Renée Wagner, Marketing Manager, Travel To Go

Travel To Go, a privately owned company specializing in affordable luxury vacation memberships, has launched a Facebook page as an added member benefit.

In an effort to continuously offer new member benefits, the Facebook page was launched in August 2011.  According to Renée Wagner, Marketing Manager, the page was implemented to “establish a connection with members that was convenient for them and to provide more information.  Most importantly, the page allows members to interact with the Travel To Go staff and enhance the dialogue between the two.”  An added benefit is that members can interact not only with staff, but can share travel tips with fellow members.

Travel To Go members that access Facebook find even more promotions and deals. Wagner also noted that since the page was launched, all promotions are posted on Facebook first, including the extremely popular “Hot Weeks” which book quickly.  Frequently, when last minute cancellations or “flash” deals come in, the deals are gone before an e-blast or website update can be completed.  Travel To Go’s Facebook page allows deals to be viewed instantly by members.  In addition, Facebook- only promotion codes are occasionally posted.

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Travel To Go was one of nine companies supporting breast cancer survivors by sponsoring a hole of golf in a “Survivors Scramble” hosted by Grand Mayan Resort, San Francisco Exchange and CSA Travel Protection at the Grand Mayan Resort in Puerto Vallarta, MX in June 2011. Proceeds from donated funds will send three women on vacation upon completion of their treatments.

Travel To Go sponsored the ninth hole of golf in honor of Kate Seidell, a seven year survivor of breast cancer. Kate, the mother of Steve Olinger of Travel To Go notes “I’m very happy that Steve works for a company that cares about the world, and I’m honored that Travel To Go thought of me.” Kate also added that everyone should have a mammogram. At the time her cancer was detected, she felt great and she was physically active. She actually thought about skipping her mammogram that year because she felt so well, but it was during that appointment that her cancer was detected.

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International visitors to the Gold Coast were steady over the year ending December 2010, an increase of 0.5% on the previous year however they spent 6% less on their trips to the tourism capital according to figures released today by Tourism Research Australia.

Gold Coast Tourism CEO Martin Winter said the results were anticipated given the strength of the dollar in 2010 and a changing mix of visitors to the Gold Coast.

“The Gold Coast tourism industry knows from experience that a strong Australian dollar weakens international visitor spend, so when the Australian dollar jumped from 85 cents to over parity last year we were anticipating a decline in international visitor spend, that is reflected in these numbers,” he said.

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Interval International, a prominent worldwide provider of vacation services and an operating business of Interval Leisure Group (Nasdaq: IILG), is again proud to be a Platinum sponsor of the Resort Development Organisation (RDO) Conference. The event will be held from the 26th to 28th September at the Don Carlos Resort and Spa in Marbella, Spain.

“Last year’s RDO Conference was a tremendous success and it is our pleasure to support this year’s event,” said Darren Ettridge, Interval’s vice president of resort sales and service for Europe, Middle East, and Africa and its representative on the RDO Board. “We look forward to playing our usual full part in the organisation of the conference and also in taking an active role during the event.”

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First Bangladesh Property Added to Global Exchange Network

Interval International, a prominent worldwide provider of vacation services and an operating segment of Interval Leisure Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: IILG), announced that Bengal Vacation Club at Sea Pearl Beach Resort and Spa has selected its quality global exchange network. The resort is the first affiliated property in Bangladesh and will be situated in Cox’s Bazar, one of area’s most popular tourist destinations.

Due for completion in October 2011, Sea Pearl Beach will offer guests miles of golden sands on the world’s longest natural white sand beach, which slopes down to the blue waters of the Bay of Bengal. Plans include a mixture of studios, one- and two-bedroom units with sea views. The resort is being built to adhere to eco-friendly standards that embody the principles of “recycle, renew, reuse, reduce, and rethink.”

“Bangladesh has a population of some 160 million and is visited by a large number of tourists from all over the world,” said Joe Hickman, Interval International’s executive director for Asia Pacific. “Easily accessible by air and road, we believe Sea Pearl and its spectacular beachfront location will offer our members an appealing new holiday choice.”

The facilities are expected to include a clubhouse, cinema, restaurants featuring a variety of cuisines, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, tennis courts, and health club. Nearby amenities are boat rentals, horseback riding, and a selection of local restaurants. The beach is bordered by hills that run parallel to the sea for almost its entire length; towering cliffs; colourful, ancient pagodas; and Hindu temples that make it a natural attraction. Adding to the area’s charm are waterfalls, coral islands, and tribal villages.

“We are pioneering the timeshare concept in Bangladesh and want to provide high-quality exchanges,” observed Aminul Haque,chairman and chief executive officer of Sea Pearl Beach Resort and Spa Ltd, the developer of Bengal Vacation Club. “We decided to affiliate with Interval because we found its exchange and marketing programmes to be very effective and its quality network will complement our image. Their decision makers are very forthcoming and helpful, and we plan to affiliate our future resorts with Interval as well.”

About Interval International
Interval International operates membership programs for vacationers and provides value-added services to its developer clients worldwide. Based in Miami, Florida, the company has been a pioneer and innovator in serving the vacation ownership market for more than 34 years. Today, Interval has an exchange network of more than 2,500 resorts in over 75 nations. Through offices in 15 countries, Interval offers high-quality products and benefits to resort clients and approximately 2 million families who are enrolled in various membership programs. Interval is an operating segment of Interval Leisure Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: IILG), a leading global provider of membership and leisure services to the vacation industry.

FractionalExchange.com® has announced that Appassionata, Ltd. has selected FractionalExchange.com for the vacation exchange requirements of its owners at Estate Giacomo Leopardi in the Le Marche region of Italy.

Appassionata has acquired Estate Giacomo Leopardi, which is located near the hilltop village of Montefiore dell’Aso. The estate sits on five acres with stunning views of the Adriatic Sea and Sibillini mountains. The facilities have been created for all seasons and truly reflect the Italian lifestyle. The large swimming pool, all weather tennis court, private terraces, landscaped gardens, olive groves and newly planted vineyard offer something for everyone.

Casa Giacomo, the first residence on the estate ready for exchange, is a four bedroom, three bath residence consisting of 2,150 square feet over two floors. The villa sits on its own private grounds within the estate.

Paul Nabor, Director of Sales at FractionalExchange.com states, “Casa Giacomo is truly an Italian masterpiece. We are so happy to be adding this remarkable property to our ever-expanding network. We welcome its owners to our program, and are confident our existing members will relish having access to this unique exchange opportunity.”

Also on the estate is a farmhouse known as Casa Leopardi. This second residence is presently being restored and converted to two fractional ownership townhomes and will be available to FractionalExchange.com members at a future date.

“Appassionata is delighted to have joined forces with FractionalExchange.com. We have been researching the exchange options available for the last couple of years and have decided that FractionalExchange.com provides the best solution for our boutique fractional business. Appassionata owners now have the wonderful opportunity to exchange residency weeks with similar luxury properties around the world. This is a fantastic additional benefit and choice for Appassionata owners,” says Michael Hobbs, co-founder of Appassionata Ltd.

Says Evan Julber, FractionalExchange.com CEO, “Bringing this premier Italian property into the FractionalExchange.com family creates new and exciting opportunities for all of our members. We are thrilled to have them join our program and look forward to serving their owners’ needs.”

About FractionalExchange.com
FractionalExchange.com is a global online owner-to-owner exchange network for owners of upscale vacation residences and fractional properties. The company was established in 2008 by parent company Sierra Holdings, Incorporated, an Oregon Corporation with offices in Bend, Oregon, USA. Servers are located in Chicago, Illinois, USA. http://www.fractionalexchange.com

About Appassionata, Ltd.
Appassionata Ltd. is a UK based development business specializing in the restoration and creation of unique fractional ownership properties in the region of Le Marche Italy. The business is boutique in nature and style, family run and aimed at like- minded people who want to experience real Italy and a luxurious lifestyle. Founded in 2004 the business takes its time; in Italy great things take time to evolve. Website: http://www.appassionata.com.

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.

Emily Ceruzzi of Global Connections, Inc. (www.exploregci.com) was recently named the recipient of one of the most prestigious awards presented annually by the Cooperative Association of Resort Exchangers (C.A.R.E.), a vacation industry trade association. Emily was honored at C.A.R.E.’s historical 25th semi-annual conference, held in late April in New Orleans.

According to C.A.R.E president Alain Carr, “Emily was selected to receive the coveted Richard Gallardo Award for the important role she played in raising sponsorship funds to help defray speaker and conference costs. She has been a dedicated C.A.R.E. member for eleven years and currently serves on the Membership Benefits and Sponsorship Committees.”

Presented annually in recognition of outstanding service to C.A.R.E., the award was created in honor of Richard Gallardo, who served the organization for many years. Emily received her award from Ricky Gallardo, the son of Kathleen and Richard Gallardo, who were one of C.A.R.E.’s founding member families and present at the organization’s inaugural conference 25 years ago.

A nine-year veteran with Global Connections Inc. (GCI), Ceruzzi serves as General Manager of GCI’s 38-unit Sea Shells Beach Club, located in Daytona Beach, Florida. As General Manager, Ceruzzi leads 15 resort employees in the day-to-day operation of the property. She also handles marketing for resort rentals, oversees the centralized ordering for several Global properties, supervises four reservation agents and assists GCI travel club members with questions. Previously, she was manager of the Global Southeast Florida member fulfillment office for the nationally respected travel club company.

As a leader in the travel club industry, the 23-year old Global Connections provides its 150,000 members with a host of benefits and vacationing options to more than 700 resorts located from the Midwest to the Caribbean. GCI is the owner and developer of five resorts in California, Colorado, Florida and Tennessee and also owns multiple resort condominium units in Florida, Hawaii, Missouri, Nevada, South Carolina, Texas and Wisconsin. Partner alliances with exchange and cruise organizations, along with owned and leased properties provide on-demand locations in popular vacation destinations around the world for the company’s expanding member base. The company’s 28 sales centers are located in 20 states and are distributors of its travel club product, Global Discovery Vacations.
For more information visit www.exploregci.com

Second Annual Event to Raise Funds for Women’s Charities

WIN (www.womenintheindustry.org) will launch its second annual Travel Auction May 18, 2010.    It will run through May 28.   This exciting opportunity is available to WIN members and their friends and families. The bidding on these vacation weeks starts at just $200 and includes opportunities to vacation at resorts located all over the world.

WIN is a non-profit organization that promotes, educates and connects women in the vacation industry. The purpose is threefold: To unite and ignite combined strengths; to offer education scholarship and research opportunities; and to partner with charities that support the health, education and welfare of women and adolescent girls in need.

Cathy Backus, Co-President of WIN who chairs the philanthropic committee of the organization says proceeds from  last year’s auction  “afforded WIN the opportunity to provide Girls Inc. with funds to support underprivileged girls to be the first generation in their family to attend college; WIN also championed a Gal to Gal Foundation fundraiser titled “Send Me on Vacation,” a similar concept to the Make a Wish Foundation, that sends adult women with stage 4 breast cancer on vacation.”

Part of the proceeds from this auction will provide funding to The Auskell Medical Clinic.  This clinic on Abaco Island in the Bahamas provides comprehensive healthcare to local residents and visitors alike, using the services of experienced general practitioners, consultants and specialists in the various disciplines of medicine. This year WIN chose to add this clinic to the list of charities we support to help fund the purchase of a much needed mammography machine for the women on the island.  The remainder of the proceeds will go to support women’s charities voted upon by the WIN members.

Check out the information below and take advantage of this incredible opportunity to get a good deal on a vacation and support women’s charities!

To donate vacation weeks email cbackus@csatravelprotection.com or ellen.devine@bluegreencorp.com .  Bidding begins May 18 bid at: www.biddingforgood.com/WINcharity

Averett Warmus Durkee – premier accounting firm serving the timeshare and vacation ownership resort industry – sends anti-fraud expert to teach advanced session on accounting security.

Randall Wilson, who is certified as a public accountant and  accredited as a certified fraud examiner and a certified valuation analyst, was recently called upon to present a seminar to accounting students at the University of Central Florida (UCF).  Wilson is a manager with the public accounting firm of Averett Warmus Durkee (AWD), which specializes in providing timeshare/vacation ownership companies and homeowner associations with assurance, accounting, taxation, and consulting services. He practices in the Assurance and Accounting department as well as the Valuation and Forensic Accounting Services department of Averett Warmus Durkee.

“AWD hosts a number of events for UCF,” says Wilson. “During my session on fraud prevention, I spoke to approximately 100 students made up principally of the honor society for accounting, Beta Alpha Psi. My slide presentation covered a number of topics including exploring who is the most common target of fraud, what are the typical patterns to look for and what are typical profiles of perpetrators.”

“Our firm is fortunate to be large enough to support having someone with Randall’s credentials and we are happy he can share some of his expertise with future accountants,” says Senior Partner Thomas “Tom” Durkee, CPA. “This kind of specialized knowledge can be extremely useful for them. For example at AWD, Randall is able to assist attorneys in determining the value of a loss. Plus helping clients protect themselves from fraud in the first place is an important aspect of what he does.”

About Averett Warmus Durkee
Averett Warmus Durkee (AWD) provides timeshare/vacation ownership companies and other clients with assurance, accounting and tax compliance services. In addition, AWD has provided consulting services to clients for business acquisitions and disposition, including having recruited and trained their employees, and has advised clients on ways to improve their internal processes while providing them with relevant information needed to make timely, critical decisions. The AWD approach is to have principal and manager involvement in each engagement, which ensures responsiveness, maturity and practical business judgments. For further information, contact Tom Durkee (TomD@AWD-CPA.com) or Lena Combs (LenaC@AWD-CPA.com) at (407) 849-1569.