May 04

Marriott Adds Final Phase to Timeshare Resort in Myrtle Beach

Timeshare News 2 Comments »

Oceanwatch Villas Myrtle Beach, South CarolinaThe Marriott OceanWatch Villas timeshare resort has opened its final phase of development.  The final phase introduces 75 new villas for a total of 361 villas each with approximately 1,100 square feet of space.

Located in South Carolinas Grande Dunes area next to the existing Myrtle Beach Marriott Resort and Spa the OceanWatch Villas include a plethora of luxurious accommodations.  Each villa will include: a full kitchen, spacious living and dining areas, multiple entertainment areas with televisions and DVD players, washer/dryer and private balconies with ocean and garden views. Each two bedroom villa will accommodate up to eight guests.

Not only do the new Oceanwatch Villas have numerous pools, a 2,500 square foot fitness center, activities for all ages, sports courts and a private beachfront but it also includes access to even more accommodations at the adjacent Myrtle Beach Marriott Resort & Spa and provides excursions to distinct Myrtle Beach attractions.

Having the Myrtle Beach International Airport located less than 11 miles from the new OceanWatch Villas makes this resort as convenient and carefree as a luxurious vacation get away can get. Marriott has been a worldwide leader in vacation ownership with over 11,00 timeshare villas worldwide, over 400,000 vacation owners choose “the Marriott way” not only for the upmost quality when it comes to vacation resorts but also the unique flexibility.

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Mar 05

How Much Is Your Timeshare Worth? Many Are Below Zero

Timeshare Costs No Comments »

Timeshares Resale Value Go Below ZeroFor anyone that has ever bought a new car, we know that sinking feeling we get as the value drops like a rock after we drive it off the dealership parking lot. Once you sign the contract for a timeshare, the impact is as if you bought and drove several new cars off the dealership lot at once. You’re going to lose a lot of value immediately.

A timeshare can lose 40% to 75% of their market value immediately after you sign the contract with the timeshare salesperson. One factor that contributes to the steep drop in value is that the salesperson and the company immediately receive their percentages on commission.

In the short time that it takes for the ink on your contract to dry, the timeshare turns into a notch on the timeshare salesperson’s belt. Immediately considered an asset to the timeshare resort, the clock starts to siphon money from the fresh timeshare owner in the form of maintenance and special assessment fees.

After a while, the timeshare resorts have little incentive to provide upkeep and to upgrade the timeshare. There is a reason for that. The timeshare contract guarantees revenue through all the fees the resorts collect from timeshare owners, so they do not need to bother with improvements. They take this money and use it to build new resorts that guarantee that they can collect even more maintenance fees from new timeshare owners.

As the timeshares age and the maintenance fees increase, there is less desire to purchase a condo unit from that location.  Most potential buyers would prefer new, more modern timeshare units.  At the same time, if the value for the increased maintenance fees paid begin to annoy timeshare owners, how do you think it will affect a potential owner who never vacationed there before?  For many owners, they end up paying for something they don’t use and no one is looking to purchase from them.   So, the value of that timeshare is negative — below zero — it’s taking money away constantly.

Timeshare Relief helps people out of this vicious downward spiral of value and get rid of those timeshares.

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Oct 05

Destination Clubs – How Could They Affect the Timeshare Industry?

Timeshare Industry 3 Comments »

There are some timeshare resorts that position themselves in the super-luxury end of the travel spectrum.  However, more and more companies are going the route of “Destination Clubs” — high-end vacation property vacation clubs designed for the wealthy who do not want to hassles of ownership.

Memberships can run from $50,000 through to half a million dollars upfront with significant annual fees.  For these large sums of money, members do not hold title or a deed to the portfolio of Club properties.  Instead, they are granted now-and-then access to a collection of luxury houses in exotic locales around the world.  Without the worry and upkeep of ownership, members need only spend there money and not much time to enjoy a mansion away from mansion (as opposed to a home away from home).

Destination clubs are not regulated as heavily as timeshares in terms of the sales & deeding process because they have been introduced only recently.  Unfortunately, the lack of regulation and of course, the downturn in the economy may have contributed to many clubs having to close their doors.  Hence, timeshare industry advocates are worried that fallout from bankruptcies of destination clubs could affect an already maligned timeshare industry.

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Feb 25

Marriott Lets It Ride For Its Las Vegas Timeshare

Timeshare News 1 Comment »

Apparently, the Marriott is proceeding with a plan to double the size of its large timeshare resort at the resort at Marriott’s Grand Chateau in Las Vegas this year.

This strategy has been questioned because the giant hotel chain declared a sizable loss in 4th quarter earnings of 2008 and difficulty is projected to continue into 2009. Certainly, the success of such a large-scale project was discussed given that they are having such poor financial earnings during the fiscal year.

Timeshare sales had been experiencing a golden time before the economic crisis. In previous years, hotels like Marriott had been experiencing unprecedented high dollar sales with timeshares that fueled profit margins in the hospitality industry.

So, now that the economy is tanking, the risk that the management at the Marriott is willing to take illustrates that they believe that the economy will improve and people will purchase timeshares at their expanded timeshare resort in Las Vegas. They hope their “gamble” pays off and they can recover some of the profit margin they lost before. Hey, it is Vegas after all. Maybe the gamble will pay off, and they can put the profit back on their balance sheets.

Several million dollars are being spent in construction costs in a bid to generate future revenue. Of course, a significant part of this plan is to regain losses by talking people into becoming timeshare owners in Las Vegas.

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Sep 08

Honeymoon (and Timeshare) Teaches Life Lesson – No Free Lunches

Timeshare Stories No Comments »

I recently came across this humorous short story by Issac J. Bailey on MyrtleBeachOnline.com and thought I would post it here for your reading pleasure. Here at Timeshare Relief, we’ve heard stories from our clients about their encounters with timeshare sales teams that are really amusing — sometimes ridiculous, sometimes unbelievable – and this account is a pretty good example of one of those types of stories:

Honeymoon Teaches Life Lessons

We finally made it to the hotel after a trip on a ship that seemed too small with too many people. And because I didn’t have the wisdom to reserve a room, we had to catch cat naps wherever we could find a free spot on deck, under an incredibly bright, hot sun.

The ship took us from Florida to the Bahamas.

In the hotel room on the island was a bathroom. In the bathroom was a broken toilet. In the toilet … someone had left a little gift.

We got another room. It was just as foul. But the toilet worked and was clean.

Our first meal was at a KFC. It was within walking distance. Along the way, we met a man. He begged for money. I gave him a dollar.

“Next dolla!” he screamed in mangled English, demanding another.

A man in a business suit said I was stupid for bothering with a beggar.

Before we made it to KFC to enjoy that romantic dinner, we had to go through a phalanx of street vendors. I think one offered to braid Tracy’s hair, $2 per strand.

We ate, then walked back to the hotel where we were greeted by a man who promised to get us upgraded to the island’s most exclusive resort. All we had to do was sit through a 90-minute presentation. No pressure.

We said yes even knowing we had gone through the same sales program in Florida, where 90 minutes turned into three hours.

But broken toilets were still dancing in our heads.

A van took us to the resort the next day. It was beautiful. We smiled.

“This is more like it,” I thought to myself.

We were greeted by a friendly woman. She smiled a lot, and offered us a free lunch. We ate. Happily.

Then she tried to convince us to buy a timeshare at the low, low price of about $10,000. She didn’t know we didn’t have a cent to our name, though I’m not sure she would care if she did.

At the end of the tour and timeshare pitch, we politely said no. The nice woman turned psychotic.

“You eat my food and you treat me like this!” she yelled.

We sighed. The van took us back to the cracked-toilet hotel. Soon, we left the island wondering why no one told us that honeymoons aren’t always postcard perfect.

We were married 10 years ago today and I’m realizing only now that we learned valuable lessons on that ill-fated trip. We learned to say no when saying yes is not in our best interest.

We learned that proper preparation is as vital to a marriage as it is in life.

We learned we must suffer life’s unexpected sideswipes together, with a smile. And we learned that there are no free lunches.

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