455 and the median home value is $392,400. By comparison, Lee County’s median family income is $42,430 and the median home value is $112,900.

Tzanis said his neighbors aren’t discriminating. They just want to protect their quality of life.

“The prices of real estate have gone so high,’’ he said. “Here’s a way to live the life and not pay full price.’’

“It really concerned us because there were four other homes for sale,’’ he said. “I bought this as single-family residence. I don’t want four different people living next to me.’’

Muslims offered timeshare in birthplace of Islam



DUBAI (Reuters) - Islamic entrepreneurs are moving to cash in on a guaranteed flow of Muslim pilgrims to the birthplace of Islam by offering them timeshare options previously available only to holiday spas and beach resorts.

Muslims will be able to buy time at a 31-floor luxury tower overlooking Islam's holiest site, the Grand Mosque of Mecca, by investing in a type of timeshare option that is compliant with Islamic law. It is the newest instrument to hit the rapidly growing Islamic finance sector worth an estimated $200 billion.

Kuwait-based Munshaat Real Estate Co say their new product for buying timeshare at Zam Zam tower is expected to bring revenues of more than $800 million in the next three years and capitalise on Saudi Arabia's lucrative religious tourism and real estate market.

Now under construction, Zam Zam tower, the Arabic name for a holy natural spring in Mecca, will be able to accommodate 6,000 once it is build in 2006.

"We've found that seventy percent of visitors to Mecca require temporary residence. In 1995, there was a 6,600-room deficit for visitors to Mecca.

That number is expected to multiply by 10 in 2009," Meshal Khalifa al-Ameri, managing director of Munshaat Real Estate Projects Co, told Reuters on the sidelines of an Islamic banking conference in Dubai.

Each year, millions of devout Muslims make the trip to Mecca, both during the holy haj week of pilgrimage and year round.

Mecca saw more than two million Muslims converge for the haj pilgrimage in January 2004, and the numbers are rising annually as more of the 1.8 billion Muslims worldwide go to Mecca.

"We are mainly concentrating on Mecca and Medina. We strive to encourage tourism in Islamic countries," he said.

Munshaat's timeshare option promises ethical investment according to Islam which forbids interest and investments in alcohol and gambling. Returns in Islamic Finance are instead made through a system of profit-sharing.

Ameri said it was too early to give sales figures as subscription in the plan opened six months ago, but he added he had "good expectations".

Buyers in Zam Zam choose a 24-year option on a range of packages which vary in price depending on the suite's size, duration of stay and religious season. For instance, a royal suite during the peak season of haj can cost more than 56,790 Kuwaiti dinars ($192,700).

Munshaat is also planning to build a similar residential tower in Saudi Arabia's second holiest city of Medina.

$200m resort on Palm Jumeirah

IFA Hotels & Resorts, a subsidiary of International Financial Advisors (IFA), Kuwait has signed a new deal with Nakheel to buy 150,000 square metres on the crescent at Palm Jumeirah at a cost of $42 million.

This is Nakheel's fifth agreement with IFA which aims to build an additional 1,000-room luxury resort on the Palm at an expected cost of $200 million.

IFA is in the process of selecting an international hotel company to operate the luxury mixed use hotel and resort.

The property will have a beach frontage of 750 m, said officials .

The location of IFA's second resort on the Palm will be adjacent to the recently announced 2,000 room Atlantis, The Palm, a resort and water theme park located at the centre of The Palm Crescent, Jumeirah. This is being built at an estimated cost of $1 billion and featuring a marine habitat, marina, themed water attractions.

Two weeks ago IFA Hotels & Resorts entered into a joint venture with The Palm developers Nakheel, for the development of two niche market shopping complexes - Suq Palm - and freehold residences - The Palm Residence Suq - covering 60,000 square metres on the trunk of The Palm Jumeirah.

The complex will overlook a 1.5 km canal side Corniche to be called 'The Golden Mile,' which will transform it into one of the world's most sought-after Corniche-style shopping destinations.

The joint venture's shopping and residential complex will cost $300 million and will cover 780 luxury apartments as well as 220 boutique shops and restaurants.

International Financial Advisors (IFA) is listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange with a market capitalisation of $1 billion.

IFA heads a consortium of several leading Kuwaiti and international companies including; Kuwait Real Estate Company (KREC), International Finance Company (IFC) and United Investments Portugal (UIP).

Jassim M Al Bahar, chairman and managing director of IFA, said:

'IFA's new project to build an additional luxury resort represents further implementation of IFA's policy of providing first class multi use resorts.

'With this new resort on the Palm crescent complimenting IFA's other 1.200 room Hotel & Vacation Club resort on the Palm Jumeirah trunk, adjacent to the Souq Palm -- the joint venture between Nakheel and IFA - as well as the 246 luxury shoreline apartments facing Burj Al Arab on the six kilometre trunk.

'This latest addition by IFA will offer tourists, as well as property owners/timeshare owners, a variety of choices on the trunk and on the 11 km Palm Crescent by IFA Hotels & Resorts'.

Nakheel chairman Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem welcomed the latest investment by IFA group.

'This latest investment further strengthens the excellent relations that exist between Nakheel and IFA and demonstrates how this relationship has flourished at a rapid pace reflecting the cooperation that exists between our two groups,' said Bin Sulayem.

Jassim M Al Bahar said this latest IFA investment is a further reflection of the group's positive outlook at the pace in which tourism in Dubai is developing.

'Under the guidance of General Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and UAE Defence Minister, Dubai has succeeded as a world class destination for international tourism.

'It is worthy to note that Dubai tourism arrivals are expected to reach 15m by 2010 and 40 million by 2015.

'The figures speak for themselves and IFA is proud to be part of that growth thereby providing its clients with world class networks in the Middle East, Africa and Europe.'

Nakheel's portfolio currently includes The Palm, The World, Jumeirah Islands, The Gardens, The Gardens Shopping Mall, Jumeirah Lake Towers and International City.

Law is last resort in timeshare tussle

A DISPUTE involving thousands of timeshare owners and one of Scotland’s biggest hotel groups is poised to spill over into an acrimonious court battle over unpaid fees.

Loch Rannoch Highland Club in Perthshire has been at loggerheads with Macdonald Resorts since last summer after club members removed a lucrative management contract from the subsidiary of the Macdonald hotel and leisure chain.

Macdonald retaliated by barring more than 4,000 timeshare owners, and their families and friends, from entering its flagship Loch Rannoch Hotel next door and from using leisure and marina facilities there.

Now they face a season of uncertainty as a court threat hangs over their heads. Macdonald is understood to be preparing to claw back almost £1m in fees and costs it claims remain outstanding.

However, an overwhelming number of club members voted earlier this month to stay with new managers, Timeshare Management Services Limited.

TMSL is run, in effect, by former committee members of the club and according to one long-standing timeshare owner, represents a last attempt to wrest control of the contract from Macdonald.

Retired solicitor Roger Willis said: "The mean act of continuing to bar everyone from their premises is testament to the treatment the chain has consistently meted out to us. But we are galvanised in our attempt to put Macdonald behind us."

The septuagenarian has travelled back-and-forth for many years to his lochside timeshare, despite living in the attractive location of Ambleside in the Lake District.

Willis claimed under the new regime management fees were 16% lower compared with the last year under Macdonald’s control. Furthermore, had the contract stayed with the hotel group, access to leisure facilities and the hotel itself would now cost the average member about £157 for each lodge week during the season. The only advantage gained would be access to an on-site pool.

TMSL expects to replace most of the facilities, except access to the hotel, within the next couple of years.

Resort manager Margaret Hodge said families now compensated by visiting nearby Dunalastair Hotel and going to pools at Tummel Valley and Aberfeldy.

Also, TMSL reports that demand for the timeshare rentals at Rannoch is outstripping supply. It takes a 20% commission to handle the rentals, compared with the situation under Macdonald when, it claims, commission stood at 40% and at times as much as 70%.

TMSL adds that owners now pay £60 to register a transfer and claims that under the old regime the fee had been hiked up to £690.

Referring to a possible court of session interdict by the hotel chain, Willis said: "We understand the hotel chain now claims that the so-called unpaid fees total close to £900,000, which is ludicrous, with expensive legal bills on top of that. But we will fight it all the way."

For its part, Macdonald will try to prove in the Court of Session a "loss in value" of business caused by the failure by club members to pay back fees. The hotel chain assumed control of the contract in the early 1990s, when it took over former owners Barrett Resorts.

Company secretary Gordon Fraser recently wrote to club members warning that the total cost to them of a successful recovery of unpaid fees "could be over £1m". Macdonald has tried, unsuccessfully, in the recent past to win interdicts to prove its case.

Fraser claimed it was in members’ best interests that the club was managed by a substantial company, such as Macdonald Resorts, one able to provide on-site leisure facilities.

However, a vast majority of members decided otherwise. Club official David Monteith-Hodge said: "Since the decision we have heard nothing from the hotel group.

"We are sitting in a state of trepidation wondering what they are going to do next."

Another timeshare owner, who asked not to be named, added: "There has never been an effective on-site management or maintenance programme since Macdonald took over. In contrast, TMSL had already displayed a keen eye for detail and that’s what we have needed for years."

The row is happening against the backdrop of rumours that the leisure chain is to offload the Loch Rannoch Hotel, one of 15 from the 70 it owns in the UK

that may be sold.

Willis said club members had heard hints that the hotel was to be sold: "This rumour appears to be hardening now that they need cash to fund their latest business venture. It may also be about offloading a hot potato."

Certainly the Macdonald group appears to have bigger fish to fry at the moment. The company is busy preparing a £350m bid with HBOS and private investors the billionaire brothers David and Simon Reuben, for the UK assets of debt-crippled Queens Moat Houses.

The outcome of the bid should be known in about a month. But it is likely to be matched by other contenders, leading to an auction with speculation that the eventual price will be nearer £400m.

The Macdonald group was taken private by founder Donald Macdonald last year in a £620m buy-out. HBOS is a 50% stakeholder, after leading its exit from the stock market. The chain’s portfolio includes more than 100 hotels and resorts in Britain and Spain.

Sandy Gray, chief executive of English-based Timeshare Consumers Association, said the last thing the hotel and leisure chain needed now was a public bloodletting in its own backyard.

"I am glad that at last the owners of the timeshare club at Rannoch have had it confirmed that they are in control," he remarked. "I am already hearing reports that costs are starting to show at a much lower level than when Macdonald managed the scheme.

"There is little doubt that Macdonald has made life hard for the owners who I believe are right in what they are doing and the association is wholly supportive of their actions."

Macdonald Hotels did not reply to calls.