“Vision is the art of seeing things
invisible.”
– Jonathan Swift –
From January 1960 to January 1964, the average U.S. annual inflation
rate was less than 1.3 percent. Excessive spending growth from 1966 to 1969 for the Vietnam War and social programs
in an economy constrained by its productive capacity increased the average annual inflation rate to 3.1 percent
from 1965 to 1970. Higher expected inflation rates led to higher wage rate contracts, and the wage-price spiral
pushed inflation to 5 percent in first quarter 1970 as labor productivity grew far less than wage rates.
The Nixon Administration's price control program from 1971 to 1974 temporarily reduced
inflation from 5 percent in first quarter 1970 to 3.6 percent in first quarter 1973. However, the controls failed
to reduce inflation permanently, and when they were terminated, inflation climbed to 5.9 percent. The acceleration
in inflation was exacerbated by the first major oil price shockat the end of 1973. The price of West Texas
intermediate crude oil increased from $3.56 per barrel in July 1973 to $10.11 per barrel in the aftermath of the
Arab oil embargo. In fourth quarter 1974, the U.S. inflation rate climbed to 12.2 percent.
The cover story of the March 2004 issue of Developments magazine celebrated the 35th
Anniversary of ARDA (American Resort Development Association). The ARDA story runs parallel to the
Timeshare Industry story because most of the early players in each were the same. Some might now call those early
players Visionaries, however, at the time most were simply attempting to survive. The great majorities were caught
up in the real estate recession of the mid -1970’s. To quote extensively (in bold italic) from that March 2004
issue, The Industry: Then and Now - Taking Stock: ARDA’s Greatest Accomplishments - ARDA: An Evolving Role.
“At the time, lending institutions were faced with
the problem of numerous
overbuilt condominium projects, primarily on the west coast of Florida”
- Christian Wells -
ä
“Keep in mind the condo concept itself was new
and these people didn’t know anything about
marketing costs or how to carve up a project into intervals. The tactic didn’t bail Florida
out at all and the S&Ls became the single, largest owner of failed timeshare projects”
- Stu Bloch -
ä
“Some of the companies that entered the timeshare
business traveled from
the land sales business and dragged their baggage with them”
- Gary Terry -
ä
“There just weren’t many people who knew what they
were doing in the early days”
- Tom Franks -
ä
“In the beginning, the industry was this rich mosaic
of entrepreneurs with a new idea. The
idea was an accidental vacation product proposed as a solution to a real estate problem.”
-
Howard Nusbaum –
ä
The truth is that back in those days no one and I mean no one could have envisioned that our
industry and our association as it is today. However, individually and collectively the first stages of being visionaries
were present. This beginning was as simple as asking the question: "What is our preferred future?” Clearly
the answer to that question was to find ways out of the current predicament. In order to do that individually and
collectively, they must have been open to dramatic modifications to current organization, methodology, teaching
techniques, facilities, etc.
“At every level and phase, pioneer work occurred.
Everyone learned by trial and error.”
- Christel DeHaan -
ä
“We had to develop almost all of the operating
processes, including
contracts, computers systems, and training programs.”
- Bob Miller -
ä
Through vision they began to think out of the box and to identify direction and purpose. The
outcome of this was the recognition that mutually beneficial relationships must be formed. All the industry stakeholders
had to change by becoming involved in the promotion of common interests and commitments. Such a vision would encourages
openness to unique and creative solutions, builds confidence, loyalty through involvement that would result in
efficiencies and productivity. That vision was the industry involvement in the American Land Development Association
(ALDA) and its Resort Timeshare Council. ARDA is the evolution of ALDA over two decade.
“ARDA’s greatest success has been its ability to unify
the industry by bringing
together a diverse group of companies to work on common issues. Our membership
is comprised of hard charging entrepreneurs looking to their own businesses first.
The association said we come together or we are going to die separately.”
- Bill Ingersoll -
ä
“The most obvious accomplishment, however, is legislative
representation. What started
as a much needed voice for recreational land developers in Washington has evolved
into a powerful and effective voice representing the interest of the Timeshare
industry at both the federal and state levels on a wide range of critical issues.”
- Jim Broughton -
ä
It was one vision to establish an industry association however; it would take another
vision to grow an industry out of the chaos that was timeshares obstreperous start. The truth is that many individuals
in the industry did not have a commitment beyond a solution for the current distressed property they were involved
with. Their vision, if they had one, reached only to the end of the existing economic crisis.
“The early years were desperate years. Many developers
went broke, some due
to impropriety, but most simply became over-extended because they were
unclear on how to earn a profit by offering a good product at an affordable price.”
- Jon DeHaan -
ä
“There were no established rules under which to
operate and a lot of people misrepresented
the product to the consumer. Projects were not protected and there was no means to ensure
that the consumer would receive what he or she purchased. State attorneys general and real
estate commissioners were actually running on platforms that promised the elimination of
timesharing. During this period, we were not just working for the establishment of order
and acceptance, but for the survival of the industry.
- Craig Nash -
ä
Those who did survive did so because individually and collectively
they began to develop a vision that encompassed their own beliefs that those common goals and their own organizational
goals could be met without compromising values or independence. Their vision included beliefs that the desired
outcomes could be precise and practical and could be made as a public/visible declaration. Most understood that
these beliefs reflected the knowledge, philosophy that, if they could become part of a collective vision, would
guide the actions of all involved.
“ARDA has always had tremendous success
in bringing together a number of different
developers for the common good of the industry. Many of the early players knew that
ARDA would be an important vehicle for protecting consumers and ourselves.
- John Burlingame -
ä
“ARDA’s was formed to protect its members from
unreasonable legislation. In addition, it has always provided a wonderful platform for
meetings and imparting information.”
- George Donovan –
ä
FINAL THOUGHT
In 1969 the American Land Development Association (ALDA) was formed in response to the enactment of the
Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act and an evolution began. Out of ALDA came the Resort Timeshare
Council then the National Timeshare Council (NTC) in 1976 and soon the timeshare resort contingency
began to dominate. As a result of that growth American Resort & Residential Development Association (ARRDA)
was born and in the late 80’s what we know as the American Resort Development Association (ARDA) became
a reality.
This evolution did not come about through happenstance. It came about because many members of our industry shared
a compelling picture of a desirable future state that would require quantum changes from the past. They developed
memorable images about the nature and benefits of their vision and worked backwards to understand the journey that
could carry all involved in timesharing toward that vision.
Because we are a highly dynamic industry there was never just one vision, there were multiple scenarios and
potential future states. What previously existed in ARDA was a robust visioning process that engaged people
in thorough exploration of possibilities, using different media to portray possible futures. Workshops and Think
Tanks engaged members directly in the process and this involvement was extraordinarily energizing for the organization
and the industry.
There are those in our industry that seek to compel us to isolate the vision of our industry to a single world
of travel/tourism, a vision which redefines the term vacation so that vacation ownership has little if any basis
in real estate. This isolation thinking has a tendency to discourage creativity and entrepreneurship. It seeks
to drive the independent developer totally out of the industry and to disenfranchise many millions of traditional
timeshare owners.
My vision of our industries future does not encompass something like the retail vision of
only the big-box Wal-Mart. I like the options that comes with the variety of competition. My vision allows
me to go to the new car dealer and purchase outright the vehicle of my choice rather than being required to lease
it because that’s what is good for the dealer.
Have the powers to be already determined the view from here?
Is my vision fading away?
