We’re Excited to be Able to Announce the Theme of RDO8 to You
After the overwhelming success of RDO7 last September we have been excited to get started on planning for RDO8, which once again promises to be an unmissable event. Each year we choose a different theme to reflect the changing focus of the Timeshare and Vacation Ownership Industry. We’re excited to announce to you that the theme for RDO8 will be “Together Towards Tomorrow” which is set to take place from the 10th – 12th September 2017 and will be returning to the legendary Don Carlos Leisure Resort & Spa in Marbella, Spain.
Our team wanted to continue with the importance of coming together as a community and working toward our common goal of helping the timeshare industry progress and grow in the future for the benefit of everyone. We also recognise that we continue to live in times of uncertainty in terms of the political and business situation that now exists globally. Because of this it is very important to work together as a community to face and overcome the issues that exist.
While it might be easy to become pessimistic when observing what is happening in the news globally, this would be a mistake. There are plenty of reasons for our industry to remain optimistic about continuing to improve and grow in the coming years and decades to come. Timeshare and Vacation Ownership remains one of the most popular forms of taking vacations, with those that have chosen to try it very often becoming happy owners for life. Not only that but they then recommend this style of holidaying and the resorts that they stay at to friends and family and wouldn’t choose to vacation any other way.
The travel industry is also one of the most important economic sectors in the world and continues to grow, with ever greater numbers of people set to decide on their next holiday this year. Timeshare resorts have decades of experience in providing exceptional customer service, fantastic accommodation and amazing holiday experiences. This puts the industry in an excellent position to provide wonderful holidays to the growing number of people who are set to be travelling in the next decade. Therefore despite some of the gloomier news headlines, more and more people are expected to travel and will be deciding which holiday option to choose.
As well as being optimistic we are also of course realistic and understand the challenges that now exist, such as competitors like AirBnb which is now a huge global brand which continues to gain popularity. This company and others like it do not just present competition for our industry though, but travel accomodation in general. Also Airbnb may be popular but because of the nature of its business, it cannot easily offer the level of service and experience that our resorts and hotels do. The only true advantage that new companies like that have is their streamlined nature and ease, but through technological changes our industry can adapt to offer what many are now looking for i.e. a personalised, fully customizable travel experience coupled with great customer service and high quality accommodation.
Our industry has the experience, the quality and the loyalty of millions of owners, so merely needs to adapt together to the uncertain situation that now faces the world. While others might see these challenges as an obstacle, by altering our mindset we can instead see them as stepping stones and an opportunity to grow and improve. Without facing challenges and overcoming them many industries stagnate and ultimately fail by no longer remaining relevant because society, technology and other factors have moved on.
Some of the topics we are hoping to cover at RDO8 are:
- Creativity in uncertain times
- Facing challenges as a team
- Technology, Security and Sustainability
- Legislative & Lobbying update
- Brand tracking & management
- The future of online travel
While we can’t give definite details yet, we will again be inviting a diverse and exciting group of speakers to motivate all of our attendees with presentations that are sure to both inspire and educate. RDO7 was very well received overall and we’re confident that RDO8 will be even more successful. We look forward to seeing you all there!
We are pleased to announce that the sponsors that have already confirmed for 2017 are:Diamond Resorts International, Interval International and RCI at the Platinum level, and Dial An Exchange,and Shawbrook Bank at the Gold level. Without our sponsors each year the event wouldn’t be possible so we are extremely grateful for their amazing support.
