Timeshare Owners Speak Out
Posted October 23, 2009 , comments closed) With the economy improving, albeit slowly, consumers are continuing to look for ways to stretch their vacation dollars. For budget-minded families, timeshare remains one of the best vacation values.
Four new high-quality videos released by Holiday Resales, one of the nation’s oldest and largest timeshare resellers, illustrate the real world convenience and value of timesharing, as well as the advantages of vacation ownership versus traditional hotel-based vacations. The “Timeshare vs. Hotels” videos average about 3 minutes in length and can be viewed at http://timeshare.holidaygroup.com/2009/timeshare-vs-hotels.
“We invited timeshare owners to talk to us about what they liked about their timeshares,” said Geoff Klein, Holiday’s Marketing Director. “In the videos, which were unscripted, the owners were quite enthusiastic about their experiences, and especially about the price point that timeshare resales provides.”
As over 4 million Americans already know, one of the most wallet-friendly vacation options is timesharing. But the vacation industry’s best-kept secret, timeshare resales, remains relatively unknown to most travelers. Timeshare resales typically sell for 60% to 80% below retail prices and require no high-pressure presentations to purchase. In fact, most resale timeshares can be purchased by consumers via the Internet.
Klein noted that, “Many of the buyers we interviewed stated that if it hadn’t been for the low resale prices and extra amenities that timeshare provides, such as kitchens and a larger living space, they wouldn’t have been able to vacation as much as a family.”
Studies conducted by the American Resort Development Association ( http://www.arda.com ) show that nearly 85% of the 4.3 million US timeshare owners are satisfied with their purchase. It is also clear that, as with other leisure lifestyle products, the more information consumers have before purchasing a timeshare, the more satisfied they are afterwards.
“Holiday has always placed a high value on educating buyers about the timeshare product,” Klein said. “We’ve sold more than 32,000 timeshares over the last 16 years, not just because of our low prices, but also because of our strong consumer approach, which is reflected in the fact that 25 percent of our business comes from repeat buyers.”
On the Web
Holiday “Timeshare vs. Hotels” Videos: http://timeshare.holidaygroup.com/2009/timeshare-vs-hotels
About Holiday Group
Headquartered in sunny Seattle, Holiday has been a leading timeshare resale marketer and consumer advocate since 1992, having earned its reputation by offering an innovative blend of customer service and consumer educational resources, including its well-received series of live Webinars ( http://www.holidaygroup.com/webinar ). Holiday is headquartered in sunny Seattle. Please visit http://www.holidaygroup.com for more information.
Contact:
Geoff Klein
(800) 597-9345
geoff@holidaygroup.com
www.cruise.co.uk Wins ‘Best Cruise Agent’ in Europe for the Second Consecutive Year
Posted , comments closed) www.cruise.co.uk is celebrating success once again at the European Travel Awards with its second consecutive win in the Specialist Cruise Agent Category.
The great and good of the European travel industry gathered on Saturday night at the Marriott Prais D’El Rey Resort, just north of Lisbon, Portugal to see the best of European travel vie for success across a number of different categories. The European Awards form part of the World Travel Awards, the most prestigious, comprehensive and sought after awards for the global travel and tourism industry. The awards celebrate excellence across customer service, innovation and creativity and are generally regarded as the ‘Oscars’ of the global travel industry.
Commenting on the unique achievement, Seamus Conlon, Managing Director, said: “We are absolutely delighted to have won this award for the second consecutive year. We feel this recognises our superior service, higher cruise discounts, and the vast amounts of cruise related information we have on www.cruise.co.uk; over 7000 past passenger photos and over 100,000 cruise related question and answers, the complete Berlitz Guide to Cruising, online and free for all to read.
“This award comes at time when the market for cruises continues to grow and we welcome the recognition by our customers, our peers and those who use our website to research their cruise holiday. Last year alone our site had over four million visits and is now the UK’s largest cruise website for people researching a cruise. This is great example of a British company now leading the new developing online cruise market.”
www.CRUISE.co.uk has ALSO been nominated for the World Cruise Travel Agent 2009 which will be held on 8 November at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London, when World Awards will be announced.”
New Site Blends Social Media With Travel HotelTattler.com
Posted , comments closed) Business and personal travelers looking to access competitive travel plans may find what they have been looking for with the launch of HotelTattler.com (www.HotelTattler.com). This new site provides a unique portal to nearly 1 million hotels along with more than 1 million traveler reviews.
According to the Director of Marketing Mike Kennedy, “Our company (Have A Great Life! LLC) has been very active in reaching the largest segments of the population with three sites that are focused on related news, blogs and forums designed to provide a super-sized enhancement to the overall user experience. I believe HotelTattler.com meets and exceeds our expectations for linking the travelers among us with resources needed to plan a premier getaway.”
Have a Great Life! LLC also features a site dedicated to the avid sports enthusiasts (www.foxlocks.com) and another for technology enthusiasts (www.techfloat.com). The introduction of HotelTattler.com follows a similar pattern of offering a comprehensive approach to the subject of travel while connecting the visitor to other travelers and travel deals.
“We believe that when our customers experience a premier travel experience they may be willing to share the knowledge,” Kennedy notes. “However, because we provide personal blogging at HotelTattler.com we find users are willing to share the best and worst about their travel experience. This can only help other customers who may be looking to balance positive and negative features of a given vacation idea.”
The timing of HotelTattler.com coincides with a depressed economy. Kennedy explains, “Travel has become an investment. Certainly that includes business, but for personal travel it can be an investment in a return to sanity. Any available disposable income should be used carefully. HotelTattler.com is a practical answer to the informed decision questions clients may have.”
Visitors can expect a clearinghouse of the most current travel articles featuring destinations both exotic and practical. This information is available as an RSS feed for up-to-date referencing.
“We feature search capabilities in 30 separate travel services ensuring a powerful price comparison and ultimately the lowest price in travel,” Kennedy declared. “Our forums provide first hand accounts from travelers who have been to the destination you are considering. Their insight can provide a realistic look at what you can expect and it’s all in one place.”
The launch of HotelTattler.com provides a blend of low cost travel with the power of social media in bringing travelers together for the purpose of improving the overall travel experience.
HotelTattler.com (www.HotelTattler.com), operated by Have A Great Life!, LLC, is a leading online travel community designed specifically for hotel travelers. The website specializes in discounted hotel bookings for both business and leisure travelers. Offering competitive rates worldwide from over 900,000 hotels, and 30 different travel sites.
Asia Tour Company Awards Photography Prizes
Posted October 22, 2009 , comments closed) BOULDER, CO, October 22, 2009 Asia Transpacific Journeys announces the winners of its 2009 Travelers Photo Contest.
Asia Transpacific Journeys wanted to capture Asia travel experiences through the eyes of their travelers and thus created the Travelers Photo Contest. 109 gorgeous submissions by their travelers on small group or private, custom Asia tours were entered into the contest.
The Asia Transpacific Journeys staff chose the top 20 semi-finalists and the winners were selected by National Geographic Traveler photographer Bob Krist, who noted “Great color, story telling, and strong compositions made it very hard for me to pick only three. Obviously, your travelers are exploring their destinations with an appreciative eye and a knack for going beyond the postcard views.”
First place was for a photo of an Indian boy riding his camel home at sunset near the Pushkar Camel Fair. Second place was for a photo of Indian women in their saris sitting on a wall in India. Third place was a photograph of two young Bhutanese children watching a local festival, with the photo capturing the innocence of Bhutan. Visit the Web site for complete details of the Asia travel photo contest.
About Asia Transpacific Journeys
Asia Transpacific Journeys is a Boulder, Colorado based Asia travel company and Asia tour operator specializing in travel tour packages and Asia Pacific tours since 1987. Outstanding service, long-standing connections in Asia and deeply insightful cultural interpretation make Asia Transpacific Journeys the Asia travel company of choice for the American Museum of Natural History, The Harvard and Yale alumni associations, the World Wildlife Fund, as well as discerning individuals, their families and friends. National Geographic Adventure named Asia Transpacific Journeys groundbreaking trip to Laos as one of 25 Best New Trips for 2010 in their November 2009 magazine.
Half Term Holiday hunters look to Last Minute holidays for a deal.
Posted September 30, 2009 , comments closed) Holidaymakers are still determined to find last minute holidays before Winter officially kicks in, says holiday website www.holidayholiday.co.uk.
According to their stats, 46% of visiting holiday consumers in the last week have searched Holiday Holiday for a holiday in October, picking popular hot destinations such as Sharm el Sheikh in Egypt. A large percentage of those are looking for a cheap deal for October half term holidays, due to start in approx. 4 weeks time.
Marketing Director Emma Healey commented “With British Summer time ‘officially’ over on the 25th October, which falls at the start of the half term holidays week, lots of people are shopping around trying to find a last minute holiday. As we move into the Winter holidays season in the next couple of months, we expect the trend for last minute holidays for package holidays to continue.”
The Winter season in the travel industry is traditionally the start of November to the end of March, when destinations such as the Caribbean, Egypt and the Canary Islands become popular. Ski and Cruise bookings are also popular during this time, as ski resorts start to open and Cruisers look to the next year to book ahead for new cruise ship itineraries as well as that last minute bargain cruise deal.
For Half Term Holiday hunters, the Government backed “Every Lesson Counts” initiative, a joint initiative with ABTA (Association of British Travel Agents) and the FTO (Federation of Tour Operators) to aim to reduce the levels of school absence, has encouraged tour operators and travel agents alike to try even harder to find value added holidays within the school holidays.
In relation to this “those looking for half term holidays will benefit from a site like holiday holiday” says Emma as “we have hundreds of knowledgeable travel agents advertising, all in one place, updating their holiday offers on a daily basis. If you are looking for a deal in the half term week then searching the website and speaking to one of the many ABTA bonded travel agents on the site will enable you to challenge them to put their expertise to the test to find you a really good holiday deal”.