Wyndham Announces First Vacation Club for Asia
Wyndham Vacation Ownership, part of Wyndham Worldwide (NYSE: WYN), one of the world’s largest hospitality companies, has launched its first vacation club in Asia, with the announcement of a flagship mixed-use property in Thailand today.
CLUB WYNDHAM ASIA is the latest addition to the extensive Wyndham Vacation Ownership portfolio, which includes more than 190 vacation ownership resorts across North and Central America and the South Pacific, and will be managed and marketed from the Australian based headquarters of Wyndham Vacation Resorts Asia Pacific.
Today the hospitality giant announced the club’s debut property will be the 213-room Wyndham Sea Pearl Resort – Phuket, formally known as the luxurious Sea Pearl Villas Resort, Phuket, which will be officially rebranded on 1June, 2015.
The resort is owned by local developer, Sea Pearl Business Company Ltd and Sea Pearl Beach Company Ltd, and will operate as a mixed-use property managed by Wyndham Hotel Group, accommodating club members, who will have access to 30 newly refurbished apartments that have been purchased for CLUB WYNDHAM ASIA, as well as hotel guests.
Barry Robinson, President and Managing Director of Wyndham Vacation Resorts Asia Pacific and Wyndham Hotel Group South East Asia and Pacific Rim said this new development marks a monumental milestone for the company.
“We are extremely excited to announce the launch of CLUB WYNDHAM ASIA in this prime South-East Asia location,” he said. “We have dedicated a substantial amount of time and resources to finding the ideal flagship property for our new vacation club,” Mr Robinson said.
“This will be our first Wyndham branded, mixeduse property in Asia and I am confident Wyndham Sea Pearl Resort – Phuket will exceed the expectations of our members and hotel guests.” The sleek, contemporary resort, which was constructed in 2011, is perfectly positioned a short distance to Thailand’s tourism capital, Patong Beach. Located on 15 acres of hillside, the property boasts 180-degree views of the Andaman Sea.
The resort will offer CLUB WYNDHAM ASIA members eight room types, including Deluxe Private Pool Villas and Deluxe Jacuzzi Rooms. Onsite facilities include four restaurants and bars; a multipurpose hall for meetings and events complete with catering; and a five-star day spa offering a range of lavish treatments.
There is also a state-of-the-art fitness centre boasting a 35-metre lap pool, fully-equipped gym, yoga room and kids’ club. Resort services include a free scheduled shuttle to Patong Beach and Jungceylon shopping precinct; as well as concierge and limousine services.
“We are thrilled to be partnering with the world’s largest vacation ownership company and hotel group with its introduction into Thailand. We are certain that the globally-recognised Wyndham brand will be a perfect fit for the sleek and sophisticated style Wyndham Sea Pearl Resort – Phuket offers,” said Managing Director of Seapearl Group, Mr Sitikorn Soontornnont.
“This would be one of the best deals Thailand has ever seen in terms of a mixed-use market, combining a worldwide hotel chain and vacation club,” Mr Sitikorn Soontornnont added.
Wyndham Sea Pearl Resort – Phuket will also be home to CLUB WYNDHAM ASIA’s first Sales Deck – a preview centre where potential vacation club members can embark on a visual journey through the array of exciting travel destinations on offer.
Time To Share as the Timeshare industry raises $30,000 at the Industry Annual Foundation Golf Day
This year’s 10th Industry Foundation Golf Day was held at the Arundel Hills Country Club on the Gold Coast and what a fantastic day it was. With 144 players there was a lot of enthusiasm and excitement on the course. After all of the rain that we had been having it was a relief to see the clear blue skies open up for us.
Just over $30,000 was raised on the day which is a fantastic outcome. This year we donated $20,000, in conjunction with The Queensland Variety Club, towards a 22 seater bus to the Musgrave Special School, specifically the Early Childhood Developmental unit with their very own Variety Sunshine Coach.
We had the pleasure of the Musgrave School and some of the young children joining us in the morning to give us an opportunity to present their new bus. It was such a pleasure to see how happy the children were with their heads out the window laughing. It was also a great opportunity to encourage everyone on the day to put their hands a little deeper into their pockets.
Key sponsors on the day were out in force on the holes offering us a variety of activities around the course as well as a bit of lubrication to help protect us from the heat!
Congratulations to the winners, The Wyndham Resorts team captained by Stuart Sandford with Gary Stiegmier, Kevin Cross & Glen Jones. Second place went to the M2 Commander team made up of Rowan Want, Jason Fountain, Paul Brady & Clive Hawkins; and third place the ULTIQA Lifestyle team: David McCullough, Jordan Singleton, Steve Williams & Paul Ford.
Special congratulations must also go to the RCI team made up of Charisse Cox, Andrew Heslehurst, Sam Gadd & June Harrison. Not only did they win the NAGA this year, they also achieved this fantastic result last year. May be time they consider the makeup of the team!!
Joe Hickman spent the day with the police on the Interval International hole with the speed cop pulling people up for driving their buggies under the influence and too fast! Not true but they were measuring the speed of the ball when you teed off. Congratulations to Barry Robinson for the slowest shot of the day.
Thank you to every-one who attended and help support this day. It would not be the huge success that it is and the ATHOC Foundation wants to thank you for this. Special thanks to our Platinum sponsors and Gold sponsors – Accor Vacation Club, ICE Vacations, Interval International, RCI, Wyndham Vacation Resorts Asia Pacific, Classic Holidays and Crowe Horwath. The lucky raffle winners on the day were: June Harrison-RCI, Patrick BardonHostplus, Travis Grant-Austel Marketing, John Williams-ICE Vacations, David McDonald-Variety, Sarah Korin-Wyndham Vacation Resorts Asia Pacific, Nicole Pomroy-ATHOC and Tim Kewming-Korora Bay Resort.
Men’s nearest the pin winner was Shaun Margison-Absolute World Group and Women’s was Sam Gadd-RCI Men’s longest drive winner was Clive Hawkins-M2 Commander and Women’s was Sam Gadd-RCI Men’s straightest drive was Brett Campbell-XBC Business Centre and Women’s was Charisse Cox-RCI.
ULTIQA Lifestyle wins RCI’s President’s Club Award
We are proud to announce that ULTIQA Lifestyle has again won the prestigious RCI President’s Club Award. This adds to our collection of awards won in 2012, 2013 & 2014.
RCI’s The President’s Club Award is presented annually to the top performing affiliates from around the world. RCI currently has over 4,500 affiliate resorts throughout the world and the industry is a very competitive market, so it is always an honour to receive RCI’s top accolade.
To succeed in this constantly evolving industry requires vision, flexibility and hard work and the President’s Club Award means that we have stayed at the forefront of the vacation ownership market by adapting our business and maintaining focus.
At ULTIQA Lifestyle we are dedicated to our members and with our outstanding service, we know that our future will be bright as we continue to expand into more luxurious destinations.
ULTIQA is a name that was derived from ‘ultra-modern, boutique apartments’ to reflect the brand offering of our properties. We pride ourselves in having a consistent quality of resorts within desirable locations together with the high quality of service that is provided to each and every guest.
ULTIQA Lifestyle’s unique and flexible Points System allows Members to design their own holiday adventure and provides complete peace of mind for the lifetime of the Membership.
To discover more visit www.ultiqalifestyle.com.au
Classic Holidays Takes on Tasmanian Country Club
Classic Holidays, Australasia’s leading Resort and Club Management Company, is leaping to Australia’s ‘Apple Isle’ with the appointment of Management Rights for the Shearwater Country Club in Tasmania.
Located at Port Sorell, just outside the city of Devonport on Tasmania’s northern coastline, Shearwater Country Club will come under Classic Holidays’ management from 1 April 2015.
Chief Operating Officer, Carole Smith, said Classic Holidays was excited to be adding Tasmania to the growing list of destinations available to its members across Australia and New Zealand.
“This is our first Classic Managed Resort on the Apple Isle, and we couldn’t think of a more idyllic property to come under Classic’s growing portfolio of sought-after destinations,” she said.
The multi award-winning Management Company will commence Management services on 1 April, and Shearwater’s 49 units and 2499 weeks will come under Classic’s centralised Reservations and Accounting services from 1 July, 2015.
“Not only will Classic Holidays membership provide Shearwater’s owners with access to over 30 Classic Management Resorts across Australia and New Zealand, but our existing Classic members can now enjoy the ultimate Tasmanian experience at Shearwater,” said Ms Smith.
“Our members have always shown a lot of interest in travelling to Tasmania, which was named fourth in the world’s top ten regions to visit in 2015 by Lonely Planet – so it’s great to be able to provide that opportunity.
“Shearwater Country Club is central to some of Tasmania’s most spectacular wilderness attractions and tourist destinations whilst offering the perfect place to unwind, indulge and refresh.
“Cradle Mountain, waterfalls, National Parks, wineries, caves, beaches and quaint country towns are all just a day trip away, and guests can also see Tasmania’s famous fairy penguin population from nearby Hawley Beach and the Promontory.”
Set amongst over 30 hectares of landscaped gardens and a private golf course, the resort facilities also include a tennis court, indoor heated pool, games room, gymnasium, sauna, solarium, spa pool and restaurant.
Consultation by Government: Professional, Ethical and Education Standards in the Financial Services Industry
Timeshare as a Tier 1 product could potentially be caught up in changes currently being considered by the Australian Federal Government to training of financial advisors. We will work hard to put forward a firm position on why timeshare sales staff differ to those financial advisors offering advice on what to do with your hard earned money!
Wyndham Recruits New Senior Director of Owner Services and Loyalty
Wyndham Vacation Resorts Asia Pacific is pleased to announce the appointment of Diane Mitchell to the position of Senior Director of Owner Services and Loyalty.
Diane will be based at the company’s corporate headquarters on the Gold Coast and will oversee the operations of several key departments including Reservations, Travel Club, Owner Services and Owner Education.
These departments work simultaneously to deliver exceptional service and unforgettable holidays to WorldMark South Pacific Club by Wyndham’s 50,000 plus Club Owners.
Diane has been in the timeshare industry since 2007, most recently as the Director of Marketing and Operations – Asia Pacific, with Wyndham’s sister company RCI, based in Singapore.
She was a finalist in the Corporate Manager of the Year category of the Australian Timeshare and Holiday Ownership Council awards in 2011 and 2012. She has also worked as Accor Vacation Club’s Call Centre Operations Manager.
Diane has extensive experience in change management, policy/process development, recruitment and training and will bring a wealth of knowledge to the role.
RCI Congratulations all their award winning resorts in the Pacific!
Interval International Tops 250,000 Facebook Fans
Interval International announced its latest social media milestone: exceeding 250,000 fans on Facebook. Growing at a rate of 18,000 new followers per month, Interval’s Facebook presence has grown by more than 60% in just over six months.
“Our Facebook page enables us to build our online presence, engage with existing members, and attract new audiences,” said Madeline Berges, Interval’s vice president of e-commerce and digital marketing. “Thanks to our followers, who are actively sharing their input and ideas and interacting with our brand every day, our social reach has been expanding by leaps and bounds.”
Producing and posting compelling videos and images has been instrumental in Interval’s Facebook success. Recently, the #VacationPerfection campaign, which showcased eye- catching imagery of the top 25 destinations visited by members in 2014, garnered close to 34,000 views.
Interval has made significant strides in expanding its social initiatives, which also include Google+, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, Linkedin and Interval Community. Launched in 2010, Interval Community was created to enable members to easily share advice and travel tips, along with other valuable information. Five years later, with more than 200,000 participants across the globe, it is also a valuable asset. “By creating engaging experiences that inspire passion for travel, we have seen significant growth across all our platforms,” adds Berges.
Silver Sands Joins Classic Holidays’ Resort Partner Program
Western Australian timeshare resort, Silver Sands, has joined Classic Holidays’ Resort Partner program.
As part of the program, Classic Holidays has opened an onsite sales operation at the resort in Mandurah, WA, offering membership to the Classic Holidays Points Club to guests staying at the resort.
Ivan Hill, General Manager of Silver Sands, welcomed the partnership with Australasia’s leading Resort Management Company.
“Classic Holidays’ unrivalled customer focus and expanding suite of holiday products and leisure benefits will open up a world of possibilities for our owners and guests, allowing them to make informed decisions on the best product for their holiday needs.” said Mr Hill.
Chief Commercial Officer of Classic Holidays, Mark Stephenson, said, “By developing this unique sales operation, Classic is making a positive contribution to Silver Sands, assisting their financials, and showcasing the latest leisure products to their guests, bringing new members into the Classic Points Club.
“This will also expand our inventory in Western Australia, offering more availability to the Classic Holidays Points Club at this beautiful destination, just one hour’s drive south of Perth.”
The Resort Partner program is designed to provide benefits for both organisations, providing Silver Sands with a professional on site sales team, and expanding Classic Holidays’ resort offering for its Points Club members.
