Week of Oct. 22 - Oct. 29, 2004
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and for their entertainment. The Timeshare Beat makes no assertion as to the veracity of the items contained herein.
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" 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.
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This week's rant: There is a VERY GOOD article in Time about Cendant's purchase of Orbitz, what it means, the competition between Cendant and IAC/InterActiveCorp and more. You really should read it. Online Travel: The Race Is On! Among other things, this little tidbit caught our attention: " Already, 70% of home buyers begin their search online. This year, for the first time, online listings will generate more home-buyer leads than classifieds." We don't know of any comparable stats available for timeshare buyers, but we'd bet the farm it's nothing like real estate stats. For one thing, most people still aren't waking up in the morning saying, " Let's buy a timeshare, whaddaya say? Let's get online and find one." But what they ARE doing is getting online after a purchase to do some research, and what they're finding is:
Sales lines are feeling it and it's costing developers tons of money, and that's a great big I TOLD YOU SO from The Beat. This problem should have been handled years ago, and could have been if y'all just didn't have to be dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century. (And don't ask us how to do it. The Beat isn't giving that information away for free any more. If you didn't pay attention the first, fiftieth or hundredth time we talked about it, well, money talks and you know the rest...)
Effective 18th October, John Nye, Senior Vice President Sales & Marketing, left Trendwest South Pacific to pursue personal goals. In the interim, Bill Large, Gordon Heilmann, Dick VanDerTuin and Marlene Roland report directly to Barry Robinson, Phil Bradstreet now reports to Dave Cockburn, and all other reports will remain the same. Email: street@thetimesharebeat.com
OSOYOOS: Calgary, AB-based Bellstar Hotels & Resorts Ltd., one of Western Canada's leading resort companies, will begin construction this fall of Spirit Ridge Vineyard Resort & Spa, a new year-round destination resort in British Columbia's south Okanagan. Located just outside the town of Osoyoos, villas and suites are available for ownership by either full units or quarter-share units. Spirit Ridge will offer numerous firsts for resort developments in the Osoyoos area. Each of Spirit Ridge's 94 luxury villas and suites will feature a full kitchen, dining area, living room with fireplace, a balcony, as well as spacious bedrooms and bathrooms. The resort will also offer a full spa, expansive year-round outdoor pools, a restaurant, and banquet and meeting rooms. Guests can enjoy the new Sonora Dunes Golf Course, Nk'Mip Cellars, the Desert & Heritage Centre, and Lake Osoyoos, all within an easy stroll from the resort's residences. A key partner in this project is the Osoyoos Indian Band Development Corporation. Its vision is to create a sustainable tourism legacy that will preserve the band's rich cultural heritage and promote the diversity and beauty of the region's natural resources. Benefits will be immediate and lasting because the resort's development will bring increased tourism and employment growth. The development corporation is currently involved with Nk'Mip Cellars (winner of Tourism British Columbia's " Thinking Outside the Box" award), the Nk'Mip Desert & Heritage Centre and the Nk'Mip Campground & RV Park, on the shores of Lake Osoyoos. E-mail street@thetimesharebeat.com
SPAIN: No sooner did U.S.-based John Q. Hammons announce that his company is entering the timeshare field in Branson, Missouri (USA) than it was revealed that the company will likely be merged with Barceló Crestline to create a new, private company called Barceló Hammons Hotels and Resorts Inc. McLean, VA-based Barceló Crestline has proposed acquiring shares of John Q. Hammons Hotels Inc. stock for $13 in cash per share, and taking Hammons private. Initially, Barceló Hammons Hotels and Resorts Inc. will own, lease or manage a total of 190 hotels in the United States — 60 in Hammons' portfolio and 130 in Barceló Crestline's holdings. We assume that will include the proposed timeshare in Branson. Based in Palma
de Mallorca Spain, Barceló Crestline's parent
company Barceló Corporació n Empresarial, together with its affiliates, is one of the world's largest hospitality
companies.
MEXICO CITY: Grupo Costamex, the parent company of Royal Holiday Club, bought the Radisson Acapulco Hotel & Resort at the end of September 2004. Grupo Costamex will invest $700,000 (561,000 euro) in the hotel with the aim to convert it into an all-inclusive hotel. The name of the hotel has been changed to Park Royal Acapulco. Grupo Costamex has its headquarters in Belgium, but as we all know is a thoroughly Mexican company.
Called Alta Mira Resort & Spa, plans call for an 80-unit 5 Star Suite Hotel, a 40,000 square foot spa, 64 fee simple condominium units and 60 one-acre haciendas. Pre-Sales are expected to commence by year-end. For their second project, they are targeting Costa Rica. The Company's mission is to be the leading developer of fractional interest in real estate resort properties throughout Latin America. That's a big ambition. We wish them success. LORETO: There is no timeshare in lovely little Loreto yet, located in Baja California Sur north of La Paz. But hope springs eternal. The really big news is that Alaska Airlines hopes to begin twice-weekly service from Los Angeles to Loreto in February. They are working in conjunction with the developers of The Villages of Loreto Bay, who have received control of some 8000 acres courtesy of FONATUR and need more bodies to sell to. At least so far, these developers have not indicated that timeshare will be present in their project but given growing interest in Loreto as a destination, and now service by a major airline, we believe it's only a matter of time before someone has the foresight to be FIRST AND ONLY in the area. In case you aren't familiar with it, Loreto Bay (formerly known as Nopolo Bay) is the last of five areas identified by FONATUR as prime tourist development sites in Mexico. Currently under construction, the Villages project will be a series of seaside villages built in the foothills of the Sierra de la Giganta Mountains and along three miles of coastline on the Sea of Cortes. Five thousand acres will be designated as a nature preserve and sanctuary for native plants and animals and will also include trails for hiking, horseback riding and other recreational use. It's a pretty impressive deal. E-mail street@thetimesharebeat.com
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As
an industry, we still have barely begun to harness the power of the Internet to our individual and collective advantage.
It's a shame. | 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 |
