C.A.R.E. (Cooperative Association of Resort Exchangers), a trade association that provides opportunities for vacation fulfillment and exchanges and for revenue enhancement through increased networking opportunities, announces that the American Resort Development Association has joined C.A.R.E. as an Associate member.

ARDA president and CEO, Howard Nusbaum says, “ARDA looks forward to sharing valuable industry information with C.A.R.E. members through increased opportunities. 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.”

Alain Carr, C.A.R.E. president says, “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.”

C.A.R.E.’s membership is comprised of developers, wholesalers, travel clubs, HOA’s, timeshare resorts, and management and exchange companies. Its member companies offer inventory at over 2500 properties and service over one million vacation owners and members. For more information, visit www.care-online.org.

We are excited to share with you our company’s new ad, which appeared for the first time in the February 2012 issue of Developments Magazine from the American Resort Development Association (ARDA).

As the ad explains, we offer:

“Timeshare Resales You Can Say YES To.”

Because we’ve taken care of the “no’s”

No upfront fees.

No strings attached.

No kidding.

We deliver proven resort resale and rental solutions, customized to meet your needs and your high standard of customer care.

Your business. Your way. From a company you can trust.

We are proud of the ad, proud of what we accomplished since our founding in 2003–very proud of the customers we’ve served and the relationships we’ve built.

We wanted to take this opportunity to share this message with you, to invite you to watch for this advertisement and others we’ve produced that will be appearing this year in timeshare and vacation ownership industry publications.

And most of all, we want to invite you to do just what the ad suggests: Contact us at 317-213-2553 and find out more about how we help timeshare buyers, renters, sellers, developers, HOAs, resellers, and others who have inventory and seek to buy, rent, or sell timeshare.

…no kidding.

Read this month’s issue of Developments here: http://www.nxtbook.com/ygsreprints/ygs/g24005arda_dev_feb12/

With Signature Sponsors committed for the 2012 ARDA World Convention, excitement for the event continues to grow. Already over 3,000 attendees from some 35 countries worldwide are scheduled to attend, including international development organizations from around the world.

This year’s Signature Sponsors include: Holiday Inn Club Vacations, Interval International, Starwood Vacation Ownership, Hilton Grand Vacations Company, Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corp., Capital One, HSI (Holiday Systems International), ICE, RCI, ResortCom International, TimeShareWare, and Wyndham Vacation Ownership.

Howard Nusbaum, ARDA president and CEO says, “We are grateful for the support we receive from our Signature Sponsors. These companies enable us to offer high-quality speakers and events, educational sessions, and networking opportunities at the largest timeshare event in the world.”

Scheduled for the Venetian Resort Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, April 1-5, the 2012 ARDA World Convention and Exposition will bring a new, more globally focused outreach to the timeshare, fractional, and vacation ownership industry’s signature conference.

The schedule will feature several events that have become a tradition at the annual ARDA Conference, including:

• The RCI/AIF Open Golf Tournament at Las Vegas Paiute Golf Resort, featuring the longest course in Nevada.
• Interval International’s annual “Party with a Cause” from which all ticket proceeds benefit the ARDA International Foundation, supporting and promoting the industry with research, education, and outreach.
• The ARDA Awards Gala, sponsored by Holiday Systems International (HSI), with formal dinner, presentation of the annual ARDA Awards, and live entertainment by comedian Tom Papa.

Visit this link to learn more about the 2012 ARDA World Convention and Exposition.

Last week Florida’s Timeshare Resale Accountability Act passed the Business and Consumer Affairs Subcommittee on Tuesday with a 14-0 vote. On Thursday, the bill’s Senate counterpart, SB 1408, received unanimous approval from the Regulated Industries Committee.

Rep. Eric Eisnaugle, R-Orlando, sponsors HB 1001. SB 1408 is sponsored by Sen. Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando.

The bill has the support of Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi as well as that of the American Resort Development Association (ARDA).

Among other requisites, the proposed bill would prohibit a timeshare sales company from telling timeshare owners it has a buyer lined up unless the reseller provides the current timeshare owner with the name, address and telephone number of the potential buyer. The bill also provides for an “unwaivable right to cancel” within 10 days of a timeshare sale.

Uniform guidelines for timeshare resale services are much needed, and if structured fairly, should enhance the industry and strengthen consumer confidence in the product.

Previous news on The Timeshare Authority related to the proposed new Florida timeshare laws:

Timeshare resales: History will keep repeating itself until we finally get it right

Today in Timeshare from The Resort Trades

ARDA Supports the Proposed Florida Timeshare Resale Accountability Act

Vacationing can be an important part of your healthier new routine says VacationBetter.org and the American Resort Development Association (ARDA), and the timeshare industry is working hard to make it easier to do.

A media release yesterday by VacationBetter.org points out that your resolve to live a healthier lifestyle doesn’t have to dwindle as the New Year transitions into a daily routine. A yearlong—or better still, lifelong—commitment to live a healthier life includes both downtime away from your daily grind and pressures and the opportunity to enjoy more healthful experiences during that vacation time.

David Gilbert, executive vice president of resort sales and marketing Americas for timeshare exchange company, Interval International, says, “Many of our clients’ properties in the Americas and the Caribbean have fitness centers and full-service spas, and those with restaurants are presenting healthier menu options.  This increased consciousness of wellness is reflected in Interval’s most recent U.S. member profile.  Reporting on their preferred vacation activities, nearly half of those surveyed include working out and exercising while close to 40 percent cite spa services.”

As Howard Nusbaum, president and CEO of ARDA, explains, “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.”

Read: TIMESHARE INDUSTRY SAYS WELLNESS TREND IS HERE TO STAY IN 2012

ARDA World 2012 will be here before you know it. Scheduled for April 1-5 at The Venetian Resort Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, this year’s American Resort Development Association Annual Convention & Exposition will be the most spectacular ever.

Considered to be the premier gathering for the timeshare and vacation ownership industry, more than 3,000 attendees are expected, representing no fewer than 35 countries internationally, including international development organizations from around the world.

Among this year’s Signature Sponsors are: Capital One, RCI, Hilton Grand Vacations, Holiday Inn Club Vacations, Holiday Systems International, I.C.E., Interval International, Marriott Vacations Worldwide, Starwood Vacation Ownership, Resort Com International, Wyndham Vacation Onwership, and TimeshareWare. Others from the timeshare and vacation ownership industry support the event as Contributing Sponsors and Friends of the Convention.

This year’s ARDA WORLD 2012 will take the event to a whole new level as it embraces the global aspects of timeshare and vacation ownership. But you can’t be part of the learning, excitement, networking, and fun if you don’t register to attend!

Early Bird registration closes this month. Follow this link to access ARDA World 2012 online registration.

The following excerpt is from the article “Today in Timeshare” written by Sharon Drechsler-Scott for the January 2012 issue of The Resort Trades. It is reprinted here with permission from The Resort Trades. Described as a “Window into the industry” we encourage you to read this timely article in full in the print edition of the magazine or online at: http://content.yudu.com/Library/A1v5cg/January2012TheResort/resources/14.htm

…Closing remarks: Jason Tremblay, CEO, Sell My Timeshare NOW

While investigating the proposed introduction of timeshare resale legislation in Florida, Resort Trades caught up with the owner of the resale firm, Sell My Timeshare NOW, Jason Tremblay. As he puts its, “Resales and transfer companies are topics about which  I certainly have a lot of passion. No entrepreneur wants to hear the government is going to impose an increased burden on their business and obviously, compliance with additional regulations will cost Sell My Timeshare Now time and money. However, we are supportive of regulations that are reasonable and which can be enforced fairly.”

Tremblay compares the current abuse of consumers by resale operators who behave unethically and unlawfully to the situation in which timeshare found itself in the early ‘80s prior to the introduction of timeshare regulations: Then as now, there were a few bad players using clearly unethical marketing practices that threatened the very foundations of the industry.

“We hope to see that Florida Attorney General Bondi will carefully review ARDA’s Timeshare Resale Model Act while crafting her proposed bill with an eye to ensuring that regulations will be enforceable. For example, we understand that one portion of her draft legislation calls for all third-party advertisers to be able to disclose past success rates, regardless of whether they solicit customers (which we do not). For those of us who frequently connect buyers directly with owners, we have no way of tracking the success of those contacts once they are conversing independently. So we do hope this proposed legislation will understand the need for practicality in their requirements for advertisers.”

“But overall,” says Tremblay, “we are very glad to see some legislation being considered that will reduce consumer fraud. It’s been a space that has been unregulated for too long. And it will be far easier to stop someone who is clearly breaking the law than it would be to prove the intent to commit fraud as things stand today.”

Each month for the past three months, ARDA, through its Vacation Better website has turned the spotlight on the most powerful message the timeshare industry can share: the testimonial of happy owners.

The timeshare owner spotlight for November focused on happy Holiday Inn Club Vacations timeshare owners, while in December it was turned to shine on timeshare owners at Hilton Grand Vacations. Now, the New Year begins with the focus on Wyndham Vacation Ownership, where as one Wyndham owner says, “We have never regretted a single minute of it; it has been the best investment we’ve made in our lives, to spend time with each other.”

Included on the Vacation Better website is another great story of a happy Wyndham timeshare owner who spent this past Thanksgiving, with 38 family members at Wyndham’s beautiful Bonnet Creek Resort in Orlando. Be sure you visit the site (www.vacationbetter.org) to find out how a timeshare turned out to be the ideal choice for one family’s holiday-family reunion combo event. You’ll even find their  Thanksgiving menu and one of the family newsletters this Wyndham timeshare owner created when they started making their plans last July.

The bottom line is this: Nobody explains why timeshares are such an ideal way to vacation better than the owners themselves who love and enjoy their timeshare vacation ownership.

Previous Vacation Better Videos from Happy Timeshare Owners:

VacationBetter.Org Unveils New Look for Timeshare Vacations Website

Raging Fans and the Truth about Timeshare

The opening keynote speaker for this year’s ARDA World 2012 timeshare industry conference will be noted loyalty expert and the creator of the “Net Promoter Score,” Frederick Reichheld.

Reichheld is the founder of Bain & Company’s loyalty practice, is a Bain Fellow, and is responsible for helping companies achieve enhanced results by strengthening customer and employee loyalty. He is the creator of the Net Promoter system of management.

Reichheld has authored numerous bestselling books, including: The Loyalty Effect: The Hidden Force Behind Growth, Profits, and Lasting Value (HBSP 1996); Loyalty Rules! How Today’s Leaders Build Lasting Relationships (HBSP 2001), and The Ultimate Question: Driving Good Profits and True Growth (HBSP, 2006).

His newest book, The Ultimate Question 2.0: How Net Promoter Companies Thrive in a Customer Driven World (HBR Press-Sept. 2011), looks at how businesses practicing the Net Promoter System (NPS) have used Reichheld’s principles to generate exceptional results. Included among those noteworthy companies are: American Express, Apple Retail, Philips, Schwab, Allianz, and Intuit.

ARDA Timeshare Conference

The keynote address of Frederick Reichheld will be only one of many highlights of this year’s ARDA The World 2012 Conference, scheduled for April 1-5, 2012, at The Venetian Resort Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Follow this link to register for the ARDA The World 2012 timeshare conference. And be sure to play the video to learn more about the wisdom and insights of Frederick Reichheld.

The 2012 WIN Orlando Regional Conference will be held January 27-28, 2012, at The Fountains, a Bluegreen Resort and the Talent Experience Center at Marriott’s Cypress Harbour Resort timeshares in Orlando, Florida. This will be the third annual Orlando Regional Conference for Women in the Industry (WIN).

Women in the Industry (WIN) was established to advocate, educate and connect women in the timeshare and vacation industry, with the primary purpose of fostering the growth of women in the shared ownership and timeshare industry.

This year’s Orlando event will open with a networking reception on Friday night; and will include the WIN Boutique for shopping; and Saturday programs which will  feature an introduction to the WIN mentoring program, WIN program updates, presentations from the 2012 WIN philanthropic recipients, and informative educational sessions including Work-Life Balance Panel and the Career Advancement Panel.

You can learn more about WIN at: www.womenintheindustry.org, as well as finding out more about WIN meetings and events on the ARDA website at www.womenintheindustry.org

Note: Registration for the Orlando WIN Regional Conference is now sold out.