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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.

STREET TALK INTERNATIONAL: Week of Jan. 21 - Jan. 27, 2005 " 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 By visiting this site, you are agreeing to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. Classified Ads|Lost & Found |Women in the Biz |Street Talk Archives |Street Talk Intl Archives

People on the Move: Mario Berson, former Breezes Resort, Puerto Plata VIP Club Sales Director, has joined the Punta Cana Sol Melia Vacation Club team. Mario is a former basketball highlight from the University of Detroit, Mich. He had a brilliant carrier there and went into the Timeshare industry in 1994 at Westgate Lakes in Orlando FLa. He was also in Management at Viva Resorts at Viva Mayan in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico and at Royal Resorts in Grand Cayman. CARIBBEAN PUERTO RICO: LUQUILLO: Outgoing Puerto Rico Natural & Environmental Resources [DNER] Secretary Luis Rodrí guez recently signed an agreement with the proponents of the controversial San Miguel-Four Seasons resort that allows the developer to manage the natural resources within the property, drawing fire from environmental groups. The agreement, signed last month, transfers the responsibility of managing forests, access to recreational fishing, and protection of wildlife in the area to the resort owners. However, environmentalists argue the responsibility belongs to the government. The San Miguel-Four Seasons Resort, sponsored by the Puerto Rico Tourism Co., includes construction of 1,050 residences, a 250-room hotel, 175 condo-hotel and timeshare units, and two golf courses, with 18 and 9 holes, respectively. You can see more about this at Puerto Rico WOW: Departing DNER chief signs controversial deal US VIRGIN ISLANDS: ST. CROIX: Golden Resorts has finally been granted a permit to develop a $150-million resort casino near sensitive wetlands, but the objections from environmentalists has not ended. The St. Croix Environmental Association said it would ask the Board of Land Use Appeals to rescind the permit, even though the permit lists more than 50 general and special conditions that must be met by Golden. Golden Resorts intends to build a six-story, 605 room hotel (434 rooms first phase and 171 rooms second phase) and casino resort on approximately 297 acres in the Great Pond area. The project will include a golf course, a restaurant, an access road and parking. The Great Pond is home to rare birds and federally protected green and hawksbill turtles nests. The Coastal Zoning Management Commission granted the permit after a year-long legal battle, and construction could start in March. E-mail street@thetimesharebeat.com MEXICO SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE: Jaguar Resorts, Inc. (OTC:JGRT.PK), a luxury resort development company with projects and plans in San Miguel de Allende and the west coast of Costa Rica, has announced that it will be filing the necessary documents to obtain a listing on the OTC Bulletin Board. It's always a good thing to get off the Pink Sheets... In case you haven't been paying attention, Jaguar Resorts's mission is to be the leading developer of fractional interest resort properties throughout Latin America. The company " has excellent hotel and spa relationships and a team in place to fully realize the company's strategic goals." Jaguar's CEO Clyde Culp III's resume includes work as CEO of Embassy Suites and President of Holiday Inns and Harrah's. CANCUN: Anyone have an opinion or correction for this email we received? --" Huge shakeup at the Mayan Palace Cancun. All of the top managers have quit to start a new start-up project with Avalon Resorts in Playa del Carmen. No news to anyone that the PD (Brims Sinclair) is impossible to work with and he has lost 50% of the top agents and now almost all the good managers (the only ones that are left are golfing buddies that could not close a door). Everyone is looking at jumping ship. Only waiting for the opportunity. Several other top writers have moved to the new Mayan Palace property in Cabo. The work environment combined with all the lies at Mayan Palace in Cancun have finally taken their toll. The gravy train for Brims and his cronies is coming to an end." So...??? YOUR COMMENTS: Jan. 21: --" NOT ONLY IS IT TRUE BUT IT IS WORSE. SINCE THE TOP MANAGERS LEFT MAYAN FOR AVALON IN CANCUN THE TRACK HAS BEEN WRITING ONLY 100,000 A DAY. NORMALLY THEY WERE WRITING 400,000 TO 500,000 A DAY. CORPORATE IS COMING DOWN HARD ON BRIMS AND HE IS FEELING THE PRESSURE. THE NEW REPLACEMENT MANAGERS ARE ROOKIES WHO ARE IN THEIR EARLY 20'S AND ARE LOST. THE RENTAL PITCHES ARE COMING TO AN END.AGENTS WHO ONCE FEARED BRIMS' WRATH ON A DAILY BASIS ARE NOW NOT SHOWING UP FOR WORK. WITH A TOUR COST OF OVER $700 HOW LONG CAN IT LAST. LOOKS LIKE BRIMS' JOB SECURITY HAS GONE FROM SOLID TO SHAKEY." Jan. 23: --" Mayan Palace Cancun cleans its image by cleaning out the trash. Fortunately for the company and future Mayan Palace members the company has taken a strong stand on the way the program must be sold. Unfortunately the weaker managers at the Mayan Palace Cancun could not sell the product any more. So they left and went to Avalon resorts where they can sell their own way. Mayan resorts and staff wish them good luck and are happy not to have them there anymore." Jan. 24: --" Give me a break! The new systems were put in place a month ago and the managers that left were the only ones who could sell it. The efficiency and volume has continued to fall and the new managers just can't cut it. This is high season in Cancun and tracks with a third of the agents are outwriting Mayan Palace. The bottom line is that all the lies at Mayan have come to an end and the new managers can't sell without the major heat. They need to sell timeshare, not investment property." Jan. 25: --" Mayan Palaces heat selling by pitching investment and\or Vacation Network resale lies are catching up to them and their salesmen have moved on to where they can continue the same sales BS until it catches up to Avalon. In Mexico they just don’t care until FTC inquiries abound." AND: --" Well since Brims Sinclair can have god do his will, as he says, then why is he having trouble selling timeshare, or is it that his time is coming to an end?" E-mail street@thetimesharebeat.com MID EAST & AFRICA LEBANON: BEIRUT: Those of you who still think of Beirut as a war torn, hostile, totally bombed out ruin need to get your heads around to the reality. In terms of real estate, Beirut maintained the lead in Lebanon in terms of value of properties sold. According to a Dec. 4 article in Middle East Business News (Sky's the limit for real estate sector), the figures confirm that the market was dominated by high-end construction and property transaction, as the increase in the real estate market was largely driven by the Arab investors, who since the events of 9/11, continue to see Lebanon as an alternative home, holiday destination and place to invest. The most eye-catching and valuable developments is the ongoing seafront development facing the Beirut marina. The $200 million Marina residential tower, which will be some 150 meters high, has been half built, while the foundations of the Beirut and Platinum Towers have been laid. Next to the trio, the slightly lower tower of the Four Seasons Hotel is being built. The four high rise buildings represent a total investment of some $600 million and will significantly change Beirut's faç ade in the course of 2005 and 2006. With a price tag of $4,000 to $6,000 m/2 the towers' highly luxurious apartments are arguably the most expensive property currently available in Lebanon. Some 80% of the apartments has already been sold and this seems to be the trend for most of the high end residential developments in BCD, including the Capital Gardens and Saifi II projects, which are due to be built in 2005. Outside of Beirut, last year saw the long awaited opening of the imposing Le Royale in Dbayeh and, following the success of the $10 million Eddé Sands beach resort in Byblos, business tycoon Roger Eddé has big plans for the ancient harbor city. Aiming to attract investment of nearly $5 billion over the next 10 years, Eddé envisions turning Byblos into the Cannes of the Middle East, with a luxury marina, hotels, restaurants spas and health clubs. Most importantly however, was the government's official approval of the controversial Sanine Zenith project. The $1.4 billion project measures some 100 million m2 of BUA on which it is planned to build several tourist villages and hotels, as well as 18 ski slopes and a golf course. There is already timeshare in Lebanon, and Michael Tolan's Platinum Resorts is headquartered there. Expect more timeshare in the future, especially as Arabs begin to discover its advantages. E-mail street@thetimesharebeat.com Quotable quotes: " if you get gloomy just take an hour off and sit and think how much better this world is than hell of course it won t cheer you up much if you expect to go there" -Archie, the cockroach (Don Marquis- archie & mehitabel, 1927) 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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