Experts Say Australia Timeshare Industry Shrugging Off Negative Perceptions

In Sunday’s The Timeshare Authority blog, (see: Timeshare Sales Up 55 Percent in Australia Timeshare Holiday Ownership) we looked at the positive growth seen in the Australia timeshare market in 2009. And while the Australia timeshare market looks good now, it has faced many of the same economic challenges that have impacted US timeshare over the past two years. So how did they manage to flourish, given the global economic climate?

The CEO’s of three of the top Australia timeshare companies say the economy has forced them to take some actions that, at the time, felt very aggressive. Action they might not have taken had the tight economy not pushed them in that direction.

Craig Wood, CEO of Accor Vacation Club explains, “At the start of the crisis it was necessary to restructure our business. A combination of a high quality product, world-class service and a fantastic and engaged work-force allowed us not just to weather the initial impact of the crisis but produce a significant increase in profitability due to the austerity measures we implemented during the last year. Two of our key performance indicators, member satisfaction and resort occupancy increased during this year demonstrating the resilience of our business, even in the toughest of economic times.”

Ramy Filo, CEO of Classic Group points to the fact that Australia timeshare survived and by some standards, thrived, over the past two years, as “… an indication of the resilience of the industry … consumer confidence and significant growth in incremental sales.” Classic Group timeshare has more than 45,000 members. The company’s Gold Coast timeshare resorts are operating at greater than 95 percent capacity and regionally, they are at 80 percent (the kind of numbers the hotel industry would love to see). As Filo explains, the Classic Group timeshare product is a great fit with the traditional accommodation industry thereby adding stimulus to their business and expands delivery options to its members.

Barry Robinson CEO and Managing Director of Wyndham Vacation Resorts, is another industry leader who sees the economic downturn as having provided timeshare companies with the opportunity to showcase the benefit of vacation ownership. “Wyndham’s vacation ownership resorts enjoyed average occupancies above 80 percent for the 2009 year, with many Owners commenting that their ownership provided them with a holiday they would not otherwise have been able to take during that time. Having to streamline our operations in the early stages of the GFC has made us focus on becoming more efficient and innovative. Since that time we have experienced a significant increase in our profit margins.”

More than a year ago, here on our timeshare blog we wrote about the then-unfolding economic crisis as a potential challenge for the timeshare industry. Congratulations to these companies and their leaders for rising to meet the challenge. As Craig Wood points out, “John F Kennedy once noted that when written in Chinese, the word ‘crisis’ is composed of two characters. One represents danger and the other represents opportunity.”

Follow these links to learn more about the opportunities waiting for you in Australia timeshare resales and rentals: Accord Premier Destination Club timeshare resales; Classic Holiday Club timeshare resales and rentals; and Wyndham timeshare resales and timeshare rentals.

Source: Travel Daily News International