Last week’s CRDA Conference was great. The Canadian Resort Development Association Annual Conference was held in Victoria, British Columbia, and Steve Luba (Sell My Timeshare NOW’s director of communications) and I headed to the great northwest to be a part of it.

You might think that with the economy the way it is and some sectors of the timeshare industry experiencing real credit crunch challenges that attendance would have been down. Instead, representatives of the timeshare, fractional, and vacation ownership industries were on hand, ready to learn, network, share, and contribute to the forward vision of the industry.

As Ross Perlmutter, the executive director of CRDA stated, “I’m thrilled with the turnout of the conference. We had 170 delegates, which was up from 130 last year and everybody said to expect a downturn. While other conferences were down as much as 20 percent our numbers were up 30 percent in the midst of the way the economy is going.”

What Fractionals Have Figured Out that Timeshare Developers May Need to Understand

Much of this year’s CRDA Conference centered around fractionals and how developers can manage the growth and sales of fractionals. Dick Ragatz, president of Ragatz Associates, and industry expert on vacation ownership, delivered the keynote address. He identified that there are 300 total fractional projects with 175 in active sales in North America totaling $2.3 billion in sales in 2007. There are about 50,000 fractional owners/members in North America and the average fractional sells for $200,000 USD.

Now here’s where it gets really interesting. The average marketing cost for a fractional is about 18 to 20 percent of the sales price, compared to 50 percent marketing cost for the sale of new timeshares. This would appear to be a significantly contributing factor in why fractionals maintain their value on the resale market so much better than do timeshares.

We’ve talked about it before, here at The Timeshare Authority. Critics of timeshare are always quick to point out that timeshare resales are much lower in price than timeshares purchased new from developers – they see it as proof that this product loses its value quickly. But in reality, timeshare resales may be the product that is “right-priced” while new timeshare prices are overly marked up to cover the high cost of advertising and marketing in the way the timeshare industry has traditionally approached it.

Timeshares are great. And I am pretty sure buyers would be just as willing to purchase them without the seller giving everyone who listens to their timeshare sales pitch a free theme park ticket or discounted vacation night – especially if giving up the perks meant paying less for the timeshare itself.

We came home from the CRDA Conference with a lot of new information, new food for thought, new friends, and new business contacts. And in tomorrow’s blog post, I will fill you in on more of what we learned and who we met at this very exciting event.

Recent The Timeshare Authority posts about CRDA:

• The Turning Point: Canadian Timeshare Buyers

Marriott International, owners of Marriott Hotels and of Marriott Vacation Club International is expected to officially announce a new project that will create some 220 jobs – in Cork, Ireland. Great news for the people of Cork; disappointing news for recently laid off U.S. timeshare company employees like those at Westgate timeshares or Wyndham Worldwide resorts.

According to Finfacts, (Ireland’s top financial news portal) Marriott International is gearing up to more than double the size of its Cork call center which currently employees 160 people in reservations and customer service for inquires originating from Ireland, the United Kingdom, and Continental Europe. The new call center will occupy 10,400 square feet in Blackpool, Cork City and is expected to handle approximately 1,500,000 calls by the end of 2009.

Billy Kelleher TD, Ireland’s Minister for Labour Affairs at the Department of Enterprise, Trade, and Employment, says this about Marriott’s expansion in Ireland, “We are delighted that Marriott chose Ireland and Cork for its second operation. It shows a level of confidence that the company has in our ability to provide the highly skilled personnel necessary to support a rapidly growing international business. Marriott’s positive experiences at its existing Vacation Club International facility in Cork and the standard of its Irish management and workforce were instrumental factors in securing this investment for Cork against strong competition from other global locations. It is also a substantial endorsement of Ireland’s reputation in the business of global customer services and support activities.”

Both Cut Backs and Expansion Ahead for Marriott Timeshares

It’s interesting that the news of Marriott’s expansion in Ireland surfaced on the same day as Bill Marriott wrote in his blog, “In early October, we reported our third quarter earnings results and also provided observations about business for the rest of 2008 and into 2009. At that time, we expected business in late 2008 and 2009 to decline, but in just the last few weeks our business outlook has further weakened.”

For more information on the layoffs at timeshare companies, see these recent The Timeshare Authority blog posts:

• Wyndham Timeshare Announces Cut Backs
• Layoffs at Wyndham Timeshare as Wyndham Worldwide Shares Drop
• Layoffs Coming at Westgate Timeshare

Plans are underway to transform Slains Castle – the castle that inspired Bram Stoker to write the horror classic, Dracula – into timeshare condos.

The cliff top ruins of Slains Castle are near Cruden Bay in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It was originally built in 1597, which leads one to assume that calling the renovations extensive is an understatement, yet plans continue to move forward on this £6 million timeshare project.

Understandably, some people have raised objections to the idea of turning a structure of such historic significance into a timeshare, but supporters point out that if Slains Castle is not renovated in this way, it will continue to deteriorate, crumbling down the cliffs and into the sea.

According to Timesharing Today, the architect behind the development, Douglas Forrest said, “Work has already started on the new plans and it’s going well.” He also explained that the intention was to restore the castle to the way it was during its prime.

…Sounds like it may be a while before you can start scheduling weeks at this timeshare condo resort. Until then, you may want to vacation in Scotland timeshare resales and Wales timeshare resales. Both countries offer beautiful timeshare resales and timeshare rentals, amazing castles and ruins to explore, and who knows, perhaps even a vampire or two.

This is a great time to be attending the CRDA annual conference in Victoria, British Columbia. CRDA is the Canadian Resort Development Association, of which Sell My Timeshare NOW is proudly a member. CRDA “works on behalf of its members to engender a better understanding of the value of the Shared Ownership product,” representing all facets of the Canadian timeshare and vacation ownership industry.

Steve Luba, Sell My Timeshare NOW’s director of communications, and I are in Victoria this week taking part in this exciting Canadian timeshare event. This year’s conference is called The Turning Point, an appropriate name given the potential for the Canadian timeshare vacationer to dramatically impact the global timeshare market.

According to a Harris/Decima study released at the end of September 2008, the research, “clearly indicates the Canadian demand for second home lifestyle properties is there and is at the start of a 15 year purchase cycle, being fueled by boomers desire to re-invent their retirement lifestyle wants.” (Source: 10-19-2008 press release from MonCasa Capital Corporation, a developer of private residence clubs.)

Canadian Vacation Trends Point to Vacation Ownership

Here are just a few of the results of the Harris/Decima research study, which included over a thousand respondents:

• 14 percent of Canadians currently own recreational real estate.
• Of the 14 percent, 57 percent are sole recreational property owners and the other 43 percent have invested in shared ownership assets including timeshare or fractional ownership properties.
• 36 percent of the sole owners purchased before 1990. 43 percent of timeshare owners purchased in the 1990’s, and most of the purchases of fractionals have occurred since 2000.
• 30 percent of the total population surveyed indicated they are interested in purchasing vacation ownership property, either sole ownership, timeshare, or a fractional.

Certainly there are many challenges facing the timeshare industry these days, but the global marketplace still includes an abundance of future timeshare owners. Canadians purchasing timeshares, fractionals, and vacation ownership properties will be important contributors to the health and well-being of tomorrow’s timeshare industry.

Click here to learn more about opportunities in Canadian timeshare resales.

And follow these links to read Sell My Timeshare’s latest press news:

• Sell My Timeshare NOW Targets Expanded Presence in the International Vacation Market
• Timeshare Advertising Leader, Sell My Timeshare NOW, Positioned for International Growth