Timeshare Information

For the second consecutive year, Wyndham Worldwide, one of the world’s largest hospitality companies, is ranked number one by Newsweek magazine in its annual Greenest Companies survey.

The rankings evaluate the environmental performance of the largest publicly traded companies in the U.S. and around the world. Ranked among the top 100 greenest companies in the U.S., Wyndham Worldwide was evaluated on a number of criteria including its environmental footprint and management, environmental policies, programs and initiatives.

The survey also considered the Company’s reporting and disclosure practices, including the Carbon Disclosure Project and its 2011 Sustainability Report, which align with the Global Reporting Initiative.

“We are proud to be recognized once again for our work in sustainability, which is the result of tremendous collaboration and innovation by our associates, franchisees, suppliers, business and community partners,” says Stephen P. Holmes, chairman and chief executive officer, Wyndham Worldwide.

“As one of the world’s largest hospitality companies, these collaborative efforts work to leverage the versatility of our unique hospitality portfolio of vacation ownership club resorts to drive sustainable, profitable growth.”

One of the initiatives credited in the Company’s ranking is its Wyndham Green Toolbox, a proprietary designed, state-of-the-art eco-software program that allows both owned and managed properties, as well as independently owned and franchised properties within the Wyndham Worldwide portfolio to track and measure their environmental footprint.

The Toolbox provides users with resources and tools to reduce energy use, and advance the Company’s global sustainability efforts.

Earlier this year, the Company reported a five percent reduction in its carbon footprint of its owned, managed and leased properties over 2010 based on energy per square foot measured by the custom Toolbox.

Wyndham Worldwide sustainable practices are created and driven by the Company’s Wyndham Green program, which is in its sixth year, remains one of the top five strategic priorities at Wyndham Worldwide. 

The program, which is focused on education and innovation, is a way of living and working based on the Company’s vision and core values, enhancing customers’ lives by improving the environment, supporting global and local communities, and developing sustainable programs that deliver economic benefits.

Take a look at Wyndham timeshare rentals and resales available now.

Wyndham Vacation Ownership (WVO), has acquired privately held Shell Vacations LLC (Shell) and its subsidiaries. Shell is one of the largest independent vacation ownership club and property management groups, serving approximately 115,000 members and 19 managed resorts in North America.

The purchase price for the equity of Shell is approximately $102 million in cash. The acquisition also includes $153 million of debt, which is primarily related to consumer loan receivables. Under the terms of the agreement, WVO assumes property management operations at 19 Shell resort locations in Hawaii, California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Wisconsin, Texas, New Hampshire and Canada.

WVO will now also operate Shell Vacations Club (SVC), a leading points-based reservation and exchange system featuring a wide variety of member benefits and travel options, and assumes management of all SVC marketing, sales and financial services activities.

“This tuck-in acquisition is immediately accretive to earnings and generates meaningful cash flow as well as a healthy rate of return. With strong fee-for-service revenues, this acquisition is consistent with our capital-light strategy,” said Stephen P. Holmes, Chairman and CEO, Wyndham Worldwide.

“With a history that spans more than four decades, Shell Vacations is both a pioneer and a respected leader within the hospitality industry,” stated Franz S. Hanning, President and CEO, Wyndham Vacation Ownership.

“We look forward to building upon Shell’s achievements and continuing the growth of its highly successful vacation club by pursuing the same formula of providing outstanding quality, value and customer care,” said Hanning.

“We’re excited to leverage the significant scale and expertise of WVO,” said Shelly Ginsburg, Chairman and CEO, Shell Vacations. “We believe our strong commitment to owner and guest satisfaction is complemented by WVO’s demonstrated strength in managing one of the most extensive and diversified timeshare resort portfolios.”

Wyndham Vacation Ownership, a member of Wyndham Worldwide’s family of companies, is the world’s largest vacation ownership business, as measured by the number of vacation ownership resorts, individual vacation ownership units and owners of vacation ownership interests.

Wyndham Vacation Ownership develops, markets and sells vacation ownership interests and provides consumer financing to owners through its three primary consumer brands, CLUB WYNDHAM®, WorldMark by Wyndham, and Wyndham Vacation Resorts Asia Pacific.

Wyndham Vacation Ownership is headquartered in Orlando, FL, and is supported by approximately 13,700 employees globally.

The International Tourism Partnership, founded in 1992 and part of the International Business Leaders Forum, is a unique organization that brings together industry leaders to demonstrate in a practical way that environmental and social responsibility make good business sense.

Many global leaders in the timeshare industry recognize their social responsibility and have taken steps forward in collaborating on finding practical solutions to the challenges of sustainable development. Founding member Marriott International is joined by other timeshare and vacation club businesses including Hyatt, Hilton Worldwide, Diamond International, Wyndham, and Starwood Hotels and Resorts - all who share the same commitment to collaborating on finding those solutions.

According to Stephen J. Cloobeck, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Diamond Resorts International®, “Our decision to join the International Tourism Partnership demonstrates our acknowledgement of the important position Diamond shares in the hospitality industry and how vital our environmental leadership is in our global operations as we embrace all aspects of sustainability, preservation and social responsibility. We greatly value the opportunity to have the support of the International Tourism Partnership to establish a mutually beneficial relationship toward our sustainability goals.”

The International Tourism Partnership brings together leading corporate partners in the hospitality and tourism industry to demonstrate that environmental and social responsibility makes good business sense.

Its aim is to encourage the hospitality industry to improve its impact on both environment and society by showcasing examples of leadership, working in partnership with other sectors, companies and agendas, and providing practical products, projects and solutions that focus on both short term outcomes and long term goals.

Stephen Farrant, Director of ITP commented, “The issue of moving toward greater sustainability remains a huge challenge but also a great opportunity for the sector. The more enlightened businesses are taking meaningful action on improving their environmental and social impacts, and the International Tourism Partnership has a vital role to play in championing and enabling this.”

The members of ITP represent some of the largest travel and tourism companies in the world, comprising over 11,100 hotel properties and 1.8 million rooms, all of whom agree that only through collective, industry-wide action at local, destination and country levels can real progress be made toward a more sustainable hotel, travel and tourism industry.

RCI, the global leader in vacation exchange and one of the Wyndham Worldwide family of brands, announced it has expanded its network in Brazil through its affiliation with Thermas de Olympia Resort in Olympia, one of the most important tourism centers of the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Developed by LM Empreendimentos e Participações S/A , the resort is situated on 65 acres. Thermas de Olympia features 488 units including 40 duplex suites, 16 two-bedroom suites and 432 family suites that offer a separate living room. Each unit is equipped with a digital phone system, digital safe and panoramic balcony.

Located in the Guarani Aquifer, Thermas de Olympia is in a desirable area in the northwest region, near Sao Jose do Rio Preto and offers many recreational facilities on the complex. One of the most impressive attractions is the Thermal Water Park of Orange groves which includes waterfalls, slides, water cannons,, swimming pools, paddleboats, surfing and many more water activities. The resort also hosts a convenience store and mini zoo on site.

“We are pleased to join the RCI network,” said Guilherme Lopes Morais, president of LM Empreendimentos e Participações S/A. “Our partnership with RCI will help increase the visibility for Thermas de Olympia to illustrate the many reasons why our resort is a great place that offers fun for the whole family.”

“Affiliating with Thermas Olympia Resort strengthens our presence in the Brazilian market and is the perfect place for us to extend our vacation exchange system,” said Alejandro Moreno, director, Business Development, RCI Brazil. “We are confident that this affiliation will be a successful one.”

With approximately 30 years of experience in the market, LM Empreendimentos e Participações S/A provides customers with quality products and differentiated investments, especially in areas of potential tourism and hospitality. As an engineering services provider, the company makes available key services with a commitment to high quality. LM Empreendimentos e Participações S/A has in its portfolio the construction of over 4,000 apartments, plus restaurants, bars, venues for concerts, shops and boutiques

RCI is part of Wyndham Exchange & Rentals, the worldwide leader in vacation exchange and the world’s largest full-service vacation rentals business, providing access to more than 85,000 vacation properties in approximately 100 countries. Wyndham Worldwide Corporation is one of the world’s largest hospitality companies with leading brands in lodging franchising, vacation ownership, vacation rentals and vacation exchange. For additional information visit our media center.

(Photo credit - serben.com.br)

Wyndham Worldwide has announced that its Exchange & Rentals business unit, the worldwide leader in vacation exchange and the world’s largest full-service vacation rentals business, has acquired James Villa Holidays from the private equity fund Vespa Capital.

James Villa Holidays has a strong presence across the Mediterranean villa holiday market offering accommodations along with other travel services and products to the UK market. The acquisition price is approximately $77 million.

With this acquisition, Wyndham’s Vacation Rentals business further expands the scale and scope of its vacation rental program in France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Cyprus and Malta. The inclusion of James Villa Holidays into the Wyndham Vacation Rentals portfolio will also create a strong position for the company to expand across further Mediterranean countries and provide additional travel options and benefits for consumers and villa owners alike.

“The acquisition of James Villa Holidays is consistent with our strategy to invest in fee-for-service businesses and represents another step forward in our strategic plan to grow our presence and leadership position within the global vacation rentals market,” said Stephen P. Holmes, chairman and CEO, Wyndham Worldwide. “We continue to see the value of and invest in opportunistic acquisitions that support our growth and returns targets and thus optimize our capital deployment.”

“We are absolutely thrilled to welcome James Villa Holidays into our growing vacation rentals business. James is an exceptionally strong, trusted and high-profile vacation brand with a fantastic team of professionals who we welcome to Wyndham Worldwide,” said Geoff Ballotti, president and CEO, Wyndham Exchange & Rentals.

“With more than 50 destinations and approximately 2,300 villas and unique properties across the Mediterranean and Balearic vacation hot-spots, James offers hand-picked and inspected properties, along with air travel, car hire and other travel services. James presents us with a strong addition to our global rental platform, bringing exciting new destinations and upscale lodging offerings.”

“We are very excited to join our efforts with such a trusted, successful and reputable organization as Wyndham,” added Tony Wheble, CEO, James Villa Holidays. “James Villa Holidays’ mission has been focused on providing customers the best-of-the-best holiday destination options and the necessary tools to make the planning process as simple and seamless as possible.

"Together with Wyndham, we look forward to continuing this mission of assuring customers a holiday they can ‘book with confidence’ and that they’re protected every step of the way to the vacation of their dreams.”

When buying a Wyndham Vacation Club timeshare ownership, it is important to always review the developer estoppels form prior to closing. Richard Marquette, editor of the online magazine Vacation-Times, which focuses on the timeshare and vacation ownership industry, explains what that means.

Understanding this form, says Marquette, can be confusing if you are unfamiliar with the specialized terms and point designations. It's very important as a buyer you ensure that you understand what type of usage points are going to be available to you in your first year after closing- and how the available point usage can be impacted by the designations.

As part of the transfer process, your closing agent should provide you with a copy of the completed estoppels form. This document can also be called an ownership and financial verification form.

Be aware that estoppels for a timeshare ownership is quite different from the estoppels request common to traditional real estate. In a residential closing, the estoppels form normally contains loan payoff information from the current mortgage company. In a timeshare closing, the estoppels should provide you with a complete explanation and confirmation not only of the financial status of the property being purchased, but should also provide you with a clear picture of the ownership details of the interval and unit being transferred.

For Wyndham Vacation Ownership transfers, the terminology used on estoppels forms is specific to this company. On its estoppels form there are five ways that available points are classified:

1. Regular Use Points - These are the traditional allotment of points given on the owner's use year anniversary.


2. PIC points - These are Personal Interval Choice points which are given for a non-Fairfield or Wyndham resort week which is deposited into the owners Wyndham points account.


3. Credit Pool Points - Owners can bank Regular Use Points that they do not plan to use during their usage year.


4. Canceled points - These points result from a reservation that is canceled more than thirty days prior to the check-in date.


5. Limited points - A reservation that has been canceled thirty days prior or less to the check-in date will result in this point type.

Marquette recommends that before finalizing any closing always ensure that the estoppels matches up with the original purchase and sale contract, and that you will be receiving the point classification you expect.