Roadkill Cafe August 28, 2010

August 28, 2010: WHAT’S ON THE MENU THIS WEEK?

RIGHT HERE IN RIVER CITIES: Houseboat lover David Nelson has a dream, and it’s a big one. He is working on fulfilling that dream by building and selling a new “floating community” called River Cities. Comprised of 180 condos on a 600-foot by 108-foot “houseboat” vessel (it’ll be 4 barges), it would dock at ports in the cities of the Upper Midwest in June, July, and August in. Nelson says he has sold 10 percent of the proposed units on the prototype, called “The Marquette”. He says once he’s sold 40 or 50%, he’ll begin building the boat and he hopes that will happen sometime next year.

The Marquette will be like a small self-contained community with restaurants, lounges, a deli and grocery store, spas, pools, fitness gym, walking track and the “world’s only” floating 18 hole chipping putting golf course. Residents will be able to have small pets and satellite hook-up with high speed Internet and Wi-Fi. Once at dock, River Cities’ residents will have access to shuttle service and have rental cars. Here’s a computer-generated image of what it would look like.

The cost? Well, full ownership would start at about $300,000 and go up to $1.8 million. Timeshare packages (more like fractional, actually) would start in the mid-$50,000s and would be 2 month commitments.

Of course residents would also have to pay for gas, insurance, and the 30 person crew, sharing the expenses. That would range from about $1,200 to $2,200 a month.

Still, if you like houseboating and the idea of spending your summers floating up and down the mighty Mississippi (and maybe even down to the Gulf Coast of Florida) fires up your imagination, it might not be a bad gig for you.

Email: woodysvpg@gmail.com (or leave a comment below)

5-STAR FRACTIONAL IN– WAIT FOR IT– IRAQ! I kid you not! An outfit called Range Hospitality has launched the Al Rawdatain Gardens development in Iraq’s pilgrimage center of Karbala, the holiest place in the country.

Approximately 18 million pilgrims visit Karbala during the peak seasons every year. With a current shortage of accommodation in the city, Al Rawdatain Gardens aims to cater for this demand at accessible prices. Investment in this development is available through Mulkiya Intifa’a – a Shariah Compliant Fractional Ownership proposition.

You can get all the details here: Range Hospitality launches Al Rawdatain Gardens – the first 5-Star Development in Karbala, Iraq

You can find out more about the city of Karbala in Wikipedia.

Email: woodysvpg@gmail.com (or leave a comment below)

GETTING BIGGER: Who all’s getting BIGGER this week? Let’s start with Wyndham Vacation Ownership, which welcomed its first CLUB WYNDHAM® Plus owners to the long-anticipated, 19-story tower at Wyndham Bonnet Creek Resort in Orlando, FL. This latest expansion adds 300 units to the property, which is situated immediately adjacent to the Walt Disney World Resort. The property now boasts approximately 1,150 units sprawled across 58 acres. The tower features a combination of 182 one-, two- and three-bedroom units as well as 118 one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom Presidential suites. The tower also boasts a pool complete with a water slide, a pool bar, three outdoor spas as well as nine private cabanas, which will be available for owners to rent.

Also in Orlando, Wyndham VO has entered into an exclusive sales and marketing agreement at Reunion Resort. Under this agreement, the company will become the exclusive sales and marketing agent for the sale of vacation ownership interests in up to 256 condominium-style units at Reunion Resort. All units will operate within the company’s CLUB WYNDHAM® Plus portfolio of vacation ownership resorts and will be marketed as Wyndham Vacation Resorts Reunion at Orlando. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

The timeshare scene in Oahu, Hawaii may be getting BIGGER, too, according to the Honolulu Star Advertiser. Waikiki Beach could see its first new shoreline tower in decades under an overhaul of the historic Moana Surfrider and Princess Kaiulani properties, which were approved unanimously by the City Council recently.

The $700 million redevelopment project calls for:

• A new 26-story tower where the eight-story Diamond Head Tower of the Moana Surfrider now stands.
• A new 33-story Pikake Tower on the site of the Princess Kaiulani property and renovation of the existing 29-story Ainahau Tower. Torn down would be two, 11-story towers — the Princess and the Kaiulani.

Both of the new towers would include residential and possibly timeshare units. It’s way too early to guess who would own/operate/brand the proposed timeshare part of the deal…

Of course, there are still hurdles to clear and there’s opposition to the height of the towers, so don’t be packing your bags just yet. You can get more details in the Star Advertiser.

Email: woodysvpg@gmail.com (or leave a comment below)

GETTING smaller: In a bid to become more efficient, Ultimate Escapes, a luxury, private destinations club, has closed its Fort Collins, CO office, moving its contents and functions to their office in Kansas City. The move is expected to save the company about $3 million a year.

You may remember that Ultimate Escapes was created in May 2008 when Private Escapes, founded by Richard Keith in Fort Collins, merged with Ultimate Resort of Orlando, FL.

Citing the bad economy for the company’s consolidation of offices, Ultimate Escapes originally intended to keep offices open in Orlando, Kansas City and Fort Collins. Oops.

Were any of the Fort Collins employees were transferred to Kansas City? I don’t know.

Though Ultimate Escapes has managed to avoid bankruptcy, a step that has plagued some other destination clubs, it has been forced to cut salaries, lay off workers, and cut marketing and headquarters costs as it maneuvers its way through the recession.

It’s been a tough time for luxury outfits, too…

Also getting smaller: Even when times were good, ESCAPE! Resorts (a subsidiary of Cooper Communities) kept a pretty low profile. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that they’re keeping pretty quiet about the fact that they’re auctioning off 31 units at Escapes! to the Gulf at Galveston in Texas. The five-story, 76-unit project, was developed as a timeshare resort, but these units are being offered as whole ownership. They are all 2-bdrm 2-bath condos.

The first fifteen (15) units as selected by the highest bidder(s) will be sold absolute, meaning there is no minimum bid and they’ll be sold regardless of the offered price. The remaining 16 units will have to meet a minimum bid. An 8.25 percent buyer’s premium will be added to the contract prices.

The auction will be on Oct. 2 at the Galveston Island Convention Center at the San Luis Resort. J.P. King Auction Co. is handling the sale.

Email: woodysvpg@gmail.com (or leave a comment below)

OH THOSE CONDO HOTELS! Since the economy experienced the Big Bang, the condo hotel market has been hit especially hard. Once the darling of developers, touted as the new great thing in real estate ownership/investment, most condo hotel projects have either failed entirely or are struggling to survive.

One of the latter is the Hyatt Regency Clearwater Beach Resort and Spa, in Clearwater Beach, FL., where owners of the units can stay up to 60 days a year. The rest of the year, the suites are rented to hotel guests and owners get a percentage of the revenue. The problem: While the hotel is a hit with visitors, sales of suites as condo-hotel units in the 250-suite resort have been lackluster at best.

In fact, fewer than 60 of the suites are under contract, and many of the buyers are trying to get out of their contracts. Only 5 condo purchases have closed, and there are at least seven lawsuits against the resort’s owner, Crystal Beach Capital LLC, seeking to void eight condo contracts. The most frequently cited complaint is that it took Crystal Beach 2 years longer to deliver the product than was allowed in the contracts.

I suspect the real reason is the state of the economy and the likelihood that the price agreed to in the contracts is far higher than what the units are worth today. That’s just my opinion, of course. I could be wrong.

I never did think the condo hotel model was very solid. Had the economy not gone south, I wonder if I would have been proved right or wrong over time?

Email: woodysvpg@gmail.com (or leave a comment below)

UP NEW MEXICO WAY: In Quay County (pronounced “Kway”) New Mexico, tucked away in the northeastern part of the state, there’s a lovely lake called Ute Lake. For a couple of years Carma Developers was developing a 900-acre community there as a joint venture with Ute Lake Ranch. But the two entities parted ways about three months ago, and Carma has gone out on its own to develop the resort community of 12 Shores at Ute Lake.

It’s not like Carma is inexperienced, though. The Calgary, AB-based company has been developing land for some 58 years. They purchased 1,000 acres from Ute Lake Ranch in 2007.

At buildout, 12 Shores will feature a mix of 800 homes, including fractional residences, situated along Ute Lake’s dramatic shoreline. The fractional part will comprise a series of duplexes where people can purchase a 10 percent ownership. The shared deeded ownership includes a club membership and gives the resident access to the property for a specific number of weeks each year. Among the amenities are a nine-hole Jack Nicklaus design championship golf course, hiking and biking trails, sand volleyball courts, shuffleboard, a dog park, and equestrian facilities. Chris Dufek is vice president of sales.

Have you ever been to that corner of New Mexico? If not, you ought to take a look. It’s quite magnificent!

Email: woodysvpg@gmail.com (or leave a comment below)

PEOPLE: Ann Sutherland Lynch has been named director of sales and marketing at The Sebastian, formerly the Vail Plaza Hotel & Club.

Lynch has more than 20 years of expertise in sales and marketing. Formerly with Gold Key Resorts, Lynch was vice president of e-commerce. Lynch was also the regional director of sales and marketing for Destination Hotels & Resorts.

Lynch earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado, Boulder. She is a former board member of Destination Colorado and the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce.

Interval International has announced the promotions of key consumer marketing executives David Meier and Kathy Keusch.

Meier moves into the newly created role of vice president of product and partnerships and is responsible for new product development, customer insights, strategic relationships, and social media strategy. Before joining Interval four years ago as assistant vice president of new product development, he held management positions in marketing with DHL Express and Delta Air Lines. Meier received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and a master’s degree in public administration and policy studies at Northern Kentucky University.

As assistant vice president of loyalty marketing, Keusch expands her scope from metric support to the creation, management, and execution of consumer loyalty activities across all channels. She joined Interval in January 2006 as director of loyalty marketing. Previously, she was director of marketing at Main Street Direct, a multi-channel marketing solutions provider. Keusch earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Brandeis University and an MBA from Columbia University.

Email: woodysvpg@gmail.com (or leave a comment below)

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: “Individual rights are not subject to a public vote; a majority has no right to vote away the rights of a minority; the political function of rights is precisely to protect minorities from oppression by majorities (and the smallest minority on earth is the individual).” -Ayn Rand

Email: woodysvpg@gmail.com (or leave a comment below)

DEAD SKUNK IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD AWARD: Considering the 5th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the upcoming 9th anniversary of 9/11 and of course the anniversary today of MLK’s “I Have a Dream” speech, this week’s stinker just has to be that sanctimonious twit we all know and love Glenn Beck, who will be helping his faithful audience of beckerheads “take our country back” and “restore honor” today at the Lincoln Memorial.

From the September 9, 2005 radio broadcast of The Glenn Beck Program:

If the audio doesn’t work for you, here’s a full transcript:

BECK: Let me be real honest with you. I don’t think anybody on talk radio — I don’t think anybody in their right mind is going to say this out loud — but I wonder if I’m the only one that feels this way. Yesterday, when I saw the ATM cards being handed out, the $2,000 ATM cards, and they were being handed out at the Astrodome. And they actually had to close the Astrodome and seal it off for a while because there was a near-riot trying to get to these ATM cards. My first thought was, it’s not like they’re going to run out of the $2,000 ATM cards. You can wait! You know, stand in line. Maybe it’s because I’m the kind of guy, when I go to a buffet, I either have to be first in line, or I’m the very last. Because I know there’s going to be extra food, and I just won’t stand in the line. I’ll wait until all the suckers go get their food, and then I’ll go get mine. Or if I’m really hungry, I hate to admit this — and really, I don’t even have to be really hungry. If I’m really being a pig, I will kind of, like, hang out around the buffet table before the line is — you know, chat with people right around the table: “Oh, they just opened the line! Let’s go!” And then you’re first in line.

When you are rioting for these tickets, or these ATM cards, the second thing that came to mind was — and this is horrible to say, and I wonder if I’m alone in this — you know it took me about a year to start hating the 9-11 victims’ families? Took me about a year. And I had such compassion for them, and I really wanted to help them, and I was behind, you know, “Let’s give them money, let’s get this started.” All of this stuff. And I really didn’t — of the 3,000 victims’ families, I don’t hate all of them. I hate about, probably about 10 of them. And when I see a 9-11 victim family on television, or whatever, I’m just like, “Oh shut up!” I’m so sick of them because they’re always complaining. And we did our best for them. And, again, it’s only about 10.

But the second thought I had when I saw these people and they had to shut down the Astrodome and lock it down, I thought: I didn’t think I could hate victims faster than the 9-11 victims. These guys — you know it’s really sad. We’re not hearing anything about Mississippi. We’re not hearing anything about Alabama. We’re hearing about the victims in New Orleans. This is a 90,000-square-mile disaster site, New Orleans is 181 square miles. A hundred and — 0.2 percent of the disaster area is New Orleans! And that’s all we’re hearing about, are the people in New Orleans. Those are the only ones we’re seeing on television are the scumbags — again, and it’s not all the people in New Orleans. Most of the people in New Orleans got out! It’s just a small percentage of those who were left in New Orleans, or who decided to stay in New Orleans, and they’re getting all the attention. It’s exactly like the 9-11 victims’ families. There’s about 10 of them that are spoiling it for everybody.

If he were selling timeshare the way he sells himself and his “philosophy”, they’d be trying to throw the guy in jail. Glenn Beck, demagoguing all the way to the bank.

And that’s it for this week’s Roadkill. See ya next weekend, and keep your eyes on the road… Oh, and if you enjoyed this, tell a friend!

Published every Saturday.

Got some roadkill you’d like to toss on the grill? Send it on in, I’d LOVE to sample it! Don’t keep it to yourself, share your roadkill with the rest of the TS community! Your confidentiality is guaranteed; just make sure it’s a real deal and verifiable… Email: woodysvpg@gmail.com

 Powered by Max Banner Ads 

Related posts:

1. Roadkill Cafe September 11, 2010
2. Roadkill Cafe September 4, 2010
3. Roadkill Cafe August 21, 2010
4. Roadkill Cafe August 14, 2010
5. Roadkill Cafe August 7, 2010