Back
To News/PR Index
|
|
C.A.R.E.
Joins Global Secondary Market Coalition
|
|
Harrisonburg,
VA – April 2018 / Newsmaker Alert / The
Cooperative
Association of Resort Exchangers (C.A.R.E.) is proud to announce
that is has joined the
Global
Secondary Market Coalition (GSMC) launched by the Association
of Vacation Owners (AVO) earlier this year.
The
GSMC is as a multi-national alliance of industry stakeholders that are
engaged in creating best practices, reviewing current licensing requirements
and establishing a code of ethical and responsible conduct for secondary
market service providers in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
With
increasing complaints, continuing scrutiny by regulatory agencies and an
ongoing need to maintain public trust, the AVO is encouraging leaders in
the timeshare community to participate in the GSMC. C.A.R.E. member companies
(and their customers) are being affected daily with secondary market activity
and/or participating in it directly. C.A.R.E.’s Mission Statement is, “To
promote ethical and outstanding vacation services by providing education
and networking opportunities.” Therefore C.A.R.E.’s Board of Directors
felt it was imperative to the association’s mission to get involved as
a stakeholder in this initiative.
|
|
C.A.R.E.
is an association with international members who seek to use various platforms
that offer tools for individual business enhancement while requiring its
member companies to adhere to the association’s Code of Standards and Ethics.
The largest change in membership for C.A.R.E. in 2017 was in secondary
market service providers. They now comprise 15% of C.A.R.E.’s base and
this is an area of growth which will likely continue, as most their members
have multiple businesses that serve different sectors supporting the vacation
ownership industry.
C.A.R.E.
President Linda Mayhugh stated, “With the targeted results of this collaboration
between associations, and with approval from its board, C.A.R.E. intends
to incorporate the best practices and code of ethical and responsible conduct
for secondary market service providers created by the GSMC, into the body
of our own Code of Standards and Ethics. C.A.R.E. will also encourage its
member companies to directly participate in the GSMC as well.”
Mayhugh
also added, “The majority of C.A.R.E. members are either suppliers or
buyers of weekly condominium inventory and therefore, said inventory filters
through C.A.R.E. via week to week exchanges, seasonal/annual leases, block
agreements and/or wholesale rentals. So along with the resale/trade-in
facet of timeshare inventory in the secondary market naturally comes rental
of that inventory as well. C.A.R.E.’s focus of its participation in the
GSMC will certainly be to ensure its members participating in the secondary
market, in either facet, are ethically responsible in doing so.”
“One
stakeholder in the secondary market that is often forgotten, and really
should be our industry’s first concern, is the consumer. We have watched
the AVO conducting in-depth studies of timeshare owner sentiment and the
industry’s online reputation for several years. The lack of a structured
secondary market for timeshares and vacation intervals is a problem that
continues to negatively impact consumers and the vacation ownership industry,”
concluded C.A.R.E.’s President.
Vacation
ownership has a life cycle, like many other products. The original timeshare
owners are aging out rapidly and we now must take it upon ourselves to
create industry solutions for these owners. There has never been a solid
support system for them and now we have a group of stakeholders at the
table willing to work to address a negatively perceived secondary market
that we all should agree needs attention now. It’s quite possible that
if we don’t work together for positive solutions, the doors will remain
open for scams in greater force and further detriment to our entire industry.
If we don’t help our owners, by supporting a healthy secondary market,
someone else will; but will it be in the best interest of our future? Our
industry’s future reputation depends on how we are perceived by our owners
and if we allow others to create that reputation for us, will our industry
as we know it survive for the next generation?
To
find out more about C.A.R.E., the AVO or the GSMC you’ll find contact information
below.
About
C.A.R.E.
Established
in 1985, (C.A.R.E.), the Cooperative Association of Resort Exchangers,
is one of the industry’s leading associations in ethical standards and
value propositions. Its internationally diverse member base includes Resort
Developers, Management and Exchange Companies, HOA’s, Travel Clubs and
Wholesalers as well as many respected industry suppliers bringing value-added
revenue enhancement opportunities. Members that possess rentable inventory
or seek inventory for fulfillment of rental requests set the foundation
of C.A.R.E. with a multitude of scenarios for securing client vacations,
increased inventory utilization and heightened yield management. C.A.R.E.
members have the ability to share inventory via week-to-week exchanges,
weekly wholesale rentals, guaranteed and free-sale blocks as well as year-round
and seasonal leases all over the world. C.A.R.E. members must comply with
a strict Code of Standards and Ethics and will undoubtedly gain professional
and personal development by attending C.A.R.E. Conferences. With nominal
annual membership fees and some of the industry’s lowest conference registration
rates, C.A.R.E. can prove an undeniable value and return.
Contact:
President Linda Mayhugh / lmayhugh@care-online.org
/ 800-636-5646 ext.700 / www.care-online.org
About
AVO
With
more than 20 years of experience supporting vacation ownership, the Association
of Vacation Owners (formerly known as the National Timeshare Owners Association)
is the largest and oldest independent timeshare owner association in North
America. Throughout that time, our strong commitment to working with only
the best organizations in the travel support industry has helped us earn,
and keep, the trust of the vacation owner community. The AVO vows to relentlessly
advocate for improvements – from protection and preservation to expansion
and enrichment – to the vacation ownership experience. Our commitment to
these efforts will continuously strengthen and support the relationships
between the vacation-owner community and the industry at large, ensuring
the viability of vacation ownership for generations to come.
Contact:
CEO Gregory Crist / greg@avoworldwide.com
/ 833-227-5286 / www.avoworldwide.com |