Timeshares for Nudists

The Valhalla Vacation Club, a timeshare community featuring a nude swimming pool and spa area, was once a 390 unit, family community. Originally called The Arbors at Branch Creek, this apartment complex in sunny Florida has had difficulty attracting tenets.

The apartment complex was slated to become condos with a European theme. Apparently the market for condos isn’t any better than it is for apartments. Eric Dukes, who is the director of sales for the Valhalla Vacation Club, says plans have changed and the units will become timeshares. Timeshares targeted to attract nudists.

Eric Dukes is also the owner of Attraction Realty. According to the St Petersburg Times, Attraction Realty’s website claimed that its number one goal was to help create wealth in real estate. The website has recently expired.

I’m all for nudity. However, when nudity is exploited as a means to promote timeshares, I think perhaps someone is not telling the naked truth. Do I see a cover-up? - M. Beddingfield

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Economy Hurts Timeshare Companies: Worst Shape in 20 Years

By M. Beddingfield

Central Florida Investments, Inc., a company with more than 10,000 employees and approximately 2 million timeshare owners, is feeling the financial squeeze "with the suddenness of a heart attack." According to David Siegel, CEO and president, they went from having a fantastic beginning of the year to "experiencing an unforeseen business emergency brought on by the collapse of the credit markets."

The company owns Westgate Resorts and has closed down its Houston premiere gallery, laying off all 106 staff members. Twenty-eight resorts in eleven states will also be affected with hundreds of sales associates losing their jobs.

Ed Hastry, president of the National Timeshare Owners Association, says the timeshare industry is in its worst shape in 20 years.

With credit no longer so easy to obtain, everyday Americans aren’t digging into their cash stash to purchase overpriced timeshares. Isn’t it funny that when money gets tight, people tend to become better judges of value?

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Westgate Timeshare Resorts Ordered to Pay $1 Million

By M. Beddingfield

Westgate Resorts, a Florida-based timeshare firm, has been ordered to pay $1 million in punitive damages by a Utah County. The reason? They were using travel vouchers that were too difficult to redeem.

Like many timeshare companies, Westgate used travel vouchers as bait to get people into their sales tours. They promised free trips for two to California, including air fare and lodging in Anaheim. What they didn’t disclose was the fact that there was also an upfront cost to redeem the travel voucher and severely limited restrictions.

In the trial, the jury gave punitive damages to Westgate to make a point to the timeshare industry that fraudulent schemes will not be tolerated.

Westgate Resorts plans to appeal the final civil judgment and says that the independent telemarketing firm in charge of scheduling the tours should have made callers aware of the travel restrictions.

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