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 August 29 - September 4, 2003 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 Lost & Found Women in the Biz Street Talk Back Issues Street Talk International Archives Club Class Holidays/Etoo are making the seamy side of the news again (or is it " still" ). The ploy we've been hearing about lately from angry consumers is that Etoo offers to sell your timeshare and guarantees a refund in 6 months if no reasonable offer for it has been made. At the end of the six months, when you ask for your refund, Etoo refuses because, according to complaints we've received-- Club Class offers to take your timeshare off your hands and all you have to do in return is give them £ 600.00 for the privilege of life membership in their club. What? You don't think that's a reasonable offer? Etoo does. Not only do they say it's reasonable, they say it's FABULOUS! Well, it doesn't sound fabulous to us. How about you? CARIBBEAN THE BAHAMAS: EXUMA: Toronto-based Four Seasons is hiring for its great new resort, Four Seasons Great Exuma at Emerald Bay and is now accepting reservations for a November 1 opening. This resort is to be included in the properties Four Seasons has earmarked for its Residence Club product, which is affiliated with Interval International for exchange purposes. In total, the resorts they have announced that are to include this option are: Four Seasons Hotel Alexandria, Egypt Four Seasons Hotel Nile Plaza, Cairo, Egypt Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica, Costa Rica Four Seasons Hotel Damascus, Syria Four Seasons Hotel Doha, Qatar Four Seasons Resort Great Exuma at Emerald Bay,The Bahamas Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong, Hong Kong Four Seasons Resort Jackson Hole, WY, USA Four Seasons Hotel Miami, FL, USA Four Seasons Resort Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico Four Seasons Residence Club Punta Mita, Mexico Four Seasons Private Residences Whistler, B.C., Canada US VIRGIN ISLANDS: ST. CROIX: The USVI's Senate Committee of the Whole is considering whether to act on a proposal to rezone four parcels, totaling 119.9 acres, of Estate Hartmanns facing Great Pond Bay on the eastern end of St. Croix's South Shore. The company Golden Resort LLP is requesting the rezoning of two parcels from R-2 (low-density residential) to R-3 (medium-density residential) and of the other two from A-1 (agricultural) to R-3. Golden Resort LLP is, by the way, New Jersey businessman Paul Golden. Golden hopes to begin construction of a 400-room resort, 18-hole golf course, 2,000-square-foot casino and 12,000-square-foot conference center by March, with an anticipated opening in November 2005. Can we hope for timeshare or fractional development there? E-mail street@thetimesharebeat.com

THE UK & EUROPE

GERMANY: Following last month´ s announcement that the Westdeutsche Landesbank plans to sell its controlling 31% holding in TUI, speculation has flourished about potential buyers. German media reports claim a sale could go through as early as next spring although the troubled bank, which has slumped heavily into the red, has stressed it is under no pressure to sell soon. It could be very expensive purchase, since under German law any investor would be obliged to make a buyout offer to all remaining TUI minority shareholders. Among those companies rumored to be possible suitors: Carnival and Cendant, hotel groups Accor and Sol Meliá , and tour operators First Choice and Kuoni. Stay tuned. E-mail street@thetimesharebeat.com

MEXICO

BAJA SUR: LOS CABOS: Los Cabos was lucky to escape the worst of the effects of Hurricane Ignacio. They got more rain than they really wanted, but otherwise the area is doing fine. The airport is open and operational, the hotels and timeshare resorts are waiting for guests, and you shouldn't worry about booking into the area at all. La Paz was not as lucky, taking the brunt of what had become Tropical Storm Ignacio, with trees and power lines downed and serious flooding. Knowing La Paz, they'll have everything cleaned up and working in short order. If you are booked into a timeshare resort there in the very near future, call first to confirm that all is well. Otherwise, don't worry about it. E-mail street@thetimesharebeat.com QUINTANA ROO: CANCUN: Does Avalon Resorts really have properties in progress and near completetion in Puerto Vallarta, Cabo San Lucas, Jamaica, and Cuba? And what is the status of the Avalon Reef in Belize? Come on now. Someone knows. Talk to us. Are we to assume that these properties are non-existent and prospects are being lied to? E-mail street@thetimesharebeat.com

INDIA

According to an article in Express Hotelier & Caterer, India's only Business Weekly, India now has over 50 timeshare resorts and more than 40,000 families are unit owners. Interestingly, a large number of timeshare owners overseas exchange their holidays in Indian resorts through the exchange companies, with India among the top ten preferences for UK citizens. But India's Department of Tourism dropped a bombshell on the fledgling industry last May when the revised norms for hotel classification were announced. Far from even providing a restricted or stringent procedure for classification, or leaving the door open for later entry, the department of tourism provided that any hotel which spares even a few of its rooms for timeshare will be denied classification. We'd bet it's an image thing. Read the entire article here: (external) Time Share Demands Its Share E-mail street@thetimesharebeat.com

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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.

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