Asia’s first Alternative Ownership Conference to be held in Phuket

In the current economic times, market conditions are challenging for new and established hotels and resorts alike. ´Alternative Ownership´ is being touted as a viable alternative to traditional models of operation for hotel, resort and real estate development owners.

In response to this growing trend, the Alternative Ownership Conference for Hotels and Resorts – Asia Pacific (AOCAP) will be held October 12 -13, 2009 at Millennium Resort Patong, Phuket, Thailand. The two day conference will focus on introducing alternative ownership concepts – Private Residence, Fractional Ownership and Vacation Ownership concepts – to the regional market, share successful case studies and implementation methods from leading speakers, and network with the industry’s key players.

Asia Pacific is seeing growth in tourism infrastructure, attracting many branded hotels and resorts as well as local and international property investors from around the world. Thailand in particular is seeing rapid growth, even in these tough times, with a large number of new hotels (branded and non-branded) due to come on line in the next 12-36 months.

Alternative Ownership is a relatively new concept for Thailand and the Asia Pacific region at large. This concept is known to offer new revenue opportunities for established and new resorts, and mixed-use development owners. Alternative ownership models include Fractional Ownership, Vacation Ownership and Private Residence concepts. Global examples include Marriott, Banyan Tree, Hyatt, Wyndham, Accor and Disney who all operate alternative ownership models.

In Thailand, and Phuket specifically, there are a number of established vacation club operators including Marriott Vacation Club, Laguna Holiday Club, Absolute Vacation Club and newcomer West Sands Phuket Beach Club, while Fractional Ownership, which was pioneered in Thailand by the Absolute World Group, has recently seen growing uptake in the Kingdom. Today there are a number of mixed-use developments offering Fractional Ownership in Thailand including Absolute Bangla Suites (Phuket), yooPhuket (Phuket), Absolute Beach Resort at Nakalay (Phuket), Puravarna Phuket Yacht Club (Phuket), Karma Resorts (Samui) and Falcon Hill (Hua Hin), to name just a few.

The AOCAP conference is specifically designed to facilitate key learning and the exchange of ideas on shared ownership for real estate and resort delegates from around the world. Industry representatives scheduled to share their wealth of experience during the two day conference include Ragatz Associates, The Registry Collection, Absolute World Group of Companies and Preferred Residence, amongst others. The conference aims to help established operators and those with an interest in alternative ownership models.

Bryan Lunt, Chairman of Absolute World Group of Companies – Asia’s market leader in mixed-use resort development – and the founder sponsor of AOCAP said, “We are delighted that Absolute World Group of Companies is an integral part of such an industry event in the market, with great support from the leaders in the world marketplace, the regional industry and respective media. We hope to promote this alternative ownership concept throughout Asia and Asia Pacific.”

"Many real estate developers are now interested in the fractional concept while many resorts are opening to ideas of vacation ownership. Operators need a clear understanding and advice on implementation. At the conference there will be industry experts to share their experience and case studies on how to help generate revenue and boost occupancy, both of which are of interest to developers and buyers,” Bryan Lunt added.

The AOCAP conference is sponsored by Absolute World Group of Companies, The Registry Collection, Citadel, Preferred Residences, yooPhuket, Limcharoen Hughes & Glanville, and The Escape as the official digital partners. Media Sponsors include FractionaLife.com, Perspective International, Absolute Thai magazine, and Property Report magazine. The conference is organized by Infinity Communications & Consultant, Phuket.

Asia Property Report - 2009 September 03 - News