Hilton Grand Vacations Expands Scottish Footprint

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Hilton Grand Vacations, one of the largest timeshare operators in the world, recently announced plans to renovate the existing 45 hotel rooms at the Hilton Craigendarroch into 32 spacious vacation ownership suites. The transition fortifies Hilton Worldwide's commitment to increase year-round leisure travel to the renowned destination in the Scottish Highlands. As part of this development, traditional hotel operations at the resort will be phased out as the property evolves to exclusively offer timeshare accommodations.

Hilton Grand Vacations already operates the 99 timeshare lodges at the resort in Ballater, an enterprise that has proven to be one of the most successful timeshare resorts in Europe. For more than 12 years, Craigendarroch has been among the most highly demanded destinations within the Hilton Grand Vacations Club portfolio. The forthcoming re-branding will include the conversion of the property's existing hotel units into luxury suite accommodations to be sold as timeshare apartments. The leisure facilities which currently operate as part of the Country Club will also be refurbished. The resort will continue to offer Country Club memberships, as well as guest access to the restaurant and bar areas.

The transition, made possible through the support of Hilton Grand Vacations and parent company Hilton Worldwide, will take place over the next 12 months.

"This is truly an exciting project to unfold in one of our key markets, and will no doubt serve to increase the amount of guests visiting the resort as well as the local area each year," said Richard McIntosh, Managing Director for Hilton Grand Vacations in Europe/Middle East/Africa. "With the resort in its 28th year, this re-positioning will ensure the property's long-term existence not only as a central part of the tourism business in Royal Deeside, but also as an important local employer."

Hilton Resorts Corporation, dba Hilton Grand Vacations, is a division of Hilton Worldwide and based in Orlando. Hilton Grand Vacations Club and The Hilton Club currently provide exclusive exchange, leisure travel, and reservation services for more than 180,000 club members.

Hilton Worldwide is a leading global hospitality company featuring more than 3,800 hotels and timeshare properties in 91 countries, including 630,000 rooms. Hilton's brand portfolio comprises Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, DoubleTree by Hilton, Embassy Suites Hotels, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton Hotels, Homewood Suites by Hilton, Home2 Suites by Hilton and Hilton Grand Vacations.

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Wyndham Worldwide Completes $300 Million Securitization

The timeshare or vacation ownership market continues to show fiscal strength, evident by the news July 19 that Wyndham Worldwide Corporation completed a term securitization transaction involving the issuance of $300 million of asset-backed notes.

The securities, announced July 19 by the major hospitality company, were comprised of the following notes: Sierra Timeshare 2012-2 Receivables Funding LLC issued $220 million of A-rated notes and $80 million of BBB-rated notes.  The notes were backed by vacation ownership loans and had coupons of 2.38 percent and 3.42 percent, respectively, for an overall weighted average coupon of 2.66 percent. The advance rate for this transaction was 90.0 percent.

Sierra Timeshare 2012-2 Receivables Funding LLC is an indirect subsidiary of Wyndham Vacation Ownership. Wyndham Hotel Group encompasses 7,150 hotels with approximately 609,300 rooms worldwide. Wyndham Exchange & Rentals offers leisure travelers, including its 3.7 million members, access to approximately 100,000 vacation ownership interests and provides consumer financing to owners through its network of over 160 vacation ownership resorts serving over 813,000 owners throughout North America, the Caribbean and the South Pacific.

Wyndham Worldwide, headquartered in Parsippany, N.J., employs approximately 27,800 employees globally.