The American Resort Development Association (ARDA) is a Washington D.C.-based trade association representing the timeshare industry. ARDA has almost 1,000 corporate members ranging from privately held firms to publicly traded corporations with extensive experience in shared ownership interests in leisure real estate.
ARDA promotes the growth and development of the timeshare industry through a variety of capacities. The membership also includes timeshare owner associations (HOAs), as well as timeshare owners through the ARDA Resort Owners Coalition (ARDA-ROC).
Every Fall ARDA convenes a conference to offer bottom-line analysis of the implications of the timeshare industry, including economic and political trends.
It’s an opportunity for industry attendees to work with many industry leaders who are volunteering their time and expertise to help guide ARDA and the industry into the future.
The 2011 ARDA Fall Conference is being held November 9-11 in Washington, D.C. One of the main focuses of this year’s Conference is a look at the timeshare secondary market. The subject of timeshare resales (“aftermarket” or “secondary” market) is a hot topic right now. For more information read 7 Reasons to Buy an Aftermarket Timeshare on RedWeek’s blog.
The conference’s “Town Hall on the State of the Secondary Market” will look the biggest issues in the current resale market with moderator Howard Nusbaum, President and CEO of ARDA. Along with speakers Dan Harrill, CEO of Holiday Inn Club Vacations and Bob Miller, President of Marriott Leisure, the discussion will also cover how ARDA can influence these issues and what ARDA has already done to ensure that it comes up with solutions to make a healthier secondary market.
The ARDA Fall Conference Keynote Speaker will be Dr. Peter Morici, of the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, who is a recognized expert on economic policy and international economics. Prior to joining the university, he served as director of the Office of Economics at the U.S. International Trade Commission.
At the Chairman’s League Breakfast on the final morning of the conference, the keynote speaker will be Tucker Carlson. A contributor to FOX News, Carlson is also the editor-in-chief of the Daily Caller news site and a senior fellow at the Cato Institute.
A final topic at the Fall Conference will be the results of the mandate created at the March, 2011, ARDA Convention – an emphasis on more research as a feature of 2011. ARDA commissioned an owners study asking information from potential buyers, finding out about their internet capabilities, and asking what they know about the product and how they want to be sold.