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Hcareers and iBAHN have completed Signature Sponsor agreements with ARDA, joining the top tier of ARDA sponsors for 2007 that already includes Holiday Systems International, Interval International, RCI, RedWeek.com, and Whirlpool Corporation. As Signature Sponsors, Hcareers and iBAHN will support ARDA’s 2007 Convention, the AIF Golf Tournament, the regional seminar series and the ARDA Fall Conference. Hcareers is a founding member of ARDA’s Workforce Solutions  and the “engine” behind ARDA’s industry-leading jobs board.  In 18 countries, iBAHN is a market leader in secure wireless and wired broadband services, experts in creating private networks across public spaces.

ARDA has partnered with the producers of the International Pool & Spa Expo (IPSE) to launch the first Waterpark Resort Leadership and Development Conference. The educationally-focused event and trade show will be held at the Las Vegas Convention Center November 28-December 1, 2006.  Watch www.arda.org and this newsletter for the agenda and special ARDA member pricing, or contact ARDA's Vice President Industry Relations Bob Craycraft at bcraycraft@arda.org.

Do you work with a consultant, vendor company, design team, or marketing organization that would benefit from being a member of ARDA? Now through August 31, 2006 ARDA is offering NEW corporate members a tremendous value as part of our summertime Red, White & New promotion. ARDA is offering this discount to all new resort developers, HOAs, vendors and suppliers who are ready to join the ARDA community and take advantage of the great networking opportunities, education, advocacy, and the valued programs that ARDA provides.

This summer we are also offering current ARDA members a referral bonus.  Those who refer organizations that become new members can choose to receive either $100 off 2007 ARDA dues or a $50 American Express gift card. ARDA will provide one gift of your choice for up to three new member referrals.  So, what are you waiting for? Email membership@arda.org with any contacts that you think would be interested in joining ARDA and get rewarded!

The 2006 ARDA Trustee Retreat will be held at the award-winning St. Regis Hotel, San Francisco, on Monday, September 25 and Tuesday, September 26. Trustees will begin Monday evening with a reception and dinner with California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (invited). On Tuesday, Jeffrey Rosensweig, director of the Global Perspectives Program at the Goizueta Business School of Emory University, will be the keynote breakfast speaker. Hotel sleeping room reservations will be handled by ARDA. For more information, contact Marielena Ivory in ARDA’s meetings department at mivory@arda.org.

ARDA Carolinas Regional Meeting in Charleston, SC
The ARDA Carolinas Regional Meeting will be held August 28-29 at The Doubletree Guest Suites in Historic Charleston, SC. For hotel information, a detailed agenda, or to register, visit http://www.arda.org/carolina.
 
ARDA Rockies Regional Meeting in Breckenridge, CO
The ARDA Rockies Regional Meeting will be held September 19-20 at the Beaver Run Resort in Breckenridge, CO. To register, visit http://www.arda.org/rockies.

For more information about upcoming regional meetings, go to www.arda.org/regionalmeetings.

In Hawaii, the Hyatt Regency Maui has announced plans to add timeshare units to its offerings. Company consultants Chris Hart & Partners recently began seeking comment on a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) and design concept for a 12-story tower that will be developed adjacent to the existing hotel. The tower would include more than 120 two- and three-bedroom units, in addition to 24 "lock-out" units that can be locked off from the adjoining rooms. The new tower would have the usual assortment of amenities timeshare customers have come to expect, including an exercise room. Additionally, the timeshare operation would enjoy certain synergies with the full-service lodging, such as laundry. Hyatt has estimated the cost of the project at $63.6 million. (Web Link)

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"Dubai Prepares to Pass Timeshare Legislation"
ITP Business (08/08/06) Campbell, Sarah

Dubai's Department of Economic Development (DED) expects to pass the emirate's first timeshare law by the end of the year. The legislation will enable such international timeshare resort operators as Marriott Vacation Club International and Interval International to enter the local hospitality sector. For the past three years, timeshare executives from 19 companies have been collaborating with DED officials to come up with a first draft of the timeshare legislation. Vivienne Noyes-Thomas, managing director of RCI Middle East, remarks, "The DED asked the [timeshare] industry to form a work group to take a look at the first draft legislation [submitted in late June] and make comments. We have just completed that, [and] it is a very good draft." The first DED draft looks to protect the consumer, providing a level of protection for the timeshare buyer investing in properties still in development. In addition, operators will be required to obtain a license to run a timeshare resort in Dubai and to sell it. (Web Link)

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"Americans Love the Beach, Survey Finds"
Associated Press (08/07/06)

A new Travel Industry Association report shows that American beach travelers take longer vacations, spend more cash on their trips and are more apt to stay in a timeshare resort than the average traveler. In addition, beach-going households are more likely to take children on their excursions, with 36 percent of them bringing a child along versus 22 percent of traveling households overall. In 2005, the study shows that more than 54 million total trips to the beach were made by U.S. households. Those households spent an average of $737 per trip (excluding transportation to the beach) compared to $339 for traveling households overall. Around 4 percent of beach travelers stayed in a timeshare last year versus 2 percent for traveling households overall. (Web Link)

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"Timeshares Settle In"
Business Press (CA) (08/06/06) Park, Carol

Marriott Vacation Club International is currently busy erecting its biggest timeshare development in the United States. Located in Palm Desert, Calif., the 14-phase Shadow Ridge complex is on track for a final completion by 2017. The $120 million project will boast 972 total timeshare units. Work began on the project in 2000, with the sixth phase currently in development. Ed Kinney, Marriott's vice president of corporate affairs, comments, "In the last five to eight years, the timeshare industry has shown significant growth because people are educating themselves on the Internet." Merrill Lynch reports that Marriott currently leads the timeshare industry with 52 total resort properties and approximately 10,475 timeshare units. Hilton Hotels Corp. is not far behind, with 40 properties in its portfolio containing 4,272 timeshare units. Kinney remarks that the timeshare industry is still experiencing a growth spurt, citing Merrill Lynch research that shows the industry having grown 16 percent in the last 12 years. Approximately four million American households now own timeshares. (Web Link)

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"Emergence of Condotels in Central Texas Increases Growth"
Austin Business Journal (08/03/06) Ball, Jonathan

In Texas, Austin's downtown corridor is becoming a hot spot for developers looking to profit from the viability of offering residential properties inside of major hotel chains. This concept is known as "condotels." Condotels have emerged as a popular trend at the major tourist destinations nationwide. Miami and New York City are just two of the markets that continue to witness impressive returns for hotel chains willing to convert a portion of their floor space into privately owned condominiums. Condotels are essentially extended version of timeshare developments owned by investors. They are jointly managed and rented out by the lodging when the owners are away. The hotel enters prospective bidders into a rental pool in order to determine priority dates the condo unit can be rented to others interested in making use of the property. Austin has put its own spin on the condotel format, as properties located inside the various major downtown hotels are strictly residential units that offer the hotel's various amenities such as room service and laundry without the fractional ownership commonly associated with traditional condotels. (Web Link)

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"Timeshare Is Now a Reality, Costa del Sol Project Inaugurated Yesterday"
Dominican Today (07/26/06)

In the Dominican Republic, the Costa Del Sol recently celebrated its grand opening. Located in Juan Dolio, the resort integrates hotel rooms that are sold to interested tourists and administered by the Embassy Suites Los Marlins, which will rent them with the services that timeshare-units owners have come to expect. The concept aims to create tourism of a more permanent nature. Costa Del Sol features 140 rooms, along with an undisclosed number of eating and drinking places. The resort will offer its facilities to members of the nearby Metro Country Club, while the room's owners will be able to play on the club's golf course. (Web Link)

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"Timeshare Developer Launches Asia Expansion"
Orlando Sentinel (FL) (07/28/06) Boyd, Christopher

Marriott Vacation Club International announced in late July the opening of a new regional headquarters in Singapore to further its expansion into Asia. The Florida-based timeshare developer and operator says the new office will be instrumental in tailoring a sales program specifically for the Asian consumer. Marriott Vacation Club President Steve Weisz remarks, "We have recognized for quite some time that while timeshares [are] booming elsewhere in the world, Asia is a relatively untapped market." Marriott spokesman Ed Kinney says the learning curve has been steep in that part of the world, ever since the company opened its Phuket Beach Club resort in Thailand earlier in the decade. Instead of selling weeklong vacation intervals as is the norm in North America, Marriott Vacation Club plans to sell vacation points in Asia to accommodate shorter stays.

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"Timeshares Pump Millions Into Area"
Virginia Gazette (08/02/06) Vaughan, Steve

In Virginia, the Greater Williamsburg Chamber & Tourism Alliance reports that the timeshare industry contributes as much as $343 million to the Williamsburg area economy. Alliance President Dick Schreiber reports, "We've got 4,000 units here, and I'm told by people in the industry that we could have 12,000 units at build-out." By comparison, the local hotel and motel industry currently has around 10,000 guest rooms. Schreiber notes that the very nature of timeshares inspires something that most lodgings covet: repeat business. Approximately 90,000 timeshare-unit owners make up a solid base of visitors who travel to Williamsburg each year. If that number triples along with the 12,000 units at build-out that Schreiber projects, Williamsburg could potentially have 270,000 timeshare owners per year. That works out to the $343 million in economic impact alluded to earlier--approximately $210 million in the form of business generated by and salaries paid by timeshare developers and operators and another $133 million in indirect impact. (Web Link)

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"Tourism Boom Benefits School"
Honolulu Advertiser (HI) (07/20/06) Arakawa, Lynda

The continued health of Hawaii's tourism industry has led to an increase in enrollment at the University of Hawaii's School of Travel Industry Management (TIM). This January, the school plans to add four new faculty positions and expects to double the number of its graduates to 200 over the next several years to help meet demand from tourism-related businesses. The school currently has 439 undergraduate students, a 30 percent increase from just three years earlier. Statewide, visitor arrivals reached an all-time high of 7.46 million in 2005. In particular, the growth of Hawaii's timeshare segment has created more opportunities. Erika Lacro, interim assistant dean for UH's TIM school, notes, "The recruiters are always knocking on the doors when it gets closer to the end of the semester. It's a good situation for us right now, [and] the students are getting great positions." (Web Link)

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"Kauai Timeshare Firm Bought by Wyndham"
Pacific Business News (07/21/06)

In July, Wyndham Vacation Ownership Inc. purchased privately held Pahio Resorts Inc. and Pahio Vacation Ownership Inc., both based in Kauai, for an undisclosed sum. The Wyndham portfolio will now boast a dozen resorts throughout Hawaii. Wyndham CEO Franz Hanning comments, "Hawaii remains one of the most popular vacation destinations for our more than 750,000 owner families, and we look forward to introducing them to the wonderful island of Kauai." (Web Link)

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"Stroman Realty's Fourth Generation Timeshare Resale Software"
Business Wire (08/09/06)

Stroman Realty Inc. has completed development of its fourth-generation timeshare resale software. The Web-based program is designed to deliver a universal solution for Customer Relationship Management and Timeshare Transaction Processing. Stroman Realty President Wayne Stroman remarked, "The quality of timeshare services we've provided to our clients for over 25 years compels us not only to meet but exceed that quality of service by staying on the cutting edge of technology--an important part of achieving our goal." Based in Texas, Stroman Realty ranks as the world's biggest timeshare resale brokerage. On behalf of individual timeshare unit owners, Stroman timeshare sales have closed at more than 1,250 different resorts in 47 states and 29 countries. (Web Link)

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"Holiday Equity Announces Latest Timeshare Resort Partners"
PRWeb (08/07/06)

Holiday Equity recently announced a number of new additions to its growing family of equity resort partners. Most recent are Orbit One Resort in Orlando and the Grand Seas Resort in Daytona Beach. These and two other additions bring to 116 the total number of resort developers under Holiday's Equity Exchange to boost sales. Holiday Equity is a subsidiary of Holiday Group of Seattle, serving timeshare owners and resort developers around the globe. Since the industry's yearly ARDA convention this past June, eight resorts have teamed with Equity. Holiday Equity President David Skinner comments, "We've also begun to expand into the European market, which should provide even greater profitability for our partners." (Web Link)

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"A Time to Build"
Daily Press (Virginia) (07/21/06) Reklaitis, Victor

Bluegreen Corp. has announced plans to invest as much as $150 million in its second timeshare project in Virginia. The new resort will boast around 500 timeshare units and will be located adjacent to Colonial Williamsburg's Historic Area. The first 76 of these units could become available as early as the second quarter of next year. After that, approximately 400 more timeshare units are set to go in new buildings erected in eight phases over 12 years. Doug Kinsey, senior vice president of acquisitions and development for Bluegreen, remarks, "Williamsburg has been a great market for a lot of our competitors for a long time. We think demand in our system will be very high." The Florida-based firm currently manages around 30 resort properties nationwide, with approximately 150,000 customers in its timeshare network.

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"Starwood Vacation Ownership Continues Expansion"
Orlando Business Journal (07/18/06)

Starwood Vacation Ownership recently detailed plans to continue expanding its timeshare product on more than a dozen properties throughout the United States, Mexico and the Caribbean. The Orlando-based firm expects to add more than 1,600 new units to its portfolio of properties that presently operate under the Sheraton, St. Regis and Westin brands. These include 195 new units at the Sheraton Vistana Villages in Orlando. The expansion will bring that property's total unit count to 615. The other expansion projects in the company's pipeline will bring Starwood's total number of timeshare units to over 6,000. (Web Link)

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