Sharetime magazine Spring 2015 from TATOC

TATOC CONFERENCE 2015
JOHN SPENCE
If the timeshare
industry ever held
an X Factor-style
competition then
John Spence,
chairman of the
Karma Royal Group,
would win.
ith his rollercoaster life story
Wfrom university dropout
and failed music agent to being
awarded entrepreneur of the year
and lecturing at Yale and UCLA,
his story includes exotic locations,
famous faces and plenty of risk.
John Spence is a legend within
the timeshare industry and he
entertained delegates with a whistle
stop tour of his career – to date.
Starting as an OPC for Global he
worked his way up to managing
director before moving his team to
India with one computer and very
little else.
Identifying new markets and
responding to ever-changing
holiday trends has been key to
success.
From developing Goan timeshare
resorts to building boutique style
properties in Bali, Australia and
Thailand, Spence has more
recently bought his brand back to
Europe. Today he has properties
in Greece, France, Austria,
Norway and the Scilly Isles.
Karma Royal Group
chairman, John Spence
Why the move back to Europe?
Because his ‘5-star hippie chic’
clients want these destinations.
“It’s a reverse in tourism trends.
There is no cheap land left in
Asia but some fantastic resorts in
Europe and the Caribbean that we
can sell to our Indian membership
who want to visit their dream
destinations,” he said.
These tourists are not weather
dependent but are looking for
different things from their holiday
experiences, which these new
locations can provide.
“Tourist destinations in these
areas will be full of Asian visitors,”
he told delegates.
DID YOU KNOW?
JOHN SPENCE WAS
ONCE MUSIC AGENT
FOR BANDS CUL-
TURE CLUB, THE
EURYTHMICS AND
BANANARAMA
New RCI
affiliate access
programme for
resorts
CI has launched a special
Rprogramme to support
independent resorts. Details were
revealed at the TATOC conference
workshop.
Designed to generate cost savings
and operational efficiencies
across resort operations, the
programme supports independent
RCI-affiliated resorts and more
developed properties.
RCI suppliers have agreed to offer
services and products at lower
rates than if they had bought
directly.
Currently available through the
programme are:
• Procurement services;
• Health and safety
training for resorts;
• Fee collection services
featuring on-line
payment training and
enhanced reporting;
• Rewarding owner loyalty with
incentive travel programmes;
• Legal services including
set-up of new projects
and agreements; and
• Marketing and PR through
press support and coverage.
For more information or
to share an idea for the
RCI Affiliate Access Programme,
please email Vicky.funnell@rci.com
16 | Sharetime issue 21