On October 15, The Timeshare Authority Blog reported on the busy conference and meeting schedule planned in upcoming weeks for WIN, Women in the Industry. Here’s an important update about the association’s November 12-13, meetings.

• The South Carolina Conference at The Harbour Lights Resort in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina is on, as scheduled, for November 12-13.
• Postponed, no new date announced, is the Southern California Regional Conference at the newly renovated Carlsbad Inn, in Carlsbad, California.

If you have additional questions about the schedule, or just want to learn more about Women in the Industry, visit the WIN website www.womenintheindustry.org. or contact: Cathy Backus at 858-344-2139.

Other Opportunities to Connect with Timeshare’s Women in the Industry

WIN Wednesdays are a way for women in the timeshare and shared ownership industry to connect regionally on a monthly basis. Meeting on the 4th Wednesday of every month, WIN Wednesdays are currently held in Orlando, Boca Raton, and Daytona Beach, Florida and in San Diego, California.

These mini-events are a great opportunity to network and enjoy the company of others in the timeshare and related industry, sharing happy hour (5:30 to 7 PM) and perhaps dinner afterwards.

To find out more about WIN Wednesdays, contact:

• Amy Gregory about Orlando
• Ellen Devine or Melanie Gring about Boca Raton
• Laurie Borasky about Daytona Beach
• Georgi Bohrod about San Diego. And our thanks to Georgi Bohrod, who does such a great job keeping us updated on WIN events as well as others in the timeshare industry.

The timeshare industry can’t be guilty of pointing fingers. I’ve been in the timeshare resale business for seven years now and every year I see the same cycle: some developers pointing fingers at the resale companies for all the fraud that has happened while some resale companies point fingers at the developers for creating the problem to begin with.

Let’s face it, solving resale is challenging or it would have already happened. For starters, the days of pretending the secondary market does not exist are over. The internet has brought unprecedented transparency into the secondary market. People are bringing iPhones and Blackberries to sales presentations and that’s not going to change; they have on-the-spot access to the asking prices of timeshare resales and to owners’ forums and blogs which are loaded with in-the-trenches advice.

Changing the Timeshare Sales Model

The industry will need to move away from the antiquated and highly inefficient tour marketing model. Today’s consumer does not like to be “sold”. There is still robust demand for the product but one of the reasons the secondary market is growing while much of the primary market is largely struggling is due to both the consumer unfriendly sales process and the value one can receive in buying resale that is not overloaded with marketing costs.

1. The primary market can still thrive, but to do so they must better leverage the internet and eliminate inefficient and ineffective marketing.
2. While many brands have been surviving on current owner sales, this is not sustainable long term.
3. The industry must evolve to meet the demands and expectations of the new generations X and Y, and the changing demands of an increasingly tech-savvy Baby Boomer generation. Personally, I love timeshare–grew up going on timeshare vacations, but I would never go on a timeshare tour. I (like a growing number of consumers today) use the internet to do my research and ultimately make most of my purchases online.

The Timeshare Resales Solution and Where Developers Fit In

Developers should be, and many are, looking at their responsibility either to provide a resale solution in-house or partner with a resale company they vetted to refer owners to when the timeshare owners are ready to sell. While no developer wants to recommend the wrong company, not recommending anyone is even worse. Without guidance from the resort they purchased from, timeshare owners can fall prey to any number of outright timeshare resale scams.

Here’s What Timeshare Resales Companies Must Do

The resale companies also have a responsibility to be more transparent and offer “success based” options. While Sell My Timeshare NOW has built a good business offering owners a for-sale-by-owner advertising option, I also believe that it is important to provide owners with a “no up-front fee” option.

Sell My Timeshare NOW partners with several developers and successfully offers their owners both options. In fact, we are currently transitioning our entire business to offer even more success fee-only options to even more owners. Legitimate resellers should support reasonable regulation and should be willing to be transparent where and when they feasibly can be.

Friday morning I had the privilege of talking with Dave Thackeray on RCI’s Timeshare Talk, internet radio show. Not only does Dave Thackeray always seem to have his finger on the pulse of the timeshare industry, but he brings the UK timeshare perspective from ‘across the pond’ and that’s very enlightening, too.

Since neither Dave nor I is known for ‘holding back’ on our opinions, each time he and I get together on Timeshare Talk gets more and more interesting. And since our chats are becoming a regular feature on the show, I can only say, look out for what’s coming in the future!

You can play this episode now, by clicking this link: http://www.rciventures.com/listen/tt_ep9.mp3

You can also download it from iTunes or play it by going to RCI Ventures.

Here are some of the hot topics we discussed:

• Find out what Sell My Timeshare NOW considers to be critical to our timeshare resales and rental business.
• Hear the history and the future of where we are going and why.
• Learn about the choice Sell My Timeshare NOW gives timeshare sellers and buyers.
• Find out how timeshare fraud is changing the industry in ways no one ever expected.

Taking Pain Off the Timeshare Consumer’s Plate

Dave explains some services you, as a timeshare owner, may not know about including the new timeshare maintenance fee protection policy that UK timeshare reseller Worldwide Timeshare Hypermarket is launching and RCI’s Exchange and Points protection, an enhanced protection right. Both are services Dave uses to exemplify the fact that the timeshare industry is going the extra mile to protect the consumer, a fact the mainstream media often fails to recognize.

In news that has nothing to do specifically with timeshares but much to do with vacation, travel, and leisure recreation, Holiday Inn has announced that it will begin updating its bars to become social hubs. The changes are part of a two-year-long global brand re-launch that has involved IHG’s Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express properties.

The social hub concept will be test-marketed in a limited number of Holiday Inn properties in 2011, with plans to implement the idea brand-wide in 2012. Within or adjacent to the former bar area, expect to find video games, a dining area or dining patio, fire pits, and business centers. Menus will feature lunch, dinner, lots of sharable appetizers, and even breakfast. A unique highlight of the hub’s food service will be self-serve pancakes that can be ready in approximately 17 seconds.

From Pina Coladas to Pancakes; Hotel Bars to the Family Timeshare

Instead of Peach Bellinis and Pomegranate Mojitos, Holiday Inn is making a very purposeful move to pancakes and family-friendly social areas. What does this say about travel trends and what this generation of vacationers is seeking? Holiday Inn believes its guests would, “rather intermingle than be in-room loners.”

If the company’s research is accurate, then you have to think that this goes hand-in-hand with the ever-increasing timeshare occupancy rates, consistently topping hotel occupancy rates. Yes, people have vacationed in timeshares because they generally translate to prepaid vacation accommodations but timeshare rentals are on the rise too. And perhaps it all reflects a growing desire among people to spend enjoy family time at vacation destinations that offer more of the comforts of their own home, whether that is a spacious timeshare unit or a hotel with a game room hub and custom pancake selection.

Other The Timeshare Authority blog news on Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Timeshare:

• Orange Lake Timeshare’s Alliance with Holiday Inn Timeshares is Good for the Economy in Many Ways
• More Timeshare Resort Destinations for Holiday Inn Vacation Club Timeshares
• More Orange Lake Timeshare Resorts Join the Holiday Inn Club Vacations Brand

Last weekend was Halloween; you had costumes, parties, and goblins to deal with, and you may have missed Today’s Timeshare, in which Dave Thackeray of RCI interviewed Robin Mills, the chairman of the Resort Development Organisation’s Communications Council. Fortunately, you can still listen in, as this episode of internet radio is available at RCI Ventures Today’s Timeshare, via iTunes, and here on The Timeshare Authority blog.

Not only is Robin Mills an entertaining speaker, but his insights on European timeshare and its contrasts to US timeshare are very interesting.

Some of the points you will want to catch:

• How the timeshare industry adds value to the consumer experience
• Enhancing web accessibility for the European timeshare industry
• Social media outreach
• Ways ARDA is serving the US timeshare industry that Europe can copy
• Increasing communication in general within the industry and between the industry and owners
• A look at RDO1, the first annual conference of the Resort Development Organisation

And in closing, Robin shares his visions for the future and some interesting projects … truly enlightening for anyone who wants to buy, rent, or sell timeshare, or enjoys timeshare ownership or service to the shared ownership industry.

Podcast: Play in new window

Marriott Vacation Club resorts strive for environmental excellence through Audubon International Program.

The Timeshare Authority blog has the opportunity to, once again, share updates with you about Marriott Vacation Club timeshare’s commitment to protecting and preserving our environment. Because Marriott takes its environmental responsibility so seriously, the company is frequently in our news as we report to you on awards or rankings Marriott timeshares, resorts, and golf courses are receiving from the Audubon Society and other environmental groups.

Marriott Vacation Club timeshare is now partnering with Audubon International, making an even greater effort to ‘green’ its North America timeshares and Caribbean timeshares, enrolling more of them in the Audubon Green Leaf Eco-Rating Program for Hotels. Already 28 Marriott resorts are part of the program and by 2011, the company expects participation from all 43 resorts in the region.

Extending Marriott Vacation Club’s (Marriott timeshare) current Green Initiative, the Audubon Green Leaf Eco-Rating Program focuses on both environmental education and environmental awareness, tailoring best management practices to be both efficient and green. To earn the Green Leaf rating, a timeshare or hotel must meet requirements for water conservation, water quality, resource conservation, energy efficiency and waste minimization. Fred Realbuto, Director of U.S. Green Leaf Operations at Audubon International says, “We’re pleased to have Marriott Vacation Club work with us to better protect and sustain our land, water, wildlife, and other natural resources. Our program is unique in that it is international in scope, uses a standardized process for evaluating environmental performance, provides environmental education and conducts visits to verify eco-rated practices.”

Here are only some of the many updates The Timeshare Authority blog has been privileged to bring you about the environmental efforts at Marriott and Marriott timeshare:

• Three Marriott Timeshare Resorts Earn Special ‘Green’ Designation as Environmentally Conscious Resorts
• Part II: Marriott Timeshare Resorts Earn Special ‘Green’ Designation from State of Florida
• Part III: Marriott Timeshare Resorts Recognized by State of Florida with Green Lodging Program Designation
• A Timeshare Sales Company Taking an Important Environmental Stand
• Green Gets Greener at Marriott Vacation Club Timeshares
• Marriott Vacation Club Timeshare Goes from Green to Greener
• Marriott Hotel and Timeshare CEO Speaks Out for Energy Cost Cuts
• A Timeshare Sales Company Taking an Important Environmental Stand

This is the first in a series of blog posts contributed by timeshare industry specialist Marge Lennon of Lennon Communications Group, Inc. (Fort Myers, Florida). Marge will be looking at who is decorating many of your favorite resorts and timeshares and what considerations come into play in this process.

Robb & Stucky Hospitality Provides Interior Design Services at The Breakers Palm Beach

Founded in Florida in 1915, Robb & Stucky Interiors is a nationally respected interior design and premium furnishings retailer with 20 showrooms in Texas, Arizona, Nevada and Florida, including showrooms in Palm Beach Gardens and Boca Raton. The company’s Hospitality Design Division (RobbStucky.com/Hospitality) has expanded both domestically and internationally with increasing commercial design assignments for hotels, condominiums, timeshare and fractional resorts located from Denver to Dubai.

Earlier this fall, The Breakers Palm Beach selected Robb & Stucky Interiors to redesign 69 luxurious guest rooms and suites in the Palm Beach, Florida resort. According to Dan Lubner, Hospitality Design Division President for Robb & Stucky, “We were thrilled to create the furnishings for this property. Our intention was to ensure that the new interiors pay tribute to the historical relevance of the 114-year old resort while still providing guests with the comfort and elegance of today’s contemporary furnishings.”

“Due to the historic character of the building, the units were not identical in size,” said Kris Kolar, ASID and Robb & Stucky’s Vice President of Interior Design. “This meant that space planning was a critical element of the project and furnishings had to meet certain requirements to complement the premium taste levels of the resort’s guests.

Founded in 1896 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, The Breakers Palm Beach, with its 540 guest rooms and Italian Renaissance-style architecture is one of America’s iconic resort destinations, located on 140 acres of oceanfront property in the heart of the island of Palm Beach in Florida.

Robb & Stucky Interiors (previously completed various assignments for The Breakers, including furnishings for the landmark property’s residential apartments, located at One North Breakers Row, which resulted in a prestigious Silver PRISM design award for the “Best Living Room for a Low Rise Condominium” by Gold Coast Builders Association.

Who will be the Face of Travel for 2010? This year’s winner of the World Travel Awards’ Face of Travel 2010 is scheduled to be announced on Sunday, November 7, crowning one celebrity as a global travel ambassador.

Nominees include: David Beckham, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Kevin Costner, Kevin Spacey, Usain Bolt, Rafael Nadal, and Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickenson. The winner is the individual who is considered to have ‘boosted’ the travel and tourism industry most this past year.

In case you are wondering why these individuals made the list, here are ways some of them have impacted travel:

• Usain Bolt is the key figure in Jamaica’s tourism campaign, “Once You Go, You Know”
• Bruce Dickenson, musician and pilot, was nominated because of his new job as marketing manager of Astraeus Airlines.
• David Beckham is currently serving as England’s 2018 World Cup Ambassador.
• Kevin Spacey is a US actor, London resident and television commercial spokesperson for American Airlines ads promoting transatlantic travel.
• After a series of regional events, the winners for all the global categories of The WTA 2010 will be announced at the 17th Annual Grand Final Gala Ceremony, to be held at the Grosvenor House, a JW Marriott Hotel in Mayfair, London on the eve of World Travel Market.

Winners, But Did They Vacation in Timeshares?

While these celebrity icons may be earning the recognition, it really seems that anyone who found great deals on travel this year, like right-priced timeshare resales or timeshare rentals was the real winner.

Consider opportunities including Jamaica timeshare resales, Jamaica timeshare rentals, and London timeshare resales.

Our friends at Resort Trades magazine and AskMando.com are conducting a CustomerCount© survey, reaching out to 18,000 hospitality professionals to better understand how the timeshare and vacation ownership industry feels about timely issues. Included on the survey are topics such as: timeshare resales, going environmentally green, social media, and timeshare sales and marketing budget issues.

Tim Wilson, Publisher of The Trades, says, “We are hoping to gather important information that will give a snapshot of what’s to come in the vacation ownership industry. The survey will run for about a month, and we will publish some preliminary results from time to time prior to the detailed analysis scheduled for the first of the year.”

The survey officially launched on October 27 and will run throughout the month of November. You will find the survey at: www.resorttrades.com/survey

If you are part of the timeshare or hospitality industry and received an invitation, please take a few minutes and respond to this survey. Not only does your voice matter but for each respondent, a $1 donation will go to Christel House, to help underprivileged children worldwide.

This survey was designed by Mobius Vendor Partners, a ten-year-old business process design and management company specializing in servicing the needs of the timeshare industry.

For more information visit www.askmando.com or call 931-484-8819.