From the Orlando Sentinel comes this Disney (DVC) update: Sales have now begun for the newest Disney Vacation Club project: Bay Lake Tower. Entry level prices for the timeshares will begin at $18,000 making it the most expensive of any DVC timeshare resort. Disney's Bay Lake Tower will feature 300 timeshare units and be linked to the Contemporary Resort by a pedestrian bridge. Another appealing feature will be that it will be the first timeshare within walking distance to Disney Magic Kingdom.

Disney has begun their sales by targeting their 350,000 DVC members. They sent an email to their existing members announcing the sales with a link to a video on www.youtube.com. This video, Deevy See's Revealing Report, has had 59,000 views!  DVC got a lot of views - I wonder how many sales so far?

On the same day they launched their email campaign, our Disney Vacation Club video spiked with 380 views in one day.

So here comes yet another great addition to the DVC inventory - we will have to wait and see how this pans out with the current credit crunch going on.

Other stories related to Disney - Note to Self - Buy Disney Vacation Club Timeshares for Less! and Disney and Hawaii - Selling a Timeshare Dream

Here's how the Bay Lake Tower will look:

In yesterday's Orlando Sentinel, they interviewed David Siegel, Westgate's President. He announced that they plan to lay off hundreds of employees - they employ about 10,000.  Quoted in the interview, Siegel said "We're having a record year. We're in the most profitable year in our history and the banks are freezing our money," he said. "So we have no choice. In order for our company to survive we're going to downsize until the money starts flowing again."

He went on to explain that this would have the largest impact on new projects, but in the mean time, they were going to be fine.

Here's the lesson I dug out of this: With Westgate Resorts, Inc being the largest privately held timeshare developer they have the flexibility to respond to quickly changing financial markets.  As a Westgate timeshare owner, you should be able to stay optimistic about your timeshare vacation ownership. If other timeshare financing money quickly goes away, other timeshare developers may have to scramble to find other options to keep their cash flow working and stay "out of the red."

So if you are one of over 400,000 owners of a Westgate timeshare in one of it's 28 resorts stay tuned in as the story continues to develop.

If you already know of layoffs at Westgate Resorts, chime in here on the blog.

Also, here's a link to my previous story about record sales for Westgate Resorts, Inc. and highlights on Westgate timeshare locations.

Today's CNN.com's travel tips article gives some pretty good advice for saving money while enjoying nice accommodations. They explore the ins and outs of finding homes for rent, condo rentals, but not much information about one of the fastest growing segments of the hotel and lodging industry: timeshare rentals. Renting a timeshare can be an affordable way to enjoy a terrific resort destination without paying a "5 Star" price. Lots of online services claim to save you a bundle if you get their package deals. But in the long run, only come close to the normal rack rates for finer rentals.

I mentioned some off season travel deals in this blog recently. To go a little deeper, you can find magnificent 2, 3, and even 4 bedroom luxury resorts at a fraction of the daily rate. For example, at www.rentvacations.com you'd find Montecristo Estates in Cabo San Lucas Mexico. This 3 bedroom luxury condo is available Thanksgiving week, with a check in date of November 23rd. It features marble floors & baths with walk-in closets, granite kitchen counter tops, stainless steel appliances and fine wood throughout the home. And all for $2,200 for the week. Here's some photos from the resort:

Or how about Manhattan Club NY NY? A 1 bedroom apartment located in the best part of New York City, at 56th Street and Seventh Avenue, offering access to some of the city''s most famous attractions. Carnegie Hall is diagonally across the street, and Broadway''s famous theatre district begins just around the corner. And for $2,450 for a week checking in on November 24th? Thanksgiving week in New York City for a serious discount!

So, yes you can find some terrific deals if you'd like to save money and get a great place to stay at the same time. Check it out! www.rentvacations.com

In London today InterContinental Hotels Group announced a new deal with Orange Lake Resorts to form Holiday Inn Club Vacations. The Orange Lake resorts will continue to be managed, owned, and operated by the Wilson family. Kemmons Wilson founded Holiday Inn and created the Holiday Inn hotel brand in 1952.

There will be significant benefits to owners of any of the Orange Lake family of resorts timeshares. Notably, the Holiday Inn Club exchange program. This program will allow their members to exchange their weeks for hotels at IHG's some 4,000 hotels including hoteliers like Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Staybridge, Candlewood, Hotel Indigo, and Intercontinental.

From the perspective of size and systems this would be the alignment of the world's largest hotel group with the worlds largest single site timeshare resort in the world. IHG plans include developing a Holiday Inn Resort on the Orange Lake Country Club site in Orlando Florida. They will also integrate "the marketing and rental of timeshare villas through IHG's extensive reservation system and distribution channels, including Priority Club Rewards, the world's largest hotel loyalty program with over 39 million members." (source)

According to news sources, the Orange Lake Country Club in Orlando changes will be completed by December 2008. Their other timeshare facilities in Vermont, Wisconsin, and Panama City Florida will follow soon after.

Yesterday's announcement from Disney that they will give free admission to one theme park on your birthday, brings up one important thing on my "to do list" - buy a Disney Vacation Club timeshare on the secondary market. After all, why should I pay the going rate at the resort when there are owners who would be willing to sell me their DVC for much much less?  I'd get the same product but for thousands less!

But how would I find the right resort, make sure the owner knows exactly what they own, and get the deal closed? What about escrow, closing companies, and transfer of ownership at Disney?

If you are really serious about buying or selling Disney Vacation Club timeshares, then you should utilize the services of timeshare resales specialists like those at www.rpmls.com. They have the size, experience, and systems to get the right deal and do it right the first time! With thousands of timeshare properties sold and closed, their experience would be the "steak" you need - with none of the "sizzle" so many seem to offer.

Disney Vacation Club's proximity to Walt Disney World, their amenities, and attention to detail would make any timeshare owner confident that they made the right decision - especially when you buy your DVC timeshare from another owner.

In www.cnn.com's Travel section, they feature various great "off-season" vacation ideas. In this article they talk a little about Steamboat Springs Colorado and the great outdoors activities around there in the summer.

Timeshares lend themselves well to off-season travel. Consider fall timeshare deals in the beautiful Northeast. You can catch the fall foliage in Vermont or New Hampshire quite easily and find affordable accommodations. Off-season timeshares are always offered at a huge discount - whether you want to buy one or rent. How else can you find a 2 bedroom condo in a 5 star resort for often less than $1,000? You can if you choose a timeshare.

For example, check out some of these "off season" timeshare deals at www.rentvacations.com :

Royal Palm Beach Club - Simpson Bay Saint Maarten - You can get this 2 bedroom condo for $800 for a week - October 3-10!

Westgate Palace - Orlando Florida - 2 bedroom condo rental for $800 for the week of November 21 - 28!

Tahiti Village - Las Vegas - 1 bedroom timeshare rental for Christmas week for $780.

These are just a sample of great deals to be found all around the world.

How about some discount "Last Minute Deals" :

Kona Coast Resort II
Location: Kailua-Kona  Hawaii 10/5/2008 to 10/12/2008 $700

Roark Vacation Resort
Location: Branson  Missouri 10/25/2008 to 11/1/2008 $650

Silver Seas
Location: Fort Lauderdale  Florida 11/1/2008 to 11/8/2008 $700

Silverleaf Hill Country Resort
Location: Canyon Lake  Texas 11/1/2008 to 11/8/2008 $700

Mayan Palace Puerto Penasco
Location: Puerto Penasco  MEXICO 11/14/2008 to 11/21/2008 $500

All great choices for some off season travel to terrific destinations.

Technorati Tags: vacation deals,timeshare,rent,rental,travel discounts,travel,off season,condo

Silverleaf Resorts, Inc released a statement yesterday about their Texas timeshares that were damaged by Hurricane Ike. The Silverleaf timeshare most directly hit by the storm was Silverleaf's Seaside Resort in Galveston. When Ike made landfall as a strong Cagegory 2 storm, it produced a huge amount of damage all along the Texas and Louisiana coastline. Silverleaf Resorts, Inc stated that " While there does not appear to be any structural or substantial flood damage to the interiors of any of the buildings at the resort, wind damage to exteriors and roofs was observed as well as a fair amount of sediment and debris that will need to be removed from the resort."

Given Galveston's history with one catastrophic storm, it looks like the seawall built in the early 1900's may have prevented similar damage. Still, the process of reestablishing the infrastructure will take time. Contingencies for this type of disaster are well thought out and the owners of Silverleaf Seaside Resort can be confident that they will be able to return to their vacation resort.

Near my home is Silverleaf's Piney Shores Resort. Officials at Silverleaf say that while Piney Shores sustained some wind damage, it will be fully operational as soon as power is restored. The eye of hurricane Ike passed a few miles east of here sparing us the worst part of the storm.

Please feel free to share your Ike stories here - especially stories of random acts of kindness and neighbors helping neighbors.

The Galveston Seawall Under Construction in 1905:

Here's a snapshot of Hurricane Ike from www.wunderground.com, 1:50 pm CT September 12, 2008. Texas beachfront timeshare resorts will be impacted in a serious way by this huge storm.  As I write this about 110 miles north of Galveston, Texas, the wind is just starting to pick up.  Doubtless the worst is ahead, especially for the beachfront properties on Galveston Island and other Texas and Louisana communities. As news comes in I will update this article to keep timeshare owners informed about their Texas timeshares. I'll also post a few "lessons learned" from my first LARGE encounter with a hurricane here on www.rpmls.com/blog.

Wish us luck on the Texas Gulf Coast!

Today from www.MousePlanet.com comes this charming story: "The Disney Company recently purchased 21 acres of oceanfront property on Hawaii's island of Oahu to be home to Disney's first mixed-use family resort outside of its theme park developments. The expansive resort, scheduled to open in 2011, will have more than 800 units including hotel rooms and villas for Disney Vacation Club (DVC), which is Disney's rapidly growing timeshare business."

So, how is this a charming story? The rest of the story is the history of Hawaii and Disney.

Beyond the story of a 1937 cartoon with Minnie Mouse in a hula skirt (Hawaiian Holiday) is a magnificent accession of Oahu property destined to be one of the finest resorts within the Disney Vacation Club timeshare enterprise, or any other for that matter. Hawaii has long been a source of inspiration and imagination of the most desirable vacation destination of all time. And, the combination of travel and tourism will forever be the driving force of the economy of Hawaii.

Disney Vacation Club timeshares include:

Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas

Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa

Disney Villas at Wilderness Lodge

Disney's Beach Club Villas

Disney's BoardWalk Villas

Disney's Old Key West Resort

Disney's Vero Beach Resort

Disney's Hilton Head Resort

If you are thinking of buying a Disney Vacation Club timeshare, buy resale - don't pay retail. You can save thousands that way. If you want to sell your Disney Vacation Club timeshare, we have buyers waiting with standing requests! Give the timeshare pros at www.rpmls.com a call - 1.800.200.9857.

From Hawaiian Holiday, 1937

Instructional videos are not new. But in the world of timeshares, videos with good information for owners and buyers of timeshares are hard to find.  www.rpmls.com newest service features numerous videos from timeshare industry experts. They answer many questions timeshare owners are asking like: "What is my timeshare worth?", "What are the options available to me if I want to sell my timeshare?", "How do the resorts attract buyers for their properties?" and more.

For both sellers and buyers, there are selling and buying tips for many regions, resort families, and specific timeshare developments. For example, if you you'd like to sell your Disney Vacation Club timeshare, you'll find a very encouraging message. If you want to buy or sell your timeshare in Orlando Florida, here's the top two best sellers! There's advice about Starwood points and options, Manhattan Club, RCI vs II, and Marriott Maui Ocean Club.

There are already 19 videos posted with more on the way.

And because it is in a blog format everyone can join in on the discussion with their comments about their timeshare experiences. The titles are key word searchable and categorized. For example, there are already three videos in the Starwood Timeshare Resort category discussing different aspects of Starwood timeshare resorts.

You'll see real people offering real solutions. Not just another "dot com".