The Evolution of Timeshare: Exclusive Experiences

Recorded live from the Bellagio at ARDA’s Spring Conference in Las Vegas, Dan sits down with the leaders reshaping vacation ownership into something far more flexible, experience-led, and dynamic than most travelers realize. This conversation explores why the industry is having a real moment and how shifting traveler priorities around access, identity, and unforgettable experiences are redefining what ownership looks like today.

This is the second episode in our 3-part series exploring the evolution of timeshare.

We begin with Louis Acosta (SVP, Sports, Entertainment, Event Marketing & Sales, Travel + Leisure Co.), who shares how building an ecosystem of experiential brands, from Margaritaville Vacation Club to Sports Illustrated Resorts, is unlocking “money-can’t-buy” moments and turning owners into true insiders.

From there, we discuss the trends driving this transformation:

Experience-first travel replacing fixed ownership models

Partnerships that extend beyond hospitality into sports, media, and entertainment

Events and access as core to the ownership value proposition

The growing importance of identity and belonging in travel

Mike Flaskey (President & COO, Marriott Vacations Worldwide) shares how scale, loyalty, and premium experiences are converging, including how owners can tap into broader ecosystems like Marriott Bonvoy and access curated, high-end travel moments.

Gordon Gurnik (SVP & COO, Hilton Grand Vacations) unpacks how points-based vacation ownership is changing the game from shorter, more flexible stays to multi-trip years and seamless integration with Hilton Honors.

Together, the conversation highlights a clear shift: experiences are no longer an add-on, they are the product. From flexibility and personalization to loyalty integration and AI-driven engagement, this episode offers a sharp look at where vacation ownership is heading next.

Learn more at arda.org.

Be sure to join us next Tuesday for the final episode in our series with ARDA.

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Transcript

Live From ARDA At Bellagio

0:00

Hello, everyone, and welcome back to a very special edition of Travel Trends. We're here live at the Bellagio in Las Vegas at the Arta Conference, and this is episode two of our look at the world of evolving timeshares and how relevant they are to the modern traveler. We started with our episode on today's timeshare. This episode is on experiences in timeshare, and then our next episode is tech in timeshare. So we've got a three-part series, and this gentleman I have the privilege to sit down with now. I'm a huge fan of Travel and Leisure, and I have the honor to speak to Lewis Acosta, who is the senior vice president, sports, entertainment, event, marketing, and sales at Travel and Leisure. So, Lewis, one of the things I'm really keen to kick off with is the fact that there's Travel and Leisure magazine, of course, which I'm a big fan of, but Travel and Leisure Co. is a separate division. Tell us a little bit about this side of the business and what brings you to Arta. Aaron Powell Well, thank you for the question. Travel Leisure Co. um is uh an umbrella brand for an ecosystem of experiential brands that we have uh Worldmark, Club Wyndham, Eddie Bauer Adventure Club, Sports Illustrated Resorts, um, and Margaritaville Vacation Club. Yes, I know that one very well. I'm sure that's that's a lot of fun. But um yeah, so under that uh under that brand and umbrella of hospitality brands, we're really creating an ecosystem around events and uh and experiential travel. Fantastic. And just so I mean most of our listeners are following along, arda.org, of course, is the main website, but travelandleisureco.com is the main website so that our listeners can multitask and understand more about who you guys are and what you do. But let's talk about your role there, Lewis. Tell us you know, obviously you've got a lot under your remit there as a senior vice president of about four different verticals. Um but yeah, tell us a little bit more about your background, how you got into this space, and what your role entails. Well, uh thank you for the question. I originally got into uh the hospitality space on the hotel side. I uh became a hotel general manager at a fairly young age, working in uh in Latin America uh with a a great company, the Grupo Posadas of Mexico. Yeah. A lot of affinity for that company. Yeah. Um and uh through them was able to uh get invited to join their timeshare division. And from them, just worked my career over the last 25 plus years in sales, marketing. Um I remember dealing with uh the owners as a director of owner services. So I've I've got a unique kind of perspective of each one of those verticals and really the customer journey along all those verticals. And now I get to uh utilize that experience to deliver these experiences with those verticals in mind. Yeah. Well you are obviously you were in Mexico City for a number of years. And obviously this is fascinating too because the Spanish-speaking market is such a large portion of the American traveling audience, and obviously in timesharers as well. But you have had extensive experience living across the U.S. You've been in Vegas before, obviously. You lived in Key West in Orlando, and uh you're based in Orlando again now, is that right? Correct. I was in the Emerald City for a while, loved Seattle. Yeah. So you got a really good understanding of this country, the layout, and one of the things I wanted to dive right into is partnerships.

Partnerships Power The Experience Economy

3:04

And obviously that's a key reason that brings you here. And you mentioned a couple of them that I know are gonna stand out to many of our listeners. So tell us a little bit about uh Margaritaville in particular, I want to know about, because I'm a huge fan and I've been to many of their different properties. Have you come out to an event? Yeah, for sure. I'm just like I love Jimmy Buffett, I love the whole lifestyle, I'm I'm a huge fan of that, as well as the you know, reading the magazine. But I I love this industry, I love this space. Tell us a little bit more about the importance of those partnerships and how you guys have been so successful launching those large-scale partnerships, because those brands are pretty sensitive to their brand identity. Absolutely. Uh particularly with MargaritaVille uh Vacation Club, uh, we get the honor of of carrying on the legacy of of what that company has built with Margaritaville and then bringing it under the Vacation Club uh brand, our brand. And the experiences that we deliver with them are not just Jimmy Buffett, if you will, centric. Uh the they in fact, you know, that whole lifestyle that helped create it, you know, put your toes in the sand, and you know, it's five o'clock somewhere. We've been able to take that and and uh carry that on long after because he wanted the brand to continue long after he was gone. He didn't need to be about him. He wanted to be about the uh the Margaritaville lifestyle, right? And uh we've really leaned heavily into that uh with the cruise lines, with Margaritaville uh cruise lines and uh our experiences that we've developed at the resorts. And uh there's an event that we've done with Mac McInley from uh you know the Coral Reefers, and uh he tells stories, and these are kind of those money can't buy experiences backstage type of uh uh experiences where owners get to meet them and talk to them and what was it like to know Jimmy and and uh share those experiences. Yeah. And what are they are they parrot heads? The hardcore? The hardcore ones are the paradigm. Yeah. And those will long, long live on. Yeah. Uh but uh I've seen the stool that uh he used to sit on in Key West. Right. And one of his famous bars. Oh they know that place very well. Yeah. But you know, when you walk into a margaritaville uh resort and you see the sandal, right? The iconic sandal, we lean into that that that type of uh vibe, and our owners really have uh have enjoyed it. So obviously you mentioned a couple of them. Sports Illustrated is another. I mean, and uh talk about a brand that has a huge legacy and that people greatly respect. And if they see a sports illustrated experience, they're gonna be all over that. So you know you have very different personas when it comes to Margaritaville, Eddie Bauer, and Sports Illustrated. Tell us a little bit about how you decide to partner with these brands and what your owners are looking for in these types of partnerships. Well, I tell you what, this uh the the the through our leadership of our of our Mike Brown, our CEO, has had the foresight to look into and lean into some of these uh these relationships with uh companies like Authentic Brands Group, um, which themselves own a plethora of of brands, um, one of them being the iconic sports illustrated brand, and uh we came in with the Sports Illustrated Resorts brand. Uh this is an intersection of hospitality, sports, lifestyle, and really developing a pure ecosystem where people are going to start traveling. They're already traveling now for events, right? And if you can look at some of the places we've uh developed and have announced resorts, uh Baton Rouge most recently, um LSU right in the backyard, uh Nashville with Vanderbilt, we're official sports uh hospitality partner of Vandy Sports. Um you look at what a sports city like Chicago, uh we're really leaning into these sports-centric uh venues and uh locations across the country where we're looking at additional spots where people can go, they can travel and and enjoy the area, but really going for sports types of events and and music and culinary as well, but primarily sports. Yeah, one thing to call out to our listeners is the Eddie Bauer is the adventure club, and of course, there's uh subset of travelers that are looking for adventure, the Margaritaville Vacation Club, clearly a lifestyle, as we were just alluding to. But Sports Illustrated Resorts, all of these categories are poised for significant growth. Tell us a little bit about how you are expanding those existing businesses, because clearly you're bringing on new partnerships, but tell us a little bit about the growth that you're seeing in this space. Well, one of the things is is we wanted to create vectors where we could start new owners coming in. We we've had several years of enjoying continued uh growth of our existing owners and you know, repeat buyers, which is a big portion of our business. But we knew for long-term um growth, we wanted to start up, spin up new vectors. And and really for new travelers, we talk about millennials, we talk about Gen Z and how they're gonna buy and what they want to do while they're on vacation. So that's the type of uh new buyers we're also starting to attract because in the past, events were looked at as kind of a bolt-on value add. They're no longer a value add, they're the strategy now. And uh as we we introduce people to our brands via experiences now as well. Yeah. Well, one of the things I had a chance to ask uh Jason Gammel, the president and CEO of Art, as you know in the first episode, was about experiences. And I alluded to the fact that we were going to be speaking together because I was keen to get your take on how important experiences are in the timeshare market. And so we in episode one, we talked a little bit about you know how timeshares are becoming more relevant than ever, especially given the younger generation is less interested in ownership and much more interested in the Airbnb model of sharing. And so this this model is meeting the moment. But we also know that not only the younger generation, but really all personas of travelers now are looking for experiences more over things. We've been talking about that for 20 years, the experience economy. And so they want a great resort, but they clearly want to have an amazing experience when they're there. And so you've come to Arda again. This is your fourth time, I believe. Is that right, Liz? Yeah, correct. And so tell us about some of the things you're looking to bring to the table at the conference this year to speak about experiences and how important that is to this community. Well, I I tell you what, I'm very excited. Uh it doesn't take you can just go look at my uh LinkedIn page and you can see some of the wonderful events uh that we're uh delivering. But more than the event, let you you you keyed into it. People want experiences, not things. But how do we deliver that in a sustainable way that creates a memory and uh that money can't buy memory and that they walk away saying, Wow, I want more of that? And uh we we really lean to it, we just had a Kentucky Derby um experience, which was fantastic, partner through ABG. Yeah. Where good we have our at the end of this month excited, our Sports Illustrator Resorts 250 in Nashville, Saturday race, live on the CW nationally televised. Amazing. Um we have Jimmy Johnson there, seven time, uh NASCAR cup um winner as one of our uh partnerships with Legacy Motor Group. Yeah, we have an amazing experience. I mean, these are inside the rope type of experiences where our owners are talking to the king, Richard Petty, and Jimmy Johnson. Getting pictures, getting swag, and like oh and everybody else is sitting up in the stands. Yeah. And our owners are sitting right there in the mix getting chef curated meals by you know, Chef Kwan, who's currently on uh uh top chef that she's competing on right now. Yeah. And that those are things that are just like blown away. They're really hot, elevated experiences that um we're happy to do. So that's you bring up something really important there. When it comes to experiences, you mentioned about some of the celebrity figures. And one of the things we know travelers are looking for experiential uh type travel, they also are looking for access. And so we actually had um Peekaboo Street on our podcast recently because she's running a series of trips called the Crest Club, and you can go to six different ski races around the world, and three of them you can ski with her. And this whole idea of insider access is so important. You're gonna be able to see someone that you've seen on, you know, a celebrity chef or someone that is a remarkable athlete. Tell us a little bit how important those celebrity figures are to the experience. Because clearly you can't guarantee that someone's gonna be there every time, but people are traveling for events at your resorts. Correct. And when an iconic sports figure or a chef or a musical artist walks in, um it it you can just see the wow factor and the stars in your eyes. And for sure. It really creates those unforgettable moments that that endear that loyalty. It's creating loyalty and it's driving brand recognition, it's driving loyalty. We're seeing that translate in sales, we're seeing that translate in higher bookings and marketing. Um, it is it is definitely worth the expense to do these events.

Money Cant Buy Access For Owners

10:59

And out of curiosity, you're clearly deepening the relationships you have with existing partners, expanding the number of resorts. Are you also continuing to expand partnerships? And obviously, you can't announce anything now. I'm not sure if something's coming out in the next couple of days. You're a publicly traded company. Exactly. You guys have six million travelers a year that flow through Travel and Leisure Co. So it just gives you an idea of how impressive and our You guys are publicly traded, so I'm not looking for forward guidance. Right. But obviously, continued partnerships. So is the intention to continue to expand the number of partnerships that you have? Trevor Burrus, Jr. Well, certainly, you know, as we look for strategic partnerships, it's got to be a win-win. It fits with our brand. Um but we're c I can tell you that uh I have a partner that his whole role is to go out and look for partnerships that make sense for the company. And so short answer, yes. Uh but uh you know, from our existing partners that we have right now, we are really um using them to it it's interesting. We have raised our game by certain partnerships, but not only they have seen through their partnership with us of raising their game for just hospitality and and leveraging it both ways. So it truly is a win-win. And it it from a cost perspective, it is very important because you know anybody can go do an event, right? But when you go check break out the checkbook and do retail plus ten percent, you know, that that's not the way to go. You want you want partnerships where you can get that type of access without having to pay those uh prices, you know, or even create these events that like some of these events are you money just can't buy, right? For sure. But that's only going to happen through those partnerships. Yeah. And now I mentioned you've been here for four years. This is your fourth time coming to Arta. So as our listeners are coming to understand it's my first time at Arta, I'm thrilled to be here. I'm learning so much already. One of the things I'm keen for you to share with our listeners is what brings you guys back. I have a few ideas, um, but tell us what actually brings you back each year and specifically this year. What were some of the things you're involved in or looking forward to being a part of? Well, Arta is the apex of of what the bringing the industry leaders together. It's where all of us can come together, we can ideate, um, we can talk about what's going right in the industry, what needs to be improved. Um we have Arta Rock, which is our you know our lobbying arm um with the government. And so there's a lot of things that go here that set the tone of where the industry is going. And I think being able to come and share time uh with it's a small industry. Yeah. We all know each other. You know, we've been doing this a long time. But uh, you know, there's there's uh you know, one of the things we talk about, and I'm sure it'll be talked about here, is is you can't turn on a radio these days without hearing somebody trying to get you out of this or that. And uh you know it's really truly a blight on something that's not true. You know, when we talk, you talk to any uh or most people that own vacation ownership, they're very happy with it and they're using it on a daily basis. I mean on a yearly basis, that's why they invested. And so, you know, things when we come to event industry events like this, is to talk about how we can get our message out even more so. Events is a great way to do that. I don't know anybody that I've talked to that's not looking to do more rather than do less. Right. So I'm pretty excited about that. Well, I know conferences like this, there are always a balance between learning and networking. There's many sessions I'm looking forward to taking part in, in addition to obviously doing these recordings. There's some really fantastic keynote speakers, there's a lot of different breakout sessions. From your past experience in planning for this year, how do you balance your time when you networking so many people spend their time networking the entire time and they miss some of the sessions, other people are in sessions. So how do you balance your time? And when it comes to the sessions themselves, are those some standouts that you are really looking forward to being a part of? I downloaded the app. I had to download the app and uh make sure that get my and it's really got a cool feature. You can plug it into it and it gives you a reminder. I'm I'm big on reminders on my phone and say, hey Lewis, you got 15 minutes to get to the next event. So I'm pretty excited about using the app to do that. And uh moving, you know, it it does move fast, right? So I've already identified some of the ones that I want to look at. I've got some uh colleagues that are speaking that I'd love to go hear them speak on different panels that I'm looking forward to doing. And uh technology. Yes. Definitely some of the we talk about technology, we talk about new product development, um things of that nature. So that's what I'm looking forward to leaning into at this uh yeah, sorta. Well I'm gonna see you at eight o'clock tomorrow morning for the technology session on AI. Wonderful. Because that is our third topic in this three-part series. And that was something that Jason was talking about, the importance of technology. Just curious, when it comes to partnerships, what is the importance for you and your team when it comes to technology? Is that one of the reasons that companies choose to partner with you? Well, I think you know, technology can be used in a bunch of different ways. So I I think that you know, companies that partner with us are are looking to expand their footprint as well because we have a huge footprint with existing owners and our in our presence with the magazine, things of that nature. But um as far I think we're using technology in our companies for owner services side, but I think as the marketing starts to evolve even further out, and we look at like using uh agenic AI and things of that nature for helping us d drive our owners to to events that they want to do, um, I think it's gonna be the next evolution of how this thing goes. Yeah, Jason was talking a lot about the about personalization and some of the launches that are gonna happen here and some of the exciting developments in that space. The other thing I want to ask you about is today's timeshare. And Lewis obviously is you know an expert in the partnership side, but clearly the product that you're introducing is meeting the moment as well. So this category is seeing significant growth. But one of the things I wanted to bring Lewis into was in episode one, I asked Jason about experiences, and I mentioned I was going to be speaking to Lewis, and now that I have the opportunity to sit down with him, I wanted to talk to him about how important experiences are to today's timeshare. But I also wanted to understand from your vantage point, Lewis, how timeshares are perceived today, and from your vantage point, especially with some of the partnerships you introduced, how you've made them relevant to the modern traveler. And certainly for me, the big standouts are, you know, the f Sports Illustrated, Eddie Bauer, and some of the amazing partnerships you have, Margaritaville, that obviously meets the moment. These are products and brands that customers trust and they want to live the lifestyle. But tell us a little bit more about today's timeshare, especially misperceptions of this category that you clearly have to overcome given the industry's changed so much in 10 years. But tell us how it's changed and how would you kind of define today's timeshare? Well, very modern, actually. You know, when we think about timeshares and the evolvement over the last 40 years or more, um, actually, where we have a fixed-week model, you know, you get a certain week out at the lake, you know, uh that type of thing, to where it's evolved to today, where we have a robust offering of resorts um but points-based. There's many different ways you can use it in planning. I mean, a robust platform that you can use to plan your vacations. We've taken all the guestwork out of it and even going to move using technology to help you plan your next vacations, whether you don't have to think about it, just open up your laptop. Here's three, you know, here's uh three areas where you think you might want to go and the experiences you might want to enjoy. Yeah. So uh you know, when you talk about the perception of timeshare, I think it's it's misplaced. Uh, you know, people love our product. Sometimes people may not love exactly the way they were sold, but when they go use the product, they absolutely love it and they keep it coming back for more. So I think it kind of you the experiences can vary, but I think overall, over the last, you know, especially with the big brands involved in in in the last 20 years and uh through conferences like this and and everybody getting, you know, on the same page of where the direction of the industry is going, we have seen uh just an emergence of uh of buyers. Yeah. Well, one thing I wanted to ask you on this topic of today's timeshare, especially given the partnerships you have, is the question about affordability and long-term value compared to luxury expectations.

Points Loyalty And Premium Value

18:39

And one of the things, when I was looking to book a Margaritaville experience in Cancun with our family earlier this year, what I was really impressed with was the amenities and also the pricing was much more premium. And I would say that goes in line with the experience that you would come to expect from a property like that. We know that luxury is a market that just continues to grow. So more and more people are in that space. Tell us a little bit about how you see timeshares meeting the moment when it comes to more premium or luxury experiences, given the perception of the category for many people was more about an affordable holiday option. Well, I think you but it depends, you know, because all brands uh operate a little bit differently, and there are affordable options at at all levels, even within the the the premium brands or the uh at say like you know, w sports illustrated resorts, uh there's different entry-level points that people can purchase to be a part of the program. So we don't want it's not designed to price anybody out of the market. However, you know, those more those buyers that are looking for that more luxury type of vacation, we have offerings for them now that in the past may not have been, you know, kind of that you're you're all going to the same resort, sitting around the same pool, same rooms. Not anymore. You know, you may be going to the same resort, but you're definitely not having you're having different experiences now. Yeah, exactly. And that's why I wanted to ask you about that, because I certainly saw from our our last uh all-inclusive vacation experience the number of rooms that have their own private pool and the and even just convincing you that next time that's what I need to book, or if I'm gonna book, if I'm gonna buy a timeshare, I'm gonna buy a premium option that I know that I'm gonna love, and I'm also the fam family traveling with me or friends that are gonna come and join us, they're gonna say, wow. Right. And you know, tiered loyalty levels also can unlock different access to different things at at different uh loyalty levels. Um so but it what you can come to expect at any level is just that certainty of that you have your vacations already taken care of. You take you freeze you've frozen inflation, and uh you've prepaid your vacation in many uh cases. So guess what? Every year you're gonna go on vacation, and that's the point. Aaron Powell And one of the things you mentioned, too, that I want to touch on is loyalty and membership programs, points and miles, and how important that is to the modern traveler. Tell us a little bit of how you are looking at leveraging those platforms and those membership programs for the modern traveler to experience timeshares. Well, I I can tell you through rewards programs from our partners like Wyndham Rewards and things of that now, those loyalty programs, we have a special offers that come through our organization for those type of loyalty programs with our partners that we can offer them entry-level packages to come experience our our uh our product. And one other thing I want to ask you, because obviously my um when I am whenever I have the privilege to have conversations with executives like yourself, I'm always keen to ask them what keeps them motivated and excited about the industry and the category. And so I want to ask you that specific question, Lewis, both in regards to the experiences and how the timeshare industry has evolved, what motivates you, what keeps you excited about the growth potential of this category? Uh wow. Just to see where it's gone over the last you know 30 years that I've been involved with it roughly. But I what you've been there almost since the beginning. No, not that old. Not that old. I will tell you that uh the difference that we make in people's lives on vacations because you know, COVID taught us a lot of things. You know, people didn't want to buy these things anymore, they wanted to go on vacation. But what motivates me is knowing that I can help create an experience in multiple experiences. I've seen generations come through, moms, dads, you know, now that children are starting to come through. Um is just to that creating those moments that they take with them. That's the value I see. And I really can't put a price on that for me. But when I see people and I I'll just share this with you real quick. We had an event where there was an elderly couple there. The the lady could walk but she was a she was in a wheelchair, right? And so she got around easily. And we had an event where we one of our event uh specialists got them up and got them dancing. Yeah. And uh I saw her dancing and moving. She couldn't move very well but she was up doing her thing and her husband with a big smile on her face. And then he shared with us because he hadn't danced with his wife in the past ten years. And to see that happen, to create those type of moments, that's just one of them I've seen um people getting married, you know, I I've seen proposals. I've seen all kinds of stuff over the last you know years on these events. But uh to create moments like that and memories that they carry with them is uh is truly a it's what keeps me going. That's great. I'm no I it it's interesting. I mean obviously there's a common bond between people who work in the travel industry and this is obviously a huge part of the travel industry and as we're having these conversations, having getting a better understanding of the customer and the industry. But one of the things that I always see when people are on holiday, it's their best selves. Right. And it's like and you do that's you described that so perfectly is that someone who's out on holiday, this is how you'd like to feel every day. But the reality is it's only that week or two that you have where all of a sudden you are on holiday and you are living your best life. Right. And so I think for many of us we want to be able to take that home. And one of the things I love about what you guys are doing is the fact that when you're marketing to people who love a certain brand and a lifestyle, they take that with them. They come home feeling changed. And one of the things that we're big advocates for on the Travel Trends podcast is this concept of transformative travel that you know that people are seeking truly transformative experiences. And obviously timeshares have a way of approaching that because the fact is you where else would you get the access to be able to have that Jimmy Buffett experience that you look forward to going back to and bringing people with and coming back and already looking forward to your next trip. So I wanted to ask you that question too if you don't mind as far as transformative travel given that that is a word that I think is likely going to enter the zeitgeist this year more people are going to be conscientious of the fact they're looking for a transformative travel experience, asking for that or looking at something that they're, you know, it's going to be something more meaningful. How do you think the timeshare industry is responding to that and I I would think that some of these partnerships are a perfect example. Right. When we develop when we sit down we're very intentional about the events we develop and the ones that we execute whether it be health and wellness leaning into that as well people want to come out feeling you know is there a sector of the of the uh of the ownership that wants to sit around the pool and drink margaritas? Great, relax. If that's what you want to do, fine. We've got that for you. But if there's you know others that want to lean into something that uh you know more experiential where they come out on the other side you know like you said transformed, refreshed, uh you want to we want to deliver that to them and we've really leaned into that with some of the offerings that we even developed that's great. And I want to make sure that all of our listeners can connect with you and obviously learn more about Travel and Leisure Co. I've mentioned the website of course so Travelandleisureco.com. You've mentioned your uh LinkedIn which is uh Lewis A. Acosta and I had actually looked in anticipation of our meeting I saw the number of events you've been at recently it was pretty cool. And uh some of the experiences that I was not even familiar with. And so um if people want to connect with you after this Lewis which I'm sure they will for partnership opportunities what would be the best way to do that? You can reach out to me at my company email Lewis.acosta at traveleisure.com fantastic. And just to finish off, what would be the biggest takeaway from this conference or the listeners to this episode you would like to leave them with about being here at Arta or just about Travel Leisure Co. and where you guys are headed? Well I can tell you this there are a multitude of hospitality professionals working very very hard to create experiences resort developers um you know program managers uh directors vice presidents all these things from various different companies are working very very hard to uh to make the vacation experiences the best possible and uh that's what I'm really excited about because I get to learn you know I learn every single day and I get to be a part of this momentum that is building and growing to deliver these events and uh like we said our company to put the world on vacation. That's awesome. Well I look forward to seeing you throughout the sessions thanks for making the time for this wishing you every success in the year ahead and I'm sure many of our listeners will likely reach out and stay in touch with you and keep track of what you guys are building. But thanks again for joining us and being a part of this thank you. It's

Marriott Vacation Ownership 101

26:35

first episode around today's timeshare it is Mike Flaske he's the president and chief operating officer at Marriott Vacations Worldwide. Mike welcome to Travel Trends Hey it's an honor to be here. Thank you for having me. Awesome I'm really looking forward to this conversation I'm you know I've stayed at many Marriott properties. I'm very familiar with Marriott Vacations worldwide but I'm sure many of our listeners aren't and so I wouldn't I would love if you wouldn't mind starting to give all of our listeners a bit of an overview of Marriott Vacations Worldwide and what you guys do. Sure. Well you know we are a leading vacation ownership company we've got uh over 700,000 families that own their vacation with us. We have 120 resorts in many countries around the world. We've got 22,000 associates that wake up every day and take care of those guests and make sure they have a great time while they're on vacation. And I'm relatively new. I'm a rookie all over again been here about 90 days and so I'm enjoying every second of it. But this is a great company with associates that have been here many years that have dedicated their life to this company and it's an honor to be here. Fantastic. I know you're based in Orlando and I want to give our listeners a little bit more background and context to you and your role especially given that you are one of the newer team members at Marriott Vacations worldwide but you've been with a hornblower group you were a McKinsey consultant you've got an impressive background. Tell everyone a bit about your journey and what brought you to to Marriott Sure. Well I actually started in the vacation ownership business in August of nineteen ninety two in Williamsburg, Virginia and was it August 14th? Actually it was you remember the day I'm like let's do I do remember because it was a life changing day for me. Let's hear about it. So you know I I was there for about 11 years and uh made my way from a sales executive through the management ranks and was senior vice president of operations and we sold that business to the Send it corporation in 2001 and it was a great run and it was my you know introduction to the industry. We were a small pure play publicly traded company and then from there I went over to Starwood Hotels and Resorts and I helped lead the sales and marketing for their vacation ownership division which is where I met Matt Averill who is our CEO here at Marriott. That was a really great time for me because it gave me the opportunity to work with a true branded company and we learned how to be great stewards of the St. Regis and the Sheraton and the Weston brands and so that's something that has really been meaningful as I've I've made my way over to Marriott and of course the great brands that we have here at Marriott with you know, again Weston, Sheraton, St. Regis, but then a few others uh you know Marriott, Rich Carlton, et cetera and then I had a couple of stops uh along the way outside the industry. I was the CEO of a company called Land Resource for a few years, which was a second home recreational development company. We sold home sites and homes in you know retirement community second home destinations. I also served as the chief executive officer as you mentioned in your lead-in with the Hornblower Group, which is the world's largest marine uh transportation company. And that's where I actually was when when Matt reached out uh and and I joined the company here. So yeah, back at it doing what I uh feel like I grew up doing and thrilled to be here at Marriott. Fantastic. And obviously one of the reasons I wanted to mention that is Hornblower Group focused on experiences and knowing that your background even more deeply was in the timeshare and the accommodation space to begin with, you can see there's a real camaraderie here. This is day one of the conference and clearly everyone many people know each other, they go back, you have deeper relationships and that's obviously what makes coming to a conference like this so special. Now given your role at Marriott, you've also been coming to Arta before so this is not your first time coming to an Arta conference. So tell us a little bit more about your involvement in Arta and what brought you this year. Well yeah yeah you're right I mean for many years um more than I'd like to like to maybe say but I think I've been doing this for about 27 years or something. And yeah I've been probably the 25 of these I would say and I've been in all different capacities. I've you know served on the executive committee for, you know, I think eleven years when I was CEO at Diamond Resorts and uh I also uh you know have uh been here like I am now just as a participant enjoy. Well and one of the things you would have seen over that time is how this space has evolved which is uh new for me and for many of our listeners and it's one of the things I wanted to to dive into is that you've seen this space evolve and that was something that Jared was just talking about with his experience at Westgate and I'm very keen to get Marriott's view on this because so many of our listeners know the Marriott brand, know the premium collection that you offer and the different brands within the Marriott group. Tell us a little bit about Marriott's journey in the timeshare space and your involvement specifically obviously Marriott Vacations worldwide with being here for a conference like this and the importance for your organization to be a part of the Arta community. Yeah well look I mean I think many of your listeners may not know but Marriott Vacations Worldwide was originally founded by Marriott International and uh several years ago it spun off into a pure play publicly traded company standalone publicly traded company and it has operated that way you know for probably the last 15 years or so. And so from ARTA's standpoint, you know Marriott has always been a top-tier supporter of ARTA and all of the great legislative work that Jason and his team do and all the things that you know a trade association would do, you know, Marriott fully supports. We're really grateful that Jared Saft is going to be taken over you know as the chairman uh the uh industry is certainly going to be in great hands under his stewardship. Well one of the things I was asking Jared about but I'm really keen to ask you specifically given Marriott Vacations Worldwide and specifically the Ritz Carlton Club. So given the history of a brand like Westgate which you know Orlando and the start of the whole timeshare space affordability was key. And so that was a a big driver and he was telling us about how forty percent of their uh owners are millennials and it's accessible to them and that's one of the things that's wonderful about this industry. Now one of the big trends though is being luxury travel. And so when I look at the collection that you offer including the St. Regis Residence Club tell us a little bit about with the whole theme of this being around how today's timeshares have become more relevant to the modern traveler and it how outdated the concept is of what people perceive timeshares to be when you started in this industry. So tell us specifically about the luxury offering and when you think about Ritz Carlton St. Regis, those are probably not the first brands that come to mind when you think of timeshare but this is actually a big industry and a rapidly growing space and especially in the luxury segment as well.

Luxury Flexibility Across Marriott And Hyatt

33:32

Sure. Yeah look I mean you know you mentioned you know Westgate who's you know probably in the mid-tier on the brand bar and you know you have the upper upscale tier that you know you're talking about the Westons and you're talking about you know some of the other players out there, uh Hilton Grand Vacations that live in that space. And then you have the luxury you know which is where you would find you know the rich Carlton and the St. Regis, right? And so really to answer your question, I would go back and and I would say this industry has evolved because of the points product. And as the fixed week nature of this business has kind of moved to the side and the points has evolved what we have found is is we have found an added level of flexibility meaning that when you have a points currency you actually have the ability to pick and choose what brand you want to use your points for, what size accommodation you want to use your points for. And if you don't want to stay a full week you actually can get your change back. So you actually use it like a currency and you actually have the ultimate flexibility. And so what we've been focused on for the owners at Marriott and the owners at Hyatt is we've been focused on curating some higher level packages that are tied to multi-week stays that are giving them the ability if they reach these certain loyalty tiers to have flexibility like they've never had before within our system. And what we see is is we see the ability because of the demographic of the Marriott customer, because of the quality of our brands and because of the service that we provide at our resorts, we see the ability to take these points and package up what would have been a Rich Carlton Club or a or a St. Regis residences type offering. And we're talking about from the hospitality side we're talking about from the price point and we're talking about from the customer experience. So that's kind of where we're headed as a company to really look after the owners and the customer journey and making sure that we do everything with an eye towards the lifetime value of our owner. Mike I find it really interesting the luxury side of the portfolio and I appreciate you sharing some of those insights about St. Regis and Ritz Carlton one of the things I'm also keen to ask you is even like upper luxury because you have Hyatt Vacation Club as part of the portfolio as well. Tell us a little bit about that program. Yeah no Hyatt listen Hyatt Vacation Club is an amazing brand and it has a longstanding following in the upper upscale area of the brand bar and we have got a great ownership base and tremendous resorts really from coast to coast in the Hyatt Vacation Club. It was actually as I have gone around and had the opportunity to travel and really get out and see our resorts and and meet our teams it's probably been the biggest surprise. You know I knew you know coming in about Marriott Vacation Club I knew about Weston Vacation Clubs, Sheritan Vacation Club, you know, St. Regis Residence Clubs I knew all that from my days at Starwood. I didn't know a lot about Hyatt Vacation Club and I got to tell you it is spectacular and those owners are engaged. I've had the opportunity to spend a lot of time talking with the owners out by the pool you know when I have the opportunity to bump into them you know at the check-in and it is really heartwarming to see how engaged they are and to see our teams at Hyatt how engaged they are uh I can assure you our guest satisfaction scores are really high at those resorts. That's really fascinating on I know luxury hotels one of the key characteristics is being able to address personalization. We did a series on luxury hotels and that was the main focus of every hotel year that we spoke to was being able to personalize. And so clearly given the number of brands that you represent personalization within the different collections I would imagine is an important consideration. There's no question and also segmentation right because they all represent you know a little different demographic they all have their own brand identity and that's absolutely right and and we're blessed to have a brand bar like none other here at Marriott Vacations and Hyatt Vacation Club. One of the things we haven't talked about yet in this episode is flexibility. We talked about loyalty and I'm keen to ask you about that keen to talk about personalization and how uh technology is also meeting those needs. So those are obviously important topics but one of the things we definitely haven't covered is flexibility being a big theme in travel. How does that show up for you when it comes to the owners in particular? Sure. Well there there are a lot of different opportunities within our system and our points product that as I said earlier, you know you can pick and choose the size accommodation you want. You can pick and choose for as little or as long as you want to stay you're not tied into a particular week but then in addition to that you have the ability to m use your points to convert over to Marriott Bonvoy points and use at any of Marriott International's hotels around the world. You have the flexibility of using your points to take cruises you have the flexibility of using your points to buy airfare. So when you think about one of our owners they think holistically from the standpoint of not only is this my accommodation, but this is also my travel partner as well. So it's really a one-stop shop with our customer service and being able to handle the lodging being able to handle the events and the experiences that they may want to enjoy while they're there and then also of course the travel and how they get there. Well the Marriott Bonvoy points is a perfect example of and I mentioned this in our previous discussion that one of the CEOs that sold his company to Marriott called out the fact that many travelers won't actually book with someone that doesn't offer Marriott Bonvoy points. So like people staying so loyal to that to that network and to their points. So obviously that's a huge competitive advantage that you have but uh clearly there's a lot more from Marriott group to be able to leverage in this space. So tell us a little bit more I guess from the owner's point of view as you were highlighting because we haven't dived into that in any great detail yet is that we've talked about the consumer and why the consumer would choose but you're specifically calling out the owners and the and the loyalty program and how it benefits them. Could you explain that a little bit further well let's start with you know we've got 7000 families slash individuals that own our product right they were all were originally sourced as a loyal Marriott bondboy member. Right. And that's how they became an owner interest to begin with. So the affinity to that Marriott brand is really what built Marriott vacations worldwide into the powerhouse that it is you know within the industry. But the second part of your question as it relates to the owners look from my purview and my seat it's all about the owners everything that I do is about the lifetime value, it's about the customer journey it's about making sure that we over deliver and we give back more than they bargain

Inner Circle Dream Trips Owner Focus

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for. Case in point, on the 22nd of June we're gonna launch our experiential platform here at Marriott Vacations worldwide and that's going to be called Inner Circle and Inner Circle is going to be an amazing experiential platform franchise whatever you want to refer to it as and it's going to have four main verticals within it's going to have live headline musical entertainment, it's going to have culinary food and wine it's going to have sports and entertainment and then it's gonna have television personalities and reality TV. And so the idea behind this is that when our 7000 members and owners travel to give them the opportunity to experience while they're on their vacation the opportunity to walk in and see Chris Harrison the longtime host of The Bachelor and the Bachelorette sitting there with the roses and a bachelor on one side of him and a winner of the bachelorette on the other side and engaging our audience and allowing them the opportunity to talk about what really happened that night when it was just down to two people. Was that scripted reality TV or did they really not like each other? And our owners love that sort of thing. The 22nd of June we're going to kick off in Orlando Florida with Lee Bryce uh you know ACM you know CMA you know nominated country singer had multiple number ones and we'll have the 2004 Boston Red Sox the 1999 Yankees and everything in between so this this is the kind of thing when I think about giving back to the owners and I think about creating more if you will for than what they bargained for throughout the customer journey this is the kind of thing that we're bringing. And look at the end of the day sure we're in business and we're a for a for-profit business and the idea is is that we want to extend the owner and we want them to stay in our system longer than they are today and we want the opportunity to earn more of their wallet share. But in order to do that, we have to deliver first. Yeah. Well there's a lot there that you've just shared that I want to I want to dive a little deeper into what the owner's experiences actually are. And one of the things that you highlighted obviously is launching the new experiences platform. But given that the background which I think is really you just want to underscore that the the Marriott Bonvoy members becoming owners and choosing to be not only loyal to the program but also now becoming owners that shift many of our listeners this is you know the number one B2B podcast globally there's a lot of people who are avid travelers that might actually be intrigued by this to actually figure out that wait a second, I didn't really realize it could be an owner they haven't made that connection yet. Tell us what's what what's in it for them, if you wouldn't mind sharing a little bit from an owner's point of view that when you start to market to them and present the opportunity, what are owners looking for and why do you guys think that you're you are at the leading edge of that? Sure. Well the product at its core is designed for folks that are already tied in and have an affinity to the brands, right? Yeah they're already a Marriott Bonvoy member that can see themselves wanting to travel around the world we have 120 resorts around the world in our offering and our offerings Allow them to stay in a one-bedroom or two-bedroom. So envision a 12 to 1,500 square foot suite, full kitchens, you know, multiple bedrooms so that the kids can go. Mom and dad can actually have a little privacy, you know, while they're on vacation. But at the core of it, it's about hedging inflation. What our owners do is they make a purchase today to lock in at today's prices. And as inflation grows and as prices increase, they will be locked in forever at where on the continuum they bought their ownership. And then as they go out and they use their ownership, and then ultimately as they leave it to their children and their grandchildren to enjoy out into the future, that was all locked in at the original day they made the purchase. So this is a use product. And if you use this product, the economics work beautifully. And that's what our owners are looking for. They're looking for to hedge inflation, they're looking for the opportunity to get involved today and lock in their price and then have a lifetime of vacations at today's prices. Another thing I'm really keen to ask you, there's so much here that, you know, given the global portfolio that you offer, we're having this conversation in Vegas at Arta, and clearly half of our listeners are in the U.S., but the rest are global. I'm keen, if you wouldn't mind sharing, Mike, from an owner's point of view, how many are outside of the U.S.? And is that a major growth opportunity for you, or is most of the growth still coming from the U.S. market? Aaron Powell Well, the U.S. market is certainly a significant piece of our business, but we have a wonderful international offering, and our international business actually has been the fastest growing new first-time buyer segment of our business for several years. And we have amazing offerings in Thailand, Singapore, Australia, London, and Spain, the Casa del Sol region of Spain, Marbella. So I mean, our offerings internationally are as fine as you could ever find anywhere. So it's not just North America Central. Yeah. Well, I'm getting a good understanding of what brought you back to this industry and this role, and I'm excited for you. I guess one of the things I also want to talk about is what the future looks like. And we were having this conversation in 2026, and the focus here in Arta, very much on technology and as I mentioned, some things like personalization. I would love to get your take on what's ahead for Marriott Worldwide and some of the either new properties or the additional new initiatives either you're going to announce here or over the course of the year. Sure. Well, let's start with let's focus on the on the owner, because to me, that's what I wake up and go to bed thinking about every day, as we've talked about extensively. On May 1st, we rolled out a significant refresh to our current owner loyalty levels. And in addition to that, we looked at the data, and the data showed us that forty percent of our inventory resided in our top two loyalty tiers, which really screams that we have loyal brand followers that would like to have more, and they would, if they had the aspiration, and we provided them the opportunity through features and benefits to continue to buy more and travel more with us, that they would do so. And I'm proud to tell you we launched two new um owner loyalty levels, one called Reserve and one called Pinnacle, uh, above what's what was the highest level for the last 12 or 15 years here that was called Chairman's. And the outpouring of support from the owners has just been unbelievable to those new loyalty tiers. Uh later this month, we're gonna roll out our Marriott Dream Vacations program, which is going to give purchasers the opportunity through a curated pre-packaged offering, the opportunity as a thank you for them making a decision to either buy with us for the first time or potentially buy more from us. They'll have the opportunity to maybe go to Orlando for five days and four nights, then take a car service at our basically we do it for them, VIP all the way over to Cape Canaveral, which is about an hour drive, and then we'll put them on a seven-day, six night Western Caribbean cruise. Nice. Another example would be um as a thank you, yeah, you have a 10-day dream vacation in Hawaii, you got five days on the island of Maui, you got five days on the island of Oahu, includes two round trip airline tickets to get you over there, includes, you know, all of the trimmings when you get there, the whale watching trip, the snorkel trip, you know, the authentic luau. So that's just a couple of examples of these Marriott Dream vacations that we're gonna be launching later this month. And then as I said earlier, on the 22nd of June, we're gonna be launching our inner circle experiential franchise, all of those designed to give back to the owner. Fantastic. And obviously, we're gonna make sure everyone can find out more information to connect with you and the team. But just before we do, with being here together at the Arta conference, what are some of the things that you personally benefit from being here at this conference? Clearly, you're back amongst your network. We saw that before we uh sat down. These are a lot of long-standing friendships. There's a lot of networking opportunities, but are there other sessions, given that you are around some of your competitors? Sure. There's obviously some knowledge sharing and learning from each other. What are some of the other benefits of being at a conference like uh like Arta? And what are what are you hoping to get from it? Sure. Well, look, there's a tremendous that you can get from tremendous tremendous amount, excuse me, that you can get from it. I mean, number one, you said it, you know, there's 30 years of relationships walking around here, some with our competitors, some with us. So it's an opportunity to see folks. It's an opportunity to take a minute and sit down and, you know, answer a few questions, pick their brain about maybe some of the things they don't talk about publicly, and maybe we share a few things that we're able to share that is certainly, you know, uh allowed to be shared as a public company. And I think that those relationships are great. I think that, you know, this this conference is great for the vendors. There's a huge number of vendors that support this industry, that spend money to come here to be a part of this, to have the opportunity to talk with our team members and monetize the return on their spend. And I think that that is something that uh has grown here at the convention that I think all of the developers enjoy and you know have the opportunity to get things from. And then finally, look, I mean, it it's another platform to tell our story. I mean, I just finished uh Matt Averill and I just finished doing our earnings call last Tuesday. We're a publicly traded company. That was followed by going to New York for a couple days and doing a non-deal roadshow for analysts and investors. But we don't always have the opportunity to talk to folks like yourself, travel trends, and you know, others that are here. So it's an opportunity to tell our story maybe outside of our core business, which is a great thing because there's a lot of people, only 6% of the eligible households own vacation ownership, which is fascinating because we are a direct marketed and direct sold product, right? Not a lot of people wake up and go, you know, honey, let's go down and buy a timeshare, right? So the more we can get the message and the more we can get the word out, in particular in these branded companies where there's already an affinity to the brand, it's great exposure. So thank you. Yeah, no, absolutely. And exceptionally well said, Mike. And I think that's certainly going to be one of the benefits of this conversation is the fact that there's thousands of people, tens of thousands of people that don't even realize how significant an opportunity is, and it's right there in front of them. And the industry has changed so much. So I think this is gonna do a lot to change perceptions. I also think the experiences side of this, which you've alluded to with this newcoming launch, is gonna be massive for this space. So the fact that there is so much interest and growing demand, I'm really excited for you and the team on the future. On that note, let's make sure that all of our listeners can connect with you or the rest of the team. So, what would be the best ways to do that? And of course, make sure that as you are having this conversation, that everyone's checking out Marriott Vacationsworldwide.com. Of course. Um, but what yeah, what would be some of the ways to connect with you and the team? Sure. I'm I'm very engaged uh on social media. I have a very active community and I, you know, personally enjoy um connecting. And I am the vacation doctor. You can find me at uh Instagram, you can find me at uh at X, or or you can find me as Mike Flasky uh on Instagram. And uh, you know, look, I'm very engaged. Uh I I yes I do answer the direct messages, and yes, I do 99% of my own post. And uh so look, I'll enjoy engaging with your listeners. Awesome. Well, I'm already we're already connected on LinkedIn, but you're gonna see uh follow request coming very shortly for the Vacation Doctor on your Instagram. I look forward to following all your updates, and I'm obviously you know, even the next couple of days getting some more time together in some of the sessions. But I appreciate making time for this and I look forward to keeping in touch. My pleasure. Thank you for having me.

Hilton Ultimate Access At Scale

53:16

I saw him on stage yesterday and it was fantastic. So I'm honored to have the privilege to be able to sit down with him now. But he is also the chief operating officer at Hilton Grand Vacations, and he's been coming to this event for more than 35 years, so it's amazing. So, Gordon, welcome to Travel Trends. I'm excited to be here. Thank you so much for having me on today. Absolutely. I know there's so much that our audience is going to be able to learn from you. And speaking to your team, given the focus on experiences, is a perfect place to have you as part of this conversation. But I realize you can talk to all of it. You can talk to today's timeshare, experiences, and even technology. And so we'll touch on a number of things, but we're really focused on experiences. But tell everyone a little bit, Gordon, about your background in the timeshare space, because I know you've been in this industry for more than 40 years and you've had kind of two big careers in your life. But tell us a little bit about your background and what got you into this space. Well, uh, much like many of the people you would talk to, it was kind of an accident in the first place. I uh was looking for a job when I was in college and I ended up working in a call center at a company called RCI, uh, which happens to be one of the biggest exchange companies in the industry. Uh they recruited me out of college after that, and uh I thought I'd be there for a couple years, but you you know, once you're in this industry, you learn to love it. It's all about hospitality, it's all about travel, you see the world. Next thing I know, I was there for 31 years. I spent about the last 10 years there as president of RCI before I was wooed over to Hilton Grand Vacations to be the chief operating officer there, right after we spun public. Fantastic. Great ride. That's fantastic. And I know you're originally from Indiana. You've got some connections to New Jersey and New York, but now you live in beautiful Orlando, is that right? With the timeshare capital of the world and the home of every theme park there is. Absolutely, yeah. What a great place to be based. And so tell us a little bit more about your role at Hilton Grand Vacations. Well, so as chief operating officer, I'm in charge of a few things. So the club uh and all the servicing for our members. We have about 720,000 members at Hilton Grand Vacations. Um, and we do a great job servicing. That team is really uh really expert at what they do. Uh resort operations, we have a little over 200 resorts across our network, and they deliver great and high inspired hospitality to those members when they're showing up every day. Um, and then our direct marketing, everything that we do to bring people in, help them understand what timeshare is all about, and give them an opportunity to become a member. One thing I'd also like to discuss is your role and involvement with ARTA, especially given that you're part of the board. And then I want to discuss the role that Hilton Grand Vacation has with ARTA as well. But tell us a little bit about your background with ARTA and joining their board. Well, I've been honored to be on the board for ARTA for a long time. Um, and ARTA is really the industry association that represents all the timeshare companies in this space, um, here in the United States specifically. They do work with Europe and a little bit with Mexico also, and they do a few different things. They help advocate for the industry in general when there's legislation. It's a state-regulated industry, and there's a lot of things that happen on a state-by-state level, and they do most of that work for our industry, you know, kind of pulling all of us together, as well as really advocating for timeshare and educating, you know, really everyone out there in the U.S. about what is timeshare, what are the benefits of being a timeshare owner, and really what is that lifetime of memories as a family you can build if you're a timeshare owner, and why is that different from just staying in a hotel? And then with your Hilton Grand Vacations hat on, tell us about their involvement in Arta and obviously your role as CEO being here at this event. Yeah. So Hilton Grand Vacations is a little over 30 years old. It's been a member of ARTA its whole uh time that's it been in existence. Uh we are the largest timeshare company uh in Arta and the largest timeshare company here in the United States. And so, you know, we're just one of the major groups that work with Arta and help them really uh you know move their mission forward. Well, one thing I'd like to ask you, given your experience and expertise, is around today's timeshare. And of course, we had an episode on that, uh, which was our very first of this three-part series, but I'd love to get your take on that too, Gordon, and then we'll get into the experiences. But tell us a little bit of how timeshares have evolved and changed in the last 10 to 20 years and what and what today's timeshare looks like. And I know experience is a big part of it, but I'd love to get your overall take on where the industry is today. Well, that's a great question because I think a lot of people really don't actually understand what timeshare really looks like today. I think people think of timeshare like it looked 30 years ago. Right. When I first started in this industry, it was really, you know, you bought Unit 204 for the 14th week of the year, and that's what you owned. Yeah. And that's why there were exchange companies, because if you couldn't go that week or you wanted to go someplace slightly differently, you had to bank it with an exchange company, you had to search in that exchange company, find something that someone else had banked and trade through that to get really that kind of flexibility. Yeah. You know, what's happened over the last 20 or 30 years, and Hilton Grand Vacations is a great example of that. You know, from that one property we started with in 1992, we're now at 200 properties across the US, Canada, Mexico, Europe, and Japan. And that really gives us breadth where people can actually go to any of those resorts. You typically now, instead of buying an individual unit, you buy uh you buy in a resort, but that gives you a set of points, and then you can use those points to travel every year across any of those properties. So for us, they can go across those 200 properties. They can use the points to maybe do, you know, if you own a one-bedroom or a two-bedroom, I can maybe do a couple studios and take two vacations a year. I can save points or I can borrow my points and I can go to a bigger unit if I want that penthouse unit this year, because I'm doing a big family reunion. And then with us, because of our relationship with Hilton, if you want to go somewhere we don't happen to have a property, let's say you want to go to Asia for that once-in-a-lifetime vacation, you can trade in for Hilton Honors points. You can travel to Asia and stay in a great Hilton hotel somewhere in Asia. And then we also even offer things like travel services. You want to do a cruise or you want to get some airplane tickets with your points, you can use your points, convert them into use, and do those kind of things. So it really has much more flexibility than it used to have. And I think it's something people don't really understand about the product these days. For sure. And I'm glad you mentioned flexibility. It's one of the things that uh Mike Flaske from Marriott Vacations Worldwide had highlighted about how it's evolved. So obviously that's an important element. The other part that you mentioned, too, that is consistent and really important for our listeners to understand is loyalty programs and just how actually even the genesis of some of these timeshare opportunities are connected to the membership databases that then choose to take up a timeshare and become an owner. And is that also part of what uh Hilton Grand Vacations has done to bring people into the program? It is. We're a licensee of Hilton. We have a long, long, long relationship with Hilton. We used to be a subsidiary of theirs before we became our own public company uh in 2017. And um, you know, that creates a you know really interesting tie. We follow their brand standards, we and a lot of the things that come with Hilton. So if you're a Hilton loyalist and you really love that brand and it's you know your preferred hotel stay, then you know there's a certain amount of trust in coming and staying with us, and you can get you know stays with us that are very similar to what you would get across the Hilton Hotel Network, and you get access to that Hilton Hotel Network. Yeah. No, that's great. I know I wanted to make that connection for our listeners, especially before we go into the topic of experiences, and I know how significant that is given you've got this new ultimate access platform, and it's really interesting to hear that that is one of the biggest trends. We've talked about technology as well in our next episode is about AI and technology and how that's changing the industry. But really, it comes back to the guest experience. Everything comes back to the guest experience and making sure that you're delighting the owners and that they're having great experiences when they're traveling. And we know now more than ever that it's experiences over things. That's what people are seeking. So they want a great resort, they want a great accommodation experience, but they also want to do something unique, exciting while they're there. So tell us a little bit about how Hilton Grand Vacations has been leaning into experiences. Aaron Powell Well, this for me, I think, is the next evolution of timeshare. I I think what really differentiated timeshare early on was all the extra space, the bedrooms, the kitchen, those things you don't normally get in a regular hospitality stay. But to your point, I think when you look at the new generations that are traveling, uh, you know, where you sleep and the space that you have, that's important, but those are just almost table states now. Right. So it's really about what can I put on social media, you know, what can I show you know my friends and family that I'm doing. It's about those bespoke experiences. It's not even just the experience, it's having experiences that other people can't easily have. Right. Yes. And you know, we've to you to your point, we have you know Hilton Home Graduacation's Ultimate Access, and that's our experiences platform and what we use with our member base. And as part of being an owner, we build those programs, we build those experiences and give our owners the opportunity to do that. We do almost 4,000 a year, so virtually every day we're doing one across those 200 properties. And it's everything from it might be uh you know a dinner where you're with other owners, maybe have a chef's dinner uh with special wine tasting, to uh private concerts where you know it is literally someone coming in, a name you might know, like a Tucker Wetmore or a BB Rexa or someone like that, in a private concert for our owners. Um, to F1 here in Las Vegas. We uh take Alara, our largest timeshare property we have. It's about 1,300 rooms. It's right on Harmon and Las Vegas Boulevard, right on the turn, heading back into the paddock. We build up over 400 foot-long viewing platform right on the track. We run three concerts while we're there. We give everyone food and beverage and the ability to see all the practices and that great race, and you know, that comes as part of your ownership. You have the opportunity to do that. Or our tournament of champions in Orlando, where we do it's the first LPGA um tournament of the year, and it's only for champions that have won in the last two years, so it's a no-cut uh PGA tournament. So you get to see some great ladies' golf, and then we also have a whole set of about 50 celebrities that come and play, and it's a great time. We do concerts, and you know, it's a lot of fun on the 18th hole, and uh our owners really love it. I'm really glad you mentioned F1 because uh Jason Gammel, who obviously is a good friend and colleague, uh the president's CEO, who we started off this uh three-part series with, he spoke on stage yesterday about bringing his girls, he refers to him as himself as a girl dad, because he's got two daughters, and then mentioned about how one of them loves F1 and one of them loves Vegas, and it was a perfect trip for them. And I also spoke to Catherine, who's the senior vice president at Arta, and she was there for that event as well, and it was what she called out at the end of episode one was a huge highlight for her. And so obviously, you guys have been very intentional about leaning into experiences. What inspired you to get into that experiential travel in the first place? Well, I think we always really lived for sort of inspired hospitality with our owners, and we're always trying to do something a little more than you might see at any other company out there. And creating ultimate access was really that next step. How do you really do something truly bespoke, something that is truly unique for those owner bases? And you just saw more and more people wanted experiences, and it's just built over the years bigger and bigger and bigger as we've gone, and it's great response from all of our owners. Um, you know, we we do, I think, more experiences than any other timeshare company uh out there today, and we're gonna just keep doing more and make it even bigger

Bass Pro Outdoors And Member Feedback

1:04:05

than it is today. Well, let's talk about some of the other partnerships that you have as well, because I think you know, we've got this great global brand that people are familiar with, and that gives you the opportunity and the the leverage in many ways to partner with other great brands that are gonna be a perfect fit for your owners and a clientele. I know Bass Pro Shops is one of your recent companies you've partnered with. Tell us about some of the new partnerships and some of these new experiences you're looking to introduce. And we had recently bought a company called Blue Green Resorts, and that already had a relationship with Bass Pro, so it came into our fold. And uh Bass Pro is a great company. I mean, I'm sure you're very familiar with it. I'm sure a lot of your listeners are familiar with it. It it matches us beautifully because you know going into a Bass Pro store is is an experience. I mean, I I know I I I have two daughters, I'm a girl dad. Um and I used to go to the one in New Jersey when I lived up there. We would just go to spend an afternoon, to be perfectly honest. You've got the fish tanks, the fishing, you know, you can try out a you know uh archery set. It's it's an amazing place. I think it fits nicely. And then obviously having the Hilton brand in those stores to give people the opportunity to take a vacation with us and come to understand what our brand is is a great fit. So BassPro has been a great partner. We also uh have a joint venture with them and at their resort in Big Cedar in Branson. We have uh four properties there that we offer, uh, over 400 uh rooms, I think, there at this point in time. And if you've never been to Big Cedar, it's a it's an amazing facility. I think they have over five golf courses now um and just some absolutely beautiful restaurants and beautiful experiences that they do there. So it's a great partnership and a really good fit with where we're taking our co. Yeah, and I think that's a great example. And when when I was uh speaking to uh to Mike and talking about some of the programs they were implementing with Sports Illustrated and some of these brands that people wouldn't even necessarily realize about this industry, the partnerships that exist, because they just know Bass Pro Shops, then they see Hilton Grand Vacations and the stars align, and that's the sort of trip they want to do. When you're looking at creating new partnerships and new experiential travel, what are you looking for? How much, I guess, data or insights are you looking from your existing customers as far as what you venture into? Because clearly some people are into sports, some people are into cooking and culinary, people are into adventure, and obviously you're trying to suit all these different traveler profiles. What are some of the decisions that you what what are some of the factors in your decision making about who to partner with and where to expand? Well, I would say that's probably a two-part answer. Let's talk about experiences first. With all of our owners, when they go on our experiences, we we routinely surveyed them on the back. We asked them about what they're interested in, which ones did they like more, which one did they like less. And we let that kind of be our guide. Uh, you know, we've evolved the concert series a great deal over the last few years because we heard they wanted to mix up different music types and have an opportunity different kind of music types. So we've blended in some other things that we hadn't done in the past based on that. We started doing more, taking people to sports uh events like going to a baseball game or going to a football game, getting a suite, having somebody come in and talk, a retired player or something like that, because people said they were very interested in that. We really let our members guide us on what they want to do, what they're interested in doing, or things they would love to do. They've never been able to figure out how to do that we can give them that opportunity. When it comes to the marketing side, it's really more about you know, how do they fit together? Bath Pro is a great example. They're very much about outdoors. We're moving more and more towards outdoor experiences. You know, how do they how does it fit in hospitality? How does it align? We partner with Alaska Airlines, uh, same sort of thing. You know, someone who's, you know, an airline, they people have to have a place to stay. So it's a natural fit for us to partner together and find ways to do alignment. Uh we work with a lot of the cruise companies. It's a very similar thing. It's a very experiential stay on a cruise ship, which is very similar to what we do. So just people who have customers who are invested in travel, invested in hospitality, kind of invested in that making lifetime memories with their family, those are always great fits. And uh and we love to work back and forth. We have our 720,000 members that we can offer you know benefits into their program and vice versa. Well, and I want to come back to that in a moment, just given the scale. And as you mentioned, the 200 resorts. One of the things I wanted to ask you, though, around the benefits for owners and members that they get access to exclusive events. So, as you mentioned, music concerts, obviously that's a great example. You mentioned also access, and that's something that is uh we're seeing more and more interest in having access to celebrities or um athletes. For example, we did an episode with Peekaboo Street, the great Olympian. And she was talking about she's doing these six events at the different World Cup uh races, and the three of the six you can ski with her and get tips and advice and be on the mountain with someone that's won gold medals, and that is such a unique experience. And I know that so having access is obviously one of the things that you're focusing on, but you've got this significant membership base. And I was when I was asking you about some of the types of experiences you're looking to introduce. You mentioned about the blue-green acquisition, which of course, then the Bass Pro partnership. But one of the things that stood out to me about that is you know, we've seen a big rise in wellness and outdoor focused travel. And so I'd love to ask you a little bit about that because I'm assuming that a lot of the owners, especially younger, they're prioritizing nature and the outdoors. And how are you responding to those trends? Well, first of all, I do think that space is exploding, which is uh I'm a big hiker, so I I love this. I think that's a great fit. Um, yeah, when you think of our 200 properties, actually a little over 140 of them either that have access to a beach or some outdoor nature to them. And you know, we're just really thinking that's where you're going to see a big trend over the next 10 to 15 years. And that ability to kind of reconnect, if you think about the world today, it's it's very about the electronics. I know this is funny when I'm sitting here on a podcast, but um I think people are trying to reconnect again with nature and get out and you know, you know, see the real world, so to speak. And having that ability to go hiking, we have resorts in Sedona, or you know, that ability to learn to surf on the beach in Hawaii. We have resort in Maui, which is a great opportunity to do that. Even kite surfing, it's one of the best kite surfing locations in the world, right across the street from our resort. You know, those kind of things, that outdoor experience, it's just part of that whole idea of experiences and just doing things that people haven't done, having that great experience. And of course, coming back to electronics, being able to put that on social media and show everyone all the great things that they've been able to do and learn and try. Yeah, for sure. It was actually one of the things that Jason mentioned at the end of his presentation, and we highlighted in episode one is this push to go time sharing, share on social media the amazing experiences. And one of the stats that Catherine shared at the end of the first episode was 73% of new timeshare owners are millennials. And so that's a staggering number. I mean, when we started the episode one, we had Jared sharing that Westgate is 40%, but obviously it's that much higher. So tell us a little bit, if you wouldn't mind, about focusing on a younger demographic, because I've obviously they're the ones that are going to gravitate to these experiences, especially surfing and other amazing opportunities to do wellness and adventure and active travel. Well, I think that's also part of why you're seeing that you know, millennial generation, hey, they're getting a little older, so they have a little more disposable income. But you know, I think they're very attracted to that. And and that's actually somewhat the perfect age to kind of coming into timesharing. You know, if you've got a couple kids, I I have two daughters who are in their 20s now. I mean, because I've always worked in this industry, they've always stayed in timeshare units. That ability to have that second bedroom and have a kitchen for breakfast and be able to have some breakfast there and and put your kids to sleep and still be able to watch a little TV without having to go to sleep yourself, you know, those are great attractions. And so if you've got younger kids and you've got 20 years of vacationing in front of you, I mean the timeshare product is a perfect product, and melding that with experiences, I think, is just really attracting that demographic into the timeshare industry these days. And talking a little bit about going forward, given the privileged position you sit in, both with your CO role for the largest uh timeshare company globally, and also your role in the industry being on the board, I'd love to get your take on where it's headed and specifically the markets or destinations that you're most excited about going forward.

AI Personalization And Where Timeshare Goes

1:12:02

Oh, that's that's always a tough one. People always you know ask me what are the most you know, my favorite destination. My favorite destination is the one I haven't been to yet. I get to go to next. But uh, we've got a property that's opening in Waikiki and you know this fall that I think is going to be probably our the most spectacular property we've built. I'm very excited about that. We've been in Japan now for about 20 years. And then we're actually just opened our third property in Japan. We have about 75,000 member families over there. Um, and uh, I'm very excited about the growth we're gonna see in Asia and what's happening there and uh just the continued expansion that we have. And one thing I want to ask you on that note is that when you're expanding globally, people have an expectation of a consistent service level that they should come to expect. So you obviously have to make uh very uh informed decisions about who to partner with and then making sure the property is ready and the experiences are ready for your owners and members. Tell us a little bit how you actually make sure that that experience is consistent, especially when you're introducing new destinations around the world. Well, hey, we have a great team. The team is spectacular. We have this ethos of what we call inspired hospitality, which is really about you know going above and beyond um with our members. We really understand this as a club, these are people who've invested in these vacations. And you know, we we do move people around a lot that helps you know continue to move around some of that culture, but it's just such what we live and breathe every day across the 22,000 team members that we have. And um, you know, I think it's really, in some senses, uh, you know, one of our core strengths as a company. And and you really see it happen. You get these great notes from owners about you know something that someone did for them, you know, they left the room and they came back and someone forgot their teddy bear, and they see all these pictures of where their teddy bear's been before it got sent home to them for their kids, and you know, the the dressed up towels, or if it's someone's anniversary, we'll dress the room up before they come for their anniversary if we happen to know it. And you know, the teams are great at doing that, and we really reinforce that we do that. We reward when they do that, and you really see that come out then in the owner comments on the back end. Well, as we sit here together at the end of day two in Las Vegas at the Bellagio at the Arta Conference, this is, as our listeners have come to know, my first time at the conference. I've been immensely impressed by the sessions, the caliber of the speakers, and also just you know, being a first-timer to this conference, how much or how little I knew about this industry, even though I had prepared and read my notes and now have had a number of really fascinating interviews. I would love if you wouldn't mind to share with our global listeners about what brings you back to Arta and this event each year. Clearly, you've got the board role, you've got your important industry role, but I'm sure there's certain personal motivations staying connected to the industry. But tell us for our global listeners that be intrigued in getting involved in Arta, what brings you back and what have been some of the highlights from this year? Well, as I said on stage yesterday, you know, it's really coming together as an industry, sharing challenges, sharing ideas, sharing thoughts, and you know, just understanding what everyone else is doing. And having been in this industry this long, I've made lifelong friends that I don't often see other than at this event from around the world. And um, you know, as with everything, it's amazing when you get together and start talking. You share a lot of the same challenges, you share a lot of the same opportunities, and it really gives everybody a chance to get re-energized, understand where we're going as an industry and how we can continue to evolve the industry and stay really ahead of what are those trends and what is the next thing that we need to be working on. Well, one of the things we've been talking about, and it'll be part of our next episode, is technology. And so that has been a big focus of the sessions, and Jason talked about that at the beginning with AI and the Arta intelligence that you've seen announced at this conference. In terms of where this conference really has evolved this year, is there any other standouts for you in terms of the content and where you think ARTA is headed in terms of the sessions and the themes that they really need to be focused on to remain relevant and contemporary? Um, you know, it's always going to be about networking, I think, at ARTA. Technology is going to be the big thing. I think technology, you're seeing it change so fast. And artificial intelligence is, you know, it's a great tool, especially when you think about travel in general. Travel is a complicated process. You have to line up airline tickets, you have to line up where you're going to stay, you have to line up your experiences. There's a great opportunity in artificial intelligence to really help that planning process, both for our owners and just everyone out there in, you know, who's looking to travel or in the hospitality industry. It's going to transform who we are and it's going to create that next generation of opportunity for this industry and for the whole hospitality industry. I think that's going to be a lot of where the focus is. And then coming back to how do we bring that back to, you know, really that person-to-person connection. You know, when I think of experiences in this industry and what we all do so well, it is about creating that personal connection. You know, these, you know, these are clubs. That's, you know, we use that word for a reason because you know it's really bringing these people together into something they, you know, they build lifelong friendships. I've talked to owners who've met some of their best friends on their timeshare vacations and traveled together for 20 years through their ownership. That brings me back here year after year after year and just makes me energized when I talk to owners and just seeing where we can go as a whole industry and stay ahead of that and help those owners have those great experiences is what makes me come back every year. Well, it's terrific to see you on stage yesterday, and obviously wonderful to have the time to sit down with you now. Not only are you incredibly insightful, you really have a strong positive energy around you. And I think that's what stood out to me, seeing you on stage and then having the pleasure to be able to sit down with you now. And also one of the things then I'm keen to ask you was what keeps you motivated and excited about the industry? Clearly it's evolved considerably. And if anyway, if in many ways I think it's meeting the moment of the modern day traveler, especially the younger generation that has more of an interest in the sharing economy and being able to have different experiences, what keeps you so bullish and motivated about the industry? Well, as I said, I think it's about just seeing those those happy smiling people. When I wander when I wander around our resorts and I see all these people having these great experiences, and I come back and I think about you know my children who spent you know a lot of their formative years at these resorts, having vacations, you know, it just really brings it to life. And, you know, we as an industry have continued to evolve, we've changed significantly over the last 40 to 50 years this industry's been in existence. And it's always kind of in my mind been at the forefront of hospitality. And that's exciting. How do we keep reinventing ourselves? How do we keep reinventing Hilton Grant vacations? And how do we keep creating those lifetime of memories for all these families is just what motivates me and makes me extremely optimistic about this industry. Oh, that's great. And that's very clear about you. And obviously, that is the, you know, the for you, your values and the fact that it's ultimately about the guest and seeing people having the best time of their lives. So just to finish, I've got two last questions for you. The first one is where are you traveling to next? I've got to ask you that. And so even if that's within the collection or a new destination you're looking to explore with your family, what's what's next on your list? All right, well, I'm gonna give you two answers because you know the first one's easy. So we're here in Las Vegas, which is a you know wonderful place, but it's uh very bright, lots of lights, um, lots of casinos. I like to get back to nature a little bit on the back end of things like that. So my wife's coming out. We're gonna go hiking up in Zion and Bronx. That's beautiful next week. So that'll be a great experience, a great opportunity to do that. And then just in a few weeks, I'm gonna go see our new property in Japan in Kyoto. Um, and I've you know, I saw it before we did the renovation. Yeah, I've seen the pictures. It looks spectacular. And I don't know if you've ever been to Kyoto, but I have my favorite places in the world. Yeah, and I'm very excited to go and see the new property and uh and get a chance to experience Kyoto. It's awesome. I'm excited for you. Those are two very different but equally inspiring trips that you have ahead of you. So that's wonderful. I want to make sure all of our listeners, now that they've had a chance to meet you, Gordon, get to know more uh about the great work you're doing in the industry and specifically Hilton Grand Vacations. What are the best ways for people to reach out and connect with you after this interview? Well, probably the easiest thing is just to reach out to me on LinkedIn. Um, Gordon Gernick at Hilton Garden Vacations. Um, it's the easiest way to get hold of me. Fantastic. Well, it's a real pleasure to meet you, Gordon. Thanks for making the time for this and wishing you and the team every success in the year ahead. Well, I'm very excited to be here. Thank you so very much.