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Toll Free: 877-624-6889
Intl: (407) 917-8432
Posted on November 24, 2020
Marriott Vacation Club will begin taking reservations for timeshares in their new villas at the Marriott Vacation Club at Los Sueños resort, with travel dates to begin in January. This is MVC’s first foray into Costa Rica, with 24 units to be included in the Marriott timeshare offerings, comprising two-bedroom lock-off villas.
Located on the country’s Pacific coast, the resort is in Playa Herradura and not far from the beaches and activities in renowned Jaco Beach. The units will be available through the Marriott Destinations exchange platform, with timeshare sales also expected to commence at the resort in January.
Timeshare villas will be located within the Los Sueños Marriott Ocean & Golf Resort, with access to resort amenities such as the 18-hole La Iguana Golf Club, Sibö Rainforest Spa and onsite bars, restaurants and children’s activity programs.
The announcement comes following Costa Rica’s decision to fully open to U.S. citizens and residents earlier this month. COVID restrictions had previously limited travel from the U.S. into Costa Rica by allowing visitors into the country based on their U.S. state of residence.
On November 1, the Central American country opened to U.S. residents from all 50 states and also dropped the requirement for travelers to present a negative COVID test in order to enter the country. No quarantine requirements are in place but visitors must complete a Health Pass and buy travel insurance covering unexpected medical expenses before entering the country.
Apparently, not all travelers to Hawaii got the memo about needing a negative COVID test to avoid quarantine. Therefore, starting today, everyone looking to avoid quarantine must have a negative COVID test in hand prior to their departure from the U.S. mainland.
Hawaii had relaxed its quarantine mandate on October 15, allowing visitors to skip the quarantine if they could provide a negative test upon landing. Test results were to be uploaded into the state’s database system upon arrival. The problem was that some travelers either didn’t do it or didn’t have the test taken in the first place, later testing positive after arriving in Hawaii.
Travelers must now have their test results in hand before boarding the last leg of their trip. Otherwise they will be required to quarantine for 14 days. Visitors electing not to take the test will be required to quarantine as well, since testing is not mandatory.
A specific type of COVID test must be taken in order to qualify for avoiding quarantine. Those details can be seen by clicking here.
In addition, a mandatory mask mandate has been issued by Governor David Ige to clear up confusion regarding mask requirements among the islands. Everyone in Hawaii, whether resident or visitors, must wear a mask when in public. Businesses are required to refuse entry to anyone not wearing a mask. Exceptions are for young children and for medical reasons.
The latest announcement supersedes local regulations enacted by the individual islands, which had created confusion since different islands had varying degrees of mask requirements. Overall, Hawaii is reporting an 86 percent rate of residents wearing masks.
Grand Pacific Resorts is expanding its footprint in the Lake Tahoe area by taking over the management rights to Tahoe Sands Resort in Tahoe Vista on the north shore of Lake Tahoe. The transition takes place on January 1.
The resort offers one and two-bedroom separate timeshare cottages, provides direct access to the lake with a private beach and is close to the area ski resorts. The resort is the fourth in the Tahoe area to come under the Grand Pacific banner.
The big advantage for Grand Pacific timeshare owners is that this provides one more Tahoe option for owners looking to exchange as part of the Grand Pacific Exchange program. This is an exchange platform offered with no membership fee to Grand Pacific owners, allowing internal exchanges for those owners participating in the program.
DAE, originally known as Dial an Exchange, has now officially changed its name to 7Across as Wyndham continues to tinker with its timeshare-related programs under the new Panorama brand.
Created in 1997 in Australia as an independent timeshare exchange platform, DAE grew to service as many as one million customers a year as it expanded beyond Australia. With offices in the U.S., Europe and South Africa among others, DAE grew to such a level that RCI bought it in 2017 to become part of its portfolio under Wyndham Destinations.
DAE continued to operate as a separate brand with no membership fee required to participate in their exchange program. Timeshare owners only need to search for their exchange destination, bank their week and pay for their exchange once it has been confirmed.
Earlier this year, Wyndham announced the formation of Panorama, which is an umbrella brand overseeing RCI, 7Across, The Registry Collection and other travel-related programs. 7Across is expected to continue its niche of providing direct to consumer travel and timeshare exchange options without the need for a membership fee.
Steve manages the public relations, social media and content creation efforts of the company. Previously the Chief Operating Officer for Perspective International, Steve provided oversight and contributed articles for the five regional vacation ownership trade magazines under the Perspective Magazine banner. With 34 years’ experience in various roles in radio and television, sales and marketing, public relations, media and government liaison initiatives, he brings a well-rounded outlook to our industry.