AG wins settlement for timeshare swindle

A Nevada company accused of swindling Vermonters out of their timeshares has agreed to reimburse the victims in a settlement announced this week by the attorney general.

Apex Professionals, Inc., will pay $64,000 to 15 victims and another $65,000 in penalties to the state of Vermont to settle charges that it violated the law in arranging the selling of timeshares, according to Attorney General Bill Sorrell.

“If out-of-state companies offering an economic benefit to consumers in Vermont violate the state’s consumer laws, they can expect strong enforcement and serious consequences,” Sorrell said in a statement.

Full report here ( Source: http://www.timesargus.com )

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Scan on against Scammers – Part Deux

Early this November, we read about Florida’s Attorney General filing a lawsuit against 2 resale companies.

Now the Massachusetts  State Attorney General Martha Coakley also obtained a temporary restraining order today against Jeffrey Riebman and his company, “Timeshare Advocates.

The attorney general has filed a civil suit against a Worcester-based company for allegedly devising a scam to defraud the owners of timeshare units in Dennisport.

Full details here ( Cape Cod Online.com )

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Marriott undergoes corporate restructure

Marriott International is undertaking a corporate restructure that will see it split into four autonomous divisions whilst bringing the formerly stand-alone Ritz-Carlton brand into its corporate offices.

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It will be reorganized into four divisions, Sorenson said: the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Only the timeshare business will function outside the new regional structure

Full details at this link (Source: http://www.breakingtravelnews.com)

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Ragatz Fractional Interest Conference

FractionalExchange.com has announced that it will be a sponsor for the 10th annual Ragatz Fractional Interest Conference. Scheduled for March 29-31, 2010, the conference will be held at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco, California.

In its tenth year, a large part of the 2010 conference agenda will focus on working within the fractional industry during transitional times; adjusting to new consumer spending and saving practices; and learning from the experiences of developers and other industry players in 2009.

More details here

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So Tweet!

Timeshare Rescue, a leading timeshare acquisitions company has launched a Twitter page for media and client updates.

Timeshare Rescue has launched a Twitter site located at http://twitter.com/TimeshareRescue. The purpose of the site is to keep clients, employees, and people involved in the timeshare industry abreast of up to the day news and information on Timeshare Rescue and the overall timeshare industry.

More on this news here

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Timeshare an investment?

Its well known that a timeshare membership is an investment in time with family and NOT in commercial terms.

Here’s a post on http://www.timesharesaleblogs.com that buttresses this point:

The best point made in this article refers to the commitment to family vacations. The value of a timeshare is in the use and creating life-long memories with those you love is priceless.  So, when thinking about buying a timeshare don’t try to justify your purchase on an unrealistic expectation of appreciation in value!

Here’s a link to the full article ( Source: http://www.timesharesaleblogs.com )

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On U.S. Timeshare ABS Delinquencies & Defaults

Business Wire, a Berkshire Hathaway (owned by Warren Buffett ) company, the leading source for press releases, photos, multimedia & regulatory filings from companies and groups throughout the world reports:

Total delinquencies and monthly defaults on U.S. timeshare ABS declined in the third quarter of 2009 (3Q’09), according to the latest timeshare ABS index from Fitch Ratings. However, due to seasonal patterns, Fitch expects that performance will worsen in the coming months.

Fitch’s timeshare ABS index is an aggregation of performance statistics on pools of securitized timeshare loans originated by various developers. Expected cumulative gross defaults on underlying transactions can range from 10% to above 20%. While delinquencies and defaults may vary on an absolute basis, most transactions supporting the index exhibit similar overall trends.

Full article here (Source: http://www.businesswire.com)

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Timeshare disputes among top complaints

The Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) said it expects timeshare disputes to be among the top complaints again this year.

CASE said it expects the number of complaints to reach 2,000 by year-end.

For full story, click here (Source: Channelnewsasia.com)

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Future Timeshare Buyers: 2009 Market Profile

Okay, here goes:

1. More than nine out of ten active leisure travelers in the United States report they are familiar with the concept of timesharing, reinforcing the wide-spread belief that this form of vacationing has established itself as a recognized, understood, and increasingly popular alternative to more traditional lodging accommodations
2. Approximately 2.3 million households state they are interested in purchasing some form of vacation time during the next two years.

Just two findings from ‘Future Timeshare Buyers: 2009 Market Profile’, which was developed from a nationally-representative sample of active leisure travelers who have expressed interest in acquiring some form of vacation time during the next two years, and supplemented through insights revealed in the Ypartnership/Yankelovich, Inc. 2009 National Leisure Travel MONITOR(SM). The study was authored exclusively for Interval International, which is releasing the results during the American Resort Development Association’s (ARDA) 2009 Fall Conference, held in Washington, D.C.

More information at this link,  Courtesy / Source: CNNMoney.com

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ARDA’s 2009 Fall Conference

All roads for resort industry folk lead to The Fairmont Hotel in Washington DC for ARDA’s 2009 Fall Conference scheduled today to Nov 6th.

Keep checking back here and we’ll share news of what transpired at the conference for you!

For your info, here’s the program schedule. (Source: ARDA website)

More further reading on this event, click here ( Clara Rose @ Examiner.com)

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