Despite the gloomy economic environment of the last year and the retrenchment of the overseas property market, Spain has managed to retain its allure for Britons seeking a home in the sun.  However, for the property industry in Spain to take off once again there are a number of  “boulders on the runway” that have to be removed, a challenge which is now being taken up by an alliance of Taylor Woodrow de España and international accreditation specialists, Safe Buying Experience.

The “boulders” which are holding back the Spanish property market include a lack of trust surrounding the legal title of any property following the well publicised land grab scares, the notional increase in prices resulting from changes in the exchange rate, the fear of substandard construction work, and the lack of available finance.

As the only major UK house builder operating in Spain, Taylor Woodrow de España, has a head start over other developers in being able to begin to address the challenges and show that Spain still offers fantastic opportunities for those seeking to buy property abroad.   As a UK company committed to the highest quality of workmanship in the building of its homes Taylor Woodrow de España can offer its customers piece of mind that anything they buy will be built to an exacting standard.

In order to allay the fears generated through the extensive coverage of Britons who had lost their holiday homes through the so called “land grab” policies of some of Spain’s regional legislators, Taylor Woodrow de España have teamed up with Safe Buying Experience (SBE).   SBE offers an independent accreditation service to developers in Spain and Portugal effectively guaranteeing that every Taylor Woodrow de España property has the correct legal title, conforms to planning and building regulations and that buyers are not burdened with a poor or unenforceable contract after handing over a reservation deposit.

The founders of SBE come from a long and distinguished background of law, management and financial services. They recognise that, in an increasingly sophisticated market, buyers seek upfront reassurance that their dream home is everything they believe it to be.  Every Taylor Woodrow property in Spain now comes with full SBE accreditation.

Taylor Woodrow de España is also addressing the issue of pricing head on as explained by the Marketing Director, Victor Sague:

“We recognised that for people in the UK the changes in the sterling / euro exchange rate could have priced our properties out of their reach. We have therefore worked hard to reduce our prices by offering really solid discounts to maintain their attractiveness to the UK market, meaning proeprties are now cheaper in 2009 than they have been for many years.”

“We are really looking forward to the next year.  Approaching the height of the summer we are confident that Spain will once again show millions of visitors from the UK just how special a place it is. The latent demand for homes in Spain remains strong and now we have set about removing the boulders from the runway we really believe the market is ready to take off once again. We are already seeing smart investors taking advantage of the deals we have on offer – a sure sign that the market is changing.”

Taylor Woodrow de España provides a specialised service and dedicated team within the UK and Spain who can help and advise homebuyers through the entire process of choosing, buying and settling into a new Spanish home.

The developer currently has a range of Safe Buying Experience endorsed quality homes available in Mallorca, the Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca, starting from 173,531€. For further information on Taylor Woodrow de España and the developments available please call 08000 121 020 or visit http://www.taylorwoodrow.es/

If you would like to find out further information regarding the Safe Buying Experience accreditation Scheme please visit http://www.safebuyingexperience.com/

Resort Equities was founded in 2004 and is the brainchild of Managing Partners, Kimball Small and Keith Cox. Kimball and Keith, along with the Resort Equities team, represent over 50 years of collaborative real estate development, business, resort and hospitality experience.

“When we founded Resort Equities we thought it just made good common sense for people to share use of a luxury vacation home,” recounts Keith Cox, Co-Founder and Managing Partner. “We wanted to enable people to match the use they desired with their ownership interest in a multi-million dollar residence and enjoy all of the benefits at a fraction of the cost without all the hassles of managing a second home. Plus, we’ve created an exchange program so our owners can choose to trade one of their weeks to stay in other Resort Equities homes and destinations.”

Resort Equities prides itself on being a boutique shared ownership company – dramatically different from the big, impersonal fractional and timeshare outfits – headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area. The company offers unique, sensible, luxurious ownership opportunities coupled with attentive personal service. Resort Equities differentiates themselves by selecting only the most discriminating properties in the most sought-after resort destinations and then offering a superior ownership program.

Up to 10 deeded, undivided ownership interests are sold in a select group of handpicked, magnificent residences for less than the price of a typical down payment. Better still, Resort Equities oversees the maintenance and management of the residences and all expenses are split among the co-owners – making ownership hassle-free and cost-effective. Plus, buying an interest affords owners the ability to exchange vacations at other participating, exclusive properties.

“We specialize in selling shared ownership interests in individual luxury vacation homes, which are professionally managed and outfitted”, Cox explains.  “Our owners typically considered buying a second or third home but decided, for all the obvious reasons, that buying the whole residence didn’t pencil out. Instead, owners live out the vacation home dream and have many weeks each year to enjoy their residence. Also, buying a piece of a Resort Equities residence feels like a smart, capital efficient decision, which is especially important during these economic times.”

PROPERTY PORTFOLIO

1. Tuscany, Italy – The Bella Villa Collezione
For anyone who has a love affair with Italy, imagine owning a piece of its history, culture, allure and intoxicating beauty. Imagine visiting the panetteria (local bakery), macelleria (butcher shop) and the mercato di verdura (produce market) to gather farm-fresh ingredients for tonight’s supper. Imagine sipping Chianti from your private veranda as the sun fades beneath a cypress tree-lined hillside. Imagine ownership within a portfolio of unique, luxurious Italian residences – a base from which to explore Firenze, Siena, Roma, Lago di Como, Positano, Milano… Now imagine your dream of owning a second home in Italy – experiencing the European lifestyle for more than just a few, fleeting weeks – becoming your reality. Introducing the Bella Villa Collezione (BVC), Resort Equities newly-released, unparalleled, international shared ownership offering. This is a collection of 5 to 10 spectacular residences situated in highly desirable locations throughout Italy. The Bella Villa Collezione is commencing with a lavish Tuscan farmhouse – “Cologna della Via” – and future residences are slated for Firenze, Lago di Como, Positano and Rome. A maximum of 10 owners in each Bella Villa Collezione residence are entitled to at least four weeks usage in properties throughout the collection.

Cologna della Via
The essence of Italy is captured in Resort Equities ‘Cologna della Via’. This 500 year-old farmhouse has been restored with meticulous attention to detail and unsurpassed amenities.

Nestled in the Tuscan hills on nearly 20+ olive grove and cypress tree studded acres, the Cologna della Via ‘compound’ consists of four buildings including separate laundry and fitness rooms plus an infinity pool and veranda, showcasing postcard-perfect, panoramic views of the Italian countryside. Cologna della Via’s main house offers four bedrooms, four and one-half bathrooms as well as two parlors, two kitchens, a wet bar, dining room and two outdoor verandas.

Cologna della Via is centrally located; Firenze, Siena and Cortona are within an hour’s drive and Roma and Milano are approximately three hours from the residence.

2. San Francisco
Amongst the most exquisite cities in the world, San Francisco is the ultimate urban playground. From the majestic Golden Gate Bridge to famed Alcatraz prison to seaside Fisherman’s Wharf and Pier 39, San Francisco plays host to an abundance of iconic sites.

This City-by-the-Bay boasts authentic, cultural dining at neighborhoods such as Northbeach and China Town , unparalleled shopping at Union Square, celebrated theater and art. Outdoor enthusiasts can enjoy a stroll through beautiful Golden Gate Park, sailing on The Bay, mountain biking at nearby Mount Tamalpias or simply riding on a historic cable car.

Odeon Penthouse
Odeon Penthouse is a top floor, only-one-of-its-kind 2,516 square foot, three bedroom, two bathroom residence. Featuring double-high ceilings and oversized windows, Odeon Penthouse reveals dazzling views of the city excitement as well as San Francisco’s handsome buildings. Entertain family and friends in the two-level great room, showcasing the twinkling city lights and the romantic chime of the Powell Street cable car rumbling by. The residence’s kitchen caters to the chef in you with signature series Viking™, Dacor™ and Bosch™ appliances. Odeon Penthouse has an upper floor devoted entirely to a large, private master suite with an extraordinary walk-in closet and dressing room. Granite and exotic hardwood flooring are found throughout. Union Square’s world-class shopping, exceptional dining, unsurpassed theater and galleries are a mere stroll from Odeon Penthouse.  Ghirardelli Square, Pier 39, Golden Gate Park and Napa Valley make for a wonderful day trip.

3. Hawaii
The Hawaiian islands have been coined a little slice of paradise and deservedly so. The second largest and arguably the most spectacular island is Maui. Resort Equities hand-selected Kapalua, Maui for its natural beauty coupled with an abundance of activities. Maui is home to Hana, a town accessed via an incredibly scenic, 53- mile route and known for its breathtaking waterfalls. Visitors can also enjoy the 10,000- foot Haleakala Crater as well as beautiful Wailea and the exclusive Grand Wailea Resort and Spa. Maui’s white sand beaches and championship golf courses are known as some of the world’s finest and the warm ocean waters are perfect for snorkeling and surfing. In the wintertime the migration of the humpback whales is an exquisite site along the coastline. Museums, shopping and dining can be found in the lively and charming towns of Lahaina and Ka’anapali.

Crestview Estate
Crestview is a 4,000+ square foot, four bedroom grand estate located in the private, exclusive, gated Pineapple Hill Estates neighborhood. This residence features a great room outfitted with sliding glass ‘pocket’ doors, showcasing sweeping ocean and golf vistas and a chef’s kitchen with professional series Themador™ appliances. The interior is beautifully appointed in elegant, Hawaiian style including rich, natural hardwoods, granite and marble and offers technological convenience including plasma screen televisions and a home office. Step outdoors to appreciate the lush tropical landscaping and be soothed by a warm island breeze. Owners can savor a breathtaking Maui sunset from the infinity pool, hot tub and sprawling lanai. White sand beaches, championship golf and celebrated dining are mere moments from Crestview Estate as well as charming Lahaina and Ka’anapali.

4. Lake Tahoe
Beyond being one of the most gorgeous alpine lakes anywhere, Lake Tahoe offers unlimited fun. From sailing a classic woody boat to kayaking calm, crystal waters, from mackinaw fishing to Sand Harbor’s white sand beaches, there’s something for everyone. Off the water visitors can enjoy limitless mountain biking and hiking trails, tennis, championship golf and camping. Tahoe also offers a variety of excellent restaurants, exciting nightlife and casinos. And when the snow falls Lake Tahoe showcases some of the best alpine skiing and snowboarding mountains as well as snowmobiling, snowshoeing and sleigh rides. The town of Truckee is known for its historic downtown and boutique shopping.

Silver Fox Estate
Silver Fox is a grand, 5,800 square foot estate situated in Truckee’s most prestigious neighborhood – Big Springs. Located less than a mile from Northstar-at-Tahoe Ski Resort and Village, Silver Fox is a custom four bedroom residence offering a great room showcasing enviable views of the Carson Range, a floor-to-ceiling granite fireplace and an adjoining wet bar. The home has dual master suites, a gourmet kitchen with stainless steel Thermador ™ appliances, an office and home gymnasium.  Ideal for entertaining, Silver Fox features a formal dining room, bonus/gameroom with home theater, a pool table and second wet bar as well as an 1,100 square foot deck with an eight person hot tub. Silver Fox offers convenient access to Tahoe’s best recreation including: downhill and cross country skiing, snowmobiling, sleigh riding, golfing, sailing, water skiing, hiking, fly fishing, mountain biking, horseback riding, rafting, boutique shopping, nightlife, gaming and more.

5. Squaw Valley
Squaw Valley is synonymous with world-class skiing. Extreme skiers and those seeking the area’s best terrain ski Squaw Valley USA. Yet beyond the mountain Squaw Valley has much to offer: High Camp, perched at the top of Squaw Valley USA’s cable car, is an all-season resort with an ice skating rink, lagoon pool, spa, five tennis courts, restaurants and hiking trails, each showcasing some of Tahoe’s most spectacular panoramas. The Village at Squaw Valley is a European-style, pedestrian village with fine and casual dining, boutique shopping and spa treatments. Golfers can hit the links at Squaw’s 18-hole, Robert Trent Jones Jr., championship course, surrounded by majestic Sierra Nevada peaks, Squaw Valley is also just 10 minutes from Lake Tahoe, where outdoor recreation abounds including boating, hiking, fly-fishing, mountain biking, cycling, horseback riding and river rafting.

Graystone Lodge
There’s a reason why this home received Tahoe Quarterly Magazine’s prestigious Design Achievement Award and was nominated as Mountain Home of the Year. Simply put, Graystone Lodge is exquisite and one of the most spectacular residences in Lake Tahoe. Graystone Lodge is a grand, 5,500 square foot, custom, fourbedroom, four and one-half bathroom home, showcasing views of the surrounding Sierra Nevada Mountains. This residence features cathedral ceilings, massive stone fireplaces (five in total), hardwood, slate and travertine flooring. The centerpiece of this estate is a beautiful, hand-forged elevator. Graystone Lodge offers a dramatic great room, media room with home entertainment center, formal dining room, kids bunk room and lofted library/office. Ideal for entertaining, Graystone’s kitchen caters to the chef in you with Viking, professional grade range and dual ovens, chiseled-edge granite countertops, knotty-alder cabinetry and a walk-in pantry. Wine enthusiasts can savor the 2,000-bottle, temperature-controlled wine cellar, enveloped in an authentic, reclaimed wine barrel ceiling.

Step outdoors and soak up the panoramic views of Squaw’s legendary, breathtaking KT-22, Headwall and Painted Rock from the candle-lit hot tub, private deck or huddled around the firepit. And when it’s time to hit the slopes, owners have VIP, valet parking at Squaw Valley USA.

6. The Village at Northstar

Great Bear Lodge Residences
Great Bear Lodge represents the best of the best within the new Village at Northstar; boasting discerning features such as an elevator that opens into each residence as well as a location that’s perched directly above the ice skating rink. Great Bear Lodge offers the ultimate in mountain luxury living coupled with unparalleled ski-in/ski-out convenience.

Resort Equities has hand-selected two Great Bear residences (4206 and 4207), ranging from 2,780 to 3,292 square feet, featuring four bedrooms, each with an en-suite bathroom. Additionally, these residences offer an incredible great room, wet bar, separate office/den and a fully furnished outdoor terrace. Wolf™ and Subzero™ appliances, hardwood flooring, granite countertops and a natural stone fireplace are just some of the premium finishes in Resort Equities’ Great Bear properties. Owners also have access to the Tahoe Mountain Club, offering private amenities such as Alpine Club, Schaffer’s Camp, Old Greenwood Pavilion and Wild Goose lakefront restaurant.

Catamount Lodge Residences
One of the newest and most luxurious addresses in the new Village at Northstar is Catamount Lodge. Continuing in the Village’s tradition of excellence, Catamount Lodge resides just steps from the gondola and the legendary slopes of Northstar-at-Tahoe. Resort Equities handpicks its residences to exemplify the best of mountain luxury living and offer unparalleled ski village and exclusive club access. Resort Equities Catamount Lodge residences feature impressive, desirable floorplans, expansive living areas and bedrooms, chef’s kitchens with professional-grade appliances plus sprawling terraces, ski storage lockers and heated, underground parking.

Resort Equities portfolio of Catamount Lodge residences includes four extraordinary, discriminating, end-cap residences: three-bedroom, three and one-half bathroom Catamount Lodge (8214), Catamount Lodge (8314) and Catamount Penthouse (8414) as well as the four-bedroom, four bathroom “Mayor’s House” (Catamount 8202).

Iron Horse Penthouse
Iron Horse Penthouse offers generous living space of 1,205 square feet, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a cozy great room with vaulted ceilings and picturesque mountain views, private terrace plus ski storage lockers and underground parking. The interior and furniture package pairs rustic, elegant appointments with modern technological convenience. A natural stone fireplace, slate and hickory hardwood flooring, granite surfaces and solid alder wood casing are just some of the premium finishes in Iron Horse Penthouse. This residence also includes an iMac computer, wireless internet access and optimal ski-in, ski-out access.

For more information;
50 West San Fernando Street,
Suite 320 San Jose, CA 95113
Phone: 866.655.9060
Fax: 408.275.9430
Website: www.resortequities.com
General email: info@resortequities.com

The new marketing package for timeshare resort and fractional property developers covers many facets of the sales and marketing process but specifically includes elements for consolidation, tailor-made communication for referrals and upgrades and the generation of direct sales enquiries.

Developers wishing to receive an information pack detailing the full benefits of the Owners Perspective Developer Package should visit http://www.perspectiverates.com/developer

A European survey that reveals 87 per cent of owners are satisfied with their timeshare is a powerful, credible and ringing endorsement of the growing popularity of holiday ownership.

According to The Timeshare Association, TATOC, the study also heralds a sea change in public perceptions of timeshare while recognising it as an integral part of the global travel and tourism industry.

An independent consumer body, TATOC – the Timeshare Association (Timeshare Owners and Committees) -is run by timeshare owners for timeshare owners.
Based on a detailed questionnaire completed by 33,000 respondents in 12 different countries, the survey also showed the majority of owners rated their timeshare experience over other self-catering holidays.
In 2007 more than 1.5million European households owned timeshare.  The UK & Ireland has the largest market share with close to 600,000 owners, followed by Germany and Italy.

The findings are a key element of a comprehensive study by The Christel DeHaan Tourism and Travel Research Institute, based at the Business School in the University of Nottingham.
Harry Taylor, TATOC chief executive, says the survey is the most comprehensive and detailed in a decade, reflecting the widespread recognition of timeshare as a viable and valued holiday product.

In rating timeshare, owners cited quality of accommodation, exchange opportunities and the credibility of the resort vendor as the most important factors in their decisions to buy.
Based on 2007 data, there are 1,312 timeshare resorts in Europe – most are in Spain where there are more than 350.  The UK, Portugal and Italy each has more than 100.

In 2008, TATOC bolstered its resort membership by 20 per cent, accounting for some 300,000 timeshare owners.
Mr Taylor said:  “Timeshare is an affordable way of having a shared ownership in a holiday home.  I am confident the UK will continue to lead the way in boosting its expansion and popularity in Europe.”
In recent years the shared ownership principle has been applied to new and innovative products and services.  They range from traditional weekly intervals to floating time, points’ programmes, fractional ownership, destination and private residence clubs as well as condo-hotels.

Aloft becomes the first hospitality brand to incorporate original gaming into its Web experience

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.® (NYSE:HOT) and its high-tech, style at a steal AloftSM Hotels brand, today announced the launch of the newly expanded Aloft Web site, www.alofthotels.com/explore , featuring a range of interactive features never before developed by a hospitality brand. The site includes a guided insider’s tour of the hotel, maps and city guides for each location and engages visitors through a series of original, branded games that bring the Aloft experience to life.

The Aloft brand’s new online experience includes:

An Insider’s Virtual Tour: Explore the look and feel of each area of the hotel and its unique design features with the click of a mouse.

Destination Map and City Guides: Browse a map of Aloft’s global a-list locations and check out local hot spots, restaurants, cultural and off-the-beaten-path destinations, as well as staff picks and special city guide content provided by Travel + Leisure magazine.

Gaming and Trivia: Immerse yourself in the Aloft experience by spinning tunes as the Aloft DJ, trying your hand at bartending, enjoying a game of online billiards or challenging yourself by playing travel trivia games on the site.
Aloft Radio: Preview a sampling of the hotel’s carefully curated and eclectic music with the special Aloft playlist.

“Since Aloft’s groundbreaking virtual launch in cyberspace in partnership with Second Life, the brand has been leading the way in providing the most dynamic, high-tech experience for our guests,” said Brian McGuinness, Starwood’s Senior Vice President, Specialty Select Brands. “With the new site we wanted to extend the same energy and vibrancy one finds at each Aloft property to our virtual home and provide a truly unique and memorable experience that resonates with the savvy, Gen Y traveler.”

To celebrate the launch of the new www.alofthotels.com, starting May 5 visitors can enter “Aloft Explore, Amuse + Win” for the chance to win a grand prize of one million Starwood Preferred Guest® Starpoints®, enough for over 25 roundtrip airline tickets, more than 140 free nights at Aloft hotels or other surprise rewards. Playing “Click-to-Win” offers a chance at winning cool daily prizes, including the very latest tech and travel gadgets such as laptops, digital cameras, GPS systems, MP3 players, Aloft hotel getaways and more.

Technology has been a vital component of the Aloft brand since its debut in summer 2008. Every Aloft hotel features the brand’s signature self-serve aloha kiosk, a touch-screen power house located in the lobby that makes check-in and check-out intuitive and effortless, and complimentary, hotel-wide, high-speed wired and wireless Internet access. Once inside their room, guests enter a calm oasis that is combination high-tech office and entertainment center, thanks to the plug & play system, a one-stop connectivity solution for multiple electronic gadgetry such as PDAs, cell phones, MP3 players and laptops – all linked to a large, 42” flat-panel HDTV-ready television for optimal sound and viewing.

About Aloft Hotels
Created to shake up the staid, traditional select service segment of the hotel industry, Aloft delivers urban-influenced, open and vibrant design and a social guest experience at an affordable price point. In the same way that W Hotels broke through the clutter of conformity in the upscale hotel arena a decade ago, Aloft is shaking up the industry for the next generation of traveler. Starwood recognized opportunity in the select serve market for reinvention and innovation and selected world renowned design and architecture firm Rockwell Group to collaborate on the new hotel concept. Aloft hotels are geared toward savvy, design-conscious consumers who grew up with the democratization of design Aloft hotels are wired for the future and an aggressive growth plan is in place with close to 50 properties set to open by the end of this year from Abu Dhabi and Baltimore to Dallas and Beijing and everywhere in between.

About Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with 960 properties in 97 countries and 145,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. Starwood Hotels is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels, resorts and residences with the following internationally renowned brands: St. Regis®, The Luxury Collection®, W®, Westin®, Le Méridien®, Sheraton®, Four Points® by Sheraton, and the recently launched Aloft®, and ElementSM. Starwood Hotels also owns Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and operators of high quality vacation interval ownership resorts. For more information, please visit www.starwoodhotels.com.

Group RCI, the global leader in vacation exchange and one of the Wyndham Worldwide family of companies (NYSE: WYN), today announced that Group RCI Ventures magazine, its business publication serving the EMEAI region, will now be accessible online at www.rciventures.com 

The new website is designed to support the printed magazine and provide RCI-affiliated resort developers and industry associates with even greater access to the latest news within Group RCI and across the shared-holiday ownership industry as a whole. As the printed edition is published three times a year, and the world of shared-holiday ownership is fast-changing, Group RCI launched the complementary Ventures website to ensure timely and consistent communication to its affiliated partners and industry associates.

The majority of the material on the website will be internet exclusive, including breaking industry and Group RCI news, great tips and ideas from hospitality and travel experts, as well as the core magazine features and articles. The site also features an archive of the printed editions of Group RCI Ventures magazine and provides those who have not yet registered, the opportunity to subscribe to the print edition as well.           

Additionally, www.rciventures.com will provide individuals looking to enter the industry access to core information and help populate the internet with industry positives which serve to boost both investor and consumer confidence in the market and product.
     
Not only does www.rciventures.com provide the latest news, it also features an alerts service so subscribers can receive an update e-message each time new content is uploaded.  If you want to subscribe to this service or to the magazine, please visit www.rciventures.com

Group RCI-affiliated developers can access operational information and updates by visiting  www.rciaffiliates.com/europe

For as long as I can recall, C.A.R.E. members have expressed a desire for a bulletin board to communicate availability among its member companies. Now that C.A.R.E. is made up of over 160 member companies the concept of a having a bulletin board is finally becoming a reality.

Mike Pnematicatos,Merlin Software

After a year of research and development, followed by intensive Beta testing, the Cooperative Association of Resort Exchangers (C.A.R.E.) finally released the exclusive, C.A.R.E.-supported, online Inventory Matching System (IMS) to their members at their recent conference held in Wisconsin Dells. Known as the C.A.R.E. IMS this automated system was developed for C.A.R.E. by the team at Merlin Software.

While C.A.R.E. companies have definitely grown accustomed to completing exchanges and wholesale purchases by email, the volume of inventory being solicited and orders being sought to be filled today has made email more burdensome. Additionally, as email is an “open highway” for communication, it is perhaps not the best means to channel business communication from company to company with a trade association. Conversely, the IMS would channel requests to only would be suppliers while giving only CARE members in good standing a secure forum to conduct their business.

As more and more CARE Member companies use the IMS to exchange and purchase inventory from each other, business will be done faster and more efficiently while actually improving fulfillment opportunities. The IMS even allows for searches for inventory to remain pending for as long as a member company needs the search to continue without ever having to resubmit the inquiry. The only way only to accomplish this presently is to hope that your fellow CARE members are browsing through your old email blasts.

If one takes the time to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of emailing against the advantages and disadvantages of using the IMS that Merlin has customized for CARE, it is a no brainer.

There are currently approximately 25 C.A.R.E. members signed in the IMS with numbers growing daily. The objective is to have all members using the IMS by the end of the year.

“We are all very excited about this new IMS,” states Alain Carr, C.A.R.E.’s newly elected president, “and we could not have chosen a better company to work with either. Merlin has been terrific.” Alain added: “Our goal is to bring unique value added benefits to our members and with the IMS we believe we have made a huge leap in the right direction. The IMS does not belong to C.A.R.E. We simply facilitated its development and deployment for the benefit of all of our Members.”

The IMS that the Merlin team (lead by Mike Pnematicatos) brought to C.A.R.E. has been the product of years of dedication to the vacation ownership industry. Mike’s dream has always been to be able to use technology to allow participants in the industry to trade with each other. When the opportunity to develop the IMS for C.A.R.E. came along Mike jumped at it and he used his knowledge gained over many years to design and build the IMS.

Mike is an internationally known and respected authority on vacation ownership including timeshare, fractionals and points clubs. He commenced property development in 1983 and in 1987 pioneered the development of one of South Africa’s very first points clubs. Not that well known is that he also undertook fractional ownership developments in the early 1980’s, well before this product became the buzzword it is today.

Together with his partners, he built one of South Africa’s largest timeshare and points club development and management companies with over 40000 members in four different points clubs and 16 managed resorts.

he business was vertically integrated and covered every aspect from property development through marketing and sales to after sales management. Integral to the success of this business was the fact that the software on which the business operated was developed in house. He partnered with Roy Peres and Club La Costa, one of Europe’s largest and most successful timeshare developers to form the CRI Points System, the forerunner of RCI Points.

He sold his various timeshare businesses to RCI in 2000 and assisted them for close to three years in designing and launching the RCI Points program in Europe and the USA. He has spoken at international conferences in Europe, USA and Australia on the future of timeshare and points clubs. He has also served on the boards of a number of timeshare resorts and owners’ associations and has occupied the position of chairman on many of these boards.

His main business interest today is the ongoing development of software for the Vacation Ownership Industry. His extensive knowledge and firsthand experience of how to manage these developments and clubs means that the software he designs supports the best practices in vacation ownership business processes.

The IMS runs over the internet on a single database that is segmented into secure sites for each Member and is available exclusively for C.A.R.E. Members to use. In short, all Members can now for the first time trade reciprocally with each other for rentals and exchanges using a secure online system. This system has replaced emails, telephone calls and faxes. While this “old” technology served them well, the time had come for a new technology to replace emails jamming up inboxes and telephone calls too numerous to handle.

Accessing the IMS over the web using secure encryption technology is safe with no data being compromised. The IMS saves time and increases efficiency immeasurably. Balance of trade tracking is automatic as is tracking of who owes who for rentals. Access to the IMS is free for all Members to display inventory. And there is a small transaction fee paid by the Member who receives Inventory from the System.

Mike and his team, together with a dedicated group of C.A.R.E. Beta testers all worked tirelessly in order to deliver an easy to use System. The IMS allows members to display their inventory to each other in a variety of ways to suit their business strategies. All Members run their operations differently and the IMS caters for all these operational nuances. In fact, it even allows members to choose who they do and don’t want to trade with.

Based on the feedback from Beta testers the Merlin team was able to develop and deliver three ways to trade in the IMS:

1. Those members who have inventory available can display this for rental or exchange by depositing it directly into the IMS. Other members can then search or browse for what they need in the deposited inventory and then request a booking for rental or exchange

2. Those members who manage or operate large resorts and who don’t have the time or resources to keep depositing or updating their availability in the IMS are able to perform a onetime set up that allows them to display their full inventory potential. Those looking for inventory in these resorts can simply click to make an enquiry. If there is availability then the inventory is deposited to the IMS for the enquirer to book a rental or exchange.

3. And then finally the IMS allows those with inventory to set up the regions in which they have availability and those who are looking for inventory can make a general enquiry for a region and the IMS matches the enquiry with those who may just have inventory to deposit.

The IMS also acts as a business tool for those who use it and tells them when they have something to do. It does this by sending emails and also displaying all actions that need to be attended to in a Heads Up Display (HUD). As the Beta testers found, those using the IMS don’t really have to think about what to do next. The HUD actually tells them when there are tasks to be performed and a simple click though from the HUD gets them to where they have to be, to do what it is they have to do.

The left side shows you the units you have deposited and the requests against them. While the right side shows the status of request that you have made.

Drop downs open automatically when action needs to taken.

Merlin will show you how easy it is to set up your property.

They will teach you how to load or deposit inventory that you wish to move,and show you how to make a request for your members.

The IMS is unique in that something like this has never been done before in this industry. Mike often tells the story of how he has been to so many conferences and heard so many speakers urging the industry to have a central system for inventory sharing. Now C.A.R.E is leading the way and proud to be pioneering a paradigm shift that will forever change the way business is done.

Today sees the announcement of a very special opportunity for qualifying resort developers within the shared ownership industry to benefit from the highly targeted and affluent reach of Owners Perspective Magazine. (http://www.ownersperspective.com)

The new marketing package for resort developers covers many facets of the sales and marketing process but specifically includes elements for consolidation, tailor-made communication for referrals and upgrades and the generation of direct sales enquiries.

Developers wishing to receive an information pack detailing the full benefits of the Owners Perspective Developer Package should visit http://www.perspectiverates.com/developer

Owners Perspective Magazine will celebrate its first birthday next month and over the past year has impressed both consumers and industry professionals with the speed in which it has captured the imagination of both existing owners and prospective buyers of timeshare and fractional ownership products around the world.

Even before launch, Perspective International Ltd, the publisher, secured marketing deals with several leading industry players and since the introduction of the print version in January 2009 has soared by arranging distribution agreements through leading Tesco & Sainsbury Supermarkets (UK), Macdonald Hotels & Resorts, Holiday & Travel Shows, Property Shows and imminently leading airlines in the “By Invitation Only” lounges at airports across Europe, Quintessentially Estates and a number of other luxury lifestyle brands resulting in a rapidly increasing circulation, currently reaching more than 42,000 targeted consumers each month.

Paul Mattimoe, CEO of Perspective International comments, “The idea behind our consumer magazine has always been to provide our readers with an informative resource to research the prospect of buying a shared ownership product at their leisure. As such we have created a community of open-minded, pre-educated consumers who are eager to interact with those companies who offer products in their areas of interest”.

Owners Perspective is also available online, and adds news and articles not featured in the magazine on a daily basis to encourage readers to visit regularly in between editions and currently caters for more than 17,600 registered users.

 “After several successful trials resulting in direct sales enquires for a number of diverse product types and our entry into the mainstream public domain which enables us to significantly increase our circulation over a very short period of time our ability to produce organic sales enquiries, rather than harvested “leads” has surpassed our original expectations. This combined with the other features of our developer package creates a unique winning formula for combined print and online marketing”. Concludes Mr. Mattimoe.

Sell My Timeshare NOW is making it easier than ever to book affordable timeshare rental vacations. Already the global leader in timeshare resales and timeshare rentals, Sell My Timeshare NOW has added a user-friendly, real time feature to its website, enabling consumers to select timeshare rentals from available dates and locations and then “Book It NOW” for their next vacation.

Company CEO Jason Tremblay explains, “Timeshare rentals have always offered the best opportunities in vacation accommodations. With our exclusive ‘Book It NOW’ feature, a timeshare rental can be booked online with the same ease people are accustomed to when making airline reservations.” Tremblay adds that Sell My Timeshare NOW is the only timeshare resale and timeshare rental advertising company to offer this service. “Real time reservations, the luxury and spaciousness of a timeshare unit, and the amazing savings found in timeshare rentals make ‘Book It NOW’ the breakthrough vacation solution that hardworking people need and deserve.”

Sell My Timeshare NOW, recently mentioned in TIME Magazine, has seen timeshare rental offers increase dramatically in 2009. During the first quarter of this year, the number of offers received through the company for timeshare rentals increased by 146 percent over those made in the first quarter of 2008. Quarter-over-quarter, the dollar amount of rental offers through Sell My Timeshare NOW increased by 125 percent, reaching nearly $35 million.

The company’s website, www.sellmytimesharenow.com, has three different ways for vacationers to enjoy the affordable luxury of a timeshare rental. They can search the “Book It NOW” properties and book and confirm a timeshare rental reservation online or search the company’s full inventory of timeshares rentals and then contact the timeshare owner directly to negotiate a best-price rental rate. The third approach is to take advantage of Rental Assist by Sell My Timeshare NOW and let a vacation specialist find the rental property to fit the renter’s vacation needs and preferences.

SellMyTimeshareNOW.com is the flagship website for Sell My Timeshare NOW and offers internet advertising and marketing solutions and success-based timeshare brokerage services for timeshare owners, timeshare buyers, or renters. In 2008, Sell My Timeshare NOW was recognized by Inc.com as one of the fastest growing, privately held companies in America.

Resort ProSource (RPS),  a full service purchasing company for the hospitality industry has announced the launch of a new custom linen and terry line web site:  www.lanottelinencollection.com.   As the exclusive distributer of the “La Notte Linen Collection”, a custom suite of products which is individually branded for resort and hotel properties, ResortProSource has created a separate web site where product details for the linen and terry line is available.

The line features four levels of quality (250 TC cotton/poly to luxury 600 TC Egyptian cotton).  According to Margit Whitlock, AIA, President of Resort ProSource “Each project is carefully detailed by in-house designers and priced to fit any budget.”  A visit to the newly launched website shows the wide range of patterns from stripes to floral to solids. Custom options are also available including satin or lace trim, cashmere blankets, silk robes, slippers and spa bags.

The informational web site helps resort managers decide which linens to consider for purchase.  It answers questions such as “Why is Egyptian cotton the best and does it really come from Egypt? What does thread count mean? What is a sateen finish? How do you know if a towel will dry well?  And what about down and feathers?”
 
“In today’s environment, resorts, timeshares and hotels are on the look-out for value and ease in ordering.  Most of them know that a quality linen package helps in both branding and guest satisfaction, so we’ve developed a line of goods that meets these requirements,” says Whitlock. “Our collection can include logos, in-line embroidery and custom details that are easily standardized from property to property.”

La Notte’s parent company, Resort ProSource offers an on-line purchasing system which enhances the ease of purchasing customized linens. Specializing in sourcing value driven quality products, the company provides FFE purchasing and design services for high-end ground-up projects, as well as major renovations of existing properties.   

Resort ProSource (RPS) provides quality professional purchasing services for resorts, timeshares, fractionals, hotels, restaurants and spas.  RPS’ Principal, Margit E. Whitlock AIA, is a licensed architect in California, Arizona, Nevada, Florida and Texas. The firm is located at 3015 St. Charles Street, Suite B, San Diego, CA 92110.  www.resortprosource.com   For more information about call 619-531-0110.   For more information visit www.lanottelinencollection.com

Lifestyle Holidays Vacation Club (LHVC), located in Puerto Plata on the North Coast of the Dominican Republic, has announced a September 2009 opening date for its new state-of-the-art member services building, The Tower, and an anticipated opening date of late 2010 for The Contemporary Suites and Villas, featuring 55 two-bedroom suites and 24 three-bedroom villas.  The Tower will include VIP and member services offices and two floors of presentation facilities.  The top floor of this four-story structure will have a high-tech, modern lounge and restaurant called DIVAS, exclusively for LHVC’s VIP members, while the roof will be the new landing pad for the LHVC helicopter which transports VIP members.

“The new facilities will help us provide an even higher level of service for our members and VIPs than we do now,” said Hans Larcher, Lifestyle Holidays Vacation Club Managing Director.  “It is the first of several new expansion developments planned for our resort.”

The new Contemporary Suites and Villas will complement the area, providing spectacular mountain and ocean views.  Each suite or villa will include a full kitchen, dining room and living room area, plus a private swimming pool. 

The Lifestyle Holidays Vacation Club Resort encompasses four distinct products up until now:  The Tropical, The Crown Suites, The Crown Villas and The Residence Suites.  With the opening of this new development that number will grow to five.

From hotel accommodations to stand alone villas, all guests have access to five swimming pools, nightly entertainment, spa, beach, tennis and more.  Lifestyle Holidays Vacation Club VIP Members have access to a “members only” section that includes restaurants, bars, swimming pools, an exclusive beach area, as well as golf carts, limousine transfers and helicopter tours.

Lifestyle Holidays Vacation Club members, guests and their families have a wide variety of activities available to them in the Dominican Republic’s North Coast.  Next door is the Ocean World Adventure Park with its daily animal and aquatic shows, plus its signature night-time Las Vegas style show, Bravissimo.  Other activities in the area include a cable car ride to the peak of Mount Isabella de Torres, white water rafting, horseback riding, deep sea fishing, boating, snorkeling, monster truck safaris and city tours of Puerto Plata, named in 2008 as one of the best destinations in the world by The New York Times.  For more Lifestyle Holidays Vacation Club information, go to www.lifestyleholidaysvc.com or call (809) 970-7777.

Stroman Realty, Inc.® has been specializing in Timeshare Resales for individual owners for almost 3 decades. Stroman Realty is also Pro-Resort and understands the value of the timeshare product. In fact, Stroman Realty recognizes the importance of Retail sales so much that they are expanding their Resort Services Group to even more resorts by offering their Closing Table Assistance Program known to resorts as the CTA Program. Stroman understands that without retail sales, there would be NO resales.

Stroman applauds the hard work and effort that Resorts have been putting in during these tough economic times which has affected the industry as a whole. With that in mind, Stroman is currently offering their CTA program to help timeshare resorts generate more revenue, therefore increasing retail and re-sales together. Mr. Stroman states, “the math is very simple, the more timeshare retail sales there are, the more timeshare re-sales there will be down the road. The CTA program is tailored to helping the timeshare industry as a whole for both retail and resale.”

Studies have shown that over 40% of timeshare purchasers are families that currently own a timeshare. That is where Stroman Realty’s CTA program can help increase resorts New Sales revenue by millions as it has for others. Many resorts face the fact that a prospect may not buy because they do not want to own two timeshares, they would want to sell their current timeshare. Stroman offers a program that helps resorts understand that the prospect does not have to walk out without purchasing that day because they already own one. If the prospect likes the resort they are touring better than their current timeshare ownership, they will be more than likely to buy if they are exposed to viable resale options. While the prospect is at the closing table with a sales representative, the sales rep can contact a Stroman REALTOR® that is also a Timeshare Specialist that has been fully trained on the CTA Program thereby offering professional assistance in closing the retail transaction.
 
Stroman Realty’s goal is to help the resort finalize the purchase at the resort that day and help the purchaser realize they can help the new owner sell their old timeshare when they return home. Stroman Realty does not want the prospect to miss the opportunity of buying retail just because they own a second one. Stroman Realty, Inc® launched their CTA program over a decade ago and has proven to be a valuable closing tool that resorts can use for this situation.

Stroman Realty’s staff of over 80 REALTORS® and support personnel can only handle a limited number of resorts in order for the program to remain consistently effective, so this program is being offered on a first come basis. Stroman Realty can tailor a program to fit the resorts’ specific needs.

For more information about utilizing Stroman’s CTA Program, call 1-800-733-8849 Mon-Fri 8am-6pm and Sat 9am-5pm or email- CTA@Stroman.com   Ask about the New Sales Case Study of Inbound Exchangers!

Interval International and resorts affiliated with its exchange network continued their financial support of Caribbean tourism education with a $15,000 donation to the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) Education Foundation. The check was presented by Neil Kolton, Caribbean region manager, resort sales and service, Interval International, to Hugh Riley, interim secretary general, CTO, and Jacqueline Johnson, CTC, chairman, CTO Foundation, during Caribbean Week in New York City.

“We are very grateful to our resort affiliates who have made significant donations to this worthy cause for the past 10 years. They recognize that investing in human resources and education plays an important role in the growth and success of the hospitality industry in the region,” said Kolton.

“The CTO Foundation administers one of the largest scholarship programs available in the Caribbean hospitality industry today and it continues to flourish,” noted Riley. “The foundation is deeply appreciative of the ongoing support that we have received from Interval International and its member resorts.”

Since 1997, the CTO Foundation has provided 51 major scholarships and 90 study grants to deserving Caribbean nationals amounting to nearly $600,000.

“In 2008, we received more applications than usual and also saw an increase in both the number and value of scholarships we were able to offer,” said Johnson. “We are delighted when donors understand that financial contributions have a considerable impact on students’ lives and help them become highly skilled tourism professionals.”

The 2009 contributors to the scholarship fund include: Aquarius Vacation Club® at Boquerón Beach and Aquarius Vacation Club® Dorado del Mar Beach and Golf Resort (Puerto Rico); Barceló Punta Cana (Dominican Republic); Bay Gardens Beach Resort and Bay Gardens Hotel (St. Lucia); Cayena Beach Club (Dominican Republic); Club Internacional de Cancun (Mexico); Coral Costa Caribe Resort (Dominican Republic); ESJ Towers (Puerto Rico); Flamingo Beach Resort (St. Maarten); Hyatt Hacienda del Mar (Puerto Rico); Island Seas Resort (Bahamas); Jolly Beach Vacations (Antigua); Jolly Harbour Beach Resort (Antigua); La Cabana Beach & Racquet Club (Aruba); Marriott’s Aruba Surf Club and Marriott’s Aruba Ocean Club (Aruba); Ocean Reef Resort (Bahamas); Oyster Bay Beach Resort (St. Maarten); Paradise Beach Villas (Aruba); Pelican Marina Residences (St. Maarten); Playa Linda Beach Resort (Aruba); Ramada Grand Caymanian Resort (Cayman Islands); Renaissance Aruba Beach Resort & Hotel (Aruba); The Royal Sea Aquarium Resort (Curacao); Sun Village Resort and Spa (Dominican Republic); Westin St. John Resort and Villas (USVI); The Aruban Resort and Casino at Eagle Beach (Aruba); and Woodbourne Resort (Bahamas).

As a strategic partner of the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association and a board member of CTO’s Education Foundation, Interval is committed to understanding the unique needs of the Caribbean region and providing products and programs tailored to this market. 

For its roster of Caribbean resort developer clients and new entrants into the vacation ownership industry, Interval offers a range of services including program design, sales and marketing support, reservations, travel, and financial services.

Interval International operates membership programs for vacation owners and provides value-added services to its developer clients worldwide. Based in Miami, Florida, the company has been a pioneer and innovator in serving the vacation ownership market for more than 33 years. Today, Interval has a network of over 2,400 resorts in more than 75 countries and offers its resort clients and approximately 2 million member families high-quality products and programs through 25 offices in 16 countries. Interval is an operating segment of Interval Leisure Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: IILG), a leading global provider of membership and leisure services to the vacation industry.

Vacation Services of America has implemented MAGNA Timeshare Software in their sales offices and administration office. Vacation Services of America (AKA: VSA) is a well known and well established seller of memberships for Vacation Travel Club. VSA was using a complex home-grown data management process which included multiple database layouts in Microsoft Access and Excel to track tours, sales and memberships. As their sales continued to increase so did the man power needed to manage their ever growing client database. Owner, Denver Wood said, “We have plans on expansion and felt it was critical to find a better software solution, so when we branch out we will have already streamlined our sales, marketing and administration process.”

After comparing various data management options MAGNA Timeshare Software was the chosen solution. Founders and owners Denver Wood, Brent Hedrick and Tom Wood agreed the decision was easy; based on high recommendations, price, quick responses and a mature software product, MAGNA was the best pick. MAGNA will end up saving VSA hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in operational costs by identifying guests who have already toured, managing all tours, contracts and memberships in the MAGNA system.

When a company is paying per qualified tour they need to identify ineligible guest quickly. Looking up past tours from spread sheets is timely and inefficient, resulting in lost revenue.  MAGNA software allows users to log on to their own website to look up guests by phone number, name, lead number, tour number or tour date. MAGNA allows its clients easy access to their own data from anywhere they get an internet connection, which gives freedom to work where ever they need.

About Magna Timeshare Software
One of the keys to success is to surround your self with the right people. With Magna Timeshare Software your resort will gain from the expertise and background of our knowledgeable staff. During any major system change over it is important to have knowledgeable experienced people guiding your business through the transition; MAGNA knows Timeshare.

MAGNA Timeshare Software synchronizes all of your resort activities, allowing each area (from telemarketing to tours to finance…) to work seamlessly with each other—and gives you instant access to the critical information needed for management to make quick informed decisions. Easier management means you can be on top of situations, eliminating wasted effort and maximizing profits. We’re with you all the way, through installation, training & support. We offer a full range of services to make sure your transition over to MAGNA is smooth, without disrupting your current organization and operations.

About Vacation Services of America
Located in Branson, MO., Vacation Services of America is a well-known and well established seller of memberships for Vacation Travel Club.  Being a member of the club allows customers discounts on all forms of travel the general public does not have access to and/or cannot obtain at non-member prices. VSA is recognized as one of the largest and most successful travel clubs in the country, having sold over 60 million worth of vacation packages since inception in 1999, with over 20,000 members. VSA was founded by Denver Wood, Brent Hedrick and Tom Wood and currently employs close to 100 people. Their goal is to expand their business to create more opportunities for consumers to fulfill all their vacation needs by offering high quality vacations at a low cost, which in this economic day and age is of utmost importance.

Over the past twelve months Perspective Magazine (http://www.theperspectivemagazine.com) has continued to expand its reach throughout the shared ownership arena, and is now pleased to announce media sponsorship of a new industry event to be held in Phuket, Thailand.

“It’s fantastic to have Perspective International Media Group to support the inaugural Absolute Shared Ownership Resort & Hotel Event in beautiful Phuket and appreciate their support to help us attract those overseas companies currently looking at Asia for new sales opportunities, new resort opportunities and new fantastic four and five star inventory acquisitions.” Said Bryan Lunt, Chairman of Absolute Group.

Paul Mattimoe, CEO of Perspective International commented, “We have always had a close affinity to the Asian marketplace, from where our group of companies originated some six years ago, so we are particularly pleased to add a conference in this region to our schedule of events”

The event provides informative seminars, excellent networking opportunities with leading property developers, resort and hotel owners and operators, direct marketing organisations and management specialists, as well as a first hand opportunity to see three real working fractional ownership resorts and sales centres in Phuket, including Thailand’s designer development yooPhuket.

“We look at the event as being the first of its kind in Asia, bringing together companies such as Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, Interval International, Citadel / Hutchinson Trustee’s, Ragatz Associates and many more with excellent facilities at Patong beach’s Millennium hotel, an ultra modern conference venue.”  Concludes Mr. Lunt.

The event is to be held on 12-13th October at Millennium Patong Hotel, Phuket, Thailand, and Perspective Magazine will be providing more detailed information for delegates in due course.

A Profile on Tianlun Vacation Development Co. Ltd

Tianlun Vacation Development Co. Ltd was registered in the State Administration of Industry and Commerce in Sep. 2000 and is the first timeshare / vacation ownership company which is authorized to operate nationwide in China.

In the early days, Tianlun Vacation spent a lot of time studying the vacation industry and worked closely with the Economic Management College of Tsinghua University on the feasibility study of the vacation market in China. Research showed that there was a huge demand for vacations from Chinese people and the research forecast that there will be 3.5-5 million families looking to take vacations in the next 15-20 years in China.

China, traditionally had a problem in regards to lack of credit in the market, but Tianlun developed the credit guarantee system with Changan Surety Bond Co. Ltd which has proved to be more suitable to China’s market than any other credit system being used in other countries.

They took advice from Chinese specialists and experts and found that that the points product which was being sold in the Western market at that time was the most suitable for the Chinese market.  Once this was established they commenced sales with the points product in 2003. It took a couple of years of  experimenting and improving the process and product but now they feel that they gained a deeper understanding about timeshare marketing, sales and services and have now rolled out a sales system which is proving to be suitable to China’s Timeshare market.

Today, Tianlun has four very busy sales venues in the Beijing business areas – Guomao, Xidan, Zhongguancun and Beitaipingzhuang. The response to timeshare in this region has been so great that they are operating and running presentations six days a week. A huge timeshare marketing database has been developed, which provides over 4000 families to venues and introduces 500 new timeshare families to Tianlun Vacation and the world of timeshare vacations each month. Healthy growth has been seen within the company since 2007 and sales have increased by 15-20% annually. Currently Tianlun is the largest timeshare club in China with over fifteen thousand family members.

Tianlun Vacation would not have achieved a fraction of its success without the contribution of two influential figures in the company figures – Mr. Ding Aidi and Mr. Terrence. P. Brewer.

Today, Mr. Ding is the Vice Chairman of the International Leisure Industry Association.  He was one of the pioneers who studied Timeshare in the late 90’s and created Tianlun Vacation. Mr. Brewer has almost thirty years of timeshare experience gained in many countries around the world and has contributed his vast sales experience and management ideas to the Tianlun Vacation team and undoubtedly without this wealth
of knowledge the company would not have produced such excellent results.

Timeshare was only introduced into China in the late 90’s and it is still very much in its infancy compared to many other regions of the world but both Mr. Ding and Mr. Brewer believe there is huge opportunity for timeshare in China.

Last year Tianlun announced its new developments and plans for the future, one of which is to enlarge its own existing vacation apartment network, including Lijiang, Nandaihe, Haikou, Chendu, Yangshu, Xishuangbanna, Wenchang, as well as its affiliated vacation hotels and resorts. The second is to develop a “Multi-Nationalities / Culture Vacation Network”. China is made up of many nationalities and each nationality has its own unique culture and long history. Tianlun  Vacation will develop resorts in areas which
have a strong cultural history in the coming years and believe it will enable families within China and from other countries to experience these unique cultures. For example, Lijiang Tianlun Guesthouse is a Naxi building whose interior is decorated in Naxi traditional style.

Another focus of Tianlun Vacation is to develop quality international standard resorts. Tianlun Vacation and Lijiang Old Town is developing Lijiang Tianlun Center, which will be the first resort to achieve international standards.

Meanwhile, as the leading figure of China’s Timeshare Industry, Tianlun Vacation is actively promoting the development of Timeshare in the country and feel it is very important to set up a vacation model which is most suited to the Chinese market and equally important to institute a legal framework for the industry.

No different to many emerging markets, a number of years ago timeshare suffered a downturn due to the misunderstanding of the public about the industry mainly fueled by a few unscrupulous operators. Tianlun Vacation has worked to accelerate the establishment of the Timeshare Vacation Industry Association and worked to implement legislation for China’s vacation industry. They invited specialists in law, travel and officials from a number of governments to study the legislation for timeshare in China and they composed two drafts, the China Timeshare Management Rules and China Timeshare Management Measures. In March 2008, the two drafts were discussed on the China Vacation Management Measures Forum sponsored by the China Society of Economic Reform and this has accelerated the whole process of creating new laws to govern the timeshare industry in China.

Since 2003, Tianlun Vacation has been a member of ARDA and attended its annual conference to learn about the latest industry developments in a hope that they can create a product that also appeals to the international client.

Tianlun is committed to building the company to cover all aspects of the business – resort development, vacation product development, sales and marketing as well as providing vacation club services and is currently the largest timeshare resort / hotel network in China. They are happy to work with Dial An Exchange – the world’s third largest exchange company. In addition they have also formed reciprocal relationship with other vacation clubs from six different countries and are finding these international exchange opportunities are strengthening the Tianlun Vacation system. They are always keen to speak to other vacation clubs from around the world to form new and interesting reciprocal relationship which would give greater vacation choice to timeshare families around the world.

For more details visit www.tianlunvacation.com.cn or call +86-010-65187710 / 65187720 / 65187730

Perspective Magazine met with Sherman Potvin at the Ragatz Fractional Interest Conference in San Francisco and we were intrigued to hear about the industry veteran’s new project, Fractional Homes International.

Perspective: Can you start by giving us some background on yourself and your company?

We have LuxuryFractionalguide.com which is the largest fractional website in the world, and we geared that website to be consumer oriented, We wanted to do two things: obviously make money in the long term, but what I had discovered 15 years prior is that the education of the general public is crucial if this was going to be a success. Because the website is consumer oriented, we write articles and updates and we now have a blog to further educate the public on the pitfalls and the promises of fractional sales and the benefits of course of why people are buying fractions and why developers are selling them.

Luxuryfractionalguide.com has been like a window on the world of fractionals for me that very few people have.

One of the things I learnt quickly was… have “Ask The Expert” on that website and I often at times want to just rip it down! Because I get so many questions, but I’m the sort of guy that will answer them, people take the time, so I answer them, so there I am 10, 11, 12 o’clock at night, I’m at my computer and sometimes I’m like “god these questions!”

So I thought I could alleviate some of the questions by writing a book because the questions are mostly from home owners around the world, I’m not talking just America, but Bulgaria and New Zealand, Australia and the Middle East and the Far East, everywhere, in fact it was amazing to see where they came from.

So, I wrote my book, as I said about 18 months ago, Fractionalize to Maximize, and it served a purpose to some degree, I’ve sold over 2000 copies from people all over the world, so the book has been helpful but yet it’s created even more questions as I had wanted to keep it in layman’s terms and there’s more to selling a property than just what’s in the book, this is more about how to get your property ready to sell.

So, I knew, and I’ve known for a couple of years that the niche within the niche of fractional ownership, is the one off standing homes, the single vacation home where people want to sell them in this economy and can’t, but even in good economies when, two, three or four years ago when the economy was rolling, people were wanting to sell in fractions to maximize their return, and, they understood that if they could sell some fractions of their home, keep a fraction, they could have their cake and eat it too. They could still go to visit their place but they didn’t have all the costs associated with ownership.

So, what with that, I started to think about developing Fractional Homes International, which is a franchise company, and basically, our goal here is to produce talented, knowledgeable, trained people – real estate related people – whether they’re real estate license agents or small developers or investors who want to buy a home and turn it into fractions. This company will serve all those people – with our “bible”, what we call our training manual – which is 14 months in the writing. This will serve our franchisees with the knowledge to be able to, from A to Z, take someone’s home, and sell it out in fractions.

There’s nobody consulting today that wants to deal with a one off home because there’s no money in it. Myself and the six or eight other people who do consulting for the larger developers, we tend to stick with the larger developers because a) the homeowner can’t afford us and b) there’s not enough long term money in selling a one off home for us.

So, I know that the people who graduate and come out of our training as franchisees will be busy right away because the market’s so huge, especially with the economy the way it is, so much beautiful real estate for sale at bargain prices, and even at bargain price there not moving. This is a way to move the person’s home and get a fair price for it. So, in a nutshell, I’m hoping Fractional Homes International will be the vehicle to springboard the vacation home owner from around the world ahead faster, the true fractional industry is going to be growing, the first niche has got to come out of the box.

I believe that the industry itself is going to recover much quicker than whole ownership real estate. I think people are going to be looking for alternative ownership where they can have a little chance of an investment, not as much money, be able to vacation in a much more expensive, nicer home than they normally could afford with a fraction of the cost and I think that’s where the industry is going.

Perspective: So, you’re going to train people to then consult consumers on how to fractionalize their homes– are you also going to help advertise those homes for sale, through the website?

Absolutely – our website will have those homes on it, our Fractional Homes International website, but also those homes will be on Luxury Fractional Guide as part of the deal. So they’ll have two different avenues of advertising. I really plan on this company being Number 1 in the world a year from now in the fractional industry.

I’m going to spend the money to do it, I’m committed to it and we plan to put this website out by mid-summer in five languages. We truly want to be international because the market is international. The long term goal is to have a master franchise, someone for Europe, and in the UK, someone Down Under, and every country that seems to have taken to the fractional concept. South Africa has more fractional programmes going on right now than we do, it’s crazy, its caught fire over there and so I would expect I would licence someone there to be a franchise for Fractional Homes International.

I envision this being a global company where they can all exchange inside the network and all the franchisees would have the advantage of being able to communicate with each other on what’s working and what’s not in different areas and what they did to a particular house to make it special, or where they put money that didn’t work etc.

I mean, the education within this company five years from now, with maybe four or five hundred or a thousand, even, agents, is going to be unbelievable, and it’s just going to make us all that much better.

Perspective: So for example, if someone owned a fraction of a home in San Francisco they could change it with someone in South Africa through you?

Of course. Right now we are bringing into play our own fractional exchange called Luxury Fractional Exchange but we envision maybe as soon as two years down the road, the company will have its own exchange system within the company as we’ll have that many homes being fractionalized and that will make it even nicer and more reason for people to join us.

Perspective: How would that work alongside some of the larger people you work with? Do you envisage being able to get the exchange company to a point where they’ll accept people from stand alone homes into theirs or do you think they’ll keep it totally separate?

No, not at all – I know all of the guys from the exchange companies , I’ve been in this industry all my life practically it seems, but, I know all the players, and they’re not particularly interested in getting into the one off single stand alone home as it doesn’t give them enough critical mass to be effective. Our exchange will be unique to vacation home owners and small developers.

Perspective: What would you class as a small developer?

Ten units or less. Anything over ten units we wouldn’t allow them on, we wouldn’t want them to dilute the product.

Perspective: I’m looking at your training manual and its huge – what sort of things are included? What does it entail? And do you get some sort of certification at the end?

Well yes. And of course, we follow this manual all through training and during the whole week of intense training, day and night actually, we do a mythical home, we actually do a whole home all the way through sales and marketing – the whole thing.

But obviously this is all in depth, and we only touch the highlights through training, but when someone has this manual when they graduate, they take it with them. They never really own this, we always own it, they just have it on loan and if they ever lose it or someone copies it, they’re gone. This is really serious material.

But to answer your question, the manual was built like this because we really, really wanted our franchisees to be – when they’re confronted with a little bit of a problem such as a different house, different location, something different about that particular project – not to have to call our mentors on a 24/7 basis – 99% of what they’re looking for is going to be found right here in the manual.

Perspective: So would people come to you in a training centre?

Yes – our next training will be in Denver, Colorado in July

Perspective: And how many people would come along to that?

25 – We don’t allow any more than that – we want it to be intimate, get to know the mentors really well because that’s who they’ll be working with. We’re all going to mentor these people so that they don’t make mistakes and they get off on the right track.

Perspective: And that lasts for one week and then they have an exam they have to pass to get their qualification?

There is a mini exam at the end. They get a certificate and with the certification they get to use all our marques on all of their materials, on their websites, and they are an accredited fractional consultant. For a real estate agent it would be invaluable because they’ll have such a leg up on their competition by virtue of being able to say both on their website and on all their collateral and in their office with our emblem that they have in-house – a person that can fractionalise your home from start to finish. I think that’s going to add tremendous value a year down the road.

Perspective: Do the homes have to have certain criteria – or a certain value? Would it be you that would select those homes or they would have to come to you for approval or some description?

Yes, definitely, we have our operations manual and our standards, and our ethics. All of this is related to our relationship with the person that comes to us and wants to sell their home. It definitely has to meet criteria, location of course being first and foremost, but then the fit and finish, the furnishings, the surroundings, accessibility, the landscaping. It has to be really perfect to be successful – the owner has to understand what needs to be done in order for their home to be right and if he doesn’t we are going to walk away and go to the next one. Because, we really can’t afford to fail – that’s the bottom line, we’ve got to make every one of our projects work in order for the company to grow.

So yeah, we’re hoping that we set the standards for integrity and success in this industry. There’s a lot of people breaking out in this industry claiming to be fractional experts and they’ve never even been on a project before – it’s embarrassing – I see their website and go, “my god, I know that person, that person doesn’t even know anything about this” – but the average consumer doesn’t know this. A lot of people don’t do due diligence and don’t make the phone calls and then they get themselves in trouble and they put thousands of dollars up and fail. So, we’re hoping that we can set the standard in the industry so that others will want to follow it and just to make it the right way so the consumer has confidence in this product; it’s an alternative product, not run of the mill real estate, as everyone knows and understands it. Now, if we all do it right it’s going to be successful. That’s our goal.

Nearly Half of Recent Survey Respondents Feel Time with Their Families Lacking

While Americans patiently wait for the country’s economic stimulus plan to take effect, it’s clear that a separate plan is needed to spur recovery in another area – the amount of time enjoyed with family. The American Resort Development Association (ARDA) recently surveyed visitors to its VacationBetter.org website to determine if they have enough quality time with their immediate and extended families. Nearly half of the respondents felt quality time spent with the family was lacking and a stimulus plan was the solution.

“Unfortunately vacation is one of the first things people give up when times get tough economically, and with that goes some of the best quality time you can get with your family,” said Howard Nusbaum, ARDA President and CEO. “Tough times are when people need connect to their families even more, and it can be done very economically.”

In hopes of counteracting the failing tradition of quality family time, ARDA has created the Family Stimulus Plan. As part of this package, ARDA is providing tips and suggestions on how to take time away to renew and rejuvenate with the family on its VacationBetter.org consumer information website. “The Family Stimulus Plan”, provides travelers with helpful hints on planning a successful family vacation with either your immediate family or an extended family reunion. It contains event-planning tips, including managing invitations, selecting a location, ice-breaker games, decorations and ways to stay in touch all year long.
Another way to stimulate your interest in a family vacation is to hear from the health and wellness experts. It’s a proven fact that people who spend time away reap health benefits far beyond that week or two of vacation. Vacations are not a luxury, but a necessity for good health and well-being.

Owning your vacation with timeshare has shown to be a sure-fire way of guaranteeing that you won’t find excuses not to vacation and in fact, will reap all of the benefits of having pre-paid your vacation – quality resorts, family-friendly accommodations and regular getaways. In fact, according to an ARDA study, timeshare properties are experiencing an 82 percent occupancy rate despite tough economic times.
As we all focus on the economic stimulus, ARDA encourages us to remember an even more important plan we can enact on our own — The Family Stimulus Plan. To download a customizable package, visit www.VacationBetter.org/Family-Stimulus-Plan.

About VacationBetter.org
The American Resort Development Association’s (ARDA) new on-line resource informs consumers on the importance of taking a vacation and the overall benefits of enjoying one – regularly – through shared vacation ownership. VacationBetter.org is a comprehensive, educational tool for consumers to learn about this travel option and to demonstrate a way for travelers to vacation better.

About ARDA
The American Resort Development Association is the Washington D.C.-based professional association representing the vacation ownership and resort development industries. Established in 1969, ARDA today has over 1,000 members ranging from privately held firms to publicly traded companies and international corporations with expertise in shared ownership interests in leisure real estate. The membership also includes timeshare owner associations (HOAs), resort management companies, and owners through the ARDA Resort Owners Coalition (ARDA-ROC).

The Ritz-Carlton Club and Residences, Kapalua Bay, the highly anticipated residential development, is now open on a 24-acre oceanfront setting at Maui’s Kapalua Resort. Situated near The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua, the property features the newest Ritz-Carlton Destination Club (previously The Ritz-Carlton Club) location, and private ownership luxury residences.

“The new Members and Owners are enjoying this addition to the Kapalua Resort lifestyle, as well as Maui’s beauty and spectacular views of the surrounding islands,” said Peter J. Watzka, executive vice president and chief operating officer for The Ritz-Carlton Development Company, Inc. (an affiliate of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC). “Additionally, the Maui location is just the beginning of the expansion plans for the evolving Ritz-Carlton Destination Club brand.”

Kapalua Bay, LLC is the developer of the new resort. “We are delighted to welcome this stunning new property to Kapalua Resort’s portfolio of luxury living,” said Ryan Churchill, senior vice president of Maui Land & Pineapple Company, the majority owner of Kapalua Bay, LLC. “Whether a family wants to enjoy long vacations each year or spend a lifetime here, The Ritz-Carlton Club and Residences is an incredible offering that fits perfectly with the tradition and comforts of Kapalua Resort.”

The property boasts 62 fully furnished, two- and three-bedroom fractional ownership residences ranging from approximately 1,912 to 2,257 square feet. Club Members purchase a deeded, one-twelfth interest giving them the opportunity to stay 21 days per year. Prices start at $350,000 per interest.

The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Kapalua Bay features 84 wholly-owned Residences. The three- and four-bedroom floor plans offer living areas ranging from roughly 3,002 to 4,271 square feet. Design elements include a private elevator and garden entryway, gourmet kitchen, and lanai opening to 180-degree views. Prices start at $3.9 million.

Property amenities are highlighted by a private 6,100 square-foot beach club, 8,500 square-foot pool with bar and grill, and a second bar located near the water’s edge.

Members and Owners, through membership at the Kapalua Club, will enjoy access in the coming weeks to a nearly 30,000 square-foot spa, as well as the current amenities offered at the Kapalua Resort, including golf course privileges, award-winning white-sand beaches, 12 dining options, and the Kapalua Adventure Center.

Visit www.kapaluabay.com.

By David M. Disick, Esq.

This Paper briefly summarizes the following techniques in marketing and sales that can maximize success:
1. State-of-the-art web based programs
2. Public relations/Strategic branding alliances
3. International marketing
4. Local broker programs
5. Some marketing and sales strategies

State-of-the-Art Web Based Programs
The Internet has evolved into a superior international marketing tool for maximizing results and minimizing costs. Webbased programs should be designed to reach out to the luxury and fractional community of brokers, agents, and prospective purchasers internationally; nationally; in the specific locales where the target audiences reside; and segmented by critical clusters of aficionados of particular venue types (such as metropolitan areas, mountains, beaches, golf and wine country).

Underlying these elements is the use of leading edge Internet and social network marketing methods to create an unprecedented international marketing reach. Leveraging Web 2.0 Internet marketing methods enables global reach, in contrast to the limited reach of traditional marketing methods and at a fraction of the cost of traditional marketing.

B2C Marketing Strategies.
The internet is a superb international marketing tool for directly reaching our target market, high net worth purchasers, in greater numbers, with greater precision, in a timely manner and with economies of scale. Listings can be syndicated globally on dozens of B2C websites. Distributions of listings over most Internet channels is virtually instantaneous. Regular reports can be generated so that the visits each property gets on each of these channels can be monitored. All listing brokers can display listings in multiple languages on their broker websites.

B2B Marketing Strategies.
One can maximize the use of the global referral network and international MLS, Proxio. Proxio, launched in April 2008, already has registered more than 1,700 agencies in 54 countries. Proxio will enable each local broker to form a global referral network with their peers in 50 states and 50+ countries. This will quickly put listings in the hands of thousands of potential referring agents who represent willing and able domestic and foreign buyers. All listings will be displayed in multiple languages on this platform.

Selecting brokerage firms to list properties based on their company’s global network of agents is another B2B strategy. Choosing different companies will maximize the potential for cooperation and synergy between companies that could result in greater sales volume for each company.

As a condition of listing properties, one should require that the brokerage firms invite their entire roster of international agents to attend webinars about the procedure for, and commission benefits of, selling luxury fractionals. The webinars will be promoted to all agents in each marketplace. The events will be recorded so that those who were unable to attend can be contacted again with a link to the recorded events. Listing agents can also use the webinars as a marketing tool to reach out to agents within their own firms. Further, the recorded webinar can be permanently featured on a number of luxury and fractional websites.

Web 2.0 Marketing Strategies.
Dozens of Web 2.0 marketing strategies executed simultaneously can compound the effectiveness of traditional local marketing by brokers, and the B2C and B2B strategies. Web 2.0 strategies include: Article distribution, optimized web PR, blogs, social networks, search engine optimization, and measurable Pay-Per-Click ad campaigns and web banner advertising.

Public Relations/Strategic Branding Alliances.
Public relations is an especially significant part of a luxury fractional marketing program given the national, and international, focus on fractional real estate ownership. Public relations initiatives can have three major elements. The first is to capitalize on the performance of luxury fractionals in the current market by showing how the particular project can take advantage of that performance. The second is a professionally planned “launch” reaching out nationally, internationally, and locally in appropriate venues via the web, print coverage, and local events on properties, inviting local brokers and opinion makers to attend.

The third is strategic alliances with synergistic luxury businesses, cultural institutions, and fine educational establishments. There are a number of luxury and fractional networking organizations that regularly meet with presentations of state-of-the-art marketing and sales methodology. Participating in these organizations can not only keep one abreast of effective techniques, but provide a platform for strategic branding alliances with luxury brands in various categories that can add to project credibility.

International Marketing
The interest abroad in fractional projects has grown exponentially in recent years, especially in Europe. There are a plethora of experienced foreign marketers with networks throughout the European continent and the Middle East. Affiliating with one of these networks can enhance marketing and sales success.

Local Broker Programs
While this Paper emphasizes utilization of the Web, one is well advised also to effectively utilize the local brokerage communities.

In addition to the dedicated brokers for one’s project, one should also institute programs to directly involve the entire local brokerage community such as:
• Focus group programs for top performing brokers
• Training sessions
• Periodic newsletters to the local broker community
• Invitation only open houses held on one’s property catering to selected area brokers and their clientele

Some Marketing and Sales Strategies
A digital format should be utilized for most marketing materials. Printed materials are expensive, bulky and difficult to adjust to the evolving needs of sales and marketing. Initial costs for digital are an investment that can be utilized in Webbased initiatives, print material and media publications, and over the course of the offering, can be adapted to the ongoing market input.

It is a proven fact that the average prospect requires three exposures to any given marketing directive to get their attention. With digital, one can create numerous ways to reach out to prospective purchasers in a costeffective manner, shorten response turnaround time, and create market updates such as digital client testimonials, portfolio updates, well known spokespeople, and additional lifestyle amenities. Print can be utilized in small discretionary pieces for on site sales handouts, mailings to selected prospective purchasers, and transmissions to magazines, newspapers, and other media.

A sophisticated strategy in the nature of an “invitation” and not a sales pitch should be utilized. “Selling” will not occur in the traditional sense but will be a subtle, deliberate hierarchy of information to be implemented through carefullyplanned contact points.

Every aspect of contact points should form an integrated whole reflecting the quality of one’s properties. From the tone of answering phones, to website experience and reservation structure, the style of all materials and demeanor of all representatives all build a holistic message. Each contact point should be meticulously tooled to avoid the sense of “selling” and boilerplate marketing which treat consumers interchangeably.

One can plan tailor made presentations to specific lifestyle profiles. All affluent prospects don’t react in the same way. For example, the presentation to a conservative private banker advising wealth clientele would be different than a presentation to an aggressive hedge fund manager.

Readers who wish to learn more may contact the author at +1 4356599738 or ddisick@msn.com. Mr. Disick is among the pioneers of the fractional vacation home industry with his development of Franz Klammer Lodge in Telluride, Colorado in 1994. He is President of David M. Disick & Associates.