Leading destination club Ultimate Escapes Inc. has just added a new Elite Club residence within the Lungarno Suites in Florence, Italy. The new property overlooks the magnificent arch of the historic Ponte Vecchio bridge across the Arno River. With this acquisition Ultimate Escapes makes a significant addition to its portfolio of luxury properties and further widens the options for its members to choose the perfect destination for a memorable getaway.

Steamboat Springs, Colorado just got a new address. Timber Resorts have opened One Steamboat Place, a slope-side resort at the foot of Mt. Werner. The resort is expected to redevelop the historic town known over a century and a half for its natural beauty, cattle ranches, hot springs and winter sports.

Two of the leading residence funds on either side of the Atlantic have just announced a strategic alliance. Equity Estates Fund is the biggest and fastest growing North American equity based residence fund, while The Hideaways Club is the leader of the pack in Europe. Their tie up creates the largest global portfolio of equity based fractional residences, offering owner members nearly 30 vacation homes in 23 stunning locales across the world.

If you’ve been on the front lines during a typical fractional real estate sales process you will concur that there are any number of objections that are consistently fired at the sales team. Without going through each and every concern, we can safely say they all have one underlying meaning: “I am uncomfortable with this decision”. Usually buyer discomfort is related to a lack of understanding and experience with the product which is another way of saying “I am worried about the risk”. Heck, nervous buyers will find a way to communicate this trepidation through the thread count of the bed sheets if they have to.  So why does dropping the price remain the first knee-jerk reaction to closing prospects?

In spite of a year-long global recession which left many real estate companies reeling, Paris Residence Club, an upscale, shared ownership company based in Paris, invested broadly in its many properties in France and gave generously to charities and organizations, specifically in New York. Throughout 2009, PRC has been proud to provide donations ranging from $3,000-$15,000 each in value toward the following charities and non-profit organizations: Denise Rich's Gabrielle's Angel Foundation for Cancer Research (formerly G&P Foundation), French Institute Alliance Francaise (FIAF) Trophee des Arts Gala, the French Heritage Society's Atlanta Chapter Holiday Gala, the Rita Hayworth Gala/Alzheimer's Association in Dallas, and the Foreign Aid Service, Order of Malta, in the United Kingdom.