More Timeshare and Fractional News from the CRDA Annual Conference

There was so much to report from last week’s Canadian Resort Development Association Annual Conference in Victoria, British Columbia, that I couldn’t include it all in one blog post … in fact, this is my third post since Saturday on the subject, so if you missed the first two, please double back and read them.

• Timeshares, Fractionals, and a Vision for the Future at the CRDA Conference
• The Turning Point: Canadian Timeshare Buyers

All of us from Sell My Timeshare NOW really enjoyed the people we met and the new relationships we developed with people in the Canada timeshare and vacation ownership industry, including Fairmont Resort Properties and Aviawest timeshares.

We gave out a lot of information from our display table; the interest in Sell My Timeshare NOW shows that the Canadian timeshare industry is enthusiastically looking for a way to address their timeshare resale needs. During one session, called, “The Last Word: Ask the Experts,” the topic turned very directly to the subject of timeshare resales. The consensus of opinion was that the timeshare industry has ignored the matter for too long, and everyone in the business, from timeshare developers, to timeshare resorts to timeshare resale companies needs to come together to solve the problem.

Hot Topics in the Timeshare and Fractional Industry

As I mentioned in yesterday’s The Timeshare Authority post, fractionals were a hot topic and many of the CRDA conference attendees felt that real estate agents will become more involved in selling fractionals on the resale market. This is partly because of the higher resale value of fractionals (as compared to most timeshares) and also because the selling price of most fractionals exceeds the selling price of most timeshares.

We were extremely impressed with the way the conference was conducted and managed; this was our first CRDA annual conference and the membership was very welcoming and inclusive. You could tell they were genuine in their goal to improve the vacation ownership industry and to work with every sector to create ways to build and grow the timeshare industry in spite of the current economic climate.

It was gratifying to see emphasis placed on the importance of online marketing and having a strong Internet presence, and page 1 rankings in Google searches. It goes without saying that is our philosophy here at The Timeshare Authority and Sell My Timeshare NOW.

Lastly, let me add that I was personally honored to meet Keith W. Trowbridge, Ph.D.; President of Executive Quest, Inc.; Editor, Timeshare and Vacation Ownership Review; and author of Resort Timesharing: How you can invest in inflation-proof vacations for life. Keith Trowbridge is a pioneer in the timeshare industry and it was truly my privilege to meet him.

All in all, I would call the conference a great success and add that we are already looking forward to next year. Ross Perlmutter, the executive director of CRDA, summed it up like this, “The conference was really strong with great participation, and we’re looking for another 30 percent increase next year. We’re looking to add workshops next year to the agenda in order to really drill down to the important issues that matter to the industry.”