A new survey of British holidaymakers reveals that the majority of families will spend at least £400 during their summer holiday this year.

According to a poll conducted by YouGov involving 2,205 British adults between 17th and 19th July 2006, 57 percent of Brits admitted to spending over £400 a week while on holiday, on top of more than £1000 spent booking travel and accommodation. The research was undertaken on behalf of international hotel group Ramada Worldwide.

As per the official release, overall it was shared that an overwhelming pattern of high-spending on foreign trips. Only three percent of men and two percent of women manage to keep spending under £100, whilst almost one in five men and women spend over a budget-bursting £1000. Further it added that soaring spending while on holiday abroad is matched by expenditure on other holidaying costs.

The survey data revealed that 45 percent of people spend over £40 before leaving the country, simply getting to their chosen departure point. And 60 percent of those surveyed also admitted to spending over £50 on new clothes prior to a trip abroad.

Huibert Evekink, marketing director - EMEA, Wyndham Hotel Group International, said the research confirms that holidaymakers are faced with rising costs on all fronts.

Evekink also referred to the launch of company’s summer sale. “By offering holidaymakers a discount of up to 30 percent, the Ramada brand represents great value for money, which means you’ve got more to spend on enjoying your holiday,” said Evekink.

NEW hand luggage restrictions on airline passengers are likely to become permanent.

Government ministers have told BAA they do not expect fundamental changes to the regime brought in following last week’s terror alert.

Carry-on bags must be half the size of hand luggage previously allowable, and most toiletries will no longer be allowed through security.

Airlines and tour operators generally welcomed the new regime that marked a relaxation of the severe restrictions in place during the security alert.

But Ryanair labelled them “nonsensical” and chief executive Michael O’Leary called on the Government “to return air travel to normal”.

A Ryanair spokesman confirmed the carrier would continue charging £5 for each item of hold luggage.

The change could hit the no-frills business model said First Choice marketing director Tim Williamson. “It will be difficult to load passengers quickly and putting most luggage in the hold will slow turnarounds,” he said.

Thomsonfly managing director Colin Mitchell added: “The baggage changes won’t affect us, but will mean a change in customer behaviour.”

Checking in is not expected to take much longer once passengers are aware of the changes, although airlines may need more check-in staff – stalling the trend towards automated and online check-in.

These services are liable to remain, but passengers will still need to go through security and identity checks in person.

The days of taking several items of hand luggage on board a flight, or a bag large enough for a long weekend, are probably over.

Short-stay clients should expect to spend more time at airports to check in and collect bags.

The authorities have said to expect the one, small item rule to be strictly enforced, so business travellers will have to do without their laptop, briefcase and suit carrier as additional hand luggage.

After an almost two-year freeze on their points, timeshare owners at the Crowne Plaza Golf Resort and Casino at the Royal Oasis are learning of a deal that could break the ice and lure them back to the distressed property.

Lehman Brothers, the financiers of the resort, signed a contract last Monday with World Investments Holdings (WIH) for the purchase of the resort which has been closed since 2004.

The closure wiped out 965 rooms in the towers and country club from the island's inventory, shut down the casino, both golf courses and 98 timeshare units and pushed some 1,300 employees into the unemployment pool.

The move came days after Hurricane Frances in September 2004. The owners claimed the property sustained extensive damages.

With an inoperable property in Grand Bahama, timeshare owners say they were unable to vacation anywhere else because their points had been frozen.

But Prime Minister Perry Christie told The Freeport News during his last visit here some weeks ago that the owners had made provisions in the sale to include the timeshare owners.

Back then, there were two players – WIH, Florida-based group, and Harcourt Developments, a property construction and management company based in Dublin, Ireland – bidding on the property.

In fact, the Prime Minister revealed that Lehman Brothers had taken all of the necessary steps to ensure that the purchasing group has timesharing expertise and were "timesharing internationally respected participants."

"I am hoping that when the purchasers are selected, that we are able to announce to the Bahamian people what in fact is intended and how they will go about assuring the timeshare owners that their future is on solid ground," he said.

Now that a deal has been signed, timeshare owners are optimistic, but still have more questions than answers.

Chuck and Darlene Barber of Virginia had paid for their timeshare in full, unlike several other owners who had financed.

"We paid cash up front. All our money is already in the door," he said yesterday, pointing out that they have lost all use of their timeshare for nearly two years.

Now what the sale means for the timeshare owners he says, depends on how they are figured into the resort equation in the way forward.

But timeshare owners at Royal Oasis had filed a class action suit against the former resort owner in a Florida Federal Court and say they have not heard from the resort since November 2004.

Fed up after their attempts to reach the resort by phone, e-mails and letters have gone unanswered, the suit names Sunrise Properties Limited, Driftwood Freeport Limited and Driftwood Hospitality Management, LLC. as the defendants.

They are suing for breach of contract, breach of the implied duty of good faith and fair dealing, unjust enrichment and declaration of their ownership rights and interests in their timeshare units.

The Barbers are a part of the action and maintain the lawsuit and the sale of the resort are two independent items.

As for the suit, everything is full speed ahead.

"It's only fair. If we lost three years, are they going to give us three years back," another owner says. "They breached the contract. If any timeshare owner did, we would get a letter to say that we would get nothing.

"People have lost out on a lot of money. I'm glad that it has been sold, at least things are moving."

He questions when will they be able to use their points, what their status will be when the resort reopens, would they have to sign new contracts and whether it means that the points will be unfrozen now that the deal is signed.

What's even more frustrating, the owner points out, is that people are still paying maintenance fees on their timeshare for fear they will lose their points.

"I'm hoping that they finish that resort and they really get it up in the eight months they say because I'm dying to get back at that hotel because it could really be a good thing.

"If they do get it fixed up its really going to work out for everyone in the end," he said.

Amaterra Jamaica Limited, a local firm principally held by land developer Keith Russell, has a seven-year plan to build a resort community comprising 2,000 hotel rooms and 2,200 villa lots, in Trelawny.

Amaterra's plans is the latest in a series of new hotel projects that have either been advanced or created since government announced its US$1.2 billion ($79 billlion) Harmony Cove luxury project more than two years ago.

Russell, a former politician, declined to give details, saying he had not finalised all aspects of the project.

But a synopsis of the plans outlined in the environmental impact assessment submitted to the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) towards the end of 2005, revealed that "infastructural construction" was expected to begin this year.

Sources say Russell, who has been trying to evict 22 squatter families from the property, wants to start building by October.

Phased basis development

"It is proposed that the development be carried out on a phased basis, with the completion of most of the infrastructure scheduled to be ready by the end of 2008," said the NEPA report.

"The infrastructural construction will begin in 2006 and should be complete within thirty months."

The development is to take place on 850 acres (344.25 hectares) of beachfront land in Duncans, with the name initially envisaged as 'Ocean Pointe'.

The plans call for the development of villas, condominiums, and hotels; and when completed would total approximately 2,000 hotel rooms across five hotels, 2,200 villa lots, and an 18-hole golf course, as well as:

A 'Town Centre Village' with provisions for a business park with commercial units and public amenities, including a fire station, police station, health and other services.

A water park.

An equestrian centre.

A conference centre and amphitheatre.

"Construction of the first building is scheduled to begin in late 2006 with 'Oceanfront Golf Villas' and the 'Highway commercial centre'," added the report.

"This is to be followed in 2007 by a beach hotel, the Conference Centre, and several villas 'manors' and commercial buildings."

The resort is scheduled for completion in 2013.

Since the 2004 announcement of Harmony Cove, there have been announcements or reports of a development at Oyster Bay, which Spanish hotel group, Barcelo Group, has planned for the 220 acres peninsula enclosing the bay, a phosphorescent lagoon and tourist attraction on the north coast of Jamaica, which forms part of the eastern arm of Falmouth Bay.

The designs for that project include three hotels; holiday villas/ timeshare development; apartments; two marinas; a commercial complex, an equestrian centre, nature trails, and a health and sports complex.

The resort will also incorporate an eco-tourism element, with a nature park.

Lee Issa's Couples Group also plans to build a new 370-room hotel, starting next January, at a cost of US$57 million ($3.76 billion), on a 38-acre property purchased from the Veira family of Trelawny in the mid-1990s.

Another development company, White Bay Ltd., also proposes to construct 26 duplex units and 33 villa units on approximately seven hectares (18 acres) of land at White Bay, Trelawny.

The site falls within the north western corner of the Coral Spring/Mountain Spring not far from Oyster Bay.

Georgian architecture

The design will be based on Georgian architecture to complement the Falmouth historic area.

Harmony Cove, the most ambitious tourism development in Jamaica's history, is to be marketed as an exclusive commune for the rich and famous.

The indicative plans involve a mixed development of five star hotels and villas spread across 2,200 acres of beachfront property.

Guests will be served by a private airport.

Government, through a company called Harmonisation Limited, is in negotiations with Tavistock Group, the American private investment company that was successful in its bid to develop the Harmony Cove project, to finalise the financing arrangements and design concept.

When Tanner & Haley Resorts filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this summer, it put into question the business model in which the emerging destination club industry is based. Now the company is struggling to continue serving its 874 members even as it recently disclosed it suffered an operating loss of $64 million in 2005.

Just last week its founder and CEO Rob McGrath resigned and casting further down on the viability of Tanner & Haley, which enticed prospective members to join one of its three clubs with luxury vacations in such places such as Aspen and Cabo San Lucas.

To join destination clubs such as Tanner & Haley, new members provide the club with a deposit ranging from anywhere between $80,000 to more than $800,000 depending on the club. While consumers are promised they’ll receive the money back (less an administration fee that could be as high as 20 percent), this bankruptcy puts those deposits in peril for Tanner & Haley members. However, most clubs don’t actively market that members wanting to leave the club must wait for three new members to join. Additionally, members pay annual maintenance fees and daily use fees for access to each company’s luxury homes.

Many destination clubs base financial models on maintaining their homes with annual dues while member deposits are invested in real estate, which is then owned by the club rather than individual members. The club banks on the appreciation of real estate to make money.

Though the media and consumer market has lumped the destination club industry in with timeshare, it’s not an accurate assessment. Whereas timeshare has a real estate ownership component, destination clubs do not. So while timeshare or fractional owners actually own a portion of a deeded property, destination club member own nothing but the right to stay in their respective club’s homes.

And because destination clubs have been so closely linked with timeshare, the timeshare industry has been rallying for years to put into place consumer protections. At the American Resort Development Association’s (ARDA), President Howard C. Nusbaum has always feared that if and when one of these clubs went broke, the headline would read “Timeshare For Rich Fails,” casting a negative light on an industry that has worked diligently to foster a positive image. According to Nusbaum, when a destination club fails, the timeshare industry suffers.

“We believe this business model is fundamentally flawed,” Nusbaum told Hotel Interactive. “It is based on speculation [of real estate]. That scares us.”

Tanner & Haley got into financial hot water because of its guarantee to allow members to stay anytime, anyplace in one of its homes. If that home wasn’t available, the company would have to rent a suitable alternative, costing Tanner & Haley dearly as it scrambled to satisfy member demand by entering into costly short term leases.

Nusbaum is calling for the industry to be regulated like timeshare and have appropriate consumer protections. For example, he believes non-equity destination clubs should be required to have a third party insurance vehicle for membership reimbursements in case a club goes bust and also to be more transparent with their record keeping.

“We love entrepreneurship and we love new ideas, but we need to make sure promises that are made are promises kept. This model has no failsafe,” said Nusbaum.

Dr. Wayne Thorburn, CEO of the Texas Real Estate Commission and Commissioner of the Texas Appraiser Licensing and Certification Board agreed with Nusbaum’s assessment. His organization oversees and licenses all real estate transactions in the state, including any timeshare products that are to be sold or promoted directly to people in Texas.

He believes the destination club model does have its compelling side since it provides access to multi-million dollar homes and luxury hotel amenities, but insists regulation is necessary. He is calling for new rules to be put into place either under existing timeshare acts or separate legislation specifically written for non-equity clubs.

“It’s a little dangerous to be playing the real estate market and think appreciation of real estate is the way to make money,” said Thorburn “I am not surprised something like this happened.”

On its website, Tanner & Haley the company said it intends “to continue to meet substantially all travel commitments previously made to Members and to continue to provide Members with a wide range of destinations and services.”

The notice added they will use the Chapter 11 process to “stabilize the company’s finances, put the company on a sound financial footing and develop a more viable business model.”

In a press release issued in conjunction with the bankruptcy filing announcement, Holly Felder Etlin, a Principal at XRoads Solutions Group LLC, was named Chief Restructuring Officer, a new position. She said: "As part of the Chapter 11 process, we will be reviewing and, where appropriate, revising Tanner & Haley's business model so that, upon completion of the financial reorganization, the company will be better positioned to achieve long-term strength, stability, profitability and growth. We are also committed to having the company emerge from the process with greatly enhanced corporate governance and financial transparency."

A local developer has unveiled a $38-million plan to create the Downtown's newest jewel, the 264-unit La Vistana. The first ground-up rental units in a decade for the CBD will deliver in late spring 2008.



Ed Cross, owner of Cross & Co., has spent at least one year fine-tuning his first residential project after building an industrial portfolio to become the city's second-largest owner in that sector. The 14-floor La Vistana will sit on a 1.5-acre, full city block at 100 N. Santa Rosa St., with 30,000 sf of retail fronting its Commerce Street corner and the residential entrance on the oak tree-lined Houston Street. Cross, who owns 10 more buildings and development tracts in the CBD, is picking up slightly more than a half-acre from Sterling Bank, which will vacate a 5,000-sf branch building that will be razed and then return as a La Vistana tenant.

Cross has six more tenants to relocate from the three-story, 40,000-sf Santa Rosa Professional Office Building so the site can be scraped. If the plan stays on track, La Vistana will start to come out of the ground in December.

Cross bought the office building in 1999. When a 40,000-sf tenant exited last year, Cross began planning a redevelopment, initially eyeing a parking garage because it fell in line with his development history and the city's needs. Cross says he soon realized the site's value: across the street from the two-block Milam park, caddy-corner from the under-construction Smithsonian Museum, two blocks from city hall, three blocks from the university and a stone's throw from the hospital. "It's an incredible location," he says.
"Every other major city has had a Downtown residential building done. San Antonio for a couple significant reasons has not had any new residential rental development Downtown," Cross tells GlobeSt.com. "While it's not been easy, we're getting it all done."

The CBD construction has and is continuing along the River Walk. Most often it's a redevelopment and a hotel. Cross says the only ground-up residential construction has been the 46-condo La Cascada and its fractional timeshare neighbor.

According to Cross' research, the CBD's multifamily properties are pushing 99% occupancy. Demand is 2,000 units. And, the developer adds, the availability is affordable apartments that owners are having a difficult time finding tenants that meet the guidelines.

La Vistana's one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments will range from 500 sf to more than 2,400 sf. The one-bedroom units account for 75% of the mix. The projected rent is $1.30 per sf.

Cross' brokerage team will be taking on the retail leasing. Based on the number of calls from retailers, Cross says it will fill quickly. "I've got more demand than I've got space," he says.

La Vistana's first floor will be all retail, lobby and welcome center. It will include room for a loading dock and bicycle storage. And Cross is including a garage: public and retail parking on the second and third floors with a security gate leading to two floors earmarked for residents. La Vistana will feature private elevators, theater and events room, conference and business center and a rooftop courtyard.

Rehler, Vaughn and Koone Inc. has led the local team of architects, Michael G. Imber, exterior design; B&A Architects, apartments; and Insite Architects, interiors. CF Jordan LP from El Paso is the general contractor. The local engineering team consisted of Campbell & Associates, Blum Consulting Engineers Inc. and Coyle Engineering.

Wyndham Worldwide Corp, a provider of hotel, timeshare, and vacation accommodations, said on Thursday that it would receive $760 million in proceeds from Cendant Corp. upon closing of the sale of Cendant's Travelport business. Wyndham Worldwide was recently spun off from Cendant. The proceeds from the sale would be used to pay down debt and to begin buy back of shares. The company's stock is trading 6.18% higher.

The proceeds will be used to pay down the company's revolving credit facility with a $310 million balance as well as to pay down $375 million on its interim loan facility, which is anticipated to have an additional pay down of $75 million at the end of August. Wyndham's borrowings at the end of August, excluding about $1.3 billion of securitized vacation ownership debt, are expected to be about $1 billion, the company said. Additionally, the Parsippany, New Jersey-based company said it intends to begin an immediate stock repurchase program of up to $400 million of its common stock.

According to Stephen Holmes, Wyndham Worldwide chairman and chief executive officer, "The repayment of the Company's outstanding debt provides added flexibility, allowing us to preserve borrowing capacity and enhance liquidity. With the Travelport sale now complete, we are able to pursue our stock repurchase program, which we believe will both enhance shareholder value and demonstrate our confidence in the long-term value of Wyndham Worldwide."

WYN is currently rising $1.63 at $28.01 on 1.19 million shares.

Teens giggle as they float on inner tubes along the lazy river.
Music blares from speakers.

Sunbathers tan their bodies as young adults splash in a pool nearby.

That's the scene on any given day at the new WorldMark Resort by Trendwest in Indio.

It opened July 5 and, as one of Trendwest's more than 65 resort locations, is putting Indio on the map as a vacation getaway.

"It's a beautiful place. It's just breathtaking, the views are just so nice," said Indio Mayor Pro Tem Ben Godfrey, who has been out to the new resort.

It's located off Golf Center Parkway, next to the Golf Club at Terra Lago, and stretches across 27 acres with Indio Hills and the Little San Bernardino Mountains in the background.

Not only do city officials appreciate the boost the Mediterranean-style resort may give to Indio's tourism, but they look forward to the transient occupancy tax, or TOT, it will add to the city's coffers.

"TOT is an important component of the city's budget," said Mark Wasserman, assistant to the Indio city manager.

The city collects 10 percent on all hotel room rentals. That generates about $1 million a year.
Timeshare resorts such as WorldMark are not required to pay a bed tax, but the company proposed the tax agreement to offset development costs.

Per the agreement, the company prepaid in one lump sum about $3.5 million in permit costs that are to be paid back to the company by the city over a few years. Also, Indio will refund 45 percent of taxes collected from the resort back to the company for the first 10 years.

After that, however, the city will collect the full amount of tax generated by the resort.

Wasserman said more than $500,000 a year in bed taxes are expected. But because not all 453 units are complete yet, it's hard to tell exactly how much will be generated.

The company will make four bed tax payments a year, the first coming after September.

Currently, about 125 of the 282 units in the first phase are complete. The resort will be 100 percent complete in about 12 months, said Adalberto Lugo, the resort manager.

Lugo said it is running at about a 95 percent occupancy rate. "It's been very popular with the WorldMark owners. So far it's been extremely successful," he said.

WorldMark isn't a typical timeshare resort where people purchase weeks at a particular location. Instead, people purchase points that can be used at any WorldMark resort in the company's portfolio.

For example, $10,000 to $12,000 worth of credits on average can get someone a two-bedroom unit for one week during prime season at most WorldMark properties.

All the units in Indio face pools located at the interior of the resort and come with barbecue grills.

There's also a fitness room and a recreation room with pool tables and an arcade.

"You really don't need to bring anything but yourself," Lugo said.

Two timeshare owners at the now condemned Tyne Beach Terrace want to know what recourse they have since the vacation home club has been closed for almost two years.

The beach-front property was damaged by the twin hurricanes in September 2004 and has yet to come back on-line.

In the months that followed, the tiles began coming up, the electrical installations shorted out and the inner walls became contaminated with mould and mildew.

Salt water also destroyed the electrical components, the concrete and sheet rock walls.

Danish owner Peter Munksnaes had begun repairs on the building in excess of $200,000, but had to stop the work on the 20-unit, four-storey building in December 2004 after a Grand Bahama Port Authority inspector order condemned it.

The timeshare owners say they have been following the plight of another set of owners at the Crowne Plaza Golf Resort and Casino at the Royal Oasis.

That resort property was also shut down in September 2004 and is still closed. Convinced they had no other refuge, the timeshare owners there took legal action against the resort owners.

A group of timeshare owners at Tyne Beach Terrace say they have enjoyed coming to Grand Bahama and are asking what recourse they now have concerning their timeshare unit.

William Mooney and John Curtis both purchased timeshare in 1999 and loved coming here with their wives.

"We bought two weeks in Tyne Beach, week 51 and 52, Christmas and New Years for a total of 80 weeks," said Mooney.

"We'd use them together with our wives when we come here. We love it. We've enjoyed every time we've ever come, it's been a great experience. We love the Bahamian people."

In fact, Mooney of Atlanta and Curtis of Virginia, say they were influential in bringing over a neighbouring family for one week, who decided to purchase a home here and become winter residents.

"We're a little bit upset because we spent our money and we have nothing to show for it and as much as we would like to come back, there's a duplication," said Mooney.

"I'm retired and you have limited dollars in retirement. So when you make a plan like that, you're really upset when it falls apart."

While the men understand and appreciate that the building was damaged as a result of natural disasters, they would still like to use what's left of their 70-plus weeks and be able to come back.

The men aren't looking to get their money back, they know Tyne Beach has nothing to offer now.

Curtis says their greatest concern is that after paying for their time, all of a sudden they saw a couple things happen – their annual fees went from $275 to over $700 with additional assessments which they were told were sanctioned by the Government.

Now, they want to know what Munksnaes plans to do with the property: rebuild or settle.

They say they are not sending any more money to the club despite requests to do so because there is nothing there. And, they are having a hard time hearing anything from the government.

"I don't know who exactly to go to. There are laws that are enforced by Nassau, but they're not protecting us. We don't hear anything. What are the laws, I'm eager to find out," says Mooney.

Tyne Beach spokesman Peter Adderley says the owner is waiting to hear from the insurance company to settle their claim which carries a value of $2 million. The offer from the insurance company to date is $400,000.

"We're taking the matter to court. We're being represented by two of the finest attorneys in the country and we're confident."

According to Adderley, the members have been able to utilize the RCI exchange programme and go elsewhere as a result of being members of the resort.

"Our office has remained open to be able to facilitate all of the exchanges to our members. Needless to say, this is a popular location and they have experienced a disadvantage of not being able to stay here, he said.

"Having waited two years now on a settlement from the insurance company, we're in the process of selling one or two units to utilize those funds to rebuild the resort."

Adderley says it was thought that after providing all of the necessary and historic details, from engineers and contractors, that there would have already been a settlement.

Meanwhile, he adds that every effort is being made to maintain the site.


STILL CONDEMNED — The Tyne Beach Terrace vacation club is still condemned two years after it was damaged by the hurricanes of 2004.

They don't make great investments, but a slice of a vacation property may be better than no property at all.

1. Time shares are still a lousy investment. Forget what resort developers tell you. There's a glut of unwanted time shares. Sell today and you can expect to get back only 30% to 50% of what you paid. But on the bright side, buying a previously owned time share could be a bargain because the largest depreciation has already occurred. You'll find listings of resale properties at Timeshare Users Group (www.tug2.net; listings are free to view, but you must pay $15 for the first year of members-only information on local markets).

2. Selling agents may be of little help. You might be tempted to hire a company that promises to sell the time share on your behalf. But consumers have filed many complaints with the Better Business Bureau about companies that charge up-front fees and then fail to sell the properties. Two companies that do not charge an advance fee -- Bidshares.com and [url="http://www.timesharegateway.com/"]Timesharegateway.com -- have good sales records. If reselling your time share is too much of a hassle, consider donating it with the help of the nonprofit Donate for a Cause. If you itemize, you can claim a federal tax deduction of the time share's fair market value (commonly $3,000 to $5,000), and the charity keeps nearly 65% of the proceeds of the time-share sale.

3. Financing is a last resort. The cost of a one-week, two-bedroom time share in high season ranges from $10,000 in St. George, Utah, to $12,000 in Maui, Hawaii. If you can swing it, buy your time share outright. Banks are loath to lend money for time-share purchases, and developers fill the breach with loans charging interest rates as high as 16%. Don't expect a tax write-off for your interest payments, either. These loans are usually unsecured, and interest payments on unsecured loans do not qualify for the home mortgage-interest deduction.

4. Trading spaces can be a headache. If you want to exchange your week for a week somewhere else, you could join a time-share trading network. For example, Interval International lets you swap with about 2,000 resorts worldwide. Most such programs charge a membership fee of about $100 a year, plus a trading fee of about $150 per trade. Be aware that you may not get into, say, a Maui beachfront resort in January even if you plan a year ahead because such popular resorts are often overbooked. Luckily, trading networks offer an alternative: points that can be redeemed for hotel, cruise and other travel rewards.

5. A slice of a condo can be better than no condo at all. On the positive side, time shares are a convenient vacation option for many families. Condo-apartment time shares are roomier than many hotel rooms, and having a kitchen saves on pricey restaurant bills. What's more, time-share resorts usually offer amenities, such as pools and tennis courts, that can make the average annual maintenance fee of $400 more palatable. Or you can enjoy those resort amenities without the commitment by renting a time share. In general, rental rates are cheaper than paying for comparable hotel accommodations. The largest time-share-rental listings site is RedWeek.com. You're free to browse the listings, but only members can contact owners; the membership fee is $10 for six months.

Flight services are back to normal after Britain's busiest airport revealed all planes took off and arrived without being affected by severe delays or cancellations.

A total of 1,200 flights carried 172,000 passengers in and out of Heathrow on Saturday as the first full flight service ran smoothly since the introduction of strict new security measures.

A spokeswoman for the airport described the day as "a typical busy Saturday afternoon in August".

"The flight schedule has been running as normal. It has been busy but we are getting back to normal," she said.

At Gatwick the picture was similar with no flights being cancelled as a direct result of the new security measures and no severe delays for the first time since details of the terror plot emerged.

A spokeswoman for the airport said one flight had been scrapped but it was due to the high volume of passengers travelling during one of the busiest weekends of the year.

But British Airways advised passengers to still expect delays making their way through check-in.

She said passengers were beginning to understand the new requirements following the alleged transatlantic terror plot and were arriving at airports prepared.

The alleged plot involved plans to blow up US-bound transatlantic passenger jets in mid-flight using liquid-based explosive devices hidden in hand luggage.

It has led to the introduction of tough new security measures at airports, including restrictions on hand luggage size and bans on carrying most liquids and gels onto aircraft.

Two men were forced off a UK-bound flight after fellow passengers feared they may be terrorists, an airline has said.

Holidaymakers on board flight ZB 613 from Malaga to Manchester became alarmed at the men's behaviour, and demanded that air staff remove them from the plane following an incident early on Wednesday.

Cabin crew informed Spanish authorities of the passengers' fears and the men were taken off the Monarch Airlines flight and quizzed by police.

The plane had been due to take off at about 3am but was in fact delayed by about three hours.

Some passengers reportedly stormed off the Airbus 320 aircraft and refused to fly unless the pair were removed.

The two men, thought to be aged in their 20s and of middle eastern appearance, were escorted off the plane by airport police.

They were not allowed to fly and were quizzed by officers for several hours.

Authorities allowed them to fly back to the UK later in the week.

A spokesman for Monarch Airlines refused to give details of what the men had done to arouse their fellow passengers' suspicions.

They flew back into Manchester later in the week and were not arrested by British police.

Timeshare owners at the closed Royal Oasis filed a class action suit against the resort owner in a Florida Federal Court on four counts, including breach of contract.

The petition has been at least six months in the making and names Sunrise Properties Limited, Driftwood Freeport Limited and Driftwood Hospitality Management, LLC. as the defendants.

The owners say they have essentially been excommunicated from the resort since November 2004 and are fed up as their attempts to reach the resort have gone unreturned.

The Crowne Plaza Golf Resort and Casino at the Royal Oasis suffered two hurricanes in September 2004 and closed down.

In a November 4, 2004 letter, timeshare owners learned that the resort had anticipated re-opening the vacation club on June 1, 2005, but that never materialized.

Some owners were also informed that there was a hold on their timeshare points.

Desperate for answers, after not hearing anything for several weeks despite countless calls, e-mails and letters, timeshare owners reached out to this daily, The Bahamas government officials and even Prime Minister Christie.

Heading the list of plaintiffs which includes hundreds of other timeshare owners in the suit is timeshare owner Robert Snee of Massachusetts.

The 13-page legal document lists the four counts as breach of contract, breach of the implied duty of good faith and fair dealing, unjust enrichment and for a declaration of Snee and the class' ownership rights and interests in their timeshare units.

The Royal Oasis property includes a casino, country club and tower and is the second largest resort on the island.

Government is seeking out a buyer for the defunct resort and, at last report, there were two.

Attorney Carlin Phillips, of Phillips and Garcia, P.C. Counsellors at Law of Massachusetts, in an interview with The Freeport News, said with the sale in limbo, they believe the timeshare owners have at least a lease-hold interest and maybe even some kind of property interest in the timeshare units.

He pointed out that a lot of the owners who paid cash in advance for their timeshare are out thousands of dollars with contracts bought up for years.

"We're trying to assert their rights for monies they have lost in the past and what they will lose in the future," said Phillips. "Because if the resort is not going to be developed, they're losing year after year."

Snee purchased his unit back in November 2001 at the Vacation Club at Bahamia for $6,000 and his membership agreement entitled him to all the advantages and benefits of the club for 21 consecutive years.

After paying the balance of the purchase price in March 2002, he owned his unit and his rights don't expire until after the 2022 occupancy.

But he is not alone.

For some time, many timeshare owners were afraid to stop making payments to their maintenance fees after the closure of the resort for fear they would lose their points and their timeshare altogether.

There was, however, the hope the resort would reopen soon.

According to the claim, the November 1, 2004 letter from the defendants revealed that the members who lost their week would have their weeks replaced and that they were required to continue paying monthly payments and maintenance fees.

Pointing out the defendants never repaired or reopened the resort, the suit revealed the timeshare owners have not been notified about the status of their units and their rights.

It adds that the timeshare owners have been given no assurance that their timeshare interests will be protected if the property is sold.

According to the suit, a clause in the contract reveals that the membership agreement states that should the resort be delayed from performing any obligations by reason or as a result of any peril and in the event the timeshare owner is unable to use his unit as a result of damage to the unit, the resort — at its discretion — will provide either an alternate accomodation or refund one-21st of the price paid by the timeshare owner for each unit week the timeshare owner is unable to use it as a result of damage from an insured peril.

Marriott Vacation Club International has opened a headquarters in Singapore, the first major branded hotel company to do so in the Asian time-share market.

One result of the move could be more Asian vacationers staying at Ko Olina.

The Orlando, Fla.-based division of Marriott International Inc. (NYSE: MAR) said Friday it will introduce a new Club Points product tailored to the vacationing habits of Asia consumers. Harold Derrah is the lead regional executive.

"The development of Marriott's Phuket Beach Club in 2001 was just the beginning of our long-range plans for the Asia-Pacific region," said Marriott Vacation Club President Steve Weisz. "Asia is still a relatively untapped market."

Plans include developing properties across the region and utilizing inventory at the existing Phuket Beach Club, the Grand Chateau in Las Vegas, and, in Hawaii, the Ko Olina Beach Club, the company said.

The Dubai government’s Department of Economic Development (DED) is preparing to pass the emirate’s first timeshare law later this year. The groundbreaking legislation will pave the way for international timeshare brands such as Marriott Vacation Club International (MVCI) to enter the burgeoning hospitality sector in the emirate, and will provide yet another revenue avenue for would-be investors.

Timeshare professionals from 19 companies, including the two largest timeshare exchange companies RCI and Interval International, have been working with the DED since 2003 to create a first draft of the timeshare legislation, which was submitted for approval at the end of June.

“The DED asked [the timeshare] industry to form a work group to take a look at the first draft legislation and make comments. We have just completed that. It is a very good draft. We made suggestions on how to change the draft to tighten it up,” said Vivienne Noyes-Thomas, managing director of RCI Middle East.

“We are making a unified effort from an industry standpoint to create a timeshare legislation that protects the consumer’s rights as well as offering the legitimate developer the right to develop their business,” added David Clifton, managing director, Europe, Middle East, Africa & Asia, Interval International.

The aim of the legislation is to avoid some of the mistakes made in Europe in the 1980s and 1990s with regards to timeshare marketing.

“The EU got it wrong. The developers there never embraced regulations early on. Instead they fought it. The EU overreacted by bringing in legislation against taking deposits,” Clifton told Hotelier Middle East.

“With the Dubai regulations, this will stop the bad people from coming in. Also the quality of product here will be superior. It is an upscale vision. Then there is Dubailand, which is aiming at a younger audience. There is no question that we will see timeshare there. We will see it all over Dubai,” he stated.

The first DED draft looks at how to protect the consumer, by offering a cooling-off period on all contracts, while enabling sales teams to still take deposits. The law will also provide protection for purchasers investing in properties still under construction, in the form of an Escrow account or bank guarantee.

Operators will have to get a licence to run a timeshare resort and to sell it. They have to be bonded to the amount of AED1 million (US $275,000).

“There has to be disclosure in all documents: disclosure of what you are selling, and if you are offering an inducement to join. This legislation is great; it is very laudable. We hope to get it ratified as soon as possible,” said RCI’s Noyes-Thomas.
Operators are also keen to see the legislation get passed. MVCI has been in negotiations with Al Futtaim to sign an agreement to operate and market a timeshare resort at Dubai Festival City for the past 12 months, but is holding off on inking the deal until the timeshare legislation is passed.

“Our Festival City announcement is dictated by legislation,” admitted Ed Kinney, vice president, corporate affairs and brand awareness, MVCI. “That [will be] determined by the ability for the legislation to be formalised and executed as quickly as possible. Without that, the ability for companies such as us to commit to that market is damped somewhat.”

When the new legislation will come into effect is still not certain, although Interval’s Clifton is hopeful that the new law will be in place by the new year. “We are hopeful that we will see timeshare legislation as soon as possible. However, the reality is that Dubai has to finish its land law first,” he said.

While it may be logical to think those consumers buying into a timeshare resort would use less hotel room nights during a typical year, experts actually believe timeshare ownership doesn’t impinge on the industry’s ability to sell room nights. Turns out once timeshare owners buy into vacation ownership they become more brand loyal and continue taking trips to other locations throughout the year or extend their stay before or after utilizing their resort week.

“I don’t think the timeshare business takes away from the hotel business: It adds to it. The hotel industry and timeshare are symbiotic,” said Howard C. Nusbaum, American Resort Development Association’s (ARDA) President, noting the largest purchaser of hotel rooms in Myrtle Beach, SC, for example, is the timeshare industry. In this instance the rooms go to people interested in purchasing a timeshare and utilize the rooms during their stay. In Orlando, Nusbaum estimates the timeshare industry is responsible for selling a 200,000 room nights or more.

According to recent consumer research conducted by ARDA, the organization pinpoints that 21.5 percent of people traveling on a timeshare vacation will stay in the area beyond their allocated resort time. Additionally, timeshare is a near $8 billion a year business. At the start of 2005, ARDA research showed there are 1,668 resorts located in 47 States and more than 3.9 million U.S. households own 5.8 million timeshare weeks.

At Las Vegas based Sunterra Corporation (NASDAQ: SNRR), a vacation ownership company founded in 1996 with nearly 100 branded or affiliated vacation ownership resorts throughout the world, Chief Marketing Officer Dave Lucas is also finding timeshare owners to be strong purchasers of hotel rooms. Here, proprietary market research is suggesting the company’s target customers take a variety of trips throughout the year in addition to their annual timeshare experience. This opens up the opportunity to form synergistic relationships with hotel brands.

“Timeshare can be a very complimentary business. People will stay in hotels in an urban or business situation, then when they vacation they will be more interested in going to a resort.”

ARDA’s Nusbaum agreed. “Hotel companies wouldn’t come into [the timeshare business] if there weren’t synergies. People buy into a timeshare brand and they become more brand loyal.”

And for large companies such as Starwood Hotel & Resorts Worldwide, having a timeshare entity is helping boost brand loyalty and ensuring that when its timeshare owners need somewhere to stay overnight, its at one of the company’s branded properties. To help grease the loyalty wheels, Starwood timeshare owners automatically become Gold level members. This benefit gives those individuals special benefits such as automatic room upgrades, a 50 percent Starpoints® bonus which can be traded for free room nights, and other extras such as a 4 p.m. checkout.

“They have a vested interest in staying at other Starwood properties,” said Dave Matheson, Starwood Vacation Ownership’s VP Corporate Communications. “The typical owner of one of our products travels more than the typical hotel guest and stays longer. They will stay in their timeshare, then they do a night or two in one of our hotels. The incremental benefit of unrealized income at hotels is something that I don’t think anyone anticipated.”

Starwood’s Matheson also said timeshare is chipping away at the second home ownership market, especially at the higher levels of timeshare. He explained people would rather check in somewhere and jump right into a vacation, whereas second home owners typically have to make sometimes frustrating repairs fixing what broke since the last time they were there.

Richard L. Ragatz, President of Ragatz Associates -- an international consulting and market research firm to the resort industry founded in 1974 -- said this is especially true at the highest end of the market where consumers purchase fractional ownerships rather than a traditional timeshare product.

He said the average income of someone looking to buy a second home is $250,000, an income level that makes fractional ownership an intriguing option. In 2005, the fractional industry in North America was about $2 billion in 2005, which increased an astounding 28 percent from 2004.

“The product out there now having an impact on second home sales is fractional,” Ragatz said.

Despite a high level of alert at British airports, a 12-year-old boy managed to board a plane at Gatwick without a passport, ticket or boarding pass.

The incident has raised concerns over security procedures in the wake of an alleged plot to blow up planes on trans-Atlantic flight.

The boy was detected on Monday by a member of the Monarch Airlines cabin crew only after he was seated and had been given a drink and a snack.

He was removed from the plane by police officers before the flight took off for Portugal.

"The boy had passed through a full security screening process and we are confident there was no threat to passengers, staff or the aircraft at any time," said Stewart McDonald, a spokesman for BAA, which operates Gatwick, Heathrow and five other major UK airports.

BAA has launched an investigation into the incident, McDonald said Wednesday.

The boy had run away from a care home in northwest England and boarded a plane for Lisbon at 6 a.m. on Monday before the other passengers, the UK's Press Association reported.

His mother, who cannot be named because her son is in care, said she was stunned he evaded the security checks.

"My worry is that if you have terrorists in these airports they could be looking round for someone who is vulnerable, and get them to take things on the planes for them," she told the Daily Mail.

"What happened is frightening, especially given the state of alert we are supposed to be on at the moment. I want to know how on Earth he was able to get through to the plane and take his seat."

The boy has now been returned to his care home after being held by police and picked up by social workers, PA reported.

He is understood to have arrived at Gatwick by train -- unaccompanied and without a ticket, which he has apparently done on a number of occasions, the agency said.

Reports of the incident come as airlines struggled to ease a logjam of passengers after the British government raised the terror threat level and heightened airport security following Thursday's arrest of 24 people suspected of planning to explode devices on as many as 10 planes destined for the United States. (Full story)

British Airways canceled more flights Wednesday and attempted to reunite thousands of missing bags with their owners.

While many British airports were getting back to normal, BA canceled 46 flights -- 35 at Heathrow and 11 at Gatwick, PA reported. (Full story)

The airline said it would not be until Friday that its full service could be resumed.

Thousands of lost luggage items piled up at Heathrow will be back with their owners by the end of the week, the airport's owners pledged today.

BAA bosses said that a huge pile of 20,000 bags and suitcases sitting at Heathrow after being separated from their owners during the chaos following last week's terror alert had now been reduced.

The firm said the situation had "improved" because airline staff were not putting small items into the baggage system any more.

BAA controls the conveyor belts that take bags from check-in desks to the airside where private companies load it onto aircraft.

A spokesman said: "Last week we were having to stop and restart the system that carries luggage from check-in to the airside because items that were too small for the system were being placed on the conveyor belts by airline staff.

"We have made a concerted effort to clarify with airlines what is and what is not appropriate to be put into the system and this has improved matters.

"There are no additional problems and we understand that passengers are all travelling with their baggage.

"The missed baggage still has tags and barcodes attached, so there is no risk they are not going to get to passengers.

"British Airways are the ones with most problems and based on what they have said, we think the backlog of luggage will have been cleared by tomorrow."

Some 5,000 items of "lost" luggage stockpiled at the airport belong to British Airways passengers.

A BA spokesman said: "Approximately 5,000 bags still have to be reunited with their owners, but there is no problem anymore and bags are travelling with passengers.

"We are working round the clock to sort them into piles, according to their destination, and they will go on aircraft or, if it is quicker, by road to destinations in the UK and to close continental cities such as Paris.

"All bags will be on their way by the end of tomorrow so every passenger should have their luggage by the end of the week.

"We have been giving out money at airports around the world so that passengers can buy essentials.

"The baggage situation is incredibly complex in how it works. The type of bags, the volume, the baggage system and the level of security scanning are all factors in the delays. It has also taken time for staff to get up to speed with new processes.

"On Friday and Saturday we were seeing that the baggage system was working okay, but passengers were stuck at security. Their bag had been put into a container ready to be loaded onto an aeroplane, but obviously we have to offload it if its owner is not going to travel.

"We had to either keep the bag until the passenger flew or if possible get it to the them somewhere in the airport. It was a very complicated process."

Meanwhile Virgin Atlantic claimed it had not experienced any luggage problems.

However the BA spokesman said: "Virgin are a much smaller operation and are predominantly a long-haul point-to-point airline that get most of their passengers at Heathrow and fly them to their destination.

"We are a much more integrated airline and many of our passengers come through Heathrow but don't start there so when they land, their bag often has to travel through miles and miles of underground tunnels from one terminal to another.

"It is a very complex situation to manage, with more potential to go wrong."

British Airways bosses have indicated they are thinking of claiming compensation from BAA for the delays.

A BAA spokesman said: "The issue of compensation is something that would be looked at from a corporate level, but we have generally been saying that we are concentrating on working with airlines to ensure a return to the normal running of the airport."

A commercial flight from London to Washington was diverted to Boston today, flanked by fighter jets, after a claustrophobic female passenger caused a disturbance and had to be tied up.



An airport spokesman initially said that the woman had taken a screwdriver, matches, vaseline and a note mentioning al-Qaeda aboard the United Airlines flight from Heathrow - but security officials later denied that and said there was no terrorist link.

Passengers were ordered off the flight from Heathrow nevertheless. All their luggage was taken off the aircraft and laid out on the runway as sniffer dogs inspected every item. All their hand baggage was also being checked.

George Naccara, federal security director for the Transportation Security Administration for Massachusetts’ airport, said that he did not believe any items she was carrying were the cause of the outburst and denied that she was carrying matches, vaseline or a screwdriver.

It was the most serious security alert since British anti-terror police announced last week that they had foiled an allged plot to blow up transatlantic flights. Twenty-four people are in custody for questioning.

Passengers on flights from Britain have since been barred from carrying gels and liquids in their hand baggage and the volume of baggage they can carry on has been reduced by half.

Brandon Borrman, a spokesman for United Airlines, said the female passenger was spotted engaging in some suspicious activity, but he could not say what that was.

The female passenger said that she was claustrophobic and became very upset and got into some kind of confrontation with the flight crew, said Mr Naccara.

American television networks said a passenger was being questioned at Boston’s Logan airport. Reports said that she was 60 years old, from Vermont.

Fox News Channel said the plane was diverted to Boston after the pilot declared a"security emergency" and it was intercepted by two F15 fighter jets.

Phil Orlandella, a spokesman for Orlando airport, added: "There was a supposed confrontation on board. There may have been a banned item on board and they are now searching the luggage."

A United Airlines spokesman in London said: "I can confirm that United Airlines flight 9234 with 182 passengers on board was diverted to Boston after the captain declared a security emergency.

"There was an altercation with at least one female passenger. The plane is safely on the ground in Boston. The crew assessed the situation and determined that a divert was the appropriate course of action."

The flight had taken off from Heathrow around 8.30am - about half an hour late. It had been due to land in Washington DC at 4.10pm UK time and then fly on to Denver, Colorado.

The White House spokesman Tony Snow told reporters: "Apparently there was a determination made by senior cabin crew and pilots about an unruly passenger. The flight landed without incident."

Yes from Essex UK to Essex, CT (the best small town in America) and went for a train ride on the Essex Steam Train only to have a collission with a truck. Fortunately, no one was critically injured. We do try to make a tourists stay memorable here in the former colonies.[:o)]
Read the story here: http://www.wfsb.com/news/9676325/detail.html

British authorities said Thursday that they had thwarted a terrorist plot to blow up multiple airliners traveling between Britain and the United States, creating "mass murder on an unimaginable scale."

The police said they had arrested 21 people in connection with the plot, which apparently involved plans to smuggle explosives onto aircraft in hand luggage. In response, flights into London Heathrow Airport were canceled and airlines banned hand luggage on departing planes, causing chaos and long delays.

The police did not identify the suspects or their origin, though Paul Stephenson, the deputy metropolitan police commissioner for London, said "community leaders" had been alerted about the police action, using a code word for the British Muslim community.

The authorities did not say how many aircraft had been identified for attack. Sky News put the number at six, while other reports said between three and 10.

"We think this was an extraordinarily serious plot and we are confident that we have stopped an attempt to create mass murder on an unimaginable scale," Stephenson told reporters at Scotland Yard.

He said the people had been arrested in and near London and Birmingham, and added that the searches would continue.

"We have been very successful in arresting those we were targeting but this is a lengthy operation, and no doubt there will be further developments," he told reporters.

News of the foiled plot comes little more than a year after terrorists killed 52 people in an attack on the London Underground, and nearly five years after the attacks of Sept. 11.

As heightened security measures went into effect at Heathrow, travelers were sometimes given little explanation, amid chaotic scenes.

Joanne Weslund, 68, a retired schoolteacher from Hubbardston, Mass., was critical of the way the situation had been handled by the airlines.

"It's been terrible," she said. "We are waiting in Disney-like lines. The only thing B.A. has said is it's a security breach. We are told we can bring nothing on the plane, only passport and cash. If there is a threat, people should not be on planes, but how they handled this is atrocious."

A customer service agent for British Airways told passengers, "The only thing we know for sure is Christmas Day falls on Dec. 25."

OAG, the transport industry information company, estimated that 400,000 people in Britain would be affected by the security alert. On a typical day, the firm said, 3,800 flights take off from Britain, though only about 3 percent of those are trans-Atlantic.

Officials were requiring passengers to check everything except personal items like keys, wallets, and passports, which they had to carry in plastic bags. Drinks and other liquid items were banned.

Travelers were required to remove spectacles or sunglasses from their cases, and those travelling with infants were required to taste any baby milk in front of security officials.

Britain's Department for Transport said it was requiring secondary searches of travelers headed for the United States, with a particular eye to removing any liquids they might have with them.

"We hope that these measures, which are being kept under review by the government, will need to be in place for a limited period only," the department said in a statement.

Despite the arrests, the police said other people connected with the plot might still be at large.

"We believe that these arrests have significantly disrupted the threat, but we cannot be sure that the threat has been entirely eliminated or the plot completely thwarted," Michael Chertoff, the U.S. homeland security secretary, told reporters.

The anti-terrorist action came at a time when Prime Minister Tony Blair is on vacation in the Caribbean. The government said he has spoken to President George W. Bush about the situation.

Disclosure of the plot came one day after John Reid, the British home secretary, gave a speech in which he warned that Britain faced "probably the most sustained period of severe threat since the end of the Second World War."

"This has involved close cooperation, not only between agencies and police forces in the United Kingdom, but also internationally," Reid said.

The British government has come under criticism for anti-terrorism measures imposed in the wake of the July 7 bombings last year.

Despite the extra security measures, flights were still taking off from Heathrow on Thursday morning. Other British airports also reportedly faced delays and crowding.

Ann Keating, a private investigator from Salem, Mass., who landed at Heathrow on Thursday morning, said that because of the chaotic conditions, "the ones I fell most sorry for are the kids.

Security at all UK airports has been increased and additional security measures have been put in place for all flights.

With immediate effect, the following arrangements apply to all passengers starting their journey at a UK airport and to those transferring between flights at a UK airport.

All cabin baggage must be processed as hold baggage and carried in the hold of passenger aircraft departing UK airports.

Passengers may take through the airport security search point, in a single (ideally transparent) plastic carrier bag, only the following items. Nothing may be carried in pockets:

* pocket size wallets and pocket size purses plus contents (for example money, credit cards, identity cards etc (not handbags));
* travel documents essential for the journey (for example passports and travel tickets);
* prescription medicines and medical items sufficient and essential for the flight (eg diabetic kit), except in liquid form unless verified as authentic.
* spectacles and sunglasses, without cases.
* contact lens holders, without bottles of solution.
* for those travelling with an infant: baby food, milk (the contents of each bottle must be tasted by the accompanying passenger) and sanitary items sufficient and essential for the flight (nappies, wipes, creams and nappy disposal bags).
* female sanitary items sufficient and essential for the flight, if unboxed (eg tampons, pads, towels and wipes).
* tissues (unboxed) and/or handkerchiefs
* keys (but no electrical key fobs)

All passengers must be hand searched, and their footwear and all the items they are carrying must be x-ray screened.

Pushchairs and walking aids must be x-ray screened, and only airport-provided wheelchairs may pass through the screening point.

In addition to the above, all passengers boarding flights to the USA and all the items they are carrying, including those acquired after the central screening point, must be subjected to secondary search at the boarding gate. Any liquids discovered must be removed from the passenger.

There are no changes to current hold baggage security measures.

Regrettably, significant delays at airports are inevitable. Passengers are being asked to allow themselves plenty of extra time and to ensure that other than the few permitted items listed above, all their belongings are placed in their hold baggage and checked in.

These additional security measures will make travel more difficult for passengers, particularly at such a busy time of the year. But they are necessary and will continue to keep flights from UK airports properly secure. We hope that these measures, which are being kept under review by the Government, will need to be in place for a limited period only. In light of the threat to aviation and the need to respond to it, we are asking the travelling public to be patient and understanding and to cooperate fully with airport security staff and the police.

If passengers have any questions on their travel arrangements or security in place at airports they should contact their airline or carrier.

The article can be seen at this link. http://tinyurl.co.uk/r3zc

FIRST Choice Airways expects to take a significant lead over its rivals by being among the first carriers to operate the ground-breaking Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

Boeing claims the aircraft will eliminate jet lag on long-haul flights, yet it will be able to operate non-stop from UK regional airports to the US West Coast, South Africa, the Far East and the north coast of Australia.

First Choice expects the long-haul market to comprise 20% of its programme by 2010, a year into the 787's operation.

The carrier has ordered six, and has options on six more, with the first to be delivered in spring 2009 - a year after the scheduled commercial launch.

Managing director Chris Browne joined Boeing to show off the 787's features at last week's Farnborough Air Show.

The lighter, stronger carbon fibre used in its construction allow the aircraft to be pressurised at a level equivalent to 6,000 feet - most commercial aircraft operate at 8,000 feet. Studies suggest passengers will have 10% more oxygen in their blood and so will not suffer jet lag.

Boeing says the 787 will be 20% more efficient on fuel, and its range will mean additional savings from being able to fly non-stop.

Seat pitch in economy could be up to 37 inches.

But Browne said: "Seat pitch is just one of several features we're looking at, such as the aisles and seat width."

A combination of the aircraft's range and fuel efficiency, coupled with its ability to use shorter runways, should make it highly economical.

Browne added: "We'll be cautious in year one and fly the normal routes - mainly the Caribbean, predominantly from Manchester and Gatwick.

"But in year two we'll look at more exciting destinations. People want the beach, but in Brazil as much as Benidorm."

Dreamliner facts

- Launch due in 2008
- Medium-size, long range - 9,750 miles
- Primarily made of carbon fibre, not aluminium
- Pressurised to reduce jet lag, with improved air quality
- Mood lighting
- Uses 20% less fuel than comparable mid-size aircraft
- Generates up to 60% less noise
- Cabin 15ins wider than Airbus rival; windows 65% bigger plus larger luggage bins and toilets

START-UP carrier Oasis Hong Kong Airlines believes the low-cost model can be adapted to long-haul flights.

Oasis will launch a five times a week service between Gatwick and Hong Kong from mid-October with one-way fares at a starting price of £75.

Head of international distribution Lesley Hagan said 10% of seats would be sold at this price, plus tax and charges. "It's not an introductory fare, it will be available for a year," she said.

Hagan declined to give other details prior to the airline's official launch on September 6, but she conceded Oasis would add a fuel surcharge of about £35 and airport and security charges, air passenger duty and other taxes totalling £33, taking the lowest one-way fare to about £143.

Oasis will fly two Boeing 747-400s bought from Singapore Airlines, offering 81 business-class cradle seats and 278 economy seats.

"We'll offer a very good basic product with a choice of add-ons," said Hagan.

Passengers will pay extra for advance seat reservation, lounge access, amenity kits, a wider choice of food, and drinks other than tea, coffee and water. Hagan said: "We'll keep costs low and use the best of the low-cost model, operating point-to-point."

However, she said Oasis could not cut turnaround times to the 30 minutes achieved by short-haul carriers or make savings through high aircraft use without launching further routes.

The airline is seeking another four Boeing 747s and has licences to operate between Hong Kong and Berlin, Cologne, Bonn, Milan, Oakland (San Francisco) and Chicago.

Hagan said: "We'll work closely with the trade and pay commission."

Oasis anticipates a 15% increase in the market between London and Hong Kong. Finance has come from Chinese-American property developers Mr and Mrs Raymond Lee, and Allan Wong, founder of consumer electronics company VTech.

Visit them at http://www.oasis-air.com

Barking Mad managing director Lee Southern set up her company in 2000 after discovering up to 25% of dog owners would not go on holiday if it meant leaving their pampered pooches in local kennels.

To address this doggy dilemma, she established a nationwide franchise for foster-owners’ that enables dogs to stay in another person’s house, where their every need is catered for while their owners are on holiday.

She said: “We’ll go and meet a customer and their dog in their own homes first so we can find out what their routine is and then cater for it.

“Some of our customers’ dogs like an early morning cup of tea and toast, while others like to curl up on the sofa and watch Coronation Street after a hard day. We even had one dog’s owner ask if we had room for its adult-sized bed, duvet and pillows.”

Southern said the Cumbria-based business is expanding rapidly. She now has 7,000 customers and 40 franchises and expects this to rise to 100 by 2008.

Barking Mad pays agents £5 commission for each successful referral but Southern said the true value for agents comes from the commission they make from a booking they would otherwise not have secured.

Southern added although Barking Mad refuses to deal with cats because of their tendency to ‘do a bunk’, she will organise lodgings for smaller animals, although this is rare.

“People tend to spend more money on their Labradors than they do on their guinea pigs,” she said.

Visit Barking Mad at http://www.barkingmad.uk.com

TUI UK managing director Peter Rothwell believes it is time to take action on the environment ­ and accepts this will mean making sacrifices.

Rothwell spoke to Travel Weekly this week at a Green Day at Thomson’s head office in Luton where staff heard about how they and the company can become more green.

He said: “It has been an eye-opener. ­ I didn’t know leaving a TV on standby can use 85% of full power. There is a tendency for everyone to blame everyone else.”

However, Rothwell expressed frustration that flying is seen as such a major contributor to climate change.

“People find it easy to say the big corporations are guilty,” he said. “But the alternatives to flying are not working. Motorways are jammed with polluting vehicles.

"Aviation has led to more people travelling, but it has also brought significant benefits.”

Rothwell said calls from pressure groups to curtail flying would make very little difference to global climate change.

“It’s impractical to ask emerging economies to cut carbon emissions when they are dealing with huge poverty. In the developed world, we probably have to make sacrifices.

“If we stopped all flying it would cut emissions by 4% or 5%, but would have a huge impact on the economy and society. We need a balanced approach.”

Rothwell said he would look at instructing staff to turn off PCs at night and weekends to cut power use. Staff are already recycling rubbish and reducing the amount of paper they use for printing.

“We could save £100,000 a year just on printing,” said Rothwell. “We have to work and produce a result, but we’re trying to be responsible.”

FLORIDA tourism bosses are praying today's launch of action flick Miami Vice will signal a revival in the state's fortunes.

Visit Florida director Colin Brodie blamed a number of factors for some operators suffering a double-digit drop in sales during peak season.

He said: "Some operators are saying they're down 10% to 15%. There's a lot of negativity about.

"I just think it is one of those years when people are staying at home with the weather. Then there was the World Cup.­ It hasn¹t really taken off."

Despite the slump, Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau director of sales Peter Moss is confident Miami Vice will help the destination end the year 5% up on 2005 with around 300,000 visitors.

"There's a lot of interest in the film ­ it can't do us any harm," he said.

The downturn is not limited to Florida, with some operators saying this is the worst August they have ever seen and predicting a number of collapses this Autumn.

Three operators are believed to have met with bonding authorities in the last week alone.

Worldchoice chairman Colin Heal said the consortium's bookings are up to 4% down on 2005 with only long-haul sales maintaining revenues.

Advantage managing director John McEwan added: "It's unusual to see this level of discounting for August. Operators are having to sacrifice margin to get sales."

Holiday Express is believed to have dropped prices by up to 40% in order to secure sales.

Sunvil Holidays managing director Noel Josephides blamed over-capacity. "It's awful out there. Everyone has been selling cheap and we¹ve come to the peak and there's over-capacity.

"There are 50 million more return seats from the UK than six years ago. That is the crunch."

HOPES for a quick ruling on the dispute over consumer protection between ABTA and the Civil Aviation Authority have been dashed, with TUI UK confirming it will reduce its ATOL cover and risk sending the system into free fall.

It was anticipated the Court of Appeal would rule this week before the summer recess but no ruling is now likely before October, meaning the Government will not make progress on a replacement for the failing ATOL scheme until later in the year.

The proposed Consumer Protection Charge (CPC), involving a £1 per person levy on holiday bookings, is likely to be delayed until 2008.

TUI UK managing director Peter Rothwell said the company was deciding “how far we move down the route” of reducing ATOL cover.

“It’s costly to the business and confusing to consumers,” he said. “We have options. The issue is coming to a head.

“It’s likely we’ll have some ATOL cover for the foreseeable future,” added Rothwell. “This is not about evading ATOLs. We support consumer protection, but we’re getting to the point where half the travelling public won’t be protected.”

Thomas Cook said it would make no significant change to its ATOL bonding until the Court of Appeal issues a ruling.

“Any changes would take a significant amount of time to prepare,” said a spokeswoman. Thomas Cook has previously suggested it would follow any move by TUI.

Federation of Tour Operators director-general Andy Cooper expects other members to hold fire.

“Operators might make some changes, but they will be reluctant to go too far until they know the court’s decision,” he said.

“However, it’s disappointing. A decision was crucial for the September ATOL renewals.”

He said the delay would take the industry further into “cowboy country”.

Tour operators must now decide on their ATOL renewals amid confusion over the extent of consumer protection, knowing an increasing amount of business is conducted without the costs of the licensing regime, and with a replacement system unlikely to be in place for two years.

Association of Independent Tour Operators director Noel Josephides said: “We won’t do anything until we know what is happening.”

Members of the CAA’s consumer protection group were unavailable for comment, but a spokesman said: “We will be discussing the adequacy of passenger authorisations with individual licence holders. They have legal requirements to meet.”

He conceded tour operators could get around the requirements, but said: “They will need to discuss it with us.”

The CAA had hoped for an early court decision, allowing the Government to move quickly on the CPC, with a formal consultation in September and a scheme in place for September 2007. It concedes that target is in jeopardy.

Dubailand, the massive entertainment and leisure initiative, is to create the world’s most developed destination for horse lovers. Yesterday, Dubailand announced it had signed a dhs 1.6 billion agreement with Al Kaheel Park to design, develop and construct what it says will become the most comprehensive equine tourist attraction ever built. The project will be headed up and managed by Machhour Moukaddem, managing partner of Al Kaheel, who told 7DAYS why it had decided to build an attraction based around horses.

“In Dubai and across the GCC, a lot of people are very fond of horses and things related to them, so they attract a lot of people, but we currently don’t have a big venue here that will accommodate a lot of activity and allow spectacular shows and themed aspects of all things to do with horses,” he said. The development will be called Al Kaheel, which is Arabic for black stallion, and will be located in the Eco Zone area of Dubailand, extending over almost ten million square feet of preserved desert landscape. The entire dhs 1.6 billion project is being funded by a small group of investors who own the privately held Al Kaheel Park company, which includes Sheikh Juma Al Maktoum, chairman of Al Kaheel Park and managing partner, Moukaddem.

The project promises to be like no other horse centre in the world, making it the ultimate equine experience. Included will be a 150 room hotel and 100 units of timeshare property and seven restaurants around the development and a top class spa centre. A key element of the equestrian development will be a theme park designed by Jack Rouse Associates, which is also developing Dinosaur World in City of Arabia, and has worked on other projects for Disneyland and Universal.

Although it is being built as a horse-themed resort, Al Kaheel will also be an educational theme park and working horse farm dedicated to man’s relationship with the horse, the firm said. Strategically located in the heart of the desert in Dubai, the homeland for the Arabian horse, the company said the park will be the place to get “up close and personal” with horses. Every evening, the “jewel” of the Al Kaheel, the colourful and exciting equine extravaganza, “Fly Without Wings” show will be held. This nightly show will be a spectacular production of light, sound and action, featuring world class equine acts with over 45 performers and over 70 horses.

Moukaddem is confident that the shows will be able to attract consistently large numbers to the nightly events. “We are targeting just three per cent of UAE tourists coming to our venue, and last year Dubai had eight million tourists, which means to us around 650 tourists a day,” he said. “I believe we will attract more, because three per cent is a very low number. And the level of this kind of show will mean there is nothing else like it in Dubai. The shows will be like a high class Broadway show.”

Despite being able to lure incidental Dubai tourists, Moukaddem said Al Kaheel itself aimed to become a destination for horse-loving tourists. “We are building this park not purely for the tourists of Dubai, we are creating this as a destination in its own right, so that people will come from Europe for a long weekend or or seven day break.” In addition to the nightly spectacular shows, the park will boast the world’s first state of the art interactive and multimedia museum. Daily attractions such as virtual reality rides, stunt shows, horse presentations, even hay rides, desert trekking and horse drawn carriage tours will be on offer to all visitors.

The project is being built in the heart of the Eco-Zone area of the development, which Moukaddem said was a major factor in locating the centre. “We care very much about the environmental aspects of this project. In the town-house area there will be no cars, and the entire place will have the feel of a Spanish hill town,” said Moukaddem. Horse lovers will almost certainly be lining up for a place on the new development, as it will also offer the rare opportunity in Dubai, to own a home in an open and natural surrounding. In total Al Kaheel says it will create 400 unique and individually designed homes, each set in its unspoiled and natural terrain.

“We will have a 120 horse barn to take care of residents’ horses in the community,” Moukaddem said. There will be training, boarding and breeding barns for local horse owners and residents, with climate controlled indoor arenas, shows and schooling areas. In addition to the Spa the internationally accredited school of horsemanship will provide clients with equine support and residence. Construction work is due to start next month,, with the theme park due to be completed by December 2007 and the entire project should be finished by December 2008.

A BRITISH girl was burned alive when a prop exploded during a fire-eating act at a holiday resort.

Eden Galvani-Skeete, six, was engulfed in flames in front of her mum and other tourists.

Three other British children and several adults were injured when a fireball shot into the crowd.

Some leaped into a pool to douse their blazing clothes — but chlorine in the water made their skin blister even more severely.

Fire-eater Tahir Akalin, who was unlicensed, will be quizzed by cops on suspicion of causing death or injury as a result of negligence when he has recovered.

Eden, from Ilford, East London, was on holiday with mum Helen Zachariou and an aunt at the Gemini Park resort in Altinkum, Turkey.

She was among up to 40 guests watching Akalin in a bar and restaurant.

When a baton he used as a prop failed to light, a passing waiter doused it with ethyl alcohol Akalin used in his act, causing the blast. Eden was rushed to hospital, where she died.

Injured sisters Shona, and Sarah Hunter, 13, from Carlisle, Cumbria, were still there yesterday where mum Kathryn was keeping vigil. Another British child was still in hospital, but all the adults had been released.

One witness, named Mustafa, said: “When the fire-eater appeared on stage many children ran to the front for a better view, as the resort was packed.

“When the waiter tipped the bottle of alcohol on the baton and there was a huge explosion.

“Flames tore into children and adults standing nearby and their clothes caught fire. They were screaming from the pain and terror. They looked like they had been in a bomb blast.”

Mustafa, who was selling timeshare at the Aegean Sea resort, added: “One little girl was lying motionless. Her body was charred from head to foot.”

Neighbours near Eden’s Ilford home — which had a bunch of pink roses outside — described her as “bright and bubbly”.

One said her mum, also known as Ellie, went to see them on her return home.

She said: “She was crying and whispered, ‘My darling Eden has been taken’. She told us Eden bore the full brunt of the explosion.”

Shona and Sarah’s dad Mark Hunter, 42, said: “Sarah has second degree burns to 30 per cent of her body. The backs of her legs are badly burned and she is in a lot of discomfort.

“Shona suffered burns to her legs and a burn right across the left side of her face. They just really want to go home.”

The resort is run by Premier Homes, a Turkish-based company run by UK businessmen. Some timeshare flats belong to holiday firm Seasons based in Laugharne, Carmarthen.

Managing director Michael Foundly said: “We’re shocked.”



Agony ... Sarah suffered horrific injuries in accident


Survivor ... Shona, with mum Kathryn,
recovers in Turkish hospital

A holidaymaker has died after falling from a narrowboat and becoming trapped in its propeller on a canal near Lichfield.

The 59-year-old man was on a canal boat holiday with his wife, daughter and son-in-law when he plunged into the water and became caught under the vessel at Alrewas.

Paramedics battled to save him but he died at the scene, on the Trent & Mersey Canal alongside The Old Boat restaurant, off Kings Bromley Road.

The man, from Somerset, was manoeuvring the Canaltime Narrowboats Timeshare boat below a lock when he fell into the water at about 4pm on Tuesday.

A member of his family and a fellow boater managed to pull him out of the water and onto the canal bank where paramedics battled to save him but he died at the scene.

Fellow holidaymaker Julian Yates, who was on another Canaltime boat behind, was one of the first people to arrive at the incident. He said:"The man on the back of the narrowboat had somehow pitched into the water and was trapped under the boat.

"The paramedics were here very quickly and they did all they could to save him but, unfortunately, he died. It is very sad and upsetting.

"I didn't see how he fell into the water but I think he was probably trying to moor up in front of the lock and got into a bit of a muddle.

"The boat was across the canal when I saw it, so he may have been trying to reverse and then the boat bumped the bank when he went forward, which could have been enough to tip him into the water."

Staffordshire Ambulance spokesman Bob Lee said:"It is a rare occurrence to have a boating incident like this. Generally, boating is quite a safe pastime."

The County Air Ambulance, two land ambulances, a doctor, the paramedic response unit, fire crews and police were all called to the scene. A Staffordshire Police spokesman said there were no suspicious circumstances.

Officers cordoned off the scene while inquiries began into how the incident happened, and health and safety officers from Lichfield District Council have launched an investigation.

Representatives from British Waterways and the Canaltime Narrowboats company also attended the scene.

Mick Finlan, who lives alongside the canal, said: "I don't think we've ever heard of an accident like this happening on the canal here before. It is all very sad."

Tim Matthews, Environmental Health Manager at Lichfield District Council, said: "On Tuesday August 1, our Health and Safety team were called out to an accident on the canal at Alrewas, where a man tragically died.

"We are currently examining the facts surrounding the death, and in the case the accident occurred during a work activity, we will consider carrying out an investigation under the Health and Safety at Work Act."

American beach travelers take longer vacations, spend more money on their trips, and are more likely to stay in a timeshare than the average traveler, according to data from the Travel Industry Association and D.K. Shifflet & Associates Ltd. Going to the beach is a family affair as well, with over one in three American beach-going households taking a child on the trip (36%). Just 22 percent of traveling households overall include a child when traveling.

Over 54 million trips to the beach were made by U.S. households last year. These households spent an average of $737 per trip, excluding transportation to their destination, compared to just $339 for traveling households overall. In addition, more than 15 percent of beach trips last a week or longer, compared to just 5 percent of trips overall.

Beach travelers are also more likely than traveling households overall to go camping or use an RV (7% vs. 3%) or stay in a timeshare (4% vs. 2%). They are three times as likely as the average traveler to utilize a second home or condo (6% vs. 2%).

Beach trips are more likely than the typical trip to include air transportation (14% vs. 11%), and, perhaps not surprisingly, are more likely to include a rental car (9% vs. 6%).

Finally, beach travelers do more than just work on their tans and swim in the ocean. They also love to eat, with dining out (46%) ranking as the number one activity while at the beach, followed by touring or sightseeing (39%), shopping (37%), and participating in a variety of entertainment (33%) and night life activities (14%).

Rolling out the welcome mat and inviting guests to a new lifestyle hotel experience, the staff of the first Hyatt Place and company executives celebrated the property's grand opening today in Lombard, Ill.

With an emphasis on stylish design, innovative services and high end amenities, Hyatt Place offers a new approach within the select service hotel segment, reflecting the comfort, flexibility, technology and taste that people incorporate into their daily lives at home.

The Lombard location is the first Hyatt Place-branded hotel to open following Global Hyatt Corporation's recent acquisition of the AmeriSuites hotel chain. More than 140 additional Hyatt Place hotels are scheduled to open in 2006 and 2007 as many AmeriSuites properties continue to undergo renovation and repositioning under Hyatt's newest brand.

Nick Pritzker, chairman of the board and CEO of Hyatt Development Corporation, James Abrahamson, senior vice president of acquisitions and development for Hyatt Corporation and Steve Cadaret, the hotel's general manager were on hand for today's ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house festivities.

"Before we began development on Hyatt Place, we took a look at the way people are living their lives today and found that while lifestyles were changing, the select service hotel experience had become stagnant," said Abrahamson. "Through innovation in design, services and experiences Hyatt Place guests will find that they can seamlessly continue to lead their everyday lives in an environment that lets them be more productive, relaxed and fulfilled."

At home, people have the ability to multi-task; making use of flat screen televisions and entertainment centres, while working on laptops in Wi-Fi enabled homes and raiding the refrigerator at any time of day or night. Guests of Hyatt Place can do the same in their spacious guestrooms: catching the evening news or latest sitcom on the 40-inch-high definition plasma television or taking advantage of free Wi-Fi access while stretched out on the signature Hyatt Grand Bed® or the Cozy Corner sectional sofa sleeper. The innovation extends beyond the guestroom and into the lobby with the Gallery, a warm and open area that features a self-registration kiosk, an intimate coffee and wine café, free Wi-Fi, a TV den and e-room with free access to public computers and printers. Guests at Hyatt Place will also enjoy a free continental breakfast each morning and can purchase freshly prepared hot and cold menu items, premium espresso drinks or beer and wine 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The Lombard location features 151 completely renovated guest rooms and public areas. Conveniently located just 20 miles west of Chicago's Loop and within close proximity to O'Hare International and Midway Airports, Lombard is a growing destination for both business and leisure travellers.

Hyatt Place Lombard has a complimentary shuttle service within a five-mile radius for transportation to extraordinary shopping at Oakbrook Centre Mall, multiple golf courses, an array of restaurants, corporate offices, and the Metra train system, which provides an easy commute into downtown Chicago.

There are 215 Hyatt branded hotels and resorts (over 90,000 rooms) in 44 countries around the world, operating under the Hyatt®, Hyatt Regency®, Grand Hyatt® and Park Hyatt® brands. Currently, there are an additional 32 Hyatt hotels and resorts under development, including 11 new hotels in China. Hyatt Corporation (domestic U.S., Canada and Caribbean hotels) and Hyatt International Corporation (international properties) are subsidiaries of Chicago-based Global Hyatt Corporation.

Global Hyatt Corporation is also the owner of Hyatt Vacation Ownership, Inc. operators of the Hyatt Vacation Club (timeshare and fractional residential product), Hyatt Equities, L.L.C. (hotel ownership), Select Hotel Group L.L.C. (which owns, operates and franchises AmeriSuites hotels, Hyatt Place and Summerfield Suites hotels) and U.S. Franchise Systems, Inc. (which franchises Hawthorn Suites, and Microtel Inns and Suites).

A bed is not just a bed when you're traveling. And just to prove it, Marriott International has not only replaced its bedding at all its hotels. It sells the feather beds billed as some of the most fluffy, sinking sleep aids available today.

The beds have even made it to South Lake Tahoe, where Marriott Vacation Club - a subsidiary of the world's giant hotelier - has set up in its first two phases of Timber Lodge at Heavenly Village near Stateline. The third phase will begin construction in summer of 2007.

A vernacular filled with 300-thread-count sheets, feather duvets and matching duvet covers have become a part of the Marriott time share life. A guest getting between the sheets will find the hotel chain has also upgraded from five down pillows to three down and three euro pillows. The hotelier once boasted 200-thread-count linen.

Lauren Epstein owns one week a year of a Timber Lodge unit and waited long and hard for the chain's new feather beds to make it to Tahoe. She learned about them on the Internet.

"A bed is important to me. When I'm not at home and comfortable with my own bed and I'm on vacation, the bed needs to be comfortable and the bedding needs to be right or I don't sleep under the covers," the Los Angeles woman said, while she sprawled out on the comfy bed. She arrived a week ago and has enjoyed a good night of z's ever since.

The second phase will add 192 timeshare of these villas to add to the Marriott's weekly options in South Lake Tahoe. This includes the three-bedroom villas that allow for separate groups.

"You can split these into two, and you have a guest room," Marriott Timber Lodge marketing team leader Tania Pilkinton said on a tour this week.

Some units offer three bedrooms that can be split into two separate quarters with a guest room that also comes with a pull-out sofa bed.

Refrigerators and microwaves and other accents give the units the amenities of a full-service vacation home - all in a traditional time share package.

With mahogany-looking furniture and recessed lighting, it's the spare-no-expense offering that Marriott plans to sell in its next round of sales. Prices begin at $14,650 per deeded week. The three-bedroom villas start at $27,000 - something new to the second phase in the $250 million public-private redevelopment project next to Park Avenue.

Holiday Equity, a subsidiary of the Seattle-based Holiday Group serving timeshare owners and resort developers around the world, is pleased to announce several new additions to its growing family of equity resort partners. Most recent are Grand Seas Resort, Daytona Beach, Fl., and Orbit One Resort, Orlando, Fl. (both contracted with Accumen Sales & Marketing Group), as well as the resorts Flying L Ranch (http://www.flyingl.com) and Acadia Village (http://mainetimeshares.com/avr2.html).

These additions bring to 116 the number of resort developers using Holiday's Equity Exchange to increase sales. Eight resorts have teamed with Holiday just since the industry's annual ARDA convention in June and the release of Holiday's Tiger Strategy free DVD.

"With these new resort partners," says President David Skinner, "we expect to facilitate over $200 million in new resort sales for 2006. Creating a way for existing owners to utilize their vacation equity is a major sales advancement for resort developers. We've also begun to expand into the European market, which should provide even greater profitability for our partners."

For more information about Holiday Equity, the "Trade-In & Trade-Up" company, please contact Holiday's Director of Resort Services, Rick Fernandez, at 1-800-704-0307 ext. 1198, or visit www.meetholiday.com

In what is being termed as “the ultimate accessory for lovers of outdoor entertainment”, Travelodge has come up with a mobile bedroom concept or `Travelpod’ to make even the fussiest festival-goer feel at home.

The room comes complete with a luxury double bed, bedside tables, lights, duvet, pillows, fully carpeted floor, dressing table with light, mirror, chair and even its own WC. The palatial pod is sealed in a 6 metres (Length) by 2.4 metres (Width) x 2.6 metres (Height) clear polycarbonate glass box but inside has features that you will find in any Travelodge hotel across the country.

Wayne Munnelly, Travelodge’s director of Sleep said, “We are always looking at new ways of making budget accommodation more accessible to the public. The Travelpod is a great way of taking our Travelodge room to the customer. This summer we are running a few private trials which will allow me to work on the levels of light, noise and privacy allowed by the Travelpod. We will be opening up the test to customers next summer, targeting festivals and other major outdoor events.”

“It is a great concept where guests can enjoy the festival, dance through the night and climb in to a nice comfy bed. Not everyone who goes to a concert wants to sleep in a tent - this is the ultimate budget fun alternative.”

The Travelpod will be trialled this summer in a number of `soft’ tests in various environments, with a festival ear-marked for next year to run the first customer trials. The trial price will match the company’s room rate of £26 per night.

Butlins customers will have the chance of a new "holiday heaven" as the company launches its first luxury timeshare flats.



The scheme, to be based near Butlins' main Minehead resort in Somerset, allows an annual week's holiday for 30 years, for a one-off fee of £6,000.

The seashore flats, replete with "contemporary design", will overlook Exmoor's "stunning" views.

The so-called Blueskies scheme is due for completion in March 2007.

'Unattainable dream'

"Blueskies is holiday heaven for the growing number of people who enjoy the fun and convenience of a UK family break," said Mike Crowther, who is charged with leading the new venture.

He added that second homes and holiday apartments are an "unattainable dream" for many.

"We're aiming to create a development that is luxurious, flexible, great value and guarantees a first rate family holiday," Mr Crowther said.

The dream was launched yesterday under blue Somerset skies: a holiday at Butlins Minehead every year, for ever, and for a mere £6,000.
For ever in Butlins terms is defined as 30 years, which may be as far into the future as any holidaymaker can bear to look, and the price does rise to £11,000 for anyone whose ambitions stretch to two bedrooms and a week in August, instead of one room and one week in May.

Minehead may be a long way from the Algarve or the Costa del Sol, but Butlins does not expect any problems marketing BlueSkies, its first timeshare apartment development. It will, it predicts, "result in a stampede from the company's loyal guests, anxious to be among the first to own a piece of Butlins for themselves".

Butlins promises that the timeshare block of apartments with sea-view balconies will be "the most stylish accommodation ever offered at Butlins".

"I think they're really on to something," said Patricia Yates, of Visit Britain - with fond memories herself of family holidays in Butlins.

"They have terrific loyalty from their customers, particularly for cross-generational family holidays where you get the grandparents and the grandchildren all coming along. Most family holidays are chosen by women, and they want to know exactly what they are getting, and how long it really takes to get there."

Although only three of the original nine Butlins camps - Minehead, Bognor Regis and Skegness, rebranded as Somerwest World, Southcoast World and Funcoast World - remain, they are flourishing, with 1.3 million guests a year, repeat bookings running at 65%, and many returning several times a year.

Wyndham Worldwide, a hospitality company based in Parsippany, today announced its spin off from Cendant and that the company has begun trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol WYN. Shares opened at $33.45 this morning.
The company, which became a member of Standard & Poor's S&P 500 index this week, consists of three segments: Wyndham Hotel Group, one of the world's largest hotel franchisers with 6,300 hotels and 525,000 hotel rooms worldwide; RCI Global Vacation Network, operator of the world's largest vacation-exchange network with 55,000 vacation properties and 3 million members; and Wyndham Vacation Ownership, which allows independent timeshare and hotel developers to participate in a franchise and affiliation arrangement. The company employs approximately 28,800 around the world.

Another Cendant spinoff also began trading today. Realogy (NYSE: H), which represents residential real estate brokerages, including Century 21, Coldwell Banker, Coldwell Banker Commercial, ERA, Sotheby's International Realty, NRT Incorporated, Cartus and Title Resource Group. Realogy is also headquartered in Parsippany and has more than 15,000 employees. Its shares opened at $25.14.In 2005, Realogy posted revenue of $7.1 billion and net income of $627 million. The company's stock became a member of the S&P 500 Index upon the commencement of trading today.

Wyndham Worldwide Corp., the lodging firm spun off this week from Cendant Corp., expects revenue to grow 8 percent to 11 percent annually over the next two to three years, its chief executive said on Tuesday.

The company also plans to increase the number of hotel rooms in its system to close to 700,000 by 2010 from about 525,000 now, Chief Executive Stephen Holmes told Reuters in a telephone interview.

The company, which owns brands such as Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Ramada and Super 8, expects the increase in new rooms to come largely from international expansion, especially in China and India, Holmes said.

Domestically, the increase will come from conversions of other hotels to its brands, he said. "In the international market, it will come both from conversions and new constructions."

Holmes was speaking from the New York Stock Exchange, after the shares of Wyndham and real estate company Realogy Corp. began trading. The two companies were spun off from Cendant, which is breaking itself into four companies dealing in travel, real estate, hotels and car rentals.

Parsippany, New Jersey-based Wyndham operates in three business segments -- timeshare, vacation rental and hotels. It posted total revenue of $3.47 billion in 2005.

An increase of 8 percent to 11 percent for this year would put revenue in the range of $3.75 billion to $3.85 billion. The one, unidentified, analyst forecasting Wyndham's revenue on Reuters Estimates is expecting $3.76 billion revenue for 2006.

The company -- which franchises economy, midscale and upscale hotels -- would also look for opportunities to acquire products in the extended stay and luxury hotels business.

"The only holes we have right now is we don't have an extended stay product and we also don't have a luxury product," Holmes said. "So if something came along that would fit that need, that could be of interest to us."

The company also manages a few hotels in the upscale segment, and Holmes said the company would look to sign on more management contracts.

Holmes also said the coming months looked good for the company, despite a slowing economy and waning consumer confidence.

"We are not seeing any dramatic slowdown," Holmes said.

Wyndham's shares were off $1.67, or 5 percent, to $31.78 during afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

The timeshare industry contributes up to $343 million to greater Williamsburg's economy, according to one study.

The very nature of the service inspires something lusted after by hotels and attractions repeat customers.

“We've got 4,000 units here, and I'm told by people in the industry that we could have 12,000 units at build-out,” said Dick Schreiber, president of the Greater Williamsburg Chamber & Tourism Alliance.

That would put them ahead of the 10,000 guest rooms of the local motel and hotel industry.

Kevin Jones, CEO of King's Creek Plantation, said that's a realistic projection. “I can see that happening,” he said. “If we reached our full 1,500 and other resorts reached their build-out.”

King's Creek recently cleared 26 acres off Route 199 for another 400 units.

Jones said King's Creek has also begun construction of what will be the “highest-end” timeshare product in the area, 52 “manor homes.” An interest in those units will sell for “more than $39,000.”

An estimated 90,000 owners of timeshare units comprise a solid base of visitors who travel to Williamsburg yearly. If that number triples along with the 12,000 build-out, Williamsburg is looking at 270,000 potential timeshare customers annually.

According to a 2004 study of the timeshares in Virginia funded by the industry and prepared by PriceWaterhouseCoopers, the industry contributes nearly $1 billion to the statewide economy.

Although the study was not broken down by region or locality, rough figures for greater Williamsburg can be extrapolated. According to the Department of Professional & Occupational Regulation, 11 of the 31 timeshare developments registered in Virginia are in the Historic Triangle.

That works out to $343 million in economic impact. About $210 million is direct impact in the form of business generated by and salaries paid by the timeshare companies. The other $133 million is in indirect impact.

The study indicates that the timeshares create about 1,330 local jobs in direct sales, management and operations and another 1,120 jobs created indirectly by the increased economic activity in the area generated by the timeshares.

Jones said he thought these figures accurately portrayed the timeshares economic impact on the area.

Timeshares here generated $43 million in tax revenue for federal, state and local governments. That includes not only property taxes paid by the resorts, but income taxes paid by employees and sales tax paid on everything the timeshare companies purchase in the local economy.

Because extrapolation is ambiguous and the 2004 report is based on 2002 data, Ernest Liberatore of Vacation Time Inc., a marketer with ties to the local timeshare industry, suggests that an updated and more localized economic impact study be conducted.

Schreiber said having such a study would be helpful, but it's pricey. “To do a good economic impact study would cost about half a million dollars,” he said.

Schreiber said the importance of the timeshare industry to our tourism economy can't be overestimated.

He said a study done by the Virginia Tourism Corp. showed that 20% of the area's visitors stayed in timeshares and that they stayed about three times as long as those visitors who stayed in hotels. That translates into more money poured into local attractions and restaurants.

“I know there are people who wish they weren't here,” Schreiber said. “But they are. The timeshare operators know how to make money, they're smart and aggressive.”

That aggression is one reason that shoppers don't want them here.

Timeshares tend to buttonhole people on the street while out shopping.

“I know people don't want to be approached on the street, I don't like it either,” Schreiber said. “But while there are a few that give the industry a bad name, like in any industry, most operate in above board manner.”

Liberatore, who called the street approaches “intrusive” said, “There's a better alternative, and that's ‘vacation stores,'” he said. “Look, this is a young industry, only about 30 years old. We need to recognize the things that don't work and fix them.”

Vacations stores are self-contained shops that offer a number of vacation products.

Jones said that King's Creek already owns two vacation stores and plans to open another. He said that although the resort used “off-property contact” personnel, he's not sure that's the future of the business. “It's better when the customer come to you,” he said.

Liberatore said the timeshare industry has to “evolve to match the sophistication of our customers.” He said marketing schemes that are appropriate for Las Vegas might not be appropriate for Williamsburg and that the timeshare operations need to adapt.

“I agree with that absolutely,” Jones said, saying that Williamsburg was a more upscale market, like Hilton Head.

A big reason for opposition to timeshares here is the belief that they hurt the hotel industry. Booming attendance rates at area attractions this summer haven't translated into improved occupancy rates at motels and hotels.

Liberatore said that isn't true. “For every ten people who come into a timeshare salesroom, only one buys,” he said. “But the other nine are also exposed to information of a positive nature that encourages a return trip or extended stay even if they don't stay in a timeshare.”

Schreiber said he believes those who buy timeshares are those who are impressed enough with the destination to want to make return trips.

“I think they stay in a hotel their first time here and decide they like it so much it's worth purchasing the timeshare,” he said.

Hilton Hotels Corporation has reported lower-than-expected second-quarter profit. This was mainly due to renovations at key properties despite a jump in revenue driven by higher room pricing.

Hilton reported second quarter 2006 net income of $144 million compared with $202 million in the 2005 quarter.

Excluding one-time gains related to tax benefits, second-quarter profit was 32 cents per share, compared to 27 cents a year ago. Revenue rose to $2.2 billion from $1.18 billion a year earlier. Analysts projected earnings of 34 cents per share on sales of $2.21 billion, according to Thomson Financial.

“All three parts of our company — the hotels we own, our management and franchise fee business, and our timeshare operations — continue to perform extremely well as our unparalleled collection of respected brands remain the first choices for the world's travelers and hotel owners,” Stephen Bollenbach, co-chairman and chief executive, said.

The company said renovation work at three of its major owned hotels, including the landmark Waldorf-Astoria in New York, along with advertising costs and higher property insurance rates served to hurt profit margins for the quarter.

“The revenue side continues to improve but the costs are inflating,” Deutsche Bank analyst Bill Lerner said, according to Reuters. “And here is some evidence.” Lerner said labor, insurance and energy costs were increasing for hotels in general.

For the six-month period ended June 30, 2006, Hilton reported net income of $248 million, compared to $266 million in the 2005 period. Diluted net income per share was $.61 versus $.65 in the 2005 period.

For the full year, Hilton said it expects net earnings per share of between $1.17 and $1.21, compared with an earlier forecast of $1.12 to $1.19. “The full year remains relatively unchanged from their previous guidance, which tells me the back half of the year should strengthen,” Calyon Securities analyst Smedes Rose reportedly said.

George F. Donovan, president and CEO of locally based timeshare developer Bluegreen Corp., blames new accounting rules for lower net income and revenue figures his company reported for the second quarter.
Net income totaled $6.6 million or 21 cents per diluted share versus $14.9 million or 48 cents in the same period last year. On a non-GAAP basis, however, Donovan says net income was $12.7 million or 41 cents per diluted share.

Total sales under the new rules were $141.9 million compared to $159.3 million in second quarter 2005. Bluegreen Resorts' sales separately were $91.4 million versus $97 million last year at this time. Bluegreen Communities' sales separately were $50.6 million compared to $62.3 million a year ago. "As previously announced, these lower sales at Bluegreen Communities reflected the sellout or near sellout of several communities prior to the end of the second quarter," Donovan explains.

"As expected, and as previously announced, the adoption of the new accounting regulations adversely impacted results for the second quarter, primarily as a result of deferring revenues until subsequent periods," the Bluegreen chief says. However, on a non-GAAP accounting basis, total second-quarter sales were $163.9 million versus $159.3 million in second quarter 2005. On the same basis, the resort group's sales increased 16.8% to $113.4 million from $97 million.
The new rules, effective Jan. 1, 2006, are called Statement of Position 04-2, or SOP. They were set up by the American Institute of Certified Public Accounts for time-sharing transactions.

"The adoption of the SOP has masked the success of Bluegreen Resorts' business transactions," Donovan says in a prepared statement. "We believe that this business and the markets in which it operates remain strong with significant potential for growth." He says Bluegreen "enjoyed continued same-store sales growth" in the second quarter, "led by our sales offices at the Bluegreen Wilderness Club at Big Cedar, Ridgedale, MO."

Donovan says Bluegreen's balance sheet at the quarter's June 30 close reflected unrestricted cash of $43.8 million, a book value of $10.47 per share and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03:1.