Our names are Chip and Elizabeth Ballew, and we have created this site.  This is our ultimate vision of how the internet can help the timeshare consumer and industry achieve parity in addressing the timeshare resale market and help alter for the better how timeshares are marketed.   

Chip worked for Resort Condominiums International from July 1987 until June of 1994.  My last three years with them, I was an on-site resort liaison at Orange Lake Country Club in Orlando, Florida.  Given my exposure to the epicenter of the timeshare industry, I had the unique opportunity to see the direct interaction of the consumer with the initial sales process, the resort's interaction with RCI, and I was working directly with the consumer to help them learn the exchange process.  

It was during this time that I saw the HUGE need for help by consumers in selling their timeshare when they no longer needed it, or it had become too much of a burden.  I left RCI in June of 1994, and I obtained my Florida real estate license and set out to work in the timeshare resale business. 

At that time, many resale companies were nothing more than listing companies, charging hundreds of dollars to tell consumers that they would get their money back on what they paid for their timeshare.   This abuse would continue for years, unfortunately, including to this day.  One primary cause of this, I feel, was the industry's inaction on addressing the need for a legitimate secondary market.  Developers are obviously focused on marketing their own inventory.  With their marketing costs averaging 50% of the sales price, that gap is left to owners to absorb when they go to sell their timeshare.  

Being interested in computers, I toyed with the idea of creating a BBS (or bulletin board system) for timeshare information.  In the latter part of 1994, I decided to focus my efforts on this new medium called "the world wide web".  Thus, The Worldwide Timeshare Mall was borne, and launched in March of 1995.  Working with a licensed resale brokerage owned by Charles Levin, we exhibited at the ARDA convention in April of 1995.   Though we enjoyed some initial press, the industry wasn't quite ready to embrace this new technology.  This forced our abandonment of the Timeshare Mall, but not my idea for what the internet could accomplish. 

After moving back to Indianapolis to pursue a Master's degree, I went to work as the Sales Manager for a nascent Internet Service Provider called IndyNet.  Working there from late 1995 until 1999, I was participant in the torrent of growth of the Internet and the adoption of it by consumers and businesses alike. 

During my "off-time" from work, I continued to assemble my knowledge of timeshare and what information could legitimately help those in need of selling their timeshare.  In October of 1996, I happened to be checking at the right time, and was able to register the unclaimed domain name, www.timeshares.com.

I launched the site in July of 1997, and continued to build the information, offering free classified ads.  The site grew in popularity, and earned a reputation for providing unbiased helpful information about timeshares.  In late 1999 my efforts turned full-time, as IndyNet had gone public in March, and six months later all of the employees were let go. 

With Elizabeth's support, we turned our "hobby" into our full-time business.  The site continued to grow in popularity, fueled by media appearances, such as the Bloomberg Money Hour, an interview in the New York Times, and an appearance on CNBC in July, 2002. 

In 2004, we received an offer we couldn't refuse, and sold Timeshares.com.  During the ensuing years we were able to enjoy family and help take care of aging parents.    

After a hiatus (both "forced" and "voluntary"), we are now re-establishing a site on the Internet about timeshares.  Having the right feel for what we want to accomplish of making wanted information available to consumers and industry personnel whenever they want it, we selected www.timeshares247.com as the logical home for that project.  We hope you enjoy our efforts, and we welcome any feedback.


It's good to be back!


Chip & Elizabeth

cballew@timeshares247.com