ARDA Inside Look - Issue 24

First Word

President/CEO Jason Gamel

Dear Members,
Seeing all of you at our annual Spring Conference is one of my favorite times of the year, and this May 1 - 4, in Hollywood, Florida, is no exception. In less than a month, we’ll have the opportunity to connect in person and celebrate at Timeshare Together, Leading Forward at the Diplomat Hotel. The conference agenda offers great experiences for all attendees and includes exceptional keynote speakers, strategic insights, thought leadership sessions, nightly celebrations, educational forums, and plenty of time for networking and business relations to prosper.

On behalf of The ARDA team, we look forward to seeing you soon for this exciting event where we all enjoy Timeshare Together 2022!

Still Time to Register for The Timeshare Event of The Year!

Congratulations to our 2022 Awards Finalists! A winner in each category will be announced at the ARDA Awards Ceremony on Wednesday, May 4 from 6:00-7:30 pm in the Great Hall Ballroom of the Diplomat Hotel. The event is open to all, but reserved seating is available for sponsors and finalists only. Open seating will be available for all others who wish to attend. Following the ceremony, please join us for an Awards Celebration at Diplomat Landing from 8:00 pm-10:00 pm. The party is open to all finalists, sponsors, and Timeshare Together Attendees.

Timeshare’s best industry gathering.
We can’t wait to see you!

Click here to view the 2022 Spring Conference Agenda 2022 Award Finalists Announced!

Industry in The News

We are pleased to introduce The ARDA 360 campaign which provides an in-depth view of the timeshare industry and ARDA community. We’re sharing inspiring stories, positive impacts on the community, and how ARDA members are innovating and evolving to meet the needs of today’s travelers. Across social media channels on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, ARDA is resharing information from members, publishing curated content from ARDA, the AIF, and ARDA-ROC resources, and promoting news stories. Follow along to see all the great work coming from our community. We’d love to have your news be a part of this campaign so if you have something you think we should share, please email sconroy@arda.org.

Legislative Update

The ARDA Legislative Policy Council (LPC) team is working hard to wrap up its 2022 legislative agenda as many legislatures move towards adjournment of their regular sessions. However, there are a few states that continue their legislative work all year long, including Massachusetts, where we still have an active bill (HB 1830). At the ARDA Spring Conference we look forward to updating you on that effort and all the other great work on your behalf thus far in 2022.

There are a few issues on the federal side that can’t wait till we see each other, due to approaching deadlines. First, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has requested public comment on purported “junk fees.” ARDA is preparing a joint industry comment letter prior to the 4/11 deadline. Next, the SEC issued a proposed rule that would require publicly traded companies to disclose climate risk in certain filings. ARDA has no immediate plans to provide comments to the SEC, however individual companies may want to do so. For more information contact Sam DePoy.

Lastly, we are pleased to report that the 2022 Omnibus Appropriations Package that was recently passed contained two ARDA priorities. The Restoring Brand USA Act will transfer $250 million in surplus revenue from the Travel Promotion Fund to restore Brand USA’s budget, which had reached historic lows in 2021 due to the significant decline in the collection of international travel fees. The Omnibus also included much-needed visa cap relief, authorizing the Department of Homeland Security to exempt returning H-2B workers from the statutory visa cap. We are hopeful that these efforts will help quicken the recovery of international travel to the US and address the labor shortages within our industry.

For more information on the LPC and how to get involved in legislative advocacy, please visit the ARDA website.