“Meet the Leaders” at ARDA World 

ARDA World is quickly approaching, and with so many great opportunities and experiences offered it is time to decide which of these are the “can’t miss” events.  One of the most popular sessions from previous years, the CEO Session, will be making its highly anticipated return again this year.  In this session our CEO panel will be addressing topical industry issues ranging from the impact of industry consolidation, the secondary market and generational demographics on our business through a robust discussion regarding managing and enhancing digital relationships. 

Let’s meet this year’s panel: 

Jon Fredricks 

Fredricks has been the President of the Welk Resort Group since 1999 and CEO since 2014.  The company has more than 1,600 employees and 1,077 vacation units across its portfolio. Fredricks has led the award-winning hospitality company during its greatest period of growth and expansion. 

Franz Hanning 

As President and Chief Executive Officer of Wyndham Vacation Ownership, He is responsible for the world’s largest developer and marketer of flexible, points-based vacation ownership products.  He oversees all management, operations, strategic planning and growth initiatives, and leads a worldwide staff of more than 17,000 employees. 

Don Harrill 

 Harrill has been Chief Executive Officer of Holiday Inn Club Vacations since 2005, leading the organization to years of consecutive record growth and becoming a key voice within the timeshare industry. Don arrived to Holiday Inn Club Vacations with more than three decades of experience in the hospitality industry, eight of those at the helm of industry-leading timeshare organizations Trendwest Resorts and Hilton Grand Vacations Company. 

Ken Potrock 

Potrock began his career with Disney as VP of Marketing for Disney Cruise Lines in 1995 and has taken on various roles in the company since. He is currently Senior Vice President and General Manager of Disney Vacation Club & Adventures by Disney since 2013.  

 Mark Wang

Wang is President of Hilton Grand Vacations. Prior to joining the company, Mr. Wang co-founded PAHIO Resorts in Hawaii and served as its president for six years. He later formed Grand Ownership Resorts, Ltd., a consulting company that developed a successful vacation ownership program at The Bay Club on the Big Island of Hawaii, a resort now managed by Hilton Grand Vacations. 

With this great group of leaders, you do not want to miss this session!  Be sure to put it in your schedule of events for 4:00-5:00 pm on Tuesday, May 3^rd.   

Educational Sessions at The ARDA Convention

As you probably know, ARDA’s annual convention is quickly approaching.  This year we have a great mix of informative sessions with fun activities, like the annual golf tournament. It is important to partake in some of the extracurricular activities, but one of the main reasons you are coming is for the informative, educational sessions. 

The Educational Sessions offer a large range of information on industry and business topics.  They begin on Monday and then run in waves through Tuesday and Wednesday.  There are a lot of options to choose from.  Here’s a sampling of a few you may want to check out:

• Keep Calm and Carry On – Understanding the Next Generation, Monday 9:00-10:00 am
• A 360 Degree View of Social Media Success, Tuesday 9:00-10:15 am
• Resort Technology – What’s Hot and What’s Not, Tuesday 2:45-4:00 pm
• Welcome to Timeshare in the Caribbean (Including Cuba), Wednesday 1:30-3:00 pm
• Brilliance of Brand – Creating Differential Advantage through Social Media for Recruiting, Engagement and Retention, Wednesday 3:15-4:30 pm

With 35 different Educational sessions, it is important to find and plan which ones are best for you.  Check out the full schedule here. 

Meet The Speakers of the 2016 ARDA Convention 

This year we have two exciting and educational speakers, Jonathan Perelman and Curt Cronin. They come from different backgrounds but both have helpful insights for our industry.  

Jonathan Perelman will be the keynote speaker for the opening general session taking place Tuesday, May 3^rd between 10:30 am – 12 pm, while Curt Cronin will be speaking at the Breakfast of Champions Thursday, May 5^th beginning at 8 am.  You won’t want to miss them!

Jonathan Perelman

  

Perelman was Former Vice President of BuzzFeed Motion Pictures and Former Global Lead for Industry Relations at Google.  Currently, he is the head of digital initiatives at ICM Partners.  He knows how to stand out, rise above the noise, and get your organization’s voice heard online.  Pulling from his extensive experience at some of the world’s most successful and influential brands, he shows audiences how to tell their story in a genuine, authentic, and meaningful way that generates word of mouth marketing at Internet scale.  With great energy and stage presence, he breaks down the tactics and mindset that propelled Buzzfeed from a small blog to a cultural phenomenon read by millions of people.  Read more about Jonathan Perelman here 

Curt Cronin

 

Cronin spent over 16 years as a Navy SEAL where he was deployed thirteen times and spent more than four years overseas.  In that time, living and working in an environment where milliseconds made the difference between life and death and winning and losing, he honed his talent as a catalyst for transformation and rose to lead the nation’s premier SEAL assault force. Curt’s experiences as a SEAL reinforced his fundamental belief that the competitive edge for any organization in the information age is neither technology nor information, but the unparalleled power of an aligned team.

Curt’s passion is to engage each person, team, or organization’s highest aspirations, and help them connect to the “hero within.” He has counseled organizations including AIG, Disney, HP, and the Miami Dolphins, and is an expert at maximizing human potential and synthesizing the strengths of a team to create unprecedented results in any context.  This is a ticketed event so make sure to get your tickets ahead of time, and you can read more about Curt Cronin here.

 

In partnership with Phocuswright, ARDA presents: 

The Lion’s Den 

 An Interactive ‘Digital Meets Travel’ Pitch Competition 

Wednesday, May 4, 2016 from 9:30-11 am
Grand Ballroom, The Diplomat Hotel
Open to all ARDA World attendees. 

This year, ARDA is bringing a new, exciting and interactive pitch competition to its general session! Modeled after Shark Tank, you'll watch as a select group of bold start-ups present their digital innovations and business plans to our panel of judges—the Lions of the timeshare industry—including three high profile CEOs and executives of Disney, Marriott and Wyndham.

Our brave contestants include:

• Proxce – A secure and seamless hotel check-in experience.
• Rented - A world-class marketplace for competitive short-term rentals.
• Suiteness – Exclusive online bookings of lesser-known luxury hotel suites.
• Tansler – A reverse auction, one round of bids approach to home rentals.
• Trekkable – A booking solution for the 30 million people with mobility challenges.
• Alice - Guest experience and operational management on one platform.
• Voyat - Hotel guest connection via the most effective retention engine.

Our judges will evaluate the companies and, following a live audience vote, a winner will be announced! They'll gain massive exposure to members of the timeshare industry, feedback on their innovations, and it's all happening live at ARDA World 2016!

Limited lodging is still available, reserve your hotel room before the group rate ends on April 11th.

We hope to see you there!