Fairmont Heritage Place, Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco reached the significant 200th-sale milestone in March, capping its best month of sales activity since 2007, when the property opened on San Francisco’s historic northern waterfront. Finalizing three sales during the month of March, the Fairmont-branded private residence club built in one of the City’s most iconic landmarks has shown a remarkable recent pace in sales of its unique fractional opportunity.

Fairmont Heritage Place, Ghirardelli Square has become an attractive purchase decision among the second- and vacation-home buying market. Offering 1, 2, and 3 bedroom homes available for sale at 1/10th deeded fractional ownership, Fairmont Heritage Place, Ghirardelli Square provides home buyers with a home away from home to visit family and friends and entertain business clients as a Fairmont President’s Circle member. Fairmont Heritage Place, Ghirardelli Square allows all the benefits of full-home ownership without many of the hassles and costs associated with a traditional full-purchase second home.

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2010 was a difficult year for the fractional and private residence club industry, but anecdotal evidence suggests that the market is rebounding in 2011 according to executives attending the Ragatz Fractional Interest Conference in San Francisco, CA, earlier this week.

Nearly 200 attendees heard information from speakers that, while the market continued to struggle last year, resorts are seeing an uptick in activity during the first quarter of this year.

Dr. Richard Ragatz revealed the results of his report, “The Shared Ownership Resort Real Estate Industry In North America: 2011” which highlighted the status of the fractional and private residence club market.

According to the report, there were 104 projects in active sales in 2010 – 68 fractionals and 36 PRCs – with 55% of the projects located in the U.S. 

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Resort Real Estate Event for the Fractional Interest Industry To Focus on Improving Business Performance in a Transitional Economy

Registration is now open for the 2010 Ragatz Associates Tenth Annual Fractional Interest Conference, a highly anticipated annual forum which will discuss recent and anticipated influences affecting this unique resort real estate industry. The conference is scheduled for March 29-31 at The Fairmont San Francisco and will be co-hosted by The Registry Collection.

“While the recent financial crisis has affected every element of the real estate market, in the long term, shared-ownership products such as fractional interests are likely to be the first to rebound,” says consulting veteran Richard Ragatz, Ph.D. and event host. “The key is for the development community to be prepared and properly positioned for the turnaround, which is certain to come.”

Like many experts in the resort real estate industry, Ragatz believes that today’s affluent consumer is becoming increasingly in sync with “green” influences – purchasing only the amount of vacation time they can personally use and financially afford.

Attending this year’s conference is critical to companies currently in the fractional interest industry along with those considering entering this highly specialized field. Conference attendees will learn how some companies continue to make sales in a transitional economy, as well as innovative marketing and sales strategies.  With many troubled whole-ownership resort real estate projects throughout the U.S. today, it is critical for developers of these projects to understand whether their project is appropriate for fractional interests. Ragatz says that his conference will respond to such concerns.

The 2010 conference will emphasize conducting business in the fractional interest industry in today’s economy.  Critical topics of discussion will include:
•    Are troubled whole-ownership resort developments appropriate for fractional interests?
•    The search for financing
•    Innovative marketing and sales strategies in a transitional economy
•    How affluent consumers make decisions in times of economic uncertainty
•    Insights and advice from industry experts

The conference should be of major interest to companies already in the fractional interest industry (including private residence clubs and destination clubs), and especially to companies considering entering the industry.  As in the past nine conferences, included will be formal presentations, panel discussions, and a series of small group break-out sessions. Last year’s conference attracted 450 participants from over 30 states and 12 countries.

The March 2010 conference will feature presentations from over 60 speakers, including representatives from the land development, hotel, finance, legal, internet and public media industries.  Speakers include representatives of Hyatt, Fairmont, Timbers Resorts, Preferred Residences, Ward Financial, Life Rich Real Estate, The Registry Collection, The Harrison Group, East West Partners, and the American Resort Development Association (ARDA).  A special luncheon speaker will be Ralph Bowden of Bowden’s Market Barometer.

Results from the 2010 Edition of Ragatz Associates State of the Fractional Interest Industry will be presented, describing current conditions of the industry in the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. Current research on affluent consumers also will be presented.

Some 25 companies are again supporting the conference at various sponsorship levels. Platinum sponsors include Ballard Spahr, Baker Hostetler, Timbers Resorts and Preferred Residences. Gold level sponsors include ARDA, Weinstock & Scavo, Greenberg Traurig, and Robb & Stucky Interiors.

Registration for the conference is $850. For groups of two the fee is $750 each and for three or more it is $700 each. To make hotel reservations by phone, call 1-800-441-1414, and mention that you are attending the Ragatz Associates Fractional Interest Conference to receive the discounted rate.

For questions and registration information, visit www.ragatzassociates.com, or contact Sarah Winter at 541-686-9335 or info@ragatzassociates.com.

About Ragatz Associates
Ragatz Associates is internationally recognized as the leading consulting and market research firm in the resort real estate industry. The firm has conducted more than 2,500 studies in over 70 countries since its formation in 1974. It specializes in feasibility analysis and consumer research.

Big Winners Include Fairmont, Marriott, American Airlines and Host Hacienda Tres Rios; Awards Help Traveling Public Find Best in Class

Hacienda Tres Rios, an all-inclusive luxury resort in Mexico’s Riviera Maya, was the setting for the 2009 World Travel Awards’ North and Central America regional ceremony, held on the warm, tropical evening of September 21, 2009.

The World Travel Awards (WTA), described as the Oscars of the global travel and tourism industry, acknowledge the “best of the best” out of more than 500 nominees. The event was held in partnership with Hacienda Tres Rios, Cancun Convention & Visitors Bureau, Yucatan Holidays, Yucatan Travel, RCI and Vive Mexico. Luminaries attending the event included Mexico Secretary of Tourism Sara Latife Ruiz Chavez, who also serves as governor of the state of Quintana Roo. In a statement appearing in the printed guide to the award festivities, she acknowledged the WTA organizers and sponsors, thanking them for “bringing here this important event which consolidates the image of Mexico and Quintana Roo within the world tourism map.”

The host resort had been nominated for recognition in several categories and proved its world-class status, taking the top nod as Mexico & Central America’s Leading Green Hotel and Mexico and Central America’s Leading All-Inclusive Resort. Opened in November 2008, Hacienda Tres Ríos is the first resort of five at Tres Ríos. Hacienda Tres Ríos Resort boasts 273 suites featuring native materials and offering breathtaking views of the turquoise Caribbean Sea.

The unique onsite Tres Ríos Nature Park is open exclusively for resort guests, who can enjoy guided nature tours through 326 acres of pristine tropical jungle criss-crossed by three fresh-water rivers, dotted by 10 cenotes and home to 90 species of fauna and 120 species of flora.

While it is easy to see why Hacienda Tres Rios was named top all-inclusive, the elements that make an exceptional green operation blend seamlessly into the guest experience, striking a delicate balance of luxury holidays and conservation. This eco-luxury resort, located in a nature preserve, was constructed as part of a master plan that included more than two years of comprehensive environmental studies. The architectural design was based on rigorous environmental criteria and the buildings were placed on areas of lower environmental value. What’s more, in 2006 the Mexican government recognized Hacienda Tres Rios as a “regional and national model for sustainable tourism development.”

“In less than one year since opening,” said Tres Rios CEO Orlando Arroyo Marroquín in the guide, his resort “has become internationally renowned as the first luxury sustainable tourism development in Mexico.”

This commitment to ecological conservation “has garnered the recognition of the Mexican government as well as the major travel industry events in England, Spain and Germany, where we have been invited to share our experience as a case study,” he continued. “With the support of the important international organizations such as Green Globe International, World Heritage Alliance of the United Nations, Sustainable Travel International and Rainforest Alliance, Hacienda Tres Rios is a clear example that Quintana Roo and Mexico are ever working towards improving tourism and a healthy environment.”

Area Well Represented
But Hacienda Tres Rios isn’t the only reason to visit the Yucatan Peninsula. The area was well represented on the awards platform, winning several other WTA honors. Among them were Selvatica Puerto Morelos as Mexico & Central America’s Leading Adventure Park; Tulum, Mexico as Mexico & Central America’s Leading Beach; Terminal Punta Langosta, Cozumel, Mexico as Mexico & Central America’s Leading Cruise Port; Chichen Itza, Yucatan as Mexico & Central America’s Leading Cultural Heritage Destination; and Cancun as Mexico & Central America’s Leading Destination.

In other awards, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts bagged four North American awards including Canada’s Leading Golf Resort, Canada’s Leading Ski Resort, Canada’s Leading Business Hotel and North America’s Leading Golf Resort. The Leading Hotel Brand for North America went to Marriott Hotels & Resorts, and North America’s Leading Destination went to Miami.

WTA crowned American Airlines as North America’s Leading Airline and Mexicana Airlines as Mexico & Central America’s Leading Airline. Dallas Fort Worth International Airport and Benito Juarez International Airport in Mexico City were named North America’s and Mexico & Central America’s Leading Airports, with The Ritz-Carlton in Marina Del Rey (California) and Camino Real Aeropuerto (Mexico City) taking the honors for North America’s and Mexico & Central America’s Leading Airport Hotels.

The full list of winners for the World Travel Awards North and Central Americas can be found by logging on to www.worldtravelawards.com

How Winners Are Chosen
The World Travel Awards were launched in 1993 to acknowledge and recognize excellence in the world’s travel and tourism industry. Thousands of votes are cast by travel professionals from 183,000 travel agencies, tour and transport companies and tourism organizations in over 160 countries across the globe. Votes are cast globally by fellow industry professionals in 919 different categories. In 2009, WTA opened the voting to the traveling public as well.

The inherent principles under which all nominations are judged are:
• Consistent overall business performanceand success
• Understanding visitor needs and expectations for a supreme customer experience
• High levels of customer satisfaction
• Valuing personnel
• Excellent internal and external communications
• Enterprising product expansion and development
• Fostering innovation, creativity and enterprise
• Expansion and development, and
• Team work that helps a company to deliver longer-term corporate vision

In 2009, regional ceremonies have also taken place in Dubai (Middle East region) and Durban, South Africa (Africa region). The European Ceremony is scheduled for October 17 at Praia D’ El Rey Golf & Beach Resort, north of Lisbon, Portugal. South America, Caribbean, Asia, Australasia and the Indian Ocean Ceremonies are slated for November 7 at the Grosvenor House, a JW Marriott Hotel in London.

The 2009 Grand Final of World Travel Awards is set for the following night in the same venue. “This year’s winners can display the official World Travel Awards symbol with pride on their sales and marketing literature,” explained Graham Cooke, president of the World Travel Awards, “offering travelers a cast-iron assurance that what they are buying is a guarantee of travel excellence.”

Travel excellence such as provided at Hacienda Tres Rios. “It seems fitting,” said Cooke, “to celebrate the North & Central Americas awards ceremony in this beautiful destination, which sets the bar for the global travel and tourism industry, and creates hope for many young travel professionals.”

Top 5 Facts About the World Travel Awards

1. 3,600 travel companies, destinations and organizations are nominated every year
2. An average of 167,000 travel agents and industry professionals record their votes every year
3. Ten awards categories are dedicated to sustainable tourism
4. World Travel Awards nominations are decided by an independent panel of industry experts
5. Judging criteria takes into account every aspect of the business including overall performance, product
development, innovation, creativity and customer satisfaction

Perspective, The Leading Shared Ownership Magazine, confirms its second year of media sponsorship for Ragatz Associates’ 2010 Fractional Interest Conference, which will be held March 29 through 31 at the Fairmont San Francisco. Perspective International Ltd publishes Perspective magazine.

“As we prepare for our 10th annual Fractional Interest Conference, Ragatz Associates is pleased to have the support of Perspective International once again, not only for their ability to attract international delegates to the conference, but also because of their vast reach throughout the United States, as they publicize the event in print and online,” says Richard L. Ragatz, Ph.D., president of Ragatz Associates.

The conference should be of interest to companies already in the fractional interest industry (including private residence clubs and destination clubs), as well as to companies considering entering the industry. Past attendees include developers, exchange companies, financial/banking institutions, hotel companies, legal and design firms, ARDA, sales and marketing firms, and real estate and many other industry-related companies. Participants at the 2009 event commented that it was the “best”’ and “most valuable” Ragatz conference they had attended.

As in the past annual conferences, the 2010 Fractional Interest Conference will include formal presentations (in 2009 there were more than 65 speakers) as well as a series of small group break-out sessions. The event will continue to host industry experts who share their perspectives, experience, and outlook.

Perspective magazine is officially distributed to all conference delegates, making it a prime advertising opportunity. For more information on advertising and editorial opportunities visit www.perspectiverates.com or call +1-407-792-2343.

Additional conference details are available at www.ragatzassociates.com, and registration is scheduled to begin November 3.

About Ragatz Associates
Ragatz Associates is recognized as the leading consulting and market research firm in the resort real estate industry on a global basis. The firm has conducted more than 2,500 studies in over 70 countries since being formed in 1974. It specializes in feasibility analysis and consumer research.

About Perspective Magazine
Perspective magazine is the most read independent B2B publication for the shared ownership industry globally, offering exclusive interviews, news and reviews on all aspects of timeshare, fractional ownership, private residence clubs and resort real estate. Winner of two Innovative Marketing Awards and Media Sponsor of 18 major industry conventions around the globe with official distribution to all delegates at each event just adds to the highly targeted print and online subscription base of more than 20,600 industry professionals and the additional online exposure offered through its network of news and press release sites.
For more information visit www.perspectivemagazine.com, call +1 407 792 2343 (USA) or +44 191 250 3501 (UK) or visit our online media centre at www.perspectiverates.com.