How Cloud and AI Are Shaping the Future of Resorts

Is technology reshaping vacation ownership as we know it? In this episode of Voices of Vacation Ownership, we sit down with a leading voice from SBI Software to explore how cloud systems, AI, and data analytics are transforming the way the industry operates — from smarter decision-making to seamless system integration and what the future holds for resort operators and owners alike.

Whether you're a vacation ownership executive, a resort developer, or simply curious about where the industry is heading, this conversation is one you don't want to miss.

Voices of Vacation Ownership is part of CRTA, Furthering vacation ownership in Canada and throughout the world. Learn more about CRTA and the benefits of being a member here: https://canadianrta.org/#

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:00

This episode is brought to you by Hamalakampane, the first vacation ownership project on the northern coast of Ecuador.

SPEAKER_00 0:13

This is Voices of Vacation Ownership, the only podcast where the vacation ownership industry's top executive is speaking openly about what's really driving the business forward. Hosted by Dave Hambin, president and CEO of the Canadian Resort and Travel Association. Each episode digs into the trends, challenges, and opportunities shaping our industry. One conversation at a time. Let's go.

SPEAKER_03 0:44

Hi everyone, I'm Gaitan Babin, and welcome to Voices of Accasian Ownership. It's the podcast where we speak with leaders shaping the future of our industry. Now, each episode focuses on ideas that help strengthen performance, partnerships, and the owner experience. Today I'm joined by Jesus Kalahora from SBI Software. It's a company that for over four decades has developed specialized management systems for vacation ownership resources around the world. Now, in our industry, where technology often operates behind the scenes, but increasingly the systems that power finance, operations, sales, owner services are becoming the true digital backbone of our growth.

SPEAKER_02 1:36

Thank you very much, Kaitan. It's the opposite. It's my pleasure to be here. Thank you for inviting me and uh to talk about all these topics that we love so much about this industry that it's evolving, evolving every single day. And what best way to say that it's evolving than through technology. So very looking forward for this conversation with you.

SPEAKER_03 1:56

Well, that's great. We've known each other for a long time, and uh it was a real pleasure to have you here today. And and you know what, you've got a great insight in the industry, so I'm really looking forward for our conversation. So I'm gonna get right into it. In an industry where people still, executives still view like management systems as back office tools. Why is that mindset really outdated?

SPEAKER_02 2:19

Um well, it has to be because of the way that it started, like 15-20 years ago. It was like that. It was like behind the scenes, and it was only used for you know to create reports and to close books and nothing to do like what we currently do do today. So that is why uh they're saying that it's outdated, which is not, but uh currently today it's way much different than what it used to be because now it's like a very strong pillar in order to make decisions, and uh you can really tell through technology if the company is growing smoothly or if it's struggling behind the scenes. So I believe this is why it's so important not to be uh outdated in this part of the data is important.

SPEAKER_03 3:07

Yeah, oh yeah, it's key. It's key. So I wrote this one down. So how does having the right enterprise infrastructure impact scalability, especially for developers operating under multiple properties and multiple regions, you know? How does it impact?

SPEAKER_02 3:26

I like that question. It's a great question because it's like the path that everybody is following currently, you know, the growth, not just to stay whatever you are, but to go into different regions. Uh but it's the more you grow, the more complex it becomes. So you need to have that infrastructure to support that that growth. And all all that complexity, the complexity that I'm telling you, it could be in different terms, like maybe different laws that apply, different taxes. Um different maybe could be your own property, it's an upgraded property, so it's a more luxury, so you'll have uh different tourism than what you were used to. Um they they will pay maybe higher fees. So you need to have all that infrastructure in order to support that that growth. And uh especially because if you if you let's say they don't have everything standardized, it'll be very complex. Let's say that you have a new property and uh you want to start working with that property right away. So if if everything all you support is standardized, you can just plug it in and start having the visibility of that new addition to your to your portfolio. So that is also key in order to be supported by that infrastructure that you really need to have in order to have uh substantial growth.

SPEAKER_03 4:53

See, when I first started in the industry, um when my hair was the color of your hair, um technology was only accessible by the DOS or director of sales or the the president or the owner. But that's a change now. It seems that technology, as it's evolved, is used by just about everybody, including frontline people on stats. So what are you saying as far as who's actually using this technology today compared to say 20 years ago?

SPEAKER_02 5:22

Oh yeah. And uh I I think that there's a lot of people who think like that, that that that was uh only intended like for leadership. And uh I can imagine like two different scenarios in order to talk about this. Let's say that you have a meeting with all your team and there's just a lot of spreadsheets, and everybody's analyzing the data, the information, and all that, but you uh do not truly believe the numbers that are there because they're just spreadsheets and everybody created their own and it kind of creates a problem. If we have this same scenario, it's a meeting, but the difference that is that you have like a dashboard and you are covering all the different areas sales, operations, uh technology, finance, all that. Now you have all the information in one in one single site, and everybody's uh looking to the same information, the whole picture, and uh everybody everybody provided that information is not only leadership. So as opposed to just having a meeting and looking at what happened in the past, now you can start creating strategies and say, okay, what do we do next with all this information?

SPEAKER_03 6:37

Well, you brought a good point because I think it's fair to say that organizations that just run by statistics and don't establish the right culture. So but there's a risk if organizations uh systems are not providing them the right data, and it becomes fragmented. So what what's the what's the the outcome of organizations that you see don't want to upgrade their systems? We've been using the same system for the last 20 years, it gives me the statistics, I know my VPG and all these numbers. But the organization that are upkeeping their technology, what happens? What have you seen happening with these organizations in a term?

SPEAKER_02 7:16

It's it's more difficult for them to grow because they're just staying with uh whatever they're doing in the past, they still do that. They don't have all the complete information, they don't have that technology that supports because it's also it also makes it faster in order to have everything like in real time, which is what you need in order to strategize and take those decisions that nowadays you really have to do it because everybody else is doing it. So you uh don't want to be left behind or to move slowly while everybody has access to that technology. So it is very important that you uh currently move into that position that now you rely on technology rather than, you know, as you mentioned, all the information that I I know that I have because I'm the leader and uh they sent me this number. So that that was like what happened in the past, not anymore.

SPEAKER_03 8:10

But not everybody is uh techie when it comes to stats. Uh a lot of people say, for instance, in the sales sales uh forum are driven by emotions and and and objections and whatnot. But the technology and the statistics are important. If you want to have a good vision of where you go, and if you don't know the statistics that you have, are you seeing a little bit of difficulty reaching certain departments when it comes to the technology? As I'm I'm sure the owner and the the directors they want to see the statistics. They need to know how their team performs, they need to know who's coming to their presentation, who's attending the resources. They need, you cannot grow a business without the statistics. But on the front line, are you getting a little bit of resistance using that technology?

SPEAKER_02 8:59

Yes. There's always resistance, uh especially to change. And when it comes to technology, there's resistance and maybe sometimes even fear that they do not know how it works. So part of the technology is to make it uh very user-friendly friendly, right? So, in order for them to see that it's easy to see all the information, it's real simple to do it nowadays. Everybody uses computers, so it's it's like you're on a web page and you're just downloading all that information. So it's very friendly user, and that takes out the fear, the factor that, oh, maybe I'm not good at it, I don't know anything about tech, and uh I've never used it. So it's just like entering into a web page, a new one, but uh you really have to rely on that nowadays in order to, as you just well mentioned, that you need to see the direction that where you're going. And without this information and this data, you'll be lost, or maybe you will be heading towards a different direct direction that you were not supposed to, and everybody was telling you all the information was telling you to go that way, and you could make a huge mistake by not listening to that.

SPEAKER_01 10:14

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SPEAKER_00 10:41

This is Voices of Vacation Ownership, the only podcast where the vacation ownership industry's top executives speak openly about what's really driving the business forward. Hosted by Dave Hambin, president and CEO of the Canadian Resort and Travel Association. Each episode digs into the trends, challenges, and opportunities shaping our industry. One conversation at a time. Let's go.

SPEAKER_03 11:12

Well, the technology can be and used different. Statistics are statistics, you can use it as you want to.

SPEAKER_02 11:50

How many people did we have today? How many families? How many were couples? Uh, how many presents did we give away? Uh, what was the price of that present? Did they buy? They didn't buy. So in any process, there's a lot of information that you have to gather. But I think that the key is not how to collect the information rather than how to connect that information. So technology helps you a lot in order to do so. So once that you have all the information from different areas, now you have to figure out a way to connect it in order to uh strategize, to take better decisions, and to analyze every single part of the industry that you're in and especially your, let's say your portfolio. I also see it as some resorts they still work or like the departments are small islands, independent islands. So you need to prevent that. You need to find a way to connect all the information of the different areas in order to see the whole picture, as I said.

SPEAKER_03 13:00

See a lot of resorts at vacation clubs when I talk to their leaders are saying we have a hard time connecting. The sales are blaming the marketing, the marketing is blaming the sales, the the front desk is like we got nothing to do with the sales. But the resorts that really work together seem to have a really united team and effort towards one goal. They all have their duties, but SPIs always seems to be a leader in that. I mean, over four decades, SPIs always upgraded, upgraded, upgraded their systems on an ongoing basis. So do you see a pattern where this is going? Because now with the implication of AI, how is that a game changer when it comes time to statistics? It's gotta be a big factor. Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:43

Yeah, throughout the years in SPI, as you will mention, uh more than 40 years, we have seen that all those changes like in first hand. And for us, it has been very, very important to be updated, to offer the best of the best to our clients, because it that's what it is. The software has to be has to evolve every single time, every single year. Nowadays, that you just mentioned about IA, which is very important, or let's say the other example that is currently happening is like the cloud. So there's a lot of companies that still maybe are not working on the cloud or do not have access or do not know it. So that was one of the let's say most recent big changes that we had. Now we offer through SBI access to the cloud, and the benefits of that is that you get real-time information every single time. So whenever you access that information, it's real time. You know all your areas, all the opportunities, all the risks. And it's also more secure. But you have to evolve, you have to be creative and to offer, you cannot sit on what you were very successful in the past, especially you know, technology is moving so fast nowadays that you have to be everywhere and offer all those solutions for the client. So that's what we do. We create all the solutions and different modules in order for the client to have, you know, sales and marketing, uh, finance uh operations, client services. Yeah. And and this, what I just said, this takes me to like the final end that we all look for, which is the owner's experience. So all that technology would not be worth it if the owner is not satisfied, because that's what we look for. We we want to have owners. We look for them, we fight for them in order to sell. But sale doesn't stop that day when they sign the agreement. It continues for a long, long time. It's a journey.

SPEAKER_03 15:47

Yeah, it's a pre-sale, there's post-sale. But cloud-based systems, is that the future that's going to be modernizing our industry? Yeah, it is. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 15:56

Yeah. It's where we should be heading right now, and it's something that we currently offer. But yes, I think there's a lot of uh advantages around the cloud-based systems, and that's why we're aiming and we're offering our current clients today.

SPEAKER_03 16:12

Well, SPI is unquestionably a leader in that field, and it's amazing how it progresses uh along the way, and understanding that cloud-based systems, AI coming into the portfolio, um, you need your statistics, and but it's gotta be, it's gotta become your friend, not uh just another tool that that you use because the mixing of the sales process and motions and product design, the statistics play uh a big part of that. So, what you're saying in some ways now, a a leader, let's say a manager, whatnot, at any time can look at the statistics on his platform, on his iPad, know exactly what's going on at the time on every issue.

SPEAKER_02 16:55

Yeah, that is exactly the real-time information. And you know, it's funny, you just made me realize that now our our clients, because you cannot, as I mentioned, you cannot stay with whatever you had in the past, has to evolve, especially with technology. Yeah, so nowadays our clients they're expecting like the new version of any piece of the software that we offer for them. So they know that in a few months it's coming a new version. So they don't have to do anything, it just uploads part of the technology and the way that it's right now. You already have it, you don't do anything, we just upload new information, like a new release, and uh we explain the benefits and it's always evolving because in order to be in the industry for 40 years, you can say it very easy, but it takes a lot. Not everyone has been there for a long time. So that gives you the prestige. Uh also that our clients they trust us because we're there for a long time, but especially because we have been evolving. They know that that's always something new.

SPEAKER_03 17:58

Well, it's changed because back in the days when I was involved in more of the operations and on the sales forum, I found statistics very, very frustrating to trying to get access to. Oh, yeah. And it bec it becomes a nightmare. It can become a nightmare in in no time. But after talking to SPI and getting to know your platform, it seems that you have a very gentle way of integrating your system instead of just being aggressive. Oh, yes. You have a very soft, actually, it's pretty phenomenal how you actually approach the system and say, let's look at your tour flow, let's look at your operation, let's look, let's see at areas that we need to monitor. And then it slowly becomes your friend instead of being, uh God, here I gotta look at these statistics again. Yeah. It becomes more of your friend. So is that part of the culture, like the mindset of SPI as a as a as a company, is the relationship with the business that you're doing with?

SPEAKER_02 18:55

Absolutely, and I'm glad that you mentioned that because I think that's a key factor. It's not like you know, like one size fits all, right? So we don't have like one product that it's exactly the same for everyone. So we kind of go inside, as you mentioned, with the clients. We understand their process, their current process, what they're doing today. We analyze it, and we also tell them, okay, this is what we can start with. Maybe start with one module, then add additional ones. Not that you have to take every single one or or just the whole software. You can do it by pieces, little by little. And uh that's something that our clients they they like a lot because it's not okay, yeah. You want like to say like the whole enchilada, right? So it's not just that. It's just one piece by piece, and we tell them, okay, this is you need this because of that, because we analyze what they're currently doing, and we provide a solution for that.

SPEAKER_03 19:52

Some people say technology and that those systems cost money. Does that cost money or does that really save you money?

SPEAKER_02 20:00

I would say completely the opposite, they save you, but the way that I should say this to everybody is that you don't have to analyze this or to see this as a cost center. Okay. You need to see it as a strategic infrastructure that is gonna save you money, it's gonna make you uh take better decisions, and it's gonna also help you move faster. So it's not just a cost center, it's way much more than that.

SPEAKER_03 20:31

Well, I think SBI's got a real winner having you up there promoting the product. Uh people trust you, like you, and you've you've given them reasons for that over the years. And uh any final words, I get a lot just listening to you every time I I have an opportunity, but any final words that you could say to our viewers, why having a proper integrated system inside their operation is really, really important component of their operation?

SPEAKER_02 20:58

Yeah, absolutely. And I would say or I would reinforce that this has to happen from the top of any company, right? The leaders, they they need to really think about what are their KP KPIs and analyze them, and they say, okay, is my current software or technology supporting this or not? Are my all all the different departments are they aligned towards this vision or this path that we're following? Yeah. Or is this technology going to help me towards that direction, which is obviously the purpose of this? So that's what I would say too. Start from the top and then start going down, uh, you know, during the the different positions, yeah, and let them know all these benefits that they can have with our technology and SPI with the different modules, and especially because of what they're gonna get out of it. Because it's gonna make their lives easier, a lot more simple, but at the end of the day, it's gonna provide more sales, more money, more benefits to the to the resort, to the developer, but especially to the owner's experience. At the very end, I I would have to emphasize this because the owner is why we hear there, his experience. So if the internal experience is very smooth, it'll download to the member. It'll be the same, and they will see that as a benefit because you know in this industry trust is everything. Yes. And uh you gain this also this, you maintain that trust with with a member by doing all this.

SPEAKER_03 22:44

And as you said, just as a final note, is it's not a one model fits all. It's basically all custom made. So yes. Thank you so much. It's been great and insightful. And I'm sure everyone uh that's been watching understands the importance of having good technology uh within your operation because it's the only way to realize how well you're doing. If you'd like more information about SPI, about what we're doing, please leave the comments below, and we'd be glad to get back in touch with you. So wish everybody safe travels, and we'll be seeing you on our next podcast. Kidding, bye-bye. This episode is brought to you by Hama Kampai, the first vacation ownership project on the northern coast of Ecuador.