Philippe Myer's blog

Interval International Renews Partnership With Westgate Resorts

 

Westgate Resorts was founded in 1982 and is the largest privately-held corporation in Central Florida. They use Interval International to expand their footprint, giving their customers the option of going to other timeshare resorts besides ones owned by Westgate. This relationship benefits both parties by increasing the amount of traffic to Westgate, as would-be competitors are allowed to use Westgate rooms, and vice-versa.

The relationship between Westgate and Interval started 21 years ago. Both Florida-based companies, Westgate and Interval understand the timeshare market and are both considered pioneers in the industry. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. David Siegel, founder and CEO of Westgate Resorts had this to say about the new contract: “Interval International has been a great partner of ours for the past 20-plus years and we look forward to continuing this great relationship. They have been an important part of the success of our company. Since day one, we’ve focused on providing exceptional value and memorable vacation experiences. We could not have a better exchange partner than Interval, whose high-quality resort network, programs, and benefits have helped us meet our owners’ needs.” Craig Nash, president and CEO of Interval Leisure Group was also effusive in his praise. “David Siegel has a remarkable entrepreneurial spirit. He entered the American timeshare business at its infancy in the ‘80s with just 16 units, and built Westgate Resorts into a most impressive empire,” he said. “We look forward to many more years of our ongoing collaboration with David and his team, as we grow our respective businesses.”

Interval will continue its Interval Gold program, where members earn points for future stays and better benefits. If you feel you've bought a timeshare in error and would like to sell it, call Transfer Smart first and get critical information on current exit solutions.

 

 

Timeshare Resort King Wynn Invests in China | Transfer Smart

Las Vegas Casino king Steve Wynn of Wynn Resorts already has the most profitable casino in the former portugese colony of Macau on the coast of China.

Conservative Chinese government is against gambling, but there have been pushes by western investors such as Wynn and other billionaire developers like Sheldon Adelson to bring casinos inland.  Chinese people are able to participate in state-run lotteries and small, subversive online sports waging. But there is a movement to bring casinos into the heart of China, into major cities like Shenyang and Shanghai in the north, or even Beijing.

The profits in Macau have been undeniable. The cities casinos took in $33.5 billion in 2011, and Wynn’s Macau casino now makes up 69% of his company’s revenue, even though only 30% of its assets are there. Gambling is officially illegal in China, but like Native American reservations in the United States, historical factors have led to a kind of grey area for casino investors.

Mr. Wynn is doing his best to be a patron of the Chinese people. He paid $10 million for a Hongwu-era vase which he donated to the Macau government. He donated $135 million to the University of Macau last year, the largest single donation ever given to a Chinese university.

One challenger to Mr. Wynn is the man who has made more money than any other American over the last three years, Sheldon Adelson. He went from having “just” $3 billion in 2009 to $28 billion today. Mr. Adelson is a timeshare, resort, hotel tycoon in his own right, going from lower-class New Englander to world developer by buying condominiums in Massachusetts, developing them into hotels, and eventually getting into the casino business with his Las Vegas Sands corporation.

Today, he owns half of the casino contracts in Singapore, and Merril Lynch has forecast that Singapore’s two casinos will be more profitable than all of Las Vegas’ combined.Adelson beat Wynn to Macau’s money first, debuting the Sands Macao in 2004, two years before the Wynn Macau.Neither man should lose money on their projects in the long run. But the development of the auto industry, the gaming industry, and tourism both to China and by its people into Europe, the Americas and beyond do mean the Chinese economy is gearing up to be tops in the world.

To answer your questions about selling or giving away your timeshare, contact the Transfer Smart timeshare experts.

 

 

Starwood CEO Says Rising Gas Prices Are Good

Frits Van Paasschen, the CEO of Starwood Hotels, says that rising gas prices shows the U.S. economy is re-gaining strength and that timeshare and lodging/ resort demand is also growing, going against some experts’ estimates.

A weakening dollar along with Iranian unrest and a rising price of Brent crude oil has led to a decrease in American spending overall, including domestic tourism. China’s tourist numbers are growing as ours are decreasing. Markets are expanding in Africa, even including timeshares sold by resorts. It’s generally understood that the “depression” is mostly based in the West and Europe.  Emerging Asian and African markets are offsetting European and American losses. Even South America is enjoying a better worldwide image and more tourists as a result.

"As we look at occupancy, not just in North America but around the world, it's quite strong today," van Paasschen said on March 20^th.

China is moving towards a more capitalist state. The Chinese government has stated that boosting consumer demand is a key priority this year. They are allowing companies such as Starwood to develop in their country like never before.

 

Rising Fuel Prices Are Changing Business Practices

 

Fuel prices are affecting business in various ways. Some businesses are forcing their employees to take webinars on how to get the best flight deal. Industry experts maintain that they can save 10-15% this way. Traveling salesmen are being asked to cut down on their driving by a third.

Travel by either car or plane is crucial to most businesses. As the national average for a gallon of gas rose to $3.80, businesses are actually looking elsewhere before cutting their travel budgets. Less travel can mean less customers and less growth.

Business travelers are renting vehicles with better gas mileage. They’re also staying in cheaper hotels than in the past. Cargo companies are leaving their fleets at home and renting trucks from pick-up locations. And businesses are encouraging their workers to do as many things electronically as possible.

"All of our travelers are encouraged to try to do something electronic, whether that means something as simple as a phone call or a webinar, or to go to more electronic meetings," says Bernie Velasquez, a construction company manager from Peachtree City, Georgia.

Saving a few dollars on fuel can cost a business much more in the end. "Cutting back on travel is not going to happen,” says Roger Sorensen, an engineer in Texas. "It's how we make our money."

The Global Soap Project

Ever wonder what happens to that leftover soap you leave at the hotel? It’s now being used by Ugandan humanitarians to save lives.

Derreck Kayongo visited a Philadelphia area hotel in the early 90’s and was shocked to find the amount of soap he found in his hotel room that was leftover. "When i checked into the hotel, there were 3 bars of soap - there was body soap, hand soap and face soap and that did not include the shampoos - and so for me that was a new experience, I was thinking to myself, "why do they have soap for every part of their bodies?" Kayongo recalls.

When enquiring about the future of the leftover soap with hotel management, he was surprised to find that it’s all discarded. "Now, my goodness,” he said. “Why would you throw away such a resource?"

What is unquestionably trash to the common American would be lifesaving treasure in Mr. Kayongo’s native country of Uganda and many parts of Africa as a whole. So he started the Global Soap Project, a non-profit organization (NPO) that reprocesses used hotel and resort soaps and turns them into new bars for nations that need them, such as Uganda, Kenya, Haiti and Swaziland.

In a place where something as simple as a case of diarrhea is a killer of thousands, the reprocessed soap is literally saving lives. It is tested by American labs for pathogens and if determined safe, shipped off to a plant to be constituted into new bars, and then shipped to needy countries. Mr. Kayongo himself delivered 5,000 soap bars to an orphanage in Kenya.

Mr. Kayongo considers his venture destiny. While born in Africa, he was schooled in America and the son of a soap maker. He is glad he can do so much for his countrymen. And his NPO is only getting bigger. "We are seeing an uptick of the number of hotels that are registering with us," he says. "We are seeing a lot of volunteers coming to work with us, so there is a lot of traffic happening right now for us and that is going to help us make more soap."

"If you want to do big things and you want to bring big change then you have to be able to give in a big way," he says.

"So I say 'travel, use the soap' because that soap goes eventually to help refugees, orphans. This is not about Africa per se, it's about the collective good as humans to solve problems and that's what we are trying to do."

 

 

Senegal’s Authored Revolution

Senegal's countryside during the rainy season.

Young Senegalese are revolting against the government in droves as journalists and hip hop artists capture the breath of a nation together.

In despotic, war torn Senegal, two unlikely forces are combining to shed a light on poverty and a lack of urban progress: journalists and rappers.

Recently a power outage lasting days hit Senegal’s capital city. The rap artists here began a movement called “Y’En a Marre,” which is French for “Enough is enough.” Senegal isn’t used to much tourism, or people vacationing at its poorly equipped resorts.

From the protests over the days-long blackout, the movement held a voter registration drive. They wish the ouster of President Abdoulaye Wade, a man who has far outlived the average age in Senegal of 19. They’ve created a song that has garnered hundreds of thousands of views on Youtube, where many of the rappers put their forearms together in an “X” as a statement of displeasure with President Wade.

Despite the President’s unpopularity, he will most likely be elected for a third term. But Senegal’s youth movement will not go away either, paving the way for healthy debate and possibly a young star to lead Senegal in the future.

Purchasing timeshares in Senegal may be a risky investment. We can transfer a contract out of your name if you do. 

Irish Youth Flee As Unemployment Rate Soars

   

The Temple Bar, Dublin.

 

Young Irish are fleeing the small nation as the unemployment rate has stayed at 14% and continues to climb. Since the country’s bailout in November 2010, employers have cut jobs.

Irish plight in the Eurozone has gone largely unnoticed due to the chaos in Greece and Portugal. Exports grew by 3.8% last year, but some of the country’s largest employers have said they will cut jobs throughout the year.

Real estate, just like in the United States, was a large contributor to Ireland’s economic collapse. Young graduates can’t find jobs, as competition is fierce, and employers can afford to be choosy. People want to work, but there just aren’t jobs for them.

The Irish government is beginning to offer loans and low interest rates to small businesses in order to encourage growth. They also are revamping their unemployment benefits program, to help those out of a job the longest find jobs again. Unfortunately, the Irish middle class are bracing for a year of what could be exceptional hardship.

 

Myanmar Opens Up to Western Tourism

 

Many political have occurred recently for Myanmar, one of the most isolated countries in Asia. Twenty years of sanctions and fifty years of military rule ended last year. During the World Economic Forum last year in Switzerland, both Marriott International and Starwood Hotels and Resorts stated their desire to open hotels in the country.

Myanmar is hugely underdeveloped, has a deprived economy and an infrastructure decades behind its neighbors. Precious few five-star hotels exist throughout the country, and all are backed by small local chains. It’s like Vietnam was twenty years ago, or how Cuba may be in the near future. It’s rich, interesting and exotic, with golden temples and cultural sites unblemished by rapid development seen elsewhere in Asia. Its southeastern neighbor, Thailand, has more than 4,000 hotels and resorts. They attracted 19 million visitors next year. Myanmar was only visited by 424,000 people from April 2010 to March 2011.

Sanctions placed on the country by both Europe and the United States, coupled with years of mismanaged finances by changing military governments, have devastated the economy. A third of the country's workforce earns only a few US dollars each month. The fact that the country is behind economically is very attractive to both tourists and the resorts that would serve them.

"I think it's time for people like us to look at Burma," said Vasant Prabhu, vice chairman and Chief Financial Officer of Starwood Hotels & Resorts. 

"It's a beautiful country," says Nancy Johnson, vice president of development for Carlson Hotels. "If there's an opportunity to go there, we will be there."

 Transfer Smart can get you out of a unwanted timeshare contract, even if it’s in Myanmar. Contact us today.