Timeshare Information

Interval International, a prominent worldwide provider of vacation services and an operating segment of Interval Leisure Group, and the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) have announced the renewal of an alliance first established in 2000.

“We are proud to extend this relationship and reaffirm our long-standing commitment to the Caribbean hospitality industry,” said Craig M. Nash, chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Interval Leisure Group, parent company of Interval International. “Our partnership with the association has allowed us to collaborate with the region’s tourism leaders and play a more active role in facilitating the growth of shared ownership in this key market.”

The Caribbean has proven itself to be a very popular destination for both current owners and prospective timeshare purchasers. According to the 2009 U.S. Membership Profile, a study of Interval’s U.S. resident members, the Caribbean is the leading international location to which members plan to travel in the next two years.

In addition, the "Shared Ownership 2010: A Market Perspective" report cites the Caribbean as the preferred international destination among U.S. leisure travelers interested in traveling outside the continental United States. The study offers unique insights into the evolving product, vacation habits, preferences, and intentions of U.S. leisure travelers who are interested in acquiring some form of shared ownership in the next two years.

“We greatly value our alliance with Interval and appreciate the company’s dedication to our organization. Throughout the years, the Interval team has committed significant time and resources to further our objectives and we look forward to working together on future endeavors,” said Alec Sanguinetti, director general and chief executive officer of CHTA.

Interval will continue to play a leadership role in supporting CHTA programs and events, including the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Investment Conference and the Caribbean Marketplace Conference. The company also spearheads fundraising initiatives in partnership with the vacation ownership industry for CHTA’s Education Foundation.

Josef Forstmayr, president of CHTA noted, “Interval and its member resorts have played a key role in funding the education of our industry’s future leaders. As a result of their efforts, the vacation ownership industry has become the single largest contributor to the CHTA Foundation.”

Interval International operates membership programs for vacationers and provides value-added services to its developer clients worldwide. Based in Miami, Florida, the company has been a pioneer and innovator in serving the vacation ownership market for more than 34 years.

Today, Interval has an exchangenetwork of more than 2,500 resorts in over 75 nations. Through offices in 14 countries, Interval offers high-quality products and benefits to resort clients and approximately 2 million families who are enrolled in various membership programs. Interval is an operating segment of Interval Leisure Group, Inc. a leading global provider of membership and leisure services to the vacation industry

When you rent a timeshare on Kauai, Hawaii's beautiful "Garden Island," you can now have a personal tour guide at your beck and call.

HawaiiGaga.com has announced in a press release that a Kauai GPS Tour Guide for the iPhone will be available December 8, 2010. This virtual tour guide talks to you as you drive around Kauai. Using the GPS built into the iPhone, the Tour Guide knows exactly where you are and will alert you to hidden beaches, scenic lookouts, historic sites, hikes, farmers markets and many other Kauai attractions.

The Kauai GPS Tour Guide is the first app of its kind available to Kauai visitors. “It’s like having an island resident drive with you to tell you about the island,” explains HawaiiGaga.com developer James Pretorius. “With a guide book you’re constantly flipping through pages trying to figure out where you are and what’s around you. The Tour Guide tells you about hidden places, and guides you to difficult-to-find attractions.”

The Tour Guide includes over 200 points of interest and uses a real human voice - not a computer generated one. The application also includes comprehensive beach and snorkeling guides, weather and surf forecasts, driving directions, Kauai background information for tourists including detailed ocean safety guidelines, and select activity and restaurant recommendations.

HawaiiGaga.com is a travel website that showcases Hawaii’s beaches, attractions, vacation rentals, and tourist activities. The site includes comprehensive condo guides, a large collection of aerial and panoramic photos, interactive maps, and virtual tours to assist vacation planners in making informed travel decisions. Started in 2008, the website now receives nearly 300,000 visitors per year.

There are many wonderful timeshare rentals available on Kauai for your family vacation. Try the Hanalei Bay Resort in Princeville or the Pono Kai Resort in Kapaa. A budget-friendly vacation that includes your own personal tour guide - you can't beat it!

RCI, the global leader in timeshare exchange and one of the Wyndham Worldwide family of brands, has significantly enhanced its RCI® Weeks program to allow members to know the trading power value of their vacation interval once deposited with RCI.

For the first time in its 36-year history, RCI Weeks members are able to compare the trading power value of their deposited week to the trading power value of the timeshare they want to exchange into. Plus, they can combine deposited timeshare intervals, allowing them to transact into higher-valued vacations. And to provide even greater benefit, RCI will for the first time be providing its Weeks members with a “Deposit Credit” if the trading power value of their deposited interval is greater than the interval they have exchanged into.

“In the increasingly transparent online vacation planning world that we live in, this is something our members have been consistently asking for. It’s one of the most exciting things we’ve ever done for our members”, said Geoff Ballotti, CEO, RCI (shown in photo).

“Transparency is important because people want to have more control over how they trade their timeshare vacation for another vacation they’d like to take. From our customer service, marketing and technology teams – we’ve brought together our entire company to solve for our members’ request to give them what they want in terms of knowing the trading power value of their deposited timeshare week and what it will take to get them to where they want to vacation, allowing them access to vacations that they might not have been able to book in the past”.

RCI began educating members on these new developments on RCI.com and in the October edition of its Endless Vacation magazine, explaining how trading power transparency, deposit credits and combining deposited weeks will greatly assist them in their future vacation planning and provide them with more choice, flexibility and value in their future vacation planning.

These significant upgrades follow RCI’s continuous work to develop new innovations for its members that make vacation planning fun and easy.

(News Source - Perspective Magazine)

There's a veritable firestorm in the media regarding the TSA (Transportation Safety Administration) full body scan and pat-down airport security checks. All of this sudden hoopla regarding TSA security checks is due to the change in procedure in how pat-downs are conducted, put in place by the TSA the beginning of November. The new methods, says ABC News, are much more invasive, with same-gender screeners feeling under breasts and up passengers' thighs to their crotches.

A November 23, 2010 ABC News article attempts to calm the media frenzy a bit by pointing out that the TSA estimates that 2 million people fly each day but that the agency has received only approximately 2,330 complaints specific to these pat-downs since the procedure went into effect nationwide on Nov. 1. Roughly 340,000 people have been subjected to more intense searches - just 1% of the 34 million travelers since the new procedures took effect.

And the truth of the matter is, most passengers will not have to undergo the intensive, privacy-invading, scanners and pat-downs. And if you want to be one of them, ABC News offers this suggestion:

Don't set off the metal detector. Plain and simple. There's certainly no way to ensure that a TSA official won't deem you a candidate for the more intensive security checks, but not triggering the alarm of the metal detector will definitely minimize the possibility.

As reported in the ABC News article, Anne Banas, executive editor of travel web site SmarterTravel, said "there's not a ton you can do" to avoid the pat-downs but that good preparation can lower your odds. "Be really, really smart before leaving the house," she said.

That means putting any spare change and jewelry in your carry-on bag long before the security line. Take off your belt, avoid clothing with excessive zippers, and women - don't wear an underwire bra. If you have screws or plates in your body, declare that upfront to the screener.

ABC News also pointed out that children 12 years old and under who require extra screening will receive a modified pat down; all passengers have the right to request private screening at any point during the screening process; and everybody has the right to have a traveling companion present during the private screening.

For more information about the pat-downs, TSA carry-on rules or anything else about airport security, check out the TSA's traveler tips section.

(Photo credit - theage.com.au)

Do you like to try exotic food? Over the past couple of decades Thai cuisine has become more and more popular across the United States. When you rent a timeshare in Thailand you can learn first hand how to prepare Thai food in your own home. The Thailand city of Phuket and Phuket Island, is renowned for its many cooking schools, developed with the foreign visitor in mind.

You learn to prepare such Thai favorites as Som Tum (spicy green papaya salad), Tom Ka Gai (chicken coconut milk soup) and Nhue Phad Prik Thai On (stir-fried beef tenderloin with young peppercorns in oyster sauce).

"A Thai meal is a feast for the senses, a medley of flavors, textures and aromas, it is a mastery of herbs and spices borrowed from many cultures and blended especially for a distinctly Thai taste," said a JW Marriott Ginja Cooking School spokesperson.

The JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa in Phuket, has launched Ginja Cook, "a contemporary learning facility which introduces rich Thai cuisine heritage." Ginja Cook’s “Everyone is Welcome” approach offers personalized individual, family and group culinary courses.

Another cooking school on Phuket Island is "Pat's Home Thai Cooking," globally renowned as the first and the best Thai cooking school in Phuket. Owned and run by Khun Patcharin, these cooking classes are actually taught in Pat's home, giving "home style" a whole new meaning. Having spent 8 years in California working as a chef, Pat knows what ingredients are available for American home cooks in their local supermarkets. So while Pat will suggest basic cooking ingredients that may be hard to find in your home town, she will always offer alternatives that can be substituted.

Saowaluck Wongpong runs the Phuket Thai Cookery School which offers 1-5-day classes. Each class is designed as a one day class so you can select which classes most interest you. The comprehensive course includes introduction to Thai ingredients with an actual market tour.

Other Phuket cooking schools include Kangsadaan Thai Cooking School and the Pum Restaurant Cooking School. At the Desserts Workshop you'll learn how to make such traditional Thai desserts as Sangkhaya (egg custard), Luk Chup (fruit-shaped desserts made of mung-bean flour), and Kluai Buat Chi (banana in coconut cream).

A timeshare rental on Phuket Island gives you a fabulous beach vacation, with an exotic cooking flair. A perfect vacation for foodies.

(Photo credit - phuket.com)

A press release out of Washington, D.C., has announced that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Department of Defense (DOD) are working to prepare the nation for a busy Thanksgiving holiday travel week. The two government agencies will be working in tandem to clear the way for commercial aircraft to fly in airspace that is normally restricted to military use.

As you prepare to fly to your Thanksgiving timeshare rental destination, you'll be glad to know that under the agreement, the DOD will release airspace off the east coast above 24,000 feet, and that this added capacity is expected to ease delays during one of the busiest travel periods of the year, saving time and money for passengers and airlines while reducing fuel burn.

“We want to do everything we can to make it easier for people to travel so they can spend Thanksgiving with their loved ones,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “We appreciate the military’s help in making this happen.”

The FAA has developed dedicated routes off the east coast to allow airlines to plan their flights through the normally restricted airspace. Normal inland routes will still be available. Weather permitting, the combination of both sets of routes is expected to ease congestion.

“The FAA is using all the tools available to try and give airlines the most efficient routes so air travelers can reach their destinations safely and on time,” said FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt.

“The nation’s air traffic controllers are committed to upholding the safety of the system while working the most efficient airspace system in the world,” said NATCA President Paul Rinaldi. “Over the past year we’ve experienced a movement toward collaboration at all levels of the agency and we look forward to continuing to work together to improve air travel for the flying public.”

The DOD is also allowing commercial flights to use restricted airspace in other parts of the country, including airspace over the Twentynine Palms Marine Corps Base in California, and airspace over the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.

The FAA suggests that air travelers interested in flight and airport status visit www.fly.faa.gov for real-time updates.

(Photo credit - boeing.com)

The Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) has chosen J.W. Marriott, Jr. as recipient of the Albert E. Koehl Award for lifetime achievement in hospitality advertising and marketing. He will be accepting the award at HSMAI’s annual Adrian Awards Gala on January 31, 2011, at the New York Marriott Marquis. The award is given to people who have made a sustained and lasting commitment to excelling in the travel and hospitality industry.

“Mr. Marriott is an innovator and represents one of the most globally recognized brands in the world,” said Robert A. Gilbert, CHME, CHA, president and CEO of HSMAI. “HSMAI is honored to be able to recognize Mr. Marriott, as Marriott epitomizes the definition of brand marketing.”

J.W. Marriott, Jr. is chairman and chief executive officer of Marriott International, Inc., a leading lodging company with more than 3,500 lodging properties in 70 countries and territories. Marriott International operates and franchises hotels under the Marriott, JW Marriott, The Ritz-Carlton, The Autograph Collection, Renaissance, Residence Inn, Courtyard, TownePlace Suites, Fairfield Inn, SpringHill Suites and Bulgari brand names.

It also develops and operates vacation ownership resorts under the Marriott Vacation Club, The Ritz-Carlton Destination Club, and Grand Residences by Marriott brands; licenses and manages whole-ownership residential brands, including The Ritz-Carlton Residences, JW Marriott Residences and Marriott Residences; operates Marriott Executive Apartments; provides furnished corporate housing through its Marriott ExecuStay division; and operates conference centers.

Known throughout the industry for his hands-on management style, JW Marriott has built a highly regarded culture that recognizes the value of Marriott employees. Today, approximately 300,000 employees are serving guests in Marriott managed and franchised properties throughout the world.

The HSMAI Adrian Awards honor creative brilliance and best practices in hospitality, travel and tourism-related marketing. In its 54th year, the competition has evolved into the world’s most renowned and prestigious advertising, public relations and digital marketing competition customized to the hospitality, travel and tourism industries. For information on the HSMAI Adrian Awards and the Gala, visit www.adrianawards.com.

HSMAI is the hospitality industry source for knowledge, community, and recognition for leaders committed to professional development, sales growth, revenue optimization, marketing, and branding. With a strong focus on education, HSMAI has become the industry champion in identifying and communicating trends in the hospitality industry and bringing together customers and members.

(Photo credit - wttc.org)