Bluegreen Timeshare

Later this month, January 29, and 30, the members of WIN, (women in the timeshare industry), will be meeting in Orlando for their Florida Regional Conference.

The group’s Welcome and Reception will be head at The Fountains Resort, a Bluegreen timeshare resort located on International Drive while the Networking and Education sessions will be at The TEC (Talent Experience Center) at Marriott’s Cypress Harbour Resort.

Scheduled speakers include:

1. Nico March, Sr. VP Investments with The March Group of Wells Fargo Advisors who will deliver an Economic Update: “How and What Women should be considering for their personal finances.”
2. Kit Armour, General Manager of Breckenridge Grand Vacations on: “Managing, Communicating and Working with Intergenerations”.
3. Dr. Pat Heim with a video and discussion on: “Gender Differences in the Workplace”.

The WIN Florida Regional Conference is sponsored by Bluegreen, Marriott Vacation Club, and Mobius Vendors.

You can find out more about the event on the association’s website: http://www.womenintheindustry.org/florida_meeting.html

And learn more about the history and development of this non-partisan global organization that provides leadership mentoring, philanthropic and educational opportunities to women and those that support women both on the association website and in these past issues of The Timeshare Authority:

• Women Changing the Face of Timeshares and Timesharing (Part I)
• Women Carving Out their Future in the Timeshare Industry (Part II)
• WIN – Association for Women in the Timeshare Industry Hosting Special Events at ARDA Convention

When Bluegreen Resorts timeshares wanted a presence in New Hampshire, they looked to InnSeason Resorts. Last summer, Bluegreen Corporation announced that it would take on the sales, marketing, and operations of the InnSeason Timeshare Resort, South Mountain timeshare in Lincoln, New Hampshire, as well as at the Soundings Seaside Resort in Dennis Port, (Cape Cod) Massachusetts; the Parkside Williamsburg Resort, Williamsburg, Virginia; and the Blue Water Resort in Nassau, Bahamas.

While Bluegreen Corporation has dealt with the same types of challenges that have affected other timeshare and residential development companies this past year, timeshares and timeshare management services are looking like an anchor for the company.

In its third quarter report, Bluegreen reported a loss overall attributable to declining sales in its planned residential communities. However, the picture for timeshare sales was very different with Bluegreen Resort sales up 14 percent, to $149.1 million from $130.3 million. The company attributed the jump to a significant increase in timeshare sales to existing Bluegreen Vacation Club owners.

South Mountain Timeshare Resort

This time of year, Bluegreen Vacation Club owners aren’t picnicking or mountain biking at the beautiful resort located at the base of Loon Mountain. Instead, South Mountain Timeshare Resort is typically a winter wonderland, perfect for quiet retreats, taking advantage of the winter ski season, or just browsing the Village Shops in Lincoln.

Inn Season’s Chief Financial Officer Scott MacGregor calls the resort’s relationship with Bluegreen timeshare, “…a perfect fit.“

He explains that the arrangement afforded, “… them (Bluegreen timeshares) the opportunity to step into an established, successful resort and to enhance their portfolio of over 45 owned or managed resorts. For us, the timing was ideal. It allows us to expand in other areas of New England, so we can offer alternate destinations to members of the InnSeason Vacation Club.”

Under the agreements, Bluegreen is providing customized timeshare services and product offerings. Bluegreen timeshare typically manages the operations at each resort, as well as providing timeshare sales and marketing, risk management, timeshare title and escrow, and property management services.

The ever-popular InnSeason Resorts were created as a regional brand of family-oriented timeshare resorts under the development and operations expertise of Dennis M. Ducharme, RRP, president; and the marketing resources of Curran Management Services (CMS®), and its founder, William E. (Billy) Curran, chief executive officer and Sell My Timeshare NOW board member.

As another positive indicator that the timeshare industry is, in fact, weathering the economic recession, Bluegreen timeshare announced this week that it is entering into an agreement to provide service and management at four timeshare resorts.

Parkside Williamsburg Resort timeshare in Williamsburg, Virginia; Blue Water Resort timeshare in Nassau, Bahamas; The Soundings Seaside Resort timeshare in Dennis Port, Massachusetts (Cape Cod); and South Mountain Resort timeshare in Lincoln, New Hampshire will soon become part of the Bluegreen timeshare portfolio of exceptional properties.

Bluegreen timeshares was planning several major corporate changes in 2008 when the economy began to plummet and the credit markets dried up. Putting their plans on hold, the company was then forced to make cutbacks and changes, just as companies in many industries have been driven to do during this tight economy.

This new direction by Bluegreen timeshare is interesting on several levels. By providing services (for a fee) to smaller, independent timeshare companies, Bluegreen is expanding its business model. Not only will it service its clients and timeshare owners, but now the timeshare company is selling its skill at providing these services to other timeshare companies.

For each of the resorts, Bluegreen timeshare will provide operations and management, and select fee-based services including sales and marketing, risk management, and title and escrow. In some instances, Bluegreen timeshare will also be providing design and development planning, collections, and mortgage servicing, all on a fee basis.

Through the arrangement, Bluegreen Timeshare creates new income streams and adds four properties to the Bluegreen Vacation Club ® portfolio. The four timeshare resorts that become part of the Bluegreen inventory gain a depth of expertise and a scope of services that would be difficult and in some cases impossible for them to provide on their own.

In the company’s media release, President and CEO John M. Maloney, Jr., said, “We announced in January that we would actively pursue growth through fee-based services, which require minimal capital, if any. We couldn’t be happier with the interest shown in our services and the quality of properties we now have under contract.”

Historically, some of the most exciting changes in business occur because need or atypical stress forces companies to stretch harder, reach higher, and think miles beyond the box.

There are encouraging signs of improvement in the economy despite all the negativity in the media. The timeshare industry is even seeing improvement, as Steve Luba explains.