Posts from ‘April, 2010’

Today, there are numerous offers about wonderful holidays in self-catering vacation accommodation in some of the world’s most sought after locations. These offer better value than staying in a hotel and often with better amenities and services. But typically, there are two options with such offers it’s either a timeshare or joining a holiday club. In this article we will spot the difference between the two.

First, with timeshare companies, they invest money in building and developing resorts and the purchasers’ future occupancy rights are protected. When it comes to holiday clubs or discount travel clubs, you have a contract in their holidays.

With reputable timeshare companies also, they offer a mandatory 14-day cooling-off period which under the European Timeshare Directive, buyers are entitled to a cooling-off period of at least 10 days and the right to obtain information in a prospectus or brochure before signing the contract. Holiday clubs are not governed by the European Timeshare Directive.

When it comes to the cost, timeshare consumers pay an amount upfront, to purchase a certain number of years’ worth of holidays. The fees typically range from £4,000 to £25,000 and each year, a separate management fee is payable by every owner. Holiday clubs on the other hand, charge a fee to join the club which can be up to £25,000 and then on top of that, holidays need to be paid for.

There are many big hotel brands these days like Marriott, Four Seasons, Hilton, Disney and so on which got into timeshare and they elevated the industry to a whole new level. However, with timeshares, the owner is expected to pay an annual maintenance fee which typically increases over time while with holiday clubs, although the fee is one-time, membership fees are often of considerable amount.

For the past two years, the timeshare companies were greatly affected by the economic downturn. These companies faced the challenges of profitability and the many owners trying to get out of their timeshares. One of these companies is Wyndham Worldwide Corp. But recently, it lifted their 2010 outlooks which were spurred by signs that the industry can command higher rates and occupancies.

According to one analyst, Wyndham’s reliance on its timeshare business to drive its outlook may have disappointed investors. The US lodging industry was hammered in 2009 as consumers and businesses trimmed their travel budgets, thus, hurting revenue per available room, an industry metric of profitability. Meanwhile, the trend hit luxury and upscale hotels hardest, while economy properties were more resistant.

Wyndham boosted its earnings and revenue outlook for the year, due largely to its vacation ownership unit. According to FBR Capital Markets analyst Patrick Scholes, some Wyndham investors could be turned off by the fact that timeshare gains were driving the increase in outlook. He added that compared to its two other businesses, generally, timeshare is not valued as highly.

Wyndham shares shed $1.30 to $25.33. The said company raised the low end of its 2010 revenue outlook to $3.6 billion from $3.5 billion, while leaving the high end at $3.9 billion. According to Thomson Reuters, it sees full-year earnings of $1.56 to $1.71 per share, excluding items, while analysts expect $1.60.

On the other hand, Wyndham said it would restructure its vacation ownership, or timeshare, business in late 2008 by cutting jobs and targeting consumers with higher credit scores. But now as the signs of recovery are already on sight and the owners trying to get rid of their timeshares are starting to diminish, the momentum of the company give them confidence to raise their revenue. According to Stephen Holmes, Wyndham CEO, much of the upside is being driven by vacation ownership.

Sometimes, when you are on a vacation, not everything will likely go as planned. As a matter of fact, many consumers these days spend more than they expected for airline travel and hotel stays. This is because sometimes they were scammed, other times because they didn’t read the fine print on a company website.

Some travel companies will try to lure their customers by low-balling prices of hotels, cruises and other travel expenses. According to Gabe Saglie, a blogger for retailer Travelzoo.com, most people are savvy enough to spot the obvious ones, so travel companies are getting better at things that inflate your price and they’re becoming much more creative in their marketing. Saglie also added that some companies fail to disclose fees and taxes, or they will advertise a low price on one leg of the trip but charge a higher fare for the return trip.

Meanwhile, when paying for airline travel, extra fees have become part of the deal. Virtually all carriers charge extra for some things like fees for checking baggage but such fees don’t appear as part of the base fare when you buy a ticket.

Meanwhile, cruises are another potential minefield for extra charges that add up. Alcohol and shore excursions are typically not included in the price. Those extra fees don’t stop even after you reach your destination.

On the other hand, hotels, particularly upscale ones, are taking a page out of the airlines’ strategy book and charging a “resort fee.” This might be explained as a payment for using the pool and gym, but it’s usually not optional. Some hotels also add fees for a second daily housekeeping visit or turndown services while others will charge fees for checking out early.

Some vacationers wishing to avoid hotels are drawn to timeshares. However, unscrupulous operators will contact owners and tell them they’ve been defrauded by the developer, then offer to help them get out of their timeshares from under their payments. But this is for a fee, of course. So, those are some of the common hidden fees during a vacation. If you are planning to go for a vacation, you know how to spot one.

In the vacation accommodation industry, big timeshare exchange companies like RCI plays an important role. It has been at the forefront of the timeshare exchange industry for 35 years. And recently, to make exchanging holidays for its members quicker, easier, and safer, it launched a new website which features design by Penquin.

PenQuin International is a complete advertising and marketing solutions company which focus on developing and implementing unique, cost effective solutions tailored to meet our client’s strategic marketing and advertising objectives. According to Maria Vieira, Marketing Director Group RCI Africa, RCI members are revealing in the fact that they have a platform that is a more complete solution when planning and booking a holiday. RCI is extremely pleased with the end result of its new website. In developing RCI’s website, they looked for an interactive creative partner that could understand their business and apply creative to meet ease of use for their members and PenQuin delivers on that.

This new website is aesthetically enticing which comprises bright designs, detailed pictures and crisp, clean colors. This is also combined with easy to use functionality and live searches, ensuring that users get the most of all RCI has to offer. As a result, the new site offers users a more enjoyable experience from the moment they start browsing.

For the past few years, the timeshare industry has been challenged by the economic downturn along with the many owners who are trying to get out of their timeshares. But this year, the industry is already on its way to recovery and many companies came up with new innovations and ideas aiming to attract more consumers. One of such innovation is from RCI’s new website designed by Penquin.

With the Asian market and new technology, the timeshare industry is experiencing stronger growth than ever after the economy was hit by a crisis. But looking back at its history, the timeshare industry began with a little idea from a French hotelier named Paul Doumier. Mr Doumier ran a hotel in the French Alps until one day he was inspired to market with the slogan, ‘No need to rent the room, buy the hotel – it’s cheaper!’ In recent years, this industry has experienced a rebirth that has taken it to an unprecedented size in terms of members and affiliates, and is now also dominated by well-known operators such as Disney.

With established providers known as timeshare’s Big Three: Resort Condominiums International (RCI), Interval International and Trading Places International, this industry is growing into Asia and other regions such as the Middle East and South Africa.

According to Geoff Ballotti, president and chief executive officer of RCI, the world’s largest timeshare network, timeshare owners are always looking for new experiences, especially overseas, and there are ever-increasing opportunities in places in Asia such as China, Indonesia and India. It has also links to more than 4,000 properties in nearly 100 countries with 3.8 million members and also owns a luxury arm called The Registry Collection.

There are also other reasons for the timeshare industry’s success, such as the multitude of big brands that have come on board. This industry is now also dominated by well-known operators such as Hilton, Marriott, Disney and Starwood. Moreover, the timeshare’s durable business model which held steady in 2009 amid the worst recession since timesharing was introduced, has proven to be a key draw factor for property developers and owners.

For the last two years, this industry has been challenged by the economic downturn. Some companies shut down their operations and the number of owners trying to get out of their timeshares increased dramatically. But this year, this industry shows it resiliency as most companies are already recovering. We can also see that this industry is moving forward as a sustainable business with both an interesting and attractive growth formula in the travel and tourism industries.

For the past few years, the vacation accommodation industry has been greatly affected by the economic meltdown. Some companies were even forced to shut down their operations. But this year, as the economy is recovering, many timeshare companies are bouncing back. One of these companies is the Marriott International which reported its first quarter 2010 results showing exceeding revenue per available room (REVPAR) and diluted earnings per share (EPS) expectations.

For the first quarter of 2010, the net income totaled $83 million. That’s a 5% decline compared to first quarter 2009 adjusted net income. Meanwhile, the diluted EPS totaled $0.22, down $0.02 from adjusted diluted EPS in the year-ago quarter. Last February, the company forecasted first quarter diluted EPS of $0.15 to $0.21.

On the other hand, the reported net income was $83 million in the first quarter of 2010 compared to a reported net loss of $23 million in the year-ago quarter while the reported diluted EPS was $0.22 in the first quarter of 2010 compared to the reported diluted losses per share of $0.06 in the first quarter of 2009.

According to J.W. Marriott, Jr., chairman and chief executive officer of Marriott International, in the first quarter, they welcomed increasing numbers of business guests to their hotels as travelers got back to work in most markets around the world. Corporate roomnights for the company in North America also rose 16% in the first quarter as business demand strengthened dramatically.

This year might be a great turnaround for the vacation industry. In contrast to the last two years, this industry has been challenged with profitability and the number of owners trying to get out of their timeshares. But now that the economy is recovering, many timeshare and accommodation companies are already showing dramatic improvements.