RedWeek Development Blog

Buy and Sell Timeshare Points on RedWeek.com

2009-04-21T06:42:00.001-07:00

RedWeek.com members can now buy and sell timeshare points on our dedicated points resale pages. A departure from the old way of advertising vacation points for sale on our RedWish pages, our new points posting system is geared specifically to the points owner and buyer.

A RedWeek membership ($14.99 for 12 months) is required to advertise points for sale, or contact an owner about a points posting. Points resale postings are $49.99 each for 12 months.

Currently only Club Wyndham, The Club at Diamond Resorts Intl., InnSeason Vacation Club, Bluegreen Vacation Club, and Worldmark, The Club, points systems are available. However, this list will expand to include others in the near future.

Please check our timeshare points, and let us know what you think.

New Timeshare Resort Ratings Interface

2009-01-12T15:02:00.000-08:00

Resort ratings and reviews on RedWeek.com are one of the most valuable benefits to our members. They enable members to determine which resorts are the best, and those to avoid, by reading unedited experiences of actual travelers. Every timeshare rating/review added is an additional asset to the RedWeek.com community.

Last week we introduced some changes to the ratings interface, which we hope improve usability and interactivity. In the past, rating/reviewing a resort meant clicking over to a separate web page, adding your review/rating, and then returning to the resort page. We have streamlined that process by using a "modal window". The modal window is a small screen that appears above your resort page, enabling you to enter your rating and review right there. Upon completion it simply closes, leaving you on your resort page. Additionally, we have switched from a series of radio buttons to indicate your rating, to an interactive set of stars. You simply mouse over and click the appropriate star to register your rating.

We hope you enjoy this new feature, and find it beneficial. We'd love your feedback either way.

RSS Feeds Added

2008-12-09T12:44:00.000-08:00

RSS feeds are an extremely handy way for Internet users to stay up-to-date on changes to their favorite websites. It also gives website publishers (like RedWeek) a way to deliver content directly to users, whenever they request it.

As our first foray into RSS feeds on RedWeek.com, we have introduced them on our "Featured Postings" pages. These pages provide lists of Bargain Timeshare Resales, Newest Timeshare Resales, Newest Timeshare Rentals, Newest Timeshare Exchanges, Last Minute Timeshare Exchanges, and Timeshare Exchange Deals. To stay always up-to-date on any or all of these featured postings, you subscribe to the feed using the link provided on the respective page.

To learn more about RSS, please visit WhatIsRSS.com.

Featured Timeshare Postings

2008-11-24T12:41:00.000-08:00

We've introduced a new way to browse for timeshare rentals, resales and exchanges on our site. These streamlined lists of featured postings give owners added visibility to their postings, and provide a way for travelers to view our inventory in a single location.

The featured posting categories we are currently offering are:

Bargain Timeshare Resales

Newest Timeshare Resales

Newest Timeshare Rentals

Newest Timeshare Exchanges

Last Minute Timeshare Exchanges

Timeshare Exchange Deals

Our featured postings are updated frequently, so please check back often.

Live Help Added

2008-10-21T12:19:00.000-07:00

RedWeek.com has brought its amazing customer service to a whole new level with the addition of Live Help. This unique features allows RedWeek users to chat in real time with a customer service representative.

The Live Help service can be accessed from the left side of any RedWeek page. If you have already used Live Help on our site, let us know what you think of it. If you haven't used it, and need some help with RedWeek.com, give it a try.

Full Service Timeshare Resale Option

2008-10-02T10:45:00.000-07:00

RedWeek now has a new partner who offers a full-service timeshare resale option - an alternative to doing it yourself on RedWeek.com. If you go this route, you'll get a market valuation, a complete review of your ownership with a sales professional, and you won't have to worry about advertising, answering questions from buyers, or closing the sale.

This option is currently offered for a select list of resorts. If your resort is on the list, just click the "Sell using our full-service option" from the resort's page to get started.

New Resources Section with Newsletter Archive

2008-05-27T06:30:00.000-07:00

We recently received some Member requests to make archived versions of our monthly newsletter available on our web site. We had considered this in the past, and saved copies for just this purpose. But until we heard from our users, we weren't entirely sure how much demand there would be for them.

The next decision was where to put them on the site for easy access. We concluded that it should somehow be incorporated into the items in our "Help" section. But archived newsletters aren't solely a source of help, and neither are some of the articles offered in that same section. So we have decided to rename this section "Resources", to more accurately reflect its content: FAQ, timeshare glossary, timeshare calendar, how-to articles, general timesharing articles, and now, newsletters.

Please take note of this change in the upper right navigation of the site, and visit our new Timeshare Resources section today.

Rental & Resale Offerings Now Easier to Compare

2008-05-12T13:02:00.000-07:00

Two new bits of information were added to the rental and resale postings, making it easier for you to compare offerings. Owners can now specify their unit's view for both rentals and resales, and the season classification for their resale weeks. Once these details have been added, you can find them on the main resort page, allowing for quick comparisons.

Please note: the season options for the owner to list are Low, Medium, High, and Varies. Some resorts might actually call their seasons Bronze, Gold, and Platinum, or something similar, so the owner will need to choose the best match. If you have any question about the season or view listed, please contact the owner for more details.

Owners, simply edit your postings to add this valuable information for your buyers.

Enhanced Line Listings on Resort Pages

2008-04-18T07:28:00.000-07:00

Recently, a RedWeek.com Member suggested an improvement to the timeshare resale line listings on our resort pages. Many of our resorts are very popular with timeshare owners and travelers alike, like the Sheraton Vistana Resort. As a result, we get lots of postings for rentals, resales and exchanges. Our Member suggested that we add bathrooms as a line item, in addition to how many the unit sleeps. He felt this would help potential buyers decide which postings they might want to investigate further, as well as help explain differences in asking price on units that otherwise seem to be identical (same season, sleeps the same, etc.).

We agreed that this was an improvement that would help our users, and added a few more of our own. Now when you are scanning line listings on our resorts, you will be able to see the number of bedrooms, bathrooms, and how many people the unit can sleep. Further, as you roll your mouse over a listing, it highlights it a pale yellow to make that listing stand out. Finally, clicking anywhere on the listing's row will take you to the full posting, with all of the unit's details.

Users should still view complete postings and make thorough comparisons based on all available data. But these improvements should make it easier to narrow down your search to exactly what you are looking for in a timeshare rental, resale or exchange. Thanks to our Member for suggesting this improvement, and please keep them coming.

Google Maps

2008-04-08T11:14:00.000-07:00

We're happy to announce the addition of Google maps to our resort pages. Now, when you view most resorts, you'll see this icon in the address area. Click it (or on the address itself), and you'll be taken to a map showing all the resorts in the area.

A few things to keep in mind. We haven't been able to map all the resorts; we may not know the physical address or it may be in a country that Google doesn't support. Also, please confirm the address and any driving directions with your resort before arriving.

Finally, we want to give a big thanks to our RedWeek customer support team, who went through thousands of resorts to make sure the addresses and contact information are correct.

We hope you find this new feature useful.

New Calendar Helper

2008-03-17T07:48:00.000-07:00

We have added a new calendar helper to pages on RedWeek.com which require you to enter a date or date range. For example, if you wish to have a free timeshare valuation to see how many RedWeek Exchange Points your unit is worth, you need to tell us the check-in date. You may still provide this information via the three drop-down menus provided (month, date, year), or you may now click on our new calender helper:

This will bring up and interactive calendar that lets you select your date with one click. This new calendar helper can be found on any page where you are required to provide us with a date or date range.

Please let us know your thoughts on this new feature, and send us any suggestions as to how we can improve your experience on RedWeek.com

Google Searches

2008-01-18T07:30:00.000-08:00

We have added the ability to run Google searches on RedWeek.com. If you look to the right on our Home page or our Browse page, you will see the new Google search. The search is set to search RedWeek.com by default, but you may also set it to search the entire World Wide Web, if you prefer.

This new feature does not replace the current "Find a Timeshare" function found directly above it. That feature remains the best way to search our site for a specific timeshare rental, resale or exchange, by name or location, with advanced options like date ranges and number of bedrooms. Instead, the Google search is a way to find specific pages on RedWeek.com using keywords. For example, enter the search terms "daytona rental posting", and click "Go!". You will see that you find a combination of browse pages, resort pages and timeshare posting pages. Run a few queries of your own, and see what you find.

Please let us know your thoughts on this new feature, and send us any suggestions as to how we can improve your experience on RedWeek.com

Font Sizes on RedWeek.com

2008-01-16T07:13:00.000-08:00

We received several comments regarding our redesign that pertained to the typeface (or font) used on our site. Some folks said it made the text look larger to them, and easier to read. Others said it looked smaller, and made some aspects of browsing more difficult.

The text size did in fact get increased from what we had on our previous design. However, the typeface was changed from Verdana to Trebuchet. Other factors besides actual size effect the readability of any font, as evidenced by the mixed responses we received. While you can always adjust the size of the text on any website by changing your browser's settings, not all users know how or want to do so. So, we have decided to add a "Text Size" preference to RedWeek.com (requires cookies and javascript to be enabled).

If you look on the left hand side of any page on RedWeek.com, you will see "Text Size: A A A", where each "A" is slightly larger as you make your way from left to right. As you click on an "A", the size of all the text on the site is increased or decreased accordingly. Find the one you like, and that remains your text size choice whenever you visit RedWeek.com.

Please let us know your thoughts on this new feature, and send us any suggestions as to how we can improve your experience on RedWeek.com.

Site Redesign

2007-12-16T06:16:00.000-08:00

Today the RedWeek.com development team launched a complete redesign of our site. This includes the visual presentation of the site as well as accessibility and usability aspects of the pages themselves. The content and functionality you have come to expect remain unchanged. So think of it as the same great site, but more user-friendly, accessible to people with visual and other impairments, and probably a bit faster too.

One of the accessibility improvements may also be of interest as a usability feature for all of our users: the use of accesskeys. If you are not familiar with them, unsighted users and/or users who cannot use a mouse will assign specific pages in a site to corresponding letter on their keyboard. A common example is "h" for the home page. However, this means they must assign them for all of their favorite sites. What we have done is establish these for them on RedWeek.com. If you look at our top navigation bar, you will see that one letter in each word is underlined, like "Timeshares for Rent & Sale". This lets the user know that "t" is the accesskey to browse timeshare rentals and resales. Try it for yourself by holding down the Alt (control on a Mac), and pressing the letter "t". Pretty neat, right? For someone unable to use a mouse, this is a requirement. But any user may find this to be an easier way to move around the main areas of our site, since you can leave both hands on your keyboard.

Please let us know your thoughts on our redesign and send us any suggestions as to how we can improve your experience on RedWeek.com.