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Marriott Takes Next Step Towards Spinning Off Marriott Timeshare Entity June 30, 2011

Posted by John Stephens in : Marriott Timeshares, News & Events, Ritz Carlton, Timeshare Resale , add a comment

The Marriott Vacation Club is closer to becoming a separate timeshare company.

According to Forbes.com, Marriott International filed paperwork earlier this week with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission designed to transition Marriott Vacation Club into a separate publicly traded timeshare company by the end of the year.

The new company will be known as Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation.

In a press release issued by Marriott, Stephen Weisz, president and chief executive officer of Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation, said, “Our filing today is an important step toward our spin-off, as we continue to be on track to launch our new company by year-end 2011.  With the spin-off of Marriott Vacations Worldwide, we look forward to tremendous opportunities to build our vacation ownership business and deliver value to our new shareholders.   We’ll have a new corporate name to complement our new future but the names of our industry-leading brands, Marriott Vacation Club, The Ritz-Carlton Destination Club, and Grand Residences by Marriott, and our focus on delivering outstanding vacation experiences to our over 400,000 owners, won’t change.” 

Marriott officials continue to state publicly that there will be no visible changes to consumers as a result of the transition. In the July issue of industry trade publication Developments Magazine, Weisz said that “this transaction will not affect our Marriott Vacation Club owners or Grand Residences by Marriott and Ritz-Carlton Destination Club members. They will see no changes in the branding of their properties, services, usage options, or use of Marriott Rewards points to access Marriott International’s hotels and other benefits.”

While Marriott owners are understandably concerned about the potential ramifications of such a move, the perception is that Marriott International is the one who stands to gain from the separation.

In that same issue of Developments, Marriott Vacation Club Vice President Ed Kinney said “we have $1.5 billion in inventory in our pipeline.” That’s some major inventory that Marriott isn’t moving anytime soon, considering that the entire U.S. timeshare industry reported total sales of $6.4 billion last year, only up 1.9% from 2009, according to the American Resort Development Association.

With stagnant sales and Marriott International’s stated desire to concentrate on the franchising and hotel management side of their business, it’s no wonder that they want to proceed with an amicable divorce.

The irony is that the Marriott timeshare brand is the strongest brand in the timeshare industry. Marriott timeshare weeks hold their resale value better than just about any brand in the industry and weeks tend to sell quicker than anyone else. It is this brand strength that owners are most concerned about losing if the spin-off leads to significant management changes at Marriott Vacation Club.

I can’t see where MVC would try to fix something that isn’t broken by tinkering with the brand or the level of accommodation and service that owners have come to expect. The issue is a long term one, since cutting the umbilical cord from the mother company could mean even slower development plans as the company reacts to its new status. And even more Wall Street pressure to perform with no hiding behind Mom’s skirt when times are tough.

The good news is that there are plenty of Marriott timeshare resales and timeshare rentals at wonderful resorts around the world. You can browse those weeks by clicking on the BuyaTimeshare.com website here.

Solid Timeshare Buyer and Rental Offers for the First Quarter of 2011 April 26, 2011

Posted by John Stephens in : General, Hawaii timeshare, News & Events, Ritz Carlton , add a comment

Another solid number of timeshare buyer and rental offers were placed through the BuyaTimeshare.com website during the first quarter of 2011, indicating an upturn in the secondary market and proving once again that buyers and renters are using our services.

We provided $24,981,836 in qualified offers during the first three months of this year to owners who advertised their timeshare for sale or rent on our website. Over 3,000 confirmed offers were sent through BuyaTimeshare.com as legitimate offers to advertisers, which is ahead of the offer activity for last year and a solid indication that more people are looking to buy timeshare and rent timeshare in 2011.

Because BuyaTimeshare.com is a “for sale by owner” website, offers placed on properties advertised on our site are passed through to the owner of the property. However, because of technical advances to our website, we can automatically validate those offers and make it possible for the company to substantiate these offers in order to prove that activity is taking place on the secondary market.

“Our software and proprietary algorithm allows us to track offers to make sure they are true offers from legitimate buyers and renters,” said Wesley Kogelman, president and CEO, BuyaTimeshare.com. “We want to make sure those offers get into the inboxes of prospective buyers and renters because without them, we don’t have a business.”

Our average buyer offer of $18,599 was just below the $20,000 average price of a new timeshare interval, showing excellent value for people looking to sell timeshare and demonstrating that valuable inventory does exist on the secondary market. 

Of the total offers, rental activity was considerable with the BuyaTimeshare.com website generating $1,937,182 to rent timeshare across 1,853 offers. That average $1,045 rental price would generate excellent income for owners looking to offset maintenance fees.

“Our resale model is clearly working for our advertisers as well as buyers and renters,” said Kogelman. “When owners can sell and rent their property, then our site is working not only for their benefit but for the benefit of those buyers and renters looking for value in our inventory as well.”

The inventory comes from some of the most desirable timeshare resorts in the world such as Westin Ka’anapali Ocean Resort Villas in Hawaii and Ritz Carlton Club Aspen Highlands in Colorado. You can find this inventory and much more on the BuyaTimeshare.com website by clicking here.

Resales are not just for Timeshare anymore – Fractional resales are heating up March 31, 2011

Posted by John Stephens in : News & Events, Ritz Carlton , add a comment

The fractional industry has been feeling the pinch – actually, it’s more like a big kick in the backside – since the recession began in 2008. If you’re not quite up to speed on fractionals, don’t worry. Most people are still getting them confused with timeshare, and with good reason because of their similarities. But there are some differences.

Fractionals are basically upscale timeshares – larger rooms, more amenities, personal concierges, shelves stocked with groceries when you arrive, that type of thing. Fractional developers may like to distance themselves from the thought of being a timeshare, but essentially they are. If you buy an interest in a resort that you can only use for a portion of the year, then it’s timeshare no matter how you slice up the property.

Some fractionals, such as a winery in Tuscany in Italy, are different because of the unique nature of their location and property. And true fractionals began as a way to enjoy vacations in exclusive areas by dividing up the high cost of deeded vacation properties among various owners. This is one reason why fractionals have long been associated with upscale destinations such as ski locations. But, as with most vacation ownership products, the variety of fractionals grew to the point that even the industry itself has a hard time defining exactly what it is.

What caught my eye recently was that the same problems that caused the emergence of the resale industry in timeshare now seem to have caught up with the fractional industry.

Well, what do you know?

While reporting from the Ragatz Fractional conference in San Francisco, Perspective Magazine reported that resales was the only area of growth for fractionals in 2010. All other sales areas were in decline.

“Fractional resales activity was up 22% compared to 2009 levels, even though new closed sales were down 37%” according to the Perspective report.

Adding to the culture shock was that the per week price point for fractionals is $17,600 according to the report. This price point is about $3,000 less than the average per-week price for a new timeshare interval. The difference is that you can’t just buy one week at a fractional resort like you can at a timeshare, as fractionals are usually sold in minimum four-week increments.

Dr. Richard Ragatz was the host of the conference and is a leading analyst for the fractional industry. He added that 71% of resorts said sales were better or the same during the last half of 2010 compared to the first half of the year, showing a trend towards improvement heading into 2011. 66% of resorts said 2011 will be positive compared to last year.

This optimism from the fractional industry is nice, since developers presumably don’t want prices and sales to continue to fall. However, has anyone considered that maybe these prices and sales had to come down because they were artificially overpriced to begin with? There is a reason why fractional resales was up when other sales activity remained low – price.

Timeshare owners have known this for years, which is why the timeshare resale industry does so well for buyers looking for deals. We at BuyaTimeshare.com have some fractional inventory available on our website, such as the Ritz Carlton Club Aspen. And, as always, we have the best value of timeshare inventory anywhere on the internet, which you can see by clicking onto BuyaTimeshare.com.

Marriott To Spin Off Its Timeshare Division February 17, 2011

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

By now, you’ve probably heard about Marriott International’s plan to spin off its timeshare division, Marriott Vacation Club, into a separate business. If you pay any attention to industry news on the internet, it has been impossible to miss the subject and it blew up all over Twitter earlier in the week.

Ah, social media strikes again, although not quite with the flair of an Egyptian revolution.

Initial reports have been favorable of the move, with Marriott International’s share price up about 5% at the close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange following the announcement.

Under the new scenario, Marriott International will become more of a hotel management and franchise business, looking to get away from the type of capital-intensive business structure that timeshare presents. The new Marriott timeshare business will continue to operate under the Marriott and Ritz Carlton brands, presumably continuing the MVC brand for timeshare and fractionals to proceed under the Ritz Carlton name.

“Marriott Vacation Club owners and guests and The Ritz-Carlton Destination Club members should see no change in the branding or quality of their properties, services, usage options, use of Marriott Rewards points, or access to Marriott International’s hotels,” said Marriott International chairman and chief executive officer, J.W. Marriott, Jr. “The companies will continue to work together to provide outstanding vacation experiences, similar to the relationship between Marriott International and the franchisees of its hotel properties.  After the split, both companies will remain dedicated to the highest standards of quality and value and the brand promise for which Marriott and Ritz-Carlton are well known and widely respected.”

In 2010, Marriott said its timeshare segment reported revenue of around $1.5 billion. At the end of last year, it operated 71 timeshare and fractional resorts with more than 400,000 owners and some 10,000 employees.

It also held $1.5 billion in unsold inventory, which brings me to the question that no one seems to have asked yet, although it is still early.

How does this affect the resale market?

This, obviously, is the question that is nearest and dearest to our hearts, especially following the release of our Buyer’s Choice Top 20 List earlier this week which revealed that 11 of the top 20 timeshare resorts most requested from buyers were Marriott timeshare resorts.

Some estimates have as many as 60,000 unsold Marriott weeks currently on the market and speculation has begun about how a stand-alone company can afford to support this kind of available inventory.

More to the point – will the company provide an exit strategy for owners, would resale companies be involved and what would such an option look like? The Marriott buy-back program has been unreliable at best in recent years, not that Marriott would want to promote such a program themselves.

For now, all we can do is wait and see if Marriott makes any changes to deal with low new sales volume and the thousands of resale transactions that take place with Marriott timeshare every year.

Fortunately, there are a number of Marriott timeshare weeks on our website at BuyaTimeshare.com and you can check them out by clicking here.

Marriott Suites Available for Less on the Timeshare Resale Market September 24, 2009

Posted by Bryan Connelly in : ARDA, General, Marriott Timeshares, News & Events, Ritz Carlton, Timeshare Rental, Timeshare Resale, Timeshare Resource, Travel , 1 comment so far

Marriott International has decided to halt on building all new residential and timeshare projects. Shifting from spend to sell; the financially exhausting year of 2009 has forced the company to take a $760 million cut to the value of its timeshare sector. This write-down has triggered the hotelier to sell property, end timeshare developments, and to even sell off some of its undeveloped land.

Timeshare consumers have not only cut leisure spending, but they have chosen the online resale industry to save themselves thousands of dollars when buying or renting. And while a softening demand has left half-built luxury resorts idling around the globe, Marriott will continue to manage their properties and provide the same kind of quality that has made them so famous.

Though consumer spending has undoubtedly slowed as a result of layoffs, pay cuts and cutbacks, timeshare use is not at a significant low. People can’t afford to buy a high-end vacation property from the developer with weeks costing more than $18,000. Folks are still buying and renting timeshares by the throng but the resale market is where they are buying. During an all-out recession, the once booming timeshare concept is struggling without the financing available. Marriott’s Revenue per Available Room (RevPAR) is down 19%, but is better than the 20% to 24% drop projected. While profitability has gone down, people are steadily using these premium properties.

Marriott has begun harvesting whatever money is left in its own timeshare “investments.” The company recently reported that the write-downs reflect its plans to cut timeshare prices and development “to accelerate cash flow.” Roughly $300 million of the write-downs are at five luxury residential projects, a similar-sized write-down at nine North American fractional projects and $95 million at one other North American project.

BuyATimeshare.com has been able to fill suites at these properties for over a decade with timeshare vacation resorts for sale by owner. Aggressive prices offer premium luxury vacations for the price of a modest hotel. The recession has proven to be financially grueling for Marriott. The hotelier doesn’t expect “to pursue new Marriott-funded” residential timeshares, but does expect to continuing licensing and managing projects developed by others. The company said it expected profitability to improve at the timeshare segment, with cash flow there positive in 2009 and increasing in 2010.

BuyATimeshare.com Works to Get Your Property Sold August 17, 2009

Posted by Bryan Connelly in : ARDA, General, Marriott Timeshares, Ritz Carlton, Timeshare Rental, Timeshare Resale, Travel , add a comment

For nearly a decade, BuyATimeshare.com has witnessed a lot of other companies attempting to provide the kind of worldwide exposure that we can provide. We have engineered unique innovations that have literally defined the timeshare resale industry.

A lot of very respectable brands have come along since, finding a niche and satisfying thousands of timeshare interest owners from all over. The difference is the intent. Our competeition will focus on the seller and the developer, but will not target the

BuyATimeahare.com has been providing the consumer with a reliable site to buy and rent luxury resorts at inexpensive prices. Up until mid 1990’s the only way to buy a timeshare was to pay $20,000 to highly trained, high-pressure sales staff whether you liked it or not.

With no resale market in site, once you paid off the debt, you were stuck with the timeshare and all the fees that come with it. Today BuyATimeshare.com helps those who need an economic way to vacation, and those looking to rid themselves of a liability. The timeshare concept has been giving you lavish resort for less cost, year after year. With the timeshare resale market, you can still stay in the same elegance for even less!

BuyATimeahare.com advertises thousands of top name properties from around the world to consumers around the globe. People are looking for holiday rentals at magnificent resorts and they are looking to the internet to find it!

A magazine bought in any country can provide a buyer with a list of used electronics, automobiles, and watercraft. BuyATimeshare.com is able to provide timeshare owners with specialized advertising, specific to timeshare interests. BuyATimeshare.com is across the World Wide Web and reaching millions of people who are looking to rent or buy for less money.

Ritz-Carlton Taking Profound Steps to Join Timeshare Elite June 19, 2009

Posted by John Copain in : Marriott Timeshares, Ritz Carlton, Timeshare Resource , add a comment

High End Hotel Company Introduces New Points System Option

Ritz Carlton has been well known as one of the leaders in luxury hotels for what seems like forever. While leading the pack in one hospitality sector they have only dabbled in timeshares – compared to other major hotel/timeshare resort entities such as Hyatt and Marriott – reserving certain very well appointed resorts for timesharing, like the Ritz Carlton Club Saint Thomas and the Ritz Carlton Club Aspen Highlands. However, Ritz Carlton seems geared up to make some expansions in their timeshare sector asthey roll out the new points system for Ritz Carlton timeshare owners.

On April 28th Ritz Carlton announced their brand new points system in order to add options to ownership packages other than fixed, deeded ownership. While many timeshare resorts looking to expand their operations introduce a right to use ownership option, Ritz Carlton has opted to go with the points system plan because it will give current owners and future owners optimal flexibility with the ability to access to the worldwide Ritz Carlton family of resorts. This new ownership option is called the Ritz Carlton Destination Club.

The points membership is currently available to members of Ritz Carlton’s Home Club, but other Ritz Carlton owners may see programs created specifically for them too. According to David Short, the regional vice president of sales for Ritz Carlton Destination Club, “We’re spending a lot of time working on programs for our existing customers, it’s good for them, and it should allow us to grow a little more quickly in the future.” The Ritz Carlton Destination Club membership has been named Portfolio. Look for forthcoming innovations from this high end resort company as they focus more and more on their timeshare properties around the world.

Ritz Carlton Moves to Points June 9, 2009

Posted by Jason Dobbins in : Disney, General, New Features, Ritz Carlton, Timeshare Resale, Timeshare Resource , add a comment

Ritz Carlton Hotel Co. added a destination club option on April 28th. Instead of locking investors into a specific destination they are allowing investors to purchase points packages which allow them to own interest in several vacation properties. This will allow and investor in the Ritz Carlton point package to travel to all Ritz’s properties worldwide.

The cost of these packages will cost from the low $100,000 to $800,000. This strategy is similar to one used by the less pricey Disney Vacation Club. Investors in both programs are able to use points like a currency which allows them to buy their vacation time.

In past Ritz Carlton owners would own a specific resort and should attract more people who don’t want to be an owner of a single resort. “Points give you much more flexibility.” said David Short, Ritz-Carlton Destination Club’s regional vice president of sales. “They allow people to customize each trip to their own needs.”