Arabian Falcon Holidays – The Pioneer’s Of Timeshare In Dubai

In less than fifty years, Dubai’s staggering impetus, scope and vision has created a city for the future. Cutting edge technology and warm hospitality make this the perfect place to work and play. You’ll find world class restaurants and a vibrant nightlife, old world markets, designer fashions, exquisite jewellery, and covetable artefacts in fascinating back streets. The thoroughly contemporary sits comfortably alongside a traditional trading culture. And on the glistening waters of the Arabian Gulf, you’ll enjoy pristine beaches and exciting water sports.

Vacation Ownership has been flourishing in the Middle East for many years, predominately in Egypt, North Africa, Lebanon and Makkah but has not been available in Dubai until very recently.

The last decade has seen Dubai become a global ICON across the entire spectrum for its unrivaled economic growth. The Dubai government, in particular the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, and Emirates Airlines have established Dubai as the new favorite and desired holiday destination.

Many of the world’s largest, tallest,and most unique real estate projects are underway with some already delivered, such as the Royal Club at Palm-Jumeirah. Vacation Ownership has been the fastest growing sector of the world-wide travel and tourism industry for a decade and with the recent spectacular tourism growth in Dubai it has been a natural progression for vacation ownership to follow.

Vacation Ownership has unlimited potential in this market. The current estimated penetration rate for timeshare in the Middle East is only around 1%. Several major international developers are well under way with plans for their Dubai Vacation Ownership Developments and since the timeshare legislation was approved in March this year many major global hospitality brands currently developing Vacation Ownership resorts around the world have expressed very high levels of interest in Dubai having recognized the huge untapped potential of the area. The projected tourism figures are 15 million visitors by 2015.

The Company
Initially selling vacation ownership products for resorts in Egypt, Lebanon and Tunisia, Arabian Falcon Holidays today is the largest independent timeshare sales and marketing company in the United Arab Emirates, with a wide client base in countries throughout the region, Europe and Africa.

In June 2003, as a result of exceptional sales performance, Arabian Falcon Holidays was appointed the exclusive marketing agent for Dubai’s first vacation ownership resort – Royal Club at Palm-Jumeirah. On gaining this contract, a 10,000 sq ft purpose-built Sales office in Oud Metha Building (Citibank Tower) was established, and operations commenced in late November 2003.

Master developer, Nakheel, handed over the completed apartments to Caryatid Properties, in the first quarter of 2007. The luxury fit of Royal Club at Palm-Jumeirah followed and by the end of the year, more than 250
members had took their first timeshare vacations. The resort is now entirely sold out.

In March 2006 Arabian Falcon Holidays was pleased to be appointed as the exclusive UAE, Middle East marketing agent for Residence Richer in Paris, an elegant boutique hotel in the heart of the French capital, which is part of Charm & More Vacation Club. Following the performance of Royal Club at Palm-Jumeirah, the Developer acquired 100 apartments at Downtown Tower from leading developer, Hydra Properties. Arabian Falcon Holidays have signed an exclusive marketing contract for Royal Club at Downtown Dubai.

A prime location – close to the Dubai Mall and the extraordinary Burj Dubai – ensures that on completion Royal Club at Downtown Dubai will be one of the finest urban vacation ownership resortS in the world.

Arabian Falcon Holidays have recognized that a mixed use tourism development incorporating hotel and Vacation Ownership is an established mainstream hospitality product for both consumer and developers and is the model that they will follow for their upcoming projects.

A positive response from the GCC market, Europe and Africa, has prompted Arabian Falcon Holidays to open an office in Jeddah and sales are scheduled to start in May 2008. At the Vacation Ownership Investment
Conference (VOIC 2007), Arabian Falcon Holidays was honoured by Interval International and received the Pioneer’s Excellence Award, which was presented to Chairman, Al Mohannad Sharafuddin by Interval International Chairman and CEO, Mr. Craig M. Nash. The award was given “for visionary foresight and recognition of the timeshare potential of Dubai and for pioneering the marketing of the city’s first timeshare resort.

The Staff
The Royal Club at Palm-Jumeirah employs over 85 personnel that can speak 7 different languages. Arabian Falcon Holidays believes that this is their most valuable asset going forward. Comprehensive training is
conducted on an ongoing basis and staff performance is continuously monitored to ensure Arabian Falcon Holidays provides the finest standards of service excellence to its member’s at all departmental levels.

They provide a stimulating, competitive work environment, remunerating employees well with annual bonuses and regular incentives for achieving and exceeding targets. Employees enjoy packages which
are the best in the industry within the region.

The Founder
Starting in the vacation ownership industry in 1994 as a sales consultant in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Al Mohannad Sharafuddin excelled rapidly and achieved the position of top producer across eight sales offices. In little more than a year, he had advanced to sales supervisor, then sales manager, and had become training manager for Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Region. Mohannad was posted to Dubai in 1996. He quickly recognized that the UAE and Dubai in particular was a tremendously promising market for vacation ownership investment and so in 1999 as the principal shareholder and managing director, Al Mohannad Sharafuddin, along with his wife Kholoud Taha founded Arabian Falcon Holidays.

We recently asked Al Mohannad Sharafuddin a few questions about his early successes and what the future may hold for Middle Eastern Vacation Ownership.

What are the challenges of marketing timeshare to the Middle Eastern consumer? Middle East consumers have a very special nature, we face a lot of challenges but we are capable of overcoming those challenges:

The main issues are:-

1) Timeshare is still relatively new to the Middle East thus customer knowledge about Vacation Ownership is minimal so we have to keep educating our clients and general public about this dynamic industry.

2) Middle East consumers still consider the timeshare as a financial investment and we always try to educate them that Vacation Ownership is a lifestyle investment and not a financial one.

3) Generally they have a shorter travel window compared to Western travelers. I would say that 90% of Middle Eastern travelers prefer to have a long vacation in July compared to the Western travelers who tend to have multiple shorter vacations (Summer Vacation, Christmas & New Year break etc…)

4) They are also last minute decision makers when it comes to planning their holidays. They decide on their travel plans 30-60 days before their preferred travel dates. Such a short period in high season is not enough to fulfill their requests. Again we keep educating our customers and we explain that the earlier they request
the better their chances are of having their requests fulfilled.

What would you say are the main factors that you attribute to huge success of Royal Club at Palm- Jumeirah and how it was sold out so quickly?

Whilst we at Arabian Falcon Holidays (AFH) believe that as a sales organization we have put together an effective combination of an outstanding sales venue, housing a management leadership which has  developed and maintained well motivated, high performing sales and marketing teams, which together have produced the sell out of the Royal Club at Palm-Jumeirah, we do however acknowledge that a major part of the sales success is attributable to the alignment of several major factors that are driving the success of the Vacation Ownership industry worldwide.

Firstly “Brands sell”, the Royal Club at Palm-Jumeirah was able to ride in on the coat tails of two exceptional brands “Dubai” and “The Palm”. Individually they are both exceptionally powerful but together they were a magical product enhancement for the Royal Club at Palm-Jumeirah. Secondly is “Quality”; the remarkable worldwide growth of the Vacation Ownership is that it
consistently fulfills the expectations of purchasers regarding quality, apartment size and location. The Royal Club at Palm-Jumeirah certainly fulfilled this criteria which is well documented by the “Guest Surveys” of occupants in spite of the fact that the Palm is still a “work in progress”.

How easy or difficult has it been to switch from selling the Royal Club at Palm-Jumeirah to the new Downtown Resort?

Like all organizations that have experienced phenomenal success with a particular product over a period of time there is always a certain reluctance and trepidation in taking up a new product that doesn’t have
all the factors of the product that it is replacing. So with a little apprehension in changing sales “Hotpoint” features from the sun, sea and sand of the Royal Club at Palm-Jumeirah to the features and benefits of the central city location of our new Resort – ‘Royal Club at Downtown Dubai” the Arabian Falcon Holidays Sales team set about its work. Surprise surprise they soon found that their presentation of the new features and benefits of the Royal Club at Downtown Dubai created excitement with their prospective clients and the sales are now rolling.

Again, as with the Royal Club at Palm-Jumeirah it was discovered the “Brands” where working their magic but this time it was the location brand the “Burg Dubai” the tallest building in the world which is the “headline”
attraction upon which the Dubai Downtown complex is centered upon. The second attraction is the biggest Mall in the world “Dubai Mall” again the two brands are automatically combined and create an amazing
product enhancement for the Royal Club at Downtown Dubai.

Whilst Dubai has some of the world’s largest and attractive shopping malls it appears that Downtown Dubai is going to take on the mantel as the long term center of Dubai, just as the West end does for London and Manhattan for New York and other special locations in all of the great cities of the world. This mantel will be in spite of other great attractions that are underway or proposed for Dubai.

Also what is exciting is that Dubai is only a fraction of the way through establishing world quality attractions on the scale of Orlando and other top world holiday locations. There is much more to come, creating world quality sports, recreational, entertainment and cultural facilities that will attract the worlds top sports championships and cultural and entertainment events which will create a constant all year round demand for Dubai accommodation.

What do you see as your main challenges in the near future?

There is probably no other industry in the world that has such a high acceptance and product performance rating with its purchasers and yet has such a poor public opinion rating from non users or non owners. This
is a hangover from a small minority of operators and marketers who received much bad publicity for their nefarious actions decades ago and deservedly so, which reflected disproportionably upon the majority
of the Vacation Ownership operators who where producing high quality and performance products over decades of operations with millions of exceptionally satisfied Owners worldwide.

The performance of the sell out of the Royal Club at Palm-Jumeirah has given Arabian Falcon Holidays great confidence for the immediate future in achieving the same success with the Royal Club Downtown Dubai and while nothing is easy there is a distinct positive movement in the public’s perception of the Vacation Ownership industry which bodes well for the future of Arabian Falcon Holidays as a marketer and possibly as a developer of Vacation Ownership products.

Many have compared Dubai with Florida with Florida in terms of tourism and the growth of the vacation ownership industry. Do you think Dubai can live up to the expectation or exceed it?

Dubai can definitely live up to thiS comparison – as we all know Universal Studios in Dubailand and Sea World on Palm Jebel Ali will open their doors in the next few years. With the construction of over 60, 000 new hotel rooms & the opening of the largest airport at the Jebel Ali in 2015, Dubai is definitely geared up for the challenge.

Royal Club at Palm Jumeirah
The Palm, Jumeirah, the first of three palm shaped islands to be reclaimed from the sea, is tapped to become one of the region’s leading tourism destinations. Built on the shoreline on the ‘trunk’ of Palm Island, The Royal Club is a special place, consisting of fifty luxurious apartments, a superb diving centre and excellent amenities.

The Palm’s two and a half kilometer radius offers an abundance of restaurants and air-conditioned shopping malls for which Dubai is renowned as well as cinemas, entertainment centers and sports facilities. More than thirty hotels – international, themed and boutique – provide the very best in hospitality. What’s more, three world class golf courses and a magnificent water park are all within ten kilometers’ drive.

The Royal Club owners can enjoy the lifestyle of the rich and famous, with a variety of attractions located nearby. The Palm’s Golden Mile, on which the property is located, includes a marina capable of berthing 400 yachts, more than 200 boutique shops, and a variety of restaurants to suit all tastes.

The Royal Club at The Palm- Jumeirah, is open for business with B&G Hotels & Resorts, the Egyptian hotel management company, taking the operations reins. Already, Al Mohannad Sharafuddin, chairman
of Arabian Falcon, is predicting that exchanges into and out of this unique property are ready for take-off. “Royal Club owners will request travel to the popular destinations that are generally demanded by most Middle East travellers,” he says “On the other side of the coin, and using the Interval International exchange system, different nationalities from all over the world will be requesting to exchange their weeks for Royal Club at The Palm. Dubai is a ‘hot’ destination.”

Royal Club At Downtown Dubai
Following the performance of Royal Club at Palm-Jumeirah, Caryatid Properties acquired a further 100 apartments at Downtown Tower from leading developer, Hydra Properties. Delivering the latest concepts in state-of-the-art living, Hydra Properties is behind some of the most prestigious residential and business developments in the UAE.

Royal Club at Downtown Dubai offers a wide array of vacation ownership benefits and promises the height of city chic in an unbeatable urban location. It will exemplify the ideal city lifestyle, enhanced by its proximity to the city’s commercial district and to its premier location within the heart of the Downtown Dubai area. It comprises of 100 apartments set out on 20 floorswithin a 44 story high quality tower with a great range of facilities for vacation ownership purchasers.

The building is virtually all glass walled so that all rooms in any apartment will have spectacular views and will be an exceptional and great Vacation Ownership location for well into the future.

Within 400 metres of The Dubai Mall and with views of the world’s tallest building, Burj Dubai, it will also feature a five-star hotel and stunning residences. Twenty storeys make up Royal Club at Downtown Dubai, and spacious 1, 2 and 3 bedroom apartments will offer streamlined design, elegant appointments and an ultra modern living experience to members.

For more information on Arabian Falcon Holidays visit www.arabianfalcon.com or call 009714 32 44 736

Supplier Review – Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP

It was an early evening in 1977. Mike Clowdus, a two-year law firm associate, gazed from his office window, eastward toward Denver’s City Park, and thought about going for a run.

That’s when the senior partner brushed through the doorway and tossed a copy of Colorado’s newly enacted timesharing statute onto his desk. Know it by morning, he told the young man. A client was coming in, and he wanted to do one of these.

“The proposed project was in Steamboat Springs,” Clowdus recalled recently. “The project was called the Bronze Tree Club. No one had yet done a timeshare project in Colorado. I remember thinking, ‘This is interesting.’”

Today, Clowdus is co-partner-in-charge of the Resort and Hotel Group at Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP. The Denver lawyer is but one example of the national firm’s deep roots in the resort industry — and only part of its history as a leader in the development of the modern real estate law practice. Ballard’s Real Estate Department is among the 10 largest in the country, with 150 lawyers and a formidable reputation. The Resort and Hotel Group, which falls under the Real Estate umbrella, stands as one of the largest and most diverse resort practices nationwide, with 27 lawyers.

Last summer, Ballard opened its Los Angeles Office and promptly staffed it with an eye toward expanding the firm’s international presence. With more than 30 years in the resort field, the Philadelphia-based firm is not new to projects outside the country. But those years, marked by a nearly 40-year relationship with the American Resort Development Association, have enabled Ballard practitioners to ride the crests of the latest trends.

“In the next 10 years, we’re going to see our practice shift,” said Steve Peterson, a partner in Ballard’s Salt Lake City office, who leads the Resort and Hotel Group with Clowdus. “We see international growth as the hottest area in the resort business.”

Acting on that vision, Ballard set up shop in Los Angeles with David C. Sampson, who was named managing partner of the new office.

Sampson is responsible for seminal work in the field: He represented the interests of the timeshare industry in negotiating and drafting the California Vacation Ownership and Timeshare Act of 2004. The firm quickly ushered in Scott Preston, Letvia Arza-Goderich and Devon McGranahan, now in the Denver office, whose experience in developing vacation ownership projects includes registration documents in the resort, casino, hotel and travel industries.

The quartet brought to Ballard not only substantial experience in the resort industry, but the capability of conducting that business in multiple languages. Sampson speaks German and Czech. Preston is fluent in Spanish, French and Portuguese, as is Arza-Goderich, who is Cuban-born. She has practiced in Puerto Rico, where she is licensed to practice law and as a civil law Notario.

The international flavor of the Los Angeles crew is heightened by the Salt Lake office. Barbara Bagnasacco, a partner there, speaks her native Italian, along with English and French. She is a licensed attorney in Italy,
as well. Bagnasacco is a partner in the Business & Finance Department and a member of the International Group. Other group memberships are Life Sciences/Technology, Energy and Project Finance, Mergers and
Acquisitions, Securities, Technology and Emerging Companies, Franchise and Distribution and Corporate Compliance and Investigations.

“We’ve taken another step,” Clowdus said. “We’ve added experienced international practitioners.” Consider these thumbnail sketches:

Scott Preston. Extensive background in international hotel and resort development and financing, international corporate and tax structuring, property acquisitions and sales, land use and the development
regulatory process, construction, leasing, foreign investment, and commercial real estate financing. Graduate of Universidad de Guanajuato foreign exchange program, Mexico, and Harvard Law School, where he was an editor on Harvard International Law Review and Harvard Latino Law Review. Intern/law clerk in Overseas Placement Program, Mexico City, Mexico, and Barcelona, Spain.

Chairman’s League Member of the American Resort Development Association. Member of Legislative Council of the Organisation for Timeshare in Europe; Advisory Board of the International Hotel Investment
Forum; and Program Steering Committees of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Investment Conference and The Americas Lodging Investment Summit. Member of Asociación Mexicana de Desarrolladores Turísticos
(Mexican Tourism Development Association), South Pacific Tourism Organisation and Canadian Resort Development Association.

Letvia Arza-Goderich. Originally from Cuba. Has practiced law in several states and Puerto Rico. Experienced in both common law and civil law systems. Possesses a broad background in areas of real estate, admiralty, litigation, international and commercial law. Able to handle matters in or concerning Puerto Rico, coordinating with former colleagues where necessary. Member of the Asociación Mexicana de esarrolladores Turísticos (Mexican Tourism Development Association) and the Canadian Resort Development Association. Serves on the Advisory Board of the International Hotel Investment Forum; and on the Program Steering Committees of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Investment Conference and The Americas Lodging
Investment Summit. President of the U.S.-Mexico Chamber of Commerce, California Regional Chapter, and member of its Bi-national Board.

Barbara Bagnasacco. Native of Italy. Concentrates practice on sophisticated international and domestic business transactions, and mergers and acquisitions, including European business transactions. Previously
practiced law with an Italian law firm. Licensed attorney in Italy. Large concentration of clients in Europe and South America. Graduate of University of Turin College of Law, Institute of European Studies/International Labor Organization, University of Utah College of Law.

“With the addition of Scott Preston and myself, we probably have now the strongest international team in the resort and hotel area,” Arza-Goderich said. By that, she does not simply mean the ability to glide among languages with ease. There is a need to be both fluent in civil law as well as common law, which holds sway across the bulk of the United States. Civil law is the legal system in most of Europe, Mexico, almost all of Central and South America, and parts of Asia and Africa, as well as in Louisiana, Quebec and Puerto Rico.
The challenge for the lawyer who does international work in the resort industry is to create structures that comply with local law, but that also can be implemented through documents that will be acceptable to
international buyers.

Before opening the California office, the Ballard Resort and Hotel Group already had worked extensively in Mexico, Italy and France. Peterson and Clowdus see the group remaining active in those countries while enlarging its presence in hot spots for growth: Central America, the Middle East and the Caribbean.
Arza-Goderich agreed, and added Brazil, Eastern Europe, parts of Asia and India to the mix.

Arza-Goderich is an example of the degree to which Ballard resort lawyers move in the international arena. She discussed the Resort and Hotel Group in a taxi cab, by way of cell phone, as she left a session with Carlos Salinas, the former president of Mexico. Both were in Washington, D.C., last month for the annual conference of the U.S.-Mexico Chamber of Commerce. Arza-Goderich is president of the chamber’s California Regional Chapter.

Ballard Spahr lawyers attend the annual conference of Ragatz Associates, an international consulting and market research firm used by the resort industry. In March, they attended the 11th annual International Hotel Investment Forum, in Berlin, an event attended by more than 1,800 senior members of the industry from more than 50 countries. They have been asked to assist the Nicaraguan government in updating timeshare legislation.

“We deal with the Burba Hotel Network,” Arza-Goderich said, driving home a point on Ballard’s international networking. “We are sending our lawyers to major conferences all over the world, to be where industry leaders and our clients are,” Clowdus said.

These specifically international outreach efforts are undergirded by Ballard’s longstanding relationship with the American Resort Development Association (ARDA).
The trade association was founded in 1969, and participation by members of the Resort and Hotel Group began just two years later. Partners have received the association’s Lifetime Achievement and Volunteer of the Year Awards. The firm is involved in the association’s legal and regulatory efforts, new product definition, resort management and as speakers at ARDA-sponsored regional, national and international events.

Ballard is a major financial supporter of ARDA, and several partners have trustee or Chairman’s League status in it, including Peterson, Clowdus, Sampson, Tom Bennett and Chris Payne. Harry E. McCoy II, a senior partner in the Salt Lake City office, has 27 years of service — and still serves — on the association’s board of directors. Currently, members of the firm sit on the State and Federal Legislation Committees and the Audit Committee, chair the Ethics Committee and serve as co-chair of the Fractional Forum, and work
as part of ARDA’s outreach to the international players in the industry.

Peterson and Clowdus each has more than 30 years’ experience in the industry, and Sampson and Bennett have worked more than two decades in resorts and hotels.

“We were at the grassroots in the formation of the industry and now we’ve expanded to a worldwide firm,” Clowdus said. “We’ve been around the block on a number of issues.”

“Our practice area comprises all of the major resort products, including timeshare, fractional, private residence clubs, condo-hotels, destination clubs, club membership programs and all aspects of hotel management and sales,” Peterson said.

Not too many resorts lawyers can claim such a history. At a recent seminar Clowdus attended,practitioners chatted about doing their first timeshares 10 or 12 years ago. He chimed in: “I did my first timeshare project in 1977.” The room went quiet. “It was like dropping a bomb on them,” he said.

Clowdus and Peterson said Ballard’s deep roots in the industry are invaluable. “We’re seeing the same ideas coming around the second and third time,” Clowdus said. “Success. Downturns. Good times. It helps inform our clients.” But they’re not bored yet.

“We still get excited when our clients come in with a new idea,” Clowdus said. The Destination Club was one of those new ideas. “When I first heard about it, I thought that was really interesting,” the Denver lawyer said.

Just like that time-sharing statute back in 1977.

For information on Ballard’s, click here http://www.ballardspahr.com/about/groups.asp?id=96.
Contact Steven D. Peterson at 801.531.3000 or petersons@ballardspahr.com; Michael W.Clowdus at 303.292.2400 or clowdus@ballardspahr.com; and David C. Sampson at 424.204.4400 or sampsond@ballardspahr.com.

The Drive Of Your Life …Now A Reality

Many of us dream about owning supercars – but will never be able to afford the astronomical prices they achieve. Or maybe you simply can’t justify spending that amount of money on something that won’t make you a return on your investment. There is an alternative…Club Velocita is a members only supercar club based near Basingstoke in Hampshire. The club was launched back in January 2008, with the Club’s founder member Tiff Needell (TV Presenter, Fifth Gear), cutting the ribbon.

The idea for the Club sprang from conversations between the two major share holders Vipul Dave and Martin Robinson. Vipul has owned a number of businesses in the motor industry and Martin is the Chairman
of Centre Parcs and sits on the board for a number of companies in the leisure industry. You couldn’t get a better blend of skills and experience to launch such a venture and they’re both self-confessed petrol heads!!

When asked about how the Club operates Vipul explained: “The concept is very simple; why pay a large amount of your hard-earned cash for a depreciating asset that will sit in your garage for the majority of
its expensive existence? Members of Club Velocita pay a one off joining fee of £950, which is refunded if the membership is renewed for a 2nd term, and £12,995 membership fee. For that relatively small amount, our
Members get to drive some of the most exotic cars on the road. We take care of the maintenance, insurance and depreciation.

All our Members have to worry about is filling the cars with petrol. When you consider that the most expensive car has a price tag of over £1/4 million and will depreciate approximately £30K in the first year of ownership, it doesn’t make sense to own one. Even putting the figures to one side; a lot of our Members don’t want to be limited to just one supercar and enjoy the variety that the Club gives them.”

Members can take the cars anywhere in the EU and the membership also covers the life partner or spouse. There are stipulations for membership, for instance you must be over 30 years old, with a maximum to two
minor traffic offences on your license. Depending on driving experience, the Club may also insist on additional driving training.

Prior to the launch Vipul went on an extravagant shopping spree to fill the Club’s garage. By far the most extreme machine in the collection is the Lamborghini LP640 Roadster. Gorgeous in a pearlescent white,
it is one of only 2 in the country – a rare car. The mighty 6.5 litre V12 delivers a whopping 631bhp, launching the car from a standing start to 62mph in 3.4 seconds and on to over 200mph. Next on the
list is the Ferrari F430 F1 Spyder in black. A stunning car with a beautifully engineered V8 power plant – nothing sounds quite like a Ferrari. For the next car, we return to Lamborghini for the epic Gallardo
Spider E-Gear in bright yellow. Other Marques in the Club Velocita garage include Bentley, Aston Martin and Porsche.

The Team at Club V are very keen to ensure that the availability of cars is as good as possible. With that in mind they aim to buy additional cars when they hit 35 Members. When asked what will be next on the
shopping list, Vipul explained: “It will very much be down to our Members to decide. There will be a budget allocated, a shortlist drawn up and it will be put to the vote. We may end of buying duplicate stock if particular cars are proving particularly popular or something completely new. I’ve got ideas of what I’d like to see added to the fleet – but I’ve already had my fun with the company chequebook.”

The Team do have plans for the future that will include another location in southern Europe – but they are firmly focussed on making the Hampshire branch a success before venturing abroad, as Vipul explains: “We do have plans for expansion at home and abroad – but at the moment we’re very much focussing all our efforts on ensuring that the first Club Velocita branch is a total success and that all our members are 100% satisfied with the level of service we are offering.

The area immediately surrounding our HQ is proving to be full of people interested in what we have to offer and our members comprise of local business owners from Southampton, Winchester, Basingstoke and even Oxford areas.There is a wealth of opportunity in our locale that we need to explore before we think about taking the next step and opening in another geographical location.”

For more information call +44 1256 333 822 Or visit www.clubvelocita.com

NorthCourse® Leisure Real Estate Advisory Services Releases 2008 Fractional Industry Report

New Release of Annual Study Shows Forecast for Explosive Growth Worldwide and Developer Need for Global Products and Services

NorthCourse Leisure Real Estate Solutions released its annual Fractional Interest Report findings at the Spring 2008 ARDA convention, attracting widespread attendee attention, especially from the first 100 visitors to the NorthCourse booth in the Exhibit Hall who were all treated to an advance copy of the report. The study provides comprehensive concept insight, market dynamics and emerging trends of fractional resort products in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean by one of the leading consultancies
in the leisure real estate industry with more than 30 years experience in shared ownership business advisory services.

According to the NorthCourse report, the fractional ownership industry in the Americas achieved record estimated sales volumes, projected at $1.98 billion, up 20 percent over sales in 2006. This statistic demonstrates the health of the industry despite the negativity that has settled over the vacation home and investment home market, evidenced by statistics recently released by the National Realtors Association. Its research shows that vacation home sales are down 30% year over year.

“Some of the factors and trends that played a role in the growth of fractionals were Use Plans that better meet the consumer need, better locations, buyer experience, and consumer awareness and understanding,” said Peter Giamalva, President of NorthCourse Leisure Real Estate Solutions. Additionally, the study results showed a growth in resales of fractions at 23 percent, suggesting strong acceptance in the market and an organized market for resales. Developers have also reported that 86 percent of resales have shown appreciation in price.

The aging of North American baby boomers can be expected to further the demand for fractional real estate for the next 15 to 20 years, as they continue to reach their peak earnings years and place a higher importance on leisure time and travel. Fractional leisure real estate affords these consumers the opportunity to own multiple “second homes” in different locations better fulfilling their personal usage needs.

According to Giamalva, the fractional real estate industry seems to be entering a period of explosive growth with new customers, who in many cases can afford the purchase of a vacation home, but don’t have the
desire to take on the responsibility for maintenance and upkeep on something they will be using only a few weeks during the year. To these customers the purchase of a fractional is attractive because they “purchase
what they believe they will use” and nothing more. Other customers aspire to the luxury of owning a vacation home, but by purchasing a fractional, may save hundreds of thousands of dollars over the cost of
whole ownership in a vacation home.

With this explosive growth phase for developers and demand from consumers, NorthCourse finds itself collaborating with developers and investors worldwide to provide the opportunity to gain a competitive
advantage in the marketplace. “The key is helping developers to leverage the unique elements of each project to broaden the market and potentially increase the sales pace,” Giamalva explained. “We do so by
recommending relevant product combinations, which could include mixed-use development, condo hotels, private residence clubs and fractionals.”

For hoteliers, the shared ownership model is a great solution to add rental units to inventory, thereby potentially increasing rental revenue. This provides for the possibility of collecting branding fees.

Adding shared ownership units to a hotel development may also improve the bottom line by spreading operating costs over a broader base and increasing utilization of central facilities.

In a mixed-use development, different hospitality business models are integrated within the same resort environment. These can include variations of traditional hotel rooms and suites, timeshares, fractionals,
vacation rental accommodation, and whole ownership.

With condo hotels, the individual investor may purchase a whole ownership unit with personal use (up to 30 days annually) and participation in an organized rental program for the remainder of the time, providing
the owner an investment income in addition to personal use. “A 200 unit condo-hotel could potentially produce nearly $71 million in operating revenue and $17 million in net income over a five year timeframe,” said Giamalva.

Fractionals and private residence clubs are very different forms of leisure real estate. The fractional product is a deeded real estate purchase by a limited number of owners per property, potentially providing benefits of second home ownership at a fraction of the cost and without maintenance responsibilities. Similar to fractional in real estate structure, private residence clubs are typically a larger property (three or four bedroom units) with very high-end furnishings, sold as an alternative to wholly-owned second homes.

Developers opting for a private residence club with 20 units could yield as much as $72 million in salesand $21 million in developer profits, according to Giamalva. “Similarly, a resort with 75 residential units with
as few as 1/3 fractional owners could garner roughly $90 million in gross sales and $25 million in developer profits at sellout,” he said.

Just as important as the diversified product type is the work done to achieve the results. Market research may identify the prospects of success for the location with consistent tourist flow. “We set the stage with core services to gather information and conduct research such as feasibility studies, operator searches, workout strategies and sales and marketing advisory services,” said Giamalva.

Feasibility studies are vital to create a detailed market-driven development program to help maximize, identify and capture the highest and best use of the site. Product recommendations are provided, including residential and hotel unit mix and sizes, pricing strategy and a detailed usage plan and reservation system. Benchmarking relevant products in the competitive market set also helps identify the most compelling consumer offer.

Giamalva sited an example of a feasibility study NorthCourse created for a five-star hotel in Dubai for timeshare and fractional considerations, in order to change to a mixed use structure. The business advisory services that were conducted included a market analysis, site and location study, product development plan, financial feasibility study and macro economic country and city overviews. Similarly, for a 47-acre property in Florida, NorthCourse did a feasibility study, strategic report and design recommendations for a fractional and residential development program.

Putting a process in place to search for just the right operator is also imperative. Clients need to have a
comprehensive understanding of their product and needs, and a balanced recommendation for a partner that would be the most appropriate for the product and market. They need to also have that critical help
in negotiating the business terms for the management contract, and to advise a customer-driven property management approach. Experience has shown that a strategic business plan with sales and marketing advisory services may be needed to achieve the deserved extraordinary results. Of course, there are times when a developer needs to have a workout strategy as a road map for corrective action. “Exit strategies and a re-focused marketing message, plus competitive positioning of the project, are often the end result,” Giamalva commented.

Copies of the 2008 NorthCourse Fractional Interest Report may be downloaded at www.NorthCourse.com , or
by calling Adrianne Wilson at +1 973-753-6480. For more information on NorthCourse products and services, as well as global offices in the US, North America, Latin America, Europe and the Middle East, go to: www.northcourse.com

Luna Runtun – The Adventure SPA

Ecuador’s natural beauty, immensely diverse population, and fascinating history make it an unparalleled travel destination. It is incredible that one small country spans from the Galapagos Islands to the Pacific Coast, up to the Andes Mountains and down to the world’s largest rainforest, the Amazon Basin.

Baños, situated in a valley of waterfalls and hot springs, has become a Mecca for international travellers seeking year-round temperate weather. It is a small town in the valley of Tungurahua Volcano also known as “Throat of Fire “ which is the largest volcano in Ecuador yet the most easily climbed since Baños is already set on the hillside. Baños is a great base for exploring the great Ecuadorian outdoors and is located only four hours by bus from Quito. It has a host of attractions including hot springs, horseback riding, trekking,
rafting, climbing and mountain biking. It also offers easy access to Riobamba, which is the starting point of an amazing train journey to the Devil’s Nose to the coast, and to Puyo, one of the gateways to the Amazon. Baños also serves as a popular site for studying Spanish – more chilled out and definitely a cheaper alternative to Quito.

Or you could explore the Amazon rainforest in a dug-out canoe, scuba dive with sea lions and exotic fish in the waters off the Galapagos Islands, help rehabilitate wounded condors; bargain with locals at markets that have remained unchanged for a thousand years or search for Incan ruins.

Luna Runtun, The Adventure Spa is the perfect addition to your trip to Galapagos or Quito when visiting Ecuador. The resort is perched high above the town of Baños on the oriental flank of Tungurahua Volcano.
Bathed in the luxury of a world class destination spa and hotel (The resorts is also affiliated to Interval International) and surrounded with the most spectacular and breath taking scenery in the world.

Luna Runtun´s 63 acres are nestled within the Sangay National Park, a declared World Natural Heritage Site, and the view from Luna Runtun is dominated by the legendary Llanaganates National Park and the
Pastaza Corridor. Runtun is the name given to the area located at the base of Tungurahua.

The Adventure
For the adventurous guest they offer 11 Baños hiking tours. Hikes include the beautiful “Pailon del Diablo” waterfall, known as the most impressive waterfall in the area as well as for being the world’s 10th highest water drop in the world. It was the setting of the Hollywood blockbuster “Proof of Life” directed by Taylor Hackford and starring Meg Ryan, Russell Crowe, and David Morse. Keep your eyes peeled for the face of the Devil on a stone located at the bottom of the waterfall!

Or the Inca Trail of Huayna Capac where you can enjoy magnificent views of the active volcano of  langanates National Park and of the entrance to the Amazon Rainforest. If you are lucky, you will see and hear the periodical steam explosions of the volcano: a truly natural show, free of risk. For the more
experienced or daring hikers attempt the “Ojos del Volcán” where you can observe the crater of the volcano, just 10 miles away, and listen to its natural music.

Alternativey take a canoe trip through the Amazon Rainforest. A once in a lifetime experience and a very relaxing way to see tropical flowers, orchids, monkeys, and birds as well as incredible landscape and
indescribable sensations.

Mountain Biking is a great way to explore the area. Take your mountain bike and enjoy 10-kms of small downhill trails and forest passes. You will enjoy breathtaking views of the Tungurahua, Llanganates, Sangay National Park and the Pastaza River Corridor which was named a “Gift to the Earth” by the World Wildlife Fund.

A Baños horseback riding tour with Luna Runtun is an excellent way to discover the beauty of the surrounding areas on one of their beautiful horses.

A spa with a view…
After enjoying one of the numerous adventure activities, relax your body and soul in the beautiful garden and spa, hand painted with colorful mineral pigments representing orchids of the area and the 4 elements of life: Earth, Air, Fire, and Water.

Luna Runtun uses fresh and natural medicinal plants, fruits, and vegetables produced in their 300-acre garden for their natural healing properties as well as using ashes and volcanic stones from the active volcano and pure, crystal clear mineral water from Tungurahua. All of the treatment rooms are decorated with handmade candles using natural colors and aromas of Luna Runtun´s gardens. You can extract your own mud and clay for your treatments from Luna Runtun´s mine or walk on a “carpet” of volcanic stones.
Some of the unique treatments include volcanic ash and salt exfoliation, hot clay bathes and Nettle treatments. As well as more traditional massages treatments the spa also specialises in reiki. This brings the body into balance, allowing the mind to float away and the spirit to soar.

Using the hands on the patient’s body, this technique offers healing and enhances deep relaxation thereby stimulating energy pathways.

After the treatments, relax and oxygenate your brain and lungs in the gorgeous gardens full of fresh air coming from the Amazon Rainforest, the world’s respiratory system, and delight in the sights and sounds of the plethora of birds and butterflies that inhabit Luna Runtun. Walk barefoot in the fertile earth of the gardens. Plant a tree and name it! Finally, enjoy the sunrise while taking in outstanding and unforgettable views.

The accommodation
Luna Runtun offers 30 beautiful and comfortable rooms and suites for 1 to 4 people. These include Imperial Suites and the Presidential suite which is perfect for honeymooners. Enjoy from your room or suite spectacular views of Baños and its valley, the Tungurahua volcano, the gardens of the hotel, the Llanaganates National Park or the Andes like the Incas did from this strategic place over 500 years ago.

Restaurants
Luna Runtun, The Adventure SPA provides a fine selection of restaurants, cafés and bars to suit your mood and preference. The bar “Las Cañas” with its fireplace offers a cosy and elegant ambiance to socialize with family or friends surrounded by panoramic views and beautiful gardens. Café del Cielo, by the poolside serve snacks and refreshments while enjoying fantastic views of the Tungurahua volcano, Baños and the Llanaganates National Park. Runtun Restaurant and The Pergola are rustic and elegantly decorated with
paintings by renowned Ecuadorian artists. Runtun Restaurant offers selected European and Ecuadorian favourites. In the open air terrace you will find a wall painting describing the stay of the Inca Emperor Huayna Capac in the Runtun area 500 years ago. Breathe fresh air of the Amazon rainforest and listen the songs of the birds while seating at “La Pergola”.

The Pools and Waterfalls
The beautifully designed outdoor swimming pools, the jacuzzi and waterfalls, filled up with hot volcanic water, are the perfect location in which to relax in the sun or by night admiring the full moon or the stars of the sky as the Incas did it here 500 years ago. Observe the beautiful gardens with over 300 species of trees, flowers, medicinal plants, orchids more than 30 types of birds.

In the gallery and shop “Arte y Artesanías” you can find the original work of Ecuadorian and foreign artists such as Whitman Gualsaqui, Catasse, Gustavo Velasco, Gustavo Mosquera and Paula Ordoñez. In the shop you can purchase exclusive products like Zuleta Embroideryluxury table cloths, hand-made by a group of 120 women in northern Ecuador Pauta Candlesticks – the work is made by hand with forged iron and includes candle sticks, incense holders, bells, ash-trays, napkin holders and is made by an artisan located in the southern region of Ecuador and Golden Indigenous and Mother-of-Pearl Necklaces.

Conservation
The valley of the Rio Pastaza between Baños and Puyo is an internationally recognized biodiversity hotspot. It contains at least 500 species of birds, hundreds of orchid species including many new to science, and large
mammals such as the endangered Mountain Tapir and Spectacled Bear.
The number of plant species unique to this area is greater than the number of plant species endemic to the famous Galapagos Islands! The owners of Luna Runtun are helping to protect this biodiversity by establishing nature reserves in these different habitats, and by helping local forest owners to make a sustainable living without cutting their forests. They have created the San Antonio Cloud Forest Reserve at the base of Tungurahua, where Mountain Tapir and Spectacled Bear are found with some regularity. This
area is rich in high-elevation forest birds including the rare White-rimmed Brush Finch, resident Peregrine Falcons and many striking tanagers like the Goldencrowned Tanager. It was going to be sold to wood cutters when Luna Runtun stepped in to save it.

The owners of Luna Runtun also have established a foothill forest reserve at lower elevations near Mera, protecting a completely different set of birds, plants, and animals. This area has many Amazonian birds like the gaudy Paradise Tanager, and mammals such as the tayra and coati. The Mera area is a center of plant endemism with about 50 unique species found nowhere else, so it is an important area for conservation.

Between these two reserves, Luna Runtun works with a private landowner whose forest hosts the noisy group mating display of one of the most spectacular Andean birds, the glowing orange-red Cock-of-the-Rock. This community support is very important, since the ecotourism visits arranged through Luna Runtun can provide a way for this landowner to live without cutting down his forest. In Ecuador there are many species of plants, insects, frogs, and other things with small ranges that fall outside the officially protected
national park system. The only way to preserve these species is by creating a mosaic of small, privately owned reserves strategically located in the gaps between the national parks. Luna Runtun is making this idea a reality in the Upper Pastaza watershed and making a real difference in the fight for conservation of some of the world’s most diverse species and environments.

For more information contact Carmen Luna de Currat, General Manager, Luna Runtun, The Adventure SPA & Luna Travel, Tel : + 593 3 274 0882 / 3 ext. 112, carmen@lunaruntun.com www.lunaruntun.com www.lunatravel.com

Perspective’s A LIST – David A Siegel

An exclusive live interview with David A Siegel, Founder, President & CEO of Westgate Resorts on his journey to creating the largest privately owned timeshare company in the world and billionaire status.
Interviewed by Paul Mattimoe, Perspective International Ltd, at the Arabian Court, One & Only Royal Mirage, Dubai – March 2008.

Paul
David, thank you for giving us the opportunity to speak to you today. To start with, can I first ask what your background was prior to starting your first company?

David
Well, I have been working since I was 4 years old. I grew up in business and have been in various businesses. I was in the TV sales and services business, I was in the exporting business, I owned a gas station, I had a large furniture store. I had a store that was almost like a mini Wal-Mart at one time. It had furniture, appliances, TV. It even had a record department.

In 1968, during the Republican Presidential Convention at Miami Beach, riots broke out in Miami. My store was wiped out. At that point I went into the real estate field and for a couple of years, I worked in real estate in Miami and then in 1970 I moved to Orlando with my wife and children and no money, and went into selling real estate around the Disney area. Disney was a year from opening, so I saw the opportunity there. I am one of the few people in the world who was at the grand opening of Disneyland in Anaheim, California
and at the grand opening of Disney World in Orlando, Florida.

I lived in California for one year in 1955 and they opened in the middle of an orange grove and I saw all this farm land around and years later I went back and saw that Anaheim had become a big city. I felt the same thing was going to happen with Disney World in Orlando. I had that insight that few other people had and I started selling and buying land around the Disney World area and I did quite well. I went from having no money when I got to Orlando to thinking about retirement by 1975.

Paul
At that time when you first started in Florida in 1970, was your vision for the future similar to today’s reality, the size that you are?

David
Actually I thought back then in 1970 if I could find a house and pay off the mortgage and have some money in the bank and have a few investments that could give me income and I would not have to work so hard, I would be perfectly happy. I did not have the grandiose vision at that point when I moved to Orlando, that I would be where I am today.

Paul
At that point you did not start with timeshare either did you?

David
No.

Paul
When and why did you enter into this market place?

David
Well as I told you, by 1975 I had done so well in real estate that I was thinking about an early retirement and I was making real estate investments with apartments and hotels. I even built the most successful small tourist attraction in Orlando called The Mystery Fun House which I built and operated for 25 years but at that time I built it and hired a management company so I would have a source of income along from the other investments I made, and one of the investments I made was an 80 acre orange grove next to Walt Disney World. In 1980 after basically living a very comfortable existence, I didn’t retire, but I really didn’t work very hard either because I was getting income from the orange grove, from the hotels and apartments and attraction. It was kinda like very comfortable and no pressure.

In 1980 a gentleman came to me and said he wanted to buy 10 acres of my orange grove and he offered me double what I thought the land value was worth and I asked him “What are you going to do with it?” and he said “I am going to timeshare it”. I didn’t understand, I said “What is timeshare?” So that was the first time I learnt about it. He explained the concept to me and I fell in love with the idea and so I didn’t sell him the property, but I decided to go ahead and build a timeshare resort in the back of the orange grove. I had a beautiful orange grove and I didn’t want to ruin the look of it in case this did not work.

So I started with 16 villas at the back. I had a small pond which I had some farmer come and dig out and make a lake out of it and not knowing the construction business, it took me almost 2 years to build the 16 units.

By December 15th 1982, we were ready for sales.

I had a dirt road going through the orange grove that the fertilizer trucks and maintenance trucks used leading back to it. I had no sales office so I poured a concrete slab next to my buildings. I put a tent on the slab. No sides on the tent, just the cover, and I put 8 tables and I hired 8 sales people and we were ready to start sales. The night before we started sales, I realized people were going to want to know where the club house and swimming pool were going to be, so I had an old real estate sign in my garage and I painted it white and I got some black paint and I painted ‘FUTURE SITE OF CLUB HOUSE AND SWIMMING POOL”. I am not a painter and the paint was running down the sign but it was too late to change it, so I stuck it in a pile of dirt across from the timeshare. It turned out that December 15th 1982 was a record freeze in Central Florida. My sales people came to work in ski jackets and the customers were all freezing. I brought in some kerosene heaters from the orange grove, and I set them around and that is how Westgate Resorts began.

Paul
In contrast, can you give us an overview of what Westgate Resorts is today?

David
Well today that 16 units is about 10,000 villas in 28 resorts in 11 States. All in the United States. We are the largest privately-owned timeshare company in the world. Interval International says we produce more new members for them each year than any other timeshare company. So, on that basis we would be the largest public or private timeshare as far as sales volume. Our competitors publish higher sales numbers so we would be the 3rd largest if you based it on the numbers they put out. Marriott and Wyndham are the
two bigger than us. But they include residence clubs and fractionals and a lot of things, we are pure timeshare.

So we have been very fortunate, very successful. We have over 10,000 employees. It seems that every time I add another 500 units, I have 500 more employees. So we have 10,000 units and 10,000 employees. We are proud to say we are considered the Rolls Royce of the timeshare industry.

Paul
And you have another exclusive project coming up soon, Planet Hollywood Towers. Can you tell us more about that?

David
Yes. We have what is probably the best location of any timeshare resort in the world. We are right in the very centre of the Las Vegas Strip and right across from the $8 billion city centre being developed by MGM Mirage.

We are attached to a 170 store upscale mall which is attached to the 2600 room Planet Hollywood Hotel and Casino. There will never be another timeshare resort like it in the world. It is 50 storeys tall. Every unit is what I like to say, a high roller suite. They have every amenity. My competitors’ customers have to get into a taxi to go enjoy the restaurants, the shows and casinos in Las Vegas. My customers just have to take the elevator.

Paul
And when will that be completed?

David
It will be completed in 1 ½ years. Actually, there are 3 buildings. The first building will be completed in a year and a half. The second and third buildings will be under construction at that time. It is 3.2 million square feet and the shopping centre will be the second largest shopping centre in America. It is all blue glass. It is going to be the new iconic building in Las Vegas. As the plane lands, as it is taxiing to the terminal, you look out your window, and that is what you will see. It is breathtaking. It is going up a floor a week as we speak and we are up to the 36th floor, maybe the 37th as I have been here in Dubai for a week.

Every one of our resorts we build to be the largest resorts in the world. Two of my resorts are Number 1 and 2 in the world in size and a typical one of our resorts is 1000 units. My first flagship resort, Westgate Vacation Villas, the one I started behind the orange grove, that one is going to be over 5,000 when we run out of land and approvals – just that one resort. We have Westgate Lakes, which was my second resort, it currently has 1500 villas already sold out and we are adding another 2500 villas. That ultimately will have 4,000 villas. When you think that the typical timeshare resort is 100 villas you see how we tower over our competitors.

Paul
Your activities, certainly in timeshare are immense. But if we can move away from that just for a moment, that is not the only industry you are involved in, is it?

David
Primarily, but we still own hotels, apartments. We used to be involved in retail but we sold our retail involvement. We own restaurants and we are in the insurance business. We own the world’s only timeshare dude ranch. I am trying to think what other industries – we still do some real estate business. I own the real estate company that put all the Disney property together for them some 40 years ago.

Paul
What would you say has been your greatest achievement over the past 38 years or so?

David
Well, my greatest achievement would have to be building this company from a one man operation myself to over 10,000 employees and I have to say, the thousands of success stories of my employees. I have made dozens of millionaires in my company. I have people with me that started back 25 years ago who are still with me.

One of my employees, my Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Jim Gissy, became a multi, multi millionaire being with me. He was so appreciative that about 3 years ago he called a meeting of all the Managers in the company. We had about 200 Managers at that time, and they brought their spouses or other half, and we had a big meeting for about 400 people in a ballroom of a Disney World Hotel which I owned at the time, and he made a motivational speech to everyone thanking them at Christmas time and he was thanking them for a great job they had all done, and then at the end of his speech he said “now I am going to do something that I am sure has never been done before”. He said “I am going to give my boss a present which I know he would not buy for himself” and then the Rocky music started playing and the walls opened up and in the next room underneath a big chandelier, was a brand new Rolls Royce Phantom that he gave me as a present. Just to show his appreciation of being so successful for being with me. I don’t think it has ever been done before. I have never heard of it.

Paul
Or ever again, probably.

David
I take a lot of pleasure … people ask me why I still work. I have achieved, more than achieved my goals. People ask why do I keep traveling all over the world looking at resorts and it really has to do with, I get a lot of pleasure out of these success stories of the people who work for me and for that reason, years ago I set up the Westgate Resorts Charitable Foundation and there are two parts to it. One part of the Foundation we help over 100 charities in the cities where we have resorts, and the other part of it is that we are a
safety net for our employees.

No matter what could happen to one of my employees, if they are not covered by insurance, or by some other agency, we are there for them. My employees know that and it is a good assurance that they have, they know that they will be taken care of. I treat everyone like family and they know that if something happened to them we are going to be there for them.
Just to give you an example, one of my employee’s sons was failing school because he had a hard time hearing. So the Foundation bought him hearing aids and now he is making straight A’s at school. Another example, another employee had a child that was very sickly because he had a hole in his heart and we
sent the child on an air-vac to a hospital in Cincinnati, a children’s hospital, and they operated on the child and today the child is doing fine. So we have helped a lot of people.

We have helped bury employees’ family members. Just whatever problems they have. During tornados we put them up. 3 years ago when we had hurricanes come through Central Florida, one right after the other, which was unusual because Central Florida had never had a hurricane before and we got 4 in one year, I actually had 1500 of my employees staying in my resorts free of charge until they could get their homes put back together. So they know we are for them and that is why they are very loyal and they look out for me
as well.

And of course we help all these other charities, children’s charities and I don’t think we ever met a charity we did not like and we are constantly being asked to donate. I donate a lot of money to this one hospital in Orlando and last week one of my employee’s son fell off his bike and hit his head on the kerb so hard, he had a helmet on, but it split the helmet in half and she was on her way to an emergency room with him, and who knows how long you wait in an emergency room, so I picked up the phone, I called the President of
the hospital. She was treated as if the Queen came there, they took her in, and they took care of him. So that is the kind of things we do. I am proud to be able to do it.

Paul
Absolutely. It is outstanding. In contrast, what have been your greatest challenges on the way?

David
Well, my whole life hasn’t been straight up. I have had a lot of external things happen through no fault of my own that have caused me to be like on a roller coaster through my business life.

In 1961 I was in the TV business, I was doing quite well, I had a new home, I had a brand new car. My first wife just had our first child and I got called to active duty in the air force. That was when they built the Berlin Wall and President Kennedy activated all the reservists. I never went overseas but I was on active duty stationed at an air force base and I came back a year later. When we got released I had no business, my home was foreclosed on and my car was repossessed. My credit was shot and I had to close up my business and I opened up another one and borrowed money. Within 6 months I was doing better than I had ever
done before in my life. I know business; I know how to grow a business and my wife had our second child.

Next I go to visit her in the hospital the day after the baby was born. This was July 11th 1963 and one of the customers came in and shot and killed my store manager. So I am out of business again. But I started again and I built up what I called a mini Wal-Mart and then what happened 5 years later, I am doing fantastic and the riots happened and I am out of business again.

Then I come to Orlando in 1970 with no money and I built up a huge business – by this time I am on my second wife and, unfortunately, we went through a very nasty divorce in 1997 where she basically said that she was going to destroy the company if I did not give her what she wanted and she had the power to do that because I needed her signature on every loan that we made and this business is built on borrowing money. So at that time I had 5,000 employees and rather than seeing those employees all out of work,
I gave into her and actually gave her more money than what the company was worth. All I had left was my ability to make money and so that was a challenge.

At the same time I had a renegade executive that decided to start his own competing timeshare company and told all of my top ranking managers I would be bankrupt in 6 months after paying that divorce settlement. So 26 of my managers all left with him and so that was a challenge but in the last 10 years we have had the greatest growth we have ever had in our company. So now everything I hope, all the challenges, are behind me and the only business challenges we have today are the increasing cost of construction,
the increasing cost of land, of sales costs, marketing costs, but we deal with them and we just have to tighten our belts and watch everything we do.

As a private company we can make decisions on a dime which helps us, so if things get out of line we can bring things back into line very fast. If I didn’t read the newspaper and watch TV, I would think that the United States is going through the greatest economic boom in history. We had a record year last year and we are already up 36% over that this year, so I owe it to a great team of employees, and also a great product that we produce that obviously people like. We only have one chance to make a good first impression and I think that the product we produce definitely makes a good first impression when they see it.

Paul
I read, when I was looking into Westgate before this interview, that back in 1996 you were a candidate for Entrepreneur of the Year. How did you do?

David
I became the Entrepreneur of the Year for Florida and went on to the National Contest in Palm Springs, California and I came second in the whole country and was very proud of that. I lost out to a gentleman that had big office parks all over the country and I thought, what am I doing here? I didn’t feel bad about not winning because this guy was so far larger than me, and to come in second in a country the size of the United States…but I did win in Florida and, in fact, they asked me to be the MC of the next Entrepreneur the following year.

Paul
What do you contribute your huge success to and what pieces of advice could you give to the latest generation of entrepreneurs?

David
There are 6 steps to success and I like to tell people that if they follow those 6 steps they can be successful. I didn’t have any prior …, I didn’t graduate from Harvard or the Wharton School of Business… The first step I think is get a good education. My education was more on the street, I have streets smarts where I don’t have book smarts, but whatever business that I ever got into I learnt as much as I could about that business and became, what I call an ‘expert’ in that business and when people are considered experts other people seek them out and you get lots of opportunities, so my first bit of advice – get a good education.

My second would be – don’t be afraid to work hard. If you want to have a 9-5 job, 5 days a week and there is nothing wrong with it as most of the world do that, except in England where they work only 37 hours a week and 4 weeks vacation every year, which I just found out when I was over there… Do not be afraid to work hard. You have got to do whatever it takes to get the job done and be the first one in and the last one to leave basically.

The third thing that you have to have is you have to be lucky. But there are ways of being lucky. You have heard the saying “the harder you work the luckier you get” and there is a lot of truth to that. It is not just sitting in your living room in front of the TV hoping the Brinks plane is going to drop a bundle of money out of the sky into your lap, it is getting off your tail and getting out and doing things and going to meetings, meeting people and going to charitable events. It is being at the right place at the right time. And that is what being lucky is and that is why I go to these seminars, that is why I travel around the world, that is why I
meet thousands of people every year and this is where your opportunities are, this is where your chance of hearing about a situation will come in.

The fourth one is being different. You have to be different. There will be a 2 lane road and you will see people all pull up in 1 lane and the other lane is empty. People typically are like sheep and they follow the leader. You have got to be the leader. Just because it has always been done this way, you don’t just keep doing it the same way. They say insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results. You have to be different. If you are working in a company you have to toot your own horn.

I have a lot of employees who go to work every day and they do a good job and I don’t know about it because they don’t tell me about it and I don’t hear about it. People think being humble is the way. Sheep are humble, you have to stand out, and you have to make yourself known. If you do a good job let everybody in the world know about it. Eventually it will get to the boss and you will get a promotion, you will get a raise and so be different. Don’t follow the same mode. Basically 99% of the population is probably not happy or not making money or in poverty and maybe that top 1% is where all the successful people are and that is because if you look at them, they are all different, like the Donald Trumps, they are kind of arrogant, and self-centered, but still a lot of that is what it takes. Maybe you don’t have to be a real arse, I like to think I am a nice guy, who treats his employees good but still I don’t consider myself one of the crowd.

The next thing, and this is probably the most important thing between being successful and being not successful, is that you have to be willing to take a risk. Every time I went into business I laid everything I had on the line. I was willing to take the risk, you cannot play it safe. It is like in sports. The guys that play it safe don’t score the goals, don’t score the touch downs, you have to take a risk, you have to be willing to play it on the line.
But there is calculated risk. If you do all the things I just told you about, you can narrow the risk a lot because you know what you are doing. I might say take a risk and you might take everything you have got and take it to the casino. That is not the sort of risk I am talking about, I am talking about risk where you know you have done your homework and now you are ready. You have confidence in yourself and you are ready to lay it all on the line.

The final thing, and I guess the most important of all, is never quit. You have to be like a bulldog, you have to sink your teeth into whatever you are doing and just don’t let go. Never quit. Too many people quit too soon and they never make it and you know what, 5 out of the 6 won’t do it. Look at my story, I could have quit so many times when I lost my three businesses. I could have found reasons to go home and pull the covers over my head but I didn’t. In the timeshare business I almost went broke a year after I started. I did
my homework but I had no idea how much money it was going to take to fund this very hungry animal and I ran out of money and interest rates went to 21% and they had oil embargoes, everything happened and yet I didn’t quit, I just kept plodding ahead until I became successful.

Paul
Very valuable advice. Looking forward now. How do you think the timeshare industry will evolve over the next 10 years, or the timeshare product?

David
Well the product I think is pretty close, at least my product is pretty close to where it is going to be. I can see maybe it getting a little larger, maybe instead of the standard being 2 bedrooms it might go to 3 bedrooms but the quality I think is pretty close to where it is, but I think the industry is in its infancy, I think it is going to continue to grow for ever. I think the fact that every major hotel chain in the world is now in the timeshare business shows that they know that the trend is for people to stay in condos not in hotel rooms and even the hotel rooms are getting larger, so the days of a husband and wife vacationing in a hotel or motel with 2 double beds and a little TV on the dresser and one little bathroom are over. When people vacation like that, they get home and are ready for another vacation.

Since 9/11 the whole thinking of the population has changed to where people used to say “well we are going to live for ever and some day we might think about owning a timeshare”. Now it is “we don’t know how long we have, if we can afford it, we are going to go first class …” and that is in spite of all the terrible economy right now, that is why they tell me I have not experienced it myself. We are up 36% so far this year and we had a record year last year and we have never had a down year. From the day we started in timeshare 25
years or 27 years, 26 years ago now, we have been up every year except in 1997 when I went through a divorce and we had a flat year then. It is pretty hard to grow when your wife takes all your money. Ever since then we have been straight up and the timeshare industry as a whole has also been straight up every year since it started. They are growing about 15% a year, we are growing about 25% per year and this year we might even be better.

Paul
And finally, can you reveal any exclusives about upcoming projects?

David
Well I will tell you that we would like to grow 2 or 3 resorts a year. We have slowed down a little bit because the Las Vegas resort is so big. The Planet Hollywood Towers by Westgate, which is its official name, is costing $1.2 billion and in addition to that at our other 27 resorts we have a $1 billion in construction going on right now, so we are growing internally at every resort. We are looking at Mexico, we are looking at Dubai, we are looking at California. We are doing a resort in Anaheim, California looking down on Disneyland, and we are looking at Hawaii and we are looking at the Caribbean. But I cannot come out and tell you exactly where it is because we are the leaders in the industry and as soon as Westgate says we are looking at a certain area, all my competitors will try to get there before I do.

Generally those are the places we are looking. We are looking at several locations on theEast Coast of the United States, and we are building a big base out in the west part of the United States so from that we can jump off to Mexico, Hawaii, places like that. Maybe even Canada. It is a big country, a big world, a lot of great opportunities waiting.

I am very impressed with what Dubai is doing; it is just such a long distance to go. We are probably going to, if we do something here, look for a joint venture partner that is here, that we can work with and eliminate the learning process. You know everything is built on connections so going to a new area, not knowing the terrain, not knowing the people is rather short cutting it a little bit, make less money but have less work and
less aggravation. We have built up a most incredible expertise in the industry. We have the best trained. Every standard that the industry standards, we exceed, every one of them.

This is because we have people that have been with us for years, we have gone through all the mediocre ones and they have gone and what we have left over are the best of the best. So our standards are very high. I anticipate us growing quite rapidly because we have that infrastructure already in place and we keep getting better and we keep coming up with new programs and, again, a lot of it is because we are a private company.
I like to say that every morning when I shave I have a Board of Directors meeting, so we can make instant decisions, whereas our competitors, they have to have Board Meetings and they cannot turn on the dime like we do and this is a business where it is very vital to be able to make instant decisions and that is basically what I do every day, I put out fires and I make decisions that make us more efficient.

Paul
David, thank you very much for giving us your time for this interview.

David
That is all? I was just getting started!

Paul
Yes, that’s it.

David
Well let me just add one thing. Anyone that is thinking about getting into the timeshare business, whether it be a developer or a person that is just starting their career in the business, I cannot think of a better industry in the world today than the timeshare industry. As I said, what other industry can you name that has gone straight up year after year after year. You cannot say that about the automobile industry, you cannot say that about the airline industry, so it is a great place for people to start out their futures
and it is a great place for developers to get involved.

It is very expensive to get into though. It is not cheap, you have to have a lot of money or you have to have a lot of credit. The nature of the business is the people will buy and put down a small deposit that does not even cover your sales or marketing or construction and then they finance it, in our case over a 10 year period, so we have to lay out a lot of money and we get it back over 10 years. We are more like a bank than a real estate company. We basically service mortgages and collect payments and charge interest and all that just like banks do.

This industry is made up of so many components. It is not just selling, it is servicing mortgages, it is construction, it is management, you not only are managing the sales effort, it is managing the resorts, it is decorating, it is finding the land, it is maintenance, it is like you are in the hotel business, you are in the resort business, you are in the people business, you are in the banking business, you wear a lot of hats.

Purchasing – we spend a couple of hundred million dollars a year just on purchasing products. Whatever money we make we earn it. But it is a great industry and I am more than happy to be in it. I have done quite well in it, and I am looking towards a future. I plan to die at my desk.

I retired when I was 50 years old; I finally said “I am retiring”. I have achieved everything I want to achieve. That lasted for 6 months. My biggest failure in life – I failed retirement and I said never again, so now I tell everybody if you see me dead at my desk, just push me aside and get someone else in there to run the company. My mother is 99 years old so I know I have good genes and my mother, until 2 weeks ago worked 4 days a week. So you are supposed to outlive your parents, so hopefully I will be the first 120 year old timeshare developer.

Paul
So I will look forward to interviewing you again then, then?

David
On my 100th birthday you can come in and interview me again and ask me what my goals are – save the cover we will do something with it!

Get Some Sleep!

A look at the causes of Sleep Debt by Wellness Rejuvenation Rooms

Many people underestimate the value of sleep. Like proper nutrition & exercise, sleep is vital to your health. Sleep is the time when the brain heals the body. If you can energize the brain and body during sleep, you will accomplish far more than simply trying to energize during the day.

Awakening refreshed and rested in the morning makes a huge impact on our day. It affects our mood, clarity of mind, and general sense of well being. To feel rested in the morning requires us to fall into the deeper delta cycle of sleep the night before. These are the Delta and REM phases which a lot of us do not reach consistently. Healthy sleep cycles have such an effect on our day to day energy levels, because our body uses that time to restore and regenerate itself. The mind and body do not shut down during sleep. Sleep allows the brain to consolidate the day’s learning into memory and improves the ability to learn repetitive skills; the body does maintenance work, replacing old cells with new ones and reenergizing organs and muscles. This is when our immune system is working at ensuring the body is retuned and able to function at its optimum. The “work” that sleep does during the night is vital for you to function optimally during the day. Getting the amount of sleep you need and getting a combination of light and deep sleep allow the most restorative benefit. Though individual sleep requirements vary depending on age, physical activity levels and general health, sleep experts recommend at least eight hours of quality sleep a night in order to function properly.

In deep stages of sleep, neurotoxins are neutralized, cells divide, tissues synthesize and growth hormones are released into the body. Our bodies are biologically programmed to what is called a circadian rhythm. The natural cycle of sleep and wakefulness is linked to the body’s temperature, inducing sleep at higher temperatures, and maintaining alertness at lower temperatures.

During a natural cycle of sleep, we pass through 5 stages: Beta – Alpha – Theta – Delta – REM
1. Beta – brain is still awake and relatively alert. As body begins to drift off we reach the second stage called alpha.

2. Alpha – our brain waves slow down to produce a relaxed state. We begin to close our eyes, reduce our heart rate and calm our breathing down to a slower pace.

3. Thelta – our brain continues its slow wave patterns. Sleep spindles begin to appear, giving the sensation of slipping into sleep. This is the moment when many people feel themselves drifting off, only to be startled back into wakefulness.

4. Delta – dreaming is experienced (sometimes sleep talking and sleepwalking) as body tries to rid itself of the clutter it has collected in the mind all day. R.E.M stage will lengthen throughout the night each time the cycle repeats itself. In dream time brain activity will increase, creating stronger heart beat and rapid eye movement.

5. REM – At the last stage of sleep you will be resting deeply in the delta level, a dreamless sleep. All your muscles will relax and your body will repair and restore itself. The brain repairs the physical components of the body (bones, muscles, organs, etc.) during phases 1-4. Mental repair doesn’t occur until Stage 5 (REM) sleep. We only get to REM sleep if the previous stages have been completed uninterrupted. If we are too hot /
cold, uncomfortable, etc., our sleep cycles are disrupted and we will never reach REM sleep.

Sleep Disorders
Unfortunately many people in today’s fast paced world experience sleep cycle disruptions on a regular basis. In fact, theNational Commission on Sleep Disorders has estimated that 40 million Americans have chronic sleep disorders. The effects of poor sleep cycles on our health is enormous, causing many problems like weak immune systems, fatigue, depression, mood swings, weaker muscles, memory lapses and anxiety attacks. A 1999 study (University of Chicago Medical Centre) shows that sleep deprivation severely affects the human body’s ability to metabolize glucose can lead to earlystage diabetes.

The most common reasons why we aren’t sleeping are temperature fluctuations or being a different temperature to a bed-partner, mental stress, discomfort and physical stress, environment, diet and lack of regular exercise.

The WRR Sleep System is designed and engineered to combine sleep and healing technologies to promote the brain to heal the body as we sleep. Our bodies are intimately connected to two main energy sources – the earth and the sun. The magnetic field of the earth and that of our bodies both vibrate at the same frequency (2-17 cycles per second). Our bodies emit the same heat energy (far infrared) as the sun. Without the sun, all life would die within a couple of weeks. Because of the way we are interfering with our environment, we
now need artificial sources of magnetic and far infrared energy. All electrical appliances “degauss” (demagnetize) the human body, making it weak and susceptible to harmful energies in our environment.

The WRR Sleep system features a unique technology to replicate the earth’s natural magnetic field. This is combined with features that provide optimum breathability and a passive massage effect that helps to soothe and relax the body. If you’re suffering from sleepless nights or waking in the morning feeling fatigued there are a number of ways that the WRR products can help to remedy the problem.

Mattress – Ultra Kenkopad
Rubberthane is a patented technology that removes moisture. We can lose up to 2 litres of water a night which creates wet spots that turn into hot / cold spots and cause people to toss and turn. Rubberthane removes moisture so that the temperature is regulated. The mattress overlay of nodules is like an egg-shell structure which provides a gentle, passive massage throughout night. These nodules assist in massaging lymph nodes to help drain toxins from the body, it assists blood flow and helps to decrease tension and
increase comfort as there are less pressure points thereby reducing the amount of tossing and turning.

Inside the mattress there are 326 strategically placed magnets, giving the body complete coverage, excluding the head. These magnets assists the bodies’ circulation and helps to calm and release tension in the muscles. Electrical currents created by the magnets interrupt the transmission of pain signals in the central nervous system which allows the body to enter balance restoration mode instead of pain management mode. Sleep is the most important time to use magnets because this is when repair of the brain / body occurs. REM sleep usually lasts 50 – 70 minutes. With the sleep system, it lasts 80 – 110 minutes,
providing a significantly longer time to repair and regenerate the brain.

Duvets – Kenko Dream Comforters
Far-infrared technology is used to regulate sleep temperature through-out the night. A combination of 26 ceramics are used to artificially produce Far-infrared. It absorbs energy and reflects it back. If it is cold it reflects heat back, if it is warm or hot it absorbs the heat. Far-infrared causes cells to vibrate / resonate and therefore release toxins – combined with the nodules massaging the lymph nodes this is a powerful way to assist the body in detoxing every night.

Ionic Comfort Technology is also incorporated. This is created through inclusion of special stone tourmaline. Tourmaline generates negative ions when exposed to the heat and pressure of the body upon the stone. Negative ions are molecules with an extra electron. Negative ions in the blood stream accelerate the delivery of oxygen to our cells and tissues. Although negative ions are plentiful in nature (occurring at almost twice the amount near the ocean or waterfalls as normal), modern environments are lacking these natural energetic boosters.

Kenko Dream Deluxe Pillow:
This deluxe pillow is an orthopaedic design and it supports and cradles the head and helps alignment of the body. It is endorsed by World Federation of Chiropractors. The pillow uses the same technologies as the mattress and duvet – Rubberthane, Magnets and Far-infrared.

Wellness Rejuvenation Rooms recently began to introduce these products to timeshare resorts around the world and have already secured several clients. In addition to the wellness factor, for timeshare resorts / hotels this is also a room upgrade and source of additional revenue streams.

For more information and a brochure contact: Kathryn on +353 87 2219692 or email Kathryn@wellnessrejuvenationrooms.com

An Opportunity To Live In An Authentic Remnant Of Medieval Tuscany

Visionary architect and engineer Fulvio Di Rosa restored Borgo di Vagli, a 14th century hamlet near Cortona, Italy, to create a unique fractional-ownership community for those who wish to experience Tuscany at its most authentic.

Di Rosa spent 10 years meticulously refurbishing Borgo di Vagli’s thick stone walls, wood-beamed ceilings and cotto-tile-and-stone floors to resurrect its medieval look and ambiance. He furnished each of its 10 one- or two-bedroom residences with antique rural Tuscan furniture, along with tableware, pottery and Busatti linens made by local craftsmen. Along the way he added contemporary amenities such as state-of-the-art plumbing, fully equipped kitchens, high-speed Internet access and flat-screen TVs, so that its 21st Century owners can enjoy modern comforts while stepping into the Tuscan past.

Borgo di Vagli, which means “Between the Valleys,” is nestled on 32 acres of steep terraced hillside studded with olive, fruit and oak trees. In medieval times the hamlet was home to the families of farmers, woodcutters and shepherds who worked in the surrounding rolling green countryside. Today, each restored residence has a vine-and-wisteria-covered pergola from which owners can enjoy the view below of the Niccone Valley and its 10th Century Pierle Castle. The view is even more dramatic from the highest terrace of the hamlet, where owners can cool off in the 66-footlong heated outdoor swimming pool or set off on miles of private walking and hiking paths that wind through woods and pastures, past rustic farms and old abandoned monasteries, revealing glimpses of Lake Trasimeno in the distance.

Come evening, owners can dine in “I’cche c’è c’è,” which translates as “whatever there is to eat.” This rustic trattoria is charmingly set in Borgo di Vagli’s medieval guard tower and is lit only with candles. Here, Dina, an inspiring cook whose family was the last to leave Borgo di Vagli 30 years ago, prepares traditional Tuscan dishes over an open wood fire. They are accompanied by a selection of Italy’s finest wines. Owners who wish
to dine at home can pick up fresh local produce, cheese, salumi, bread, pasta, wine and olive oil – including oil made from the hamlet’s own olives – in the adjacent mini-market, and cook in their residences’ fully
equipped kitchens.

Owners have access to an onsite concierge who can arrange everything from winery tastings, mountain bike rentals and golftee times, to excursions to nearby historic Tuscan towns such as Cortona, Arezzo, Pienza, Montalcino, Montepulciano, Perugia, Siena and Florence.

Fulvio Di Rosa, who worked with the renowned Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer, settled in Tuscany in 1984 and has been restoring its ancient ruins and abandoned properties every since. Among his restoration projects have been Renaiolo, a 17th century group of farm houses, Sogna, a 12th century rural village near Siena; the elegant 14th Century Palazzo Benci-Ulivelli in Montepulciano; and Carbonaia, a 10th Century convent. Fulvio is also known for his restoration of Casa Fonte delle Foglie, a 13th Century ruin that is now the hilltop retreat, in Cortona, of Francis Mayes, the best-selling author of “Under the Tuscan Sun.”

Fulvio’s goal in each restoration project has been to preserve the spirit and soul of the ruins. His philosophy is based on respect for the remains and their historical and cultural origins. “I derive immense satisfaction from working with skilled local craftsmen and original local materials,” he says. “I am passionate about Tuscany and about preserving its beauty, culture, lifestyle, architecture and heritage.”

In September, 2007, Borgo di Vagli was named “Best Redevelopment, Multiple Units” at the International Property Awards in conjunction with CNBC. In November, 2007, it won “Overall Best Redevelopment” at
CNBC’s “World’s Best International Property Awards.”

After doing restorations of Tuscan properties that sold to individual owners, Fulvio realized that increasing demand combined with the limited supply of available ruins to renovate meant that prices would skyrocket.
As a result, after restoring the hamlet of Borgo di Vagli he converted it into a fractional-ownership project – the first in Tuscany. “I believe fractional ownership is a natural progression and a wonderful way to enjoy
Tuscany without the normal financial and maintenance responsibilities that normally go along with home ownership,” he says.

At Borgo di Vagli, each of the 10 residences is divided among 10 ownerships. The fractional ownerships come at a price that – even with the weak dollar against the Euro – will not break the bank.
Ownerships offer unlimited lifetime usage and begin at €60,000 for a one-bedroom residence and at €92,500 for a two-bedroom residence. Annual club fees cover operating costs, including personnel,
management, utilities, property taxes, insurance and replacement.

The only additional costs are daily housekeeping and a check-out fee upon each stay’s departure. Since Borgo di Vagli is a member of The Registry Collection, owners can exchange their holiday privileges with
members of fractional communities in other destinations worldwide including South Africa, British Columbia, Mexico and the Canary Islands.

For more information, please visit www.clubborgodivagli.com.