TATOC’s Bold New Plans Are Set To Capture The Interests Of Timeshare Players All Over Europe

Perspective Magazine met with TATOC Secretary General, Harry Taylor and Chairman David Eastburn for an exclusive preview of what 2008 holds in store.

The Association of Timeshare Owners Committees Ltd (TATOC) has a new mission statement and a set of profoundly defined purposes. After years of being frustrated by the timeshare industries lack of progress in a variety of highly important areas, the consumers association has decided to become an architect of positive change.

Their goal is to see future prosperity for the timeshare industry in Europe, believing that their contributions will maximize the chances of growth and that their new approach is the best way to protect the interests of the consumers which they represent.

TATOC’s NEW MISSION STATEMENT
“TATOC exists to safeguard and enhance the timeshare holiday experience for existing and prospective users and to be the voice of owners”

Use of the term “timeshare users” in the associations new mission statement is particularly pertinent. TATOC rightly point out that owners often allow their family and friends to “use” their timeshare.

Harry Taylor commented:
“When we debated the construction of our new mission statement, we thought the word “users” reflects the fact that TATOC members and timeshare owners encourage their friends and families to use the product and many resorts need to have a rental platform in place to maintain financial stability. Our mission statement embraces the need for rentals”

TATOC’s attitude to rentals within the timeshare industry is a considered one. Taylor believes that some “sold out” resorts simply need to revert to rentals to maintain essential revenues, as owners relinquish their timeshare through age, death and a myriad of other reasons.

“Nowadays some timeshare owners committees simply have to adopt a rental strategy to make ends meet. But the subject of rentals in timeshare is a complex one. TATOC doesn’t endorse the scatter gun rental tactics adopted by some timeshare players. Seeing weeks of timeshare accommodation for rent via some of the big name travel agents, at less than £300 per week on the open market, is simply not good for the long term survival of our industry in Europe. After all, how is a resort that is in active sales, or one that is sold out but has retaken weeks to sell, ever going to command a price of £4000+ and an annual maintenance fee of £300 when the accommodation can freely be rented every year for that same price? TATOC would like to see a more considered rental strategy adopted by the big players because their policies are causing issues for owner run resorts. We think rentals should have a lead generation formula sitting behind, or at the very least a clear label to users proudly stating something like ‘you are now sampling a holiday in a timeshare accommodation’

Supported by a forward thinking Chairman in David Eastburn and an ambitious management board, Secretary General Harry Taylor has slowly begun to transform the way TATOC is perceived by many of the heavyweights in the timeshare sector.

In January 2008 Mr. Taylor decided to hold a three day management retreat. His objective was to assess the current strategy and establish if existing resources were sufficient to make a positive difference for timeshare owners.

“Holding the “back to basics” retreat at Pine Lakes Resort was the single best thing that has happened in all of the time I have been involved with TATOC” said Taylor “The cold hard truth is that we did not have a strong enough or properly defined strategy. We had a team of intelligent, well meaning people who cared about the timeshare industry but their involvement with TATOC was little more than talking about the problems and our plans were never going to be accomplished without a radical change in thinking, approach and without the introduction of a corporate style culture and strategy”

Taylor explained that the back to basics retreat was supported by a skilled and experienced facilitator. The process which was adopted saw the TATOC board painstakingly dismantle their previous mode of operation to build a new plan. During the process, every member of the management committee had a chance to contribute their ideas and Mr. Taylor stated that many vociferous debates took place before items were settled up on.

TATOC Chairman David Eastburn agreed with Taylor “Sometimes there has to be an end to the talking and a start to the doing. Committees can sometimes be guilty of over debating and allowing unsubstantiated opinions to shape plans. We were very conscious of this during our retreat and at times we were in danger of meandering into subjective debates but our facilitator did a great job. He kept us on track with a robust workshop framework and a constant focus on finalising the objectives that we set out with. The truth is, we could easily have been in Pine Lakes for two weeks debating some of the points but we didn’t have two weeks. The outcome is that we are delighted with what we achieved and our new plans appear to have everyone on the Board invigorated”

RESORT ACCREDITATION PROCESS
One of the initiatives decided upon during the retreat was a new resort accreditation process (RAP). This seems set to become a much talked about subject in the months ahead. TATOC feel that, in time, their RAP endorsement could really begin to shift the way the media looks upon on the timeshare industry.

“The introduction of RAP is one of the areas that has created most enthusiasm amongst our team and it is one of the areas we believe TATOC will have the most positive impact on the timeshare industry” said Harry Taylor “If a resort has a certificate to say it has passed a strict accreditation test, one that has been orgnaised by a consumers association of timeshare owners, surely the media have to place greater consideration surrounding what they write about timeshare in future. An army of happy timeshare owners are about to step forward to see if we can tackle the perception challenge that has blighted us for so long, particularly amongst the media.

RAP will be made available to all resorts in Europe. There will, however, be an annual cost associated to it, as TATOC seeks to build strong financial foundations for the future “Gone are the days when TATOC could afford to operate on the good will of volunteers. Our new strategy dictates the need for revenue. We now need to fund our activities and RAP is one of our new “charge for” initiatives” added Eastburn.

Eastburn went on to say how RAP truly synergises with TATOC’s new mission. “We are under no illusions. We know that implementing RAP will not be easy. We know that some resorts will doubt the benefits but those resorts that do choose to take the accreditation will enjoy strong benefits and we believe will lift themselves out from the ones that don’t want to move forward and embrace change “

Trained RAP staff will carry out the accreditation process to a list of strict criteria. The inspection will look far deeper than just resort quality. RAP will also examine a resorts sales and marketing processes. Harry Taylor was particularly assertive when questioned on the level of focus placed against the accreditation criteria “We are still working on the RAP criteria and the associated training for the people who will carry out the resort inspections. It may take two to three months to get this fully in place. However, everyone should be assured that the criteria TATOC sets will be fair but strict. We want to see far more than just quality assurance from apartments and resort amenities. We are looking for accurate disclosure in all sales and marketing materials. And our scrutiny of resorts won’t stop after the inspection and the awarding of the accreditation. If a resort falls short of the necessary standards “after” the accreditation is granted, we will give a reasonable time for the issues to be rectified… but if the issues are not rectified the accreditation will be removed. We want to ensure TATOC RAP becomes a kitemark of trust and so all players’ need to adhere to the rules that are set”

Resorts that achieve accreditation will be granted permission to use the TATOC RAP symbol on all of their marketing materials and on their website. In addition, flags and plaques will be prodcued. All resorts that pass the accreditation will be listed on the TATOC website.

For more information on TATOC visit: www.timeshareassociation.org