More details on the 2011 Vacation Deprivation study can be found here: www.expedia.com/vacationdeprivation.

“At Expedia, we believe travel experiences on vacation are an essential part of living a balanced, meaningful life,” said Scott Durchslag, President of Expedia Worldwide. “But perspectives on this differ around the world. Americans can often live to work, viewing vacations as a guilty privilege to be downplayed around the workplace — especially if they are worried about their jobs. Europeans work to live, feeling vacation is a right rather than a privilege. Asians take the fewest days of vacation and spend them secretly checking emails. I am convinced this is a false choice because vacations allow employees to rejuvenate, sharpen the saw, connect with new cultures, and renew their relationships. It is no coincidence that the happiest, well-balanced employees are the most innovative and productive.”

Expedia’s Vacation Deprivation study surveyed 7,803 employed adults across 20 countries. It asked employed individuals to share the number of vacation days (as distinct from mandated holidays) they take each year, what obstacles they face, where they prefer to holiday and how they behave on arrival. Among the findings:

• Europeans lead the world in vacationing. On the whole, European workers enjoy considerably more vacation time, as measured by days given and days taken, than their peers elsewhere. The average employed European earns 25-30 vacation days in a given year, and, with some exceptions, tends to use them all. Brazilians treat vacation as the Europeans do — as a vital part of being employed, rather than a luxury. The study showed that Brazilian workers receive 30 vacation days and enjoy every one of them.
• Americans treat vacation as a luxury rather than a fact of life. Americans receive roughly half the Europeans’ allotment of vacation time. In 2011, employed Americans earned 14 vacation days and took 12, a decrease from 2010. The median number of vacation days US workers earned in 2010 was 15 days; the number taken was 12. In comparison, the French earned 30 vacation days, and took all 30 in 2011. In 2010, the average French worker used all but one of their vacation days.
• American vacation habits are more like Asians’ than Europeans’. Asia represents the most vacation-deprived region in the 2011 Vacation Deprivation study. Japanese workers trailed the field, taking a mere five vacation days out of 11 available, while South Korean respondents enjoyed seven out of a possible ten days of vacation. Last year, Japanese workers left six vacation days on the table, trailing only the Italians. Italian respondents reported that they left seven vacation days unused in the past year, more than any other nation, though Italians are not precisely vacation-deprived, having 28 days at their disposal.
• Money and planning are the most commonly-cited reasons for not taking vacation. Overall, 22% of respondents said they believed they could not afford it, and 20% said “lack of planning.” The US leads the world in money worries: 1 out of 3 Americans say that they can’t afford vacation. However, almost 50% of US workers describe their financial situation as “solid” or “good,” which reinforces the notion that Americans view vacation as a luxury. Brazilian respondents, on the other hand, were least likely to see money as a vacation impediment (6%). Brazilians chose “lack of planning” as their top reason.
• The world’s least supportive bosses work in Italy and South Korea. Most workers reported that their bosses are largely supportive of vacation — Americans find that 73% of their bosses are supportive. The reverse was true in Italy (56% boss disapproval) and South Korea (52%), where respondents were most likely to believe management frowns on employee vacations or were unsure. Work/life balance seems to be most prevalent in northern Europe, with Norway and Sweden boasting the highest boss-approval percentages (88% and 82%, respectively.)
• Most vacationers find it difficult to disconnect from work. The Danish find it easiest — only one in seven respondents from Denmark report that they check email and voicemail regularly while on break, with more than 50% refusing to check in even once. Americans, too, prefer to disconnect when on vacation, with only 25% checking in regularly, and 75% checking in sometimes or never. More than 50% of French, Japanese, Indian and Italian workers remain tightly connected to the office while on vacation.
• Most people prefer beaches over romance. Globally, beach vacations are king. Twice as many respondents cited beach vacations as their preference, versus “romantic holidays with spouse” — except in South Korea, which overwhelmingly chose “romantic holidays” (45% versus 27% favoring the beach). Romance was the preferred option for the Japanese as well, unlike Argentineans and Mexicans, who were four or five times as likely to select the beach as they were to choose a romantic holiday, a city getaway or an outdoor adventure. The Dutch were the outdoorsiest vacationers, while Singaporeans prefer the city.

In the face of the global downturn, IFA HR’s continued success has been credited to its sound footing as a minimally leveraged company, its exceptional global portfolio and its strengthened focus on completing and delivering its existing projects.

As a result of its commitment to bring projects from construction to completion, 2010 saw the need for IFA HR to establish a new arm of the company – IFA Hotel Investments (IFA HI) – to provide strategic direction to its operational assets and continue to expand its hospitality portfolio around the world. 2011 has seen the full integration of IFA HI into IFA HR’s operations, most recently culminating in the opening of a 669-room YOTEL New York in Manhattan’s famous Times Square.

Together, IFA HR and IFA HI have continued to defy dark industry predictions by proving that the right projects in the right locations can command the necessary funding and subsequent sales/occupancy to be successful regardless of general market conditions.

Success in the Middle East
Last year in Dubai, IFA HR completed its Golden Mile, Palm Jumeirah project and launched several new products within its mixed-use Laguna Tower development, which is due to open in late 2011. These included loft and duplex apartments, as well as a private residence club to be operated by the onsite hotel – Mövenpick Hotel & Residence Jumeirah Lakes Towers. December 2010, also saw IFA HR make international headlines by successfully securing foreign financing of US$115 million, through IFA HI, for its Fairmont Palm Jumeirah hotel project. The funding, which was the first new foreign-bank funding for a Dubai hotel real estate development since the downturn, was structured and arranged by Standard Chartered Bank in Hong Kong and will allow IFA HR to expedite the project’s completion to Q2 2012. At this time, IFA HR also handed over The Residences (North & South) – the exclusive apartments and townhouses that flank both sides of the prestigious Fairmont Palm Jumeirah project.

Further afield, IFA HR inaugurated its first project in Lebanon in partnership with Kingdom Hotel Investments – The Four Seasons Hotel  Beirut. The hotel includes 230 guest rooms, among which are 60 spacious suites, a 750-square-metre ballroom, restaurants and a swimming pool. The company will soon hand over the villas and townhouses within its Alabadiyah Hills and has launched a newly designed phase two development. The phase two project features the uncompromising management and service of Kempinski Hotels, Europe’s oldest luxury hotel group.

Returning to Profitability in Asia
In South-East Asia, IFA HR, through its major shareholding in Thai real estate developer Raimon Land, is seeing a steady return to profitably. In May, 2011, Raimon and announced a secured sales backlog  of approximately US$500 million, of which US$345.4 million related to sales at The River project in Bangkok (representing 73% of the total sales value of that project). Raimon Land also announced that it had completed the final 15% acquisition of The River project so that the Company now owns 100% of the development.

In 2010, Raimon Land launched its “185 Rajadamri” project, comprising 368 residential units. 185 Rajadamri is the only freehold development located along Rajadamri Road at the heart of Bangkok’s business district and is expected to generate profits of more than
US$311 million.

The company also launched its Zire Wongamat project in Pattaya, which comprises two towers of 37 and 54 stories containing 480 residential units with panoramic views of the gulf of Thailand. The building also features a selection of luxury facilities and amenities including gardens, a 25m-length swimming pool and a fitness center. According to May figures, 22% of the project had already been sold.

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With the tourism industry on the rebound in many parts of North America, consumers returning to their shelved vacation plans are creating a new dynamic to the way they prepare their post-recession holidays. Shorter lead times for bookings, combined with adverse publicity for some international destinations and the effect of higher gas prices, have placed additional challenges on travel clubs and online rental outlets to move inventory and fulfill vacation requests.

This changing travel landscape has placed a greater emphasis on personal networking and the need for developing strategic alliances among businesses within the vacation ownership industry, resulting in a very successful spring conference for the Cooperative Association of Resorts Exchangers (CARE) in Deerfield Beach, FL, over May 14-17, 2011, at the Embassy Suites Resort.

An optimistic outlook for the industry spread among the estimated 120 delegates in attendance, but upbeat camaraderie is nothing new for the group according to CARE president Alain Carr of American Resorts International.

“We’re lucky that we really have a great group of people that are open and it’s a family here, open to share ideas with each other and we’re not afraid to discuss our business plans with each other to help foster quality throughout the industry,” said Carr.

That exchange of ideas and emphasis on building business relationships is what draws companies like SellMyTimeshareNow.com to these events. “A very big part of our business is dealing with consumer timeshare rentals,” said Jason Tremblay, CEO, SellMyTimeshareNow. com. “We’re here largely to network and get contacts for inventory and I’ve met a number of people here at this conference where they have incredible inventory and we have all this demand, so it’s a match made in heaven.”

Jeanette Bunn, president, Travel to Go, has been in the travel club business for over 20 years and says “I consider many of the people at this conference as my second family … everybody here is a very close knit group. We build relationships and we’ve been doing business with each other for so many years that you just become really good friends.” Bunn has seen the impact of the difficult publicity surrounding some destinations and how the current economic realities have altered consumer requests for destinations. “I would say it is definitely more of a domestic (U.S.) request that is going through our system. Members are wanting to stay more local … and they are preferring drive-to (destinations) to save on the airfare,” said Bunn.

The conference began with a welcome dinner which included a live and silent auction of donated items from the membership that raised over $13,500 to offset conference costs. Day one saw keynote speaker Bill Repp from Selling Smart facilitate workshops geared toward developing better relationship-building skills which are essential towards maintaining high satisfaction levels among consumers. Repp explained that with the growth of technology has come a need to be more proactive with interpersonal relationships. “It’s almost a correlation between the growth of emails and texting and voicemails and messaging (and) to the extent we do that we don’t connect with people. The more the electronic stuff is used, the more we need to (make) contact with people, be kind to them and be positive with them,” Repp said.

The evening of day one focused on an awards dinner and the presentation of the group’s most prestigious individual honors. The Pinnacle Award recognizes excellent service and achievement within the vacation industry, with nominees required to have worked in the vacation industry a minimum of 15 years. The 2011 winner was Linda Mayhugh, Chief Operating Officer of Advantage Travel / Accommodations Unlimited. The Richard Gallardo Award spotlights a CARE volunteer who has consistently given their time, above and beyond, to the CARE organization and the 2011 recipient was Tina Stafford, Exchange and Wholesale Coordinator with Advantage Travel /Accommodations Unlimited.

The highlight of day two was a presentation by Howard Nusbaum, president, American Resort Development Association, who gave an update on the state of the vacation ownership industry and ARDA’s role in building alliances with groups such as CARE. “The people at CARE are kind of the glue. They’re the ones that really deliver on the dream by making this work and I believe that there are so many things that ARDA and CARE can do together in terms of education, in terms of making sure that the consumer gets what they pay for, working together on our Travel Club Task Force, working with the AIF on the research area,” said Nusbaum. “At the end of the day, it’s about the consumer. It’s about better vacationing and timeshare is going through a new evolution, a new iteration and there’s going to be more term product out there and I have huge respect for what the members of CARE do and I want them to see ARDA as a resource.”

“I think developers can learn a lot from CARE because in the old days it was all about lead generation and hook tours. Today, robust rentals are a way to introduce a new generation of potential timeshare owners in a softer, more retail way. And I think that robust rental programs are the future, and understanding how to package that right, and I think CARE is ahead of ARDA on that,” Nusbaum added.

The Travel Advantage Network’s Spring Break Bash 2011 brought day two to a
rousing conclusion and included an off-site dinner and dancing event with live reggae music in Ft. Lauderdale. The conference finished the next day with the CARE Gives Back event as about 25 members visited the NE Focal Point Senior Center in Deerfield Beach. They spent the morning volunteering in the various day care facilities  which cater to special needs adults, child care and care for people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Some volunteers  participated in crafts, sing-alongs and reading sessions while others worked in the thrift shop and on the grounds doing landscaping and painting jobs.

“I think CARE is a great place to keep some good, grounded values that we have to have; that we take care of our clients. It’s not a situation where we want to sell something and send someone down the road with something that they can’t use, can’t afford or are unhappy with. This group of people is a major contributing factor as to why people are satisfied in the industry,” Carr said. [/member]

The timeshare and fractional industry’s leading independent multi-media information provider is expanding its sales and account management department due to new product development.

Perspective Magazine, the timeshare and fractional ownership industry’s global independent information leader, announces that Kerry McCormack has been hired for the newly-created position of Client Relationship Manager. With Ms. McCormack’s hire, the company will continue to effectively service its clients as it rapidly expands from a publishing company into a full service media organization, according to Paul Mattimoe, president and CEO, Perspective Magazine.

“Our group of companies is constantly evolving, so adding Kerry’s expertise to our team is assurance that we can not only continue to deliver, but over deliver on our level of service provided to our clients. ” said Mr. Mattimoe.

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The independent multi-media information leader for the timeshare and fractional industry is expanding its North America operation.

Timeshare and fractional ownership information provider Perspective Magazine announces that Steve Luba has been promoted to the position of Chief Operating Officer for the company’s North America operation. He will continue to report to Paul Mattimoe, president and CEO of the Perspective group of companies.

“We are very excited to have Steve take the reins of our North America business,” said Mattimoe. “Our Perspective Magazine North America edition has grown rapidly this year, cementing its position as the largest independent publication in print and online for the region. Now, with the development of our GNEX Conferences and other projects we have in the pipeline, we plan to expand our U.S. based team which Steve will manage along with the implementation of our various multi-media initiatives into the Canadian, U.S., Mexican and Caribbean markets.”

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Launched this spring, the Lubner Group (www.LubnerGroup.com) offers design and purchasing services with capabilities for crafting custom-designed furniture and total turnkey furnishing packages. This highly specialized work is offered for shared-use properties such as timeshare resorts, hotels, fractional ownership and private residence clubs, as well as developers of high-rise condominiums, and single-family communities in North America and abroad.

Unlike other “start-up” companies, the Lubner Group principals have over 100 years of combined design experience in providing millions of dollars in completed projects for customers from Denver to Dubai, ultimately resulting in a positive impact on their clients’ sales. The 96-year old company with which the principals were previously associated (Robb & Stucky) was one of the nation’s top 50 high-end retail furnishing outlets. While the company name has changed, the Lubner Group’s talent base, unique design capabilities, worldwide business relationships and work with hospitality clients worldwide continue.

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RCI, the global leader in vacation exchange and part of the Wyndham Worldwide family of brands (NYSE: WYN), has created the RCI®  Green Award to recognize RCI® affiliated resorts in North America that actively engage in sustainable practices and demonstrate a commitment to incorporating green measures into all facets of daily resort operations. 

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“At Wyndham Worldwide, we believe that providing an outstanding experience for our guests and customers begins with our associates,” says Stephen P. Holmes, chairman and CEO, Wyndham Worldwide. “We are honored for this recognition of our culture, which is built and supported every day by our 26,000 associates in over 100 countries around the world.”

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Joe Russoniello, president and co-founder, Brand Tango

Perspective Magazine and Brand Tango work together to create a new brand for the inaugural Perspective Magazine Awards, to be held in conjunction with GNEX 2011.

Perspective Magazine, an industry leader in providing independent timeshare and fractional information in print and online, knew that an effective brand strategy was needed when the company decided to launch the Perspective Magazine Awards program.

A new and innovative global awards program that was to tie together the magazine’s four readership regions of North America, Europe & Middle East, South Africa and Asia Pacific needed a distinctive identity and the result is the newly unveiled logo designed by one of the most respected marketing companies in the vacation ownership industry, and recent winner of three ARDY awards, Brand Tango.

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“It’s been a tough pull” says CEO and co-founder Francis Taylor, “We decided early on that we would approach the North American market by employing a direct-to-consumer strategy rather than a channel strategy and while it is paying off now, the first few years were a real test.

“We’ve marketed our services to consumers by way of resale and rental platforms, online communities, user groups and forums, webinars, seminars, direct mail and more” Taylor continues.

“When we find a timeshare owner and explain what we do, how we do it and how we are different, folks try us…. It’s that simple.”

It’s been 5 years and Dial An Exchange North America is going strong. They have established a name for themselves in the market, secured key relationships and channel partnerships and have been growing revenue and member counts ever since.

How?
Referrals. Dial An Exchange had to come into a market with several existing players. Many exchange companies are backed by management companies that have a group of resorts to call their own. DAE has consistently marketed themselves as a ‘direct-to-consumer’, transaction-based company, and has proven it by growing its business one transaction at a time, rather than with affiliation fees, membership fees, or rental revenue.

“Referrals currently account for over 50% of the incoming memberships to DAE. Whether they come from individual owners or resorts that have owners with specific needs, DAE has become the choice for over 300,000 members worldwide, with over 100,000 in North America” said Francis.

When marketing directly to the consumer, DAE makes its core competencies well known up front.

“We keep things simple, we give the members good old fashioned, personal customer service and our fees are reasonable and more than competitive” he concluded.

Keeping it simple
One week equals one week. DAE is just a simple, transparent exchange service that offers week-for-week exchanges. There are no evaluations, no points and no trading power concerns.

For owners of “prime time” weeks they offer Primetime Rewards where owners receive great added value for banking their week. What qualifies? Simple – the most desired weeks in their request system.  Primetime weeks and destinations are constantly being updated and are listed on the Primetime Rewards page online at www.daelive.com.

Plus DAE will always offer a free membership option, eliminating any barriers consumers might have to trying a new exchange service. DAE even offers the consumer the ability to place a request for non-available inventory without making a deposit first!

“It gives the consumer time to look at what DAE has to offer and it gives us a chance to prove ourselves to the enquiring prospect and earn the business without requiring the consumer to take any perceived chances before trying us” explains Fermin Cruz, VP of North American Business.

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Timeshare and fractional industry information provider Perspective Magazine announces that International Cruise and Excursions, Inc. (ICE) is a Bronze Sponsor of the First Annual Global Networking Expo, GNEX 2011.

John Rowley, Chairman, ICE Enterprise

“We are proud to sponsor GNEX 2011.  ICE, as a global vacation provider, with operations throughout North America, Europe, Australia and Asia believes that GNEX provides a platform to do business with other global shared ownership leaders that have the same passion to create innovative world class vacation products thereby strengthening the industry” said John Rowley, Chairman, ICE Enterprise.

ICE provides clients the ability to leverage the power and appeal of vacations through fully branded travel and cruise programs with access to flights, cruises, hotels, resorts, tours, car rental and packaged products via a proven e-commerce platform partnered with full service state of the art call center, customer service and fulfillment operations. ICE cultivated powerful, long-standing relationships with every major cruise line across the globe and further strengthened its product lines with the addition of more than 50,000 high quality resort and hotel options along with a broad range of lifestyle products and experiential tours worldwide.

“We are delighted to welcome ICE as a sponsor of GNEX 2011. Their unique integration of the timeshare, cruise and travel industries is an example of the diversity and potential growth the shared ownership industry can continue to explore,” said Paul Mattimoe, president and CEO, Perspective Magazine.

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The first in a new series of announcements is the imminent launch of a collection of IPTV channels. Internet Protocol Television, (IPTV) is a system through which Internet television services are delivered via broadband instead of traditional radio frequency broadcast, satellite signal, and cable television formats.

Perspective TV, as the platform will be known, will include a number of channels which are to be launched periodically over the next 24 months starting with a currently unnamed channel aimed at consumers and available via the Owners Perspective Magazine website which is on schedule to be launched as a Beta version by the end of Q1 and fully operational by end of Q2.

This consumer channel will be a 24/7 streaming online TV channel that in simple terms operates exactly the same way a regular TV channel would, with a full schedule of programs that will be advertised so that viewers can tune it at specific times to watch the programs that interest them.

The primary objective of the Owners Perspective channel is to better educate both existing timeshare and fractional owners and prospective buyers on the benefits of ownership through exclusively produced interactive programs and promotional video content, and to generate quality sales enquiries, inspection tours and rental guests.

Fad or Fantastic?
Technology has always moved faster than society has been willing to adopt it simply because it takes time to enact a massive change in a consumer’s behavior – there are many key examples from the past three decades:

Launched in 1982, the CD was the beginning of the acceleration towards the entertainment systems of today. It took just two years before the CD-Rom was launched in 1984 and introduced into computers allowing for the progression of the idea that a computer could be used to store and playback libraries of audio files, primarily for music collections, but it took several years for this idea to begin to take hold.

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Selected from a field of international entries, Robb & Stucky’s design work at Bluegreen Corporation’s Harbour Lights vacation ownership resort in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and the Carriage House Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada were both selected as finalists in the resort refurbishment category. In the category of Interior Design for a New Resort Unit, the Robb & Stucky design team was also named a finalist for its design of the Presidential Suites at The Fountains Resort, located in Orlando, also a Bluegreen property. The top award winner in each category will be announced at a Black Tie Gala held in conjunction with ARDA’s annual convention in Las Vegas on March 30.

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The renovation will include all new bathrooms, kitchens, appliances, flooring and total interiors. Robb & Stucky will also provide total design services and custom manufacturing of the majority of the furnishings. Renovation of the five historic “Old Conch” styled buildings will be done in phases, starting in July and completed by the end of October.

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DIAMOND RESORTS INTERNATIONAL® (Diamond), a global leader in the hospitality and vacation ownership industries, today announced that three senior level executives are assuming leadership roles for Sales and Marketing Operations in North America.

Derek Kanoa will maintain a key leadership role as Vice President of Sales and Marketing over his area of expertise, the Western Business Unit. Diamond would like to thank Mr. Kanoa for the integral role he has played and will continue to fulfill for Sales and Marketing Operations as he is a critical player to the success of the Western Business Unit.

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Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:HOT) is strengthening its long established position in the Middle East as one of the leading  luxury hotel operators in the region with a portfolio of nearly 50 existing hotels and a pipeline of 25 new hotels. This growth, primarily in the luxury and upper-upscale segments, represents an increase of
nearly 50%. By 2015, the Middle East will become the second region, after North America, to operate all nine of Starwood’s world-class brands – St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, W, Westin, Le Méridien, Sheraton, Four Points by Sheraton, and the recently launched Aloft and Element – further reinforcing the company’s commitment to the region.

As a key emerging market, the Middle East continues to evolve as an international business and leisure travel destination. According to the UN World Tourism Organization, the number of tourists travelling to the Middle East is expected to reach 136 million by 2020 compared with 54 million two years ago.

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The Alternative Ownership Conference Asia Pacific (AOCAP) has confirmed its commitment to Perspective Magazine’s global networking expo (GNEX 2011).

Perspective Magazine, the top multi-media information provider for the timeshare and fractional industry, announces that the Alternative Ownership Conference Asia Pacific (AOCAP) will be involved as a GNEX 2011 Supporter during the First Annual Global Networking Expo.

“Perspective International have supported the development of the AOCAP conference since conception and we are delighted in turn to show our support for the GNEX 2011 Expo which perfectly complements our work in promoting the benefits of shared ownership on a global scale.” said Bryan Lunt, Chairman & CEO of the Absolute World Group of Companies and founding sponsors of AOCAP.

The focus of the world’s vacation ownership industry will be firmly on GNEX 2011 and the Perspective Magazine Awards Gala next year which is to be held at the world renowned Atlantis Resort in Nassau, Bahamas on May 11th-12th, 2011.

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“The conduit is a valuable source of liquidity. With terms more favorable than the last conduit renewal, this transaction demonstrates the continued commitment of our lending banks and the strength of Wyndham’s business model,”” said Tom Conforti, Chief Financial Officer, Wyndham Worldwide.

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DIAMOND RESORTS INTERNATIONAL® (Diamond), a global leader in the hospitality and vacation ownership industries, today announced that Dennis Nau will join the company effective October 4, 2010, as Senior Vice President, Resort Operations for its North America and Caribbean locations. 

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RealTimeRental’s property management system serves more than 60,000 vacation rental homes and properties in North America and is installed by more than 175 property management companies. The integration of RTR’s property management system with the Vacation Storebuilder platform provides RTR clients with a variety of websites to showcase their vacation homes, drive traffic by leveraging search engine and social media marketing channels, and increase bookings with an integrated online booking engine. RTR clients will benefit from Vacation Storebuilder’s turnkey eCommerce solution to quickly deploy their own branded websites and increase revenue on a pay-per-performance pricing model.

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Perspective Magazine is renowned for staying ahead of the game and pioneering new technology and marketing programs – they were the first of the industry’s publications to provide a digital edition with page turn technology, have created their own social media platform combining the best features of Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter and have negotiated distribution deals with major airlines, hotels and resorts around the world for their consumer publication.

But the recently announced 1st Annual GNEX 2011 & Perspective Magazine Awards Gala is definitely their largest and most ambitious project to date. There are many conferences and events on the shared ownership industry’s calendar; in fact over the past couple of years the number has been growing significantly as more independent companies realize the advantages of hosting events, some even opting for smaller regionalized events – and globally, Perspective Magazine is an official media sponsor of almost all of them, exceeding more than 20 per year.

“We’ve been involved in the promotion and reviewing of more than 50 industry events in the past few years and from that experience we believe we have designed an event that will tick all the boxes for all its attendees” says Paul Mattimoe, CEO Perspective International.

So what’s so different about this event? Well there’s two main parts to this event that couldn’t be more different to each other, but combined create a “must attend” draw from a global audience.

GNEX 2011
Pronounced G-NEX, it stands for Global Networking Expo with a very strong emphasis on networking. With the current economic climate still slowing some businesses down, there has never been a more important time to generate new business wherever possible and this event’s prime focus is in doing just that, with one of its slogans as “Business-Making in the Bahamas”.

Networking is an integral part of any conference and for many, who pay their money to attend several per year it is the most important factor for them and so GNEX 2011 is designed around this premise. GNEX is not a conference; it has no main theatre and no typical schedule of sessions. Instead it has been classed as an EXPO, where the main room contains exhibitors and plentiful areas for delegates to sit and have meetings together with access to refreshments. From there, GNEX offers a day and a half of exciting networking sessions and workshops – all of which are optional! So delegates can choose to attend as many or as few as they wish without feeling they need to be “in attendance” at all sessions at all times, giving them more time to arrange those important meetings and spend more than just the coffee breaks mixing and mingling and looking around the expo hall.

Through carefully designed networking sessions and social activities GNEX 2011 will make finding new business contacts easy, and for those that want to learn more about particular areas of business there’s a wide selection of open floor Q&A style workshops, each complete with a panel of experts in their field available to answer burning questions and give advice, which again is an opportunity to highlight those companies that you really should be doing busines with and provide you with an opportunity to meet them. Combine this event with the crowd pulling Perspective Magazine Awards Gala and you have a very busy business-making event attended by the very best developers and suppliers in the industry from all four corners of the world.

Add in very affordable delegate rates with even better special rates at the fabulous Atlantis Resort and this is definitely one event your company should be attending!

Perspective Magazine Awards Gala
A trend-setting structure and program is not the only thing that will put GNEX to the forefront of industry events; there will also be the glamour and extravagance of the Perspective Magazine Awards Gala.

“It was actually the awards program that breathed life into the whole idea. We have been asked time and time again why Perspective Magazine does not give out industry awards, and I have always steered clear of it until I could imagine a way to deliver true value.” Said Mattimoe. “When we restructured our trade magazine into four regional titles this year, the idea came to me that we could search for the best in each region and then from the winners we could crown the “Best in the World”. To do this we needed an incredible venue, one that suited an occasion where we would honor the best in our industry. We chose the iconic Atlantis Resort, Bahamas – and through their incredible convention facilities, we came up for the idea of GNEX”.

The 12th May promises to deliver a prestigious night of champions, combining awards with a six course dinner, extensive entertainment program and special guest appearances, but perhaps it is how the award finalists are chosen that has captured the most interest. Perspective Magazine has created an area of their website that will feature the award nominees across 18 categories (24 awards) and will allow any and all industry professionals to vote for those who they consider to be the best in their field. This open voting that will display the current number of votes received in real time has never been available in previous industry award programs and allows for independent and transparent peer to peer voting.

When online voting closes, up to ten award nominees with the most votes per category, per region will be declared award finalists and be asked to submit more detailed reasons for why they should be considered award winners. These finalists will then be judged by an exclusive panel of independent non-industry professionals and the results will be announced at the Perspective Magazine Awards Gala in the presence of the industry’s elite.

A staggering 120 awards will be given out on the night in question, making this the largest awards program for the timeshare and fractional ownership industry and an incredible opportunity to get the very best together to celebrate the ongoing success and evolution of shared ownership products.

For the nine months leading up to the event, Perspective Magazine is arranging relentless promotion which in itself will  raise the profile of all that enter the awards and significantly highlight those that choose to sponsor.Award nominees will be able to use a nominee logo / banner in their promotional materials and websites, again in the award finalists’ stages and then the winners will be given official logos for use thereafter as “Best in Region” and for an elite few, “Best in the World”.

For more information on attending, entering the awards, sponsoring and exhibiting visit http://perspectivemagazine.com/gnex

Perspective Magazine
Now with four regional titles (North America, Europe & Middle East, Asia Pacific and South Africa), the leading independent trade publication continues to increase its reach further still, including attracting new entrants to the market, strengthening communication within the industry and creating opportunities for new collaborations. Recently, Perspective Magazine announced a new Orlando based team to head up its North America business which has already secured several new clients for end of 2010 and throughout 2011.

Perspective Forums, the recently created social networking platform dedicated to the shared ownership industry has grown to more than 3,100 members in a matter of a few short months and enables developers, suppliers and associations to network with other industry professionals, creating new contacts and relationships at no cost. For more information on Perspective Magazine visit http://perspectivemagazine.com

Delegates at the inaugural Fractional Real Estate Essentials conference, held as a pre-event to the annual Australia, New Zealand & Pacific Hotel Industry Conference in Sydney this week, heard leading industry participants from the USA and Australia explain what is driving interest in the concept, how fractional ownership works from the viewpoints of developers and buyers and the types of opportunities and challenges in its introduction in Australia.

“Overseas experience demonstrates that with the right location, right concept and right development team, fractional projects can result in an outstanding outcome for developer and consumer alike” conference chair and Horwath HTL Managing Director Mr John Smith said. He added that the level of local interest in the concept was self evident from the fact that the conference sold-out a week before it was held and was attended by over 160 delegates. “Feedback from delegates at the end of the event confirmed that this type of property development is about to move into a second phase in Australia which is likely to result in new projects emerging to join the current pioneer projects under development in Noosa Heads and Palm Cove” Mr Smith said.

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The award categories for Perspective Magazine’s Global Networking Expo, or GNEX 2011, have been released and will provide industry professionals with an early glimpse of the type of awards to be handed out during the Perspective Magazine Awards Gala on May 12, 2011.

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By Matt McDaniel, editor

In 1984, Marriott became the first branded hospitality company by nearly a decade to enter the timeshare industry with the acquisition of American Resorts and its premier Marriott’s Monarch at Sea Pines resort on Hilton Head Island. And on June 21, 2010, Marriott Vacation Club made perhaps the company’s biggest announcement ever, publicizing the launch of the points-based Marriott Vacation Club Destinations program in North America and the Caribbean. After more than 25 years as an industry leader, Marriott Vacation Club made a move that, while described by some industrywatchers as inevitable, is nevertheless bold: a switch from a traditional weeks-based system to points.

“After a quarter century of providing unforgettable vacations, we are excited to announce the most significant program innovation in our history: a new product offering that is easy to use and will provide our owners unparalleled flexibility,” said Lee Cunningham, executive vice president and chief operating officer for Marriott Vacation Club, North America and the Caribbean, in a prepared statement. “Over the years, we have successfully evolved our product offering based on owner feedback, and the Marriott Vacation Club Destinations program reflects a tradition of owner involvement and was designed specifically for both current and future owners.”

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Perspective Magazine is planning to hold an industry awards event on a scale that has never been previously attempted.  The publisher of industry trade publications in the North America, Europe & Middle East, South Africa and Asia Pacific regions of the world will be bringing together the best of the best from each area for an evening of recognition and celebration.

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As part of the regionalization of Perspective Magazine, the company has announced that its flagship product, Perspective Magazine: International Edition, will now be known as Perspective Magazine: Europe & Middle East.

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Developed by NorthPointe Development Company of Branson, Trophy Run is a 46-acre resort of 180 planned vacation cabins with resort-styled amenities located on Lake Taneycomo. (TrophyRun.com) Under development for the past few years, the cabins are being sold as both whole ownership and fractional (shared-use) properties. 

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“This transaction reflects the continuing signs of strength in the asset-backed securities market, evidenced by higher advance rates and the ability to issue subordinated bonds at attractive financing rates,” said Tom Conforti, executive vice president and chief financial officer, Wyndham Worldwide. “We are pleased with the execution of this transaction, which demonstrates continued investor interest and support of our timeshare business and strong receivables profile.”

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Timeshare and fractional ownership publisher Perspective International has announced the latest in its series of media sponsorships among the world’s leading industry conferences with its sponsorship of the RDO1 Conference in Marbella, Costa del Sol, Spain this October.

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Steve Luba

Timeshare and fractional ownership magazine publisher Perspective International is preparing for a major initiative to increase the public awareness of its multi-media products with the appointment of Steve Luba as Director of Public Relations for the company.

Mr. Luba, who is based in Orlando, Florida, will oversee the online outreach efforts of the company across all platforms targeting North America, Europe, South Africa and the Asia-Pacific regions.

“I am elated to be joining the Perspective team”, said Mr. Luba. “The Perspective suite of magazines and internet information sites are must-read material for the timeshare industry and Paul and Sharon Mattimoe have built an impressive organization”.

“We are very excited to have Steve join our group” said Paul Mattimoe, CEO of Perspective International. “Among his various duties will be to implement and oversee a comprehensive PR and Brand Management campaign for Perspective International and its full suite of products and services. Steve will hit the ground running as he joins our ongoing expansion projects and will concentrate on our continued efforts in building the Perspective brand as the top choice for timeshare and fractional industry and consumer information”.

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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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When timeshare first started, it was enough to simply have a pool, be near the beach or mountain, and offer an apartment style condominium. Today, however, much more is necessary to create and successfully sell out a property. Developers come at it from all angles, but today’s shared-ownership resorts have to have amenities that are either luxurious, innovative, hi-tech, extremely comfort-catering or otherwise unique.

Such amenities definitely run the gamut, but the common thread among them is that they are marketing-friendly and have a positive effect at the sales table. And the best ones operate as a profit center as well, helping in the short term (by being a sales enhancement and closing tool) and long term (by producing steady income and helping to keep maintenance fees in check).

“Today’s consumers value their quality of life above all else, and our product mix is evolving far beyond mere bricks and mortar in order to reflect that philosophy,” says Ross Perlmutter, president and CEO of the Canadian Resort Development Association (CRDA). “It simply isn’t enough to just supply ‘accommodations’ anymore; people are now seeking to generate unforgettable memories and embrace the experiences that actually define their vacations.”

In the Swim
One of the most obvious examples of a “big ticket” amenity is a water feature that goes well beyond being merely a pool. RCI, the world’s largest vacation exchange company, has thousands of affiliated resorts that have pools – and a few that really stand out because their water recreation goes way beyond mere swimming pools. “Amenities continue to be very important to our affiliated properties,” says Gordon Gurnik, president of RCI North America. “Now most resorts are purpose built, and on-site amenities have become a key piece of the timeshare resort design. Larger properties are investing in water park designs over simple pools, for example,” he says.

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Listeners can access the webcast live through the company’s website at www.wyndhamworldwide.com/investors/. The conference call also may be accessed by dialing (800) 369-2052 and providing the pass code “WYNDHAM”. Listeners are urged to call at least 10 minutes prior to the scheduled start time. An archive of this webcast will be available on the website for approximately 90 days beginning at 12:00pm EDT on July 28, 2010.  A telephone replay will be available for approximately 90 days beginning at 12:00pm EDT on July 28, 2010 at (800) 876-5258.

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First published in 2005, Perspective Magazine took the timeshare and fractional ownership industry by surprise when it rapidly grew from a small European publication into a globally recognized leader in its field in a matter of a few years, but in August 2009, an 18 month expansion and restructuring plan was put in place to create four regional titles under the Perspective Magazine name, to allow for more targeted content, increased readership and advertising opportunities.

The Asia Pacific edition was always scheduled as the final stage with a proposed launch date of January 2011, but due to the success of the already established North America edition (launched February 2010) and the pre-sales for the South Africa edition (launching August 2010), this fourth version has been brought forward and will now be launched in September 2010 during the ATHOC Convention in New Zealand, where leaders from throughout Asia Pacific will gather for their annual conference.

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“After a quarter century of providing unforgettable vacations, we are excited to announce the most significant program innovation in our history: a new product offering that is easy to use and will provide our Owners unparalleled flexibility,” said Lee Cunningham, executive vice president and chief operating officer for Marriott Vacation Club, North America and the Caribbean. “Over the years, we have successfully evolved our product offering based on Owner feedback, and the Marriott Vacation Club Destinations program reflects a tradition of Owner involvement and was designed specifically for both current and future Owners.”

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This partnership works in concert with Wyndham Worldwide’s Strategic Sourcing group which seeks to leverage global purchasing to achieve savings, support brand standards and improve the guest experience at all Wyndham properties.

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Perspective Magazine has always pioneered technological advancements online, being the first industry publication to introduce page turn technology for its digital editions (over two years ago), reaching the top spots on Google.com for search terms such as “timeshare news”, and more recently launching the fastest growing and now largest online social community of industry professionals at http://perspectiveforums.com which incorporates all the best features of Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter on one industry specific website.

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The first phase brings on 85 villas (out of 340 proposed villas upon build-out) to the magnificent 500-acre Grande Lakes campus, evoking the timeless beauty of the Mediterranean with a blend of Italian and tropical influences. Located steps from the JW Marriott Orlando, Grande Lakes and The Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes, Owners and guests will enjoy a combination of impressive campus amenities, including The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, The Ritz-Carlton Spa, boutique shopping and exceptional dining.

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Fractions crashed along with the whole resort, real estate business in 2009. And what have we learned?

• Golf course lots are finished for many, many years.

• Condo hotels are dead, dead and deader, unless one really has the primo site and manager. Count those sites on half of one hand in North America.

• Wholly owned condos and homes are selling, but to bottom feeders. Once that inventory is sold out then that market will stall as the realities of whole ownership come into play.

So, fractions? Will they roar? Well, maybe a small roar, but certainly more than a kitty’s mew. Here are the reasons fractions will lead the way back for resort real estate:

Having lost a lot of money in 2008-2009, buyers with discretionary income will be cautious. Even though some has been earned back, the memories of the loss are seared into their psyche. They will be very, very cautious about buying anything. Buyer confidence in purchasing has been slammed. Emerging economic confidence has been offset with lingering lack of confidence in social policy issues and expected new taxation. The political issues surrounding health and energy, until solved, will continue to leave customers hanging in a void of uncertainty.

Buyers’ caution will translate in wanting to spend less, when they decide to spend the will not want to spend the full amount for whole units and will welcome the option of purchasing a fraction. Buyers will be more cautious about ongoing HOA fees, so what once was all-inclusive may be a la carte. Welcome to fractions, where one spends less than the whole.

Parallel with caution is an increased awareness of “user responsibility”: Is it wasteful to have the whole unit if we only use part of it? The new reality is “green” awareness. What’s more ‘green’ than 12 owners per unit? The old alternative used to be 12 individual units.

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The new reality also is to not believe the hype or projections of yesterday, so there is no belief in rental income projections to span the non-personal-use times. So, don’t buy the whole unit but go for the time one can use – and welcome to fractional ownership.

Will the Market Come Back?
So, when will the market come back? Will it ever come back? Is there a business to run? Are there profits to be made?

The recent Kelsey/Norden survey update to resort developers asked the questions:

“Will a percent of the baby boomers skip a vacation home and go right to a retirement home?” “Has that part of the market been lost to 2008-2010?”

Interesting thoughts to consider: Has a large group of prime customers just evaporated? It’s reasonable to assume this is true with the decimation to stock portfolios and primary home values.

On the other hand, fractions may be the price point that the oldest of the baby boomers might buy off on – along with all the other boomers and the Gen X-ers.

How about the inherent hesitation of buying into something perceived as “new” that one has to “share” with other owners?

How about the publicity of dysfunctional HOAs? Fractionals have possible HOA dysfunction written all over them due to reservation-plan management and maintenance of both the interior and exterior of the property.

How will fractional developers move beyond these potential stumbling blocks to successfully bring in those who want quality, vacation home living at an affordable price?

12 Steps to Success in 2010 and into 2011
1. Know the market. Is it ready to buy? At Star we use the SMART assessment program to survey customers to determine this factor. In late 2009 and early 2010 the results were surprisingly positive.

2. Know new media and new media lead generation. There’s lots of talk about websites on steroids, social media, blogging, search engine marketing, EDM marketing, pairing with industry websites and real estate broker websites and the like. There’s lots of talk out there. But, how does one make it work? At Star we’ve learned the hard way, but learned we have.

3. Get a CRM program to capture all these new media leads in a format that works for you and gives permitted users access 24/7 to track prospects and sales.

4. Get the right project. Sounds simple doesn’t it? But, the core adage of location still holds true, quality building is still important, stylish furnishings are still necessary and the correct size for the bulk of the market is paramount.

5. Determine the right share size to sell. Offer multiple share sizes. Be innovative in the use plan. Have a common sense reservation plan. All this sounds simple, but this is the area where success or failure will largely be defined. At Star we originated the priority system, and we still believe in it. We also have endorsed some rotating fixed time, some fixed fixed time, year-around seasons and seasons within seasons.

6. Build the HOA budget with a combination of built-in services and other a la carte services. The balance in this task is to meet the expectations of owners for carefree vacations with an annual fee that makes sense as it’s applied to their use. At Star we’ve done a full 180-degree turnaround, going from all-inclusive to a combination of included services  and extras. Naturally, there’s no fooling with the maintenance and reserves-for-replacement part of the budget.

7. Deliver a level of hospitality management that will fulfill the owner’s expectations.

8. Educate and train the selling staff in the science of how to sell fractions. There’s no art here, just the science of knowing the product and documents in and out, to be unconsciously conscious in the presentation and to fully  understand the decision making process of the buyer, who will be concerned first with personal use and second with ongoing costs. Lastly, to understand that one member of the buying ‘unit’ will want the fraction more than the other, so if there is an art, it’s bringing along the trailing buyer.

9. Selling documentation and registration in selling jurisdictions is necessary and must be accomplished before hard sales begin.

10. Marketing, from branding to EDMs and from old to new media, must be skillfully planned and executed to first fill the customer pipeline with qualified leads, and secondly to keep the pipeline full for the selling staff. At Star we have hit home runs and we have had to bunt in order to steal home plate.

11. Administration and escrow management is vital for this process and translates the product into cash in the final analysis. Does the title and escrow company accept credit card down payments? Can a documented sale be closed within 30-days? At Star we use one title company only for the credit card necessity and we have the docs lined up for a rapid closing.

12. Purchase financing is mandatory. At this time there is no third-party financing available due the financial collapse of September 2008. Therefore, developers have to make the loans and warehouse the loans until they can be sold. Star estimates that will be mid-2011.

Product to Sell
The 12 steps above are all soft steps. The hard steps involve product:

1. The ideal situation is to have completed product, completely furnished, with all amenities in and ready to use. However, presales are sometimes necessary and provide an advantage in that last-minute configurations to the product can be made based on customer response. If presales have commenced, a firm construction loan needs to be in place, subject to the presale requirement, so the buyer can expect a semi-firm date for construction to begin and occupancy to occur. In a recovering market like there is today, the more certainty the better.

2. But before there can be new product to sell, there’s the total lack of development and construction financing and buyer financing. These markets are still frozen save for a very few isolated cases of local banks continuing to work with their developers. The vise banks find themselves in is that on one hand the Federal government says to, “Get the money out,” and on the other hand the FDIC auditors say, “Don’t you dare make any loans.” This is a nationwide situation.

3. The current end loan options out there are:
• The developer makes and holds the balloon loans for the three-, five- or seven-year period.
• Some brokers are working with developers to “package” their developer-made loans in the right form to be sold, if and when the market opens up.
• Lastly, some developers are just stuck as they don’t have the capacity to get releases from their lender, save for all cash sales or huge down payments, and to then carry the paper themselves.

4. There’s been talk of private money coming in for the loans, but there’s also the consensus that private money will flow first to timeshare loans as the yield is much higher than for fractions.

Carl Berry RRP is CEO of Star Resort Group LLC, one of the nation’s oldest, most experienced and most respected fractional/private residence club developers and marketers. Star, headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, is a specialist in the marketing, selling and post sale management of fractional products from the highest service level private residence club to the regional, more casual fractional program. SRG has also developed successful work out strategies for distressed projects as well as pre-planning regiments for future resort development.

Berry has an extensive history in shared ownership products with a specialty in urban timesharing in San Francisco and New York. He is a full member of the Urban Land Institute and serves as a member of the Silver Flight, Recreational Development Council. Berry also is a former Chairman of ARDA and a member of its Board for over 18 years. Previously he served a Chair of the ARDA International Foundation Educational Institute, Chair of the Meetings and Membership Committees and Chair of the National Timeshare Council.

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“We are very pleased to welcome Branson’s Nantucket into the RCI network,” said Gordon Gurnik, president of RCI North America. “As Branson is a national destination that offers fantastic vacation experiences, this beautiful resort is a tremendous addition to the collection of top vacation options we offer to our RCI subscribing members.”

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The latest Ragatz survey is out, and it’s perhaps more valuable to developers than ever given the events of the past two years. This is the 10th annual edition of the project, which is considered to be the most thorough and comprehensive survey conducted of the industry. Here we present the summary of the findings together with observations from Ragatz Associates Founder and President Richard L. “Dick” Ragatz, Ph.D.

So what’s the biggest news out of this year’s study? “The major one that pops out immediately is the decline in sales volume by about 43% due primarily to lack of consumer financing and the general economic conditions,” says Ragatz. “That’s obviously the negative, but there was one positive coming out of the sales performance: the fact that prices on a per-square-foot basis, per-week basis and per-share basis did not seem to drop nearly as much as other types of residential real estate, especially whole ownership resort real estate.”

These results aren’t what Ragatz had expected. “We actually thought it was going to be more of a drop off; we thought it was going to be over 50%,” he says. “One surprise was that all three components (moderately priced fractionals, the high-end PRCs and the destination clubs) dropped off almost exactly the same amount – they all dropped off 43-44%. We had anticipated that the fractionals were going to drop off a lot more than the PRCs.”

Ragatz says the drop off was most severe in the Caribbean and Mexico, the least severe in Canada, and somewhere in between in the U.S. “So the 43% was for North America as a whole; in the U.S., that was only about 35%,” he says.

One of the other interesting findings was that in order to decrease prices on a per-share basis without decreasing prices on a per-square-foot basis, there is a tendency to have smaller shares, fewer bedrooms and less square footage in the new-construction units. Following are further details of the summary results. For purposes of definition, fractional interest projects and private residence clubs are similar, in that both typically sell deeded ownership in shares of vacation homes, ranging from a 1/15 share with three weeks of annual use to a 1/4 share with three months of annual use. However, the two components vary in terms of price, quality of product and degree of services and amenities. Ragatz Associates simply assumes that product selling for less than $1,000 per square foot falls into the fractional interest category, and product selling for more than $1,000 per square foot falls into the private residence club category. A destination club typically sells 30-year memberships on a non-equity basis into a wide network of vacation homes in multiple locations. Some clubs are equity-based, however.

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In addition to the continued growth in North America, Miami-based Interval International has substantially increased the size of its network of affiliated resorts throughout the rest of the world during the past 12 months. Interval, a prominent worldwide provider of vacation services and an operating segment of Interval Leisure Group, has announced key affiliations in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East, and is poised for additional growth despite the challenges presented by the global economy. Here’s a look, region by region, at the major affiliations that Interval has announced over the past year:

Africa
Mjejane Game Reserve. This South African property is a breathtaking 10,000-acre (4,000- hectare) reserve within the greater Kruger National Park, one of the largest natural biospheres in the world. Enjoying a unique location  overlooking the Crocodile River, the mixed-use development will offer its owners unparalleled “big five” game and bird viewing, with a combination of two-, three- and four-bedroom apartments upon completion later this year. Onsite amenities include a swimming pool and restaurant that features local and Mediterranean cuisine, with plans to add tennis courts.

But central to all activities at the reserve is the proximity of all types of living creatures – from hippopotami and giraffes to tortoises and leopards to more than 500 species of birds. Guests can experience herds of up to 600 buffalo, countless elephant, lion, leopard and numerous other game and bird species virtually on their doorstep.

The reserve is adjacent to the exclusive Mjejane Safari Lodge that will include an elegant restaurant, pub, lounge, small conference room, spa, gym, shop and an elevated viewing hide among its amenities.

Zorgvliet Private Residence Club. This affiliation covers six outstanding resorts in South Africa, sold on both a  fractional and traditional timeshare basis. Holiday options available through the club’s resorts include safaris, South Africa’s famed wine region and Garden Route, and health and spa resorts. The resorts included in the affiliation are:

• Ka’Ingo Private Reserve and Spa. A luxury African bush experience developed as a prime private big-five game animal reserve on the Mokolo River through three safari camps – one offering self-catering, one fully integrated hospitality and one six-room private lodge.

• Dinkweng Safari Camp at Ka’Ingo. Comprising luxury secluded bush lodges with modern kitchen, open-plan layout, three master en suite bedrooms and own pool.

• Riviera on Vaal Hotel and Country Club. An exceptional inland resort on the banks of the Vaal River with high class lifestyle, leisure and sporting facilities, including golf, spa treatments, dining, river cruises and a floating restaurant.

• Zorgvliet Vineyard Lodge and Spa and Alluvia Specialist Winery and Guesthouse. Both situated close to Cape Town in the beautiful Banhoek Valley outside Stellenbosch, Zorgvliet is an awardwinning working wine farm.

• Protea King George Hotel. This gem of the famed Garden Route overlooks the Outeniqua Mountains and is situated on the George golf course.

Asia
Bengal Vacation Club. Due for completion in October 2011, this resort is situated in Cox’s Bazar, one of the most popular tourist areas in Bangladesh. The Bengal Vacation Club will offer guests miles of golden sands on the world’s  longest natural white sand beach, which slopes down to the blue waters of the Bay of Bengal. Planned units include a  mixture of studios, one- and two-bedroom units all with sea views. The resort is being built to high eco-friendly  standards embodying the principles of “recycle, renew, reuse, reduce, and rethink”.

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Diamond Resorts International® (DRI), a global leader in the hospitality and vacation ownership industries, has today announced it is working closely with its European membership who have authorized a third party reseller, Travel & Leisure Group (TLG), to act as reseller for Diamond Resorts European Collection (DREC) points. This is the first time DREC members have had the opportunity to deal directly with an authorized reseller.

Travel & Leisure Group International Timeshare Resale Brokerage, is a family owned company working closely with developers and helping owners to sell their timeshare and buyers to make the right choice when it comes to vacation holiday ownership. A financially sound international timeshare company, TLG have steadily consolidated and expanded their business throughout the world, and says Maria Mills-Farinas, Managing Director of TLG, “we are delighted to be able to offer the consumer this new opportunity and to assist Diamond Resorts European Collection members with a never before offered opportunity as well as a reputable partner and process. Many of the members have been with Diamond for a very long time and it’s time for them to let someone else enjoy what they have for so many years. And we are glad to be a part of that process, to help them find an alternative.”

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“We are thrilled to have been named one of the Best Places to Work in Indiana for the second year in a row,” said Gordon Gurnik, president, RCI North America. “In addition to this honor, RCI was also named as one of the Top Work Places by the Indianapolis Star. These accolades are a testament to the passion and enthusiasm of our associates both here in Indianapolis and at our offices around the world.”

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Luba, who is based in Orlando, Florida, will directly contribute to the ongoing growth of the company throughout the United States, Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean. Perspective International Ltd has seen rapid growth over the past few years, most notably through Perspective Magazine and Owners Perspective Magazine.

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Despite the fact that 2009 was one of the most challenging years for the overall economy, RCI, the world’s largest vacation exchange company and part of the Wyndham Worldwide family of brands, demonstrated that vacation exchange remains a bright spot in the travel industry. By continuing to provide value-added services to assist its developers, RCI attracted several notable new affiliates and grew its membership base in 2009.

At the recent American Resort Development Association (ARDA) 2010 Convention and Exposition in Las Vegas,  Nevada, RCI announced that over the course of the past year, it added more than 100 new resorts, including 10  properties under development, to its global network of over 4,000 affiliated resorts.

“Developers understand the importance of working with a quality exchange company that helps them increase sales and lower marketing costs, especially in today’s economy,” says Geoff Ballotti, CEO, RCI. “RCI’s ongoing commitment to providing the most innovative marketing services and solutions has helped us attract high quality new affiliates as never before, and enabled us to continue to grow our membership base.”

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You seem to have a lot of momentum going into this conference, with all the announcements you’ve made prior to and at ARDA regarding new affiliations, renewals, expansions and innovations.

I don’t think there’s ever been a period in RCI’s history where we’ve had more great press and momentum about what’s new and different at RCI than during the past six months. Whether it’s our record 100+ affiliations in 2009, our RCI Points Platinum product, or The Registry Collection® program having its best year ever.

What’s the latest with The Registry Collection program?

The Registry Collection program is now at more than 130 affiliates on five continents with more than 175 properties either accessible for exchange or under development. The program also has grown to over 30,000 members with household incomes in excess of $300,000 who have bought at Telluride or Aspen to vacation in the south of France – or Asia, or the Middle East. And we’ve been very selective in the quality that we’ve been adding. We’ve had a lot of resorts to whom we’ve said no. But we’re adding some stunning product. We just signed a new Registry Collection fractional affiliation of a resort in Aspen, and the developer could not be more excited about what The Registry Collection’s going to allow them to do. The growth puts us in a great position, because now we have the inventory and The Registry Collection is helping affiliated developers sell.

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The sophisticated TimeShareWare platform with its easy-to-use applications has been developed using the latest technology advances and is the preferred choice amongst leading resorts and management companies world-wide.

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Timo Jones, President and CEO of TimeShareWare, says, “We are excited about this new relationship with VRI. This gives us an opportunity to showcase how flexible and easy-to-use our software is in handling even their most complex business processes. We are pleased to establish our relationship with one of the United State’s leading independent timeshare resort management firms.”

About Vacation Resorts International (VRI)
Vacation Resorts International, one of the leading resort management firms in the USA, is affiliated with almost 140 resort associations in 26 states, encompassing over 300,000 intervals.

For more than two decades, VRI has provided professional management and marketing services to resorts, condominiums, and timeshares throughout North America.

For more information on Vacation Resorts International, please visit their website at www.vriresorts.com

About TimeShareWare & CondotelWare:
TimeShareWare provides the most advanced resort technology in the industry and has created a state-of-the-art software platform to provide best-of-breed, superior software solutions to shared-ownership, mixed use resorts around the world. Since 1993, TimeShareWare serves all sizes and types of vacation ownership associations, fractional ownership properties, and timeshare resorts including multi-site, single-site, and points-based clubs. The advanced technology provides critical functionality to the Vacation Ownership, Vacation Club, and Vacation Rentals industries. The TimeShareWare software platform includes solutions for lead and tour management, contract processing, sales and marketing, owner accounting, loan servicing, property management, reservations, and web-based owner servicing.

CondotelWare is the first full-service software solution designed specifically for condominium residences and hotels. The software helps owners and operators master all aspects of condo-hotel/residence management and administration, including owner accounting, billing, rental rotation, inventory management, reservations, owner relations, reporting, and more.

For more about TimeShareWare, please visit the website at: www.timeshareware.com

But all that has happened because of one man’s eponymous company. Highly respected as one of the industry’s foremost shared-ownership market research companies, today San Francisco, California-based Ragatz Associates focuses primarily on fractional interests, under the leadership of Founder and President Richard L. “Dick” Ragatz, Ph.D.

Dick took the time to sit down and chat with me in the days shortly before the 10th Annual Ragatz Associates Fractional Interest Conference so that we could talk about that event, where the fractional industry is headed, and the biggest challenges facing fractional development going forward.

Dick, why don’t we start with the big picture of the fractional industry?
Like all real estate markets, the fractional market has taken a hit in the past 18 months. The industry was growing extremely rapidly from 2000 through the first nine months of 2008 and then the Lehman thing hit, the stock market went crazy and everything came to a standstill. In 2006 we had our first $2 billion year, and in 2007 we hit the peak at about $2.4 billion. But in 2008 it went down to about $1.5 billion, and in 2009 – we’ll release final results at our conference – it’s probably going to be slightly over $1 billion.

It has nothing to do with the concept of fractionals – it’s just all these extraneous parameters that are affecting everything out there in real estate: lack of consumer financing, people not having the equity in their homes anymore to take out the equity loan to pay for it, lack of marketing dollars because developers just don’t have the money … a bunch of things relating to the economy.

2009 will probably be the poorest year that the fractional industry will ever have. I suspect it’s going to start to go back up soon – we see some success stories already beginning to pop up. 2010’s not going to be a really strong year, but I think we’re going to see an increase over 2009, and by 2012, we’ll probably surpass the peak year of 2007. I think a lot of people are sitting on the sidelines, waiting to pull the trigger on such an expensive discretionary expenditure until they get more confidence with the economy.

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