FROM THE SPONSORS PEN

Our monthly highlight on what’s happening across the industry directly from one of our Annual Gold Sponsors.

SPONSOR WRITE UP:

ICE is positioned in the sweet spot for the upcoming expansion of new cruise ships and new itineraries into the local Australian and Australiasian marketplaces. New major ship deployments and itinertaries from several lines over the next few seasons including RCCL, HAL, Princess, Cunard, Seabourne and Costa are hugely expanding the capacity in the marketplace.

ICE is well positioned to take advantage of these new deployments and to bringing even greater value to its membership and membership brands, taking advantage of all the new cruise holiday values through its extensive contracts and negotiated deals.

Here’s some of the upcoming new deployments;

In addition to P&O’s launch of the Pacific Pearl in December this year from Auckland, ROYAL CARIBBEAN CRUISES has announced that Radiance of the Seas, the newest, largest fastest superliner ever to be based in Australia  will join Rhapsody of the Seas in Sydney from October 2011. The 2100-passenger, 293-metre long superliner will offer voyages (departing from Sydney) to ports around Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific.

PRINCESS CRUISES is sending a fourth superliner, Sea Princess , to Australia next year, while the Sun Princess will sail from Brisbane for the first time. The 1950-passenger Sea Princess will be based in Sydney from October 2011 until March 2012, offering cruises to New Zealand, Tasmania and Japan. Sun Princess destinations are expected to include New Zealand, Fiji and Asia, with a new 41-night voyage visiting Brunei, Vietnam, Japan and China.

SEABOURN declared recently that Seabourn Pride will spend all of 2011 sailing in Asia, while Seabourn Odyssey will increase its time spent in Australia/NZ. Seabourn plans to expand their 2011 winter cruises itineraries to a wider range of destinations in Asia calling at smaller ports in Indonesia and Malaysia as well as their existing program of cruises to Japan, Korea and China.

“Seabourn Pride will be positioned between Singapore and Bali and will be a great addition to the varied portfolio of cruise itineraries ICE Vacations customers can choose from. Being a smaller ship, the Seabourn Pride will be able to go to places that large ships can’t go, such as Komodo Island, and see the culture up close and personal, which is even difficult to do on land-based journeys because of the limited infrastructure.” ICE Vacations CEO, Kevin Sharp said.

The 2011 winter-season Asian itineraries will also include Vietnam, Borneo, the Karimunjawa islands and shore excursions to the Borobudur temple site and an orangutan orphanage.

Seabourn will also have a summer presence in the southern hemisphere with its world voyage program. The new Seabourn Sojourn will visit Australia in 2011 during its journey from Los Angeles to London, with calls to Fremantle, Hobart, Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney. In 2012, Odyssey will undertake a South Pacific circle voyage called ‘Stars of the Southern Cross’ offering segments of 14 to 26 days between LA, Auckland and Sydney.

The first COSTA Cruise ship to make a call to Australia will be the 92,600 tonne Costa Deliziosa. From December 2011 to April 2012 Costa Delziosa will cruise across the world’s five continents and visit Sydney, Melbourne and Perth as part of its Around the World cruise.

HOLLAND AMERICA LINE will base another ship in Australia next year while also expanding its Sydney season, including more roundtrip cruises to New Zealand and the South Pacific.

“It’s great to see international cruise lines such as HAL voice their commitment to Australia. They recognise Australia as a top international market and have pledged more departures and more roundtrips from Sydney for the forthcoming seasons” Kevin Sharp, CEO ICE Vacations said.

HAL currently bases the 1,432-passenger Volendam in Sydney during the international season and this year added 10 home-port sailings from the city to attract more local passengers.

With that said, ICE Vacations has all the latest and hottest deals on this expanded cruise inventory – the perfect compliment to the holiday ownership membership.

EVENT: 19th National Industry Awards Night – July 30, 2010

Gold Coast Arts Centre

Nomination forms have gone out to all members. If you have someone within your company who you believe should be recognised please put them forward. That recognition for a staff member means a huge amount to them. We will be having a DJ (or VJ – DJ with Video clips) and theme will be “Dancing through the Decades”.

Ticket Pricing: Before Mon - 12th July 2010 - $95.00 (early bird price)
After Mon - 12th July 2010 - $125.00
Non Members - $130.00

EVENT: 2010 ATHOC Conference - Christchurch, New Zealand

Christchurch, New Zealand will be the host city for the 2010 Australian Timeshare and Holiday Ownership Council (ATHOC) Conference.

The Conference will run from Sunday 12th September to Tuesday 14th September 2010.

There will be a great line up of international and local speakers to bring you up to speed on what is happening in the timeshare industry. This is a must attend event for anyone in the industry or suppliers to the industry. Benchmark against the best!

For more information contact ATHOC at info@athoc.com.au 

All accommodation is to be booked directly through Crowne Plaza – a link to Reservation is on ATHOC Website under “Events/ 2010 ATHOC Conference”.  www.athoc.com.au

Room Type:
Standard Queen or Twin (2xdbl beds)
NZ$180.00 - Fully cooked Breakfast for one
NZ$200.00 - Fully cooked breakfast for two

Club King
NZ$270.00 - Fully cooked breakfast for one plus club benefits
NZ$290.00 - Fully cooked breakfast for two plus club benefits

HOME GROWN: RCI

On 6 April, RCI Pacific will welcome a new team member into the position of Operations Manager – Diane Mitchell.  Di will sit on the Senior Leadership Team and will be accountable for the operating functions of the business including member servicing and travel teams.  Di brings with her a strong background jointly from within the timeshare industry and extensive call centre experience, having 2 years’ management experience with Accor Vacation Club in addition to five years’ prior call centre management experience.  Di has a strong background of successfully mentoring and developing her team, working to strict budgets and high-pressured sales environments and was acknowledged as Manager of the Year by Accor in 2007. 

Please join RCI in welcoming Di into their family.

HOME GROWN: Wyndham scoops gold at international resort awards

Wyndham Vacation Resorts Asia Pacific, received two of the coveted awards at the annual American Resort Development Association (ARDA) Awards in Las Vegas, Nevada USA. 

Winning gold accolades in the categories of ‘General Manager’ and ‘Marketing - Operational Support Staff Manager’, Wyndham Vacation Resorts Asia Pacific’s acknowledgement as the best in the world helps build on its reputation as a preferred hospitality and travel industry employer.

Taking gold in the Marketing Operational Support Staff Manager category, Apivut Chakuthip, Director of Market Intelligence, was recognized for his use of strategic information to develop effective and innovative marketing methods to reach target markets and increase occupancy to Wyndham’s resorts.

The company’s Resort General Manager in Fiji, Glenn Daniels, of WorldMark South Pacific Club by Wyndham Denarau Island, scooped Gold in the General Manager category. His Award citation made special mention of his outstanding efforts during the storms and floods of 2009.   “During this period the whole team maintained their high standards of service to guests, even though in some cases, their own homes and possessions were damaged or lost due to the extreme weather”, said Daniels.

Clearly pleased by the recognition his company received, Barry Robinson, said “This achievement reflects a company that is driven and united. I’m very happy to see that our dedication to Customer Service, innovation and industry development is working and being recognised.  As the industry leader, we take the responsibility of setting the standard very seriously. I think these Awards suggest that we are on track.”

The "ARDA Circle of Excellence" (ACE) awards honor those that have attained the highest level of excellence in the resort industry, whose accomplishments and dedication help spur the industry to new heights.

Wyndham Vacation Resorts Asia Pacific was a finalist in four categories of the ARDA ACE awards, which attracted entrants from resorts worldwide.

Image 1: Apivut Chakuthip (left) is congratulated on his Award by Mark Potgieter (Marketing & WorldMark Services). Image 2: Glenn Daniels (centre) with resort staff at WorldMark South Pacific Club Denarau Island, Fiji.

HOME GROWN: Interval International News

Interval International's party with a cause
Benefits AIF to the tune of nearly $250,000
Interval International participated in the recent annual convention of the American Resort Development Association (ARDA) in Las Vegas. In conjunction with the convention, the company hosted its annual Party With A Cause, a fundraiser for ARDA’s International Foundation (AIF). 

Since 2003, the party has contributed more than a quarter of a million dollars to the Foundation that is tasked with conducting timely research and developing educational programming to optimize understanding of the industry, as well as to communicate its economic impact on the communities in which vacation ownership resorts are located.
Craig M. Nash, chairman, president and CEO of Interval Leisure Group, parent company of Interval International, acknowledged, “The Party With A Cause would not have enjoyed such great success without the participation of so many industry colleagues each year. We’re extremely proud to support ARDA, whose initiatives are so essential to our industry’s vitality.”

Nash also expressed his appreciation to the corporations outside the Interval umbrella that co-sponsored the event: Marriott Vacation Club, Bank of America, and Hertz at the platinum level; Starwood Vacation Ownership and Travel Guard at the gold level; and Amadeus and Farrow Commercial Construction at the silver level.

Interval Wins ARDY Awards
Another highlight at the convention was the announcement of the ARDA award winners. Interval took home two 2010 ARDYs, winning both the marketing programs category with its Leisure Time Passport, Dream Vacation Week, and Interval International Visa Signature Card entry; and the sales center materials category with the company’s freestanding gallery panels, which illustrate the benefits of vacation ownership, exchange, and Interval membership to consumers at the point of sale. 

HOME GROWN: Economic Impact Study - AEC Group

By now all organisations will have received the economic impact survey being carried out by the AEC Group Limited (www.aecgroupltd.com) to update the 2006 Economic Impact Study of the Australian Timeshare Industry. It is important for us to have consistent data and this study is the key. It will provide the industry with essential information needed to understand the significant contribution that we have to the Australian economy, and how this has changed over time.

A central component of this impact study is to gather information and data from industry operators. You can help us to do this by ensuring that you return the completed survey. Your input is essential to ensuring our analysis is accurate.

Completed surveys should be sent directly to the AEC Group Limited, not to the ATHOC office. This is to ensure confidentiality of your information. Your completed surveys need to be received prior to Monday, 10th May, 2010.

We do understand that this is a significant survey that will take some time to complete. The results will be made available to all members electronically in both full version and executive summary. ATHOC will use these results for lobbying government and seeking media attention for the industry. We would also hope that you can use this information locally with your media.

Timeshare owners will also receive surveys on their activities and expenditure which will be undertaken on line.

All data will be kept commercial in confidence by AEC Group Limited.

Should you have any queries regarding this survey or require assistance in completing the survey please contact Kieron Lacey of AEC Group Limited on 07 3831 0577.

We appreciate your help with this and look forward to sharing the results with you at the 2010 “Navigating a New Decade” Conference in Christchurch New Zealand from September 12 – 14, 2010.