ORLANDO, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 11, 2026--
Travel + Leisure Co. (NYSE: TNL), a leading leisure travel company, today announced Countdown to Kickoff, a series of soccer-themed celebrations and fan experiences taking place at select resorts across its vacation club portfolio. Tapping into the buzz surrounding the world’s biggest soccer tournament, the events will bring owners and guests together for destination highlights, fan moments, and on-property activities inspired by the global games.
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Travel + Leisure Co. announced Countdown to Kickoff, a series of soccer-themed celebrations and fan experiences taking place at select resorts across its vacation club portfolio. Designed to celebrate the global spirit of the game, the activation reflects the company’s broader focus on experiential travel, bringing travelers together through shared passions for culture, entertainment, and community.
With the tournament’s first whistle sounding today, Travel + Leisure Co. is inviting vacation club owners and guests to join in the excitement through its Countdown to Kickoff special event series. Designed to celebrate the global spirit of the game, the activation reflects the company’s broader focus on experiential travel, bringing travelers together through shared passions for culture, entertainment, and community.
“We've caught the soccer fever,” said Kevin Maciulewicz, Senior Vice President of Resort Operations at Travel + Leisure Co. “We wanted to create a way for owners and guests to celebrate the energy surrounding the global tournament together. By hosting these events ahead of some of the biggest matchups, we're bringing fans together to build anticipation, share in the excitement, and create memorable moments while on vacation.”
The Countdown to Kickoff celebrations will take place at four resorts in North America:
Each event will feature themed activities, shareable photo moments, and soccer-inspired programming designed to capture the momentum of the global game while showcasing the unique character of each resort location. Vacation club owners and guests will also have access to custom neighborhood guides curated by resort general managers, highlighting local restaurants, attractions, and hidden gems in each destination.
“With more than 280 resorts across our portfolio, we have a unique opportunity to create experiences that extend beyond the resort stay,” added Maciulewicz. “These celebrations bring owners and guests together around a shared passion while creating a sense of community that makes travel even more meaningful.”
Follow along on Instagram for Countdown to Kickoff event highlights, fan moments, and behind-the-scenes content through the Club Wyndam ( @ClubWyndham ), WorldMark (@WorldMarkbyWyndham ), and Margaritaville Vacation Club ( @MargaritavilleVC ) channels.
For more information about Travel + Leisure Co. and its vacation club brands, please visit travelandleisureco.com.
About Travel + Leisure Co.
Travel + Leisure Co. (NYSE: TNL) is a leading leisure travel company, providing more than six million vacations to travelers around the world every year. The company operates a diverse portfolio of vacation ownership, travel club, and lifestyle travel brands designed to meet the needs of the modern leisure traveler, whether they’re traversing the globe or enjoying destinations closer to home. This includes experiential brands such as Sports Illustrated Resorts, Eddie Bauer Adventure Club, Margaritaville Vacation Club, and Accor Vacation Club, as well as cornerstone brands, Club Wyndham, WorldMark, and RCI. With hospitality and responsible tourism at its heart, the company’s more than 19,000 dedicated associates worldwide help fulfill its mission to put the world on vacation. Learn more at travelandleisureco.com.
Travel + Leisure Co. announced Countdown to Kickoff, a series of soccer-themed celebrations and fan experiences taking place at select resorts across its vacation club portfolio. WorldMark The Camlin in Seattle will host a June 18 fan celebration ahead of the United States versus Australia match.
Travel + Leisure Co. announced Countdown to Kickoff, a series of soccer-themed celebrations and fan experiences taking place at select resorts across its vacation club portfolio. Designed to celebrate the global spirit of the game, the activation reflects the company’s broader focus on experiential travel, bringing travelers together through shared passions for culture, entertainment, and community.
At least three tornadoes touched down in communities outside Chicago, leveling homes and ripping down trees and power poles, while storms grounded flights and knocked out power for hundreds of thousands across the Midwest and Northeast.
As the large funnel cloud swept through Merrillville, a town about 33 miles (53 kilometers) southeast of Chicago, the city's police department warned residents to “TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY.” Meanwhile, the nearby manufacturing and farm city of Streator set up a family reunification center for displaced residents in its city hall as officials took stock of the major damage.
Tornado warnings were also in place in Chicago and in parts of Indiana and Michigan, according to the National Weather Service.
Severe storms had swept through the Midwest Wednesday, knocking out power, damaging buildings and canceling flights.
In Des Moines, Iowa, a 54-year-old man died at a homeless encampment in a park Wednesday after being hit by a tree that “broke apart and fell during strong storms,” police said in a statement. The man was found critically injured Thursday morning and died at the scene, authorities said. There were no immediate reports of other deaths or injuries from the storms.
Strong storms delayed or halted flights at airports in some cities, including Chicago, Philadelphia and New York on Thursday. Parts of the Northeast and mid-Atlantic also strained under high heat and humidity.
Shane Tipton, of Unionville, Missouri, drove home from his factory job Wednesday afternoon unaware that severe weather was on the way, said his daughter, Kylie Rouse. As he stepped out of his truck, he saw a twister bearing down — and hurried into his mobile home to evacuate his 87-year-old dad, Jimmie Tipton.
They made it back to the truck, drove just far enough away and watched as the tornado obliterated the home. Shattered cabinets, furniture and appliances littered the ground. Clothes hung in trees. They believe they lost one of their hunting dogs, who has been missing since it struck.
“Everything's destroyed,” Rouse told The Associated Press in a phone interview Thursday. “It was scattered clear for miles. If my grandpa would have been in there, there's no way that he would be alive.”
They returned to the scene Thursday to hunt through the debris for Jimmie Tipton's prescriptions. Rouse has started an online fundraiser through GoFundMe to help them recover.
Residents of Springfield, Illinois, believe a tornado touched down in their area late Wednesday. Two buildings at the Animal Protective League shelter in Springfield were heavily damaged, but none of the nearly 150 cats and 28 dogs housed there were injured, said Deana Corbin, the group's executive director.
“It pretty much wiped out our shelter facility, took the roofs off both of our buildings,” Corbin said. “It’s a miracle. We were so blessed to not have any injuries of either people or animals.”
The community pitched in to take in all the cats and dogs temporarily, including a local animal control center, veterinarians and residents, she said.
Damage also was reported at Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport in Springfield.
Weather service meteorologist Frank Pereira said the system that produced the storms, including high winds and hail, was moving eastward Thursday, fueled by cool air from Canada clashing with warm, humid air from the South.
Potentially dangerous heat and high humidity arrived Thursday and was expected to continue Friday for a swath of the East Coast from the mid-Atlantic to the Northeast, where daily high record temperatures could be broken in numerous places, the weather service said. Temperatures in the mid-90s Fahrenheit (mid-30s Celsius) were expected, but with the humidity it could feel like 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) or more, the service said.
Philadelphia declared a heat health emergency for Thursday and Friday, activating cooling centers, home visits by field teams, outreach to people experiencing homelessness and other services. New York City officials were also urging residents to take precautions, including drinking plenty of water and finding a cool place to stay if they do not have air conditioning.
At various points Wednesday and Thursday, ground stops were issued at Chicago's O’Hare International and Midway International airports, and at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.
More than 1,000 flights going into and out of Chicago had been delayed or canceled, according to FlightAware, a flight tracking website.
Commonwealth Edison Company, which provides electric service across northern Illinois, said the storms had downed poles and wires. On X, it wrote that it expected “80% restoration by Saturday, June 13 at 11 PM.”
Associated Press reporters Hannah Fingerhut in Des Moines, Iowa, and Hallie Golden and Gene Johnson in Seattle contributed.
This frame grab from video shows a downed tree after storms struck Amherst, Ohio, west of Cleveland on Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Courtesy WEWS/NEWS5) TELEVISION OUT
Grounds crew remove water from the field after severe thunderstorms came through the Chicago area before a baseball game between the Chicago White Sox and the Atlanta Braves, Wednesday, June 10, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/David Banks)
This frame grab from aerial video shows a building in Stickney, Illinois, after its roof was damaged by the severe storms that struck the Chicago area on Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Courtesy WMAQ-TV in Chicago) TELEVISION OUT
