I had the pleasure of attending the ARDA Northeast Regional Meeting last week in lovely Providence, RI.  Our location for the meeting was near downtown which offered an opportunity to explore the city.  Dennis Ducharme of InnSeason Resorts is now leading the timeshare troops in the Northeast U.S. and he did not disappoint.  From a very well run golf tournament, to the selection of subject matter discussed in general sessions, I think all in attendance came away knowing one more contact in the industry and came away with a nugget of information they can use.

I was pleasantly surprised by the high number of HOA’s that were in attendance.  I counted fifteen.  Generally, I am lucky to see seven or eight HOA’s represented at any given ARDA regional meeting.  These regional meetings are a great opportunity for HOA’s to learn about innovative products they can use at resort properties, and gain insight from subject matter experts in the timeshare field.  This event was no exception.

The first general session was titled HOA Challenges and Solutions:  Postcard and Rescue Companies, Resales, and Rentals.  The panelists consisted of Scott MacGregor, CFO at InnSeason Resorts, Rich Muller, SVP Resort Operations at Vacation Resorts International, and Jason Tremblay, Chairman & CEO at Sell My Timeshare Now, LLC.  The panelists not only provided an outline of certain challenges facing HOA’s today, but followed up with concise solutions without delivering a sales pitch.  All three gentlemen took questions at the end of their panel and the representatives from HOA’s did not hesitate in standing up to ask questions.  I found this action to be extraordinarily interesting.  I say this because in past regional meetings I have attended, rarely are independent HOA’s taking the floor to ask a question of a subject expert. 

The second general session was titled Using Social Media to Reach Your Owners/Members.  The panelists consisted of Phil Brojan, SVP Marketing at RCI, Brooke Doucha, Sr. Manager Corporate Communications at Holiday Inn Club Vacations, Sara Little, Director of Corporate Communications at Festiva Hospitality Group, and David Meier, VP Products & Partnership at Interval International.  The moderator, Stacey Sutherland, who is the VP Corporate Communications at Holiday Inn Club Vacations, took a different approach with this session.  There were three breakout groups headed by panelists to discuss a particular aspect of dealing with Social Media.  Interaction among attendees was abundant and I think very well received versus just sitting and listening to a brief presentation.

At the conclusion of the regional meeting, WIN held an event that focused on Navigating Across Generations.  The session was presented by Angela Ward, President of Resort Title Agency, Inc., which is a subsidiary of Bluegreen Corporation.  Angela gave a fantastic presentation outlining the differences among certain generations and provided information on how best to communicate with certain age ranges.  I sat next to Heather Ault-Durant who is the General Manager of a resort in Ogunquit, ME for InnSeason Resorts.  I learned first-hand how a GM thinks when addressing an issue at their property or hiring the “right” person for a job.  Thank you Heather for the HR lesson.   I am still amazed with how many hats a GM must wear on a daily basis.

I encourage all of you to plan on attending one of the upcoming ARDA regional meetings.  For more information on these events, visit http://www.arda.org/meetings-awards/regional/overview.aspx.

Take care…