Part II in a two-part series.

In Saturday’s The Timeshare Authority blog, we profiled the women behind WIN, a new professional organization for Women in the Industry that supports and cultivates women as the leaders of tomorrow in the vacation industry.

We had the opportunity to interview several members of WIN’s Board of Directors, and their comments give you a great insight into the current and future role of their organization.

Q. Who founded Women in the Industry (WIN) and when did you launch?

A. Cathy Backus and Lani Kane-Hanan founded WIN. (See Saturday’s The Timeshare Authority to learn more about Backus and Kane-Hanan). Our first official meeting was held at last year’s spring ARDA convention. Cathy Backus had been working on Women in Timesharing; ARDA’s Lani Kane-Hanan had been working on Women in the Industry. They were in concert so they joined forces to found WIN-a stronger organization.

Q. What are WIN’s objectives and goals?

A. WIN is a non-profit group that advocates, educates, and connects women in the vacation industry. The primary purpose of WIN is to foster the growth of women by recognizing their accomplishments and creating a strong networking environment. In addition to providing a forum for women in the vacation industry to unite and leverage best practices, WIN will also support industry research particularly as it pertains to women.

Q. Who benefits from joining WIN and how?

A. Both individuals and corporations benefit; there is a place in WIN for women and also for men who support women. Individual members of WIN will receive newsletters, educational sessions and information, networking opportunities and access to the membership directory. Corporate memberships receive a number of other benefits as well as their membership serving to show their commitment to support the causes of this not-for-profit group.

Q. What do you hope to see WIN accomplish in the next year? The next 5 years?

A. WIN is a grassroots, volunteer-based organization. What we hope to accomplish in the next few years is to complete the foundation of our organization. We have selected our Advisory Board and with their help, we will grow the member base, finalize local and regional chapters, hold several local and national networking sessions, launch our website and job search tool, and hold educational sessions for women and those who support women in our industry.

Q. What do you see as the greatest challenges the timeshare and vacation ownership industry currently faces?

A. Developing a strong core of new blood, fresh energy, and skilled professionals. Women bring this to the table.

Q. What do you see as the greatest challenges for women working in the timeshare /vacation ownership industry?

A. The industry has long been dominated by men, but this is evolving. Women are in a unique position to understand their fellow women’s needs and to support and nurture professionalism. With women in leadership positions, women’s desires to improve their lifestyle, support their families, and improve their community will be better met.

Wise words.

Women drive many of the buying decisions in the timeshare sales and timeshare resales industry. It makes a great deal of sense to build and grow the timeshare industry to better match the owner base. If you are part of the timeshare and vacation ownership industry in any way, look into what WIN has to offer you and what you have to offer WIN. The organization already includes individuals, resorts, vacation clubs, recreational real estate developers, and funding and lending institutions. The community of support services to the timeshare industry is also getting involved in WIN, including architects, legal advisors, and suppliers.

If you want to learn more about WIN and their vision, contact them at 760-755-0356, or visit www.WomenInTheIndustry.com

Part I in a two-part series.

WIN, which stands for Women in the Industry, is a unique new organization that recognizes just how much talented, professional women can (and do) mean to the timeshare industry. The mission of this non-profit group includes advocating, educating, and connecting women in the vacation ownership industry.

As Georgi Bohrod, Cathy Backus, and Lani Kane-Hanan, (WIN’s founders and BOD) explain, the primary purpose of WIN is to foster the growth of women by recognizing their accomplishments and creating a strong networking environment. In addition to providing a forum for women in the timeshare and vacation industry to unite and leverage best practices, WIN will also support industry research particularly as it pertains to women.

Last week I had the opportunity to talk with some of the women behind WIN; I know you would be interested in what they have to say. For background, here is a profile of the seven founding members and volunteer Board of Directors of WIN. These short bios don’t begin to do justice to the depth and breadth of professional experience these industry leaders have in a diversity of areas from leisure, to marketing, to recreation, to hotels and hospitality, and of course, timeshare.

• Cathy Backus’ career includes eight years with TWA; owner/operator of Youth Explorers; Director of US Sales for Club Med; and her current position as Global Sales Director with CSA Travel Protection.
• Georgi Bohrod is the owner of GBG & Associates Inc., and has more than two decades of shared ownership industry experience. She is a designated Registered Resort Professional; writer; and public relations and marketing professional; and past director of marketing and public relations for Resort Communications.
• Melanie Gring is the vice president marketing for Global Connections. Prior to acquisition by Global, Melanie was the managing partner of Leisuretainment.com, LLC. She has more than 35 years of experience in the vacation ownership industry; 26 years with Fairfield Resorts; was past president of Cooperative Association of Resort Exchangers (CARE) and currently serves on the Board of Directors of CARE.
• Lani Kane-Hanan, RRP, is the senior vice president of Marriott Vacation Club International (MVCI). Lani is a third generation hotelier with over 20 years in the hospitality industry. She is responsible for all MVCI’s business planning, inventory and revenue management, pricing, and product innovation activities.
• Lisa Jackson is the vice president of strategic business development at International Cruise & Excursions, Inc. (ICE) and is the past regional sales manager for Cunard Line. Lisa manages all resort business development at ICE, seeking out new partners and ensuring that those currently using the ICE programs are fully realizing the benefits.
• Eliana Jones has worked with timeshare developers in Mexico and USA, including Shell timeshare Corporation, Palace Resorts Corporation, Solaris Resorts, and Sunset Group. Eliana is a partner of Zunny Trails Company, an international marketing and destination management company offering lead generation solutions to timeshare resorts across the border.
• Karen Knight, CTSM brings over 20 years of experience in the vacation industry to WIN. She is the past director of marketing for San Francisco Recreation and Park Department; was the grand opening director of Legoland California; past manager of university conference programs for both Cal Poly and Santa Clara Universities and has marketed and managed several boutique hotels in the San Francisco Bay area.

These are seven dynamic, timeshare industry leaders, who have identified both a need and an opportunity. You will be interested in what they have to say about timesharing, women, WIN, and the future of the industry; in the interview I’ll post on Monday’s The Timeshare Authority blog.

Interval International Timeshares Exchange and Kosmas Group International have announced a long-term affiliation agreement in regard to timeshare resort properties in Key West, New Smyrna Beach, and Orlando, Florida.

Craig M. Nash, chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Interval Leisure Group says, “The Kosmas Group has been one of the leading companies in vacation ownership for more than 30 years. We greatly value this relationship and are pleased to have the opportunity to continue to provide Kosmas’ owners with exchange and leisure services, as well as to offer KGI a variety of programs to enhance their sales initiatives.”

Representatives of the Kosmas Group explained that they made their decision to renew the alliance with Interval International timeshare exchange because of II’s commitment to work collaboratively. “Interval offers us an innovative portfolio of business development products, including value-added membership and trial ownership programs and tour incentive premiums, which complement our own very successful marketing strategy. Perhaps most importantly, Interval is uniquely positioned to offer our current and future owners access to high quality resorts in very desirable destinations.”

Kosmss Group International (KGI) member owners will be enrolled as individual members of Interval International and of Interval Gold (R), Interval International’s upgraded membership program. Their expanded privileges will enable them to exchange timeshare at other luxurious timeshare resorts, or use the value of their timeshare toward the purchase of cruises, spa vacations, and golf. Other benefits include 24-hr. daily concierge service via phone or e-mail, complimentary Hertz rental car Gold membership, and other hotel and dining discounts.

To learn more about the opportunities of timeshare exchange, talk to the timeshare resales and timeshare rental specialists at Sell My Timeshare NOW. 877-815-4227

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.”