SINGAPORE (Nov. 4 2014) – RCI ® , the global leader in vacation exchange and part of the Wyndham Worldwide family of brands (NYSE: WYN), recently hosted its first Business Partner Appreciation Lunch at the Park Hyatt Tokyo in Tokyo, Japan.
About 40 guests were present at the lunch, including Mike Uchida, vice president of Hilton Grand Vacations Club and Norikiyo Kihara, senior manager of Disney Vacation Club.
Ricardo Montaudon, managing director of RCI Asia Pacific, welcomed RCI’s business partners with an opening address, followed by Leo Okazaki, director of Business Development for RCI Japan, who provided a brief overview of RCI, as well as the future growth prospects and opportunities for shared ownership in Japan.
“RCI is thankful for our partners’ continued support over the past year as we increase our presence in Japan by moving from a licensing model to a wholly owned business model where we can fully deploy our resources to grow shared ownership in this high-potential market,” said Montaudon. “We will continue to provide our affiliated resorts and their members with excellent exchange services, in addition to new and exciting benefits and programs to come.”
The shared ownership industry in Asia Pacific continues to enjoy robust growth, and a committed presence by RCI in Japan will help spread best practices from around the world through RCI Japan’s business development team. With Japan’s highly developed economy and popular tourism destinations, there are great opportunities to accelerate the growth of the industry. RCI’s 25 existing Japanese affiliated resorts, including many who attended the Business Partner Appreciation Lunch, provide the necessary foundation for future expansion.
“It is assuring to hear about RCI’s history, achievements and track records, as well as its future strategies for Japan,” said Kihara. “Shared ownership works differently in Japan so the introduction on global shared ownership market is useful for us to understand how shared ownership works in the rest of the world and how we can leverage it.”
“Shared ownership is a proven travel management tool that will benefit local businesses, developers and consumers alike,” said Okazaki. “Japan is now a strategic region for RCI and we are confident that with the support of our partners, we can help bring the shared ownership industry in Japan to new heights of success.”
About RCI RCI is the worldwide leader in vacation exchange with nearly 4,500 affiliated resorts in more than 100 countries. RCI pioneered the concept of vacation exchange in 1974, offering members increased flexibility and versatility with their vacation ownership experience. Today, through the RCI Weeks ® program, the week-for-week exchange system, and the RCI Points ® program, the industry’s first global points-based exchange system, RCI provides flexible vacation options to its approximately 3.7 million RCI subscribing members each year. RCI’s luxury exchange program, The Registry Collection ® , is the world’s largest program of its kind with approximately 200 affiliated properties either accessible for exchange or under development on six continents. RCI is part of Wyndham Exchange & Rentals and the Wyndham Worldwide family of brands (NYSE: WYN). For additional information visit our media center , rciaffiliates.com or The RCI Blog . RCI also can be found on Facebook , YouTube and Twitter .
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Media Contact: Tania Sim Tania.sim@rci.com