Fractional

Even though the start of Fractional Summit Europe 2012 is only a few weeks away (February 27 and 28), you still have time to sign up and be part of this unique event.

Known as Europe’s “biggest and best b2b conference for the fractional ownership real estate industry,” Fractional Summit Europe offers the timeshare and fractional ownership industries an opportunity to learn, network, and focus. The summit always covers the hot issues affecting shared ownership real estate today.

Fractional Summit Europe

Now in its fifth year, Fractional Summit Europe, has both gained momentum and refined its agenda. Some of the scheduled sessions include:

• Trends in residential resort development.
• Constructing an HOA budget.
• Developer and buyer financing.
• Recruiting, retaining and developing your staff.
• Resort management COM.
• Technology in the sales process.
• And much more…

Follow this link to view the schedule for Fractional Summit Europe 2012. To book  your attendance: www.fractionalsummit.com
For additional information you may contact: [email protected] or call +44 (0)20 8340 7989

More about Fractionals

You often hear it asked, aren’t fractionals just another form of timeshare? The answer to this is both yes and no. Both fractional ownership and timeshare are types of shared ownership. Yet typically, where timeshare ownership only involves one, two, or perhaps three weeks at a vacation resort, fractional properties are owned in larger blocks of time. Many fractionals are divided into 8-weeks of annual use ownership, and some may even involve periods as long as 12 weeks.

Not only are the ownership intervals greater for fractionals than they are for traditional timeshares, but the style of the properties are different. Often, fractionals are actually private homes–luxurious private homes. Sometimes, fractionals are condo-style, but again their level of luxury is always extremely high.

Perspective Magazine has announced it has opened online voting to timeshare and fractional industry professionals for its 2012 awards. You can cast your vote by going to http://perspectivemagazine.com as a registered site member and then clicking on the Awards icon to begin the process.

The Perspective Magazine Awards Program is sponsored by Holiday Systems International and allows thousands from the timeshare industry to vote for these awards. The unique system totals the results of the industry peer votes into one wildcard vote, which is then considered along with the votes of four timeshare and fractional industry judges, with each of the five votes accounting for equal weight (20 percent) in the decision process.

This year’s awards categories include “Best Timeshare Unit” and “Best Fractional Resort” among others. The category of “Best Developer Partner” has been expanded to include nominees from companies with more than 50 employees and also timeshare companies with less than 50 employees.

Voting ends January 27, 2012. Award winners will be announced at the Gala dinner at the Hacienda Tres Rios Resort on February 2, 2012. This a part of the January 31 – February 2, 2012 GNEX 2012 Global Event being held at the Ritz Carlton Cancun in Cancun, Mexico. Sell My Timeshare NOW will be the Lunch sponsor during Day Two of GNEX 2012

This past week, Walt Disney World Orlando, Florida, officially broke ground on its new partnership property Four Seasons Hotel and Resort.

Planned as a 444 room hotel, the upscale resort will feature a rooftop restaurant, spacious spa, three pools and a lazy river, and meeting and event areas. When complete, it will include 40 Four Seasons Residence Club units and approximately 90 Four Seasons Private Residences.

This is the first Four Seasons Resort to be built in Orlando and the first partnership project between the Walt Disney Company and Four Seasons.

Four Seasons President and Chief Executive Officer Kathleen Taylor issued a statement, saying, “Each of us is dedicated to creating a product of the highest quality and standards, something that will become a landmark here in Orlando and a destination unto itself for travelers from all over the world.”

Meg Crofton, president Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Operations US & France says, “Travelers around the world know and trust Four Seasons, and Walt Disney World is the world’s premiere family vacation destination. Together, our two companies offer a brand-new reason to visit and experience Central Florida.”

Scheduled to open in 2012, the new Disney Four Seasons Hotel and Resort is part of Disney World’s high-end Golden Oak residential subdivision.

The Annual Fractional Interest Conference, sponsored each year by Ragatz Associates, is widening  its outreach this year.

The 2012 conference, scheduled for March 12-13 at the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort and Spa at Gainey Ranch, will again focus on fractionals, private residence clubs, and destination clubs, but will now also look at issues of resort condominiums, single-family detached vacation homes, master-planned destination resort communities and vacation rentals. Reflecting this broader scope, this, the 12^th annual event, is being renamed: the Ragatz Fractional & Resort Real Estate Conference.

Richard Ragatz, Ph.D., President of Ragatz Associates, says, “During our global consulting work, we find that developers are active in more than a single resort real estate product. Today, more than ever, it is critical to understand how many components can blend together to create developments that are most appealing to today’s multi-motivated consumers.”

Look for the 2012 Ragatz Conference to include sessions on:

• consumer trends
• changes in decision-making patterns
• which resort real estate products make most sense to various buyers
• marketing and selling to today’s consumers
• consumer use patterns and purchase motivations
• and many other topics of vital interest to the changing vacation and resort real estate marketplace

More than 50 speakers are scheduled, including some 25 new experts at the conference presentations. You can learn more at: www.ragatzconference.com