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Timeshare Resort Interior Design Company Robb & Stucky To Liquidate March 10, 2011

Posted by John Stephens in : Timeshare Resource , add a comment

A devastating blow has been dealt to timeshare and fractional resort interior design company Robb & Stucky by a U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Tampa, FL this week.

You may have seen my earlier blog last month about Robb & Stucky filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Well, it didn’t take long for the company to go to auction, with liquidators Hudson Capital and Hyperams the only validated bidder at an auction that wrapped up on Tuesday morning. Later that day, the court approved the sale of the company and, in the blink of an eye, years of hard work could go down the drain later today.

That’s because the loss of a major part of the company, the liquidation of all 20 Robb & Stucky retail stores currently under Hudson, is expected to begin on Thursday unless company president Dan Lubner can put together a plan to rescue the business and receive approval from all stakeholders.

“We just didn’t have the time,” Lubner told FurnitureToday.com reporter Clint Engel, who broke the story late Tuesday afternoon. Lubner added that any possible restructure “would be subject to the approval of the lenders, creditors’ committee, and Hudson.”

According to the agreement, the successful bidder would pay 75.2% of the value of the inventory. The break-up fee under the agreement is $475,000. But the real story, as is usually the case in these matters, is about the people behind the transaction.

“Beyond the numbers, this is the most talented staff this industry has ever seen – from the designers who have won hundreds of interior and design awards to the logistics to the support to the senior management,” said Lubner.

One silver lining appears to be that Hudson is acquiring the inventory and not the name, according to the report. So if Lubner is able to piece together a group of investors to help re-launch the company, they may have a shot at a comeback if they can keep their team together. That’s a big IF in light of what’s happened, but possible.

I bring this up because this is a company that has been a real jewel in the industry and a finalist for several ARDA industry awards at the up-coming ARDA convention later this month. We never want to see people lose their livelihood and we’ve heard so many stories over the last couple of years about layoffs and downsizing. But this is an example of a company that had to figure it was safe getting caught up in the downturn of an industry.

There would always been a need for new design and renovation work, right?

Unfortunately, one of the major unintended consequences of the recession was that construction and renovation work dried up when the banks slammed the door shut on financing. And now that the financial institutions are slowly beginning to lend again, it may be too late for companies like Robb & Stucky.

Here’s hoping that they can pull it off and continue their work as a successful, award-winning design firm.

Robb & Stucky has completed renovations at various timeshare resorts such as the Islander Beach Resort in Florida and Bluegreen’s Harbour Lights Resort in South Carolina. Timeshare weeks at these and other resorts across the world are available on the BuyaTimeshare.com website and you can access them by clicking here.

Hawaii Timeshare Tax Bill Passed Out of Committee March 8, 2011

Posted by John Stephens in : ARDA, Hawaii timeshare, News & Events , add a comment

If you’ve been reading this blog for the last couple of months, you know that we’ve been following a legislative issue in Hawaii regarding a potential tax increase for Hawaii timeshare owners.

According to the American Resort Development Association’s Resort Owners’ Coalition (ARDA-ROC), legislation has been introduced in the state House of Representatives and the state Senate which would increase the accommodation tax rate from 7.25% to 9.25% and increase the amount subject to the tax from 50% to 150% of the daily maintenance fee.

The House version of the legislation, HB809, was recently passed out of the Tourism Committee on a 9-0 vote, with the unanimous vote troubling considering the controversial nature of tax issues in the current economic climate.

I understand that many times these bills don’t even get to the voting stage unless the committee chairman knows he or she has the votes needed to pass, which is often why the votes are unanimous. All of the real wheeling and dealing has already been done behind closed doors by the time the bill comes up for “debate” in committee.

However, this issue is not clear cut by any means.

This vote seems to be more of a “pass the buck” procedure, which can happen if legislators feel that the bill could be voted down in another committee. That chance should come up in the next few days as the House Finance Committee is next on the hit parade to take up the measure.  

Industry leaders are against the bill, which Governor Neil Abercrombie called for to help close the estimated $700million state budget deficit. In a recent meeting called by Rep. Tom Brower, Mufi Hannemann, Hawaii Hotel and Lodging Association president, said the Legislature needs to approach the issue carefully because Hawaii is positioned well with the timeshare industry and timeshare is a significant growth opportunity for the state.

“We’re very concerned about this initiative,” Hannemann said.

Lowell Kalapa of the Tax Foundation of Hawaii also sounded alarm bells, saying that timeshare and multi-use resorts are currently the only developments able to get financing for new construction or renovation projects. Kalapa said that “(timeshare) adds to the stability of the market in a time of crisis,” adding that timeshare owners maintained their visits to Hawaii much more than other tourists in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

“I would think in a down economy the last thing you want to do is raise taxes,” said Kalapa.

Which is exactly the same message that business leaders across various industries have been saying to elected officials throughout the country for the past two years. Let’s hope that the members of the Finance Committee can look to common sense and give timeshare owners a break from any tax hikes.

The debate hasn’t affected demand for Hawaii timeshare, as offers continue to pour in from people looking to buy and rent Hawaii timeshare. There are outstanding deals available on the BuyaTimeshare.com website and you can click here for more information.

A Face of Cancer March 3, 2011

Posted by John Stephens in : Charity , add a comment

We call our product timeshare. The idea of sharing time with others on vacation, or sharing the unit we buy or rent with family or friends with whom we want to share time. Sharing time with the special people in our lives is the real joy of the timeshare concept.

Sometimes, the ravages of cancer can interrupt those plans and the time we find ourselves sharing with others becomes much more meaningful. Especially when the disease strikes a child.

7-year old Caleb Cook of Rochester, New Hampshire, suffers from a rare form of cancer that can develop in the connective tissues of young children. Called rhabdomyosarcoma, it is a form of childhood cancer that affects tissues of the body that would normally develop into skeletal muscles.

Caleb is receiving treatment at the renowned Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Mass., but there is a significant cost involved, which is why businesses and members of the southern New Hampshire community gathered for the Caleb Cook RMS Fund Benefit to raise money for the Cook family as their son fights against the disease.

BuyaTimeshare.com was one of 10 companies sponsoring the event on February 19th, which featured the band Blind Spot, food and drink and a silent auction. The money raised will go toward Caleb’s medical costs and the evening demonstrated the significant community support shown towards the Cooks according to those who attended the event.

Peter Emery, our Sales Director at BuyaTimeshare.com, was one of those in attendance.

“It is a terrible tragedy when children are afflicted with something like this. I have two young daughters around Caleb’s age and I don’t know what I would do if anything like this happened to one of my girls,” said Emery. “It is heartening to see the community rally around the Cook family this way and we all hope and pray that Caleb can beat this.”

Caleb’s treatment includes regular rounds of chemotherapy at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Since its founding in 1947, the Institute has been committed to providing cancer patients with the best treatment available while developing cures through cutting-edge research. Dana-Farber specializes exclusively in cancer treatment and research, is a Harvard Medical School affiliate and has been ranked as the best cancer hospital in New England and sixth best in the nation in U.S. News and World Report‘s “America’s Best Hospitals” survey. More information on the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute can be found at http://www.dana-farber.org/.

Event organizers are still tallying up the generous donations from the benefit and we’ll provide an update to the evening when those figures are released.

To follow Caleb’s journey, you can follow on his Facebook Page by clicking here or by going to the website at http://www.ccrmsfund.bbnow.org/, which was set up for the Benefit. Donations are still being accepted and you can make a donation to help with Caleb’s medical costs by clicking here.

Speculation Feeds the Rumor Mill Following the Marriott Split Announcement March 1, 2011

Posted by John Stephens in : Marriott Timeshares, News & Events , add a comment

A recent visit to the Caribbean island of St. Kitts by Marriott International CEO Bill Marriott, Jr. would normally have gone unnoticed if it were not for the great Internet Age that we live in. And because of that little announcement Marriott made a couple of weeks ago, something about a split you may have heard about?

That announcement of the spin-off of Marriott’s timeshare division continues to send shockwaves throughout the hospitality industry. So much so that, according to the St. Kitts & Nevis Observer, Mr. Marriott made a special visit to St. Kitts about 10 days ago regarding the company’s hotel and timeshare resorts on the island.

According to the newspaper, “during his one-day visit to St. Kitts, Bill Marriott expressed confidence in the island’s tourism product and indicated a willingness to expand the brand. He toured the Christophe Harbour Development on the South East Peninsula, accompanied by Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Denzil and other government officials.”

“We have a good team here [visiting] and a great hotel, and it has been successful and we want to do more here. We hope we can do a Ritz-Carlton sometime,” the legendary hotelier said. “You have great potential here. You have lovely people, beautiful climate.”

Why would Marriott even need to consider making the trip? Rumors began to circulate that Marriott was considering pulling its brand from the resorts, which touched off wild speculation online by timeshare owners concerned that such a move would lead to plummeting timeshare values. While Mr. Marriott’s visit and subsequent comments appeared to quell this speculation, just the mere possibility of such a discussion touched off such a firestorm that people were blogging online even before the visit took place.

This shows just how nervous Marriott timeshare owners are about the announcement and it got me thinking – what if such deliberations are actually taking place at the Marriott corporate compound in Bethesda, Md.?

Name changes in the corporate world happen often, but Marriott has been such an iconic brand name for so many years that the ripple effect could be enormous. On our First Annual Buyer’s Choice List for 2011, 11 of the top 20 most sought-after timeshare resorts were Marriott branded resorts, so the demand for Marriott timeshare is strong.

Would Marriott even consider pulling its name from its timeshare division? Only time will tell, but on the surface it doesn’t seem like a good move. Good brand recognition takes years to develop and can be worth billions of dollars if done right. In Marriott’s case, it was done in spectacular fashion and they are clearly the market leader, so devaluing their product in such an unnecessary way just doesn’t make good business sense. They have bigger fish to fry, like dealing with the approximately $1.5 billion worth of unsold inventory on the market.

Marriott timeshare still provides some of the best vacation value in the world, and you can find great deals on Marriott inventory by clicking onto the BuyaTimeshare.com website here.