Perspective Magazine – November 2009

EDITION HIGHLIGHTS Convention Preview: The FORUM Conference A-List Interview: Denis Ebrill, Sol Melia Vacation Club Convention Review: Timeshare Stripped Bare Convention Review: Luxury Markets Symposium Convention Review: Vacation Ownership Investment Conference Feature: Hurstfield Leads H10 To Shared Ownership Success Feature: Kilimanjaro Climb In Aid Of Ingane Yami Children’s Village Feature: Regaining Sales Momentum In The Affluent Market Feature: Owners Perspective Magazine Reader Profile Feature: Turkey Set For Tourism Feature: The Pioneers Of Timesharing, Part II: Maturation And Globalization Feature: Timeshare Branding Strategies During A Down Economy View Digital Page-Turn Edition Online Download PDF Version To Hard Drive

Once again, it’s my pleasure and privilege to welcome you to this edition of Perspective magazine. As I’m sure you know, the past few months have been busy with one industry conference after another. Perhaps one connecting thought among all of them – whether explicitly stated or quietly assumed – is that the shared-ownership industry is back on track. Whether we are due to return to the splendor of our former glory days or accept a so called new normal is up for debate. But the bottom line is that our industry on the whole always emerges stronger after passing through a crisis.

As I’ve attended events and spoken with industry professionals on the phone, I’m glad to hear normal topics of conversation: sales, marketing, operations – and future plans. I’m happy to be finished, at least for the time being, with talk of total gloom and doom, economic woes and the end of the
world as we know it. But as much as we’d all like it to be, we’re not quite there yet. We still have a few more steps to take, a few more issues to address. In this issue, we deal with the lingering effects of the credit issues of the past year.

In Regaining Sales Momentum in the Affluent Market, guest writer Ron Kurtz, president of the American Affluence Center, helps us understand where shared ownership should be focused as he details the size and composition of the affluent market. Andy Cingolani, an experienced brand manager, interviews executives at Westgate Resorts and Wyndham Vacation Ownership for his article Timeshare Branding Strategies During a Down Economy. And you’ll find out about a great advertising tool for building up
your business in the Owners Perspective Reader Profile.

And, as usual, we have several reviews of the aforementioned industry conferences. In this issue we take you to Timeshare Stripped Bare (what a provocative title DAE chose!), the Luxury Markets Symposium and the Vacation Ownership Investment Conference – plus a look at our very own event being held in early December, The FORUM.

And I’ve gotten this far without even mentioning our cover story, Hurstfield Leads H10 Resorts to Shared Ownership Success, which details how Bert Hurstfield, formerly of president of the vacation club at Original Resorts, guided H10 hotels into the vacation ownership industry. Also, this edition’s
A List interview is with Denis Ebrill, executive vice president of Sol Meliá Vacation Club, who talks of SMVC’s future plans. It’s certainly a full issue. I hope you enjoy reading it.