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Vacation Ownership Investment Conference (VOIC) Brings International Timeshares to the Resale Market March 21, 2008

Posted by Bryan Connelly in : ARDA, Customer Comments, Donate a Timeshare, Fairfield Timeshares, General, Hilton Grand Vacation, Marriott Timeshares, New Features, News & Events, RCI, Timeshare Rental, Timeshare Resale, Timeshare Resource, Travel, VOIC , add a comment

International hotel giants gathered at the One&Only Royal Mirage in Dubai, UAE last week, for this year’s Vacation Ownership Investment Conference. Two more conferences are scheduled for October 6th to the 9th in Orlando, Florida and the Macau Conference scheduled for March 25th.
This week’s objective was to help participants learn more about the various aspects of timeshares, as well as to highlight the potential for developers, hotel companies, consumers, and local economies. Sponsored by Emerald Vacation Club, the two day conference assembled leaders from hospitality and real estate sectors to examine the upcoming potential for vacation ownership in Dubai.

Senior executives from the world’s largest hotel and resort companies took center stage. Leaders from Hyatt, Marriott, and Starwood shared their views of the vacation ownership market, and explained how the timeshare lodging option can positively impact profits. Interval International’s managing director for Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia is David Clifton, who feels this conference is a great opportunity for newcomers entering the timeshare industry. “This is a fantastic opportunity to listen to some of the most influential players in the vacation ownership sector. Anyone considering entering the vacation ownership industry, be they branded hotel operators or independent developers, can learn from these international experts, along with highly successful regional independents” explained Clifton.

The timeshares and fractional ownership industry has brought unprecedented success to many bands that would otherwise be simple hotel chains. Starwood’s president and managing director of operations Matthew Avril explained “Although Starwood is predominantly a hotel company; vacation ownership is a natural extension of the core business and provides an opportunity to create even greater loyalty amongst customers.” The new frontier however, is the promise of tourism revenues in the Middle East.

According to Clifton, vacation ownership is quickly emerging in this region—with Dubai boasting their first resort. Clifton elaborates “We have identified the Middle East as having high potential for vacation ownership growth; intraregional tourism is flourishing and more international tourists are discovering a wide variety of tourism opportunities in the Middle East. It is only natural that timeshare will flourish here as it has across the globe.”
Over 150 industry professionals and experts concluded that a Middle Eastern location like Dubai, presents a huge opportunity for growth. Some experts have estimated the potential value of the Dubai vacation ownership industry to be about 1.2 billion dollars. Currently 90,000 families own timeshares in the Middle East and North Africa.

For Vacation Property Resales, this means there is sure to be an influx of international timeshares on the resale market, especially in properties from the Middle East, like the Royal Club at Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah, Dubailand, and the Emerald Vacation Club. We are looking forward to the prospect of popularity in the Middle East. Vacation ownership in this region is set to skyrocket in 2008 and beyond—eventually trickling down to the resale market.