Witnessing the Scenery, Recognizing the Trends
China, Haikou, May 25, 2015 / PRNewswire -- The 2015 China Vacation Industry Development -- and Tourism Resort Real Estate Forum was successfully held at Hainan New International Hotel. Domestic vacation membership operators represented by HNA Hotels Group’s Club Vac Joyview Vacation Club, international leading vacation exchange companies such as RCI, II, and DAE, along with government officials, industry associations, authoritative scholars, and experts with years of experience in the hotel, real estate, tourism, and vacation membership industries from Hainan Provincial Department of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and Hainan Real Estate Association attended the forum. Due to its professionalism, innovation, and focus on the current business models of tourism real estate and resort hotels in China, especially in Hainan, the forum also attracted participation from nearly 100 tourism real estate and hotel owners.
Unveiling Ceremony
Mr. Shen Feng, Rotating President of China Hotel Owners Alliance, and Mr. Carlo Schmed, Vice President of HNA Hotels Group, delivered opening remarks for the conference. Mr. Howard Nusbaum, President of the world’s largest vacation ownership development organization — the American Resort Development Association (ARDA) — from the other side of the Pacific, sent a video message congratulating CARD on its official unveiling and the hosting of China’s first professional vacation membership forum. He stated that the China Vacation Development Professional Committee has truly become a member of the global vacation ownership alliance, and expressed hope that through the joint efforts of CARD and international peers, the Chinese vacation ownership industry will grow stronger and promote the development of tourism resort real estate and hotels.
Vice President Carlo Schmed of HNA Hotels Group Delivers Remarks
Mr. Joe Hickman, Vice President of Asia-Pacific for the globally renowned vacation exchange platform II (Interval International), gave a keynote speech titled “The Development and Outlook of Vacation Ownership in the Asia-Pacific Region.” From an international perspective and a professional angle, he provided attendees with a detailed introduction to the development status and challenges of vacation ownership globally, especially in the Asia-Pacific region. He expressed positive affirmation about the potential of the Chinese vacation ownership market and hoped that more Chinese resort real estate and hotel owners would join in the development and sales of vacation ownership products to create a brighter future for the industry.
Forum 1 – Themed Discussion: “Mining the Sharing Economy in the Tourism Real Estate Industry”
Mr. Gary Croker, Senior Vice President of Business Development for Wyndham Vacation Ownership Asia-Pacific, Mr. Meng Z [incomplete name], RCI Business Development Manager for China and Deputy Secretary-General of CARD, [incomplete sentence] General Manager, Mr. Shen Feng, Founding Director of CARD, and Mr. Zhao Hui, Chairman of HNA Huazhiyou, Founding Director and Director of CARD, engaged in a thematic discussion under the guidance of moderator Mr. Yu Wei, Senior Consultant of Horwath Consulting. They shared their extensive experience in tourism resort real estate and resort hotel management and operations gained over many years in the industry. They proposed that the research and development of vacation ownership products represent a win-win-win innovative business model for developers, consumers, and vacation exchange companies alike. In the current bottleneck period of China’s tourism real estate development, especially in Hainan’s resort real estate, this approach presents a breakthrough solution and a timely opportunity.
Forum Venue
Subsequently, Mr. Chen Yang, CEO of DAE China and Deputy Director of CARD, Ms. Nicole Li, Regional Director of Anantara Vacation Club, Mr. Wang Degao, Chief Legal Officer for Asia-Pacific at RCI and Deputy Director of CARD, Mr. Wang Lei, Head of II China and Deputy Director of CARD, and Associate Professor Xiao Qu from the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Founding Director of CARD, participated in a heated discussion on the theme “Demystifying Timeshare (Vacation Ownership)” under the moderation of Mr. Xiang Wei, a senior lawyer in the hotel and tourism industry and Founding Director of CARD. The discussion focused on the development of the vacation ownership industry in China, particularly addressing specific operational issues such as product design, sales models, post-service satisfaction, policy and legal regulation, and consumer rights protection. The intense exchange gave participants a clearer understanding of the true concept of timeshare (vacation ownership), while also providing an in-depth analysis of misunderstandings arising from some non-standard sales and service practices in the past decade, along with proposed solutions.
As a co-organizer of the forum, Ms. Hu Xiaoying, General Manager of the Tourism Real Estate Division at CRIC, released the 2014-2015 China Tourism Real Estate Development Annual Report. She conducted a comprehensive analysis of the overall development trends of China’s tourism real estate market from multiple perspectives including time, space, and enterprises, and pointed out that the development of vacation ownership and other innovative approaches represent an emerging field worthy of exploration and development for China’s tourism real estate industry.
As a key agenda item of the forum, the China Vacation Development Professional Committee – China Association of Resort Development (abbreviated as CARD) held a simple yet formal unveiling ceremony in the presence of nearly 100 industry participants, marking the official establishment of a professional association in China’s vacation ownership industry. This will provide greater support and assistance for the healthy and sustainable development of the entire industry in the future. The China Vacation Development Professional Committee is a professional, non-profit social organization composed of enterprises and individuals engaged in vacation ownership and related vacation development industries. The committee is committed to promoting the sound development of China’s vacation ownership and related vacation development industries. At the unveiling ceremony, all members of the founding council of CARD made their collective debut. They include experts and scholars with years of experience in the vacation ownership field, seasoned professionals in the real estate and hotel industries, senior lawyers, and partners from well-known consulting firms. The establishment of CARD adds a new force to the vacation ownership industry in China and around the world, and will surely drive the healthy and sustainable development of China’s vacation tourism real estate and hotel industries.
This forum focused on analyzing and discussing the development prospects of the sharing economy and vacation ownership business models in China’s tourism resort real estate. The unveiling of CARD ushers in a new era for the development of China’s vacation ownership industry, signaling that this emerging business model is no longer shrouded in mystery. It will make greater efforts for the development of China’s vacation ownership market and the protection of the rights of Chinese vacation ownership consumers. CARD will also work together with government authorities, the hotel industry, tourism resort real estate sector, and other related enterprises to explore a localized and innovative path suitable for the development of China’s vacation ownership industry.
CARDFounding Directors
Zhao Hui, Chairman of HNA Huazhiyou and Club Vac Joyview Vacation, Director (third from left)
Wang Lei, General Manager of II China, Deputy Director (second from left)
Wang Degao, Senior Legal Director of RCI, Deputy Director (fourth from left)
Chen Yang, CEO of DAE China, Deputy Director (fifth from left)
Shen Feng, Rotating Chairman of China Hotel Owners Alliance and former Vice President of Shimao Group, Director (right from first)
Xiang Wei, Renowned Lawyer in Hotel and Real Estate Industry, Director (third from right)
Xiao Qu, Associate Professor at the School of Hotel and Tourism Management, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Director (second from right)
Secretariat
Wang Xing, Assistant General Manager of HNA Club Vac Joyview Vacation, Secretary-General (first from left)
Meng Z [incomplete name], RCI Business Development Manager for China, Deputy Secretary-General (fourth from right)
Xing Yue, Partner/Director of Yuanhaiying Consulting Company, Observer