Interval International, a leading global provider of vacation services and an operating segment of Interval Leisure Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: IILG), announced that Anna Grand Hotel Vacation Club in Hungary has joined its vacation exchange network. The 200-year-old hotel is set in the centre of Balatonfüred, a historic town on the northern shore of Lake Balaton — so large that it is often referred to as the “Hungarian Sea.”

The classicist-style property has been renovated to provide members and guests both old-world elegance and contemporary amenities that include a gourmet restaurant, a winery, and 13,000 square foot (1,200 square metre) wellness area with steam baths, hot tubs, and saunas. Guests can also enjoy two indoor swimming pools, an outdoor pool, and a glass-domed spa.

“The Anna Grand Hotel has played an important role in the history of this area and we are very pleased to welcome such a venerable property to our quality resort network,” said Joachim Mezger, Interval International’s regional director, Central and Eastern Europe.

“Providing a high standard of quality in product and service is extremely important to us,” said Aaron Lengyel, managing director of the Anna Grand Hotel Vacation Club. “We are convinced that vacation ownership at Anna Grand will grow in combination with Interval’s array of member benefits, flexibility of options, and level of service, which align very well with our business concept.”

The area of Balatonfüred offers visitors beautiful scenery, including the volcanic mountains of Badacsony, restaurants and boutiques, and local wine made of Olaszrizling grapes that border the surrounding area. With the close proximity of Lake Balaton, there are a number of water sports available. Day trips to some 24 local wineries and further afield to Budapest, Vienna, and the lower mountains of Austria also can be made.

About Interval International
Interval International operates membership programs for vacation owners and provides value-added services to its developer clients worldwide. Based in Miami, Florida, the company has been a pioneer and innovator in serving the vacation ownership market for more than 33 years. Today, Interval has an exchange network of more than 2,500 resorts in over 75 countries and offers its resort clients and approximately 2 million member families high-quality products and programs through offices in 26 cities in 16 countries. Interval is an operating segment of Interval Leisure Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: IILG), a leading global provider of membership and leisure services to the vacation industry.

Fast response to changing trends is at the core of Club La Costa Resorts & Hotels’ ability to snatch success even from the jaws of the worst global recession to affect the holiday industry.

Recently, the company moved to close down four of its five off-site sales operations in the UK, due to the country’s continuing economic battering, to refocus on new programmes aimed at increased Fly-Buy/SIV activity.

CLC’s prestigious sales and exhibition centre in London’s best postcode, the West End, continues to operate, but a decision was taken to shut its other UK off-sites as their effectiveness in the current financial climate was under question.

“Right now, the best thing we can do is offer great price family holidays where customers can come and sample the quality and value of the Club La Costa experience, and we are doing this through a number of channels,” said chairman Roy Peires.

Club La Costa’s Essex-based marketing operation is at the centre of a flurry of Fly Buy activity handling data from a mix of sources, such as shopping centre booths, emailings and websites, while independent marketers have promotions at airports both in the UK and Spain.

UK off sites have been integral to the company’s success across its 25-year history, resuming in 1991 after a break in the 1980s. However, the continuing poor shape of the UK economy, have led to a major sales rethink.

About Club La Costa Resorts & Hotels
• Club La Costa Resorts & Hotels is widely regarded as a leading provider of holiday products in Europe.
• Founded in 1984, the company has more than 50,000 members and 23 wholly owned resorts in England, Scotland, mainland Spain, Tenerife and Austria.
• CLC Estates is the company’s successful real estate business.
• Club La Costa also has its own in-house travel agency and resort management arm.
• Developing a mixed use model of whole ownership homes – offered with a leaseback programme – and timeshare resorts, Club La Costa has expanded into Turkey during 2009, opening a new resort with a second planned for 2010.
• In 2007, Club La Costa launched its unique Yacht Club with sailings in the Red Sea, Turkey, around Mallorca and, planned for next year, Greece.
• Across its operations, Club La Costa employs more than 2,000 employees.
• The company is a founding member of the Organisation for Timeshare in Europe, now the Resort Development Organisation (RDO) of which it continues to be a key supporter.
• The Smile Foundation, a charitable organisation which Club La Costa helped found and helps raise funds for, and the private Roy Peires Foundation, help many needy causes. 
• Club La Costa prides itself on impeccable levels of service, innovative products, a pioneering spirit and the outstanding quality of its resorts, which occupy top locations and offer a wide range of excellent facilities.

For further information please visit www.clublacosta.com

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Italian Alps Resort Joins The Quality Exchange Network

Interval International, a leading global provider of vacation services, has announced the affiliation of the Domina Golf and Ski Resort in Tarvisio. Situated in the Italian Alps in the northeast region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, the resort is on the borders of Italy, Austria and Slovenia.

“This mountain resort will offer both 60 kilometres of alpine and cross country ski trails and an 18-hole golf course that overlooks the resort,” said Darren Ettridge, Interval International’s vice president for resorts sales and service for Europe, Middle East and Africa. “For those wanting a more relaxing experience, there will be a wellness centre where our members will be able to enjoy a variety of treatments.”

The resort is due to be completed in the summer of 2010 and amenities planned for the  complex will consist of a restaurant, bar, spa, indoor pool and a sauna. Activities close by include horseback riding, mountain biking, climbing, tennis, fishing and paragliding. During the winter, visitors can enjoy horse-drawn sleigh rides and skiers can explore countless downhill and cross-countrytrails. In summer, Lake Raibl offers many water sports, including windsurfing, canoeing, rafting, hydrospeed and kayaking. The golf course has wide greens and spacious fairways and is surrounded by forest, which could result in challenging rounds for players.

“We decided to affiliate Domina Golf & Ski Tarvisio with Interval, not only to enhance the marketing tools available for our sales team at the point of sale but also because of its longstanding reputation for supporting its clients’ goals,” said Dr. Nicola Cighetti, managing director of Domina Vacanze. “

Set in a backdrop of snow-capped mountains, forests, lakes, valleys and sunny green lands, the town of Tarvisio attracts many tourists for skiing and snowboarding. It was host to the 2003 Winter Universiade, an international multi-sport event organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation, and was the site of the Women’s 2007 Alpine Skiing World Cup.

About Interval International
Interval International operates membership programs for vacation owners and provides value-added services to its developer clients worldwide. Based in Miami, Florida, the company has been a pioneer and innovator in serving the vacation ownership market for more than 33 years. Today, Interval has a network of over 2,400 resorts in more than 75 countries and offers its resort clients and approximately 2 million member families high-quality products and programs through offices in 26 cities in 16 countries.Interval is an operating segment of Interval Leisure Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: IILG), a leading global provider of membership and leisure services to the vacation industry.

About Domina Vacanze S.p.A
Domina Vacanze S.p.A. was founded in 1988 to offer a wide range of tourism services, chiefly hotel co-ownership and the management of directly owned and third-party hotels. After more than 20 years in business, Domina Vacanze has reached record sales, becoming a top Italian leader in the field of hotel co-ownership with 13 properties.Domina Home is the prestigious brand of Domina Vacanze hotels.