The Pestana Group expands in Argentina
The Pestana Group has announced a new project in Argentina, the Pestana Buenos Aires Golf Hotel & Residences, to be added to the other two units the Portuguese Hotel Group already operates in Argentina. The Pestana Buenos Aires Golf Hotel & Residences will be built in the Buenos Aires Argentina Golf Club in Bella Vista, just 25 minutes from the capital. Construction work will begin next year and the opening is scheduled for 2013. The new unit, designed by Argentine architects Martin Foucarde and Alejandro Polizzi, will combine golf, residences and a lakeside hotel with 120 rooms and suites, restaurant, convention centre,...
Claims Directive cases rejected by Spanish court for fifth time
The Anfi group has reported that cases filed by owners represented by Claims Directive were rejected by a judge in Las Palmas (Canary Islands). This is the fifth ruling in favour of Anfi regarding similar claims. Anfi reports that Claims Directive has been targeting its members offering them legal assistance in cases against the group, with the promise of recovering a higher amount than their initial investment. Potential claimants are asked to pre-pay legal expenses of up to 6000 euros, and will often be liable for huge costs involved in long drawn out court cases. Anfi warns that claimants who lose their...
Nine resale companies closed down on the Costa del Sol
Spanish Police has recently closed down nine resale companies in the resort of Benalmadena on the Costa del Sol on suspicion of fraudulent activities. Four people were arrested during the raids, including Christopher Gerald Hannington, who was also wanted by Interpol. The nine companies closed down are: Inside Europe (Dentro de Europa), Viva Choice, Viva Travel Spain S.C., Viva International Vacation Agency S.L., Blue Chip S.L., Euro Independent Marketing, Westminster Consultants, Agrico Ltd, and Continents Connections S.C. RDO is urging owners who may have been victims of any of these companies to contact the Enforcement Team on enforcement@rdo.org in order to help...
EU countries on track for Timeshare Directive implementation
Work continues across EU countries to meet the deadline of 23 February 2011 set for the implementation of the new Timeshare Directive. In Germany, a new timeshare law has already been passed and will be implemented from 23 February 2011. France is the only EU country that has already implemented the new Directive. In the UK, the Government’s Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has finished its consultation of stakeholders and is currently finalising the proposed regulation to be submitted to Parliament. Once the new regulation is passed, details will be posted on the RDO website and sent to all UK...
Call to action for timeshare owners
The Resort Development Association (RDO) has issued a call to action for timeshare owners, urging them to contribute one euro each to help fund the Enforcement Project and the Consumer Helpline, now that the responsibility for funding both has been passed to the Timeshare Partnership Trust (TPT). RDO has fully funded the Enforcement Project for the past four years. In this period, the Enforcement Team, based in the Canary Islands and headed by a former Spanish National Police Inspector, has dealt with 1484 complaints, brought about the closure of 82 fraudulent companies and helped consumers recover an estimated one million euros...
Perspective International leads debate on transparency at RDO1
There was a lively debate on the subject of transparency within sales and marketing practices in the timeshare industry at RDO1, following the announcement of the results of a global trade and consumer study recently conducted by Perspective magazine. Moderator Paul Mattimoe, CEO of Perspective International, kick-started the debate by asking the panel whether there was a need for changing the way the industry engages with the customer. He demonstrated that 71 per cent of those interviewed by Perspective had called for a change in the way the timeshare industry and the product is presented. The panellists discussed how the industry...
Delegates at RDO1 encouraged to embrace social media
The use of social networking sites like Facebook or Twitter as key tools to engage with customers was a recurrent topic throughout RDO1, and the subject of a thought-provoking session moderated by Jackie Murphy, a consultant to RDO. Delegates learnt some staggering facts about social media and the profile and volume of its users. For example, they heard that 64 per cent of the UK population have profiles on social networking sites and that, with 500 million users, if Facebook was a country it would be the third largest in the world. They also learnt about the value of peer recommendations on...
RDO1 outlines ‘the road ahead’ for the timeshare industry
Under the general title, ‘The road ahead’, RDO1 provided delegates with valuable insight into what the future may hold for the timeshare and fractional industries, while looking at what lessons can be learnt from other sectors. Guest speaker Professor Leo Jago, Acting Director of the Travel Research Institute at the University of Nottingham, talked about the main trends in tourism that will affect the timeshare industry. He described a new type of consumer who is wealthier but time poor, driven by value and personalised experiences, influenced by peer recommendations and more environmentally conscious. A session entitled ‘Where is the next pot of...
RDO1 deemed a huge success
RDO1, the first annual conference held by the Resort Development Organisation (RDO) since it changed its name, “exceeded all expectations” according to Robin Mills, Chairman of the Conference Working Group. “The venue, the sessions, the speakers...
Garry Leigh killed in cycling accident
Seasoned timeshare conman Garry Leigh was killed in an accident while cycling on the A-7 in Marbella, on Spain’s Costa del Sol where he was based. The brother-in-law of Costa killer Tony King, Leigh had been involved in a variety of timeshare related scams and one of his companies, Incentive Leisure Group, was recently raided for breaches of consumer law. ...