Congratulations to our seven monthly sweepstakes winners of 5,000 onetime-use credits and $200 in VISA® debit cards to create their WorldMark getaways! Every winner I speak with sings the praises of the ease and convenience of planning their vacations online. Online booking statistics demonstrate that these winners are not alone. Since the launch of this 14-month program in November 2008, the percentage of online booking has skyrocketed from 30 percent to as high as 40 percent of the total reservations booked in a single month.

We continue to enhance the WorldMark site to make booking online even easier for owners. We recently launched enhancements that allow you to sort and view your reservations by various criteria, including dates, resorts and credits used.

We also recently announced that you can now reprint or e-mail your confirmation right from your online account, complete with local details and directions to the resorts. You can even e-mail the confirmation to your friends and family who may be joining you on vacation, or send it to those who need to know where you are while you’re away.

I’d like to share a few recent comments I’ve received about the benefits of booking online:

“I use the four-month calendar to lazily scroll through the resorts that are near my home. In February, I picked up a three-day getaway at a resort that I hadn’t even considered staying at before that turned out to be a great experience. Had I called in, I’m pretty sure it never would have been offered since it wasn’t anywhere near the resort I had in mind and that would have been a big loss for us.”

“I book online because I don’t get home from work until 10 p.m. and my mornings are always filled with tasks and to-do lists. After 10, the chores are done, the kids are in bed and I have time to relax and think about breaking free of chores and tasks. That’s when I go online and start dreaming of my next escape. What a treat!”

Booking your vacation online is easy and convenient. But best of all: Book your vacation online and you’ll be entered into the i-Getaway sweepstakes to win one of the remaining monthly prizes or the grand prize of a Grand Hawaiian Vacation (including airfare for four). Just think, you might win a vacation just for planning a vacation online!