Resort Development Organisation

Summit brings fractional ownership to life

The Fractional Summit 2009, held at the Hilton Metropole in London in April, gave fractional real estate professionals from around the world an overview of the current state of the industry in Europe with a two-day programme of presentations and real life examples.

Piers Brown, Founder of Fractional Life, who chaired the event, was encouraged by the level of attendance this year, which was around 80% up on last year. “The appetite for fractional ownership in Europe is now well and truly here,” he announced.

Past, present and future of timeshare reviewed at ARDA Conference

The 2009 American Resort Development Association (ARDA) Conference had a special significance as the trade association celebrates its landmark 40^th anniversary this year, an opportunity to look at the achievements of the past and draw a new road map for the future.

Almost three thousand timeshare industry professionals gathered at his year's ARDA convention and tradeshow, hosted at the Orlando World Center Marriott from 29 March-2 April. The event showcased 164 exhibitors, including 36 new exhibiting companies.

Interval International launches ShortStay Exchange programme

Interval International is responding to the growing demand for shorter stays and weekend trips with the launch of its online ShortStay Exchange programme.

The new programme, available to Interval Gold members, gives them the opportunity to take shorter holidays and enjoy greater flexibility. It also encourages them to broaden their experiences and try different resorts from Interval’s extensive network.

New TV channel for Group RCI members

Group RCI has launched a new TV channel available to members in the UK and the US on its website.www.rci.comThe new RCI TV channel will be rolled into other regions throughout this year.

The RCI TV channel gives members information about Group RCI products and services, as well as travel and resort information. Viewers can access a Destination Review Channel with video footage of the resorts, and watch interviews with RCI’s president and CEO, Geoff Ballotti, amongst others.

Club La Costa wins High Court action against Inventory Solutions

Club La Costa has won its High Court case against Inventory Solutions for the publication in 2008 of unfounded and defamatory allegations in a recorded telephone conversation with one of Club La Costa’s trading partners.

In order to protect its commercial relationships and reputation, Club La Costa issued a High Court writ against Inventory Solutions after they refused to retract the statements or apologise.

Worldwide Timeshare Hypermarket sponsors The Travel Channel

Worldwide Timeshare Hypermarket has become the first timeshare industry company to sponsor The Travel Channel, overcoming previous opposition towards timeshare advertising.

As the main sponsor for May, the company will be featured heavily throughout this month, including a competition to win a stay at The Moness House Hotel & Country Club in Scotland.

The Travel Channel is a global cable and satellite TV channel dedicated to tourism, broadcast in more than 100 countries throughout Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

RDO calls for eradication of Discount Travel Membership Clubs in Tenerife

A conference on the threats to tourism resorts posed by Discount Travel Membership Clubs (DTMCs), organised by the Tenerife government, served as an ideal platform to raise awareness of this issue and call for a unified fight against this fraudulent practice.

Speaking at the conference was RDO’s Head of Enforcement, Alberto Garcia, alongside Mike Haley from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), Ignacio Paredes from the European Consumer Centre (ECC) and Juan Rosales from the Tourism Department of the Government of the Canary Islands.

RDO Spain strengthens cooperation with European Consumer Centre

Representatives from RDO Spain and the Enforcement Project met last month with the Spanish European Consumer Centre (ECC) and the National Consumer Institute to review their ongoing cooperation in the fight against fraud.

The meeting served to share the latest information about fraudulent activities in the vacation ownership industry, including details of the most active companies at the moment, and to co-ordinate the appropriate response.

Registration open for Group RCI Christel House Charity Golf Day

This year's Group RCI Christel House Open Golf tournament will take place at the Ealing Golf Club in Perivale (England) on 15 June.

As in previous editions, the event is expected to attract many timeshare and hospitality industry professionals from around Europe. Participants will enjoy a day of golf and networking, while raising funds for the children's charity Christel House.

Gotimeshare.org keeps visitor figures up as first sponsors are confirmed

Traffic to the new timeshare website www.gotimeshare.org continued to increase over the past month, as the site’s first five sponsors were confirmed.

The number of visits to the site rose by 4.6% and the number of pages viewed increased by 3.48% in the last month. There was also an 18% increase in traffic from main search engines Google and Yahoo.

RDO to present results of European industry study

The results of the first EU Economic Impact Study, a comprehensive report on the timeshare industry prepared by the University of Nottingham in the UK, will be unveiled later this month.

A media event is planned in Madrid to present the key findings, which will also be released to journalists and industry members throughout Europe and will be available on RDO’s website. Further details will be included in the next edition of this newsletter.

Hapimag and Dial an Exchange announce new partnership

The largest provider of holiday rights of residence in Europe, Hapimag, has announced a new partnership with Dial an Exchange which will allow members of both organisations access to new holiday destinations via inventory sharing.

Hapimag’s 140,000 members will have the opportunity to try new resorts in international destinations, whilst members of Dial an Exchange will now have access to 58 Hapimag resorts located in 18 countries in Europe, Africa and the USA.

Fractional ownership body joins RDO

The Fractional and Shared Ownership Trade Association (FSOTA) has become the first new member of the Resort Development Organisation (RDO) since it changed its name from Organisation for Timeshare in Europe to reflect changes in the vacation ownership industry.

While remaining a stand-alone association, FSOTA members will now be bound by RDO’s code of conduct, which aims to protect consumers and promote best practice and fair trading in the industry.

Dates for Your Diary

VOASA Annual Conference

24-25 May, Southern Sun Grayston, Johannesburg.

The annual conference of the Vacation Ownership of Southern Africa (VOASA), bearing the theme “Evolution of an industry”, will have Mr Howard Nussbaum, President of ARDA, as its key note speaker this year.

ATHOC 2009 Conference

13-15 September, Courtyard Marriott Surfers Paradise, Gold Coast, Australia