Bluegreen Corp to be sold to Diamond Resorts International?

BOCA RATON, FL: Bluegreen Corporation (NYSE: BXG) (Bluegreen(R) or the
Company), a leading provider of Colorful Places to Live and Play(R),
announced that today, July 21, 2008, it has signed a non-binding letter of
intent relating to the acquisition of the Company at a price of $15.00 per
share by Diamond Resorts International (Diamond Resorts), which would
value this transaction at approximately $500 million, exclusive of
Bluegreen’s outstanding debt. The acquisition is subject to the completion
of due diligence and the execution of definitive agreements.

Under the terms of the letter of intent, Bluegreen has granted Diamond
Resorts an exclusive right of negotiation through September 15, 2008,
during which time Diamond Resorts will conduct more extensive due
diligence.

Diamond Resorts, based in Las Vegas, Nev., is one of the largest vacation
ownership companies in the world with 110 branded and affiliated resorts
in 14 countries with destinations throughout the continental United States
and Hawaii, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Europe, more than 360,000
owners and members and more than 5,500 associates worldwide. In April
2007, Diamond Resorts acquired Sunterra Corporation for approximately $750
million.

It is envisioned that the definitive agreement whereby Diamond Resorts
would acquire Bluegreen would include a customary “go shop” provision
permitting Bluegreen to actively seek transactions that would provide
greater value to its shareholders.

Alan B. Levan, Chairman of Bluegreen’s Board of Directors commented,
“Bluegreen had previously announced that we were positioning the Company
with a view towards pursuing strategic alternatives at some point in the
next three to five years. When Diamond presented our Board with this
unsolicited, attractive offer, we believed that it was in the best
interest of our shareholders to pursue this transaction at this time.”

Mr. Levan is also the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Woodbridge
Holdings Corporation (”Woodbridge”), which owns 9.5 million shares of
Bluegreen’s outstanding common stock, and has indicated that Woodbridge
would be supportive of a transaction with Diamond at the terms stated in
their letter of intent.

Any proposed transaction is subject to numerous terms and conditions,
including, but not limited to, satisfactory completion of due diligence by
Diamond Resorts, the signing of a definitive agreement, and approvals by
Bluegreen’s Board of Directors and the Company’s shareholders. There can
be no assurances that negotiations will lead to the signing of a
definitive agreement, that financing for the transaction will be
available, that any proposed transaction will be accepted or approved by
the Company’s Board of Directors and shareholders, or that the sale will
be completed based on the signing of the non-binding letter of intent or
the execution of a definitive agreement, or that Bluegreen will identify
any alternative transaction that would provide greater value to its
shareholders.

Additional information regarding the terms and conditions of the
non-binding letter of intent will be filed today by Bluegreen on Form 8-K,
and will be available at www.sec.gov.

For additional information about Diamond Resorts International(R), please
visit www.diamondresorts.com

About Bluegreen Corporation

Bluegreen Corporation (NYSE:BXG) is a leading provider of Colorful Places
to Live and Play(R) through two principal operating divisions. With more
than 186,500 owners, Bluegreen Resorts markets a flexible, real
estate-based vacation ownership plan that provides access to over 40
resorts and an exchange network of over 3,700 resorts and other vacation
experiences such as cruises and hotel stays. Bluegreen Communities has
sold over 56,300 planned residential and golf community homesites in 32
states since 1985. Founded in 1966, Bluegreen is headquartered in Boca
Raton, Fla., and currently employs over 6,000 associates. More information
about Bluegreen is available at www.bluegreencorp.com.

CONTACT: Bluegreen Corporation
Tony Puleo, 561-912-8270
Chief Financial Officer
tony.puleo@bluegreencorp.com
or
INVESTOR RELATIONS:
The Equity Group Inc.
Devin Sullivan, 212-836-9608
Senior Vice President
dsullivan@equityny.com

SOURCE: Bluegreen Corporation

Read more!

Secret Tenerife: Taxis at Tenerife South Airport

Secret Tenerife: Taxis at Tenerife South Airport

Read more!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DIAMOND RESORTS INTERNATIONAL(r) HIRES BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AND
OPERATIONS EXPERT AS VICE PRESIDENT, OPERATIONS, LATIN AMERICA

Las Vegas, Nev. - June 25th, 2008 -- Diamond Resorts International(r)
(DRI), a global leader in the vacation ownership industry, has appointed
Bill Tsao, as Vice President, Operations, Latin America, for DRI. Tsao
will initially be responsible for developing, implementing and managing
DRI's growth and operations strategy in Latin America, including resort
acquisition and development, sales and marketing and resort operations.
Tsao will report to President and Chief Operating Officer for DRI, Simon
Crawford-Welch, PhD, RRP.

"Providing additional choices in resort destinations and penetrating new
markets is key to DRI's growth and success strategy," says
Crawford-Welch. "Bill's extensive experience in the Latin American
market will drive new sales opportunities and well-planned expansion
into high-demand destinations. His expertise will be invaluable in
fulfilling our worldwide commitment to greater choice and comfort for
our owners, members and guests."

Tsao has over 16 years of experience in the timeshare industry,
including positions as Vice President of North and Latin American
Business Development for International Cruise & Excursions (ICE) and
Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing for Raintree Resorts, a
multi-site, multi-national timeshare development and sales organization
operating primarily in Mexico. During his tenure at Raintree, Tsao
designed and implemented an innovative consumer affairs department
strategy as well as having direct P&L responsibility for sales and
marketing operations which included targeted products and programs for
the Latin American consumer marketplace.

"As a global hospitality brand we're looking beyond our traditional
marketing demographics for additional growth opportunities," says
Stephen J. Cloobeck, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of DRI.
"Bill's vision for our Latin American operations is ambitious,
achievable and well aligned with our desire to deliver our brand tenets
of simplicity, choice and comfort coupled with superior,
customer-focused hospitality worldwide."

Diamond Resorts International(r), based in Las Vegas, Nev., is one of
the largest vacation ownership companies in the world with more than 110
branded and affiliated resorts and nearly 23,000 guest beds in 14
countries with destinations throughout the continental United States and
Hawaii, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Europe. Offering simplicity,
choice and comfort to its more than 360,000 owners and members through
the branded service of more than 5,500 team members worldwide, Diamond
Resorts International(r) is dedicated to providing its guests with
effortless and relaxing vacation experiences every time, for a lifetime.

For more information, please visit DiamondResorts.com

Contact: Kimberly Perette
Tel US: (702) 261 1005
Tel International UK: +44 (0)1524 845517

Read more!

DIAMOND RESORTS INTERNATIONAL(r) APPOINTS SALES & MARKETING EXPERT AS VICE PRESIDENT, MARKETING, EASTERN REGION

DIAMOND RESORTS INTERNATIONAL(r) APPOINTS SALES & MARKETING EXPERT AS
VICE PRESIDENT, MARKETING, EASTERN REGION

Las Vegas, Nev. - June 20th, 2008 -- Diamond Resorts International(r)
(DRI), a global leader in the vacation ownership industry, has appointed
Joel Lazar, RRP, as Vice President, Marketing, Eastern Region, for DRI.
Lazar's more than 20 years of vacation ownership and fractional
ownership marketing experience will be leveraged to generate a
significant number of tours for DRI's Eastern operations, including
resort destinations in Tennessee, Missouri, Virginia, St. Maarten and
Florida. Lazar will report to James R. Danz, RRP ("Jim"), DRI's Chief
Marketing Officer.

"Joel has proven abilities in attracting qualified prospects through
innovation in communication and product design across many facets of the
real estate industry," says Jim Danz, "His addition to the
industry-leading DRI marketing team will enable us to deliver consistent
tour flow to current and planned sales centers in DRI's Eastern Region."

Prior to his engagement with DRI, Lazar held senior management positions
with The Owners Club, Intrawest Resort Ownership Corp., Cimarron Golf
Resort and Hilton Grand Vacations Club. As the Corporate Vice President
of Sales and Marketing for Transeastern Homes, Lazar helped the company
gain recognition as the fastest growing homebuilder in the country.
During his tenure, Transeastern sold nearly $2 Billion in new homes and
successfully launched 20 communities. Lazar earned the Florida Home
Builders Association's Marketing Executive of the Year award in 2004.

"Building a world-class organization requires team members with
experience, passion and a desire to deliver excellence in everything we
do," said Simon Crawford-Welch, DRI's President & Chief Operating
Officer. "Joel's engagement is another step toward a dominant global
hospitality brand that will set higher industry standards in sales,
marketing, resort operations and customer service worldwide."

Lazar has served on the American Resort Development Association's (ARDA)
Board of Directors and as chairperson of the ARDA Membership Committee.
Lazar has been frequently interviewed by and quoted in major industry
and consumer publications, and is a much sought after speaker at
industry events.

Diamond Resorts International(r), based in Las Vegas, Nev., is one of
the largest vacation ownership companies in the world with more than 110
branded and affiliated resorts in 14 countries with destinations
throughout the continental United States and Hawaii, Canada, Mexico, the
Caribbean and Europe. Offering simplicity, choice and comfort to its
more than 360,000 owners and members through the branded service of more
than 5,500 team members worldwide, Diamond Resorts International(r) is
dedicated to providing its guests with effortless and relaxing vacation
experiences every time, for a lifetime.

Read more!

INDUSTRY VETERAN APPOINTED VICE PRESIDENT, MARKETING, WESTERN REGION FOR DIAMOND RESORTS INTERNATIONAL®

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

INDUSTRY VETERAN APPOINTED VICE PRESIDENT, MARKETING, WESTERN REGION FOR DIAMOND RESORTS INTERNATIONAL®

Las Vegas, Nev. - June 12th, 2008 -- Diamond Resorts International® (DRI), a global leader in the hospitality industry, has appointed Brad H. Benson as Vice President, Marketing, Western Region for DRI. Benson’s nearly 20-year span of industry, experience will guide marketing initiatives for all DRI's western operations including key destinations in Hawaii, California, Nevada, New Mexico and Arizona. Benson's appointment supports DRI’s quest to build an innovative, dynamic and experienced global marketing team led by vacation ownership marketing expert, James R. Danz ("Jim"), DRI's Chief Marketing Officer.

“Brad epitomizes DRI's theme of 'DRIven(SM) to Excellence' as demonstrated by his impressive track record, commitment to success, proven leadership skills, and a desire to dominate the marketplace,” says Jim Danz, “His background and operational philosophy fit well into our brand tenets of simplicity, choice and comfort.”

Benson has held senior marketing positions at Wyndham Vacation Ownership (Fairfield), The Shell Group, Hilton Grand Vacations Company, Vacation Internationale and most recently as Project Director - Marketing for Marriott Vacation Club International’s Grand Chateau in Las Vegas. Benson was a winner of the prestigious Gold “ARDY” for prospect generation during his tenure at Hilton Grand Vacations Company and he is involved with teaching a course on timeshare marketing at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration.

“It is encouraging to see many of the industry’s most well respected and proven professionals actively pursuing DRI to be a part of our team,” said Simon Crawford-Welch, DRI’s President & Chief Operating Officer. “Since acquiring this company in April of 2007, we have been gradually and systematically building a world-class organization across all functional areas of the company. Brad's addition to our marketing team is one more step that allows us to lead the pack, execute innovative marketing programs and generate hundreds of thousands of cost effective tours on a global scale.”

Diamond Resorts International®, based in Las Vegas, Nev. is one of the largest vacation ownership companies in the world with more than 110 branded and affiliated resorts in 14 countries with destinations throughout the continental United States and Hawaii, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Europe. Offering simplicity, choice and comfort to its more than 360,000 owners and members through the branded service of more than 5,500 team members worldwide, Diamond Resorts International® is dedicated to providing its guests with effortless and relaxing vacation experiences every time, for a lifetime.

Read more!

Spanish holiday club scam costs holidaymakers millions

Spanish holiday club scam costs holidaymakers millions

By Tony Bonsignore | 00:01:00 | 01 June 2008

An elaborate "holiday club" scam cruelly targeting happy holidaymakers heading for the beaches of Spain has already netted million of pounds, the Office of Fair Trading has revealed.

The scam starts with criminals handing out bogus scratchcards asking have you won a luxury holiday? to departing holidaymakers at UK airports. All the cards are in fact "winners", although the prize turns out to be nothing more than a trip to a lengthy sales presentation, according to the OFT.

The sales presentation, backed up with flashy brochures to take away, offers people the chance to spend thousands of pounds on membership of an exclusive holiday club, which in turn appears to offer access to a wide range of high quality holidays in resorts such as Benalmadena, Fuengirola and the Canary Islands. The selling techniques used are classic high pressure ones, it is reported.

However, victims of the scam soon discover that the contracts they sign are nearly worthless, the OFT says. In many cases the club offers little more than a simple internet booking service, no better than they could access on any high street.

The average loss incurred by victims of the scam is £3,000, it was revealed.

The OFT Scambuster team last week handed out thousands of similar fake scratchcards at four regional UK airports to draw attention to the problem. Staff from the European Consumer Centre were also on hand at Malaga airport, while hard-hitting ads warning of the dangers have been posted on airport walls and in inflight magazines.

Mike Haley, head of consumer protection at the OFT, said that every year thousands of holidays were ruined by the scam. He urged holidaymakers persuaded to attend such a presentation to ask three questions:

* Can you take away the contract to consider at your leisure?
* Is everything you are promised in the presentation in the contract?
* Do you know exactly what you are getting for your money?

If the answer to any of these questions is no, then the OFT advises to simply walk away, Haley said.

Read more!

Letters from Marty Kandel

I have received 3 letters from Marty Kandel to post for members to read.

The first is a letter explaining the rationale behind the recent levy and in this letter Marty recognises that there are members who for reasons of age or health or change of financial circumstances are no longer able to use their points or pay the management fees. Members have been given 30 days if they should choose to do so to give back their points at no cost to them, normally management fees etc would have to be up to date.

This letter can be found using this link.

http://www.dri-members.co.uk/siteimg/drimem.pdf

The second letter gives the best explanation of how the various parts of Diamond work and how the the various parts interlink that I have ever read. I urge everyone to read this.

http://www.dri-members.co.uk/siteimg/driops.pdf

Finally there is a letter that deals with communications between members and Diamond and to my mind shouldn't need sending assuming we are all nice decent people but I know that there have been those who have been extremely rude to Diamond staff and this is totally unacceptable in any society.

http://www.dri-members.co.uk/siteimg/dricomms.pdf

I urge all members to read these letters it will give you a greater understanding and should you wish to dispose of your points the opportunity you need but remember this is a time linked offer!

Tony Pearce

Read more!

Diamond Introduce New Member Benefit

Diamond Resorts announce New Member Benefit

As from October 2008 members will be able to book 2 day, 10 day or any number of days in most of the Diamond resorts. Check in can be on any day of the week. You are able to book now but the holidays must be taken in or after October 2008.

Points are calculated at 10% of weekly value Sunday to Thursday (inclusive) and 30% of weekly value Friday and Saturday.

*Minimum 2-night stay required. In some resorts nightly stays are not available due to the resort type, i.e. canal boats, where the itinerary is a week long or in affiliated resorts. ** Subject to availability. Note: Nightly stays replace the current mid-week and weekend split stays, apart from those resorts where nightly stays have not been possible to implement.

A cleaning charge will be made by the resort for all bookings of 4 nights or fewer whether booked as a short stay or in addition to a 7-night stay.

Good news plus there is currently loads of availability right through the summer, if you don't know how to find it make sure you read the FAQ on my site, I have recently re-written it for the new diamondresorts.com website and I would recommend everyone take a few minutes to read through it.

Read more!