Fractional

A free webinar promises a new look at the up-and-coming fractional industry.

NorthCourse Leisure Real Estate Solutions is a division of the RCI Global Vacation Network, that specializes in providing advisory services, research, and asset management to the leisure real estate industry. Their clients include ARDA, Walt Disney, Shell Vacation Ownership, Vistana, the Marriott Corporation, Hilton Timeshares and Hotels, the Hard Rock Café, Hyatt Timeshare, Fairfield Resort Timeshare and Trendwest Timeshare Resorts, to name only a few. On February 27, 2007 NorthCourse will host the seventh annual Fractional Interest Symposium as a free webinar.

Although this online symposium is directed primarily toward persons already in, or contemplating entering the fractional industry, many consumers will be interested in this discussion of the vacation ownership industry. The seminar is free, however, participants must pre-register and receive approval in order to listen to the 90-minute session.

Topics of discussion will include a general look at the latest industry facts and trends, including the findings from the 8th Annual Fractional Interest Report, which documents that the fractional industry in North America increased by 32 percent between 2005 and 2006. Other topics will look at opportunities for growth in the fractional market in the Middle East, Europe, China, and Australia.

Kevin Wallace, chief executive officer of NorthCourse Advisory Services, says, “Our latest research indicates that the fractional ownership industry is growing by leaps and bounds.”

If you are interested in learning more about one of the fastest growing aspects of timesharing, the fractional market, you may want to visit the NorthCourse website.

Towns across America are weighing their options, and their decision determines whether the new style of resort will be built in their areas. What’s the deciding factor? It pretty much comes down to the taxes.

In an October 16 meeting with town council members at Snowmass Village, Colorado, Hyatt Vacation Ownership vice president Larry Shulman and fractional developer Pat Smith explained Hyatt’s intent behind their recent application for a land use permit.

Hyatt Vacation Ownership is seeking to develop vacation properties to fill a new niche market. According to John Burlingame, a Hyatt Vacation Club vice president who had previously spoken before the Snowmass Planning Commission, more families are traveling together as a group. There is also a trend among extended families to buy shared vacation property. Hyatt referred to the concept as “togethering.”

To meet this specific need, Hyatt wants to offer fractional ownership of 51 residences, seven of which will be five-bedroom units; 25 will be four-bedroom units, with the others offering either one, two, or three bedrooms.

While council members were concerned about maintaining high occupancy of these larger units, Shulman reminded the group that timeshare owners typically either trade their week or rent it directly to another vacationer. Any Hyatt timeshare units that are not rented are listed in the global Hyatt reservation system as part of the Gold program, making them available to roughly one half million potential renters.

Hyatt estimates that if construction stays on schedule the properties will be available for occupancy in late 2009. By that date, Hyatt estimates that the active membership of the Hyatt Vacation Club will number somewhere around 40,000 members.

How does this impact the tax issue? Occupancy rate is the crux of the matter. Can a Colorado timeshare or fractional resort with a higher occupancy rate generate more tax money for the town via individual owners than a hotel with a lower occupancy rate but the added benefit of sales tax on top of property tax? Snowmass Village will be letting Hyatt and the rest of us know what they think.

Tell us about your experiences with “togethering!” How does it work for your family? Do you stay near home, or go somewhere in between Cousin Louie in Louisiana and Aunt Elma in Washington state? What timeshare company or fractional resort has been most accomodating for your large gathering?

The Perfect Combination:

Edgartown is beyond charming; it’s elegant, like so many other areas along the Massachusetts coast. So it’s little surprise with the soaring property values on the historic island of Martha’s Vineyard that someone (in this case Russell Urban and his company, ULF Edgartown LLC,) found a way to give a few more people the chance to own property at this highly desired summer retreat.

Within the next few weeks, Edgartown Residence Club will be open for business, with six luxury condominium fractional apartments. Ownership amenities will include exclusive use of an automobile while in residence, a personal concierge, a service to pack, unpack and store your private possessions, airport and ferry shuttle transportation, daily housekeeping and pre-arrival grocery shopping. Each of the maximum 72 owners will have up to 21 days of annual usage and entry pricing begins at just over $90 thousand.

Edgartown was the first colonial settlement at Martha’s Vineyard and has been the county seat there since 1642. Many of the existing private homes predate the whaling era. No doubt the early residents would have been amazed that some of these same homes today sell for upwards of $20 million. And no wonder fractional owners are anxious to own their piece of this for less than a hundred grand.

How Did It Become So Grand?

I promise not to write too many more pieces about the fractionals at the St. Andrews Grand. But I truly appreciate the restoration of historic architecture and I am glad to see a landmark building restored to a place of grandeur and dignity.

The six-story, red brick structure, which sits across the street from the clubhouse at St. Andrews golf course, was originally constructed with Dumfries red sandstone quarried in southern Scotland. In 1895, it opened for business as the Grand Hotel. Those who have played the Old Course at St. Andrews–truly the home of golf–will tell you that the building’s cupola looms above the eighteenth green. Walk across the Swilcan Bridge, and the eighteenth hole is framed by the Valley of Sin to the front, and the red brick fortress of the old Grand Hotel behind.

Rudyard Kipling and King Edward VIII are listed among the notable guests at the Grand Hotel. And, of course, many of golf’s early greats stayed there, including the legendary amateur Bobby Jones, who was a hotel guest when he claimed his 1927 victory at The Open, one of three times he won the event, and one of thirteen Major Championship victories he achieved during his career.

In 1949, St. Andrews University purchased the Grand Hotel and converted it to dormitory space. Then, in 2004, Wasserman Real Estate of Providence, Rhode Island, bought Hamilton Hall from the university and commenced their plans for renovation and restoration as a showpiece fractional property. The architectural firms of Hurd Rolland Partnership (Edinburgh, Scotland) and Van Tilburg, Banvard, and Soderbergh (Santa Monica, California, USA), and designer Randall Ridless, are working together to protect and preserve the integrity of the building’s design, decor, and harmony within the historic environment.