The ins and outs of timeshare resort design

by Rae Hostetler
E-Hospitality

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11/21/2000  

Building and furnishing a vacation ownership project is similar to planning a hotel--with some subtle but important differences.

It may sound simplistic, but looks are everything when it comes to creating a resort timeshare facility. That’s because timeshare guests are not just guests. They are owners who have a vested interest in what the resort looks and feels like today, tomorrow and a decade from now. Add to that the following factors: A developer’s marketing price tag can reach 50% of the cost of sales and a resort sales staff has only 90 minutes to turn a individual prospect into an owner.

“The biggest expense to a timeshare developer is marketing, so if the first impression is positive, it makes the salesperson’s job a lot easier,” says Howard Wolff, senior vice president at Wimberly Allison Tong & Goo (WAT&G), a global architecture firm specializing in upper-end hospitality projects.

Wolff’s colleague at WAT&G, Senior Vice President Ron Van Pelt, agrees. “Whether you are purpose-building a resort or converting a site to resort timeshare, there are a myriad of things to consider before you start building,” says Van Pelt. “If you’re moving from hotels to timeshare, remember they are different industries. They have different guests and the buildings have different uses.”

Exteriors:  Architect should have specialized experience

Van Pelt says it’s best to hire a professional architect with hospitality design experience before even selecting a site, whether it’s a plot of land or a candidate for conversion. Industry experts say the majority of new resorts opening across the country are purpose-built. The latest available data from RCI Consulting in a 1997 study showed that more than half of new projects actively selling were built from the ground up.

“One of the interesting things we’re seeing is that timeshares are being built with a hotel component on the same site,” Wolf says. He says purpose-building a timeshare on a “blank slate” of land allows an architectural firm like WAT&G to maximize the land use for the facility. Mixed-use resorts offer timeshare and hotel components along with amenities including restaurants, exercise facilities, pools, convenience stores and family activities.

Those amenities keep timeshare guests, often there for the week, a reason to stay on site. And because the duration of the stay is longer, Wolff stresses that an architectural firm must create a feeling of separation between the hotel guests and the timeshare guests. This separation allows timeshare owners not to feel “overrun” in their home away from home.

Van Pelt adds that by building from the ground up, an architect can ensure that the project fits on the site correctly. He says he recently saw a resort design in Spain that “looked like the architect didn’t visit the site” before designing the project. “The units were designed so that the space didn’t maximize the view for the potential owners’ enjoyment,” says Van Pelt.

He also stresses the differences between a resort timeshare operation and hotel operation. Timeshare operations often include on-site support facilities such as back-of-the-house operations and sales centers, according to Van Pelt. These facilities need to be integrated into the architecture and be properly placed for maximum use.

Van Pelt and Wolff have worked in hospitality architectural design since the 1980s and their firm has designed projects including the Four Seasons Aviara in California, Sun City Resort in South Africa and Oak Valley Destination Resort in South Korea. “The quality of the timeshare projects has changed dramatically in all aspects from land to units to interior design work,” says Van Pelt. “More time, money and effort are spent to create a better product.”

Interiors:  A residential look, commercial quality

Interior designer Pamela Temples McMullen agrees. McMullen is the president and owner of Orlando-based Pamela Temples McMullen Interiors. An industry veteran of 18 years, she says she’s seen quality increase as the image of timeshare continues to improve among consumers.

McMullen says she’s seen several interior design changes over the years from bathrooms that are becoming “a lot sexier” to an increased importance placed on accessories, including extra artwork and more color on the walls to create drama.

“The key is to make it look good with durability in mind,” says McMullen. Timeshare units must look and feel residential, but the fabrics and décor need to be of a commercial grade. Interior designers should consider not only durability, but also preventive maintenance and flame retardancy standards. Anything on a vertical surface must be flame retardant, for example. “Timeshares are under the same rules as hotels because it’s a transitory stay,” says McMullen.

The sales and marketing process is at the forefront of her thoughts when she and others in her firm design the look of the timeshare unit. “When you go into a vacation ownership property, it’s an impulse buy. So the unit has to be exciting and sexy, but appeal to a large number of people,” says McMullen. “When someone goes into a hotel, they are a renter. If something isn’t right they don’t get upset. Yet as an owner there is an expectation that things will stay looking good year after year.”

Theme Resorts:  The latest timeshare design trend

McMullen says a major design trend among developers is “theming” resorts. She says her firm is working with Bluegreen Corp. on the unit design for its Big Cedar Lodge wilderness-themed resort near Branson, MO, and with Starwood’s Sheraton’s Vacation Villages project in Orlando. While Bluegreen’s theme is apparent, she says two concept design proposals were submitted for the Starwood project—a Jimmy Buffet theme and a Hemingway theme. The Hemingway theme won out, keeping the units appropriately themed to the sales center’s Tommy Bahama look. McMullen adds that the Hemingway British West Indies look is a “timeless design” that will endure for years at the resort.

WAT&G’s Wolff agrees that the theming of timeshare resorts is hot. He defines theming as “architecture that reflects the local in which it is situated.” For example, he says WAT&G has designed bungalows on sticks for a resort in Bora Bora, and adds that wouldn’t be appropriate for a project like Big Cedar Lodge. “The paradox of fantasy is that it has to feel real,” says Wolff. “People want to feel as if they are really there when they are there.” The exception to his rule is building in Las Vegas and Orlando, where fantasy and theme parks, respectively, prevail.

One of the best examples of theming is WAT&G’s concept design work at the new Marriott Newport Coast Villas at Pelican Hill in California. Van Pelt says Marriott wanted Italian Hill town architecture, giving the firm a challenging theme in which the building’s exteriors don’t look and feel the same, but the interiors of the hotel rooms and timeshare units do. “We had to create variety but unity within the character.” He says WAT&G worked with landscape architects to keep consistency among the buildings and the grounds.

Van Pelt says designing a timeshare project is a team sport. He advises potential developers to work with consultants, lawyers and other professionals with a timeshare background prior to breaking ground. “The payoff is being able to charge higher prices for a product that sells faster,” says Van Pelt.

Rae Hostetler, based in Indianapolis, is the former public relations manager at RCI. Her e-mail address is hostetlerpr@iquest.net.

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