Great Recession Causes Shift from Volume to Efficiency and Focus on Consumer Creditworthiness

Trade conferences oftentimes are a barometer for how well that particular industry is faring. If that is the case with the 12th annual Vacation Ownership Investment Conference (VOIC), held October 4 through 6 in Orlando, then there’s good reason for the shared ownership industry to be optimistic.

Just under 500 attendees – 483 to be exact– heard from experts in timeshares, fractionals and private residence clubs (and related industries) on the viability of various products, the availability of developer and consumer financing, and trends in vacationing and vacation ownership.

“We were a little concerned whether attendance was going to be down potentially,” says David C. Gilbert, executive vice president of resort sales and marketing at Interval International, a founding and organizing sponsor of the event. Turns out he needn’t have worried, as the numbers were up slightly from the previous year. But numbers aren’t necessarily the most important factor.

“While we didn’t have that many fewer attendees in 2009, the mood was very different; I think people were almost in a hibernation mode last year,” adds Gilbert. “It was ‘hunker down, hibernate, wait and see, stabilize, maximize efficiencies.’ In 2010, people believed the worst was behind them, and they were talking about ways to grow their business, and talking to other companies about partnering. It was a more normal business event mood. And almost every attendee I talked to said the event had a very upbeat tone.”

At the event’s first session, Timeshare 101, speaker Jim Beckham Jr., who is chairman and CEO of Global Resorts, asked the audience of about 300 if they were there to evaluate the industry. Approximately 50 people raised their hands. “From our standpoint, that’s a pretty significant proportion for an event of our size,” Gilbert notes, adding that he was pleasantly surprised at the number of new potential entrants to the industry given the effects of the economy on shared ownership.

Looking to the Future
The theme of this year’s conference was Looking to the Future, and the emphasis was on helping organizations find the tools and information necessary to structure their companies to be successful in this new business paradigm. Because shared ownership has experienced significant change during the past two years, it’s beneficial for both potential new entrants and industry veterans to hear what others are doing and learn about successful strategies and tactics to manage their business moving forward.

“Educating potential developer entrants, lenders and governments is the whole reason that we – Interval International along with the other sponsors and supporters – work to put this together,” Gilbert explains. “It’s all about those three constituencies.” He sizes up the educational process this way:

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Tags: David G Gilbert, Fractional, Interval International, Orlando, Private Residence Clubs, shared ownership, Timeshare, Vacation Ownership Investment Conference, VOIC