RCI, the worldwide leader in vacation exchange, and Grand Pacific Resorts, a premier vacation ownership company, announced they have renewed their long-standing affiliation.

“For over 16 years Grand Pacific Resorts has been a very valued partner of RCI, offering quality vacation experiences to our 3.8 million subscribing members,” said Geoff Ballotti, CEO, RCI. “This renewal of our affiliation allows us to continue our great working relationship and offer both RCI members and Grand Pacific Resort owners the vacation experiences they desire.”

Headquartered in Carlsbad, California, Grand Pacific Resorts has eleven RCI-affiliated resorts in their portfolio and more than 45,000 owners.

“Through the years, Grand Pacific Resorts and RCI have enjoyed a great relationship,” said David Brown, co-president of Grand Pacific Resorts. “We’re glad to continue our affiliation and look forward to successful collaborations in the years to come.”

Co-president Tim Stripe added, “RCI increases the benefit of our owners’ vacation purchase as they may exchange for literally thousands of destinations around the world.  In return we see that Grand Pacific Resorts are among RCI’s most popular and often requested group of resorts. It is clearly a win-win affiliation.”

About RCI
RCI is part of Wyndham Exchange and Rentals, the worldwide leader in vacation exchange and the European leader in vacation rentals, with exclusive access for specified periods to more than 65,000 vacation properties in approximately 100 countries. Wyndham Exchange and Rentals is comprised of vacation exchange, including RCI, the worldwide leader in vacation exchange and provider of travel services to businesses and consumers and The Registry Collection program, the world’s largest luxury exchange program; vacation rentals, including Endless Vacation Rentals, Landal GreenParks®, Novasol®, and other renowned vacation rental brands, through which vacationers can rent a variety of property types, from city apartments to villas; and NorthCourse® Leisure Real Estate Solutions, a research and consultancy firm providing advisory services to the global leisure real estate industry. Wyndham Worldwide Corporation is one of the world’s largest hospitality companies with leading brands in lodging franchising, vacation ownership, vacation rentals and vacation exchange.

For additional information visit www.wyndhamer.com or the media center of www.wyndhamworldwide.com.

About Grand Pacific Resorts
Grand Pacific Resorts is one of the oldest and largest vacation ownership companies based in California. With over 45,000 owner-families Grand Pacific Resort Management services fourteen properties, including the recently-developed Grand Pacific MarBrisa Resort in Carlsbad, California. For more information visit www.grandpacificresortservices.com  or call Sharrie McIntosh at 760-431-8500.

Regional Director of Operations to Oversee of Best Practices Initiatives

Grand Pacific Resort Management,  a privately owned timeshare vacation ownership management company located in Carlsbad, CA has announced that Doreen Bechard,  Regional Director of Operations will take on the important responsibility of leading the Sourcing of Best Practices and Implementation via Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the company.  This will include oversight of all monthly Best Practices Forums: Maintenance, Housekeeping, Safety, Activities, Front Office, and the Going Green-Sustainability initiative at all resorts.   Doreen also takes on the leadership of Southern California Beach Club in addition to her current portfolio of Alii Kai, Villa L’Auberge, San Clemente, and Carlsbad Inn.

Doreen Bechard has been with Grand Pacific Resort Services since 1999.  She was the Regional Vice President- Pacific Region with Resort Condominiums International (RCI), and has over twenty years of timeshare experience.  Doreen was recently awarded one of Grand Pacific Resort Management’s Leadership Award of the Year during a company-wide Celebration of Excellence.

According to Nigel Lobo, Vice President of Operations “We are excited to have Doreen lead this important initiative across our company.  Our goal is to build strong networking opportunities across our resorts with sharing of best practices, streamlining of processes via SOPs, and establish a support network of peers.  The Best Practices and SOPs will be posted on our Grand Pacific Resorts intranet site.  This site will be a live, thriving resource that will be readily available to all Grand Pacific Resort associates.”

Grand Pacific Resort Management is one of the oldest and largest vacation ownership companies based in California. Servicing over 45,000 owner-families every year, it manages over 1,000 units in California and Hawaii,

For more information visit www.gprmgt.com or call Sharrie McIntosh at 760-431-8500.

Guy Hall

Grand Pacific Resort Management,  a privately owned timeshare vacation ownership management company located in Carlsbad, CA has promoted Guy Hall to the newly created position of Area Manager.  In this new role, Guy will be responsible for the day to day operations at Carlsbad Seapointe Resort as well as have direct oversight of Coronado Beach Resort. 

According to Nigel Lobo, Vice President of Grand Pacific Resort Management, “As General Manager at Carlsbad Seapointe, Guy has taken the resort to new heights, both in occupancy as well as guest satisfaction, once again earning RCI Gold Crown status for the resort. 

He has mentored and developed a solid team with the ’all hands on deck’ resort credo the Seapointe team developed and has consistently implemented creative programs and activities.”

In addition to new role as Area Manager, Guy Hall will play a key role in identifying acquisition and management contract candidates to add to Grand Pacific Resort Management portfolio of resorts. 

Grand Pacific Resort Management is one of the oldest and largest vacation ownership companies based in California. Servicing over 45,000 owner-families every year, it manages over 1,000 units in California and Hawaii. For more information visit www.gprmgt.com  or call Sharrie McIntosh at 760-431-8500.

Grand Pacific Resort Management, a privately owned timeshare and vacation ownership management company located in Carlsbad, CA has announced the appointment of a number of new hires to its management staff.  According to Nigel Lobo, Vice President of Operations, “we are streamlining our operations and the addition of significant key players to our team is assuredly the one way to bring us to the next level.”

At Grand Pacific Palisades Resort & Hotel, Craig Carbonniere has been brought on board as Director of Services.  He will have direct responsibility for the Front Office, Valet & Bell, Concierge & Gift Shop, Fitness & Activities and Kid’s Club departments. Most recently, Craig was with Interstate Hotels & Resorts at the Aloft Ontario-Rancho Cucamonga where he was the opening Director of Operations.  Prior to that he was the Director of Front Office at Carousel in Anaheim and also worked for the Walt Disney Company as the Guest Services Manager in Anaheim, CA.  Craig’s expertise lies in operations with a passion for service and a hands-on management style.

At Carlsbad Inn Beach Resort the company has named Michael Connolly as the new Assistant General Manager. His most recent position was Executive Assistant Manager at the Hyatt Valencia, and he brings with him 18 years of Hyatt experience, working through six different Hyatt hotels in a variety of positions.   He is charged with creating new efficiencies, developing staff, improving customer service and driving consistency across the resort.  He will also be deeply involved with the planning and deployment of upcoming Carlsbad Inn renovations.

The Inventory Management and Owner Services division has appointed Kelly Brady-Snyder to the newly created position of Owner Vacation Manager.  According to Lobo, “the primary responsibility for Kelly would be to further the company’s mission to put Owners on Vacation and dramatically increase their satisfaction levels with timeshare vacation ownership.  Kelly was most recently Director of Services at Grand Pacific Palisades Resort & Hotel, where she implemented the company’s Service Culture and Training.  In her new role, Kelly will now have an opportunity to take the satisfaction levels of our owner base to new heights!”

Grand Pacific Resort Management is one of the oldest and largest vacation ownership companies based in California. Servicing over 45,000 owner-families every year, it manages over 1,000 units in California and Hawaii. For more information visit www.grandpacificresorts.com  or call Sharrie McIntosh at 760-431-8500

Grand Pacific Palisades Resort (Carlsbad, CA)  will be the site of North County’s Pink Elephants Nannies’ “Hope for Children of Haiti” charity event on January 30th.  This family-friendly event will raise funds, clothes, shoes and baby products to send to the earthquake victims in Haiti. The fundraiser will be held from 2-5pm, and will include a silent auction, fashion show, hors d’oeuvres, desserts, wine and entertainment for all ages.  DJ Aesthetix has volunteered to entertain during the fundraiser.

David Brown, Co-President of Grand Pacific Resorts said, “We are glad to be part of this important effort.  Unfortunately sometimes it is tragedies such as the earthquake in Haiti that brings a community together. We hope to see great turnout to support the Red Cross and their ongoing humanitarian work.”

All the proceeds from the event will be donated to the Red Cross Haiti Relief and Development Fund.  All clothing and supplies donated will be sent directly to Haiti. “We are fortunate enough to be in a position to help make a difference in Haiti,” said Katelyn Chamberlin, of Pink Elephants Nannies, organizer of the event.

A major sponsor is Mobile Photo Booth has donated its photo booth services for the entire event. The attendees will be able to take unlimited photo strips, which will print in duplicate. Mobile Photo Booth will also upload all of the images onto their website where photos maybe viewed, downloaded, or removed.

Other local sponsors who have donated auction items include Moxie Theater, Vanity Hair Studio, PAHR, Integrative Healing Arts, Wasserman Media Group, Pixel Perfect Images, Fortunately Feng Shui, Red Cup Yogurt, Karl Strauss Breweries and many more.

To attend this charity event, or to donate supplies or money, RSVP to Katelyn Chamberlin directly at Katelyn@PinkElephantsNannies.com.  Donations are $5 at the door or clothes, shoes and/or baby products.  The material donations will be sold to raise funds to send to support the efforts in Haiti.

Grand Pacific Palisades Resort  is managed by Grand Pacific Resort Management, one of the oldest and largest vacation ownership companies based in California. Servicing over 45,000 owner-families every year, Grand Pacific Resorts has developed and manages 14 properties. For more information, visit www.grandpacificresortservices.com.

Pink Elephants Nanny Agency opened its doors in September of 2009 in Carlsbad. The company specializes in On-Call Nanny Memberships and Nanny Placement.  For more information www.pinkElephantsnannies.com

Grand Pacific Resort Services (GPRS),  a privately owned vacation ownership management company located in Carlsbad, CA has announced it will now be known as Grand Pacific Resort Management (GPRM).

According to Co-President David Brown, the new name more clearly reflects the company’s core competencies and plans for the future.  “We want to let timeshare resorts and homeowners associations know we have the infrastructure to help them be successful.  Grand Pacific Resort Management has 20 years of experience and can provide all the necessary resources to deliver customized solutions in resort development and management services”.

At the resort level, GPRM offers on-site staffing, preventive maintenance and seamless reservations systems. In addition the company provides high quality preparation and timely distribution of all Monthly Accounting Statements (Profit & Loss statements, Balance Sheets and Cash Projections), Reserve account reports and projections, and the preparation of the annual Budget.  GPRM also prides itself in delivering best in class assessment billing and collection services.  Resorts may also turn to the company for its expertise in Interior Design and as well as FF&E Purchasing.

Grand Pacific Resort Management offers a full spectrum of Resort Management functions.   Its long successful tenure in the industry allows it to tailor services to a resort’s unique requirements and, at the same time, work in partnership with the property to keep expenses low and offset expenses with income.  The blueprint for this framework has been developed over two decades of successful resort development, operations and back office management as well as financial services.

“This change has been years in the making,” says Brown.  “Over time we’ve produced an infrastructure that gives us the capability to work with a single resort, an HOA managing one or many resorts, an older resort going through a refurbishment or a financial institution that finds itself in the position of managing a shared ownership product due to the present economic climate.  Our new name is just a better description of what we’ve been doing all along, and it lets people know we are a premier timeshare and vacation ownership Management Company, as well as a developer.”

Among the resorts currently managed by GPRM are Carlsbad Inn Beach Resort, Carlsbad Seapointe Resort, Coronado Beach Resort, Grand Pacific MarBrisa Resort, Grand Pacific Palisades Resort and Hotel, Indian Palms Vacation Club, Redwolf Lakeside Lodge, Redwolf at Squaw Valley, RiverPointe Napa Valley, San Clemente Cove Resort, Southern California Beach Club and Villa L’Auberge.

Grand Pacific Resort Management is one of the oldest and largest vacation ownership companies based in California. Servicing over 45,000 owner-families every year, it manages 14 properties. For more information visit www.grandpacificresorts.com  or call Sharrie McIntosh at 760-431-8500.

Corporate Culture, Bottom Line, Environment Benefit from Green Initiatives

Grand Pacific Resort Services (GPRS),  a privately owned vacation ownership management company located in Carlsbad, CA has launched a series of initiatives aimed at promoting environmental practices to reduce environmental  impact, improve the bottom line as well as satisfy owner and guest expectations for environmentally conscious hospitality practices.  A “Going Green Committee” was formed to pioneer, champion, document and create new operational strategies for implementation of these practices at GPRS managed resorts.

GPRS divided its Green Initiatives program into four components:

•    Water (linen and towel re-use program, shifting laundry operations to off peak hours, low flow shower heads and water aerators, and installation of new, more energy efficient commercial dryers and washers)
•    Air (standardized ambient thermostat settings as well as educating guests at Welcome Breakfast to be conscious of A/C usage and open windows)
•    Energy (Installation of Energy management controls on hot water systems to monitor and reduce gas usage, retrofit lighting to compact fluorescent- CFL and replacement of existing roofs with “cool Roof” products)
•    Waste (Recycling program with recycle containers in each unit, as well as recycling containers at elevators and the large recycling center in the garage)

According to Vice President of Resort Operations Nigel Lobo, “thinking Green is not just the ‘right thing to do;’ in the long run it is fiscally responsible and adds to the overall stay experience.  Our terrific in-house Going Green Squad is comprised of representatives from each one of our resorts.  They are continually coming up with great ideas and solutions as we do our part to think and act Green.”

The thoughtful green practices implemented at GPRS managed resorts range from recycling printer and ink cartridges to installing LEED® Certified temperature controls.  GPRS has also installed irrigation timers, brought in drought tolerant plants, and installed ceiling fans and compact fluorescent lights to save energy.  Carlsbad Seapointe Resort reports saving 22 tons of recyclable materials and RiverPointe Napa Valley has ingeniously used re-purposed wine barrels to add to its décor and facilitate recycling of trash.

“We are currently testing an in-room wireless energy control solution tied to the guest room key.  The system is completely wireless and will be retrofitted into our resorts.   A lot of small, incremental changes add up to make a difference,” says Lobo. “To round out our efforts, we focus on incorporating recycled materials with our purchases (which are of high quality and comfortable), and have started the process of getting ALL of our resorts LEED® (Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design) Certified.  Everyone has pitched in and the team effort has proved positive from morale building to guest satisfaction.”

Grand Pacific Resort Services is one of the oldest and largest vacation ownership companies based in California. Servicing over 45,000 owner-families every year, Grand Pacific Resort Services manages 14 properties, including the recently-developed Grand Pacific MarBrisa Resort in Carlsbad, California. For more information visit www.grandpacificresortservices.com  or call Sharrie McIntosh at 760-431-8500.

Grand Pacific Resorts and ResorTime Walk in Honor of Co-Worker

Grand Pacific Resorts,  a privately owned vacation ownership company located in Carlsbad, CA and ResorTime.com, a popular source for on-line vacation and timeshare condominium rentals teamed up to kick off the first North San Diego County edition of “Making Strides Against Breast Cancer.”

“The ‘Grand Pacific Resorts He’RO’es for Hope Team’ had a great start with its 1st Annual ‘Making Strides Against Breast Cancer’ walk in Carlsbad.  We had a total of 55 people that came out on a beautiful day for a 3.5 mile walk,” said Karen Jones, the walk organizer.

The fundraiser raised approximately $1500 in its first effort. The contribution was   presented to the American Cancer Society(R) on Sunday at its Balboa Park walk which had 25,000 walkers and raised almost $1 million to help find a cure for Cancer.

The walk began and ended at Grand Pacific Palisades Resort and wound its way past the flower fields and through Legoland®.

“Our idea is to grow the walk in North San Diego County as a companion to the Balboa Park event,” said Karen.  “Many of us walked to honor Rosemarie Fecko who was our friend and co-worker for many years. We have even greater plans for next year’s event.”

Grand Pacific Resorts is one of the oldest and largest vacation ownership companies based in California. Servicing over 45,000 owner-families every year, Grand Pacific Resorts has developed and  manages 14 properties, including the recently-developed Grand Pacific MarBrisa Resort in Carlsbad, California. For more information visit www.grandpacificresortservices.com

ResorTime.Com, rapidly becoming the go-to source for spacious condominium rentals, has hundreds of luxury resorts for nightly and weekly rentals that accommodate leisure, business and group travel.  All ResorTime Hot Deals and Value Packages change on an ongoing basis. For more information go to www.ResorTime.com or call 877-477-7368.

Doreen Bechard and Mary Dieckmann Become Regional Directors of Resort Operations

Grand Pacific Resort Services,  a privately owned vacation ownership management company located in Carlsbad, CA has promoted both Doreen Bechard and Mary Dieckmann to the position of Regional Director of Resort Operations.

Doreen Bechard has been with Grand Pacific Resort Services since 1999.  She was the Regional Vice President- Pacific Region with Resort Condominiums International (RCI), and has over twenty years of timeshare experience.

Mary Dieckmann joined Grand Pacific Resort Services in 1992 as a Resort General Manager of the Coronado Beach Resort.  During that time she was responsible for maintaining the efficient operation of the resort during the crucial opening and during the sales launch.

According to Nigel Lobo, Vice President of Grand Pacific Resort Services, “Doreen Bechard is an expert in resort operations, RCI exchange company interface and HOA governance.  She plays an instrumental role in developing corporate initiatives and standard operating procedures for our company.

Mary Dieckmann has built a reputation within our company as a dedicated manager who pays great attention to detail. Mary has operations oversight for our Hilton Grand Vacations Club (HGVC) affiliated Grand Pacific MarBrisa resort, and champions all HGVC related issues.  Mary also oversees the leadership of our resorts in Lake Tahoe, Napa, and Indian Palms.

“As Regional Directors they are an integral part of Grand Pacific Resort Services strong executive team, committed to delivering the highest standards of guest satisfaction and hospitality.  Doreen and Mary share the commonality of a balanced approach of engaging our owners, putting them on vacation, and providing world class, memorable, vacation experiences.  They are welcome additions to our executive management team.”

Grand Pacific Resorts, Inc. is one of the oldest and largest vacation ownership companies based in California. Servicing over 45,000 owner-families every year, Grand Pacific Resort Services manages 14 properties, including the recently-developed Grand Pacific MarBrisa Resort in Carlsbad, California.

Scavenger Hunt 2.0 Reaches New Target Audience

ResorTime.com, a popular timeshare resort condominium rental company,  has just launched an intriguing social media contest on the Internet. According to Hansen Hunt, Online Media Coordinator for the Carlsbad, California-based company, there are 11 different ways to enter to win one week luxury accommodations in Hawaii. The contest takes the form of an online scavenger hunt and is designed to engage new and existing ResorTime.com users alike.

The promotion began with  Twitter, which involved the first clue.  Then, participants needed to find a photo on Flickr which says “Clue”.  From there, the path takes visitors to www.Facebook/ResorTime  fan page which will land on the contest entry form. After completing the contest entry form, they are redirected to the ResorTime You Tube video which has pictures of Hawaii and the last challenge.  The final stage is commenting on the company’s blog (www.ResorTimeTravelers.com) stating “why do you deserve a Hawaii vacation and what is your favorite ResorTime.com resort.  They need to find the blog URL on their own,” says Hansen.  “That way they are totally immersed in the scavenger hunt.”

Additionally, those who are participating get bonus points for blogging about “Scavenger Hunt 2.0” on their own page, tweeting about the contest, and retweeting.  Adding ResorTime.com as a friend on Flickr and becoming a fan on Facebook all add up for extra points.  Participants may also invite friends to get on board and even enter by old fashioned snail mail.

“This is an exciting development in our social media outreach,” says Sherri Weeks, General Manager of ResorTime.  “Although experimental at this point, we are already seeing some energy in capturing new users.  We’ll be tracking the results and reporting on them as we go along.  Of course, we are interested in bringing in new attention to ResorTime.com and increasing our client’s bookings.  However, we are always focused on developing new ways of marketing our timeshare vacation condominiums to new markets.”

This vacation giveaway is valued at approximately $2,000. The giveaway does not include airfare or additional expenses incurred while on vacation. The contest ends at 11:59pm on August 6 and the Grand Prize drawing will be held August 7. The winner will be announced in a blog post, twitter post, and Facebook wall post.

ResorTime.Com, rapidly becoming the go-to source for spacious condominium rentals, has hundreds of luxury resorts for nightly and weekly rentals that accommodate leisure, business and group travel.  Hawaii is just one of its hundreds of destinations. For more information go to http://www.ResorTime.com.