Plenty of resort developers and operators have recently sought to add an additional revenue stream by selling homeowner and travel insurance through CSA Travel Protection. CSA Travel Protection is an affordable insurance that covers annual maintenance fees, exchange fees and taxes, should owners be unable to use their vacation privileges. Resorts offering the insurance recognize a percentage of every sale.

CSA chose to partner with SPI Orange System’s software to enable these resorts’ owner services team to promote the insurance over the telephone. Plus, SPI’s Orange Finance system can add the purchase option or renewal fees to owners’ annual maintenance fee bills.

“Resorts will be able to offer, sell and fulfill consumers’ purchases of the insurance in an intuitive, one-step process within their existing system and without the need for the resorts’ customer service representatives to memorize a tremendous amount of information” says CSA Travel Protection Global Sales Director Cathy Backus. “It’s all automated.”

“We are seeing resorts earn, literally, millions of dollars from this product,” adds Backus. “It’s a great tool for salespeople as it gives new buyers and existing members confidence that if unforeseen circumstances arise affecting an owner’s vacation, we have them covered!”

CSA selected SPI as their exclusive technology partner since the software is so widely used within the industry and because the software company’s Microsoft .NET platform can readily accommodate additional applications, such as this.

Posted by Sharon Drechsler

~Sharon for SPI

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Reprinted with permission from Timeshare Perspectives magazine, November 2007:

Addressing Software Challenges for Points Ownership and Fractional Ownership Resorts

By Matt Brosious

Systems Products International (SPI) was established in 1973. At that time, tracking a fixed week and fixed unit was a pretty simple process. In today’s timeshare model, points or club membership is coming to be a common vehicle when selling vacation ownership. As many an information technology manager will tell you, there are complexities in managing information for these types of shared ownership that go well beyond the capabilities of yesterday’s hospitality or timeshare systems. Fortunately, software developers such as SPI, are on the task!

Providing structure for points and clubs
There are as many models for offering points or club membership, as there are developers in the timeshare business today. They have the common element, however, of providing purchasers with a number of points that members can either use for accommodations, cruises, car rentals or other applications; or that can be banked for use in the future. In many cases, developers have only recently created their programs. In some others, they are still tweaking and managing further enhancements to their basic structures. There is no “norm” as of yet.

The best approach in data management for this type of complexity is one that allows the developer’s Information Technology (IT) staff to utilize a table-driven system. In our case, Systems Products International (SPI) has found Microsoft’s .Net platform to provide the most flexible solution in this regard. We made a decision to go this route because we felt it to be the best investment for the future. The advantages are too numerous to delineate in this context, but a few of the major factors were the technology’s scalability – that is, its ability to handle multiple sites, multiple users and virtually unlimited applications – and its promise of being the platform for the future. The use of .Net allows a developer’s IT staff to make use of pre-built software applications that are “ready to go” out of the box and don’t require the lengthy software development cycles of the past.

For instance, let’s say a development company acquires a new resort project to add into the mix. The use of a table-driven software platform more readily allows the developer’s IT staff to prepare for the addition by providing the means to handle both previously established timeshare schemes, or models of fixed and/or floating ownership, as well as the new points structure. The software should also provide for the conversion of consumers as they upgrade to points.

Additional complexities of managing a fractional resort or condo-hotel
In the case of fractional ownership and condo-hotels, many IT experts have been vexed with demands for data management which go far beyond the realm of what is typically handled by timeshare- or hospitality-oriented software. While condo-hotels utilize many of the applications normally applied to hospitality and/or timeshare resort management, the added necessity of handling the condo-hotel owner/guest relationship as well as the unique aspects of rental inventory yield management go far beyond the capability of the standard hotel and resort software packages. In the case of fractional ownership resorts, many aspects of timeshare resort management apply but with added complexities of fractional calendar rotation and higher levels of service delivery.

In the first case, buyers purchase a unit or interest in a project with the purpose of using it personally and hopefully, gaining rental revenue. Therefore, the records must be owner-based, rather than room- or unit-based. In other words, the standard hospitality format of tracking rentals according to rooms is inadequate and must be supplemented by software that will plug in. Such is the case in SPI’s Condo Hotel Tool Kit which interfaces with the hotel or resort’s front desk management system, but also maintains a database of the owners including contact information, an accounts receivable system for maintenance dues and an owner revenue system that tracks the owners’ interests and provides them with monthly or on-demand statements. These properties should be standard with such a system. Add-on’s, such as the capability to maintain correspondence, transaction histories and a record of all the legal documents pertaining to each individual owner are highly desirable, as well. In the case of fractional ownership resorts, the central reservation system must handle the added demands and the owner services system must be able to suply the high level of service expected by the affluent fractional owner including access to a self-service web site.

Management must track each owner’s usage, interfacing between general ledger, reservations and front desk management systems. It’s easy to see the importance of having a reliable software system, whether owners number in the dozens, hundreds or thousands.

In addition, the software must follow a formula based rotation formula to ensure that rentals are offered on a fair, rotating basis. It is helpful if the condo-hotel’s on-line reservations system interfaces automatically with the property’s front office management system.

Web services require today’s technology
Today’s sophisticated consumer demands on-line access to up-to-the-minute information and the ability to confirm reservations and make payments. SPI responded to demand by resort operators by providing them with a Web Services Tool Kit, which enables them to manage this process from their current Web site. Without the use of today’s more robust technology, your web site team would not have this functionality available to them.

Developers and operators of points-based clubs, fractional resorts or of condo hotels will find that using a software provider who utilizes a platform with the scalability and flexibility of Microsoft’s .Net and SQL Server technology is a pivotal decision which can be the difference between success and failure of the entire project. The good news is it’s possible to achieve a totally integrated, robust and scalable system that will handle these newer types of vacation ownership with commercially available software systems.

Matt Brosious is director of sales for Systems Products International (SPI). Located in Miami, Florida, SPI was founded in 1973 and is the world’s leading provider of software and advanced technology products for the vacation ownership industry. SPI’s products and services exhibit industry best practices – ensuring that resort clients’ critical operations run efficiently and are cost-effective. The company’s range of software solutions and “information at your fingertips” provides resort developers with accurate, timely data and greater functionality. SPI’s platform is based on the latest Microsoft .NET technology, offering modules to handle marketing, sales, in-house marketing, property management and central reservations, owner services (including finance, dues and mortgage receivables management), Web services and business intelligence.   For more information, contact Systems Products International at 305-858-9505, sales@spiinc.com or visit www.spiinc.com.

Posted by Sharon Drechsler.

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(The following article is reprinted by permission from the November/December 2007 issue of Resort Trades’ Management & Operations magazine.)

Web-based Owner Services

By Matt Brosious

People appreciate the ability to gain access to instantaneous information and to services over the Web. A great example of this is in the travel industry where the vast majority of consumers contact a travel Web site when planning a trip rather than making a phone call to a travel agent or destination. Another example is paying our bills over the Web with on-line payment services, such as PayPal. Again, self-service provides convenience and faster service for the consumer.

For the timeshare resort operator, providing your owners with a Web site for customer service accomplishes several goals, including:

Enhancing owner satisfaction. Owners truly want to be able to have access self-service facilities. Providing these services to owners builds an important bond. Now services can be accessed at the owners’ convenience.

Improving communications. Managing communications with owners can be a daunting task with the myriad collection of correspondence, statements, HOA minutes, etc. An owners’ Web site can serve as a central repository for both inbound and outbound communication, thus simplifying the process for the resort operator. The result is faster turnaround time and again, improved owner satisfaction.

Lowering operating costs. By pushing the services out to owners, the cost of providing these services is reduced. Fewer owner services personnel are typically required to handle the reduced workload. This translates to direct improvements to the bottom line.

Resort operators have a responsibility to their owners to ensure that data security measures are used when dealing with owner’s personal and credit card information. Some of the services typically provided by a secure owners’ Web site include:

• Review accommodations availability, make reservations, request changes and obtain printed confirmations.
• Make a payment using a secure, online payment service, such as PayPal or credit card, and print out a statement for rentals or annual maintenance fee dues.
• Check ownership account information and track points usage to determine usage availability, obtain loan account information and check on exchange requests.
• Update contact, address and individual preference information.
• Conduct interactive owner communications, such as sending out a customer service survey, providing up-to-the-minute offers for special promotions, linking to relevant sites on the Web and handling annual balloting.
• Manage owner rentals.

Your current Web or information technology (IT) professional may be able to assist you in putting together a Web site that offers these elements. Otherwise, a vacation ownership industry software provider, such as Systems Products International (SPI) may have its own solution. In the case of SPI, we offer a ready-made template – SPI WebConnect – to give vacation ownership/timeshare. WebConnect is designed to provide resort operators with a Web portal strategy that builds stronger, long-lasting relationships with their owners whether they are using SPI’s property management system or some other software package. However, those companies that are SPI customers will enjoy added benefits, including real-time integration of WebConnect and their SPI SQL Server database.

We were made to understand from many of our clients that they needed a Web site template that would be cost-effective and ready-to-go, without the necessity of dealing with Web designers or hosting companies. At their suggestion, we launched SPI WebConnect to provide highly sophisticated technology, while still allowing resorts to upload graphics and images to customize the “look and feel” of the site for their owners.

However, in the event you decide to create your own Web portal solution, rather than to adopt a ready-made solution such as WebConnect, you should be aware of some potential pitfalls. Here are a few points to hold in mind:

• HTML and Link Validation. Make sure your pages can download properly when viewers are using different computers, browsers and screen settings. In addition, if your Website provides links to venues, weather forecasters, restaurants or other organizations, such as ARDA, verify that these links are accurate.
• Avoid cumbersome files, whenever possible. Smaller-sized files and graphics will load faster and are less likely to bog down for consumers with a slower Internet connection speed.
• Consider how different browsers will “read” your material. You may wish to view your Web pages using various browsers, such as Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator or Mozilla Foxfire. Different browsers often interpret HTML differently.

In addition to the technical issues that accompany Website creation, be sure to remember to proof the copy well. Hiring a professional proofreader may be a good idea at some point, to ensure the text is error-free and comprehensible.

As other vacation accommodation-providers continue to enhance their Internet functionality, your customers will expect the same from your resort. Plus, with the rising costs of overhead, personnel and materials, resort operators and HOA boards can expect the self-service aspect of an owner Website to help reduce operational costs significantly. So, regardless of the means you use to supply your owners with such a site, it’s no longer a matter of “if,” but “when” your resort will provide all the bells and whistles of a secure and interactive Web portal.

Matt Brosious is director of sales for Systems Products International (SPI). Located in Miami, Florida, SPI was founded in 1978 to address the specific software needs of the vacation ownership/timeshare resort industry in the U.S. and around the world. For more information, contact Systems Products International at 305-858-9505, sales@spiinc.com or visit www.spiinc.com. You may contact Matt at mattb@spiinc.com.

(Posted by Sharon Drechsler.)

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