Andreas Egger is Vice President of Business Development at New Design Concepts, which creates and delivers personalized, project-specific contract furnishings for various industries, including hospitality, corporate housing, vacation rentals and student living.

After working on recent projects for Dollywood Heartsong, Margaritaville Resorts, and a 170-unit timeshare project in Hilton Head, S.C., Andreas realized the vacation ownership industry was a perfect market for semi-custom to custom furnishings, cabinetry and solid surface, truly factory direct. A quick internet search led him to ARDA. “I am huge believer in the power of networking and educating myself about any industry I am a part of,” he says. Attending his first ARDA convention last April, he soon realized this was a group of professionals and organizations that he wanted to be a part of. “I see vacation ownership as a fast-growing, vibrant and innovative market that is rapidly adapting to consumer demands.”

A native of Austria, Andreas grew up within the hotel industry, eventually getting classically educated in hospitality. He worked in various five-star properties and high end cruise ships operators around Central Europe before moving to the United States. Arriving in South East Florida initially, Andreas worked his hospitality magic amongst some of the most exclusive private golf and country clubs in Florida. He sees this as a huge asset in serving his clients. “First, I understand the demands they face, and second, I bend over backwards to serve my clients because of my training in hospitality,” Andreas says. Prime example, “Listening to Will Guidara, the keynote speaker at this year’s ARDA conference, speak about unreasonable hospitality really resonated with me because I always try to exceed my clients’ expectations.”

That approach takes center stage at New Design Concepts, as the company creates semi-custom to custom pieces at scale for commercial projects with an emphasis on value engineering without jeopardizing the original design intent or integrity. “A client may come to us with a photo of a table they saw at a high-end furniture store,” Andreas explains. “We take that photo of a $5,000 piece of furniture and figure out how to deliver 100 similar ones for a few hundred dollars each. We can meet and often exceed all the needs and requirements of furniture and cabinets delivered into a commercial project. Not only that, but we have global supply chain partners and on-site factory relationships working hand in hand with our very own local staff and expert craftspeople who design, curate, build and inspect every piece of furniture. We handle all the shipping as well as installations, when desired, so our clients can depend on us to meet their schedules.”

Although most of the hospitality furniture and cabinets are built in Vietnam, the company also has relationships with firms in Italy that it calls on for LEED-certified cabinetry and case goods, mostly for luxury properties.

“No matter where it is being built, due to our on-site staff, we have great communication and immediate access to ensure that the products we deliver are what the client expects,” he says.

Andreas was first exposed to timeshare when he was staying long-term near commercial installations for his student housing clients. “We would stay two or three weeks sometimes,” he recalls. “I always wanted to stay at a timeshare resort because I loved having a kitchen with a refrigerator and a place to relax. They were always in premier locations. You could get all the comforts of home, but you had amenities like pools and laundry and onsite restaurants.”

When he vacations, Andreas says his favorite destinations allow him to spend time with his six-year-old son Bruno and fiancé Crystal. “I like a quiet beach, a balcony and the opportunity to eat waterside, have a few drinks and just relax,” he says. His current favorite location is Jekyll Island off the coast of Georgia. “Our little guy is just happy bouncing between the pool and beach all day.”

Andreas is truly excited to attend future ARDA meetings to meet more members and see how he can be of service to them, “I always aim for a really pleasant mutually beneficial relationship,” he says. “It only works if it benefits both of us, but I am confident New Design Concepts can provide a lot of benefits to vacation ownership companies.”