Posts Tagged ‘resort’

Disney to Add 4 New Resorts

Tuesday, June 9th, 2009

Disney’s plans to open 4 new resorts this year constitute the most ambitious expansion yet for Disney Vacation Club, its 17-year-old time-share arm.

There will be three new Central Florida properties along with 50 new units that will open later this year at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif.

Sales prices are starting at about $18,000, plus a monthly maintenance fee. It is the first time Disney has been selling interests in four time shares at once.

According to the Orlando Sentinel,

“Although the resorts are opening within 100 days of one another, each is unique:

•At Kidani Village, which will eventually have 340 units, walls are decorated with African proverbs and artifacts such as a Bamileke king’s belt and Cameroon royal drinking horns. Most rooms overlook a re-created savanna complete with giraffes, zebras, ostriches and other wildlife.

•The 60 Treehouse Villas stand on pedestals and stilts in a forested wetland. The octagonal suites replace earlier lodging originally built in 1975, and designers say the new units use 70 percent less impervious concrete.

•Bay Lake Tower rises 15 stories just outside the gates of the Magic Kingdom and is linked to Disney’s Contemporary Resort by a pedestrian bridge. The sales pitch centers around the views; the largest suites have windows two stories tall.

Disney is also building more time shares beyond Central Florida. In addition to the Villas at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, which are scheduled to open late this year, Disney this year began construction of an 830-room resort in Hawaii, in which more than half of the rooms will be time shares. That resort will open in 2011.

And earlier this month, Disney announced the purchase of 15 acres just outside Washington with plans to build a family resort. Although Disney has not released details, it is likely that project will also include Vacation Club villas.”

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Jeff Pierce, The Timeshare Expert, has taught thousands of timeshare owners the secrets to getting the best exchanges with both RCI and Interval International for over 21 years.

His two books, The Timeshare Exchange Bible – RCI Weeks Edition, and The Timeshare Exchange Bible – Interval International, are the only books of their kind in the timeshare industry and designed to help you  master at the very complicated art of getting good exchanges.

I would love to have you share your opinions and personal insights on this blog.

For 3 FREE tips on getting a better exchange in RCI and II, go to TheTimeshareExpert.com.

Sonoma Barrel Tasting Weekend Part 2

Thursday, March 12th, 2009

We started our wine tasting weekend at the beautiful Korbel Winery, just outside of Guerneville, CA.  Many people think Korbel only produces cheap champagne, but their Premier Champagne, for about $25, is really excellent.  They also produce a very drinkable Chardonnay for about $15 as well.

This is a good place to start at 11:00 am.  Champagne at that hour is far preferable to red wine.

The Family

The Family

Our next stop was Iron Horse Vineyards for more champagne.  I had remembered it being better than what we tasted that day but the real reason I wanted to go there was for the view.

Our next stop was the Dutton Family Vineyards.  There we tasted the best wines of the day.  Their Chardonnay and Pinot’s were some of the best I’ve ever tasted.

After a couple of more stops we picked up some supplies from the grocery store and went back to the timeshare and bar-b-qued up some steaks and chicken and drink some of the fine wine we had purchased.

The WorldMark Wine Country Sonoma is perfectly situated in the heart of  wine country.  The resort is very well taken care of, the staff very helpful and friendly and the timeshare condos well appointed.  I highly recommend it as an RCI exchange.  Below are more pictures of the 3 bedroom unit I got with my 1 bedroom.

Kitchen

We had our own bar-b-que on the patio and the fireplace and entertainment center were great.

Bar-b-que

Fireplace & entertainment center

And finally pictures of the master bedroom.

Master BedroomMaster Bedroom

In the next post I’ll share with you some pictures of one of the most beautiful drives you can do anywhere.  If you ever want to exchange your timeshare to this area, you don’t want to miss this drive.

4th of July

Friday, May 23rd, 2008

For those of you that like to take a timeshare vacation on the 4th of July in RCI or Interval International, you should already have your request in for 2009.  I’ve found, in the 18 years that I’ve been in the timeshare business, that the people who exchange for holidays are the most knowledgeable timeshare exchangers in the world.

There are two things that make getting a timeshare exchange during a holiday so difficult.  First is the fact that the owners are more likely to want to use their home resort on holidays so fewer weeks are given up to RCI and Interval International. 

Second, the demand for holiday weeks is much greater than normal.  Fewer weeks coupled with much greater demand leads to a much more difficult timeshare exchange.

There is already a waiting list for many timeshare for next 4th of July so get your request in now.

 

The 10 Biggest Mistakes When Selling Your Timeshare Part 5

Friday, January 11th, 2008

Mistake 7: Not knowing what you own

Whether you’re selling your timeshare through a timeshare resale company or on your own, get clear in your mind exactly what it is that you own.  Go over the documents you got when you purchased and call the resort’s Owner Services department for further clarification. 

Do you own a  studio, 1 bedroom or 2 bedroom?  Is it a lock-off?  Is your resort affiliated with RCI or Interval International? Do you have a deed or is it a right to use?  Do you have a fixed or floating week?  If it floats can you reserve it for any one of the 52 weeks in the year or are certain dates like Christmas, New Years, Easter and Fourth of July blacked out?

You wouldn’t want to find an interested buyer and find out that your floating Red week is only good in the summer.  Or, that the Home Owner’s Association fee is $751 rather than $610.  That will kill a sale faster than anything. 

If you’re listing with a timeshare resale company and it doesn’t have a good description of your resort, the on-site amenities, nearby attractions and why someone would want to own there, make them get one.  The operative word when selling your timeshare is “selling” your timeshare.  I’ve seen many a timeshare resale company with multiple listings for the same resort, use the exact same verbiage to describe the resort in each listing.  Think up some selling points on your own.  You want your listing to stand out from all of the other ones.

Mistake 8: Buying into the timeshare resale companies guarantee

Many timeshare resale companies guarantee that you’re timeshare will be listed for as long as it takes to sell for no additional charge.  Many sellers misunderstand this to mean that the resale company is guaranteeing the sale.  Big difference! This is one of the ploys disreputable timeshare resale companies use to get you to list with them.  Since they’re paying very little if any fees for advertising YOUR timeshare, it’s easy to guarantee the listing will never expire. You’re likely to hear this from timeshare resale companies that are mainly interested in collecting up front fees than actually selling your timeshare.

The 10 Biggest Mistakes When Selling Your Timeshare Part 4

Thursday, January 10th, 2008

Mistake 5:  Signing an exclusive listing with one timeshare resale company

Never give an exclusive listing to one timeshare resale company to sell your timeshare.  An exclusive listing means the company will be paid their commission, typically 10%, no matter who sells it.  Even if you sell it to your neighbor or co-worker you will owe the listing company their 10% commission.  And it effectively prevents you from listing it with multiple other resale comapanies since they wouldn’t get paid if they did sell it.

Always sign an “open listing” giving you or anyone else the right to sell your timeshare.  This means you will only pay the listing company a commission if they sell it.  If you can find more than one reputable resale company then sign an open listing with all of them.

Mistake 6:  Not checking with your home resort

See if the developer of your resort will buy it back.  It’s rare but worth a shot.  Also, check to see if there is still an onsite salesperson that handles re-sales.  It’s easier to sell it to someone onsite than to someone that just sees it on their computer screen.  Finally, if the first to suggestions aren’t available see if there is an onsite bulletin board where you can hang a flyer.  I would advise against putting an add in the local paper.  It’s too expensive and not effective.