The Timeshare Beat Home | Today's Headlines | Back to Previous Page
|
The Timeshare Beat Home | Today's Headlines | Back to Previous Page |
|
|
|
Press Release: Sceptre
November 21, 2003
DENVER, CO -- Sceptre, a SWAN solution that provides global reservations distribution and channel management/advisory
services to independent hotels and resorts, continues to expand its portfolio in the destination resort market
and vacation ownership arena. The company recently entered into a partnership with The Ginn Company, a leading
developer of resort communities based in Celebration, Fla., to provide e-distribution and channel management/advisory
services for Reunion Resort & Club of Orlando and The Club at Hammock Beach in Palm Coast, Florida.
Last month Sceptre began providing its e-distribution and channel-management service to 1,000 vacation-ownership/mixed
use properties through a partnership with East West Resorts, a full-service resort management company in Edwards,
Colo. The recent agreements with The Ginn Company and East West Resorts substantiates that Sceptre is filling a
much-needed service to this growing market segment.
“The Ginn Company realizes the significant differences in marketing an upscale mixed-use product vs. a typical
free-standing hotel, and turned to Sceptre as e-distribution specialists to help them increase electronic bookings
and capture greater market share,” said Mark Ozawa, Sceptre VP. “Each property is unique, and its individual characteristics
must be taken into account when marketing it on the various electronic channels. At Sceptre, we strategize and
then advise on positioning, rates, which Web sites or channels to pursue, and driving top line revenue for everyone
involved.”
Earl Hewlette, COO of Ginn Hospitality, said Sceptre was selected from among 20 companies for the contract for
its dedicated team and strong roots in hotel operations and travel distribution technology.
Perfect partnership
“The Ginn Company was looking for superior technology and the best partner in the business,” Hewlette said. “After
six months of intensive interviews with 20 different providers, we believe that we have found both in Sceptre.”
Understanding Ginn Hospitality’s “partnership” concept was one of the many key elements that made Sceptre stand
out from its competitors, Hewlette said.
“With the strength Sceptre has in place, their ratio of Strategic Distribution Managers to hotels, their regular
communications with our staff, and their expertise in Internet marketing, we are confident that together we will
accomplish our goals quickly,” Hewlette said.
Reunion Resort & Club of Orlando, situated near the heart of Central Florida’s theme park corridor, is scheduled
to open in January 2004. The property, which is within minutes of Walt Disney World, will offer the unique combination
of increased living space, with one- and three-bedroom luxury resort residential villas situated directly on golf
courses designed by Tom Watson and Arnold Palmer.
The Club at Hammock Beach, an upscale residential/resort community which opened in July 2003, features three- and
four-bedroom luxury oceanfront suites with access to a 22,000 square foot spa, a $6 million water pool and fantasy
complex, an 18-hole Jack Nicholas golf course and more than 50,000 sq ft of indoor and outdoor flexible meeting
and function space. Guests of the vacation-rental facility enjoy all of the privileges of private club membership.
Consulting made simple
Connie Rheams, Sceptre Managing Director, Business Development and Marketing, said Sceptre’s Strategic Distribution
Managers are working hand-in-hand with Ginn executives to determine which distribution channels are most appropriate
for their properties and help them create strategies that will allow them to maximize their production through
each of the channels.
“Our focus for these two distinctive properties is on education, training, channel management and revenue management,”
Rheams said. “Not only will this give Reunion Resort & Club and The Club at Hammock Beach an extra edge over
the competition, but it will better help them to understand what moves markets and identify the many issues that
affect travel trends and travel patterns. At Sceptre, consulting and advisory services take precedence.”
About The Ginn Company
The Ginn Company engages in resort development, real estate sales and golf course management and construction within
its master-planned communities. The company’s principals have more than three decades of experience in creating
extraordinary large-scale, recreation-oriented resorts, including Wild Dunes and Dunes West in South Carolina and
Sandestin on north Florida’s “Emerald Coast.” Current Ginn Company resort projects include Reunion Resort &
Club of Orlando and The Club at Hammock Beach in Palm Coast, Fla. Other Ginn communities include RiverTowne Country
Club in Mt. Pleasant, S.C., and luxury Club community Tesoro, Waterford on the St. Lucie and Watersong on Hutchinson
Island all situated on Florida’s historic “Treasure Coast.”
About Sceptre
Since 1987, Sceptre has helped chains, management companies and independent hotels and resorts increase their sales
and profits through GDS representation, private-label voice reservations and consulting services. Sceptre provides
electronic distribution power and expertise previously reserved for branded or franchised hotels, with state-of-the-art
reservations technology and a strong commitment to customer service and support. Sceptre is one of the key business
units of SWAN Inc., a multi-service company focused on the hospitality industry. Other hospitality services of
SWAN include Richfield (hotel management), Shield (insurance and risk management) and Source (procurement of operating
supplies and FF&E). Swan Inc. is headquartered in Denver with approximately 1,000 employees. The company's
shareholders include City e-Solutions Limited (CES) listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and Millennium &
Copthorne Hotels plc, a U.K.-based company listed on the London Stock Exchange, operating 91 hotels worldwide.
----------------------------
Barb Worcester, President PRPRO barbw@prproconsulting.com 440-930-5770 Connie Rheams, Managing Director Sceptre crheams@esceptre.com 940-497-5300