Street Talk International Archives

Street Talk is a compendium of tips, facts, gossip, rumors, speculation and editorial comment provided by The Timeshare Beat as an outlet for the free expression of its readers and for their entertainment. The Timeshare Beat makes no assertion as to the veracity of the items contained herein. If erroneous information is inadvertently included and a correction to this information is subsequently sent to The Timeshare Beat, the correction will be prominently published. Opinions published within Street Talk are the opinions of the authors thereof and are not necessarily the opinions of The Timeshare Beat.

STREET TALK INTERNATIONAL: Week of April 30 - May 6, 2004 " The theory of a free press is that truth will emerge from free discussion, not that it will be presented perfectly and instantly in any one account." -- Walter Lippmann Street Talk is a compendium of tips, facts, gossip, rumors, speculation and editorial comment. PUBLISHED ON FRIDAY E-mail: news@thetimesharebeat.com | Email: street@thetimesharebeat.com Yes, we would like a steadier stream of information from all of you overseas about what's going on. Otherwise, we'll just have to shut down this section of Street Talk for lack of participation. (That's a threat. Does anyone care?) E-mail street@thetimesharebeat.com AUSTRALIA QUEENSLAND: How big has Accor's vacation ownership division gotten? What have they been up to lately? You might be surprised-- we were, because they never put out even the tiniest bit of press about it. Their lips are zipped. So how about this amongst the recent highlights and news? Purchased 59 unit Grand Mecure Melbourne, Australia's first urban timeshare in Australia's " most livable city" . Hired Jim Sabot as Director of Marketing. Sabot, formerly of Trendwest, has attracted several ex-Trendwest staffers to fill critical roles for APVC. Hired John Reghenzani as in-house counsel. Former 12 year Senior regulator for the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) Successfully launched mew sales center in Melbourne April 1 Signed Aussie racing legend Dick Johnson as spokesperson (think Richard Petty) Finalizing strategic alliance with Australian Worker's Union (AWU) and other corporate partners (TBA) Investing $1M in IT upgrade program in conjunction with Timeshareware, including revamping to its website Opening new sales center in Olympic Park, Sydney (home of the 2000 Summer Games) on April 30 Finalizing details to open sales center in Cairns to be located in Sofitel Casino, first venture of its kind in Australia New projects scheduled for Hunter Valley wine region (Sydney), Morningside Peninsula (Melbourne), Fiji, Bali, and the Gold Coast Scheduled 2004 opening of two additional sales centers Scheduled 2005 sales venues to be located in remaining Australian capital cities, New Zealand, and Singapore. Affiliated with Interval International and ICE Gallery Become Trustee member of ARDA CEO Marty Kandel named to Board of Directors of ATHOC (Australian Timeshare and Holiday Ownership Council) Who else, besides Accor and Trendwest South Pacific, is developing and selling in Australia and New Zealand? E-mail street@thetimesharebeat.com UK & EUROPE FRANCE: • PARIS: How many of you know that the new Marriott resort, Village d'Ile-de-France at Disneyland Resort Paris, was designed to look like a quaint French country village? Or that each of the six groupings of residences was inspired by a different French impressionist painter? The first phase (completed last year) consists of 44 townhomes designed to emulate Monet's country home and gardens in Giverny, with an outdoor pool and an indoor pool set in a glass enclosed building designed to look like a 19th-century greenhouse. Arturo De Castro, senior director of interior design for Marriott Vacation Club, says they visited Monet's home and studied his work, then took all the accents he had inside and put them to work for the resort. We'd like to see that. When completed in 2006, the complex will feature 109 two-bed, two-bath town houses that sleep eight. Which painter's work is inspiring the next phase? Degas? Renoir? Manet? Van Gogh? Cezanne? Toulouse-L'Autrec? SWITZERLAND: BAAR: For those of you who have asked about Hapimag's relationship with RCI, it's yes and no. Hapimag is not an exchange affiliate with RCI (or with II, either), but RCI has had a rental contract with Hapimag for almost two years. Currently, Hapimag inventory in select high-demand destinations such as Germany and Swizerland is available as Bonus Vacations to RCI members in peak season. (And yes, you can be an RCI member without owning timeshare but you are restricted to using their rental programs, such as Bonus Vacations, not their exchange system.) E-mail street@thetimesharebeat.com Quotable quotes: " I find the great thing in this world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving." -Oliver Wendell Holmes GO TO Street Talk USA

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Street Talk is a compendium of tips, facts, gossip, rumors, speculation and editorial comment provided by The Timeshare Beat as an outlet for the free expression of its readers and for their entertainment. The Timeshare Beat makes no assertion as to the veracity of the items contained herein. If erroneous information is inadvertently included and a correction to this information is subsequently sent to The Timeshare Beat, the correction will be prominently published. Opinions published within Street Talk are the opinions of the authors thereof and are not necessarily the opinions of The Timeshare Beat. THIS COLUMN CONTAINS OPINIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS, STATEMENTS AND INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THIRD PARTIES. THE TIMESHARE BEAT DOES NOT REPRESENT, ENDORSE OR GUARANTEE THE TRUTHFULNESS, ACCURACY OR RELIABILITY OF ANY OF SUCH CONTENT POSTED BY SUCH THIRD PARTIES, OR ENDORSE ANY OPINIONS OR RECOMMENDATIONS EXPRESSED BY SUCH THIRD PARTIES. ANY RELIANCE ON CONTENT POSTED BY THIRD PARTIES WILL BE AT YOUR OWN RISK. CHANGES ARE PERIODICALLY MADE TO THIS COLUMN AND MAY BE MADE AT ANY TIME. See our Terms and Conditions

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