An interview with Roy Peires, chairman and founder of Club La Costa Resorts and Hotels, a company that is among the leading lights of timeshare in Europe and one that is, by its innovative and progressive approach, defining the standard and shaping the way in which its more than 50,000 members enjoy their holidays.

1. When did you enter the timeshare industry and what led you to do so?

From the age of 19, I got involved in the hospitality industry, in restaurants, and I might have stayed to build a business in that sector but for what I considered to be an even more interesting opportunity that came along. In 1984 I entered the timeshare industry in London and Spain. It began with access to a few units on the Costa del Sol, and as I sold these successfully I began adding more units and over time acquiring more resorts. And soon after this time I started purchasing a landbank on which to build new developments. This was done steadily and gradually to ensure growth was efficiently managed, but also to ensure financial stability and confidence and soon it was clear that Club La Costa was being appreciated by a growing number of satisfied clients.

2. Has your business strategy remained the same over the years or have you adapted it to changing holiday trends?

Today the company has 22 fully owned and managed resorts, with some 2,000 accommodation units in Spain, Tenerife, Austria, Turkey and the UK. This would never have been achieved without modifying our business strategy over time. Our business model has frequently changed to meet the ever changing marketplace. A defining trait of Club La Costa is its ability to respond quickly to trends and also to anticipate them. This is evident in the way that we have developed better resorts and different products, moving from fixed weeks to floating weeks to multi-destination points based clubs – and even our own yacht club. We are fortunate that, as a private company, we can react rapidly when appropriate and this flexibility keeps us competitive both as a business and in what we offer our owners and marketing prospects.

3. What pivotal moment or moments during the history of Club La Costa contributed in a major way to making the company what it is today?

In 1991 the UK economy was suffering, interest rates had gone through the roof and Club La Costa was forced to find new markets. This opened our eyes to the untapped timeshare markets throughout Europe including the domestic market in Spain, plus those of France, Germany and Eastern Europe. When legislation came in the mid 1990s (such as banning deposits), we reacted positively by launching our three-year trial membership which was, and still is a very attractive and popular option allowing new members to ‘test-drive’ our product. It generates large numbers of new members to our off-site sales centres many of whom like what they experience so they upgrade to full membership on their first or subsequent holidays. This two-step sales approach now prevails through all Club La Costa’s on and off-site sales operations with excellent commercial sales results.

4. What made you so passionate about the timeshare business at the start and what about it continues to drive you?

It was immediately apparent to me that timeshare is a fantastic product and an exciting one with so many possibilities. My enthusiasm has been evident in the way we have been able to diversify and reflect the changing holiday needs of our growing membership, driven by the desire to give our owners a holiday experience that not only lives up to expectations but exceeds them. It continues to excite me because Club La Costa always has something new to say. Standing still is not an option for us – like most successful companies, there is always the need for innovation. Of course, this also makes for good sales and upgrade possibilities too.

5. What are the tangible changes in the holiday experience for Club La Costa members?

We constantly look to increase the levels of luxury, amenities and service that we offer. Developing our own resorts has allowed us to include such things as private Jacuzzis on apartment balconies and quality branded white goods as standard, and we are especially proud to have developed a signature interior design based on our Costa del Sol California Beach resort that sees the use of modern, high quality materials and furnishings. And we continue to look at ways of raising standards. It is important to create excitement within each new project and even more so with the public’s access to and awareness of a vast array of holidays and holiday products via the media and internet. So we are meticulous to ensure we effectively communicate with our members, in order that they can see just what we are doing ourselves and how, via ’cross-utilisation-agreements’, we are also handpicking partner resorts that fit the Club La Costa model and increase the choice available to them. Also our continually evolving websites (member and corporate), and regular e-mail bulletins and printed materials play an essential role in this.

6. In recent years, Club La Costa has been characterised by rapid growth, adding new resorts and a yacht club, what other projects are in the pipeline that you can tell us about?

For a long time, it has been our objective to create a pan-European product to be enjoyed by families of all nationalities – adding new resorts and offering new and varied holiday experiences from short breaks in the British countryside to our luxurious sailing adventures aboard our expertly crewed catamarans. Now we are adding more destinations in the Eastern Mediterranean to cater for all our members including our growing Russian market. We are seeking further opportunities in many new countries with resorts planned for example in Russia, the Dominican Republic and the United States – as central Florida is still a top 10 destination for our core British market. In Europe we already have several new resorts at various stages of development at our Costa del Sol site, in Tenerife and in Turkey. Right now we have started construction in Spain of an exciting new spa and leisure resort, with the first 84 deluxe residences soon to be launched, as well as a new standalone resort, Rancho Santa Fe.

7. What prompted Club La Costa to move into the freehold property market?

It became apparent that some members, having ‘grown’ in their holiday expectations with us, desired to own a holiday home outright – but without the hassle of maintaining it year-round or leaving it empty most of the time. These members love and trust Club La Costa and for us it was a great way to satisfy our own marketing needs via a rentals programme. Developing resort homes this way allows us to ensure CLC standards of build and design apply, and spurred on by our early successes we have gone on to expand this programme and we are currently seeking new resort locations. Owners benefit from excellent leaseback guarantees and a ‘peace-of-mind’ investment.

8. In what way do you think you and your company excel above the competition?

We continue to sell because we are ready and willing to embrace change and seek out new opportunities. I know I need to expand and vary the holiday experiences for Club La Costa members around the world and at the most popular holiday locations. In doing so, we plan and succeed in staying one step ahead.

I believe that the timeshare industry is changing so that only the dominant major hotel companies and strongest independents – with great products and truly effective sales and marketing – will survive. Club La Costa will be among them. In the long term these changes are creating an improved industry with an ever improving perception of timeshare, and this can only result in more satisfied customers.

We see the big winners in the hospitality industry are those merging hotels and timeshare into one seamless operation; hence our plans for more hotel units to be developed at our multi-resort site near Marbella, as mentioned earlier, and also at our UK country resorts and elsewhere.

9. Having become an industry leader, is there still an ultimate goal that you work towards?

Yes. Not only do we want to establish a global network of timeshare resorts that will satisfy the hunger for quality holidays for our member families, but ultimately we want to serve them through our own reservation system; which, of course, we already do to a significant extent. In the future, all their holiday aspirations and needs will be satisfied within Club La Costa, it is what we are working towards. We know this is what our members want; it means they can rely on getting a true Club La Costa experience wherever they choose to go.

10. Finally, what are the most important factors in the successful development of your business?

Without doubt, the expertise and commitment of Club La Costa staff is, and always will be, a vital part of the company’s success. I believe we have some of the best people in the business working for us and the ethos and work attitude of the staff, from top management through to our cleaners and gardeners, is excellent.

One of my biggest challenges is finding more good people of the right calibre to work with us at all levels and in all locations. One thing is for certain, dedicated high achievers, will always do well in this industry. They can also be sure of a place with us and an exciting career. Of course, like the company itself, they need to be open to change and not stuck in a rut. Sales and marketing, like every other aspect of the company, is dynamic, adapting to market conditions. There is a lot of despondency being voiced in the holiday market, with airline collapses and the effects of the credit crunch hitting the headlines, but we are lucky, our members have shown they love holidays with their commitment to purchase with us not just once but again and again. They view their hard earned holidays as a priority and necessity, not a luxury.

---

For information on advertising and editorial opportunities with Perspective Magazine & Owners Perspective Magazine; the leading independent B2B & B2C magazines for the timeshare and fractional ownership industries visit www.perspectiverates.com

---

Tags: Austria, Club La Costa Resorts & Hotels, residences, Spain, Tenerife, timeshare, Turkey, UK