Las Vegas

I’ve just returned from Las Vegas where I attended, for the first time, the yearly convention for the timeshare industry.  It is held by ARDA, The American Resort Development Association which is the Washington D.C.-based professional association representing the vacation ownership and resort development industries. Established in 1969, ARDA today has nearly 1,000 corporate members ranging from privately held firms to publicly traded companies and international corporations with expertise in shared ownership interests in leisure real estate. The membership also includes timeshare owner associations (HOAs), resort management companies, and owners through the ARDA Resort Owners Coalition (ARDA-ROC).

The convention is geared toward the timeshare developer and the ancillary companies that service them while this blog is aimed at the timeshare consumer but I came away with a very positive feeling for the industry.  Certainly the current economic climate has taken its toll, but the best minds in the industry were there to put on educational sessions to deal with this and other factors affecting the industry.

While surviving in difficult economic times was certainly one of the focuses of the convention, ARDA also sets the standards and identifies best practices and innovations for the industry.  There were sessions on going green, running an effective HOA, understanding today’s leisure traveler, innovative ways to improve owner satisfaction and fundamentals of resort management – all of which will contribute to timeshare owner’s enjoyment and satisfaction.

ARDA also does a great job lobbying in Washington DC for timeshare owner rights.  They have been instrumental in keeping us from having to pay transient hotel taxes when we do an exchange in many parts of the country.  They are a nonprofit so feel free to make donations.  To learn more about this very important and useful organization click here.

The most exciting thing for me personally was that RCI has a copy of my Timeshare Exchange Bible – RCI Weeks Edition and has read some of the articles I’ve done about them.

At first I thought that they would now put out their own Bible to compete with mine.  But to my surprise, RCI encouraged what I was doing and offered me assistance in getting out information on another of a long line of product and service enhancements they have been making of late due out later this year.  Rather than seeing me as their competition they want as many timeshare owners as possible to understand the best procedures of getting a good timeshare exchange.

All RCI members are going to be greatly pleased by what they will be rolling out regardless of where they own.  In my opinion, what RCI is doing will be considered one of the great leaps forward in the timeshare industry since its inception.

RCI has already broken the mold with RCI TV and continues to strive to improve their service.  But I promised not to tip my hat early on this so you’ll have to wait until later this year.

I also got to speak briefly with Howard Nusbaum, President and CEO of ARDA, about The Timeshare Exchange Bibles and he asked me to send him copies.  He also thinks it imperative to educate timeshare owners on the art of getting good exchanges.

Refer back to this blog for further updates and be the first to learn of the new RCI enhancements when they pull the trigger.

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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 10 FREE videos on getting better timeshare exchanges in RCI and II go to TheTimeshareExpert.com.

Join me on:

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Interval International recently announced the addition of Grand Lodge to its network of resorts.  Grand Lodges Mount Hood is tucked into Oregon’s Cascade Mountain Range just a few miles from Mt. Hood that offers year-round downhill and cross-country skiing.  The resort is being sold as fractional, with a minimum 3 week purchase, starting at $49,900. 

“The central location of Grand Lodges adjacent to three ski areas is ideal for our upscale members, who will have the opportunity to visit this high-quality ski-in/ski-out resort,” said David Gilbert, executive vice president of resort sales and marketing for Interval International. “This destination offers a wonderful variety of recreational options, including an extensive night skiing area at Mt. Hood Skibowl and summer skiing at Timberline Palmer Snow Field.”

Since it is being sold as fractional, it typically means that for exchangers we’ll have a harder time getting either the winter or summer weeks.  Fractional resorts usually package together the prime with the not so prime weeks when sold.  For instance, the 3 week package probably contains 1 winter ski week, 1 summer week and 1 spring or fall week.  The week most likely to get deposited with Interval International is the spring or fall week-at least for the first 4 or 5 years.  After that, we can expect to see some winter and summer weeks up for exchange.

If you jump on it right away, it’s possible to exchange into the Grand Lodges, even in prime time, because the developer’s usually have more inventory than owners.  They give some of that inventory to II to fill their rooms and as a way to market them as well.  But you’ll need to jump on it now and maximize your exchange power.

The resort has 16 open-plan units with three different floor plans that range from 1,800 to 2,300 square feet.  The units include three bedrooms, a gourmet kitchen, and a private balcony with access from the master bedroom and living room, as well as offer a rustic elegant style with Brazilian cherry hardwood floors and Cascadian stone fireplaces in most units.

The developer of Grand Lodges and managing member of Mt. Hood LLC II, Kirk Hanna says, “Our vision was to create the ultimate balance between a getaway retreat and a comfortable home,” Kirk Hanna is also the owner of Mt. Hood Skibowl and continued to say, “Units are acoustically engineered to give owners a quiet appreciation of the stunning panoramas. The on-site recreation center and full-service concierge and spa will provide first-class pampering. And, our affiliation with Interval International completes the picture by expanding our owners’ vacation options to other quality locations worldwide.”

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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 10 FREE videos on getting better timeshare exchanges in RCI and II go to TheTimeshareExpert.com.

Join me on:

Twitter Facebook My Space

Cabo San Lucas' El Arco

Katharine McPhee, runner up in Season 5 of American Idol, says her favorite places to relax are Cabo San Lucas, Mexico timeshares. Her heavy-duty travel schedule keeps her in and out of hotels, many of which this self-professed “clean freak” says she re-cleans herself because they do not meet her standards. Explaining that she always removes the spreads and blankets and relegate them to the closet, McPhee adds that she sometimes uses the hotel towels to cover a dirty floor or carpet.

It seems, however, that timeshares suit the singing star much better. In an article published by Showbiz Spy, McPhee says her favorite resort destination is, “Cabo (San Lucas, Mexico) because it’s two hours from my home in Los Angeles and you feel like you are in a different world. It’s quick and easy and I love the restaurants. My family has a timeshare so I try and get down there at least once per year.”

“Lying on the beach or sitting by the pool is so amazing. Every once in a while I will rent jet skis. There is nothing quite like jet skiing on the open ocean.”

Katharine is not alone in her love of Mexico timeshares; many vacationers believe them to be some of the most beautiful resorts in the world. And you have it straight from a clean freak that although many hotels fail to live up to her standards, her favorite Mexico timeshare is an ideal place to vacation and relax.

The newest resort to open in Cabo is Welk Resorts “Sirena del Mar”.  They grabbed about the last piece of ocean front left in the coveted corridor area some years ago and just opened 35 of 200 units.  It sits 3 miles from the town of Cabo San Lucas and all of the first phase units have ocean front views.  In fact, because of its location, not only can you hear whales spout from the pool area, but at this time of year you can see both sunrise and sunset.

Welk has deposited some exchange weeks into Interval International but don’t expect them to last long.  Nor will there be many weeks from their Cabo resort deposited in the future since Welk went to a club system with internal points like Disney Vacation Club and Hyatt Vacation Club.

Make sure you maximize your exchange power and request far in advance if you want to get a timeshare exchange into the beautiful new resort.

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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 10 FREE videos, a $97 value, on getting a better exchange in RCI and II, go to TheTimeshareExpert.com.

Join me on:  Twitter FaceBook LinkedIn

I’ll soon be releasing 10 short videos on timeshare exchange tips.  Each video will be between one and a half to 3 minutes in length but will be packed with great information on how to get the most out of exchanging your timeshare in either RCI or Interval International.

It would have been much easier and less time consuming to do 5 longer videos but this way I can deal with each subject separately quickly.  And if you already know some of the material you won’t be investing a lot of time.

This is some of the materiel found in The Timeshare Exchange Bible – RCI Weeks Edition and The Timeshare Exchange Bible – II Edition. I suggest you go through the tips in order as each tip builds upon the other.

Let me know what you think and what other timeshare exchange tips you’d like to know about.

It’s interesting to note that Travel and Leisure magazine lists rooms at the Crane Beach Hotel “starting at $410/night.”  I stayed there on exchange for $184/week by exchanging my timeshare.
In the last post of the Crane Beach Hotel , a RCI timeshare, I showed some pictures of the beautiful pool and beach. If you’ve never been to Barbados make sure you put it on your “must see” list.

These next pics are of the 2 rooms we had.  We were there for 10 days – 7 as a timeshare exchange that we paid $184/week and 3 days paying $350/night.

View from our living room.

This is the view from our patio.

View from patio of lawn, ocean and sculpture.

These next photos are of the 1 bedroom for which we paid $350/night.

Here’s the bedroom.

View from our deck on the second floor.

That’s it for now.  In the next and last post for The Crane Beach Hotel I’ll share some pics of the restaurant on site and some of the island’s other attractions.

This RCI timeshare is very difficult to exchange to, especially from Christmas through April.  Make sure you pick up a copy of The Timeshare Exchange Bible – RCI Weeks Edition to give you the best chance of getting into the best timeshare resorts available.