42 / 62
A Moratorium Story
Tired of frigid winters, Bowes moved to New Orleans
from Wisconsin in the late 1960s. His career as a stock-
broker branched out into real estate as he bought apart-
ment buildings and renovated them. “When timeshare
came in, I had the properties, and so it lent itself to
exactly what I was doing,” he says.
“I believe, but can’t prove, that I built more new
buildings in the French Quarter than anyone in the 20th
century,” he says. “I was building on every vacant lot I
could get my hands on.”
When in 1979 Bowes inaugurated Chateau Orleans,
his first timeshare resort, it made newspaper headlines,
he recalls. “That drew a lot of attention, but I didn’t really
want to talk about it. I didn’t want the competition.”
Within six months, nine resorts opened in The Big
Easy. “And they went broke that quickly,” Bowes says.
Developers failed to invest adequately, he surmises.
“They were undercapitalized, and under they went.
Timeshare acquired a horrible reputation there.”
Endangered Species
Not only did the buyers lose their deposits, but unethical
sales practices contributed to timesharing’s downfall in
New Orleans. In 1985, the situation came to a head in
the state’s capital. “In Baton Rouge, they were writing a
law,” Bowes recounts, “and the attitude was, ‘If they
[timeshare projects] are so much trouble, let’s just not
have any more.’ They wrote in so many restrictions that it
was almost impossible from a practical standpoint to
develop a new timeshare.”
The requirements, Bowes recalls, mandated that the
developer acquire a Louisiana real estate license or post
a bond of US$1,000 per unit week until sellout. In addi-
tion, a US$10,000 bond had to be paid for each sales-
person, and the developer was required to find a bank to
APRIL – JUNE 2015
HOTEL DE L’EAU VIVE
By Catherine Lackner
Struggle and
Triumph for
New Orleans
Resort
Sometimes a baptism by fire sets the stage
for interpreting the present and even
predicting the future. Thomas Bowes, the
man who introduced timesharing to New
Orleans nearly 40 years ago and has the
stories to prove it, still fights in the trenches.
“This industry has done an amazing job of
reinventing itself, and I have confidence it
will continue to do so,” he says.
Common perception has it that the
modern generation is reluctant to commit to
a long-term ownership contract, but Bowes
believes he has a secret weapon.
RESORTDEVELOPER.COM
vacation industry review
42