Warmest Regards
The Drakensberg Sun Lifestyle Resort is the first resort in Kwazulu-Natal to be awarded a Platinum environmental classification by the Heritage Environmental Management Company, making it one of only three resorts in Southern Africa to attain this world-class, environmentally responsible standard. The Drakensberg Sun is Southern Sun property and while it only borders a World Heritage Site, management voluntarily committed itself to upholding the high standards expected of these important international treasures. In addition, it is the only hotel in this environmentally sensitive region to be independently assessed for the environmental impact of its operations. The hotel was also the 2008 overall winner of the Imvelo Awards, SA’s only environmental awards program for the tourism and leisure industries. Article courtesy of: Simply Green Magazine November / December 2009 Issue. |
|
As I write this, the debate around the office is whether we’ve officially ended the decade, or we have to wait until 2011 to close that door. We’ve had this discussion before — remember Y2K? A little more than 10 years ago, we were wondering if the lights would go out after the clock struck midnight on 31 December 1999. As we all know, the lights remained on and, not only did our technology not fail us, it continued to accelerate at warp speed, propelling us unimaginable distances. Although there’s no denying that it’s been a turbulent 10 years, let’s not overlook the fact that the vacation ownership industry celebrates many positives, not the least of which is access to ever-more sophisticated technology. That and other factors allowed us to achieve double-digit growth for most of the decade. Timesharing: A Household Word We’ve always attributed our strength to our origins: Timesharing was born during a down market, and our industry has consistently proven better-equipped to weather economic turbulence than other hospitality and tourism segments. Even in the most recent downturn, timeshare occupancy rates continued to outpace hotel occupancies. During the ’00s, the public became increasingly familiar with the concept of timesharing. According to the 2009 National Leisure Travel MONITOR™ (a U.S.-based study published by Ypartnership/Yankelovich, Inc.), 91 per cent of leisure travellers were familiar with timesharing — a rise from 68 per cent in 2000. And 19 per cent of those familiar with the concept expressed interest in taking a mini-vacation at a resort and listening to a sales presentation. Sales staff found they could spend less time educating prospects on the concept and more time selling the property: further support that timesharing has become a positive household word. Information spreads with amazing speed. Today, a talking cat, a middle-aged songstress, or a college prankster can become a worldwide sensation in seconds — until the next YouTube production steals the spotlight. Just this year, a reported US$22 million in relief funds for Haiti’s earthquake victims was raised within a week’s time through text-message donations alone. How can this be anything other than evidence of a paradigm shift in the way we interact? Consumers turn to technology for virtually everything, from making donations to enjoying entertainment. If you had told me in 2000 that one day I’d be able to carry 40,000 of my favourite songs in my pocket, I could no sooner have imagined that than receiving “tweets” from the president of the United States. In the 21st century, high-tech has proven to be not only a high priority for timesharing, but also an essential component of successful business operations, customer service, and marketing and sales programmes. In the 1990s, Interval was the first major vacation exchange network to establish a presence on the Internet. In the new millennium, the company continued to unveil innovations — from online exchange to resort recognition systems — to further assist members in making informed holiday choices. The company also provided Interval Gold members with online cruise exchange and ShortStay Exchange capabilities, adding even more Web functionality and travel-planning flexibility. Now Interval is preparing to introduce its social network, Interval Community, in 2010. It’s A Smaller World Technological strides have resulted in greater connectivity around the world. As travellers around the globe share experiences, those in the travel industry, too, spread ideas, gather expertise, and learn from one another more readily. During the past 10 years, developing timeshare markets experienced a steady warm-up in some areas and a fast boil in others, including Mexico (particularly in the Mayan Riviera and Cabo San Lucas), some parts of Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Interval has seen this global expansion first-hand. Sometimes it takes a not-so-pleasant experience to jump-start a needed transformation. And we can look to the economic debacle as a wake-up call. Our industry became too dependent on financing and lending as a cornerstone of the business model. With the crippling of the credit market, we were pressed to re-evaluate and redefine how we operate. We’ve been challenged to examine our business approaches, to develop services and products that better meet the needs of our consumers, and to seek ways to operate more efficiently. I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to call it a decade. However, let’s shine the spotlight on our strengths and our achievements over the past 10 years. Enlightened by our experience and by the technological tools now at our command, our industry is poised to move forward in a positive direction, leaving no doubt that the lights are on. This article first appeared in the April – June 2010 issue of Vacation Industry Review magazine. © Interval International, Inc. Used with permission. |
||
|
Dirk Wilson of fractionalownership.co.za has just produced a series of educational Q&A videos featuring a panel of key leaders from all sectors of the fractional and vacation ownership industry, and posted them on the fractionalownership.co.za website. He says: “There are over 24 billion websites floating out there in cyberspace, with a staggering 4 million websites being added to this number each month. You Tube alone has 24 hours of video being uploaded to it every 60 Seconds. As time-starved consumers, we are increasingly seeking ways to avoid the clutter and cut to the chase, and to find niche content platforms which assist us with our decision-making. “As a dynamic online marketing company that specialises in fractional ownership, we are assisting buyers, owners, property professionals and researchers by continually providing a variety of free and interactive content. This assists our visitors to fully understand the concept of fractional property ownership in Southern Africa, and the ownership and usage differences between timeshare, fractional ownership and private residence clubs. We believe that online video is the most convenient way to deliver this educational content.” The first series of informative Q&A videos features a panel which includes Alex Bosch, Executive Director of the Vacation Ownership Association of Southern Africa (VOASA); Deon Viljoen, Director of Operations of Southern Sun Lifestyle Resorts; David Clifton and Darren Ettridge from Interval International (which is based in the UK but moving into Africa with their global exchange programme); and Henry Greyling, CEO of Seeff Fractional Ownership. The sessions are debate-style, and the viewer is a fly on the wall. Each clip is under 11 minutes long. This series addresses the broad question of ‘What is shared vacation ownership?’, and includes topics such as ‘How has the shared vacation ownership market evolved over the past 5 years? Do we have a new generation of consumers that are dictating future products based on their usage requirements?’, ‘What makes conventional fractional ownership and private residence clubs different from conventional timeshare products?’ and ‘What is happening in the South African fractional ownership resales market, and what channels and methods can fractional owners use to resell their fractions privately?’ Wilson says anybody who wants to know why fractional ownership is revolutionising the way people own leisure use property should watch the videos - “Here they will hear all about it from our experienced panel of experts. Using the internet as a dynamic resource, we will help people to become better informed in order to make the right purchase decisions which fit in with their lifestyle, family and financial objectives. “We encourage property marketers and sales professionals to embrace the fact that the power has shifted - consumers now have countless channels to research, compare, and find the facts before making a purchase decision. Companies that embrace this change, use technology and communicate are the ones that will increase market share.” View the videos at http://www.fractionalownership.co.za/videos/listings Contact
Dirk Wilson on +27 (0) 72 591 8582; +27 (0) 21 556 5064; |
|
In South Africa, the RCI ‘Oscas’ is an annual event that celebrates RCI’s valued Club partners, Developers, Affiliated Resorts, Top Timeshare Sales Professionals’ successes and acknowledges the important role they play in the Vacation Ownership Industry in Africa. The Oscas event is the culmination point of RCI’s Recognition Programmes for the Vacation Ownership Industry in Africa. “We are at times overwhelmed that RCI’s Recognition Programmes are so competitively contested, but at the same time, we are absolutely delighted to facilitate the investment in the growth and recognition of our Vacation and Fractional Ownership Community on the African Continent” said Wayne Grews, Managing Director of RCI (Africa). This year, RCI (Africa) celebrated its 22nd year of collaboration with its valued partners at a sumptuous event held at Champagne Sports Resort in the Central Drakensberg in Kwazulu-Natal earlier this year. On arrival, guests were treated to champagne on the lawn with the majestic Champagne Peak Mountains as a backdrop. Once proceedings got under way, Wayne Grews, Managing Director for RCI (Africa) highlighted the many innovations that have helped RCI maintain its position as global leaders in vacation exchange, including global and local initiatives, such as RCI Africa’s interactive new website, rci.co.za, which makes searching faster and easier and adds a convenient online booking facility. Wayne assured all developers, resorts and Vacation Clubs of RCI’s continued dedication to the needs of all its valued industry partners and affiliated resorts to support their growth on the African continent. “ RCI’s Resort Recognition Program plays a meaningful role in upholding the standards of the hospitality experience at RCI-affiliated resorts” added Wayne. In addition to recognising its top resorts, developers and Clubs as part of its annual Resort Recognition Programmes and its top affiliations’ achievements through RCI’s Affiliate Recognition Programme, RCI handed out 229 awards for 2009 performance, including top nominee awards, in the following categories: - RCI Recognises and Rewards Results Category
Top 25 Sales Professionals - RCI Supporting its Communities’ Contribution Category
Resort Hospitality Awards - RCI Embraces Leadership Category
Sales and Leadership Award, Africa - RCI’S Service Excellence Category
Resort Most Responsive to Problem Resolution - RCI Lifetime Achievement Category Hall of Fame Awards Guests were entertained by various acts, including magic, dancing and a 3-minute sparkling laser show. A stunning performance by the Cape Town-based electronic quartet, Sterling EQ, was the perfect ending to a lavish celebration as all guests were treated to 5-star cuisine and received corporate gifts from RCI’s Business Development Team. RCI
Africa’s Business Development Team currently looks after the growth
and success of 12 Vacation Clubs, 455 destinations based in Southern
Africa and key developers, “often 365 days a year” says Lynn Grace,
Business Development Director. “We are dedicated to seeing through
the success of our partners and affiliates, from the time the
developer conceives the blueprint, through when the ground is
broken, when the first sale occurs, when the first member is enrolled,
to when they get their first holiday... what drives us is the
growth of our affiliations and industry partners, and the delivery
of holiday options to the member” says Lynn, who heads up a team
of 2 development specialists, 2 Club enablement professionals
and 6 dedicated resort and destination-relationship managers.
|
© VOASA Newsletter
