Vacation Planning and Demystifying Timeshares from the Comfort of the Couch

Planning a vacation has never been easier – just ask the viewers that have already tuned in to RCI® TV more than 1 million times for advice on where to eat, stay and play in the most popular destinations around the globe. The web-based television network, once exclusive to RCI subscribing members, began granting public access in November 2009 to its entertaining and educational high-definition videos narrated by the enigmatic “RCI Guy” on www.RCI.com. This 1 million-view milestone demonstrates that travelers are interested in not only learning more about the timeshare industry, but also visiting the hundreds of RCI’s more than 4,000 resorts who are showcasing their vacation destinations in high-definition video on-line. To celebrate this landmark number, RCI is giving away a choice of either an all-inclusive vacation at an RCI affiliated resort for up to four people valued at up to $5,000 USD for one week at any one of the stunning all-inclusive properties featured on RCI TV, or a one week stay for up to four people at any of the beautiful non all-inclusive “Resort Showcase” properties featured on RCI TV.

Recognizing that timeshare is still unfamiliar territory for many, RCI, the global leader in vacation exchange and one of the Wyndham Worldwide family of brands (NYSE: WYN), launched RCI TV in an effort to more heavily promote the benefits of owning or vacationing in a timeshare resort through a network of channels including: An Inside Look, What You Need to Know, Ask the RCI Guy, Resort Showcase, All Inclusive Resorts and Destination Reviews. Through tailored on-line and on-air programming, RCI provides travelers with answers to the age-old questions – How do timeshares work? What is the quality of the resorts, houses, condos and villas? Why are timeshare resorts the preferred vacation option for over 6 million owners and millions more non-owners who like the space, comfort, amenities and value that they offer?

“Since inventing the concept of timeshare exchange more than 35 years ago, RCI has been devoted to providing innovative technology and marketing solutions that add value for both our members and our affiliates,” said Geoff Ballotti, CEO, RCI. “The overwhelming usage and success of RCI TV is beyond anything we originally envisioned when we launched it nearly a year ago. Moms and dads who are planning vacations want to see more than just pretty pictures as they plan their vacations. They want to be able to show their kids and email their friends links to beautiful videos that show where they’re headed or where they’ve just returned from as a family. With RCI TV surpassing 1 million views in such a short period of time, we’re happy that we’re giving our members what they’re looking for in this regard. Our commitment to adding more high-def video programming is stronger than ever and film crews are spanning the globe to bring these vacation resorts and destinations to life on peoples’ home computers, laptops, tablets and iPhones®. And most importantly, once a vacationer has experienced what we offer on RCI TV, our commitment is to then link them back to our affiliates’ websites, so that they can tell them more about their resorts.”

RCI also has notably made its debut into the mobile marketing world with the launch of an RCI application for the iPhone®, iPod touch® and iPadTM available through the Apple Store® retail store services. The RCI TV feature grants users immediate access to a list of featured Destination Channel videos currently available on RCI.com that they can then share or save. Additionally, RCI has launched a YouTube Channel (http://www.youtube.com/rcitimeshare) that contains dozens of quality resort videos from RCI TV that showcase affiliated properties around the world. These new resources enhance the trip planning process for savvy travelers who tweet, text and blog and allows users to share vacation experiences with their social networks.

Consumers can visit http://rcisurvey.bgtpartners.com/rci-promotion.aspx to enter to win and can use their Resort & Residence TV promo code, ‘ThinkBig,’ for an extra 10 chances to win.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. The RCI® TV Prize Draw is open to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States (including D.C.) and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are at least twenty-one (21) years old at the time of entry.  See the link above for Official Rules, prize description and odds disclosure. Void where prohibited.

iPhone®, iPod touch® , and Apple Store® are registered trademarks of Apple Inc., and iPadTM  is a trademark of Apple, Inc. This press release is an independent announcement and has not been authorized, sponsored or otherwise approved by Apple Inc.

About RCI
RCI is part of Wyndham Exchange & Rentals, the worldwide leader in vacation exchange and the European leader in vacation rentals, with exclusive access for specified periods to more than 65,000 vacation properties in approximately 100 countries. Wyndham Exchange & Rentals is comprised of vacation exchange, including RCI, the worldwide leader in vacation exchange and provider of travel services to businesses and consumers and The Registry Collection program, the world’s largest luxury exchange program; vacation rentals, including Endless Vacation Rentals, Landal GreenParks®, Novasol®, and other renowned vacation rental brands, through which vacationers can rent a variety of property types, from city apartments to villas; and NorthCourse® Leisure Real Estate Solutions, a research and consultancy firm providing advisory services to the global leisure real estate industry. Wyndham Worldwide Corporation is one of the world’s largest hospitality companies with leading brands in lodging franchising, vacation ownership, vacation rentals and vacation exchange. For additional information visit our media center.

Following on from the industry-first success of Owners Perspective Magazine’s independent positioning of shared ownership products amongst general consumers through first class airport lounge distribution with more than a dozen of the world’s leading airlines, and in top hotels, resorts, golf clubs and spas, the specifically tailored Resort Developer Editions are helping on-site sales credibility, reducing new member cancellations and increasing the opportunities for upgrades, rentals and referrals.

Since its official launch last month, the publisher has announced confirmation for distribution and use at resorts in Mexico, Thailand, India, Bali, United Kingdom and soon plans to announce a number of confirmed contracts in Florida, Canada and Australia. These developer orientated special editions are backed by the credibility of the world’s largest independent publication for shared ownership products that is available to the general public and is exciting and motivating sales teams as it continues to be implemented in more and more resorts around the globe.

“We are so pleased with being able to provide another unique product to help increase sales and customer retention, and the rapid success of our Resort Developer Package is testament again to the quality of our work” says Paul Mattimoe, CEO of Perspective International Ltd.

With an incredibly versatile suite of options, developers can choose some or all of the features provided within the package to create the perfect fit for their operation(s) and orders can be placed with no long term commitment enabling resorts to quickly integrate at low cost.

For more information on Owners Perspective Magazine’s Resort Developer Options please request an information pack by emailing advertising@perspectiveinternational.com

Owners Perspective Magazine can be freely read online at http://www.ownersperspective.com

Since its inception in July 2008, Owners Perspective Magazine has established itself as the authority on buying timeshare, resort real estate and fractional ownership products, having been selected for distribution via the first class airport lounges of more than a dozen of the world’s leading airlines, luxury hotels, resorts, golf clubs and spas with a reach of over 50,000 highly targeted prospective buyers per edition.

Today, sees the launch of a new cutting edge website for the magazine, which offers access to all back issues in both digital page turn technology and downloadable PDF formats, web versions of all articles for easy search and reference, reader offers, competitions and the latest resort and luxury travel news updated daily.

The new site also has a social media element to it, combining the most popular features of Twitter and Facebook as well as offering Groups and Forums designed to glean positive feedback and consumer opinion on all aspects of shared ownership products.

To ensure the quality and integrity of its readership, all previous subscribers to the website are being asked to manually re-register, enabling Owners Perspective Magazine to have an accurate and active database of readers; with the new system also controlling any unsubscribing readers with ease.

Estimated figures predict that more than 10,000 will re-register over the next few weeks and the company expects rapid growth thereafter.

For more information visit www.ownersperspective.com

For information on advertising and editorial opportunities visit www.perspectiverates.com

For more than 7 years, http://www.timesharestaff.com has been the leading force behind online recruitment for the shared ownership industry and a firm favourite of many of the industry’s largest brands and independent developers.

Through its vast reach within the timeshare and fractional industry and highly targeted marketing externally, TimeshareStaff.com generates more than 16,000 employment enquiries per month for its advertisers globally, covering all nationalities and all sales, marketing, management and administration roles.

Now, to ease the rebuilding of sales and marketing teams around the globe, the recruitment website has adapted to accept single position / single location job postings for 30 days at a time (or more), in addition to its longer term continuous recruitment packages and the recent response to this has shown significant signs of recovery within the industry.

“There is definitely movement again within our industry, albeit a little more cautiously than perhaps a couple of years ago. We saw that many companies needed to start recruiting properly again but kept putting it off, so we looked at a decision to embrace short term advertisements very carefully and found that this was one way we could help stimulate growth again.” Said CEO, Paul Mattimoe.

For more information on advertising your job vacancies with TimeshareStaff.com just visit http://www.timesharestaff.com/employers

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT) announced today that it will release the Company’s first quarter financial results prior to market open on Thursday, April 29, 2010, followed by a conference call at 10:30am EDT. The conference call will include a brief discussion of the quarter followed by questions and answers. The call will be moderated by Jason Koval, Vice President, Investor Relations.

Participants may listen to the simultaneous webcast of the conference call by logging onto the company website http://www.starwoodhotels.com and choosing Investor Relations within the Corporate Information section of the website at 10:30am EDT or by calling 706-758-8744 fifteen minutes prior to the call. In addition, a replay has been arranged, which will air from Thursday, April 29, 2010 at 1:30pm EDT through Thursday, May 6, 2010 at 12:00 midnight. The replay will be available on the Company’s website or by dialing 706-645-9291 (Pass code 57051808).

About Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with 992 properties in 100 countries and approximately 145,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. Starwood(R) Hotels is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels and resorts with the following internationally renowned brands: St. Regis(R), The Luxury Collection(R), Sheraton(R), Westin(R), Four Points(R) by Sheraton, W(R), Le Méridien(R), and the recently announced AloftSM and ElementSM. Starwood Hotels also owns Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and operators of high quality vacation interval ownership resorts. For more information, please visit www.starwoodhotels.com.

World’s largest vacation exchange company continues to break new ground on innovations that enhance the member experience

Further expanding its legacy as a technology leader in the industry, RCI, the global leader in vacation exchange and one of the Wyndham Worldwide family of companies (NYSE: WYN), today unveiled two new RCI® applications for the iPhone® digital mobile device that will enable travelers to show friends where they’ve been and where they’re going. Tweeting, texting, blogging – RCI recognizes that consumers have a legitimate vacation planning tool in the palm of their hand with the new applications that will help enhance the trip planning process and allow users to share vacation experiences with their social networks.

Following the earlier announcement of its plan to launch its innovative RCI Points Platinumsm membership tier, RCI unveiled the newest of its cutting-edge technology initiatives during the American Resort Development Association (ARDA) 2010 Convention and Exposition in Las Vegas. Marking its debut into the mobile marketing world, RCI launched the RCI TV application for the iPhone and iPod® touch, currently available through the Apple® store.

Through this portable version of RCI TV, which is currently available to the general public on RCI.com, users can view a list of featured Destination Channel videos. The application lists all videos with a small thumbnail image, video title and video length in the application navigation. Once users view the video, they can email the video link to a friend or save it for themselves. RCI plans to provide additional functionality and more videos for download in future releases.

“Since inventing the concept of vacation exchange more than 35 years ago, RCI has been devoted to providing innovative technology and marketing solutions that add value to our affiliated developers and members,” said Geoff Ballotti, CEO, RCI. “From our new YouTube site with rich high-definition video which is creating marketing leads for
affiliates to these two new Apple® applications, which we believe our members will love, we are committed to developing great content and the best social media applications we can to drive member engagement and lower our customers’ marketing costs.”

Also unveiled was the RCI SnapBook™ application which allows users to capture pictures, videos, voice memos and texts on their iPhone during a vacation, with the application automatically logging when and where the event took place. The assets can then be loaded to RCISnapBook.com where they will be published in either a scrapbook,
timeline or map display. At any time during or after the vacation, the user can share their vacation memories with friends or log into the RCI SnapBook portal and add additional assets.

These latest innovations follow the recent launch of RCI’s YouTube site. Launched in January 2010, the RCI YouTube channel contains over 50 quality resort videos from RCI TV that showcase RCI affiliated properties around the world.

From this site, visitors can link directly to RCI.com and even back to the affiliated resort to view rich video content on the resort they are interested in along with information that further educates the public on the benefits of vacation ownership.

RCI also announced that it will introduce RCI Points Platinum, a new tier of membership and the latest enhancement to its successful RCI Points® program that will offer premium exchange and lifestyle benefits to members.

“As the inventor of the vacation exchange business, we continue working to develop fresh and new ideas that will improve our members’ experience and exceed the expectations of our affiliates,” said Ballotti. “These new applications bring an exciting and dynamic element to RCI and we’re planning to expand these channels and make our ever-growing travel and resort content more widely available across our social networks.”

About RCI
RCI is part of Wyndham Exchange and Rentals, the worldwide leader in vacation exchange and the European leader in vacation rentals, with exclusive access for specified periods to more than 65,000 vacation properties in approximately 100 countries.

Wyndham Exchange and Rentals is comprised of vacation exchange, including RCI, the worldwide leader in vacation exchange and provider of travel services to businesses and consumers and The Registry Collection Ò program, the world’s largest luxury exchange program; vacation rentals, including Endless Vacation RentalsÒ, Landal GreenParks®,
Novasol®, and other renowned vacation rental brands, through which vacationers can rent a variety of property types, from city apartments to villas; and NorthCourse® Leisure Real Estate Solutions, a research and consultancy firm providing advisory services to the global leisure real estate industry. Wyndham Worldwide Corporation is one of the world’s largest hospitality companies with leading brands in lodging franchising, vacation ownership, vacation rentals and vacation exchange.
For additional information visit www.wyndhamer.com or the media center of www.wyndhamworldwide.com.

*iPhone®, iPod® and Apple® are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. This press release is an independent announcement and has not been authorized, sponsored or otherwise approved by Apple Inc.

The leading trade publication for the shared ownership industry reaches another milestone as it takes the number one spot on Google.com for another powerful search term.

Perspective Magazine and its network of websites have commanded top search engine results for search terms such as “timeshare news” for several years, but now can boast the top spot for the term “fractional news”, with their flagship website http://www.theperspectivemagazine.com, beating other competing sites, even the many that use the word “fractional” within their website name.

“There are many factors to achieving high search engine rankings, but quality content, loyal repeat visitors and natural growth have always been the key to our success.” Says CEO Paul Mattimoe. “We have reported on the fractional ownership industry for several years, but as that market continues to gain momentum and we continue to take on more fractional clients it is important for us to show our strength and commitment in this specific area.”

Perspective Magazine provides daily timeshare, fractional ownership, resort real estate and hospitality news online and by email, in addition to publishing the “most read” independent trade publication globally for the shared ownership industry, reaching more than 21,000 registered industry professionals. Perspective Magazine also recently launched a Social Networking Site (http://perspectiveforums.com) dedicated to the shared ownership industry which in just four weeks has attracted more members than any other industry social media group worldwide.

For more information visit http://www.perspectivemagazine.com

For Advertising & Editorial opportunities visit http://www.perspectiverates.com

World’s largest vacation exchange company continues to grow stronger, offering more
value to affiliates

Demonstrating that vacation exchange remains a bright spot in the travel industry, RCI, the global leader in vacation exchange and one of the Wyndham Worldwide family of brands (NYSE: WYN), announced that it added more than 100 new resorts, including 10 properties under development, to the world’s largest vacation exchange network.

Several of the industry’s most powerful and well-renowned brands and their properties were added to RCI’s system in 2009, including the Disney Vacation Club, Fairmont Properties in Canada and Palace Vacation Club in Malaysia.

“Developers understand the importance of working with a quality exchange company that helps them increase sales and lower marketing costs, especially in today’s economy,” said Geoff Ballotti, CEO, RCI. “RCI’s ongoing commitment to providing the most innovative marketing services and solutions has helped us attract high quality new affiliates as never before, and enabled us to continue to grow our membership base.”

After 35 years, RCI continues to be the leader and innovator in the industry, first to market with fresh, new and unique marketing and technology ideas that provide added value for affiliates and improve the member experience. Its legacy of innovation rests on making many “firsts” happen – RCI was the first to launch weeks exchange, the first to offer points exchange, and the first to implement high-end luxury exchange.

In 2008, RCI committed to spending tens of millions of dollars over a three-year period to develop and execute a series of online technology, product and service enhancements that are improving the exchange experience for its subscribing members around the world. In 2009 with the growing popularity of online video, RCI recognized a unique opportunity to use this medium as a marketing tool for its members and prospective timeshare buyers. An online video network available only on RCI.com, RCI® TV offers a broad selection of entertaining and educational content about RCI, its products and services, as well as travel and resort information. The network is designed to help owners get the most out of their RCI subscribing membership and make vacation planning more fun while also introducing new prospects to the benefits of vacation ownership.

Response to RCI TV from both members and affiliates has exceeded expectations with over 100 videos uploaded, including 80 Resort Showcases, and more high-definition video being added on a regular basis to RCI.com. Web share, or the percentage of exchange and rentals transacted online, has increased from 13 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008 to 24 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009. In the last 10 weeks alone, the non-member site has already received over 265,000 visits and the member site has received over 100,000 visits. With developers able to feature their properties, and millions of visitors able to watch RCI-affiliated resorts come to life on the Resort Showcase channel, this tool is already driving greater exchange activity and helping to increase occupancy for RCI-affiliated resorts. To promote the site and help drive increased traffic from newcomers, RCI is investing heavily in advertising and search engine optimization efforts. This includes three commercials currently airing on Resort & Residence TV, a new travel and real estate cable channel which is available to 27 million viewers.

RCI has vastly improved its marketing infrastructure, allowing RCI to showcase more resort photos of its affiliates with higher picture quality, as well as videos and floor plans. This effort supports a recent member survey where respondents ranked “more and bigger resort photos” as the number one feature desired to help them plan or choose a vacation.

Like the Resort Showcase channel on RCI TV, new system capabilities help affiliates better promote their properties and drive higher occupancy.

“We are constantly working to develop new and exceptional marketing and technology ideas that benefit our affiliates and improve the member experience,” added Ballotti. “It’s what our affiliates and members have come to expect from RCI and it’s what we plan to continue to deliver.”

About RCI
RCI is part of Wyndham Exchange and Rentals, the worldwide leader in vacation exchange and the European leader in vacation rentals, with exclusive access for specified periods to more than 65,000 vacation properties in approximately 100 countries.

Wyndham Exchange and Rentals is comprised of vacation exchange, including RCI, the worldwide leader in vacation exchange and provider of travel services to businesses and consumers and The Registry Collection Ò program, the world’s largest luxury exchange program; vacation rentals, including Endless Vacation RentalsÒ, Landal GreenParks®, Novasol®, and other renowned vacation rental brands, through which vacationers can rent a variety of property types, from city apartments to villas; and NorthCourse® Leisure
Real Estate Solutions, a research and consultancy firm providing advisory services to the global leisure real estate industry. Wyndham Worldwide Corporation is one of the world’s largest hospitality companies with leading brands in lodging franchising, vacation ownership, vacation rentals and vacation exchange.

For additional information visit www.wyndhamer.com or the media center of www.wyndhamworldwide.com.

PerspectiveForums.com reports more than 2,000 friend requests served in first two weeks.

Perspective Magazine, the shared ownership industry’s leading trade publication recently launched the first standalone social networking platform dedicated to the timeshare and fractional ownership industry, combining the most popular features of Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn all on one website.

From initial promotion only, the site has already attracted in excess of 600 registered users, who have generated more than 75,000 page views and issued more than 2,000 friend requests over the past fortnight, with word of mouth now growing the site exponentially each day.

The site was created to encourage timeshare and fractional developers, marketers and suppliers to network more efficiently, thereby creating opportunities for new collaborations, strategic partnerships and extending client portfolios.

What makes this site standout, apart from its vast array of features, is its leverage of Perspective Magazine’s readership which exceeds 22,000 registered industry professionals around the globe who are currently being invited to register free on the website.

“We’ve had a lot of feedback from users of the website, all of it positive and it has started well, but there are still quite a few additional features to roll out yet – such as an iPhone App, but due to the complexity of the site we have a few weeks still to wait for this. The marketing for the site has only just started – by the end of March we expect to have the largest social media group of industry professionals available online, and then we’ll only be at about 10% of the expected number of registered users for the coming months.” Said Paul Mattimoe, President & CEO of Perspective International.

To join Perspective Forums simply visit www.perspectiveforums.com

For more information about Perspective Magazine (Trade), Owners Perspective Magazine (Consumer) and advertising and editorial opportunities visit www.perspectiverates.com

A website dedicated to the recruiting of professional sales executives for the purpose of fractional property sales was launched in test mode back in August 2009, and now after detailed scrutiny of the quality of applications received via the website and after reaching the No.1 spot on Google.com for the search term “fractional jobs”, www.fractionalstaff.com will officially launch next week aimed at providing a reliable service with high returns for advertisers of fractional job vacancies.

Recent months have shown that fractional property developers are increasing but their success with property agents is not producing the results originally hoped for, and so many are enquiring about the availability of dedicated sales teams – something that FractionalStaff.com has concentrating on for the past 7 months.

Fractional Staff is another service from the Perspective group of companies who publish the leading shared ownership industry magazines for both the trade and consumers and so its widest reach both online and offline ensures that it will attract the most suitable candidates that are new to the industry as well as the best sales professionals from within the industry worldwide.

Introductory advertising rates start from as little as £199 per month with added value across the network of Perspective websites and titles available on selected packages.

For more information email advertising@perspectiveinternational.com or call +44 191 250 3501 (UK) or  +1 407 792 2343