Before committing to Timeshare do your research

Timeshare, camping properties can be a scam... so do your research first.

Vacation alternatives: Timeshares and camping clubs

Timeshares and camping clubs are becoming popular alternatives for many Americans and can be great ways to enjoy a much-needed vacation. But, like everything else, it is important to do some research before you “show them the money.”

A timeshare is the right to use and occupy a unit in a building on a periodic basis, generally for a period of one week annually. A camping club allows consumers to keep a trailer, tent, camper or similar equipment at a land-based site for a designated period of time.

Indiana law gives the purchaser the right to cancel a timeshare or camping club purchase within three days after the execution of the sales contract. Sundays and legal holidays do not count in computing this period. Developers must provide purchasers with a cancellation form, and the cancellation notice is effective on the date postmarked.

If you are thinking about one of these two options, here are some guidelines to follow:

♦Resist high-pressure sales. You are under no obligation to make a purchase because you are given a prize, a free dinner, or a reduced-price vacation as an incentive to attend a sales presentation.

♦Read the entire contract and any literature you are given and understand what you are purchasing. Not all timeshare properties are of equal value, depending on their location and the time of year you are purchasing.

♦Ask others you know who have a timeshare or are in a camping club if they are happy with the guidelines of their contract, and find out as much as you can from them. This will give you the information you need to ask the questions you might not have considered.

♦Get a reliability report from the BBB about the company before you attend the presentation.

♦Verify everything before you pay. Be cautious about prepaying for multiple years. Timeshares, campgrounds or travel clubs may offer to sell membership vacation accommodations for five years or more. Take into account your physical and financial health, a company’s solvency, potential rising membership and maintenance fees, and the often poor appreciation of such investments, and take your time before committing.

When considering any vacation promotion, here are some “red flags” that can signal fraudulent acts. Be wary of salespeople who use high pressured tactics such as:

♦Demanding your credit card number before explaining all the conditions of an offer.

♦Requesting that you identify yourself by your credit card number (a sign of possible misuse of your card).

♦Refusing to provide all the information about the total cost of a vacation or travel offer.

♦Postcard or fax promotional mailings that require you to pay a fee or to purchase membership in a travel club to claim a vacation or travel prize.

♦Low rates on air travel requiring you to purchase an additional ticket for a companion.

♦Offers by companies attempting to undermine U.S. postal authorities by requiring a messenger or courier to deliver the travel package to you in exchange for your payment.

...there have been Timeshare scams so please do your research...

News-Sentinel | 07/17/2006 | Know red flags before committing

technorati tags:timeshare, scams, vacation, alternatives, camping, clubs

Starwood Projects Expands And Includes More Timeshare

Starwood Vacation Ownership (SVO), a division of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:HOT), today announced its continued expansion plans including new construction on more thana dozen properties throughout the continental U.S., Hawaii, Mexico,and the Caribbean.

The plan will add more than 1,600 new villas to theCompany's portfolio of properties currently operating under theSheraton, Westin and St. Regis brands. The Company will have more than 6,000 villas in total upon final completion of the announced resorts.

"Starwood Vacation Ownership continues its robust growth under our Sheraton, Westin, and St. Regis brands, driving our aggressive expansion plans in new and existing domestic and internationalmarkets," said Raymond L. "Rip" Gellein, Jr., chief executive officerof Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc. "

With new projects launching inNew York City, Aruba, Mexico, and Hawaii, expansion projects atseveral existing resorts, and sales underway or planned for all these locations combined, 2006 is sure to be another record-breaking year for us."

Starwood Vacation Ownership's 2006 expansion plans include the following resort:

Westin Princeville Ocean Resort Villas, Kauai. This new property, the first Westin-branded timeshare resort in Kauai, is under construction, and sales commenced in February. The mixed-use resort includes a two-story clubhouse and seven two- and three-story guest buildings with 179 two-bedroom lock-off units and six hotel units. The first units are scheduled to open in early 2008.

...more timeshare resorts, timeshare is a huge demandand is on the up and up...

Starwood Vacation Ownership Embarks on Major Domestic and International Expansion Projects; Construction at St. Regis, Westin and Sheraton Properties will Include More Than 1,600 New Units | Nachrichten |

technorati tags:timeshare, Starwood, Vacation, Ownership, SVO, Starwood, Hotels, Resorts, Westin, Princeville, Ocean, Resort, Villas, Kauai

WAG's, Spain, Victoria Beckham and timeshare

Nicky, 23, recently returned from a holiday in Marbella - a WAGs' paradise and magnet for models, B-list celebrities and the "new rich" of Spain."

We thought it was the place to be," she said. "We wanted to live the lifestyle and so we stayed in a friend's timeshare."

We saw a few models and a TV star from Brookside, and Ian Wright's son was there, Shaun Wright-Phillips."

But epitomising many in her age group, it is the WAGs' lifestyle she really aspires to - and the ability to go shopping every day.

Appearance is all important in the "WAG world".

"I look up to Victoria Beckham purely on looks," said Nicky. "Her lifestyle is fantastic and I reckon she must be pretty happy - she has three children and takes them to the best places.

...timeshare in Spain sounds ideal...

Telegraph | News | 'I look up to Victoria Beckham - on looks'

technorati tags:timeshare, Spain, Marbella, WAGs

Napa Valley California have new timeshare

Sharing the same eight-acre site in the Carneros region of Napa Valley, Calif., the Meritage Resort at Napa (pictured) and Vino Bello Resort have reached completion and opened their doors. The upscale properties were developed separately--by Irvine, Calif.’s Pacific Hospitality Group and Northbrook, Ill.-based Shell Vacations L.L.C., respectively--at an aggregate cost of $60 million, and add a total of 274 new hotel and timeshare units to the Wine Country destination.

Meritage, featuring 158 guestrooms, also holds the distinction of being the site of Napa Valley’s largest meeting facility, boating 14,000 square feet of meeting and banquet space. Neighboring unofficial sister property Vino Bello is a timeshare destination that offers 116 units, some of which will be available on a nightly basis depending on use. The vacation ownership property also features a 60-seat chapel and a fitness facility. While the two resorts are not formally linked, they do have cross uses. On the list of those shared amenities is a wine cave and underground spa that Meritage will debut early next year.

...the California Wine Country is becoming recognised and desired as a travel destination...

Neighboring Napa Resorts Debut

technorati tags:timeshare, Napa, Valley, California, California, Wine, Country, Meritage, Resort, Vina, Bello, Resort

Customers Never Received Timeshares Deeds

WOODFIN — The mother of a 20-year-old man charged by police with allegedly scamming more than 60 people said her son was unknowingly involved and that he is working with the district attorney’s office to clear his name.

Woodfin police charged Jacob Denson of Asheville on Thursday with two counts of obtaining money by false pretense.Advertisement

He plans to return to the area today to deal with the charges, his mother, Melody Denson, said.“

Jacob didn’t steal anything,” she said. “He’s actually trying to pay back these clients.”

Officers believe Denson and James Pridgen, 44, took a total of $150,000 in online payments for time shares but never gave customers the deeds they were owed.

...another timeshare scam...

CITIZEN-TIMES.com: Mother defends son in probe

technorati tags:timeshare, scam, Jacob, Denson