‘Exciting opportunities’ at Phuket AOCAP event

PHUKET: Phuket property and tourism professionals are taking advantage of networking opportunities and learning more about the boom in fractional ownership at the Alternative Ownership Conference–Asia Pacific, which got underway this morning at the Millenium Resort Patong.

Key speakers in the property and tourism industries have flown into Phuket from around the world for the region’s first two-day AOCAP conference.

They will be exploring the concept of vacation and fractional ownership; highlighting successful case studies from around the world; introducing new research on Phuket’s alternative ownership market; and looking into practical implementation of alternative ownership for resort owners and real estate developers in the Asia Pacific region.

This morning’s talks by regional property experts included: The Growth of Fractional Ownership in Asia by Bryan Lunt of Absolute World Group; Fractional Ownership Business Model by Brett Archibald of The Registry Collection; and a review of the ‘state of the invasion’ of shared ownership in Phuket by Gazette columnist Bill Barnett of C9 Hotelworks.

After a buffet lunch, Vice President of the Registry Collection International will be showcasing luxury fractional ownership models and case studies, followed by a presentation of a vacation ownership model by Joseph Hickman of Preferred Residences.

Later in the afternoon, Piers Brown of Fractional Life.com will be “delving into the mind of the ‘transumer'”, followed by a panel discussion on residence clubs, fractional ownership and vacation ownership headed by Richard Ragatz of Ragatz Associates, Adrian Lee of Aisa Pacific RCI & Registry Collection, and Joseph Hickman.

The day will be rounded off with a Poolside Speed Networking event at the Climax Poolside Dining and Music Lounge at Absolute Bangla Suites, Patong.

Non delegates can also attend the networking event for a fee of 2,500 baht.

Tuesday’s talks begin at 10am with a presentation on the legal framework of fractional ownership in resorts and real-estate developments by Desmond Hughes of Limcharoen Hughes & Glanville, followed by a talk on tax implications for resorts and real-estate developments by Paul Ashburn of BDO Richfield Advisory Limited.

Other presentation topics on Tuesday include consumer trends by Paul Mattimoe of Perspective International; private residence club concepts and trends by Jane Guarducci of Palazzo Italy and Patrick Hanes of International Development Resources Incorporated; and how to achieve online success by Craig Killik of The Escape.

Day two includes three more panel discussion sessions and ends with another networking opportunity from 7.45pm until 8pm at Baan Rim Pa, Patong Bay. This networking session is also open to non-delegates for a fee of 2,800 baht.

Bookings for both networking events can be made online by visiting aocap.org and clicking the ‘Networking’ link.

The AOCAP event is sponsored by the Phuket Gazette.

For more information and call 083-650 6848 or email: info@aocap.org.

— Gazette Events