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Check out the variety of unique items in the AIF Spring Auction, opening online March 19 at http://aif.cmarket.com. And if you will be in Orlando for the Convention, be sure to stop by the Silent Auctions running Tuesday March 27 and Wednesday March 28 in the Exhibit Hall and at the Pre-Gala Reception.

ARDA will again host a member networking breakfast at Hospitality Design (HD) Expo in Las Vegas. The event will be held on Friday, May 11, and seeks to connect vacation ownership resort suppliers, designers, and procurement executives during the conference. Attendance is complimentary but reservations are required. For more information or to make your breakfast reservation, please contact Bob Craycraft at bcraycraft@arda.org.

For the first time, ARDA will be a sponsor of the Caribbean Hospitality & Tourism Investment Conference (CHTIC) being held May 8-10 in Curacao, Netherlands Antilles. ARDA’s participation will ensure that vacation ownership opportunities are well represented at the summit, which draws investors interested in the high-yield Caribbean marketplace. Data presented at the 2006 conference revealed that over 80% of Caribbean tourism lodging investment included a shared or mixed use component.

Howard Nusbaum, ARDA’s president and CEO will be a featured speaker at the conference. For information on attending, please see http://www.caribbeanhotelassociation.com/CHTIC.html.

Diamond Resorts LLC has inked a $16-per-share deal to acquire Sunterra Corp., a leading timeshare resort developer in a transaction that is expected to close by the end of June. The acquisition is aimed at strengthening Diamond Resorts' standing in the vacation ownership market. CEO Stephen Cloobeck remarked, "Our offer of $16 a share is very lucrative as it offers a 35 percent premium over the closing price of Sunterra's common stock on March 8." Sunterra hired Merrill Lynch late last summer to help it explore its strategic options. If Diamond Resorts is successful in its bid, company officials say that no job cuts are planned and that Sunterra will continue to be based in Las Vegas. (Web Link)

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"Arabian Falcon Applauded as Timeshare Pioneer by Industry Chiefs"
AME Info (UAE) (03/08/07)

Arabian Falcon Holidays has emerged as a leader in timeshare-resort development in the Middle East. In the eight years since its launch, the Dubai-based company has enrolled more than 4,000 timeshare members for its resort locations in Egypt, Lebanon and Tunisia. Managing director Al Mohannad Sharafuddin remarked, "We have long-since believed in the potential of the timeshare and fractional ownership sector, thus focused the activities of Arabian Falcon Holidays on this niche, high-potential segment from the outset. Our mission is always to provide the highest quality vacation resorts and deliver excellent customer service to owners." The Middle East currently is one of the world's fastest-growing regions for timeshare properties. (Web Link)

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"Silverleaf Resorts Inc. Reports Fourth Quarter and 2006 Annual Results"
Business Wire (03/07/07)

Silverleaf Resorts Inc. posted a 12.2-percent increase in its fourth-quarter net income to $4 million. For the full year, the company's Vacation Interval sales surged 28 percent to $187.5 million; while adjusted net income skyrocketed 66. 9 percent to $22.7 million. Silverleaf President Sharon Brayfield stated, "Additionally, we made a number of key strategic decisions in 2006, most importantly completing our second-term securitization and increasing the availability under our revolving credit facilities, which position Silverleaf for continued success. We feel confident that we are well positioned to meet our net income guidance for 2007 of approximately $25.5 million." The Dallas-based company owns and operates an undisclosed number of timeshare resorts featuring such country club-like amenities as golf, tennis, swimming and boating. (Web Link)

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"Bluegreen's True Colors Shine Through"
Motley Fool (03/06/07) Munarriz, Rick Aristotle

Bluegreen Corp. recorded a 6-percent increase in its fourth-quarter revenue to $126.9 million. The rise came amid a slide in earnings to $0.06 a share. The somewhat mixed results primarily are the result of Bluegreen's success as a timeshare business pitted against its shortcomings as a developer of residential communities. During the October-through-December period of last year, for instance, Bluegreen's timeshare revenue was up 27 percent. However, its homesite sales plunged nearly 40 percent as the nation's residential property sector continued to slow. For the full year, the company's timeshare sales accounted for a whopping 71 percent of company revenue versus 65 percent a year earlier. According to Bluegreen, the participation of such major hoteliers as Disney, Hilton and Marriott in the timeshare niche has greatly helped educate and legitimize the vacation interval industry as a whole. (Web Link)

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"Pending Government Approvals of Timeshare Laws, Vacation Ownership Set to Take Off in Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Jordan"
Hotel Online (03/06/07)

Earlier this month, Dubai hosted the third Vacation Ownership Investment Conference (VOIC). The general consensus was that once certain government approvals of timeshare regulatory laws become official, the vacation ownership niche should grow considerably throughout Dubai, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the rest of the region. Dubai is soon expected to announce its bill to help govern the development of timeshares. David Clifton, Interval International's managing director for EMEA and Asia, noted, "Interval and other key partners at government and commercial levels have collaborated to help craft a bill over the last three years that is good for Dubai and good for the sector. We are hopeful that it will be passed during 2007, and VOIC is well-timed to be an enabler to promote industry discussions on this bill." South African timeshare expert Jose Ventura said that the United Arab Emirates is emerging as a particularly attractive market for such development. Meanwhile, Pam Golding Hospitality and Leisure Divisions managing director Joop Demes used his time at VOIC to promote "condo hotels" as the next hot investment in the region, detailing three main models of condo hotel specification. (Web Link)

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"Disney's Land Is Growing"
Tampa Tribune (03/02/07) Jackovics, Ted

The Walt Disney World Resort in Florida will break ground soon on a 900-acre Four Seasons upscale resort that will offer an undisclosed number of single-family vacation and timeshare units. According to Disney officials, market conditions will determine prices. A 2010 completion is expected for the hotel component of the project, which will be located on the resort's northeastern edge. Separately, Walt Disney World announced that a value-priced retail, dining and hotel area will be developed at its western gateway. Walt Disney World President Meg Crofton stated, "These projects are first-of-a-kind for Walt Disney World. This will enhance Orlando as a luxury resort destination." (Web Link)

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"Westgate Donates $1M to Charities"
Orlando Business Journal (03/02/07)

In the past few weeks, Westgate Resorts Foundation confirms that it has donated over $1 million to 106 charities in states where Westgate Resorts currently has properties. The donations were based on proposals submitted last year. Since being established six years ago, the foundation has raised and distributed upwards of $9 million. Central Florida Investments, with yearly timeshare resort sales of more than $500 million, covers the foundation's operating expenses. (Web Link)

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"Timeshare Industry Generates $2.8 Billion in Nevada"
Las Vegas Business Press (02/28/07) Illia, Tony

A new American Resort Development Association (ARDA) study shows that Nevada's timeshare industry contributed $2.8 billion to the state's coffers in 2005. That was a whopping 41-percent increase from just three years earlier. The timeshare industry was also found to employ 15,910 people, a 35-percent gain from 2002. ARDA research further reveals that new and existing timeshare owners spent $850 million purchasing units statewide, which accounted for almost 10 percent of all sales. Nevada was found to have 60 timeshare resorts with a combined portfolio of 7,600 units. That amounted to 5 percent of the nation's total inventory of timeshares. ARDA President and CEO Howard Nusbaum comments, "The economic impact of the timeshare industry does not end with the initial purchase. Timeshare purchases, combined with other expenditures and owner and guest spending during vacation, generate tremendous income as well as a ripple effect through other parts of Nevada's economy." (Web Link)

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"Disney to Open Chicago Timeshare Sales Center"
Bizjournals (02/28/07)

Later this summer, the Disney Vacation Club will open a first-of-its-kind timeshare preview and sales center in Chicago's Woodfield Mall. Dubbed Disney's Doorway to Dreams, the 6,300-square-foot facility aims to help meet increasing demand for Walt Disney Co.'s timeshare product. The preview center will contain a full-scale, two-bedroom timeshare unit representative of the company's Disney Animal Kingdom Villas property that is set to open later this year. Disney selected the Chicago location due to its proximity to a dense population base and its existing large membership base in the area. Disney Vacation Club units now boast more than 300,000 members from all 50 states and over 100 countries. Via its exchange program, members have access to upwards of 500 timeshare properties around the globe. Additional timeshare sales centers currently are up and running at the Disneyland Resort in Southern California and at Walt Disney World in Florida. (Web Link)

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"Regional Hotel Investment Confab Attracts International A-List"
eHotelier (02/27/07)

The 2007 Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Investment Conference (CHTIC) will be held May 8-10 at the World Trade Center in Curacao. The three-day event will assemble a wide array of hotel executives, developers, investors, lenders and professional advisors from various parts of the world. Specifically, it will offer development track workshops in which delegates can take part in interactive sessions on the various components of hotel investment and how they interrelate. Among the companies and professional associations that have agreed to lend their support and expertise to this year's CHTIC are the American Resort Development Association (ARDA), Caribbean Central American Action (CCAA), Ernst & Young, Hilton Hotels Corp., the International Hotel & Restaurant Association (IH&RA), Marriott International, Resort Condominiums International, Starwood Hotels & Resorts and the Wyndham Hotel Group, among others. (Web Link)

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"$500 Million Resort -- Plus or Minus?"
Yakima Herald-Republic (WA) (02/25/07) Hoang, Mai

In Washington state, a proposed $500 million high-end resort in Yakima would be the first of its kind in the region. However, a myriad of similar projects have sprung up throughout the West in rural areas with limited economies. Consequently, there has been a growing debate about the risks and benefits of such resort properties. On one hand, such projects can be an economic boon for any given area. Yakima County Development Association President Dave McFadden states, "It's a question for Yakima, for any community: 'If things are good, will the momentum continue?'" The downside is that such development often puts a strain on such public services as roads, sewers, and emergency personnel. In the case of new timeshare resorts, American Resort Development Association President Howard Nusbaum notes that unit owners not only boost sales at area grocery stores but also local restaurants and stores. In the case of Yakima, Nusbaum says tourists are attracted to the area's quality of life. Consequently, developers should work hard to retain that lifestyle in order to retain customers. Nusbaum comments, "We realize that someone who lives in a hustle-bustle [area], when they go away, don't want to see a bunch of traffic. . . . You will find your developers want to have a community that maintains the footprint of its culture." (Web Link)

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"Siegel on a Tear With Timeshare Expansions"
Orlando Business Journal (02/23/07) Mervine, Bob

Central Florida Investments Inc. founder David Siegel is widely regarded as one of the state's most prolific timeshare developers. That is why it came as no surprise when Siegel recently announced plans to invest at least $90 million into expansion efforts at two of his Central Florida timeshare resorts over the next three years. Additionally, he expects to spend upwards of $900 million to expand other parts of his 21-property nationwide timeshare portfolio. One area of expansion will almost certainly be Central Florida, where he is currently planning a 5,000-unit timeshare project in Orlando and another 2,000-unit resort dubbed the Reserve at Westgate Lakes nearby. Analysts are predicting that these ventures will be successful ones for Siegel, especially considering that timeshare sales as a whole have managed to post steady growth even in the down years immediately following the terrorist attacks of 2001. Abe Pizam, dean of the University of Central Florida's Rosen College of Hospitality Management, remarks, "David Siegel has a good track record, and looking at what he's already done shows he's no fool." (Web Link)

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"Room Boom: Strong Fundamentals Driving Hotel Development"
Investor's Business Daily (02/16/07) P. A8; Gose, Joe

The hotel sector currently is seeing a building boom in many markets, propelled by rising room rates and growing occupancies. Lodging Econometrics reports that hotel developers added upwards of 76,400 rooms to the U.S. market in 2006 and are expected to open another 235,000 rooms over the next couple of years. The big players, in particular, are looking to be aggressive both at home and abroad. Hilton, for instance, has 775 new lodgings in its pipeline, with about 10 percent of these projects slated for markets outside of North and South America. All of this development activity has sparked concern about overbuilding, but industry analysts do not expect the sector to run out of steam until at least 2009. Much of the new construction in the near future will take place in suburban U.S. markets where there are typically fewer barriers than in urban locales. The limited-service segment should do especially well, considering these smaller lodgings are less expensive to erect than full-service hotels that feature everything from restaurants to spas. (Web Link)

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"Wyndham Profit Rises on Hotel Room Sales, Timeshares"
Bloomberg (02/13/07) Staley, Oliver

Wyndham Worldwide Corp. reports that its fourth-quarter net income unexpectedly increased 1 percent after the company was able to sell more rooms and vacation rentals. Revenue from Wyndham's timeshare unit rose 15 percent during the three-month period to $554 million. Wyndham owns RCI Global Vacation Network, the world's biggest vacation-club operator, with 3.4 million members. CEO Stephen Holmes remarks, "The people who buy timeshares like the product. . . . Only 5 percent of the people who qualify for timeshares own them. The industry will grow very healthily for the foreseeable future." To this end, Wyndham currently has 3,900 timeshare units in various stages of development and continues to market resort locations to its approximately 800,000 timeshare owners. Additionally, Wyndham is the franchiser of the Days Inn and Ramada lodging chains. (Web Link)

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