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OCTOBER – DECEMBER 2017
RESORTDEVELOPER.COMVACATION INDUSTRY REVIEW
17
NEW ENTRANTS
Room
for More
New Entrants to Shared Ownership
Continue to Find Success
BY JUDY KENNINGER
16
Orlando, Florida, is often referred to as the timeshare capital of
the world. At nearly 90 area resorts, major brands as well as
large independent developers compete to find buyers among
the more than 68 million annual visitors. Still, that competition
didn’t deter the launch of staySky Vacation Club, with four
area resorts, in 2014. According to John Gordon, president and
CEO of staySky Hotels & Resorts, the club’s developer, it’s been a
success by any measure.
“First and foremost, we judge our success by members continually
using the product — and they are,” he says. “Then there’s our ongoing
growth and the opportunities we have for future growth by introducing
what we’re doing in Orlando in other markets.”
Entrepreneurship Alive and Well
Although recent years have seen rapid consolidation and an increased
market share for big brands and major independent developers, new
developers are still putting their own spin on the product — and reaping
the rewards.
“This is still a very entrepreneurial industry; there’s room for creativity
in figuring out the best product and the best way to offer it,” says Neil
Kolton, Interval International’s director of resort sales and service
for the Caribbean and Florida. “When you look at the growth of the
sharing economy, ultimately, that’s a testament to the interest among
consumers in a residential-type product. With timeshare, you have the
best of both worlds because you stay at a residential-type property,
STAYSKY VACATION CLUB AT LAKE BUENA VISTA RESORT VILLAGE & SPA