Sharon Scott: managing editor of Resort Trades

SharonINK to Manage Resort Trades

SharonINK to handle Resort Trades' editorial, promotional and advertising activities.

Resort Trades, timeshare’s most widely-read B2B news journal, recently announced it has retained SharonINK PR & Marketing to oversee all of its editorial, promotional and advertising activities.

“One of our primary duties will be to clarify Resort Trades’ quality of editorial content and depth of readership,” says SharonINK CEO Sharon Scott. “While other publications in the industry serve a useful purpose and reach a select audience, Resort Trades is the only one sent every single month to every single resort in the US, as well as to a subscriber-base of senior-level executives at development, management and timeshare-related travel companies.”

“Sharon began writing for us in 1996 and has served as Resort Trades’ contributing editor since 2006,” says Publisher Tim Wilson. “We are looking to her firm to continue our information-rich tradition, as well as to promote a better understanding and appreciation for the value we bring to the timeshare industry.”

“Resort Trades is an avid ARDA supporter,” Scott adds. “This year we are looking forward to forging alliances with organizations and entities that support the growth and health of the industry. I welcome a discussion along these lines and can be reached at 1-310-923-1269 or Sharon@SharonINK.com.”

About Resort Trades

The Trades was established in 1987 and distributes approximately 5,500 copies monthly to every US timeshare resort, a voluntary subscriber base of resort professionals of all walks and at various conventions and industry conferences. The Trades adds value to the industry as a whole with an enormous volume of informative content to assist resort operators run their properties more efficiently, raise revenues more effectively and make better-informed buying decisions.

Resort Trades: The Timeshare Industry B2B News Journal...Every Resort; Every Month!

Florida RV shows very well attended this year

According to friends from the Gardens RVVillage in Crossville, TN, a number of RVs were sold at the RV Supershow held at the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa Florida earlier this month. 

"We attend this show every year and were really amazed at the level of excitement that we're seeing here, this year," said a homeowner from the Gardens. (The Gardens is a luxury housing development devoted exclusively to RV owners and enthusiasts.) This group of RV owners, like many others in the Gardens, had made plans to travel together to the show.

The Gardens' Developer Tim Wilson, who was offering free vacations to those who wished to visit the community, found the show to be much better attended than last year. "I believe the RV business community can expect 2014 to be a much more successful year," says Wilson. "We heard that sales of everything from Class A motor homes to the higher-end trailers were going like hotcakes. We have had a number of couples come by who are interested in making a reservation to visit us."

Jim Beletti from Heartland RVs mentioned that Heartland had great traffic through their displays this year and that sales of their 5th Wheel and Travel Trailer RVs were ahead of last year. Jim and his wife, Nancy, live in The Gardens RV Village, where they (and 300 other RV aficionados) keep their RV stowed in an air conditioned, fully equipped garage attached to their luxurious home.

Couples began arriving early on the first morning of the show and, despite atypically frigid temperatures in the middle of the week, the crowds rarely waned. "I am hoping this atmosphere continues throughout the year," says Wilson. "The Gardens will have a display booth at several shows this year including the one I'm attending right now -- the FMCA 2014 Southeast Area Rally in Brooksville." 

Another Christel House Success Story

Grab a tissue before you click on this link: From Christel House Kid to UN Employee tells how MaryAri Contreras "is proof of how a holistic education and the drive for a better life can break the cycle of poverty. After graduating from Christel House in 2007, she earned a degree in International Relations from Universidad Central de Venezuela. Today she is working in a full time position at the United Nations office in Venezuela."

MaryAri has a bright future and is living life abundantly, thanks to Christel House. Benefactress and Christel House Founder Christel DeHaan has touched so many lives in a very meaningful way. That's why we all love her so very much.

Mark Schaefer: Social Media Influence in the World of Timeshare

Mark Schaefer -- author of best-selling books The Tao of Twitter, Return on Influence and Born to Blog; an entertaining and engaging speaker and authority on social media – says he learned there were six Weapons of Influence from Robert Cialdini. According to Cialdini, there is Scarcity, Likeability, Reciprocity, Authority, Commitment and Social Proof.

Schaefer told his audience at Interval International’s Shared Ownership Investment Conference, held in Miami this week, that in social media, numbers are the social proof. Social media mavens watch sites like Technorati, Top 100 Business Blogs and 50 Top Blogs because they have accrued thousands of followers. In recognizing the power of numbers, Schaefer feels he’s discovered a seventh weapon in the online world, ‘Content That Moves.’ He gave Robert Scoble as an example. Scoble has limited social skills and education and yet, his circles of influence are enormous because of his volume of posts that are meaningful and compelling.

Schaefer points to Klout.com, a site that measures influence on which you can find out who is posting about what and how often. Klout will even provide ‘appinions’ – influence gap reports so you can track a particular author or subject.

To properly use this seventh weapon of influence, you must observe three rules: 1) keep your content relevant to your audience, 2) be consistent with the frequency of your posts and 3) make what your content has to say meaningful. Schaefer calls it “RITE.”

Relevant
Interesting
Timely
Entertaining

An interesting rule of thumb he provides is to think of your messaging not as being B2C or B2B, but P2P; people to people. Keeping these thoughts in mind with regards to your social media participation, he says, will provide you with significant ROI – Return on Influence.

Social Media Courses offered by marketingcertified.com

Peter Seiler, CEO & President of Marketing Certified, provides the following social media advice in his article, "What Social Media is Best for Your Business?"

It's a story that's told all too many times. A business makes the decision to move into social media marketing. They see the enormous potential of the market and they know that they need to get their slice. That is where the great decision often takes a horrible turn. The business then opens up accounts on every major social network and waits. I often picture an important man at the company sitting at a desk in front of his computer staring at the screen. Every few minutes he looks down at his watch and wonders why no one has bought anything yet. Eventually he just gives up and forgets about his 20 social media accounts.

It sounds a little silly but it's two mistakes that happen every day. The first mistake is trying to do too many things at once. Even experts can spend a full day working on a single social media account. The second mistake is expecting the site to be a free billboard without putting any work into it. When people learn about the great opportunities in social media, it's natural that they'll want to grab as big a piece of the pie as they can handle but for your businesses sake, restrain yourself. It's better to have one well-managed and effective social media site than to have 20 different useless social media pages with your name on it.

Learn to be selective about your social media. Not all businesses are created the same and not all social media is either. Some social media, with hours of expertise and hard work, will work okay for your company. Some social media, with that same time and work, will work amazing for your company. So which site would you prefer to be a member of?

Aim to select no more than three social media sites to use for your company. In fact, for a company new to social media, I would recommend starting with only one. Find one social media site that will work effectively for your customers, and your business, and become an expert at it.  Every social media site has a format that information is typically shared. For example, Pinterest shares information mostly through pictures.  YouTube shares information through videos and others like Facebook offer a combination of formats that you can share information.

By the time you're an expert, the social media you selected will be driving customers to your business and building continuous positive brand awareness. 

About the Author

Peter Seiler is the President of MarketingCertified.com – The most recognized online social media courses designed for beginner and intermediate users.

Marketing Certified "The most recognized online social media courses."
P: 1-800-580-7824 ext. 101  W: www.marketingcertified.com

More travelers, but still tight budgets, says MMGY Global

The Resort Trades October 2, 2013 news reports:

2013 Portrait of American Travelers® Reveals Increase in Travel Intentions, But Continued Caution About Household Budgets (October 2, 2013)
82 Percent of Active Travelers Planning to Take the Same or More Trips in the Year Ahead
ORLANDO – Americans intend to take as many or more vacations during the coming year as they did last year, although their list of preferred destinations is smaller and they remain cautious about discretionary expenditures. This is according to the newly released MMGY Global/Harrison Group 2013 Portrait of American Travelers®. The survey revealed a three percent increase in active travelers planning to “take more trips in the year ahead” (now 18 percent of all travelers), while two thirds (64 percent) of travelers are planning to take the same number of trips this year as they did last year. This compares with 15 percent who are planning to “take fewer trips.” And notwithstanding their concern about household budgets, leisure travelers in all annual household income segments expect to spend slightly more on travel/vacations in 2013 than they did in 2012, a good sign that travel continues to be a priority for Americans when they think about their discretionary spending. While the recession technically ended in June 2009, Americans’ travel behavior reflects a lingering concern about the impact of the Great Recession on consumer spending, both discretionary and otherwise. Specifically, six in 10 travelers are still looking closely at every spending category, including travel services, seeking ways they can save. The level of interest in visiting several popular domestic destinations is also flat or has declined. Travelers are interested in visiting approximately 10 percent fewer destinations now than in 2012. “Technological advances and additional sources of information are also factoring heavily into the decision-making process, as travelers are attempting to make smarter choices, seeking better value and good deals,” explains Steve Cohen, vice president of Insights at MMGY Global, an integrated marketing firm that specializes in the travel industry. “But we are encouraged to see that travelers are planning to spend more on travel and vacations, and that 82 percent are planning to take as many or more trips in the coming year as they did in the previous year.”

Thank you, Driftwood for your IHG Green Engage Program!

The Resort Trades reports:

Driftwood Hospitality Management Employs Environmentally Friendly Practices Through The IHG®Green Engage Program (Sept. 26, 2013)
IHG®-Branded Properties Take Active Roles in Measuring, Managing and Reporting Energy, Water and Waste Usage
Driftwood Hospitality Management today announced an array of new environmentally friendly policies and procedures, which are being implemented at its IHG®-branded properties across the U.S. As part of the IHG Green Engage program, the management teams of these hotels, which include Crowne Plaza®, Hotel Indigo®, Holiday Inn® and Staybridge Suites® properties, are now rolling out tailored initiatives such as staff training, utilization of new green cleaning materials, high-efficiency vacuum cleaners and debuting a new recycling and compost program. “Hotels are an important part of the local communities in which they operate and play a critical role in balancing the economic, social and environmental impacts. IHG Green Engage gives our hotels the means to minimize impact on the environment, conserve resources and ultimately save money,” said Paul Snyder, vice president, Corporate Responsibility, IHG. “The Program provides a significant operational advantage, as energy is often the second largest cost to our owners. Additionally, these hotels are better positioned to respond to rising energy prices and managing their carbon footprint.”