By Sonia Morgan, Staff ReporterORLANDO, Florida:
OWNING A vacation spot for life is a luxury that some can afford.
Owning a vacation spot for a week per year for life is a little more in arm's reach. It is the concept of timeshare resorts.
Timesharing is the purchasing interest in a condominium unit usually sold on a weekly basis. In other words, customers can purchase blocks of vacation time at resorts which they can use annually or exchange for the same time period at alternative resorts.
Jamaica now depends greatly on its tourism sector to sustain the economy and diversification of the resort offerings can only mean diversity in the industry. These and other discussions were topical at the Third Annual Timeshare and Resort Investment Conference held recently at the Orlando World Centre, Marriot, Central Florida.
Now Jamaica offers vacation options in the all-inclusive resorts such as SuperClubs and Sandals and other hotels. Timeshare is very minimal in Jamaica, with Hedonism III joining with the all-inclusive concept. According to Marcos Agostini, Interval International's Caribbean region manager in resort sales and service, "There is a high demand for timeshare resorts in Jamaica."
Interval International is a vacation exchange network and part of its job is to connect vacationers to their desired destinations. Mr. Agostini said there are many timeshare owners interested in purchasing and vacationing (by exchange) in Jamaica, but he has been unable to meet the high demands of his customers. He told The Gleaner "More developers should look at timeshare concept which could easily be an extension of an all-inclusive property." He added that it would offer a lot more options to the customer.
Timesharing industry is relatively foreign to Jamaica. Mr. Agostini's company has made arrangements with Edward Seaga, owner of The Enchanted Gardens in Ocho Rios, to accommodate his vacationers at a discounted rate. Jamaica, he told The Gleaner, has a good demographic population and timesharing could be beneficial for the economy. He explained that his company is at present having on-going dialogue with potential developers in Jamaica about developing the proper timeshare concept and designing the product to suit the existing resorts.
Interval International has been in the timeshare industry for 25 years and has been providing innovative travel options to members.
HOW TO DEVELOP
TIMESHARE IN JAMAICA
According to Jay Wilson, director of resort sales and service, "An all-inclusive could be turned into a timeshare and the developers could chose to be all-inclusive or not." He added, however, that marketing in Jamaica could be challenging. He commented on the aggressive marketing strategy by SuperClubs, Sandals and Air Jamaica, which already hold Jamaica as must-go vacation spot, but said finding buyers locally might be difficult. He said to get external potential buyers would mean perhaps organising discount packages of vacation time with the obligation to tour a timeshare facility or and buy a week from the development.
Paul W. Rishell, president of the Americas, said in order to have a successful timeshare industry there has to be:
Some degree of consumer protection whether by decree or in another recorded form;
Design means by which to educate the population about the concept;
Apparatus to sell and service the product properly;
Means for the consumer to finance their product;
Sufficient people on-site or off-site willing to invest
Tourism with a high level occupancy is needed;
The Government has to give some hiatus for the product to develop;
And finally, allowing ex-patriots to operate in the country.
He said, however, that he encourages people not to develop regular hotels into timeshare occupancies since that may not suit the varying needs of the customer. "Customers want to have a home away from home. If they want a two-bedroom with a full kitchen then that should be available to them."
He told The Gleaner that Jamaica is a good destination for timeshare. He said with its recognition in advertising (maybe only second to Aruba) and significant airlift, it has several advantages over other Caribbean countries. However, the hotels with the complication of multiple partners, with different ownership deals, it might to difficult to come to the consensus of accepting the timeshare concept, he said.
David F. Callaghan, assistant vice-president, business development, said timeshare would have to be marketed in the all-inclusive sector. "We'd love to work with them, we think we could start something new and innovative with the Sandals Group." The timeshare concept is adopted in other Caribbean countries such as Barbados and the Bahamas. In fact, the Bahamas is one of the growing markets in the timeshare industry. There is hope to supply the demand for timeshare in Jamaica.
