Hotel & Motel Management - September 18, 2007 - (Page 56)

56 Timeshare DEVELOPMENT H&MM September 18, 2007 | HotelMotel.com www.HotelMotel.com/digital_edition More real-estate opportunities available is providing timeshare real-estate options in other areas of the U.S. as well. Some condo and condoFinding land is easier hotel companies are pulling out of The past several years have Las Vegas, and the coastal areas of been difﬁcult for timeshare North Carolina and South Carodevelopers because it’s been lina are suffering as well, accordhard to ﬁnd land to develop. ing to Gilbert. But lately, more opportunities Developers also are ﬁnding have arisen in various opportunities in the Caribbean. locations. Certain areas of the CaribAcquisitions market looser bean, such as Aruba, have been Caribbean offers options heavily developed for years and Mexico ripe for growth timeshare companies have had difﬁculty ﬁnding property. However, other markets in the islands By Christine Blank CONTRIBUTING EDITOR are not as well developed. “The Bahamian government inding real-estate for timeis encouraging development share and other vacation- Mexico is home to a growing number of timeshare resorts, including the along the outerlying islands,” Gilownership developments Four Seasons Residence Club, Punta Mita. bert said. “With its very has been challenging over the close proximity to Florilast few years as land best suit- condo-hotel building and convert “Land acquisition was da, there is a large client ed for resorts in popular desti- it into timeshare, for example.” getting difﬁcult two years base for the Bahamas.” nations was snapped up by othMany condo and condo-hotel ago because of the real-esLand in nontraditioner developers. projects are being forced into other tate boom, but the downal markets also is more Now, developers of timeshare types of developments as the over- turn in the condo market available in Mexico. properties again are ﬁnding land all real-estate market and second has loosened the market “U.S. citizens can in other countries and in the U.S., home ownership market suffers. quite a bit,” he said. drive down to Mexico particularly where condominium “The bad news in one business In Florida, where and visit Nuevo Vallarta, and condo-hotel developcreates opportunity in an- prime beachfront prop- Gilbert Riviera Maya and other ers are ﬂailing. other. We will see a lot of erty and land near the INTERVAL areas,” Gilbert said. “The “As the credit market opportunities … for our theme parks in Orlanputs its grip on the ability industry where the eco- do has been next to impossible price of real estate is still reasonable, of desirous consumers to nomics are more favora- to ﬁnd in recent years, the ﬂail- construction is reasonable and lapurchase condos, we will ble,” said Dave Gilbert, ing condo and condo-hotel mar- bor is relatively reasonable.” Costa Rica and Belize also are see both the fractionexecutive v.p., sales and ket may lead to more development up-and-coming areas. al and timeshare indusmarketing for Interval opportunities. “Those are two areas now where try take a lift,” said Peter International in Miami. “In Orlando, the obvious land Giamalva, president and Giamalva Howard Nusbaum, has been taken,” Gilbert said. the real-estate is very affordable, managing director of re- NORTHCOURSE president and c.e.o. of the “But, if a good timeshare mar- relatively,” Giamalva said. “It is not search and advisory ﬁrm American Resort Devel- keting company could align with just the eco-friendly and adventure Northcourse Leisure Real Estate opment Assn. in Washington, also a condo developer, that might be traveler going there anymore; it is the mainstream traveler.” Solutions in Parsippany, N.J. “De- said developers now have more op- an interesting alternative.” hmm@questex.com velopers will take a portion of a portunities than in recent years. The condo-hotel downturn ON time Interval International added Cranberry Harbour Castle & Country Club in Collingwood, Ontario, to its vacation-exchange network. The timeshare resort will feature 155 one- and twobedroom units at build-out. The ﬁrst of four phases was complete in August, and the entire project is slated for completion by 2015. Hilton Grand Vacations Co. broke ground on West 57th Street by Hilton Club, the ﬁrst ground-up residential shared ownership property in New York. Projected for completion in 2009, the 28-story property will consist of 161 studio, onebedroom and penthouse suites. Deeded real estate interests for one-week increments are available for purchase starting at $41,000 for a studio and ranging to more than $100,000 for a penthouse, and include membership in the Hilton Grand Vacations Club. IN THE details F FOUR SEASONS RESIDENCE CLUBS RCI Points offers exchange deals, alerts Parsippany, N.J.– RCI, a vacation exchange company, announced a series of enhancements to its RCI Points program. The enhancements to the RCI Points program include: Vacation exchange deals: Periodically, RCI will reduce the number of RCI Points required to get select inventory, in some cases up to 50 percent off published RCI Points. RCI Points subscribing members may receive direct e-mail notification regarding the latest deals available up to 10 months in advance. RCI also will post updates on the latest deals for members of RCI Points at www. RCI.com. Vacation alerts: RCI will now be able to let members know when a resort, at their preferred time, becomes available. To participate in the new service, members need to register at www.rci.com/elerts and deﬁne their travel interests. Once RCI knows what the member is looking for, it will proactively notify the member, via e-mail, as space becomes available matching their vacation preferences. New destinations worldwide: The Tennessee timeshare industry supported an estimated $1.1 billion of statewide economic output in 2005, according to a study conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers and released by the ARDA International Foundation. The Tennessee timeshare industry supported 11,630 full- and part-time jobs, $365 million in salaries, wages, and related income, and $119 million in tax revenue during 2005. Five Kauai, Hawaiibased resorts associated with Wyndham Vacation Ownership’s purchase of Pahio Resorts and Pahio Vacation Ownership now are afﬁliated with its FairShare Plus by Wyndham exchange program. The FairShare Plus portfolio in Hawaii now comprises nine resorts. Compiled by Elaine Simon, esimon@questex.com In addition to what’s currently available through the RCI afﬁliated network, the company is adding new destinations worldwide, including Hong Kong, Paris, Rome, New York, Chicago and Miami. More destinations when and where the action is: The inno- ing events, cultural fairs and big parties like New Year’s Eve in New York. New accommodation options: Members will have new vations to RCI Points will provide more event-related inventory: destinations where, and when, the action is, such as annual sport- accommodation options in nontraditional resorts, from English cottages and Italian castles to seaside beach retreats and boutique hotels. The company, owned by Wyndham Worldwide, said more enhancements will be introduced throughout the year. hmm@questex.com http://HotelMotel.com http://www.HotelMotel.com/digital_edition http://www.RCI.com http://www.RCI.com http://www.rci.com/elerts

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Hotel & Motel Management - September 18, 2007

Hotel & Motel Management - September 18, 2007 Contents Vista Inns Redefines Business Model Conley Applies Satisfaction Theory to Boutique Hotels Questex Acquires Oxford Publishing Perspective At Your Risk Consultant’s Corner Sales Clinic Travel Trends On Finance Franchise Law Cornell Insights HotelWorld Update Training Trends Satisfaction Trends Management Trends Speakers Named, Registration Open for IH/M&RS Going Green Saves Green Trends & Stats Vacuums Go the Extra Mile Transactions Offsetting Emissions is Newest Sustainability Initiative Minibar Advancements Supplier News People on The Move ADA Compliance Can Be Easier With Programs Business Travelers Interested in Remote Check-In/Out Awards Markets Dictate Renovations vs. New Builds More Development Opportunities Available Top Hotel Companies Survey The Lodging Conference Previews Ad/Editorial Index Marketplace Classifieds Checking Out

Hotel & Motel Management - September 18, 2007

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