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NEW ENTRANTS
meet with every single type of professional to get you into the industry,”
Agostini says. “Among the delegates are new entrants, but also
experienced developers who are often willing to share their knowledge.”
Another benefit of attending the conference is the programming,
which can help new entrants better understand the ins and outs of
a very complex industry. “Sometimes, developers don’t understand
exactly how they’ll get paid,” Kolton says. “There’s a strong financial
component, and consumer financing is, in a lot of cases, the most
significant profit center. It’s an education process to help them
understand the business model.”
That was the experience of staySky, whose executives have now
attended several of the meetings. “At the conferences, we garnered
a better understanding of the industry’s many facets,” Gordon says.
“Plus, we were able to make contacts with industry professionals who
assisted us in the process.”
Bringing Fresh Ideas to the Table
Although current developers have blazed the trail, new entrants often
bring their own ideas to the table. For example, staySky is selling
short-term memberships. The company’s three-tiered vacation club
includes: a travel club plan with a two-year membership; a mem-
bership club plan with a points-based membership and the ability to
opt out every 35 months; and a multisite plan with a points-based
membership lasting up to 49 years. Membership costs range from
US$3,999 to US$25,000, based on membership plan.
“We are reinventing the way timeshare is marketed and sold,” Plaza
Vacation Club’s Rotter says. “We are using customer relationship
management [CRM] software to improve the way we identify buyers,
and then sell to them by motivating with benefits rather than pushy
sales techniques.” One marketing effort offered dads a free shave
and haircut at Plaza São Rafael Hotel on Father’s Day, which resulted
in several membership upgrades.
At his boutique St. Lucia property, Sanovnik Destang, executive
director of Bay Gardens Resorts, focuses on personalized benefits,
such as daily maid service, and amenities including an on-site water
park. The all-inclusive program has a unique twist: Guests can dine
out at many local restaurants, not just at the resort.
The Payoff
New developers quickly realize vacation ownership has many bene-
fits. At Royal Westmoreland, Goddard outlines a few of them: “We’ve
progressed repeat rental clients into the shared ownership program,
and have upgraded members to full ownership that we would previ-
ously have missed. In addition, we decreased the seasonality of the
resort by locking in shared ownership members. We have self-funded
construction of new inventory for the shared ownership program; until
the villas are sold, we can use them for short-term rentals and sales
models. Last but not least, we’ve created a new revenue stream.”
In just three years, Plaza Vacation Club has grown its member base
to nearly 4,000 families, and will have expanded from six to 11 resorts
by the end of 2017. “Our owners are very happy, and that is encouraging
us to explore further opportunities,” Rotter says.
At Interval, that’s music to the ears. “We do what we do because at
the end of the day, if we get more developers into the industry, we’ll all
benefit,” Agostini says. “However, we only benefit if they are successful.
It’s truly a partnership.”
BAY GARDENS BEACH RESORT
STAYSKY VACATION CLUB AT ENCLAVE SUITES
PLAZA CALDAS DA IMPERATRIZ RESORT & SPA
PLAZA SÃO RAFAEL HOTEL
1. More exchange options for owners.
Just about every sales center
has access to The Globe world map, a feature on the Interval Sales Tool Kit app
that shows thedestinationswhereowners canexchange to. Newdevelopers can
create new dots on that map. “We just affiliated a new developer in Peru that has
resorts near Cusco, a UNESCO World Heritage site,” Agostini says. “These
new destinations represent exciting new options for existing owners.”
2. Increased industry credibility.
As new developers create sales,
the overall industry size increases more rapidly. The recently released ARDA
International Foundation (AIF)
2016 Worldwide Shared Vacation Ownership
Report
revealed that global sales experienced 11.5-percent growth from
US$17.7 billion to US$19.7 billion between 2014 and 2015. That’s a healthy
annual growth rate for any industry.
3. New owners add to the number of existing owners to sell to.
According to the AIF’s
State of the Vacation Timeshare Industry: U.S. Study
2017
, 59 percent of timeshare sales are made to existing owners. “By gen-
erating sales to new consumers, new developers fuel the network,” Agostini
says. “There’s only so much time that one person can vacation, so we need
new people to become timeshare owners.” In addition, research demonstrates
that marketing costs associated with repeat sales are typically lower than for
first-time buyers.
When looking at Interval’s efforts
to help new players join the shared
ownership industry, it might be
natural for an established devel-
oper to wonder,
What’s in it for
me?
According to Marcos Agostini,
Interval’s executive vice president
of global sales and business
development, the answer to that
question is,
a lot
. In fact, Agostini
offers three important reasons
why an influx of new developers
helps the industry as a whole,
including established players.
Three Reasons to be Excited About New Competitors