Following Up on the ARDA Timeshare Convention in Orlando, Florida

After a beautiful week in Orlando at the American Resort Development Association 2009 Convention and Exposition, I want to first congratulate ARDA for another meaningful and informative event. Several members of the Sell My Timeshare NOW team were there, and all of us found the week to be power-packed with educational experiences and networking opportunities.

When asked what I take away from the ARDA 2009 Convention, it is this: the atmosphere in the educational sessions and committees was almost as bright as the Florida sunshine outside. The movers and shakers of the timeshare industry clearly are not letting the challenges of the economy and the tight credit market get them down. Instead, they are meeting these challenges head-on.

When you think about it, why would we be surprised at this? Many of the people who have helped build the timeshare industry and who make it so exciting today are true entrepreneurs; they are visionaries, dreamers, risk takers, and at the same time, excellent business people. The meetings at ARDA were filled with great minds and energetic leaders who are problem solvers and solution builders, rethinking many things about the ways timeshare is bought, sold, rented, marketed, managed, designed, operated, and advertised. If the economy is no longer a perfect fit for your business model, you do what these bright and creative minds are doing, you reshape your model.

The Timeshare Industry is Rethinking Vacation Ownership

Change was already underway in timeshares before the tough economy reconfigured the playing field. The internet has given rise to new ways to buy, rent, or sell timeshare, and created great momentum in timeshare resales. Gen X’s are redefining the ways people shop, share their opinions, and spend both their money and their time. The timeshare industry was clearly primed for a change, even before the US and global economies began pushing everyone into new buying, selling, borrowing, and lending patterns.

So when you ask me what I found at the ARDA 2009 timeshare convention, I am going to tell you that I found an amazing energy and fresh spirit of optimism from dedicated and hardworking timesharing industry professionals. The world around them is changing, but timeshares are clearly not going to be left behind.

Thank you again, Howard Nusbaum and everyone at ARDA who worked so hard and produced such a meaningful convention for the timeshare industry.