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 November 14 - November 20, 2003 " 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. “I keep giving them my good weeks and all they offer me back is crap.” Jerry Sikes has written a 4-part series on what is happening in the timeshare exchange world, and his take on the issues is clear and concise. Better read it: Part 1: With Regard to Diminishing Returns! Part 2: With Regard to Changing Rules Part 3: With Regard to A Theory Part 4: With Regard to Circumstances YOUR COMMENTS Nov. 15: --" Kudos to Jerry Sikes for the the very well done, four part essay on the the changes in the timeshare exchange machinary. Everyone should know what he is saying. Insightful commentary and easy reading." Nov. 18: --" Jerry Sikes' analysis of the changes in the exchange marketplace ought to be included in ARDA's RRP (Registered Resort Professional) course. You should also forward a Spanish translation to Notitur (AMDETURS magazine). You should keep this on your site for consumers as well. Professionals assisting consumers are the cornerstone of our industry." E-mail street@thetimesharebeat.com The big two... INTERVAL INTERNATIONAL: In a recent " Investor Day" presentation to the investment community, IAC disclosed that " distressed" Interval International inventory is (or will soon be) offered via both Expedia and Hotels.com This should come as no surprise to anyone, but some folks-- including HOA and resort management personnel-- are concerned about it. Says one, " What makes these units distressed -- that no one is exchanging into them? We already sell through Expedia, and now I.I. will be selling our units there, too? I closed my eyes and thought they were talking about that `other' exchange company. Do you know how this is going to work? How does this help our rental program??" We have noticed that II is pushing itself to developers/resort companies as the exchange company that doesn't compete with them, a direct implication that RCI does compete with their developers. In fact, in the recent press release announcing that Macdonald Hotels & Resorts has chosen II as its exclusive exchange provider for its new points club, John MacDonald came right out and said, " We also felt that Interval provided a complementary service, not a competitive one, which was an important factor when making our decision." We have noticed that II, which has been claiming over 1800 affiliated resorts for quite some time, is now claiming over 2000. Is their campaign working? If you are interested, here is the link to the IAC investment presentation. (NOTE: The entire presentation is an hour and 15 minutes long) http://www.talkpoint.com/viewer/starthere.asp?pres=104197 RCI: QUOTE from a reader: --" Seems like you beat up an awful lot on RCI. Are you trying to say they're the only sinner in this industry?" We don't think anyone could read Street Talk and legitimately reason that we might think RCI is the only sinner in the industry. We're all bozos on this bus. That aside, we respond to what our readers show the most interest in, and RCI is currently the biggest elephant in the room. Impossible to ignore. And speaking of RCI, we received this note about RCI Germany that we thought you might find interesting: --" RCI travel is offering ‘travel services’ to companies in Germany (closed circle). For example CCI is now behind the Travel Service for holders of the DaimlerChrysler Card which entitles card holders ‘special travel benefits’ when using the card. It’s not only DaimlerChrysler, they actually have quite some big German companies signed up for this service. " Other Companies include the ‘Hamburger Sparkasse, Berliner Bank Landesbank Baden-Wü rttemberg, all of which big Banks in germany. According to RCI these services will be available to more then a million customers in Germany. " The press release does not state excactly what kind of benefits card holders will get. Maybe discounted vacations at timeshare resorts? Discounts on flights? " Looks to me like RCI is more interested in the Corporate Travel market then actually focussing on expanding timeshare in Germany. Smart move as this is a huge market in such a dynamic economy like Germany." Email: street@thetimesharebeat.com ASIA PHILIPPINES: The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the registration of the Concepcion family’s Real Development Co. Inc. (RDCI) for the sale of 8.3 million timeshares. RDCI, which is a subsidiary of the Arcon Group Holdings Inc., owns and operates various hotels/tourist establishments and is the holder of the Days Inn hotel master franchise. Called Vacation Club International Holiday Credits, the timeshare program will be sold at P80 each or an aggregate price of P664.2 million. The purchase of VCI Holiday Credits entitles members to annual points which are redeemable in any VCI establishment during the purchaser’s membership term. The establishments/hotels available for use by the holders of the holiday credits are Days Hotel Tagaytay, Days Hotel Batangas City, Days Hotel Mactan Cebu, Sunette Towers Hotel Makati, Bahia de Bais Hotel, Bais, and Virra Batulao Vacation Villas. Formed on July 22, 1993, RDCI has an authorized capital stock of P100 million. Listed as officers and directors of the company are Jesusa Concepcion, Reynaldo Concepcion Jr., Christopher Concepcion, Ma. Elena Concepcion, James Concepcion, Alberto Mallari, and Filomena Alabado. SINGAPORE: The Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Bill that Parliament has finally passed seeks to protect victims of unfair selling practices by letting them take action against businesses. In all, 20 unfair practices by traders are listed, including claiming that goods and services have certain benefits when they in fact don't, saying that products have a certain quality when they don't, exerting undue pressure on a person to buy, making a buyer sign an unfair contract, not keeping promises of free gifts, and using small print to mislead or hide important facts. The law also allows a buyer up to three days to cancel contracts for timeshare and direct selling purchases (which are sales made away from a fixed retail location). For the new law and the list of unfair practices, go to www.parliament.gov.sg E-mail street@thetimesharebeat.com

EUROPE & THE UK

UK: The Department of Trade and Industry and the Office of Fair Trading which puts legislation designed to safeguard consumers into action, have come under an unprecedented barrage of criticism recently with allegations that rules are too weak, too reactive, too slow to come into force, and rarely manage to compensate those who lose out. Among the bad guys taking advantage of the rules-- or lack of rules-- are the dreaded Holiday Clubs. Holiday clubs are the " new timeshare" . But the clubs avoid timeshare regulations by offering either 35 months of " free" holidays - the timeshare lower limit is 36 months - or by promising " discounted" holidays. They are utterly bogus, and have ripped off thousands of Europeans for millions of dollars, pounds and euros. You can read about the furor in The Guardian The watchdogs who need some new teeth E-mail street@thetimesharebeat.com

AFRICA

SOUTH AFRICA: Timeshare is reported to be experiencing a surge in popularity in South Africa, particularly in the European market. Fred Jenkings, financial director of Ovland Leisure and Timeshare, was quoted in the Business Day as saying: " Our affordable exchange rate and reversed' holiday season compared to Europe work to the benefit of well-managed local timeshare resorts." Ovland, a subsidiary of Spire Property Services, manage the Bantry Bay International Vacation Resort in Cape Town. Jenkings said that 35% of the units at Bantry Bay are held by international owners and that the resort is highly regarded by international and domestic tourists. E-mail street@thetimesharebeat.com

CARIBBEAN

US VIRGIN ISLANDS: ST. THOMAS: Mexico-based Palace Resorts has opened the new five-star all-inclusive, Grand Bay Palace - formerly Renaissance Grand Beach Resort - in St. Thomas. Grand Bay Palace is located on 26-acres overlooking Smith Bay. It features 290 cabana-style rooms with private balconies and most with an ocean view. The resort has been converted from a European plan to an all-inclusive property. All-inclusive packages include luxurious accommodations, taxes and gratuities, all meals and snacks, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, non-motorized water sports, and nightly entertainment. Amenities include individually controlled air conditioning, satellite TV, mini-bars, and a coffee maker in every room. Rooms for the physically challenged are available. Palace Resorts now offers six all-inclusive resorts in Cancun and the Riviera Maya, and one in St. Thomas, USVI. 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.