South Africa Articles

The biggest myth of professional selling is that good salespeople are born, not made. This myth should be relegated to the scrap heap, says Clive Price, sales training guru, who is not known for holding his tongue when talking about his favourite topic…………selling.

Few holidays can beat the thrill of the safari; South Africa’s most exclusive bush retreats offer a heady mix of wildlife, wilderness and adventure, with enough lashings of luxury to keep guests coming back for more.

The shared ownership industry in South Africa is growing, and the Vacation Ownership Association of Southern Africa marked its ‘best ever conference’ while welcoming a ‘new dawn’ in legislation, products, financing and services.

Dial An Exchange (DAE) is the world’s largest independent exchange provider. And because they are privately owned, they have the enviable ability to listen, and react quickly to the needs of their customers.

Take a wine hotel set in its own estate, enhance the consumer offering with an exclusive shared ownership product and you have a high end destination experience that is hard to beat, even in today’s world of luxury long-haul holidays. Fiona Klonarides discovers why fractional ownership and fine wines are a match made in heaven – or Tuscany, California and South Africa to be more precise…

Fortunately for the shared ownership industry, leading technology creator Merlin Software has been helping businesses streamline their operations and maximise profitability for over ten years, making it the industry-specific software of choice for many major players

As global economies recover there seems to be a buzz within the South African shared ownership industry once again, although we are nowhere near the hive of activity experienced pre recession, it seems though we are on a slow but steady path to a new norm.

Breaking the cycle of poverty is a mammoth task, but a school in Cape Town is sowing the seeds to make this dream a reality.

But the recently announced 1st Annual GNEX 2011 & Perspective Magazine Awards Gala is definitely their largest and most ambitious project to date.

Perspective Magazine South Africa asked several influential South Africa market leaders to talk about the state of the industry and its biggest challenges going forward. Each shared-ownership industry leader was individually asked to respond to the same set of questions.

In South Africa, the RCI ‘Oscas’ is an annual event that celebrates RCI’s valued Club partners, Developers, Affiliated Resorts, Top Timeshare Sales Professionals’ successes and acknowledges the important role they play in the Vacation Ownership Industry in Africa. The Oscas event is the culmination point of RCI’s Recognition Programmes for the Vacation Ownership Industry in Africa.

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Perspective Magazine Editor Matt McDaniel recently chatted with Darren Ettridge, Interval International’s vice president, resort sales and service for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The one-time co-workers talked about how Ettridge got into the timeshare industry, what’s happening at his company and his favourite football club (and you’ll likely not guess which it is).

A young man’s dreams were nearly cut short when the grip of poverty threatened to extinguish his potential, but thanks to a group of teachers from Christel House South Africa Rosario Schuurman’s future looks bright.

First Resorts, one of the worlds largest resort management Companies, managing over 50 holiday destinations throughout South Africa and the United Kingdom has introduced a new dimension in guest experiences, intended specifically to indulge all the senses of guests visiting any Resort.

Shared vacation ownership continues to make great strides in South Africa, a nation that was largely spared from the brunt of the global economic crisis thanks to strict lending regulations that already were in place before the meltdown occurred. But the industry in South Africa is indeed strong and poised for further growth, no doubt thanks in part to the leadership of the industry association, VOASA.

South Africa put on a spectacular show during the World Cup and while the sun may have set on the football, a bright future beckons for its property and tourist industries. Fiona Klonarides takes a look at a country keen to capitalise on its new place on the world stage.

Of all the shared-ownership resorts in the world, there are probably not many that can justifiably include the words safari and beach in their name. But Royal Reserve Safari & Beach Club, an RCIaffiliated resort with Gold Crown status that is set among coconut palm groves on the white sandy beach at Kikambala, has all the reason in the world to.

By any measure, the financial crisis that began in 2007 has thrust wrenching challenges upon the business models of hospitality and shared-ownership companies in every vertical, as customers and potential prospects deal with high levels of unemployment, plummeting real estate values affecting perceptions of individual and family net worth, and declining consumer confidence.

As Central Florida’s existing theme parks add new attractions and a newcomer plans to enter the market, the resort corridor and its sharedownership resorts are poised for a tourism boom

For luxury property providers and developers, targeting investors from overseas is vital. In the past twelve months, 45% of £2 million and above property purchases in the UK have been going to non-UK buyers and 60% in London.