Just a reminder. This is a must attend for anyone in the Fractional space. I’ll be on the panel “Future Luxury Consumers”

Fractional Summit USA 2011- Just 22 days remaining!

InterContinental Miami, August 30 and 31

Times such as these need new ideas, new approaches, new collaborations, and in short, everything the Fractional Summit USA 2011 promises to deliver and more.

Here’s some of the highlights this year:
• Fractional 101
• Press and PR (New for 2011)
• Selling to the new elite (New for 2011)
• Looking inwards: Realize your greatness (New for 2011)
• ‘Fuzion networking’ (New for 2011)
• Fractional hotspots (New for 2011)
• Future luxury fractional consumer
(New for 2011)
• Rethinking marketing (New for 2011)
• Fractional owners panel
• Cocktail cruise (New for 2011)
• Meet the experts
• Live fractional practical exercises
(New for 2011)
• For the first time ever! Fractional finance in today’s world – FREE conference tickets for lenders
• Fractional exchange, resales and rentals
• Ultimate Q and A

Last year’s inaugural event was an unqualified success – So don’t miss out on your 2011 tickets – visit www.fractionalsummitusa.com to book now.

> If you are a service provider to the fractional real estate sector, you can get your product or service in front of a supremely qualified audience by taking a stand at the Summit venue.
> And to encourage more developers – the lifeblood of the industry – to enter the fractional space, we are offering an exclusive Developer Special discount, with tickets at $499, a saving of $250 on the regular price. Visit www.fractionalsummitusa.com to take advantage of this great offer.
> If you’d like your company to have a highly visible presence at Fractional Summit USA, why not talk to us about a sponsorship deal? There is a wide variety of options available. call Piers on +44 (0)208 340 7989.

It’s been awhile since I posted. That’s good. Some developers and customers, as well, who have been sitting on the sidelines these last couple of years, are getting back in the game. I am happy to report that I have been busy serving as Senior Advisor and Director of Marketing/Sales at a delightful resort in Traverse City Michigan. The resort has a Disneylike attention to detail and the highest quality. They have been successful but have endured, like many others, a difficult couple of years. As optimism begins to return and folks  renew their desire for a vacation home experience, Tamarack Lodge decided that to bring fresh eyes to the resort was a good idea. In my capacity, I have evaluated all aspects of the resort and am bringing best practices and innovative ideas and technology.

There are two initiatives I’d like to share with you. The first is QRCodes…You know..those funny looking square bar codes that are popping up all over. (You can scan the one below with your smart phone…if you have a QRCode reader)

Tomgassociates.com

They started in Japan and with the proliferation of smart phones have made their way to the U.S. The potential for using them is enormous. We at Tamarack Lodge are putting them in all print ads. In addition, we are placing them, discreetly, in affiliated partner retail store windows and also on small placards along the beach at this waterfront resort. Here’s how they work. You can create a QRCode free online and have it link to a website or a landing page or a micro site. It can link to whatever message you choose, a video, a special offer, an announcement…anything. The QRCode pictured here links to my company website. Of course you need a separate QRCode for each landing page, URL or micro site. We currently are linking to the resort main website and are creating a number of landing pages designated for various messages. Individuals download a QRCode reader on their smart phone and when they see a QRCode, they scan it and it links imediately to the desired content. You pretty much can’t resist scanning a code wherever you see one just to see where it takes you and what the message is. I’d love to hear your ideas for using QRCodes. We’re just scratching the surface of the potential for this technology.

The second initiative that I have introduced is to put an IPad 2 in the hands of each salesperson (We call them “Ownership Representatives”). I have developed a 15 slide presentation and loaded it on their IPads as a PDF, saved in IBooks, downloaded from the APP Store. The slides on the IPad keep them on track and the sales guests think its really cool. The slide presentation is also a useful tool to email to prospects making an inquiry. (I’d be happy to send you the 15 slide presentation in an email. Just send me a request). They also downloaded a mortgage calculator that’s convenient and quick to use. Tamarack Lodge is an Interval International resort and the II App has been downlaoded and it’s really easy to view resorts with photos and descriptions. RCI also has an APP and it features a broad collection of resort videos provided by RCI TV. The coolest thing is that the salespeople have collected photos of owners engaged in a host of activities and placed them in folders according to lifestyle themes like hiking, outdoor adventure, romance, family time as well as Traverse City area attractions, and loaded them on the IPad. They carry their IPads with them everywhere and at any time they can then pull up the folder of photos, play as a slideshow, or just flip through them, and relate third party stories which become the Tamarack Lodge Lifestyle Story, customized to each guest resulting from what they  learned during Discovery.

With the technology available and more coming onboard periodically, its a great opportunity to project a current, viable and professional image. It’s not business as usual any more. Get with the program. What do you think?
Here’s a QRCode to Tamarack Lodge….

Tamarack Lodge

The following is a short article that I wrote for a regional lifestyle magazine in Michigan. I offer it here for anyone to use in a re-print version. I merely ask that you give me the authorship and include the bio provided.

BIO:
Tom Goetschius, RRP is the leading consultant and trainer in the Fractional Ownership segment of the Resort Development Industry. He has been instrumental, as consultant or trainer, in development of over sixty Fractional and Private Residence Club projects in the Western Hemisphere. His “Relationship Approach To Sales” is the standard for the industry. He holds a Master’s Degree in Interpersonal Communications and is a former Professor and Director Of Theatre at The State University Of New York. He has also earned a Mouster’s Degree from Disney University and conducts seminars in “Creating A Guest Service Culture”, Leadership, Team Building and a host of others. The American Resort Development Association has designated him with their highest distinction as a Registered Resort Professional. His offices are in Orlando and can be reached at 407.342.0178 or Tomgoetschius@aol.com

FRACTIONAL OWNERSHIP
The Sensible Second Home Alternative

We don’t need to be reminded, that for many, the last couple of years have been difficult, but according to The Center For The Study Of The American Dream at Xavier University, “Despite all the negativity, Americans hold dear the belief that the Dream is still real for themselves.” According to their Second Annual State Of The American Dream Survey, one of the “…most prominent elements of the Dream is a good life for my family”. For many Americans, a good life for my family, means close relationships and quality time. In the hectic, fast paced and challenging world that, in most cases, requires two wage earners, the close relationships and quality time are centered around a prioritized leisure lifestyle that includes vacations, getaways, three day weekends, family reunions or whatever a family does when mom and dad aren’t working. Woven into the fabric of a family’s precious leisure lifestyle has always been the dream of a second or vacation home, a sanctuary, a retreat, a special place where families are renewed and memories are created. The vacation home dream, in the period from the late 1990s through 2007 was ever increasingly reserved for only the affluent as second home prices rose at a meteoric rate. At the same time that prices reached astronomical levels, the actual use of a vacation home remained steady at about four weeks. In the period from 2003 through 2007 we saw a dramatic increase in the popularity of Fractional Ownership, reaching $2.7 billion in sales. People who could well afford an expensive vacation home seemed to say “Enough is enough. We’re not going to pay these kind of prices for a vacation home that we only use about four weeks a year”.

Fractional Ownership made a lot of sense. With Fractional Ownership, you purchased only the portion of a vacation home that your family would actually use. It cost a fraction of the price of whole ownership and, more importantly, it removed the burden and responsibility of maintaining the home year around. It was worry free, hassle free and afforded more time in cementing the close relationships and creating lasting family memories. It made sense then and it makes even more sense NOW. The recession of 2008-2010 has transformed consumer mindset and behavior. The Worldwide Knowledge Exchange recently reported… “In the mature markets of the western world, especially, we are witnessing a broad and fundamental movement away from mindless hyperconsumerism and toward an approach that is at once more conscious and more satisfying and certainly more sustainable.” From a Global Private Label Report entitled, The Rise of the Value-Conscious Shopper (March 11, 2011) “Given the recent economic slowdown in developed markets, the ‘value-conscious’ shopper is more visible than ever before. No doubt, this trend will continue even as economies stagger out of the recession and rehabilitate.” Milton Pedraza, CEO of the Luxury Institute summed up the new consumer when he wrote, “The new world of luxury is less about designer labels and glitz and more about shopping savvy and an I-feel-good-owning-this mentality.”

In the post recession era, Fractional Ownership is the value conscious, feel good about owning alternative to a second home. In uncertain times, it is reassuring to know that the one thing of which a family can be certain, is that their precious leisure lifestyle is secure. Fractional Ownership is the shining jewel around which a family’s leisure lifestyle revolves.

I have written often about how the desire for a second or vacation home is woven into the fabric of  The American Dream. I have written, most recently, about how the shocking revelations of the last several years and the meltdown in the economy have caused a transformational shift in consumer attitude and behavior,  leading to a re-examination of our industry including its marketing and sales philosophy and practices. (see www.rciventures.com  “Our Fractional Future”) As a matter of fact I’ll be on a panel at the upcoming ARDA Convention here in Orlando, March 27-30 dealing with these issues.

In regard to the above ideas, I take the opportunity to report on the appearance  by Suzy Orman, a guest on this morning’s “Morning Joe” on MSNBC. Suzy Orman is the well known author and financial guru followed by millions. In her new book, The Money Class; Learn To Create Your New American Dream, (Spiegel and Gau) and in a speech at The University Of Minnesota, aired on PBS, she said, “Everything that I thought was real and good about  financial advice (just a few years ago) is no longer true today”. She went on to say, “We all have to go back to class to learn what we need to  do today to create The New American Dream“. She has teamed up with Oprah Winfrey to offer a show called “The Money Class” on Oprah’s new TV network.  Not wanting to sound self-serving, but I have expressed the same idea, about going back to class,by developing “Sales Training For The New Economy; It’s Not Business As Usual Anymore”.

The “New American Dream”, she reports, is achieved only by ”Living below your means and within your needs”. She cites as examples that “if you can afford a 2,000 square foot house, then buy a 1500 square foot house. If the car you drive is five years old and is running great, then don’t buy a new one”.  Donny Deutsch, this morning,  questioned what effect that might have on the economy, but the  reality, in her words is, “The American Dream of  more and more and bigger and bigger is gone”.  Excess and conspicuous consumption is not cool. Others have said the same thing lately. The  ”New American Dream”  she insists, is not where one replaces money with credit cards and where one incurs increasing debt. “More and more and bigger and bigger”  is replaced with a  ”oneness with self and family, where one loves the life they have and wants the life they have; a life where one has the ability to be happy every day from now until eternity”.

If this is the “New American Dream”, then it bodes well for our industry. If you can afford a $700,000 vacation home, then buy a $80,000 Fractional Interest in one, instead. Nobody needs a vacation home, of course, but if the goal is to have “oneness with self and family” and that is what really leads to the “ability to  be happy every day from now until eternity” and if  ”living below your means” is the way to achieve it, then Fractional Ownership is a good choice.  If happiness is about strong family bonds and a worry free life, then Fractional Ownership is a good choice. If bigger and bigger and more and more is not the answer, then building Fractionals bigger and bigger with increasingly costly amenities and services may not be the way to go. If frugality, thrift, and value are integral to the “New American Dream”, then Fractional Ownership is a good choice.  I think we can lead the way to “The New American Dream” if we are willing to go “back to class”.

See you at ARDA. Give me a call and we can meet 407.342.0178

Happy New Year Everyone:

2010 “was the year that was” and most of us are happy to see it go. 2011 is already looking better for me and I hope for my colleagues in the Fractional space as well. After several years of having conversations with a Miami based developer who has developed a project in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica, he has acquired enough confidence in the current situation to pull the trigger on putting two existing residences into a Fractional program, with another eight residences waiting in the wings. The residences are in two completed buildings with a great view of the ocean and on the same footprint with a third building which the developer sold to a very high end boutique hotel group. The SUU Hotel opened this last November and is booked completely for Manuel Antonio’s prime season this winter. www.thesuuhotels.com  Our project is The SUU Residence Club www.clubsuu.com  offering a 1/12th Fractional Interest for $148,200 as the opening price. Usage will be two weeks in Season One (Prime) one week in Season Two (Alternate Prime) and one week in Season Three (Foliage). The project will be managed by The SUU Hotel. The project fulfills the classic definition of Fractional Ownership…All of the benefits of whole ownership combined with the services and amenities of a fine hotel.  I am serving as Senior Fractional Consultant and Project Director. Sales are targeted for March 15th. …..More To Come…

Second item on this posting:  I have been asked to serve on a panel at the annual ARDA Convention here in Orlando on March 27- 31st. The panel “State Of The Fractional Industry” is described below……..

Join this session of Fractional Experts as they discuss the new fractional model and where they see the next target markets for this product. Will they find markets for different types of fractional offerings in different environments? Is a conversion of a whole unit project to a fractional program a viable exit strategy? Is there a market for regional drive to resorts with more weekly usage? Is the luxury fractional product still viable in the destination resort areas?

I would welcome and greatly appreciate any thoughts, examples, or comments that I could pass along on this panel. I’ll be happy to quote you or you can remain as an unidentified contributor. You can leave your comments here on the blog or send them directly to me at tomgoetschius@aol.com

The indicators seems to be positive for a much better 2011. …No tax increase for two years…Mortgage rates lowest in 50 years…Manufacturing is up…..Consumer spending over holidays highest in years….Jobless rate is slowing…..Republicans take The House…..

Moreover, I think that after 18-24 months of retracted lifestyle, especially on travel and vacations, our clientele is ready to enjoy, once again, the lifestyle that they have earned, which includes a vacation home, and the only way to acquire a vacation home that makes any sense is to pay for only as much as one uses and enjoy, at the same time, a completely worry free and hassle free ownership…..BUT LOOK WHO I’M PREACHING TO…YOU ALREADY KNOW THIS!

Please share with me what is going on in your area and what you’re doing or planning to do in 2011.

Until Next Time,

Tom

Last week I visited Tamarack Lodge in Traverse City, Michigan to conduct “Sales Training For The New Economy And The New Consumer”. My training program, a response to our national economic transformation, has been outlined in numerous publications and appears on approximately 210 websites, thanks to Marge Lennon (Lennon Communications). There is no need here to repeat an explanation or description of the program. Sufficed to say that “It’s not business as usual anymore”.

There are a few things about my visit that are noteworthy.

First, the sales staff, Marketing Director, Hotel General Manager and Developer reported that they had received sales training from two other trainers and that, while they each offered some things that were worthwhile, they, generally,  missed the mark when it comes to understanding the Fractional Ownership buyer and the sales approach that the clientele demands. They reported that the training was too much sales techniques and traditional “tricks of the trade”. They agreed that the non manipulative, non self serving, principle based approach was more effective. Further they had come to the same conclusion as I that the consumer coming out of the recession is much more savvy, more skeptical, less trusting and more conservative than ever before and that my training was well suited to accommodate this smarter, thrifty, value driven customer.

The second noteworthy item ocurred when I attended the owners wine and cheese party. I was able to chat with several first or second year owners about their experience from the first contact, through the sales process and subsequently as owners. Here is what I heard, thus reinforcing what we in the industry have known for quite some time.

1) They had already made a commitment to Traverse City as their primary vacation destination and in at least one case, had been vacationing there with their parents when they were children. This is not unusual at the most carefully selected Fractional Ownership destinations. I call these destinations  “Heritage Destinations”.

2) They, of course, were impressed and pleased with the quality and warmth of Tamarack Lodge and while that was important, the treatment they received as prospects and what they observed of the owners’ enthusiasm and satisfaction with what they had purchased weighed heavily on their their ownership decision after attending a wine and cheese party or other owner activity.

3) Concerning the sales process, the people with whom I spoke, were adamant that as nice as Tamarack Lodge appeared to be, if there had been one manipulative or self serving sales technique perceived, they would have not purchased and sought an alternative.

We have alsways known that the Fractional buyer is different from the timeshare buyer, but it was reassuring to have our most important notions verified through first hand testimony.

1) Destination is of the highest priority in determining a successful project.

2) Fractional Ownership is about the lifestyle and the experience that people enjoy and receive.

3) Traditional timeshare training and practices are neither appropriate or effective in the Fractional Ownership arena.

The last item of note was unexpected and, yet, fulfilled a notion that I had hoped would come to pass. I have reported, starting a year ago, that I had acquired an internet travel company that I named “Resort Industry Travel”  www.resortindustrytravel.com. I thought that such a company was a logical compliment to my core business as industry consultant and trainer. We are, after all, in the larger Leisure and Travel industry. I didn’t have any specific idea as to how I might enhance what I could offer clients until very recently. My travel company franchiser developed an enhanced internet opportunity called ZamZuu. It has the same travel portal as the original franchise with a booking engine for airlines, hotels, rental cars, and cruises and has added an online shopping business consisting of about 700 recognizable and familiar stores and services. A ZamZuu business owner receives cash back of 2% to10% or 15% on every purchase through the travel portal or the online shopping service. Anyone who uses the ZamZuu business owner’s account also receives cash back and the business owner rceives a 30% commission on whatever those who use the account receive.

The revolution came a month ago when ZamZuu announced that I as a ZamZuu Broker can give the business to anyone and set them up in their own ZamZuu business as a Free Agent…..FOR FREE…NO COST…NO INITIAL COST….NO ONGOING COST. A number of my colleagues, friends and family have already signed up for their own ZamZuu business in the last month.

I mentioned to the developer at Tamarack Lodge that I could book my airfare through my travel company if that was OK with him. On my second day of training he asked about my travel company. I didn’t expect it, but took the opportunity to explain what it is and how it works. He took about 15 seconds and arrived at the following determination.

He has decided to acquire the internet ZamZuu business, private labeled, under the name of the resort, and present to the owner base the opportunity to use the Tamarack Lodge travel portal and shopping service and receive cash back on their purchases and the commissions that he wll receive on their purchases will be turned over to the Homeowners Association to either reduce Maintenance Fees or sponsor special events like an annual owners dinner. What a wonderful idea!

So, there it is. Thanks to Tamarack Lodge, here is something beneficial that I can offer to colleagues, developer clients and their owners or affinity groups. If you want your own resort or personal ZamZuu business, I would be happy to refer you. Just go to www.zamzuufreeagent.com/ritravel  and follow the directions. It’s fun. It’s Easy and It’s FREE. If you want to see how the business works, go to my account www.zamzuu.com/ritravel

Until next time, 

Tom

I’m afraid that there isn’t much good news as the media keeps hammering how bad everything is and customers and companies alike pull farther back to wait and see what will happen.

But, I have some good news of a different nature. Last February I posted that I had added a online travel business www.resortindustrytravel.com  to my consulting and training company. I have used the online booking engine to book airfares, hotels and rental cars and have been very happy with the ease and service and in many cases the fares were less expensive than Travelocity or Orbitz.

A new business has grown out of the franchise called ZamZuu. It is an online shopping service. It still has the same travel booking engine but also hosts scores of big box stores like Target, Gap, Bass Pro and a lot of very unique and interesting boutique shops and services. The good part is that when one makes a purchase through my ZamZuu account  www.ZamZuu.com/ritravel  you get “Cash Back” on every purchase…anywhere from .5% to 4% or 5%. My favorite has been using Restaurant.com where periodically I get $25 restaurant certificates for restaurants, in my home area or anywhere I go in the country, for $2. My relatives and friends have taken advantage of this many times without any problems.  Using ZamZuu is fun and getting “Cash Back” is great, but here is the GOOD NEWS….

While I had to purchase my ZamZuu franchise business with an initial upfront and ongoing monthly cost, I have just been authorized to offer an online ZamZuu business to anyone I choose with absolutely no cost. It’s FREE. No initial cost..No monthly cost. Anyone referred by me can set up there own online ZamZuu business and get “Cash Back” on everything they purchase from airline tickets to hotels , rental cars, and more online stores than one could possibly patronize…AND….get a commission on everything purchased by anyone who uses your ZamZuu account.

At my direction, I can have the parent company send designated persons an e-mail that provides further information, and a link to a demo ZamZuu site (or you can check out ZamZuu using my account www.zamzuu.com/ritravel ). You will truly be amazed at what is offered. The e-mail will also include a link to register your own ZamZuu business,. That’s it and you’re in business.

No Cost…No Risk…No Down Side That I Can See. In the midst of a dark time that seems to linger, here is something positive for people to embrace.

If you would like to investigate having your own ZamZuu business…absolutely FREE…drop me an e-mail and ask me to refer you to the parent compay and they will send you an invitation or give me a call at 407.342.0178.

Until next time,

Tom