A List: Darren Ettridge, Vice President, Resort Sales and Service EMEA Interval International
February 25, 2010 by Perspective Magazine | Timeshare & Fractional Reviews
Perspective Magazine Editor Matt McDaniel recently chatted with Darren Ettridge, Interval International’s vice president, resort sales and service for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The one-time co-workers talked about how Ettridge got into the timeshare industry, what’s happening at his company, the Timeshare Directive and his favourite football club (and you’ll likely not guess which it is).
Perspective Magazine: How did you get started in the industry?
Darren Ettridge: In 1997, I started working for First National Bank in unsecured consumer lending as manager of what was at the time the holiday ownership department. Our role was to persuade existing timeshare developers and marketers to use our consumer financing for their timeshare purchasers. And so through my involvement at the bank, I started to understand more about the world of timeshare.
And you joined Interval International in 2000. How did the transition go?
It was a natural progression – you’re working with many of the same developer clients and marketing companies. It’s obviously a different part of the business, but the mechanics from a sales standpoint are very similar. And because I had existing relationships, it was an easier switch in that sense.
Tell me a bit about your position at Interval.
As you know, at Interval we serve two constituencies: our developer clients and our consumer members. The majority of our members have come through the means of either purchasing timeshare, fractional or private residence-type ownerships at one of our member resorts. A fundamental aspect of my role in Resort Sales and Service is to work with existing clients and their marketers to assist them in growing their businesses and ensure they’re very satisfied with the services we provide to them on a business-to-business level – products, training and technical support – which enable them to have all the facilities they need to enrol members with Interval. Another big part of what my team does with existing clients is listening to them as to how they perceive the market and provide them with our advice and assistance on key aspects of their vacation ownership offering.
Secondly, and as importantly, we are always looking out for new affiliates entering the industry and helping them to understand the many complex facets of our business. Prospective clients may be good marketers, for example, but not necessarily be familiar with the legal or finance aspects of vacation ownership. Or they may need help with product design or structuring their operations. It could even be someone with a green-field site who’s thinking of doing timeshare. We work with them all the way through to when they start sales and marketing, giving them comprehensive assistance. We often give them guidance and sometimes we connect them with experts with whom we have relationships. Either way, it’s exciting to be a part of the process that leads to their eventual success.
So are you enjoying your career?
Absolutely. I work with great people and Interval’s a very loyal company to be associated with. You worked for Interval; you know there’s a real family yet highly professional environment. You always want our CEO Craig Nash in the room with any client because he is so passionate about the industry – and that rubs off on you.
There have been some big changes at Interval. I believe the company is now traded on the U.S. stock exchange?
Yes, Interval Leisure Group, the parent of Interval International, is a public company that is traded on the NASDAQ under the symbol IILG. We became a stand-alone public company for the first time in our almost 35- year history in August 2008.
Tell me about some of Interval’s new clients, products and programs.
From my Resort Sales point of view, I’ve had great satisfaction in being a part of our growth in new markets for us, in particular Central Europe, southern Africa and the Middle East. In Hungary we have a really great relationship with Denes Pieke and his Holiday Club Hungary team, who kickstarted our whole move into that market with their support and advice. Southern Africa had historically presented us with a challenge until we teamed up with Southern Sun and they affiliated their network of resorts with us.
Since then we’ve gone from strength to strength and today we have a great springboard for continued expansion. In Dubai we’ve seen some highly successful affiliations and built some really worthwhile partnerships there. If you’d have asked me to look into the future a few years ago, I’d have been very brave to have predicted our success in these areas!
On the member side, in addition to offering new holiday experiences by continually growing our resort network, we’ve introduced a number of programs and products to enhance the membership proposition. For example, last May we launched ShortStay Exchange, a program that allows our Interval Gold members to holiday in shorter increments rather than the previously required seven-night exchange stay, regardless of whether they transact in weeks or points.
This provides a great deal of freedom and flexibility – and when members choose to take their holiday time in two- to six-night stays, it increases the perceived value of their vacation ownership purchase. It also means members may visit resorts that they haven’t previously, since they don’t have to commit to an entire week.
We’ve also enhanced our digital platform with the addition of resort ratings, a planning tool accessible at IntervalWorld.com. Members now have the opportunity to share their ratings and learn how other members have evaluated resorts. While it’s not new in the world of consumer websites, it is relatively new in the exchange environment, and enhances the member experience. I know that we will continue to look from the members’ standpoint, as we always have, at how we can best use new technology to assist them in better understanding how to maximize their vacation opportunities.
Switching gears a bit, what are your thoughts on the Timeshare Directive?
When I first joined the industry, the UK Timeshare Regulations had just been introduced, which implemented the 1994 European Timeshare Directive. A cooling off period and restrictions on deposits came into effect – and certain timeshare operators thought that it would be the end of the timeshare industry.
However, legislation has in many ways reinforced the positive side of the industry over the years, particularly in the area of selling practices. New provisions will be enacted in the near future with implementation of the Timeshare Directive of 14 January 2009.
These new provisions will require timeshare traders to provide enhanced disclosure information for consumers, which we believe will contribute toward increasing the confidence that consumers have in the product.
We support the changes that have gone through to date. They make for a better consumer-protective environment, which should be beneficial for everyone involved. At the end of the day, the vast majority of vacation ownership businesses that exist in the EMEA region today are legitimate companies that offer great products and customer service, and respect their members.
The Timeshare Directive will eradicate those individuals who can’t work within this legislative framework. For this reason, I’m very supportive of it. I am particularly pleased to see that holiday packs or longterm holiday products are now regulated.
What do you see for theindustry’s future?
I am genuinely optimistic about this industry. Recession or not, for the most part, people want quality, they want consistency, and they want to enjoy holiday time with their families and friends.
Many experts are saying that it’s going to take a bit of time until the financial world gets back on its feet, which may control the speed of the growth. But I am still a full believer in the many benefits of vacation ownership.
Is there anything else you’d like to mention?
I support West Ham United Football Club – always have done, always will do. Even though it might lose me great credibility wherever I go, I’m very proud to be a West Ham supporter.
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