Featuring:

• Jim Madrid,CEO at Entelechy Training & Development
• Michael Coletta, director of Business Management (EMEA) at Hilton Grand Vacations.

Jim Madrid, keynote at the 2011 RDO Conference, is on the cusp of publishing his second book – entitled Snap Out Of It!

Madrid talked to Today’s Timeshare prior to his impactful session to enlighten us on the importance of an attitude of mental toughness during challenging times.

Positivity and focusing on the loyal customer base are tenets of success in the current trading environment.

Michael Coletta, director of Business Management (EMEA) at Hilton Grand Vacations, talks tactics when doing business with the next generation – and why we need to plan today for tomorrow.

With many thanks to RCI Ventures for this fantastic podcast!

Featuring:

• Philip Bacon, managing director, HVS in London and Madrid.
• Sean Lowe, managing director, RCI Europe.

Bacon heads up one of Europe’s leading hospitality consultancies and has amassed significant intelligence on timeshare trends with his incredible track record in the shared ownership industry. Bacon explains no matter how you dice and slice it, the name of the timeshare game is creating the best loyalty program possible for your owners.

Producing heightened loyalty among your member base is the result of providing the ultimate holiday experience – before, during, and after, the event itself. He moots new product systems, discusses ‘developer mentality’ and reveals why the timeshare industry is perfectly positioned to maximise the rich rewards inherent among switched on, tuned-in customers.

Lowe joins Today’s Timeshare to introduce the RCI Platinum exchange programme and explain the focus of RCI into 2012.

With many thanks to RCI Ventures for this fantastic podcast!

Featuring:

• Susan Duncombe, business development director for RCI Europe
• Holiday Club Hungary founder Dénes Pieke

Investigating new marketing opportunities is one thing – but as the old adage goes, it’s strength in numbers the timeshare industry needs for a new era of growth.

Susan Duncombe, business development director for RCI Europe, joins Today’s Timeshare to identify developers of tomorrow who can both maximise the wide-ranging benefits offered by the industry, and also galvanise shared ownership with new ideas and owner bases.

Holiday Club Hungary founder Dénes Pieke starts our chat with some positive news from Hungary and tells us about his highlights from the RDO Conference. We also talk about starting over – what would Pieke do if the shared holiday ownership industry was reinvented?

With many thanks to RCI Ventures for this fantastic podcast!

Featuring:

• Gregg Anderson, global vice president of The Registry Collection
• Vladimir Suchevan, COO of Absolute World Group.

Next year marks the 10th anniversary of The Registry Collection and we talked to Gregg Anderson at the RDO C onference to take the pulse of the fractional industry. Anderson also updates us on the ever-present definition debate over exactly what makes fractionals, fractionals!

Shrinking delegate numbers at industry conferences actually provides an opportunity for greater focus. Vladimir Suchevan of Absolute World Group discovered the intimacy of this year’s RDO Conference actually brought delegates closer together – to learn, share, and conceive new ideas. “If we find a strong ‘why’, we will always find a strong ‘how’,” said Suchevan.

With many thanks to RCI Ventures for this fantastic podcast!

Featuring:

• Howard Nusbaum, president and CEO, American Resort Development Association (ARDA)
• Paul Gardner Bougaard, CEO, RDO.

Today’s Timeshare welcomed the chiefs of the European and American timeshare trade bodies to talk research, trends and plans for the future.

With many thanks to RCI Ventures for this fantastic podcast!

This just proves what we were told at the conference about the speed of news transmissions, social media and comment etc. So is there anything left to say about RDO2?

We are undoubtedly in the middle of a period of serious financial turmoil and as yet the end isn’t in sight, nor do we know how the financial cuts in the EU will affect our industry in terms of demand for members’ products and spending power going forward. We do know however from speakers at the Conference, that holidays remain a priority for those in work, that the West still enjoys unprecedented prosperity and that resort destinations run by RDO members are in safe and secure locations around Europe. These are all key elements for a secure future for the industry.

We also know from RDO 2 that the media is not picking up adverse comment on timeshare these days and the 2 journalists filmed on the “What do they think of us?” session were interested in hearing more about the industry – something we need to address. We also know that Enforcement remains a priority for members and their continued support is a testament to the hard work Alberto and his team have continued to put into their often difficult task.

Those who listened at the Conference to Howard Nusbaum’s account of ARDA’s work, could not fail to have been impressed by the breadth of ARDA’s activities and resources in the USA, the like of which RDO can only dream of! That insight does however underscore the logic of seeking to explore areas of co-operation and mutual interest between the two organisations and we expect discussions will continue and conclude soon.

So, much still to be done as we move towards the close of 2011 and after all that, still some lessons left to be drawn from the Conference. My thanks to all who attended and contributed to what was a great event and I look forward to the 2012 Conference!

RDO’s Chairman, Richard McIntosh, described this year’s Conference as “very positive”.  He added: “I witnessed many side meetings, always a strong indicator that members are developing their business.”

Two packed days of conferences, networking sessions and social events gave delegates plenty of opportunities to share their views and experiences, listen to thought-provoking presentations and pick up new ideas to apply to their businesses.

While the programme covered a wide variety of topics, there were a number of recurrent themes, such as the need for the industry to offer a good quality, innovative product in order to survive.  Consumers look for luxury, “hidden gems” and authentic experiences, and the industry must focus on the consumer’s passions and do what is right for them.  Timeshare should be treated as a lifestyle choice, a “pre-paid vacation” as ARDA’s Howard Nusbaum put it, and not an investment.

This year, there wasn’t just one single presentation focused on the use of social media.  Instead, it became clear that this is an element that must be incorporated into every single step to engage with a new kind of consumer who is still holidaying despite the economic crisis, but is smarter with his money and influenced more than ever by peers. Simplicity and transparency are also essential to communicate with this new consumer.

The Conference gave RDO the opportunity to update members on the organisation’s planned  re-structuring to reduce costs and free up budget, and listen to members’ thoughts on what RDO’s main role should be.

Delegates also learned more about the work of the Enforcement team, and how, despite the new Directive and better enforcement across EU members, bogus companies are finding new ways to deceive consumers, mainly using internet as the platform.  Developers were urged to encourage owners to report any cold-calls received, and check the Mindtimeshare blog for updates on scams.

Leading motivational speaker Jim Lawless told delegates how it is “our inner tigers” that stop us from making our good ideas happen, and how to “tame” them, whilst renowned travel journalists Lisa Minot and Steve Keenan made it clear that they haven’t got a negative view of timeshare, and would welcome more information from developers.  Delegates also heard about the importance of branding, the future of fractionals, and much more.

RDO would like to thank all the sponsors, speakers, moderators, and everybody who attended this year’s Conference and joined in the debate, helping make the event a success.