Leading shared real estate and luxury travel publication, Owners Perspective Magazine, offers trial of dedicated new listing service for fractional ownership developers.

Owners Perspective Magazine, the only independent consumer publication that specializes in promoting the benefits of buying shared ownership products to the general public, has officially introduced FractionalPropertyGuide.com (http://www.fractionalpropertyguide.com) as a new listing service for fractional developers.

FractionalPropertyGuide.com which has been online since 2008 has previously only been used to test in-development lead generation programs behind the scenes for the publication’s overall online strategy but until now has not been officially part of the portfolio of products and services offered by the Perspective brand. Processes were put into place for the website to gain authority on search engines and the site is now ranking on page one on Google for search terms such as “fractional property”, “fractional ownership sales” and “fractional property ownership”.

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GPEA Ltd, the parent company of global estate agency Fine & Country and The Guild of Professional Estate Agents, has formed a joint venture company with property PR specialist P1 Communications Ltd. The new company will provide PR services and media representation to Fine & Country’s global network of 280 UK and international offices, and the Guild’s 600 independent estate agent members in the UK.  P1 Communications’ staff will be based in GPEA’s Park Lane head office in Mayfair, London.

Malcolm Lindley, Managing Director of GPEA says: “The company has expanded rapidly in recent years and we wanted a more dedicated, hands-on team to help us make more of our success, build the brand and develop our networks further. We are delighted to be working with P1 Communications whose international and extensive property experience will be instrumental in promoting our global brand in a professional manner.”

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For more than 7 years, http://www.timesharestaff.com has been the leading force behind online recruitment for the shared ownership industry and a firm favourite of many of the industry’s largest brands and independent developers.

Through its vast reach within the timeshare and fractional industry and highly targeted marketing externally, TimeshareStaff.com generates more than 16,000 employment enquiries per month for its advertisers globally, covering all nationalities and all sales, marketing, management and administration roles.

Now, to ease the rebuilding of sales and marketing teams around the globe, the recruitment website has adapted to accept single position / single location job postings for 30 days at a time (or more), in addition to its longer term continuous recruitment packages and the recent response to this has shown significant signs of recovery within the industry.

“There is definitely movement again within our industry, albeit a little more cautiously than perhaps a couple of years ago. We saw that many companies needed to start recruiting properly again but kept putting it off, so we looked at a decision to embrace short term advertisements very carefully and found that this was one way we could help stimulate growth again.” Said CEO, Paul Mattimoe.

For more information on advertising your job vacancies with TimeshareStaff.com just visit http://www.timesharestaff.com/employers

The Cooperative Association of Resort Exchangers (C.A.R.E.) is looking forward to adding to its membership as a result of its participation as an exhibitor at the recent American Resort Development Association (A.R.D.A) Convention in Las Vegas.  C.A.R.E. is a nonprofit trade association comprised of resort developers, property management companies, travel clubs, and associate members such as premium and incentive companies, travel insurance companies, and suppliers of products and services to the vacation travel industry.

While convention attendance was strong in spite of continuing economic challenges, it appeared to be slightly reduced from previous years.  This likely came as no surprise to exhibitors and conference attendees.  However, the C.A.R.E. Board Members manning the C.A.R.E. exhibit observed and commented that visitors to their booth were more likely than not to be their companies decision makers and therefore better quality leads for C.A.R.E. membership.  It was apparent that convention attendees and visitors to the C.A.R.E. exhibit were there to do business and to capitalize on the opportunity to network with other industry professionals.  C.A.R.E. is excited about prospects for new members and looks forward to exceeding its membership goals as a result of the interest generated by its participation as exhibitors in the ARDA convention.  ARDA convention attendees clearly recognize the importance of developing and maintaining strong professional relationships. C.A.R.E. provides members with unique opportunities for networking, and, personal and professional development.

C.A.R.E. recognizes the benefits and importance of business relationships founded upon mutual trust.  Accordingly, C.A.R.E. members are required to subscribe and conform to its Code of Standards and Ethics.  This provides assurance to C.A.R.E. members doing business with one another as well as ensuring the reputation of C.A.R.E. and its members within the vacation travel industry.  The C.A.R.E. Board of Directors enforces the Code through its Ethics Committee and its Better Trade Bureau, or “BTB”.  Members that fail to uphold the code are subject to BTB review.

C.A.R.E. is excited about the future as this year the association celebrates the twenty-fifth anniversary of its founding.  If your company would like more information about the opportunities of a C.A.R.E. Membership, please visit www.C.A.R.E.-online.org.  There you will find helpful information including contact information.  Consider joining C.A.R.E. as we work towards our next quarter century of success.

For further information contact Linda Mayhugh, C.A.R.E. Vice President, (800) 429-5077, extension 201 or Linda@atclubs.com.

PerspectiveForums.com reports more than 2,000 friend requests served in first two weeks.

Perspective Magazine, the shared ownership industry’s leading trade publication recently launched the first standalone social networking platform dedicated to the timeshare and fractional ownership industry, combining the most popular features of Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn all on one website.

From initial promotion only, the site has already attracted in excess of 600 registered users, who have generated more than 75,000 page views and issued more than 2,000 friend requests over the past fortnight, with word of mouth now growing the site exponentially each day.

The site was created to encourage timeshare and fractional developers, marketers and suppliers to network more efficiently, thereby creating opportunities for new collaborations, strategic partnerships and extending client portfolios.

What makes this site standout, apart from its vast array of features, is its leverage of Perspective Magazine’s readership which exceeds 22,000 registered industry professionals around the globe who are currently being invited to register free on the website.

“We’ve had a lot of feedback from users of the website, all of it positive and it has started well, but there are still quite a few additional features to roll out yet – such as an iPhone App, but due to the complexity of the site we have a few weeks still to wait for this. The marketing for the site has only just started – by the end of March we expect to have the largest social media group of industry professionals available online, and then we’ll only be at about 10% of the expected number of registered users for the coming months.” Said Paul Mattimoe, President & CEO of Perspective International.

To join Perspective Forums simply visit www.perspectiveforums.com

For more information about Perspective Magazine (Trade), Owners Perspective Magazine (Consumer) and advertising and editorial opportunities visit www.perspectiverates.com

A website dedicated to the recruiting of professional sales executives for the purpose of fractional property sales was launched in test mode back in August 2009, and now after detailed scrutiny of the quality of applications received via the website and after reaching the No.1 spot on Google.com for the search term “fractional jobs”, www.fractionalstaff.com will officially launch next week aimed at providing a reliable service with high returns for advertisers of fractional job vacancies.

Recent months have shown that fractional property developers are increasing but their success with property agents is not producing the results originally hoped for, and so many are enquiring about the availability of dedicated sales teams – something that FractionalStaff.com has concentrating on for the past 7 months.

Fractional Staff is another service from the Perspective group of companies who publish the leading shared ownership industry magazines for both the trade and consumers and so its widest reach both online and offline ensures that it will attract the most suitable candidates that are new to the industry as well as the best sales professionals from within the industry worldwide.

Introductory advertising rates start from as little as £199 per month with added value across the network of Perspective websites and titles available on selected packages.

For more information email advertising@perspectiveinternational.com or call +44 191 250 3501 (UK) or  +1 407 792 2343

Valhalla Associates Limited and Luxury Leisure Properties International LLC today announced that they have formed a partnership to jointly service owners and developers of mixed-use hotel and resort complexes where leisure real estate is integrated with luxury hotel operations.

The two companies offer advisory and turn-key project management services ranging from product concept, market research and financial feasibility analysis to implementation and management of the developer’s marketing & sales operation for leisure real estate products such as Fractional Ownership and Private Residence Clubs.

While Valhalla Associates focuses on the Europe, Middle East and Africa region based out of London, LLPI is servicing developers in the Americas region from their offices in Chicago.

“Our partnership with LLPI will ensure developers a consistent service and access to luxury leisure real estate resources and distribution know-how across the regions” said Preben Vestdam, President of Valhalla Associates. He continued: “In the current economic environment, developers of mixed used hotels and resorts are looking for creative solution where their leisure real estate products better adapt to today’s economic reality. Fractional Ownership and Private Residence Clubs with global distribution reach can in some cases be the answer”.

Luca Franco, President of Luxury Leisure Properties International added; “Our current joint client portfolio counts developers of hotel and resort properties operated by hospitality brands such as Four Seasons and the Ritz-Carlton. Our partnership with Valhalla Associates will really extend our global reach in the luxury end of leisure real estate.”

With increased consumer interest and more and more exciting products coming on line, 2009 has been the year of the fractional. However, writes Sarah Lee, in developing the perfect product there’s much fractional developers can learn from timeshare.

Many fractional developers would concur that when marketing their product they try to cut any associations with timeshare, believing there to be vast differences between the products in terms of structure, quality, buyer profile, legal requirements and their inherent nature. But for those prepared to accept such linkages there is much fractional developers could learn from up to 40 years of timeshare history.

It’s said that hindsight is a wonderful thing and many timeshare professionals with decades of experience would agree that they would have done things differently – despite the fact that the industry that has matured to offer a popular global product.

From length of ownership to size of fraction, structure and target market, industry professionals offer their suggestions for a bright fractional future.

A Small Matter of Size
A major area highlighted as proving challenging for timeshare is the length of ownership, with developers finding that the in-perpetuity model has not been without its difficulties.

Lisa Migani, director of business development at First National Trustee Company (FNTC), says: “Early on in timeshare’s history developers were persuaded to produce a product that would be there forever – in perpetuity, something that consumers could pass on to their children.

“But time has taught us that this doesn’t work. Today, our consumer-driven society doesn’t want something that lasts forever, nor do they want to leave something to their children as children really don’t want to do the same thing as their parents.”

Nick Turner, vice president and head of new business, The Registry Collection, Europe, agrees: “Although a Spanish villa next to a championship golf course may appeal to many people, it’s unlikely that their 20-something children will want to visit it as well. Today young travelers are more likely to want to go backpacking around the world on a gap year.”

“You often find that timeshare properties that have been there for 30 years or more are really starting to show their age and require an unfeasibly large investment to update them,” adds Migani, who also spent ten years as Interval International’s account manager for Italy. “The in-perpetuity model works for sales and marketing people as they believe it adds value on the sales decks and can help them shift large volumes, but it can cause problems for the end user in the long run.”

According to information presented by Ragatz Associates at this year’s Fractional Summit, the most popular size of a fractional share is 1/6 to 1/4, and the average price per is US$162,000 or US$18,600 a week – suggesting that the highend, longer-term products have been the industry’s leading light.

But many professionals are now pointing to the fact that there is a burgeoning middle market that fractional developers would benefit from aiming their product toward.

“Today’s consumer wants high perceived value and low perceived entry-level costs, so it’s important that developers don’t only focus on high-income groups,” says Turner. “They need to strike a balance between the facilities and additional services they offer, such as a golf club, spa and global exchange partnership by backing this up with value. It is a fact that in today’s world debt is high and fractionals allow people to buy a second home without re-mortgaging. Fractionals that will appeal to consumers will offer a low entry level, low risk and low on-going costs.”

David Gilbert, Interval International’s executive vice president of resort sales and marketing for the Americas, explains that affordability is becoming key to fraction size: “A lot of developers are going for smaller increment sales – marketing eighth, 10th and 12th fractions to make their product more affordable.”

Migani however, believes fraction size could yet be transformed further: “Timeshare was built on the principle of a week’s ownership and fractional developers would do well to offer a shorter, twoweek, low entry level, mid-market product. They could really see some success in offering a midpriced property to families looking for somewhere to take their children each year.

“Though there are some people who can travel for up to three months of the year, this is quite a niche group – the mainstream will only have two weeks a year for their main holiday so fraction sizes need to be better tailored to reflect this.”

For Sale
Something that timeshare professionals put high on the list of priorities for fractional developers is offering owners an exit route – ensuring the property really does have a resale value.

While Gilbert suggests a fractional should be purchased as a holiday product and not with investment in mind; both Turner and Migani recommend developing products that will last for 15-20 years before being sold, with each owner gaining a share of the proceeds from the sale.

“From a north European perspective, it’s important for consumers to see a fractional as an alternative to a second home so they need to feel like they own it but that they can also exit the investment,” says Turner. “One of the strongest consumer pulls is the ability for the asset to be disposed of for them to receive a return on their investment and a share of the capital growth.

“With the second-home market floundering in many countries, consumer trends point to them wanting the
alternative to ownership that fractionals give them, but people can’t think beyond 25 years these days – so unlike timeshare, there must be an exit route.”

Migani, whose company offers developers a free consultation service, adds that “this is something sorely lacking in timeshare – there has not really been a successful resales program. Successfully selling a fractional will be largely dependent on where it is, how much it costs and how the local property market is likely to grow,” she says.

“Another view strongly held by fractional developers and some consultants is that their product, unlike timeshare, is based on a deeded interest while timeshare is not a real right,” Migani continues. “But timeshare has often been sold with a title deed in the U.S. and several European countries, for example Italy and Scandinavia, and many ran into difficulties due to unpaid maintenance fees.

“Critical to the success of a deeded development is having an efficient means of collecting annual maintenance fees. Consumers who own a title and don’t pay their dues could jeopardize the whole project, and taking them to court to retrieve the unpaid fees is a process that may take years. To avoid this situation a more flexible club structure could see owners’ struck off the membership if fees went unpaid.”

Adjusting the Focus
Gilbert, who has 22 years industry experience, highlights the fact that some timeshare developers have created unstable customer bases by stretching to make sales. “Many of them have sold biennial and triennial memberships or have taken smaller payments to stretch things for cash-strapped consumers,” he says. “For the long term stability of a project it is far better to have the right customer for the product than to stretch to make a sale.”

Gilbert also highlighted a problem that has been prevalent in the U.S. timeshare market and recommends fractional developers focus on the sale of their main product.

“Over the years, developers kept building better and better products without worrying about selling them,
as they were making more money on the consumer credit agreements entered into by buyers than the product itself,” Gilbert says. “As the economic crisis has deepened, consumer credit has become difficult to obtain, and we’re now seeing timeshare developers with a renewed focus to ensure their products are profitable on sale.”

Timeshare developers are now less reliant onincome from ancillary products, instead viewing  them as a bonus – a characteristic Gilbert advises fractional developers heed.

The overriding sense from professionals is that the fractional market is likely to go from strength to strength – and if developers take note of timeshare’s at-times rocky path, they will be well armed to make the fractional industry well respected and profitable.

As real estate sales cool, Fractional ownership demand is heating up. A World Forum is gathering experts from around the world to educate developers.

The global economic meltdown which has been a catalyst for scores of banks and blue chip companies to plummet in value or actually fail has hit the real estate markets around the world head on.
Properties values in most major markets have witnessed huge percentages wiped off the previous market
values and has left many developers holding a bag of heavy bricks, due to the lack of consumer demand
and absence of readily available financing.

There is an old saying the ‘necessity is the mother of invention’, as many believe that the current situation
in world markets has driven a demand to discover new alternatives and new models.

One such model which has become the new buzz word among property professionals around the world is
fractional ownership, an alternative to traditional ownership, popular for the past 10 years in the USA.
Fractional Property Ownership provides a unique investment opportunity for the consumer by offering the
purchaser a percentage of ownership in a luxury residence with real equity.

There are products on the market today in the UK, France, Greece, Italy, and Dubai.
However, the fastest growing region today seems to be in Thailand, where the concept is now in full
bloom, putting smiles back on the faces of many developers and consumers.

As a result, the world’s experts are gathering in a forum in Phuket in October, creating a virtual university
of fractional ownership, through a series of workshops over the three day conference.

Developers from the UK, Italy, France, Canary Islands, Cyprus, Dubai, Bali will have the opportunity to be
updated on this latest phenomenon of real estate success during the conference with successful industry
leaders from around the globe.

The Registry Collection, a unique luxury service provider for prestigious developers is one of the main
sponsors, along with Absolute Resorts, the leader of Alternative ownership in the Asia-Pacific markets.
Delegates will have the opportunity to immerse themselves into the actual experience that their future
customers will enjoy as they will live on campus at a functioning fractional high end luxury resort while
attending accelerated learning courses throughout the day.

WorldClass-Uae.com, a PR and communications company based in the Middle East, will be leading a
trade delegation of developers to the conference from Egypt, Cyprus, Lebanon, Dubai and the region.
“We are delighted to have the opportunity pollinate the knowledge base of our developer clients” said
Bassam Nakad, Vice President of the group based in Dubai. “This is forum not to be missed by serious
players around the world” he added.

Markets such as Cyprus and Dubai will benefit through attendance by discovering the proper integration of
the high standards required to create a fractional programme in order to offer real values to their clients” he
said.

The delegation will arrive in Phuket on the 10th of October, and will return on the 14th of October after
having completed a total orientation of all legal systems, management protocols and sales and marketing
workshops.
The deadline for joining the delegation is September 28.

New members to Absolute Vacation Club will now receive a complimentary 12 month subscription to the leading consumer publication for the shared ownership industry as part of an innovative marketing agreement.

Owners Perspective Magazine recently launched a unique package for developers of timeshare and fractional ownership resorts and is pleased to announce that Absolute Group, Asia’s market leader in mixed-use resort development has entered into a two-year agreement with the consumer magazine.

Absolute Group currently offers fractional ownership schemes on a range of properties in Thailand including Absolute Bangla Suites (Phuket), Absolute Nakalay Beach Resort (Phuket), Absolute Signature Villas at Palm Grove (Jomtien – Pattaya) and Absolute Platinum Suites (Jomtien – Pattaya).  The group are also pleased to announce the pre-launch of yooPhuket, Thailand’s most exciting designer fractional and whole ownership development, by the internationally acclaimed YOO design team.  Already nearing 30% sell out of the first phase, outstanding deals are to be made before major release later this year, register now at yooPhuket.com.

“We are very pleased to be offering Owners Perspective Magazine to all our new Absolute Vacation Club members. We are sure they will enjoy all the vacation ideas and keeping up to date with the latest industry news.

There are many facets to the magazine offer for developers but by being able to include a branded letter with each edition, we are especially looking forward to communicating monthly with our members in such a unique and personal way.” says Bryan Lunt, Chairman of Absolute Group of Companies.

In response, Paul Mattimoe, CEO of Perspective International said, “Our specially designed package for developers which helps with consolidation, communication, referrals, upgrades and lead generation is definitely creating a buzz in the industry and we are extremely pleased to have Absolute, a valued long term client of ours as one of the first to benefit.”

For more information on Absolute Group visit www.absoluteresorts.com or www.absoluteworld.net

For more information on the Developer Package offered by Owners Perspective Magazine visit http://www.perspectiverates.com/developer