According to Carr, “It is a great honor to welcome ARDA as a new member of our organization during my tenure as C.A.R.E.’s president. C.A.R.E. appreciates the participation of Howard Nusbaum and Jason Gamel at our conferences this past year, and C.A.R.E. has benefited from the knowledge and insight in our industry that they were generous enough to share with us. Because C.A.R.E.’s values are directly in line with ARDA’s, C.A.R.E. has always been a strong supporter of ARDA and has been directly responsible for many C.A.R.E. member companies becoming and maintaining memberships with ARDA. Reciprocally, ARDA has been extremely supportive of C.A.R.E. and our efforts to deliver outstanding vacation services to owners and members. We are very excited that ARDA is now a member of C.A.R.E. and we look forward to their continued support and dedication.”

“ARDA looks forward to sharing valuable industry information with C.A.R.E. members through increased opportunities,” said ARDA president and CEO, Howard Nusbaum. “While we’ve participated in C.A.R.E. events in the past, becoming an Associate Member will enable ARDA to educate a broader audience about the policies that impact owners and efforts the industry is taking to protect the integrity of the product and the value of vacation ownership.”

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While the timeshare industry has long advocated the healthful benefits of regular time away to rejuvenate and relax, resort developers continue to expand their vacation products with more options and access to healthful programs and activities.

“Health and wellness amenities are growing in popularity among timeshare owners and resorts are now using these programs to attract new timeshare consumers unfamiliar that such vacation products exist,” says Howard Nusbaum, president and CEO of ARDA.

Many timeshare resorts have expanded their offerings to include health and wellness components such as fitness programs, enhanced spa services, cuisine packages, weight-loss regimens and concierge services to customize a specific healthy vacation experience.

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Divi Resorts, the largest brand presence on Aruba – including five properties, 1170 units, casino, shopping bazaar, golf course and the most beachfront footage of any operator in Aruba, made improvements to entice an even greater share of the island’s annual 1.5 million tourists. The casino and retail complex is in the last stage of a dramatic modernization and expansion, and now includes a 4000 square foot ballroom aimed at the meetings and conventions sector. The company also set its sights on locals. “We’ve designed our casino and shopping mall to be a premium and repeat destination for residents and visitors alike,” says Schanfarber.

The Alhambra Casino is expanding with more than 100 additional slot machines and 30 percent more floor area to become the largest casino in the Druif Beach area. The adjoining Shops at Alhambra will likewise be the area’s biggest shopping draw when it opens in February. Ninety percent of the tenants are new, selected to provide more varied diversions, from souvenirs and high fashion apparel to a cigar and wine jazz bar and multiple dining establishments. One hundred fifty new parking spaces are ready for the expected increase in visitors.

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A select number of RCI affiliated resorts meet RCI’s requirements for recognition and have earned the RCI Gold Crown Resort award. These resorts have attained high levels of excellence in resort accommodations, hospitality and member experience as measured by RCI.

“We are proud to be recognized by RCI for our accomplishments in resort facilities and services,” explains Jay Lloyd, General Manager of The Suites at Hershey. “As part of the Bluegreen Resorts community, we strive to provide our guests with excellent service, outstanding accommodations and many opportunities to enjoy time with friends, family and loved ones during their stay.”

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Attendees hailing from the U.S., Canada, Caribbean, Central America, and Mexico heard from Interval executives, including Craig M. Nash chairman, president, and CEO of Interval Leisure Group, who discussed the company’s initiatives to assist them in achieving operational excellence, as well as sales and marketing advantages suited for today’s economic climate. Special guests Darla Zanini, executive vice president of the American Resort Development Association (ARDA) International Foundation, presented findings from the 2011 State of the U.S. Vacation Timeshare Industry and John F. Mulrey of AdviCoach Business shared insights on today’s changing population demographics and what this means for the future of the hospitality industry.

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Sears Vacations, which will provide unique leisure vacation experiences, primarily through an online platform, will provide customers the opportunity to opt-in to receive exclusive offers and extraordinary values on travel and vacation packages.  Sears Vacations is designed to appeal to a broad demographic of family-centric, value oriented customers.

ICE, a global leader in travel based membership and loyalty rewards programs, partnered with TravelBlox LLC., a Chicago based company specializing in customized online vacation solutions, to introduce the Sears Vacations concept.  ICE will utilize its proprietary technology to design, implement and manage the web-based platform for Sears Vacations, while also providing travel fulfillment and customer support through its world class client services center located in Scottsdale, Arizona and its supporting global offices.

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Who makes up this growing segment within the leisure travel market and what are they looking for?  Those were the questions examined in a comprehensive study of the leisure traveler by Preferred Hotel Group, a global leader in the hospitality industry, representing independent luxury hotels and resorts worldwide.

“Because of their numbers, frequency of travel, and use of traditional travel agents, the multigenerational traveler presents a powerful opportunity for the international travel market,” said Lindsey Ueberroth, President of Preferred Hotel Group. “To take advantage, the leisure travel industry must create tailored product and marketing offers.”

Preferred Hotel Group analyzed more than 400 variables, including the travel-related attitudes, behaviors, preferences, social values, lifestyles, and media habits of leisure travelers who have identified themselves as multigenerational travelers. Among the findings:

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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.

Being able to show current and prospective owners that their timeshare purchase will give them the ability to vacation in multiple places every year for many years to come isn’t always enough to convert anymore. These days, buyers want enduring value and affordability from their purchase and will often actively look elsewhere if there isn’t real depth to what is on offer. One company that understands this better than most is Dial An Exchange (DAE).

“Our financial model is structured around lowcost exchange and always has been,” says Co-founder and CEO, Francis Taylor. “We began doing business this way because we perceived a real gap in the marketplace and, now more than ever, our different approach to timeshare exchange is certainly paying off.”

“We are definitely more economical for people who are already struggling. Aside from free membership and multiple low-cost options, the fact that members can bank and save their weeks for three years is a definite plus. “If the financial crunch means they can’t afford vacations this year, they won’t lose their entitlement or be penalised for deferring. Any timeshare owner is going to find that very attractive” he concluded.

The hidden cost of exclusive affiliations.
Francis Taylor has made no secret of the fact that he is frustrated by that fact many developers and resorts continue to sign exclusive contracts with exchange providers that offer a much more limited service than they do.

As he says, “In today’s world, where costs are escalating out of control and owners still have to pay fees and levies on their original purchase, it simply doesn’t make sense to affiliate yourself with a company that will cost your owners when it doesn’t have to.

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Renée Wagner, Marketing Manager, Travel To Go

Travel To Go, a privately owned company specializing in affordable luxury vacation memberships, has launched a Facebook page as an added member benefit.

In an effort to continuously offer new member benefits, the Facebook page was launched in August 2011.  According to Renée Wagner, Marketing Manager, the page was implemented to “establish a connection with members that was convenient for them and to provide more information.  Most importantly, the page allows members to interact with the Travel To Go staff and enhance the dialogue between the two.”  An added benefit is that members can interact not only with staff, but can share travel tips with fellow members.

Travel To Go members that access Facebook find even more promotions and deals. Wagner also noted that since the page was launched, all promotions are posted on Facebook first, including the extremely popular “Hot Weeks” which book quickly.  Frequently, when last minute cancellations or “flash” deals come in, the deals are gone before an e-blast or website update can be completed.  Travel To Go’s Facebook page allows deals to be viewed instantly by members.  In addition, Facebook- only promotion codes are occasionally posted.

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C.A.R.E. Gives Back began in the spring of 2010 with a group of 20 vacation industry professionals volunteering their services at a New Orleans food bank. Concerned about “what she had gotten herself into” volunteer Linda Stockwell of Preferred Access later commented that “the day turned out to be fun while getting to know C.A.R.E. members better” and that “I felt good about being able to help so many people”.  C.A.R.E. Gives Back continued to grow and during the fall 2010 conference volunteers prepared and served over 1,000 meals to the Phoenix, AZ area homeless and needy. The experience humbled volunteer Tina Stafford of Accommodations Unlimited who “had never witnessed such tremendous need.  The expressions of appreciation from those served by the C.A.R.E. volunteers were overwhelming”.  

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These findings are from Interval International’s 2011 U.S. Membership Profile, which was developed from a sample of U.S.-resident vacation owners maintaining an active membership with Interval. The online study was undertaken to provide insights for use in the development of services and benefits to be offered to Interval members and may also be useful to resort developers and prospective industry entrants in designing their products and developing their marketing strategies.

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“Vacations are often the highlight of the year, so naturally people want to share their great experiences with others,” said Gordon Gurnik, president, RCI. “We created the ‘Share Your Vacation’ application as an outlet not only for RCI members, but for all travelers across the globe. We know that hearing about other users’ vacations will inspire and excite those planning their next break, and the recommendations and tips they receive from peers will help ensure they don’t miss a beat once they get there.”

With this application, users can enter their past and future vacations by either searching by any destination around the world or by specific RCI affiliated resort name. These places are marked on a map of the world with virtual push-pins. Once users choose a destination or resort, they can add other details such as travel dates, tag other travelers and add recommendations from their personal experiences at the destination. They can also upload their favorite photos and videos from their trips by pulling from existing Facebook albums or uploading them from their computers or mobile devices.

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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]

“Our travel partners are critical to our success and it’s important for us to show how much we appreciate their hard work and dedication. We’re thrilled to see Interval achieve the President’s Club status,” said Lenny Martinez, Norwegian Cruise Line’s business development manager. “In 2010, we took Freestyle Cruising to the next level with the introduction of the Norwegian Epic. Interval embraced our new ship, as well as the many cruise options that we offer.”

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Travel To Go sponsored the ninth hole of golf in honor of Kate Seidell, a seven year survivor of breast cancer. Kate, the mother of Steve Olinger of Travel To Go notes “I’m very happy that Steve works for a company that cares about the world, and I’m honored that Travel To Go thought of me.” Kate also added that everyone should have a mammogram. At the time her cancer was detected, she felt great and she was physically active. She actually thought about skipping her mammogram that year because she felt so well, but it was during that appointment that her cancer was detected.

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“By blending authentic historical and cultural architecture with modern interior furnishings and luxury amenities, ShareLuxe has established itself in a new travel niche in two very appealing international vacation destinations,” said Joe Hickman, Interval International’s executive director for Asia Pacific. “Kyoto is Japan’s former imperial capital and still houses about one-fifth of its national treasures in its museums and more than 2,000 Buddhist and Shinto temples. And Bali holds great appeal with its idyllic beaches and lush terraced mountains, where it has managed to retain an almost mystical spirituality.”

ShareLuxe Kyoto Kizashi-Kamishichiken is a fully renovated century-old Japanese townhouse located in a historic area near the edge of central Kyoto. Tucked into a street lined with machiyas and Japanese tea-houses, the townhouse combines traditional Japanese style with contemporary luxury. Two bedrooms outfitted with western-style twin beds can accommodate four people. Three more people can sleep in a large room on tatami mats. The unit has been retrofitted with a modern full-sized kitchen and amenities that include LCD TVs and studio-quality audio equipment.

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The Palms Private Residence Club has just signed a sponsorship agreement with the international second home exchange firm, 3RD HOME.  This partnership will enable The Palms owners to exchange their properties with other second homeowners throughout the world from Costa Rica, Palm Beach, St. Barts to Paris and Thailand.  This spectacular offer to The Palms owners will enable them to travel to various luxury vacation destinations around the world in over 60 countries.

“By making this exciting, exclusive, unprecedented offer available to our owners, this will create a new level of energy and interest in The Palms for both our owners and for 3RD HOME members now coming to Playa Flamingo.  In my years in the real estate business, I have never seen a more powerful offer for second homeowners than this one, ” said Peter Kempf with Peter Kempf International. Peter went on to say, “ the relationships and member properties 3RD HOME has are some of the finest in the world from the Ritz Carlton Residences, to the Auberge Private Residences at Esperanza in Cabo San Lucas, to the Auberge Resort at Palmetto Bluff in Hilton Head that was just ranked as the #1 resort in North America by Travel + Leisure magazine.”

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EllicottVillas, a unique, new fractional real estate and private residence club has been launched this month for active adults and families looking for affordable luxury in Ellicottville, a four-season recreational destination just south of Buffalo, N.Y.

Ellicottville (www.ellicottvilleny.com), which has been described by the New York Times as ‘the Aspen of the East,’ is a four-season playground that combines the charm of an historic town with an abundance of shops and restaurants, some of the best skiing in the state of New York (consistently ranked top five in the east by Ski Magazine) and numerous other outdoor pursuits ranging from golf and hiking to mountain biking and horseback riding.

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Commented Jerry Sandorf, VP of Operations of the Utah-based TimeShareWare, “We have been impressed by the sophistication and robustness of the Vacation Storebuilder (www.VacationStorebuilder.com) platform and are delighted to begin this partnership. Our technology integration with the VSB platform allows TSW clients to deploy websites that are optimized to increase conversion and provide a seamless online experience for rental guests, tour guests, members and owners to access their information and book online. The websites will help our clients improve customer satisfaction and loyalty as well as generate more rentals and prospects for their resorts.”

The integration of TimeShareWare with Vacation Storebuilder provides TSW clients a variety of branded websites to showcase resorts, service members, drive traffic online by leveraging search engine and social media marketing channels, and increase rental bookings with an integrated online booking engine. TSW clients will benefit from VSB’s turnkey eCommerce solution to quickly deploy their own robust resort and vacation club websites on a pay-per-performance pricing model. TimeShareWare’s clients using VSB-powered websites will access inventory directly from the TSW system and enable their owners/members to easily manage their accounts, pay dues and make online reservations.

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Commented Tanya Bleuel, Director of Yield Management for DAE, “We have members that often have their hearts set on a certain vacation destination, but found that there were no timeshare resorts in that location or there was limited availability. We also learned that many of our members were purchasing additional accommodations to extend their annual vacation and often paid as much as $2,000 per week for their accommodations. We created daeOptions by forming alliances with non-timeshare resorts to allow our members to rent or exchange their timeshare week for a seven-night stay and ultimately enjoy a vacation in their dream destination.”

DAE members can rent daeOptions weeks at highly discounted prices or they can exchange into any daeOptions property by depositing their timeshare week and paying an exchange fee from $350 to $450.

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TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel site, conducted a recent survey which showed 83 percent of respondents are planning at least one family vacation this year, a four percent increase from 2010. While 59 percent of Americans are planning a trip this summer, up from 51 percent in 2010, according to an American Express Company Survey .  That same survey also found vacationing consumers plan to take an average of two week-long vacations, spending an average of $1,200 a person, and three weekend-getaways, spending $300.  Nearly 70 percent of those planning to travel said they’ll go with their immediate families, and girlfriend getaways and “man-cations” are growing in popularity. 

While travel plans are on the rise, most travelers are still budget conscience and make travel decisions based on cost-savings factors.  With hotel stays costing five to ten percent more this year than last year (AAA/HIS Globlal Insight 2011 Memorial Day Holiday Travel Forecsast), ARDA believes this is an opportunity to reach travelers unfamiliar with timeshare. 

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The company will be a Platinum Sponsor of RDO2, the annual conference of the Resort Development Organisation (RDO), as well as a Platinum Sponsor of the 2011 Vacation Ownership Association of Southern Africa (VOASA) Conference.

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Study the financial statements of any interval vacation resort developer, and what is their largest asset? Their receivables. What principal factor determines the profitability of their sales? Receivables performance. How do developers pay 45% marketing and 25% product costs, while only collecting a 20% down-payment? By financing their receivables. Where is every developer’s largest contingent liability? The recourse guarantee on financed receivables.

Yet most articles in Perspective Magazine and other industry publications focus on “sexier” aspects of our business, such as marketing and sales, new development, exciting amenities, and IPOs. Ditto for topics featured at ARDA, VOIC and other industry conferences. Except for the occasional dry report on industry receivables metrics, or indirect references to receivables servicing and collections in IT forums, receivables get little attention in the vacation resort industry.

At Whitebriar we have financed interval, fractional, vacation club and resort campground receivables for 16 years. Before starting Whitebriar, our principals worked in banking, portfolio servicing, structured finance and debt  collection, and one of our principals is also a timeshare developer. These varied experiences have taught us some hard lessons about resort receivables. You might say at this point that we have “got religion.” So here are five of our key “proverbs” for anyone financing or managing a resort receivables portfolio:

• Beware of “Cheap” Receivables Financing.
Like any commodity, money is worth what one pays for it. Low interest rates and liberal terms connote an expectation of low risk, not always an accurate assessment in our industry. Financiers who understand a developer’s business price and structure transactions with generous margins, so that they can remain profitable and keep funding receivables despite an economic downturn or tighter money supply. So developers: Choose receivables financiers who understand your business and for whom financing your receivables is profitable. Financiers: Build a sufficient risk premium into your pricing to accommodate your borrower in challenging economic times.

• Receivables Leverage Should Track Customer Satisfaction.
Customers pay best when they really value their financed vacation purchase. Both financiers and developers should minimize leverage on marginally satisfactory products, such as odd-even sales, “low” weeks or other “entry” products. Leverage can be increased on highly satisfactory products, especially upgrade sales to pre-existing owners. And resort RCI/II scores, vacation ratings and guest satisfaction levels all are important metrics in underwriting portfolio risk. Superior customer satisfaction mitigates the risk of marginal credit scores better than superior credit scores mitigate the risk of marginal customer satisfaction.

• Limit Leverage on Long-term Receivables.
When salespeople write longer-term paper with smaller monthly payments, cancellations and marketing costs decline. But after the sale, longerterm receivable amortizations reduce monthly Portfolio cash flow. Additionally, new financed buyers who require 120+ month financing may be less committed or have marginal affordability. A modest change in economic circumstances or lifestyle may render such buyers unable or unwilling to pay. Finally, developer recourse tolerances fluctuate over time, as do credit policies at most lending institutions. So developers financing long-term receivables should increase leverage only on proven payers and upgrade buyers. And financiers funding long-term receivables where the obligors are un-proven payers or firstgeneration buyers should lower advance rates and tighten their underwriting.

• Underwriting Resort Receivables Is Not Just About FICO and Income.
Traditional bank and consumer credit underwriting metrics such as FICO, income and DTI remain good indicators of ability to pay, but reveal nothing about the obligor’s willingness to pay or level of commitment. We know customer satisfaction impacts resort receivables performance, as does financed term. Other significant factors include: down-payment percentage, payment method, maintenance fees, and prior payment history at the resort. So developers and financiers must employ receivables underwriting and predictive modeling matrices that weigh all relevant factors: traditional bank and consumer credit metrics, plus metrics peculiar to our industry. Doing so will provide an accurate assessment of risk vs. reward, and will allow the financing of all the performing receivables in a Portfolio, albeit in several tranches.

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Interval International, a prominent worldwide provider of vacation services and an operating business of Interval Leisure Group (Nasdaq: IILG), extends its innovative product line-up with Club Interval GoldSM, a points-based exchange service for owners of fixed- or floating-week timeshares. The global program combines all the membership benefits of Interval International and Interval Gold® and offers a more flexible vacation exchange experience. While Club Interval Gold is purchased directly from participating Interval-affiliated resorts, new buyers and existing owners who enroll in the program will be served by dedicated advisors through Interval’s Member-Services Centers.

“Since 1994, Interval has offered members with points-based interests the ability to trade points for traditional weeks. More recently, Gold members have also been able to take advantage of ShortStay Exchange for as many vacations as their points allow,” said Jeanette Marbert, Interval’s chief operating officer. “Now, Club Interval Gold offers week-owners the flexibility to convert their vacation time into points. They can use points to access resorts in our worldwide network, or redeem them to travel as they choose, from a weekend golf getaway to a weeklong family cruise. We know that consumers will enjoy the many advantages of this exciting new program.”

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International Cruise & Excursions, Inc. (ICE), a worldwide travel and leisure organization with a global network of innovative travel alliances has partnered with Westgate Resorts to launch the Westgate Cruise & Travel Collection; an exclusive membership designed to offer the ultimate in flexibility and travel options for Westgate Vacation Owners.  The new Westgate Cruise & Travel Collection Platinum offering provides expanded membership options and incentives including an array of lifestyle-oriented leisure activities such as cruise exchange, golf, ski, spa and wellness benefits.

ICE is one of the largest cruise distributors in the world and has been providing the timeshare industry innovative sales and marketing programs centered on cruise benefits for nearly fifteen years.  ICE utilizes proprietary technology to deliver vacation benefits, incentives and membership programs to business partners under private branding.  ICE and Westgate have been successfully working together on a variety of cruise and marketing programs for over ten years.

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The study reveals a new trend for Brits taking multiple single day holidays throughout the year, as opposed to the traditional two-week break their parents worked towards.

Over a quarter (27%) of Brits are planning to take at least ten single days holiday – or ‘daycations’ – this year and a further 36% will take between five and ten.  48% of those polled cited the cost of a fortnight’s holiday as the main reason for not taking two weeks off work, whereas one in 12 hard-working employees blamed the inability to switch off from the job.

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Gold Coast Tourism CEO Martin Winter said the results were anticipated given the strength of the dollar in 2010 and a changing mix of visitors to the Gold Coast.

“The Gold Coast tourism industry knows from experience that a strong Australian dollar weakens international visitor spend, so when the Australian dollar jumped from 85 cents to over parity last year we were anticipating a decline in international visitor spend, that is reflected in these numbers,” he said.

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In a continuing trend, Asian markets grew substantially. Australia was up 17.5% with 10 426 arrivals and Indian visitors to SA rose by a whopping 78,7% from 3 665 to 6 549. Strong growth also came out of Canada – up 19.4%.

Says Cape Town Tourism, CEO Mariette du Toit-Helmbold, “In the post-world cup environment, South Africa’s tourism organisations have worked cohesively to capitalise on the good perception formed during the games, with targeted markets in new source markets. India is one of these and we are already seeing the fruits of this engagement.”

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RCI, the global leader in vacation exchange and one of the Wyndham Worldwide family of brands (NYSE: WYN), today announced a new affiliation with AMResorts.

Founded in 2001, AMResorts is one of the fastest growing hospitality companies in the Caribbean and Mexico with 22 luxury resorts in the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Jamaica. AMResorts offers opulent oceanfront accommodations with 24-hour room service and daily refreshed mini bars, world-class spas and spa gardens, ocean-view gourmet restaurants appealing to every palate, an array of daytime activities and live, unique nighttime entertainment, which provide a wide variety of vacation experiences for every age and interest in popular coastal destinations.

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Tibisay Hotel, located in the city of Merida, Venezuela, is a highly desirable destination in the Venezuelan Andes. This hotel consists of an elegant building with splendid views of the Andean mountain range and has the latest technology with rooms that were specially designed to provide the maximum comfort to guests.
 
Among the main attractions of the hotel, which includes a Presidential suite and 81 fully-equipped rooms, are a spa, heated pool, electronic casino and nightly entertainment center, in addition to the unique “Andean friendliness” of its staff.  Visitors at the Hotel Tibisay can easily access the lagoons, cable cars, deserts, and other attractions in Merida and the surround area.

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“We are very pleased to offer our resort clients the opportunity to take advantage of Trooval’s high-tech, cost-effective tools,” said David C. Gilbert, Interval’s executive vice president of resort sales and marketing. “This proprietary software is designed to answer critical questions about potential buyers and their behavior, which is particularly important in today’s market.”

“Through this alliance, we are excited to see an even wider population of timeshare resorts use our simple yet sophisticated products to improve marketing efficiency, increase conversion rates, and raise VPG,” said Jonathan Lowenhar, chief executive officer of Trooval, Inc. “Understanding a tour’s value or an owner’s loyalty before engaging them is the single best way to dramatically and measurably increase timeshare profitability.”

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TripAdvisor estimates that 69 percent of travelers will take international trips this year, and of that group, 52 percent will travel to Europe, 13 percent will visit Asia and 12 percent will journey to South America. According to them, the top three international destinations U.S. travelers plan to visit in 2011 are Paris, London and Rome, with 75 percent planning to visit a U.S. city. Las Vegas, New York City and San Francisco are the most popular choices.

“This resurgence of travel is terrific news for the timeshare industry,” said Howard Nusbaum. “More travelers are beginning to understand the value and comfort of a timeshare vacation and with resorts in all of theses popular 2011 destinations, vacationers will find exactly what they need.”

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“Last year’s RDO Conference was a tremendous success and it is our pleasure to support this year’s event,” said Darren Ettridge, Interval’s vice president of resort sales and service for Europe, Middle East, and Africa and its representative on the RDO Board. “We look forward to playing our usual full part in the organisation of the conference and also in taking an active role during the event.”

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RCI, the global leader in vacation exchange and one of the Wyndham Worldwide family of brands, has significantly enhanced its RCI® Weeks program to allow members to know the trading power value of their vacation interval once deposited with RCI.

For the first time in its 36-year history, RCI Weeks members are able to compare the trading power value of their deposited week to the trading power value of the timeshare interval they want to exchange into and can also for the first time combine deposited timeshare intervals allowing them to transact into higher-valued vacations.

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And to provide even greater benefit, RCI will for the first time be providing its Weeks members with a “Deposit Credit” if the trading power value of their deposited interval is greater than the interval they have exchanged into.

“In the increasingly transparent online vacation planning world that we live in, this is something our members have been consistently asking for. It’s one of the most exciting things we’ve ever done for our members – it’s really unprecedented,” said Geoff Ballotti, CEO, RCI. “Transparency is important because people want to have more control over how they trade their timeshare vacation for another vacation they’d like to take. From our customer service, marketing and technology teams – we’ve brought together our entire company to solve for our members’ request to give them what they want in terms of knowing the trading power value of their deposited timeshare week and what it will take to get them to where they want to vacation, allowing them access to vacations that they might not have been able to book in the past.

“At the same time we’ve been working with our affiliates who have largely embraced the change as both unique and revolutionary. Our affiliated timeshare developers realize that this is what the customer wants and they are working with us to help us deliver the promise of flexibility for their timeshare owners and our members in planning their vacations,” Ballotti added.

RCI began educating members on these new developments on RCI.com and in the October edition of its Endless Vacation magazine, explaining how trading power transparency, deposit credits and combining deposited weeks will greatly assist them in their future vacation planning and provide them with more choice, flexibility and value in their future vacation planning. RCI will provide further information to its members throughout the next few months to help ensure confidence with the new enhancements and highlight the benefits to members worldwide.

“Just in the few days since these enhancements went ‘live’ on RCI.com, an overwhelmingly positive response has been pouring in from our Weeks members. They – and all of us at RCI – are so excited about this transformation and we look forward to continuing to deliver the best innovations in the industry for our affiliates and their owners,” said Ballotti.

These significant upgrades follow RCI’s continuous work to develop new innovations for its members that make vacation planning fun and easy. Over the past two years, RCI has launched RCI TV, a revolutionary and entertaining web-based television network, which recently launched a Spanish language channel. RCI also developed Enhanced Search for Weeks, online search functionality for RCI Weeks members that provides a broad view of the exchange vacations available and the ability to search using filters RCI has also made its debut into the mobile marketing world with the launch of an RCI application for iPhone® and iPod touch® devices. Additionally, RCI has a YouTube Channel (www.youtube.com/rcitimeshare) that contains dozens of quality resort videos from RCI TV that showcase affiliated
properties around the world, and is sharing the latest and greatest travel news and tips with its members via Twitter and The RCI Blog (http://blog.rci.com).

About RCI
RCI is part of Wyndham Exchange & Rentals, the worldwide leader in vacation exchange and the world’s largest full-service vacation rental business, providing access to more than 85,000 vacation properties in approximately 100 countries.

The vacation exchange business includes RCI, the worldwide leader in vacation exchange and provider of travel services to businesses and consumers, and The Registry Collection® program, the world’s largest luxury exchange program. The vacation rentals business includes Hoseasons, cottages4you, Novasol®, Cuendet®, Landal GreenParks®, ResortQuest®, Endless Vacation Rentals® and other renowned vacation rental brands through which vacationers can rent a variety of property types, from city apartments to villas. Wyndham Worldwide Corporation is one of the world’s largest hospitality companies with leading brands in lodging franchising, vacation ownership, vacation rentals and vacation exchange. For additional information visit www.wyndhamworldwide.com/media_center.

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“While we are pleased to be reporting the increase in demand for December, we are even more excited to see a substantial change in consumer behavior,” said Steve Reich, Senior Vice President of Sales at LeisureLink. “Conversion improved by 16 percent over December 2009 and 31 percent over November 2010. This trend indicates that consumers are shifting from shopping to buying. The combination of increased conversion and demand will result in revenue growth and guest acquisition opportunities. Regional changes have been particularly striking. Conversion in the Rockies ski regions is up, and we saw a dramatic improvement in conversion in the Gulf Coast Region with an increase of 22 percent over the prior year.”

“We have also seen substantial rebound in both demand and conversion for Hawaii. Hawaii experienced a 19 percent increase in demand and approximately at 65 percent improvement in conversion. Consumers are going beyond weekend getaways and returning to “fly-to” markets. Hawaii’s improvement is a strong indication that consumer confidence is returning and the economy is truly rebounding,” Reich stated.

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Equity Estates www.equityestatesfund.com, the country’s first and fastest growing Luxury Residence Fund™ and the only true equity based model in the second home alternative market, announced today that the fund grew by over 50 percent in 2010 for the third consecutive year—confirming their smart and fun investment model that collectively pools investment dollars to acquire a portfolio of multi-million dollar vacation homes for family friendly vacation experiences.

“Our success in 2010, a perilous year for many in this industry, is a testament to our unique model and our commitment to creating outstanding vacation experiences,” said Adam Capes, co-founder of Equity Estates. “With the fourth quarter success and pipeline of high net worth families we have built relationships with, we have great hopes for our success in 2011 both in terms of owner membership growth as well as additions to our portfolio of destinations and residences.”

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Paul Adreani

Paul Adreani has joined Vibes Interactive as its Vice President of Operations to lead essential functions including product and process development, strategic partnerships, alternate distribution channels, client relations, finance, and administration. Prior to joining Vibes, Paul served as the President of Shell Vacations Club where he was instrumental in developing the SVC Points system, member benefits, inventory management, and Club servicing standards/processes. He joins the Vacation Storebuilder team with proven leadership skills and extensive experience in inventory monetization and yield management.

“Having worked with Paul to help build and grow the SVC Points program, I have complete confidence that he will be an invaluable asset to the success of Vibes Interactive and its e-commerce platforms,” said Sunil Aluvila, President & CEO of Vibes Interactive. “He will be instrumental in ensuring efficient and scalable operations of Vacation Storebuilder as it continues to gain traction as the premier Software-as-a-Service e-commerce platform in the vacation rental and ownership industry.”

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Marge Lennon

Lennon Communications Group, Inc. has recently been engaged to guide public relations efforts for Vibes Interactive, LLC and their Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform, Vacation Storebuilder (VSB), a Chicago-based company that provides the timeshare industry and vacation rental firms with an advanced e-commerce platform for vacation rental, prospect generation, short term membership marketing, resales and an Interactive Sales System for timeshare sales.

“Having been professionally involved in the timeshare industry for close to 33 years,” commented Lennon Communications (www.LennonCommunications.com) founder Marge Lennon, “I have had a front-row seat to the industry’s steady growth. But it’s a new world out there and technology is clearly changing everything. Today’s timeshare companies are looking for ways to tap into the growing number of online shoppers to cost effectively generate rental revenue and qualified prospects. Vibes Interactive and their Vacation Storebuilder (www.VacationStorebuilder.com) platform are leading the way to provide robust solutions for the industry. I am honored by their selection of my firm and look forward to representing this highly innovative company and their team.”

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RCI will continue to be the exclusive third-party exchange provider for Disney Vacation Club’s more than 150,000 member families. Having already affiliated over 80 new resorts to date in 2010, RCI has one of the most expansive portfolios of high-end affiliated vacation resorts, as well as more choices in more countries than any other exchange network.

With the renewal of this relationship, Disney Vacation Club Members will continue to be able to enjoy vacations and different resort experiences at RCI affiliated properties around the world including all-inclusive options, nightly exchanges and a selection of luxurious, high-end fractional properties.

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Vacation Internationale manages 34 resort properties across the United States, Canada and Mexico. The size and complexity of their operation requires a robust, efficient revenue management solution. “Operationally, we want to streamline our online initiatives. LeisureLink’s distribution and revenue management platform, coupled with their industry expertise, will maximize our online revenues without requiring additional staff or adding to our overhead,” said Jodi Boughton, Director of Inventory Management, Vacation Internationale.

“Managing multiple extranets is time-consuming, expensive and extremely inefficient,” said Boughton. “Fortunately, LeisureLink’s platform allows us to reach all major online channels through one single connection. In addition, their distribution reaches many non-OTA channels including their own proprietary network.”

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Hart Ranch contracted to install TimeShareWare Professional for all its Sales & Marketing, Owner Servicing, Online Reservations, and Property Management. Additional interfaces with their existing Point-of-Sale system, as well as Credit Card processing, will further automate current manual processes. TimeShareWare’s platform will assist Hart Ranch in reaching their goals of providing better guest and owner services at a lower cost.

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Focused on enhancing engagement with Interval’s nearly 2 million member families, “Finders Keepers” offered five $1 Getaways (discounted resort rental weeks) per day on IntervalWorld.com, over a 10-day period. Destinations and check-in dates varied, and the accommodations were offered at random times throughout each day without prior notification of the details. Fifty lucky “finders” “kept” the Getaway vacations to resorts located around the world.  

“We connected with members through IntervalWorld.com, Interval World magazine, and e-mail, and the response to ‘Finders Keepers’ was extraordinary. Website visitation was up more than 19 percent, page views increased 85-plus percent, and over 7,000 new Member Profiles were created,” noted Sharon Freed, senior vice president of consumer marketing for Interval International.

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Marco Robinson, CEO, Max Generation

Max Generation, a full vacation and lifestyle incentive company is the latest corporate sponsor of Perspective Magazine’s timeshare and fractional industry networking and awards event.

Perspective Magazine, the leading multi-media information provider for the timeshare and fractional industry, announces that Max Generation is now a Bronze Sponsor of the First Annual Global Networking Expo, GNEX 2011.

“We are honoured to be part of this wonderful event and look forward in serving more clients globally to SKYROCKET their sales results!,” Marco Robinson, CEO, Max Generation.

Max Generation creates demand for businesses by supplying $2,000 vacations from only $50 and focusing on the niche of client target markets by supplying lifestyle dreams such as flying lessons, F1 driving experiences, wealth creation education, such as how to buy no money down property and much more. They supply qualified prospects using high value innovative travel and lifestyle experience reward packages that are not timeshare conditioned offering participants single point access to a range of high value benefits. Max Generation creates unique customer acquisition and retention incentives for its clients. Whether it is motivating employees or customers to achieve short/medium term goals or long term brand loyalty, Max Generation has the expertise and experience to deliver world class, cutting edge solutions including stunning social media campaigns.

Max Generation’s clients include CITIBANK, BMW, IKEA and many more. Our clients buy thousands of vacation incentives that could help you appeal to a targeted market and attract more prospects to your door!

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Judges Brian D. Beasley, Commissioner, City of South Miami; Hector Mirabile, City Manager, City of South Miami; and Dayami Rodriguez, Sales Representative, Waste Services of Florida, Inc., pictured with the Interval International Human Resources team who created the winning "Ratatouille Thanksgiving" entry.

Interval’s Human Resources Department won first place for its rendition of this year’s theme – The Cartoon Turkey – with its “Ratatouille Thanksgiving” entry.

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In today’s economic environment, vacation sellers, including travel clubs, and timeshare sellers and operators
should not find it surprising that state and local governments are and will be looking for sources of additional tax revenue. Sales tax and personal property taxes are two local taxes which may affect the seller of travel club memberships or the timeshare seller or operator. The potential of the application of these tax laws should not be underestimated, particularly as respects a travel club selling in multiple jurisdictions or certain types of multi-location vacation club timeshare plans.

Let’s take a look at some tax issues and circumstances.

Travel Club Sales Tax/Use Tax
In many travel club circumstances, the product purchased by the consumer is a membership. The member then has certain rights which are associated with the membership owned. For example, a right of such membership may include, for an advance fee payable before travel, the right to use of accommodations for lodging on a space available basis. Perhaps a key question with this set of facts is whether the benefit of lodging is the result of the advance rental payment at the time the reservation is made, or whether such benefit results from the payment of the enrollment fee associated with the acquisition of the membership. This distinction may lead to sales tax consequences in some jurisdictions.

In certain states, a sales or use tax is imposed on the sale or use of personal property and services, and on the occupancy of accommodations. In states where both such taxes are relevant, the question of whether sales tax would be payable in certain travel club arrangements may be predicated upon whether the sales agreement relates to the sale of a membership or the sale of occupancy rights. If the sales agreement is the sale of a membership, then the membership enrollment fee for that membership may be more akin to a service fee for a non-taxable membership purchase.

This would be much like a prepayment (the amount paid for the membership) that only provides the member with the opportunity to reserve occupancy at an agreed rate, including a discounted rate, and not actually payment for the right to occupy. Essentially, the payment is for a possible “opportunity” to use, as opposed to the payment for the use itself. The argument would be that this is no different than the fee paid by a timeshare owner for the “opportunity” to exchange his or her timeshare interest through an exchange program. If this is accepted and the payment is identified as a service charge to establish an opportunity, as opposed to establish the right of occupancy, and then the sales tax would be argued not to be applicable to the sale of the travel club membership.

Not too dissimilar is the absence of sales or use tax on deposits or prepayments that are paid to secure a right or an opportunity to rent or allow transient occupancy at a particular time certain in the future. These are, in some jurisdictions, not viewed as rental charges itself and, as such, not subject to sales and use tax because they guarantee neither use or possession nor the right to use or possession of the accommodations. Simply stated, if the payment is made solely to establish an opportunity to take occupancy and not for occupancy itself, then there is less potential of sales tax being payable.

Timeshare Sales Tax/Use Tax
The foregoing may have application in the world of timeshare, and not only for travel clubs. In traditional real estate timeshare, the sale of the real estate interest is not itself usually subject to sales tax. That is because sales tax is applicable to the sale of goods, and in some cases services, but not real estate. The question becomes what happens if, instead, the timeshare interest is not real estate but rather is a right to use timeshare interest. In this circumstance, again, a determination of what is, in fact, the product being purchased may be foundationally relevant. In some states, even if the timeshare product sold is a right to use the resort unit or units, there may not be an applicable sales tax because such tax may be limited to tangible goods and, in such cases, the right to use is generally classified as an intangible. A problem arises, however, when the right to use timeshare is sold in a state where the sales tax does apply to the sale of intangibles such as the sale of a right to occupy an accommodation.

In that setting, the right to use timeshare would generally be subject to sales or use tax hence making the question of added expense to sell, resulting from the payment of sales tax, a relevant inquiry and economic risk. This same perspective exists for multi-location right to use timeshare programs when sold in some states.

Multi-Location Timeshare Sales Tax/Use Tax
Importantly, the question of sales tax applicability to a multi-location right to use timeshare product could have a different answer based upon the jurisdiction in which the product is sold. For example, in the State of California the sales tax is only applicable to tangible personal property. Hence, the multi-location right to use timeshare plan, as an intangible, may not be subject to California state sales tax. On the other hand, in the State of Florida, Florida sales tax applies not only to tangible personal property and services but also the occupancy of accommodations located in the State of Florida. Hence, the same program sold in Florida as may be sold in California could result in a different answer regarding the applicability of the sales tax to the product sold. This same question repeats itself for each jurisdiction and obviously has significant impact on a seller’s bottom line.

Taxing the Occupancy
Even if a sales tax is not applicable to the sale of a membership, as may be suggested in the case of the travel club membership sale or in the circumstance where sales tax, at the point of sale, is only applicable to tangible personal property, the occupancy of the accommodation itself may establish the applicability of a use or occupancy tax. The question in this circumstance may be whether the charges are subject to the tax as room rates for the use or possession of the accommodation.

In many jurisdictions where use and occupancy taxes exist, the owner or the owner’s representative of the transient accommodations is required to collect the applicable taxes due on the total room rate or rental charge for the respective accommodation. The use and occupancy tax would generally then be due on the amount paid for the use of the accommodation in the respective jurisdiction. A significant question is obviously who pays the tax and will it be remitted to the jurisdiction by the owner of the accommodation. This is particularly acute when fulfillment of a travel request is by use of accommodations owned by someone other than the seller, as may be the case in a travel club program. The question is best answered by the agreement that may exist between the seller of the program and the accommodation owner.

Taxing the Dues
An additional tax question is whether the annual membership dues required to be paid under a travel program or a multi-location timeshare use plan (or, as applicable, in the case of a single site timeshare use plan), would be payable. According to some jurisdictions, charges for assessments, including maintenance fees, membership dues or similar charges paid under the terms of an agreement for the use or possession of (or the right to use or possess) transient accommodations, are considered part of the rental charges or room rates. If that is the case, then the tax is to be collected when the annual dues payments are made. The issue turns on whether the assessment charges are considered part of the rental charges or room rates.

In the circumstance where the travel or right to use product sold is membership based at a specific resort, it would appear that the dues could be subject to sales, use or occupancy tax. Essentially, the position of jurisdictions collecting such taxes is and would be that the initial membership fee and subsequent membership dues or maintenance fees, when payable with respect to the membership sold for a specific resort, are all part of the amount charged for occupancy (even if it affords the member access not only to that resort but also perhaps to a particular additional group of resorts in a multi-location setting). On the other hand, if the dues paid are required for the continued use of the membership without that membership founded or based upon a particular resort then, potentially, the membership dues could be viewed as a fee unrelated to occupancy, much like the travel club membership enrollment fee discussed above. The position would be that the dues are paid for the membership, and if the sale of the membership is not taxable then the dues themselves should not be taxable.

The distinction here is whether the dues are paid for the membership and not for the use or occupancy, or the guarantee of specific occupancy, thus constituting a payment relevant to merely a continued opportunity to make a reservation but not payment for the reservation itself. The position would be that the advance rental payment collected at the time of reservation confirms use and possession of the accommodation and the dues payment does not.

In each of the circumstances referenced above there is always the need for specific analysis of the facts relevant to a particular vacation/leisure program and an understanding of the risk propositions. Importantly, the documents creating the product to be offered need careful attention and drafting to establish a foundation of what is being sold and how occupancy is arranged. Even with careful planning, however, it is possible that a respective jurisdiction could seek to override the form of the membership documentation and argue that the substance of the sales documents, and not the form, establish the assessment of a sales or use tax. The best position for a tax payer vacation product seller to be in is to have documentation seeking to address the potentially applicable tax matters through the recognition of the landscape in the respective sales jurisdiction together with a reasoned analysis of such landscape.

In the instances where the sales tax is argued as payable at the point of sale of some travel clubs or multi jurisdiction vacation products, there may be a multi-state jurisdictional issue. In that case, the sales tax collectors may need to consider allocation of the tax between the accommodations located in their respective state (i.e., the resort properties in a respective state as distinguished from the group of identified resorts to which the product relates). Complex questions of allocation may arise as a result of the foregoing. A sales tax argued to apply to an enrollment fee as advance rent, when sought to be allocated at the point of sale, may confront the obvious situation of subsequent unknown events relating to what actually will be occupied out of state.

Personal Property Tax
In addition to the sales tax issue, there are other tax booby traps that may exist dependent upon the structure of a particular resort program. A recent decision by the tax court of Oregon is illustrative. The issue in this recent decision in Oregon was whether tangible personal property existing in a multi-location timeshare use setting was subject to personal property tax. The relevant facts were essentially that the owners association in the resort program owned furniture and appliances located in the resort accommodations. The accommodations were developed by the multi-location timeshare use developer. The personal property was conveyed to the owners association without  consideration paid to the developer. The developer did, however, retain rights to market the timeshare program. The owners association was, as usual, charged with the management of the real and personal property associated with the resort accommodations. Specifically, the question presented to the court was whether the tangible personal property owned by the owners association was subject to exemption under the tax on personal property in the State of Oregon.

The system of taxation in Oregon provides that all items of personal property held by an owner for personal use and enjoyment are exempt from taxation. However, the exemption does not apply to tangible personal property held by the owner for use in business or for the production of income. The owners association took the position that the personal property in question should not be subject to tax because it was held for personal use by someone (the timeshare owners) even though not necessarily by the owner itself (the owners association). The owners association suggested that ownership by it as a non-profit corporation should be looked through to the actual users of the property, being the timeshare participants. In essence, the argument was that the personal use by the timeshare owners of this furniture and other personal property should be attributed to the owners association for purposes of applying the exemption from personal property tax.

Ultimately, the owners association’s positions were rejected. Amongst other reasons, court declared that because the timeshare owners were permitted to rent out their units or occupancy rights to third parties, the actions of the owners association constituted use of the furniture and other personal property in a business or for the production of income. Significantly, however, it was found that the personal use requirement needed to allow for an exemption from the property tax was necessarily linked to the owner of the personal property and could not be dependent upon use by another. Personal use needed to be established by the owner. Thus, the personal property was not exempt from personal property taxation as it is not used by the non-profit owners association for personal use. Instead, what was found was that owners associations as tax payers had substantial revenues, attributable for the most part from the dues paid by the timeshare members in consideration of their ability to use the furnished accommodations. In turn,
the owners association was responsible for maintaining and replacing the items of tangible and personal property.

And so, suffice it to say, that when the tax man cometh, hopefully your responsive position is ready and viable.

Jim Scavo is nationally recognized for his representation of clients involved in the resort and travel industry. His clients include developers and managers of timeshare and fractional developments, hotels, destination and multi-location vacation clubs, golf course and country club communities, condominiums, subdivisions and exchange companies. Scavo serves as lead outside counsel for some of the leading timeshare and fractional developers operating in the United States.

His firm, Weinstock & Scavo, located in Atlanta, Georgia and Savannah, Georgia offers a full range of legal services to its clients. These services include complete litigation services, both defense and plaintiff work and assistance in project acquisition and development, financing, creation of resort plan documents, workouts of troubled projects, conversion of projects into fractional arrangements, registration and licensing filings with regulatory authorities, and legal advice in respect to compliance with state and federal marketing regulations.

Scavo received his law degree from St. John’s University in New York in 1976. He was a member and editor of the St. John’s Law Review. Jim is a frequent speaker and author in respect to topics regarding resorts and the travel industry. He is a trustee of ARDA, a routine instructor for continuing legal education for attorneys and a longtime speaker at the Ragatz Fractional Conference. He may be reached at 404-231-3999, 912- 944-1675, or by email at jscavo@wslaw.net. [/member]

Recognizing that travelers are savvier than ever when it comes to technology, RCI, the global leader in vacation exchange and one of the Wyndham Worldwide family of brands (NYSE: WYN), continues to expand its legacy as a leader in the industry with the launch of a social media initiative and an RCI application for the iPhone® to enhance the RCI® Subscribing Member experience. Studies show Americans now spend 25 percent of their time on social networks and blogs, and as a result, travelers are turning to these outlets as vacation planning resources. RCI is committed to providing its members with these tools.

RCI has also made its debut into the mobile marketing world with the launch of an RCI application for iPhone® and iPod touch® — devices available through the App Store on iTunes®. The application has a mobile RCI TV feature which can be used to view any of the same great destination and resort videos as on RCI TV and a feature called RCI Snapbook SM feature where users can capture and share vacation photos, videos, audio clips, and notes in an online scrapbook. Launched globally in March, more than 20,000 consumers have downloaded the app and more than 5,100 have established RCI SnapBook accounts.

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Interval International Offers Members New Smartphone Travel App

Interval International, a prominent worldwide provider of vacation services and an operating segment of Interval Leisure Group (Nasdaq: IILG), now offers its members a complimentary, smartphone app that is currently available for iPhone and BlackBerry devices. Its initial features enable users to have mobile access to information on hundreds of Interval-affiliated resorts whenever they are choosing their next vacations.

“On average, U.S. members spend 23 nights per year away from home for leisure purposes. By offering our indispensable resort directory in this convenient platform, we created yet another planning tool for these tech-savvy and well-traveled individuals,” said Sharon Freed, senior vice president of consumer marketing. “Of course, our commitment to enhancing our technology to better serve members is ongoing. We will be adding to the mobile app features and expanding the available platforms, including the iPad.”

The Interval International app features a variety of navigation options:

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Steve Pentland, CEO, Generator Systems

So here we sit at the end of another decade – the first decade of the twenty first century, the first decade of the new millennium. What futuristic forecasts came to fruition, which prophesies fell by the wayside, and what happened that was completely foreseen?

Please first allow me a little self indulgence – Happy Birthday Generator Systems (10 years old this year) and Impact Film (20 years old this year)! – Yes, we’ve now been around in this wonderful industry for twenty years – so we have plenty of tales to tell, and a bucket load of experience and observation of how things have changed. – Observations below, tales available at the bar at any conference!

It’s been said that we have our finger on the pulse of innovation, set trends, don’t just think, but act outside the box and open up new opportunities for all. – As we start our journey on the next ten years up to 2020 we will continue to gaze into the crystal ball, continue to make bold calls, and continue to set the pace. 2010 has come and almost gone – our vision is now on the next ten years – our “20:20 Vision”.

So what happened during the “noughties”? Well, the internet did. In fact this was the decade of the internet. We moved from 10% to 75% of all people connected. The internet went mobile – smartphones, cars, Utube, you name it, – connected. A quiet revolution perhaps? History gave us the railways, telephones and air travel – all very visible. But this one – information everywhere, 24/7, access all areas, the world in your hand – profound beyond belief! The internet is here, it is part of our lives and it’s never leaving us.

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The South Carolina Conference will be held at The Harbour Lights Resort in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina on November 12 and 13. The Southern California Regional Conference will take place the same weekend (November 12-13) at the newly renovated Carlsbad Inn, located on the ocean in Carlsbad, California, just north of San Diego. Early bird registration fees for the gatherings are available through October 15. Non WIN members are invited to a Friday evening “meet and greet” social hour. Programming on Saturday November 13 includes experts with Economic Updates, Communications Strategies and Workplace Solutions for women and those who work with women in the shared ownership and vacation industries.

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