What is “Obligatory Travel?” 

By Howard Nusbaum, CEO and President of ARDA

May 8, 2013

It is National Travel and Tourism Week (traditionally the first full week of May and first celebrated in 1984), and therefore it makes sense to blog about the importance of vacation planning. 

But before I go there, I should take a minute to dissect the thought of what constitutes a vacation versus other types of trips. Now I’d admit up front I have a bias—not all time off, and certainly not all travel, equals vacationing. And I don’t just mean business travel (something I do a lot of and have learned to enjoy and value) but I also mean the very important, enjoyable, and family-life affirming “obligatory travel.” 

So what do I mean by “obligatory travel?” I mean family life cycle events. For example, over the next thirty days I will gladly and proudly attend two college graduations (one in Ohio and one in New Hampshire), a Mother’s Day trip to celebrate my 87-year-old mom, and a friend’s wedding to which I was pleased to be invited to attend. This isn’t counting the five business trips I will be taking between now and the end of June.  

So, what is my point? I get a lot of travel and all of it is highly enjoyable and often important to me. However, none of it rejuvenates me the way true leisure travel does.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not “dissing” obligatory travel or business travel. They are both important to the relationships we value most in our lives, and are at the heart of what we do at work and home; however, they should not be mistaken for or “horse-traded” for vacationing. Vacationing is about wanderlust, new adventure, recharging your batteries, spending time with those you love—without an agenda or the emotions (and yes, sometimes baggage) of life cycle events.

We all deserve to get away and truly connect.  Your kids, your spouse, your boss, your co-workers, and your inner guru will all thank you. It matters. So plan a vacation this week—and I don’t mean Cousin Bertha’s 90^th birthday celebration!

Maximize Your ARDA World Experience 

By Howard Nusbaum, CEO and President of ARDA

March 7, 2013 

Today we are exactly one month away from Timeshare’s Big Global Event—ARDA World (April 6-11 in Hollywood, Florida). As our dedicated staff, engaged volunteers, and active members ready themselves for this annual industry extravaganza, I’d like to take a few minutes of your time to “prime your ARDA World pump,” thus ensuring the best experience and opportunity the ARDA World convention has to offer.

1)   Go to our Convention schedule web page and check out the meeting agenda. Planning out your itinerary from the many professional development opportunities to the general session is key to getting the most out of what is offered. Think of it as the “vacation buffet table”—peruse what is there to enjoy before you fill your plate, that way you will get what you want. Be strategic! 

2)    Check out the exhibitor list as these are the companies offering the cutting edge products and services designed just for your business. The exhibit hall is large and chock full of great business opportunities. Map out your experience! 

3)   Prepare to party: and that means pace yourself and bring comfortable shoes, because you will want to hit it all—from the opening AIF Golf Tournament presented by RCI, to “The Opening Night” brought to you by ICE and RCI, to Interval International’s Party with a Cause, and finally the ARDY Gala Awards.

4)   Promise yourself you will learn something new. It may be a chance to better understand the next generation through “co-creation” at the Sales & Marketing Forum, or taking note of thought leader and keynote speaker Don Tapscott to better understand the value and impact of information technology, or the chance to understand the opportunities for creating a healthier sold out resort at the Legacy Resort Workshop. Opportunity abounds! 

5)   Put yourself out there. With more than 2,500 of the industry’s top professionals at ARDA World, be a networker. Make a new business friend and enhance your business relationships by leaving your comfort zone—promise to make at least one new acquaintance each day.

You’ve got thirty days to get ready for the one event of the year that matters most to your business—be a scout and spend some time getting ready to maximize your ARDA World Experience.

By Howard Nusbaum, CEO and President of ARDA 

February 20, 2013 

A recent focus group we conducted confirmed what many of you may have suspected—there is a belief among would-be timeshare purchasers that the product is inflexible. In an effort to help dispel this myth, we recently issued a press release on exchanging.  

As noted in the release, it is the flexibility provided by exchange programs that make owners say timeshare is a better way to vacation. Last year, 38 percent of traditional timeshare owners either banked or exchanged their timeshare, according to ARDA’s AIF 2012 Shared Vacation Ownership Owners Report.  

We also shared stories of owners exchange experiences from companies Interval International and RCI. Both Interval and RCI recommend that owners first develop a list of ideal vacation destinations, be flexible with dates of travel, and understand their product type and exchange program in order to best evaluate and use their trading power.  

We will continue to communicate the flexibility of timeshare and welcome your ideas! 

Work in Travel! It’s a Great Way to Launch a Career

By Howard Nusbaum, CEO and President of ARDA

January 24, 2013 

The latest results of a new study “Travels Means Jobs,” conducted by the U.S. Travel Association, got a lot of play recently in the press...and for good reason. It found that people who start their careers in hospitality and travel end up with better earnings and growth potential—even if they move into other fields.

To provide insight into the benefits of a travel industry job and the career progression of workers who began in travel, the U.S. Travel Association analyzed data collected by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

Here are a few key findings:

1. Earning Higher Wages: The average maximum salary for employees who start their career in the travel industry reaches $81,900 (significantly more than the other industries followed).
2. Building the Middle Class: The travel industry is one of the top 10 largest employers of middle-class wage earners in the United States. More than half of all travel industry employees (53 percent) earn a middle class or higher salary.
3. Promotional Educational Opportunities: One-third of the 5.6 million Americans who work part-time while continuing their education work in the largest component of the travel industry—leisure and hospitality (including timeshare).
4. Leading to Rewarding Careers: Two out of five workers who start their careers in travel go on to earn more than $100,000 per year. The travel and hospitality industries offer a diverse workforce the real opportunity to develop a wide variety of life skills.

And I believe that timeshare (although not separated from other travel jobs in this study) has even another advantage over general travel jobs, with more positions in robust sales and marketing, regulatory compliance, and financial services. This job diversity offers timeshare employees the ability to start in resort operations and then move into finance, real estate, sales and marketing, and other disciplines while staying within vacation ownership and often within the same company.

As a board member of U.S. Travel, I am proud of these findings and am excited to have this data available as we recruit the next generation of professionals. And in our industry advocacy work, this critical data will serve us well as we engage local, state, and national leaders about the timeshare industry and its role in travel.  

Note: This blog post is based on a January 2013 Developments magazine article.   

Capital Markets—They’re Back! 

By Howard Nusbaum

July 10, 2012 

It was just a couple of short years ago that seven of the ten dependable timeshare lenders withdrew from finance. It was a bleak scenario that many in our industry hoped would never happen.

Luckily, this year paints a brighter picture. ARDA’s International Foundation (AIF) has just released its latest Financial Performance study, and the numbers look very healthy. Here are a few facts from the study:

Hypothecation of receivables: The average interest rate and average advance rate increased when compared to 2010. The average interest rate increased by 0.3 percentage points from 5.6 percent to 5.9 percent. The average advance rate has increased 1.4 percentage points from 79.2 percent to 80.6 percent. Eighteen respondents provided information on hypothecations of receivables that occurred during 2011, totaling $693 million.  

Portfolio sales and securitizations: For respondents that reported securitizations in both 2010 and 2011, the average transaction size of securitizations and advanced rates increased, while average interest rates declined. The average transaction size of reported securitizations increased 5.1 percent from $245.0 million to $257.4 million. The average advance rate has increased 13.0 percentage points from 81.2 percent to 94.2 percent. The six separate securitization transactions reported by survey respondents in 2011 represented a total value of $1.4 billion, measured as the gross value of the sales contracts securitized.  

These stats indicate positive movement in our industry. As you know, the environment certainly has changed and I believe it’s for the better. New lenders have entered the financial marketplace, like Capital One. Some regional and local banks have gotten involved, too. And, of course, the security markets are once again providing financing to the vacation ownership industry’s largest developers on favorable terms. All of this is improving the environment and outlook.  

Timeshare buyers are paying larger down payments and have much higher FICO scores than five years ago. Timeshare receivables have also performed well throughout, and certainly much better than other classes of loans like credit card, auto, and student loans.

We are looking forward to this trend continuing and believe that it will. For more information on the study, please contact Darla Zanini at dzanini@arda.org.

“No Vacation Nation”: US Says No to Time Off 

By Howard Nusbaum 

May 25, 2012 

As we approach the start of summer vacation season this weekend, it shocks me that Americans are actually opting out of their vacations. It’s bad enough that U.S. companies aren’t required to offer paid time off. But now this Harris Interactive survey shows that even workers that do get vacation don’t take it. 

About 57% of working Americans had unused vacation time at the end of 2011, and most of them left an average of 11 days on the table—or nearly 70 % of their allotted time off! 

One of the biggest reasons was that workers felt they had too much work, and many said that they couldn't afford to travel. Nearly 10% of the survey respondents said they were afraid to take time off amid an unstable job market. 

If only they’d realize the health and wellness benefits they are missing! It’s proven that taking time  to break away from the daily grind goes a long way in promoting both physical and mental health. 

There are long-term health, relationship, and job performance benefits associated with taking regular vacations. For example, men who don’t vacation regularly are 32 % more likely to die of heart attacks. And women are 50 % more likely. 

One to two weeks away from the daily routine leads to better job performance and productivity, increasing reaction times by 30 to 40 %. In addition, quality of sleep increases by about one hour a night upon return from vacation.  

Simply put, people can’t afford not to take a vacation. 

So, as the summer season kicks off, take a vacation.  It will do you good. 

How Can ARDA Be Global….When the “A” Stands for American? 

By Howard Nusbaum

May 14, 2012

As I travel the world talking to timeshare developers, owners and other industry watchers, it occurs to me that many of them are probably wondering how ARDA can say that it has a global reach when our title has “American” in its name.

Well, the only real part of our charter that is uniquely "American” is our advocacy effort. One of the big things we do for our members is to monitor and impact the regulatory issues that affect timeshare by engaging in lobbying efforts. These efforts focus on the establishment of a legislative environment that enhances consumer confidence and protection.

But beyond this, everything we do is global. 

Our convention attracts industry people from around the world, and this year it was dubbed “ARDA World” to highlight the focus on global issues and opportunities, as well as the global marketplace in which we all operate. 

In addition, the ARDA International Foundation (AIF) offers professional and educational development and important primary research to our members. We are close to releasing our World Wide Shared Vacation Ownership Survey that will give perspective on the timeshare market in many countries around the world.

So whether our owners want to travel to Breckinridge, Bangkok, or Belize, they will be supported by the “ABCs” of ARDA.