Francis Taylor, CEO of Dial An Exchange International, has a diverse background in customer relations and service, corporate administration, and has also been a small business operator under an international franchise name. After gaining several years’ experience in the timeshare industry, Francis joined with Marc Chouinard to establish Dial An Exchange in Australia, and then expanded the business and opened offices in New Zealand, Europe and North America.

Today, Francis oversees the global interests of this growing company. Perspective Magazine Editor Matt McDaniel had a chance to speak one-on-one with Francis for an exclusive interview in which the DAE head talked about how the  company started, their amazing growth and what differentiates them from the big exchange companies.

Francis, where are you from originally?
I was born and raised in a tiny little country town in central Queensland in Australia. I left there when I was 17 to head to the big city because there weren’t too many opportunities there unless you wanted to work on a farm or in one of the coal mines, and that just didn’t seem to be what I wanted to do. So I left central Queensland and moved to Brisbane, where I joined Avis Rent a Car. I was with them for 15 years.

Where do you live now?
Still in Queensland, on the Gold Coast which is right on the border of New South Wales. The Gold Coast is Australia’s number one tourist destination. We have 60 or 70 kilometers of beautiful white beaches – all great for surfing – theme parks and lots of international visitors, as well as the domestic market. It’s also a very large destination for New Zealanders because it’s basically a two, two-and-a-half-hour flight anywhere out of New Zealand to the Gold Coast. It’s a fabulous playground all year ‘round.

And it’s the timeshare capital of Australia?
It is the timeshare capital of Australia; it’s obviously the densest area for timeshare resorts, and pretty well this is the industry headquarters for the developers – Wyndham, Accor, Classic Holidays, RCI, and of course, Dial An Exchange are here. If you’re going to be somewhere in the world, you may as well make sure your workplace is in a great place where it’s fabulous to live as well. The Gold Coast is definitely the number one pick in Australia.

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Tags: Australia, Dial An Exchange International, Europe, Francis Taylor, New Zealand, North America, Timeshare