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 Nov. 26 - Dec. 2, 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

Lost & Found Women in the Biz Street Talk Back Issues Street Talk International Archives Read it: Cendant Timeshare Resort Group, Inc. Sets an Industry Precedent Email: street@thetimesharebeat.com Here comes that rumor again: Cendant is buying Sol Melia. We'd bet that this rumor goes back to January of this year, when Cendant's Timeshare Resort Group signed an alliance agreement with Sol Melia. Through the alliance, Cendant's Timeshare Resort Group will provide direct marketing support for the Melia Vacation Club to help grow its customer base and a cross-selling program between the two companies' brands. In a separate agreement, RCI will provide consulting, exchange and other network services for the Melia Vacation Club. Of course it's always possible that more might come of it, but... Look for more strategic alliances to come from the Timeshare Resort Group in the future. E-mail street@thetimesharebeat.com Neil Staggers: November 23, 2004 We regret to inform you that Neil Staggers died Tuesday evening, November 23, at home. He was 64 and a legend in the business since the early 80's. Neil worked in the Daytona Beach area from about 1981 until around 1990. He worked mostly in Florida, east coast and west coast, and also spent some time in Gatlinburg, Tennessee working in that market. More recently he worked on the Island of St. Thomas, where he spent the last several years. At the time of his passing he worked for Island One's Club Navigo in Ormond Beach, FL, having moved there in September from St. Thomas. Mr. Staggers, an Army veteran of the Korean War, was born in Newark, Ohio. Neil was a very warm hearted person, always willing to help his fellow salesman, especially the young guys just getting into sales. He was always kind, and could sell an Eskimo ice water... He is survived by his wife, Chris, 4 children and a host of friends. ASIA   INDIA: JAIPUR: Demanding status on par with that of traditional hotels and service industry, the All India Resort Developers Association (AIDRA) has asked Union tourism ministry to recognise and classify the timeshare segment. “Such a step will increase investments, expand the industry and at the same time protect consumer interests too,” BS Rathore, chairman and principal advisor, AIRDA, said in an article in FE. Claiming that the timeshare industry provides far higher impact on the economy than the hotel sector, he said that on an average the timeshare industry was estimated at having an investment to the tune of $220 million in India. With this not only was the sector in a big way promoting tourism but was in fact bringing in the real tourists who wanted to explore the Indian heritage and culture. THAILAND: KOH SAMUI: The newly launched Absolute Private Residence Club (APRC) at Samui Peninsula Spa and Beach Resort has already received Interval International’s coveted 5 star award. One of the Royale Marketing Group’s Directors, Svetlana Kostromitina was in Koh Samui recently with Interval’s Executive Director, Joseph Hickman to receive the award. The Samui Peninsula Spa and Beach Resort is comprised of over 50 unique Thai-style suites consisting of studios, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units. Absolute Private Residence Club has four pavilion blocks, containing 16 suites, which are exclusively located on the front row of the resort. The company currently operates all year round multi-lingual cold lines in Koh Samui, as well as a large mini-vacation programme housing clients on-site and at nearby quality beach front resorts. Guests are mainly from Australia, America and the United Kingdom. Russian companies have recently started to work with Royale Marketing Ltd as well, and the company has seen superb results of selling to nearly 90% of the inspection trip guests. Americans as well as British families have shown most interest in the club and the resort itself. E-mail street@thetimesharebeat.com CARIBBEAN BAHAMAS: NASSAU: Kerzner International added a detailed note on potential instability in the Middle East and the Dubai emirate, as required under federal securities laws as an update on risk disclosures. Kerzner is the Dubai government's partner in a new $1 billion Atlantis resort there. Kerzner added a detailed note in its financial statement on potential instability in the Middle East and the Dubai emirate. The UAE's support of the American war on terrorism, Kerzner wrote, " may increase the likelihood of attacks on the state by terrorist organizations.'' A Kerzner executive described the new language as the result of the company regularly updating its risk disclosures. No new development prompted the change, he said. BARBADOS: CHRISTCHURCH: Bougainvilleas Beach Resort has garnered the Virgin Holidays Silver Award for Service Excellence, fending off other major hotels both in Barbados and the neighbouring Caribbean islands for the honor. The RCI Gold Crown resort hotel placed among the top three award winning hotels at the recently concluded Virgin Holidays award ceremony held in London, England as a kick off to World Travel Market (WTM). Come December 21, 2004, the resort will merge with its sister hotel, Sand Acres to offer its discerning guests a total of 138 all-suite rooms with enhanced facilities. ST. KITTS: Word is that the controversial Crown Global Vacation Club has set up shop at the Marriott and is selling Frigate Bay to cruise ship passengers. Yes? No? Are they still selling a package for $39,900 that others are selling for under $8,000? E-mail street@thetimesharebeat.com MID EAST & AFRICA DUBAI: Timeshare is gaining ground sharply in the Middle East with the introduction of a new Islamic banking instrument that allows financing for a right-to-use kind of program. The anticipated level of interest in The Palm Island development in Dubai, for instance, is so strong that RCI and IFA Hotels & Resorts have doubled the capacity of their call centre. IFA is involved in developments across the whole of the trunk on The Palm, Jumeirah. Their investments on the trunk include a 1,200 room luxury resort which will include the Five-star Palm Hotel & Resort, with 300 rooms, the 460 suite Palm Vacation Club, and Palm Residence with 246 shoreline apartments. IFA is the force behind the management of the Sheraton Algarve Hotel and Pine Cliffs Resort in Portugal part of Starwood's Luxury Collection, and the Zanzibar Beach Hotel and Resort - the largest destination resort on the historic spice island. They also have a 50% shareholding in the existing Zimbali Coastal Resort in South Africa and have purchased an additional 1 million square metres of land to build the Zimbali Hotel & Resort, a 300 bedrooms, five-star hotel, golf course and vacation club. There are other timeshare players moving into the Middle East market as well. One of these is Arabian Falcon, a company set up in 1999, which represents the Royal Club at The Palm Jumeirah, Dubai, a luxurious 50-apartment development due for completion in 2006. Chairman Mohannad Sharafuddin says his offer appeals to people from around the GCC, with families, who travel to Dubai three or more times a year. On a monthly basis, Arabian Falcon is seeing 40 to 50 new members signing up for the Royal Club, partly due to the company's affiliation to Interval International. While competition is strong the feeling is that Arabian Falcon is enjoying first-to-market benefits, before the timeshare industry becomes too crowded in the Middle East. All the main players in the region, including RCI and II, are keen to see watertight timeshare legislation to regularise the industry and keep unscrupulous players out, so as to keep timeshare's reputation clean from the start. Dubai and the UAE are already ahead of the game, according to IFA's James Wilson, who says IFA have presented draft timeshare laws to the government, together with property developers Nakheel and the Dubai Economic Department. Among other items, it suggested that if you want to market timeshare holidays in the Middle East, you must give a bond of $500,000. All of the major hospitality companies are gaining a presence in places like Dubai and Qatar. Watch for more timeshare there. E-mail street@thetimesharebeat.com MEXICO The Tourism Commission of the Mexican lower Chamber of Congress is absolutely sure that legalization of gambling will be passed by Congress this year. Yeah, well, we've been down this path before and we won't mayonnaise our bread until the bologna arrives at the table. Even if this bill is passed, casino operations would not begin until 2009 at the earliest. According to an article in the Gringo Gazette, business organizations all over Mexico have asked for a five year lead time that would allow them to learn the business, train Mexican dealers, and be capable of competing with large international gambling operations. They fear that if they throw this thing together too quickly, they will be forced to hire outsiders to run Mexico's gambling, causing them to lose precious jobs and revenue to those outsiders. Members of Congress are still divided on the issue, and politics may interfere, but as of this writing those in favor of casinos hold a small majority. Keep your fingers crossed MAZATLAN: We received this comment recently and thought we'd share it: --" For all those that think Canadians are an NQ (and they may well be if you do not know how to sell them). Take a good look at the top sales line at Emerald Bay Pueblo Bonito Mazatlan. The Super Stars all learned their craft from Canada. Do not forget to leave the ego at the door. You just may learn something." Anyone have an opinion on this challenge? YOUR COMMENTS: Nov. 26: --" Your comment appears to speak about two different things. Canadian guests are largely NQ'd because of unfavorable currency imbalances and a general lack of decisevness. The currency has gained tremendous ground over the past year, which might make those Canucks a bit more decisive too. Canadian Sales Exec's are a different thing entirely. They cut their teeth selling these same " NQ's" at home and developed outstanding skills in a fairly straight sales arena. Given the choice to sell on the beach to " Q" tours, pitch anything that sells (No Heat No Eat) and be paid in US funds ...... now that's an easy decision tomake TODAY." Nov. 27: --" They may have learned in Canada but accordingto folks in Whistler their brethren have to come all the way to mexico to be Q bedause they are NQ in their own country." SAN CARLOS: In Jan. 2003, on behalf of Club Med, Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels arranged the sale of the Club Med Sonora Bay resort to Grupo Paradiso at San Carlos S.A. for an undisclosed amount. The 430-room property is located on 62 acres of shoreline along the Sea of Cortez about 6 miles outside of San Carlos. Grupo Paradiso announced plans to operate the property (the Paradiso Resort) as an all-inclusive resort in the short term. In the long term, Grupo Paradiso intended to use the resort as a launching pad for the sale of their catamaran-timesharing operation. Is anything going on with the catamaran deal? Has the company made any improvements to the tired old resort property to bring it up to snuff? E-mail street@thetimesharebeat.com The UK & EUROPE ISLE OF MAN: Redevelopment of the Castletown Golf Links Hotel has moved a step closer, with the government planning committee having granted outline permission for the hotel to be demolished and replaced with a timeshare and leisure complex. Approval in principle has been granted to replace the hotel with 51 timeshare suites, four penthouse apartments, two restaurants, conference facilities, swimming pools, a leisure complex and a golf club. A deal has been reached to ensure only the penthouses and a manager's apartment can be used by full-time residents. The scheme is the brainchild of millionaire businessman Graham Ferguson Lacey, who bought the hotel for £ 3 million. E-mail street@thetimesharebeat.com Quotable quotes: " Smart is when you believe only half of what you hear. Brilliant is when you know which half to believe." -Anonymous 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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