The Next Generation Of Buyers
The report from the Bournemouth undergraduate team has been published and is now available to download from the members-only section of this site. Sue McNicol and I have worked with this team of 4 final year students over the past 12 months and sat in on various meetings they have had with RDO members, to discuss the industry and where it is going and very generously they were hosted by Holiday Club Resorts in Gran Canaria and Club la Costa in the West Country, so that they could experience timeshare resorts, meet with owners and see the sales processes at...
Why Timeshare is a Sustainable Way to Holiday
A BBC business report last week “The Problems with all-inclusive Holidays” highlighted the increasing problem of loss of income for small businesses impacted by the rise in popularity of all-inclusive vacations. The BBC reporter visited First Choice Holiday Village in Benalmadena near Malaga and spoke to various local business owners who have been losing money because of the all-inclusive hotel deals which are keeping guests onsite, so tourist spending locally is down. The organisation Tourism Concern which is alarmed at the growth of all-inclusive deals was featured in the report. Speaking to the BBC, Mark Watson of Tourism Concern said, “Local restaurants...
Bournemouth University Research
The results of the Bournemouth University research into the younger demographic, the 30/40 year olds, and what they are looking for in their timeshare holidays are now available to download from the members’ only section of the website. The final year students at the School of Tourism at Bournemouth University were tasked with analysing the needs and aspirations of the younger demographic and coming up with proposals as to how the industry can attract this younger age group. Their research including visiting timeshare resorts in the UK and the Canaries, holding talks with timeshare owners, conducting third party research to develop an...
New Year Resolutions Or “ 2012 And All That!”
I noted whilst scanning the RDO website that I had resolved to produce more blogs this year not less, how poor a start to the year is that!? I do not however kid myself that there are those of you waiting for my latest missive, but I really should have been more active than I have. I can plead pressure of work, moving offices and moving house in my case (best not go there otherwise I will be obliged to recount how during the move, I lost my wallet, cracked a couple of ribs falling off my son’s bike and...
Timeshare Directive in Spain – RDO Guidance Notes
Following the adoption of the new Spanish timeshare law, the “Ley de Contratos de aprovechamientoporturno de bienes de usoturístico, de adquisición de productosvacacionales de largaduración, de reventa y de intercambio”, RDO’s Spanish Chapter has issued guidance notes for members. These guidance notes, which are only available to RDO members, cover a number of areas including the effect of Rome 1 and how timeshare projects can be structured in future - an important change and one that RDO lobbied intensively over; taxation rules; the application of the Regulations; and transitional rules. Contact Maria Rodriguez on mrodriguez@rdo.org for a copy of the guidance notes...
One Year Late – Spain Adopts the New Timeshare Directive
RDO is pleased to announce that on 16th March 2012 the Spanish government passed the ‘new’ European Timeshare Directive into national law. The law, the “ Ley de Contratos de aprovechamiento por turno de bienes de uso turístico, de adquisición de productos vacacionales de larga duración, de reventa y de intercambio”, comes into force the day following its publication in the Official State Bulletin (possibly the week commencing 19 March) and all timeshare companies will need to ensure they are in full compliance by this date. The government, which was only elected in November of last year, took urgent steps to...
2012 And All That
Post RDO 2 and ARDA Fall in September and November respectively, I seem to have been endlessly writing pieces for various journals so the writing of blogs went very much to the back of the queue and then we had Christmas etc etc. So apologies for all those of you waiting with baited breath for my pronouncements on matters of moment within the industry – not that there are that many of you I would venture to think! New Year is of course a time for resolutions and new leaves being turned, but I tend to give those a miss –...
RDO2 2011 Conference Wrap Up
Take a look at all of the action from RDO2 2011 conference in Marbella. ...
What is RDO?
Setting the Standards for Vacation ownership What is RDO? RDO (Resort Development Organisation) is the trade association for vacation ownership across Europe, encompassing a number of usage types including timeshare, fractional interests, private residence clubs, condo hotels, destination clubs etc, all aimed at providing holidaymakers with quality holiday accommodation through various concepts of use. RDO members are made up of resort developers, exchange companies, trustees, management companies, resale companies and finance providers. RDO members represent the best in European vacation ownership and are committed to high service standards and integrity. They are bound by a code of conduct and an independent arbitration scheme,...
RDO Spain’s response to the draft bill implementing the second Timeshare Directive
On 10th June 2011, the Spanish Government approved a draft bill to implement the second Timeshare Directive (2008/122/EC) RDO Spain responded to the draft, recommending a series of amendments designed to ensure the draft reflected the realities of the industry. Following these submissions, the draft was slightly modified by the Ministry of Justice and then RDO made further comments on this second draft. Given the importance of the contents of our submissions, you will find attached full copies of both submissions in Spanish together with a brief synopsis in English. Download Follow the link below for a copy of the latest draft law http://www.lizarza.com/enlaces_abogados.htm If you...
