TATOC Timeshare Conference Looks at Death by Social Media
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
As Harry Taylor, executive chairman of TATOC sums it up, this year’s TATOC Timeshare Conference was, “Simply the best TATOC conference ever.”
Held March 9-11, at the Park Royal Hotel in Warrington, England, the conference, was attended by over 150 delegates from both the vacation ownership industry and timeshare consumers.
Harry summarizes the conference, saying, “It was fantastic to have industry professionals and owners working together in a positive and constructive way. And we had a world first. The industry panel representing developers, exchange, resale and management organisations (organizations) and the timeshare media answered questions posed by owners. This allowed a frank exchange of views, a clear discussion of the challenges facing the industry and suggestions on how these can be tackled.”
Social Media for the Timeshare Industry and TATOC Timeshare
The keynote address was delivered by Professor Dimitrios Buhalis from Bournemouth University (Dorsett, United Kingdom) who looked at how new technology is changing hospitality and the timeshare industry.
Calling this an age of transparency, Professor Buhalis urged the industry to step up to the fact that smart phones, tablet computers, laptops and social media are a part of life and make it impossible to hide anything from members and owners. “Professor Buhalis explained to delegates that social media and new technology is a tool and we all need to learn how to use it or it will kill us,” explains Taylor.
Death by social media … now that’s a new reality for the vacation ownership industry.
