This week's Mediawatch starts in Florida – with reports of both developer difficulties and those pushing forward with expansion plans.
Speaking to Ireland’s Sunday Business Post, property developer Garrett Kenny reveals he is close to pulling the plug on a planned $350million development in Florida because of difficulties in raising finance, while fractionalising another development is now under consideration.
He told the title that said that the plan for the Grenelefe Golf & Tennis Resort, announced early last year, was effectively ‘‘dead’’ because of the credit crunch. Global economic conditions have also hit his Tuscana development in Orlando - which were sold on the expectation of being rented out for up to $160 a night but are now being rented out at $89 a night. He admits he is now considering developing the last phase of the Tuscana development as fractional ownership properties, where small groups of people would own the properties collectively. However, looking to the future, Kenny expressed optimism for the prospects of a market recovery.
The New York Times, meanwhile, highlights Siesta Key as the State’s “hidden treasure”. Noting the opening of the $100 million Hyatt Siesta Key Beach Residence Club earlier this summer, the newspaper reports that village has just undergone a multi-million dollar makeover and spoke to Stephen Leatherman, a university director who recently named Siesta Key’s beach as the second-best in the nation (behind Hanalei Bay in Hawaii): “I use 50 criteria to rate every beach, and in terms of sand alone Siesta Key is definitely the best in the world.” British couple Graham and Beverley Easton told the title: “We’ve been to Spain, France and Portugal, but Siesta Key is our true paradise.”
Staying in Florida, The Orlando Business Journal reports on plans to expand The JW Marriott Grande Lakes to 650 hotel rooms, including a new hotel at its southwest Orlando property. Wade Fischer, vice president of the Pyramid Project Management division of Boston-based Pyramid Hotel Group LLC, told the newspaper that plans are still in the “exploratory stages,” with the cost of the project predicted to run as high as $100 million.
However, the title argues that the additional rooms would benefit other properties at the Grande Lakes development, such as Marriott Vacation Club International, which is currently building a vacation ownership project, Marriott’s Lakeshore Reserve at Grande Lakes.
Fischer concludes that the planned Marriott expansion and new hotel will cement the Grande Lakes properties’ reputation among well-heeled travellers: “We’re looking at what position our resort will be in the next 10-15 years, and these [additions] are components to make sure our resorts stay in the upper echelon of resorts in the Central Florida area.”
Moving up to Canada, Luxury Travel Magazine profiles Trepanier Manor in British Columbia, which will be the Okanagan's only privately owned five-star hotel and has joined Small Luxury Hotels of the World, a collection of over 480 hotels spanning more than 70 countries.
The Trepanier Manor Hotel and 20 detached private homes will be built on 25 acres in Peachland, overlooking Lake Okanagan,and the title notes it will “be the only private residence club in Western Canada, where members enjoy exclusive use of their own home that is not inside a hotel”.
Leaving the American continent, The Economic Times considers the vacation ownership industry in India, reporting that RCI plans a 200% growth in its affiliations in India this year. RCI managing director Radhika Shastry told the title: "We are witnessing a strong growth in affiliations this year, and several new destinations are being added. As against five properties that were affiliated in the country last year we are targeting 15 this year, and we are adding a number of new destinations as well."
Finally, the Phuket Wan focuses on the upcoming Alternative Ownership Conference for Hotels and Resorts - Asia Pacific (reported on Newskys earlier this week) – noting that Phuket is now “alive with debate” on fractional ownership and timeshare issues.
It says that “Phuket has become a test-bed for some of the concepts of so-called 'alternative ownership'' models’ but warns that debate is being distorted by coverage of the issues. It notes: “Recently, the views of a Thailand Research Fund-sponsored team were misrepresented in a national newspaper heading that shouted '’Foreigners 'own 90% of Phuket beach land’,” adding that this “just isn't true, yet some people still seem to prefer to believe that it is”.
The title argues that the conference should help attendees wade through the ‘misinformation’ currently being disseminated and also address concerns surrounding the way product is sold to holidaymakers.