2018 RDO conference is ‘the time for action’

European timeshare trade body the Resort Development Organisation (RDO) says now is ‘the time for action’ for vacation ownership as well as the extended travel and tourism industry, a theme it will adopt at its 2018 annual conference.

The RDO9 conference takes place at the Pestana Chelsea Bridge Hotel & Spa in London on 12-13 September 2018, and RDO is not only encouraging delegates to attend, but to adopt an open mind when it comes to making changes in order to achieve business success.

In a new post on its website, the RDO states: “A willingness to change is one of the keys for success, not just for modern metropolises such as London, but also businesses and industries that want to survive in today’s fast moving economy. This is why for this year’s theme we have decided to focus on ACT:

• Action
• Changes
• Things

“It is absolutely imperative for companies to take action and change things, in the same way that destinations such as London have been doing for centuries, otherwise they risk becoming obsolete. Just as the once economically vital city of Detroit went bankrupt and lost a huge proportion of its population after not adapting sooner to changing economic times, many companies and businesses have also fallen from prominence in recent decades.

“Some of these were global icons that once seemed too big to ever fail such as Blackberry, Blockbuster or Kodak. None of these brands moved with the times and any action they took proved to be too little, too late.

“As many speakers at previous RDO conferences have emphasised, technological change is only set to become more disruptive in the world for every possible industry, including, most importantly for us, Travel & Tourism.

“This doesn’t mean that the travel sector is shrinking; in fact the opposite is true. Travel & Tourism continues to grow in importance as part of the global economy, as increasing numbers of people can afford to travel and discover the joys of exploring the world. However, the way people choose to travel, which destinations they are travelling to, and how they are booking their vacations are all changing.

“This means that now, more than ever, it is time for the timeshare and vacation ownership industry to take action and change things. This is not change simply for the sake of change, but rather alterations that are vitally needed in order to adapt, survive and thrive within today’s reality.”

This year’s RDO conference will again be fitted into a slightly shorter time frame, and there will also be changes to its format. Delegates will be taken on a journey – the morning sessions will look back at what timeshare promised to deliver to consumers over 20 years ago and how it stands today, and this will ‘ACT’ as a backdrop to the afternoon sessions. The latter will include sessions and speakers focusing on specific ways in which the industry can ACT, and what action will change things.

The proposed schedule for RDO9 will be:

• Day 1: RDO AGM; welcome lunch; breakout sessions; evening welcome reception
• Day 2: Full day of business sessions followed by a social event jointly sponsored by RCI, Interval International and RDO.

For more details about RDO9 click here.