The Partnership in Action conference brought together more than 150 delegates from Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, China, Singapore, the United States and the United Kingdom to discuss current issues being faced in the Timeshare industry.
ATHOC hosted the event at Conrad Jupiter’s Casino from Sunday September 16 to Tuesday September 18.
The speakers chosen were industry and opinion leaders from across the globe so that the delegates were entertained, informed and able to take plenty back to their business and organizations.
The conference was very inclusive with a majority of speakers from within the industry who were prepared to share their story. This gave an opportunity to the individual operators to interact with the larger organizations that are driving the movement in the market. It was agreed that a sharing of ideas and opportunities to learn from one another would have massive benefits that would flow on throughout this booming industry.
A standout of the many keynote speakers at the conference was Rob Redenbach who has been listed by Business Review Weekly as one of Australia’s top 10 professional speakers. Mr Redenbach’s background includes FBI drug raids in Los Angeles, working with Nelson Mandela’s bodyguard team in South Africa, and providing close personal protection to not-for-profit organizations in Iraq.
Tourism Transport Forum Australia managing director Chris Brown spoke to the conference about the importance of timeshare as a major player in the Australian tourism industry and the change in competition with a number of new players entering the apartment accommodation market versus the hotel room. The shortage of labour and skilled staff are one of the biggest threats to tourism and the need to look at increased immigration, easing visa requirements and the potential of a Pacific “guest workers” scheme. It was also noted that Australia faces tough competition for the tourism market. In London alone Australia competes for market share with 160 other Countries. Climate change is of course an issue, with airline and travel providers being hit by threats of boycotts of long-haul travel.
Another keynote speaker included Griffith University Professor Beverley Sparks reporting on the first stage of a 3 year research project into the ‘Derived Customer Value: Understanding its meaning in the resort ownership industry’.
This joint project is a terrific initiative between ATHOC, Griffith University and the Federal Government has been based on a three year funding model
Cash In-kind Total
Timeshare Industry $90,000 $108,600 $198,600
Griffith University $303,473* $303,473
Federal Govt. (ARC) $143,000 $143,000
TOTAL $233,000 $412,073 $645,073
*Salary exp of three researchers, computing hardware/software, other infrastructure
The research investigates perceptions of value at different points in the resort ownership purchase cycle, as well as differences over time in the factors influencing value formation
We are looking to expand our understanding of “value” by utilising three distinct respondent groups. Pre-purchase value: non-timeshare owners; Transaction value: new timeshare owners; Derived value: existing timeshare owners
This will allow us to build on previous research (2004-2005) and monitor trends in derived value by tracking timeshare owners over a three-year period. The research investigates differences in values at three points in the purchase cycle of timeshare (or holiday/resort ownership)
Other areas covered in the conference included Asian Opportunities presented by Harold Derrah of The Marriott Vacation Club, who spoke about timeshare in Asia: The Golden Reward or Pandora’s Box; Trends and Growth in Cruising presented by Paul Taylor of Complete Cruise Solution; The Importance of Protecting Your Brand and your intellectual property assets to ensure that you keep your wealth in your pockets presented by Alicia Beverley of IP Wealth; and panel sessions including the Great Debate – The Future of the Industry in Australasia; The Hands on of Refurbishment and Increasing Owner Satisfaction to name a few.
Of course it would not be a conference without the excellent networking events. The opening night saw the ICE Breaker party which was held poolside at Conrad Jupiter’s Casino. The weather was a perfect balmy Gold Coast night.
The RCI lunch saw a number of Resorts rewarded for their hard work and dedication with their Gold Crown Recognition Awards being delivered to those in attendance.
The Monday night Cocktail Party was done in style by Dial An Exchange at one of the many local restaurants. The attendance was great and the festivities a lot of fun whilst money was raised for one of the local charities.
At the Interval International lunch it was announced that after many years of II being run successfully out of New Zealand by Martyn Rix and Graham Wilkinson the reins were being handed over to the II head office with Sean Farquhar as Executive Director Operations, now operating out of Singapore. |
