Franz Hanning - Perspective’s A-List July 2007

Franz Hanning, president and CEO of Wyndham Vacation Ownership, recently reached a major milestone by celebrating his 25th anniversary with the company. Hanning has witnessed the tremendous change both Wyndham Vacation Ownership and the timeshare industry have undergone since he joined the company in 1982. He recently shared with us his memories of the past quarter century and the future outlook of the industry.

You joined the company in 1982. What was your progression from sales representative to CEO?
I started with the company when it was a land development company in Arkansas known as Fairfield Communities, Inc. After several years there, I moved to Fairfield Williamsburg, our company’s first timeshare resort. I led our East Coast sales, in particular, Myrtle Beach and Williamsburg, for the next few years before moving to the Orlando corporate headquarters in 1996 to become Regional Vice President of Sales.

I then served as Chief Operating Officer for Fairfield Resorts and became its president and CEO in 2001 when Fairfield was acquired by Cendant Corporation. In 2004, I was appointed president and CEO of Wyndham Vacation Ownership and was given the wonderful opportunity to lead all operations of Wyndham Vacations Resorts, WorldMark by Wyndham and Wyndham Vacation Resorts Asia Pacific.

Is there one specific factor Wyndham Vacation Ownership provided that made you stay with the company?
My progression would not have been possible without the many people I have met in the company and throughout the industry. I have learned so much about the industry, business and management from many of those who I have met along the way, including our owners who have helped shape the company into what it is today. You can build lasting relationships in the vacation ownership industry because everyone is working in a dynamic business and they are passionate about how our product can change people’s lives.

These relationships are key as our owners help us to further develop the company. Our more than 800,000 owners drive where we build, how we design and the amenities found at our resorts, and they want us to continue offering world-class products and experiences.

Without owner relationships, we would not be the industry’s leader. In fact, I still keep in touch with the first family I sold a fixed-week timeshare.

Even after 25 years, I continue to enjoy coming to work each day because of the dedication of our company’s more than 16,000 employees worldwide and I’m fulfilled by helping our owners achieve their vacation dreams.

Everyday we are given the opportunity to encourage people to take vacations and spend time with their family and friends, and that is truly important to me.

What are the developments you have seen in the company?
Wyndham Vacation Ownership has really taken off over the past several years. In 2006, we had a record breaking year, reaching $1.74 billion in vacation ownership sales. We now have more than 150 resorts across the United States, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and the South Pacific and more than 800,000 owner families. We have achieved so much since 1966 when the company was formed.

We started from humble beginnings in Fairfield Bay, Arkansas and our first office was a renovated gas station. When I joined the company, it was making strong headway into the timeshare industry. The company has experienced incredible expansion over the years and has developed and acquired resorts around the world. More than 40 years later, Wyndham Vacation Ownership has become the world’s largest vacation ownership company with more resorts, owners and units than any other company in the industry.

Over the years, I’m proud to say our company has been an innovator. More than 15 years ago we were a leader in the development of the flexible points system and implemented our FairShare Plus system, which today provides a chance for people to vacation when and how they want to.

Just recently we have experienced significant changes following our spin off from Cendant Corporation in 2006. We now have a recognizable brand name – Wyndham – that carries a sizable amount of cache in the hospitality industry. To carry the Wyndham name brings a tremendous amount of potential to the company. Our owners and guests have already begun to see the name change as our resorts are being re-flagged and our sales and marketing programs reflect Wyndham in the marketplace. We are capitalizing on the brand’s consumer awareness and also are the title sponsor of the Wyndham Championship that will be held this August in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Over the 25 years you have been with Wyndham Vacation Ownership, what changes have you seen throughout the timeshare industry?
The industry has changed tremendously in the past several years. The growth has been incredible with sales now reaching over $10 billion. The economic impact of timeshare has been great. We are a leading component of the hospitality industry.

The two developments that have revolutionized our industry have been the addition of the points-based timeshare programs and the movement of major hospitality companies into the business.

Points-based programs have added tremendous flexibility to vacation ownership. As a result, timeshare owners have more vacation destination options than ever before and they have flexible vacation alternatives that can meet their particular needs. Flexibility also introduced timeshare to more people who would never have purchased our product if they only were given the traditional fixed-week option. The points-based system enables more consumers to discover vacation ownership and move beyond any preconceived notions they have regarding what timeshare actually is. It truly has opened the industry up to so many more people.

The addition of brand name hospitality companies like Wyndham has increased the visibility of the industry. While timeshare has been around for a while the industry still has battled with lack of credibility to a certain extent.
But that’s changed significantly. With major leisure companies offering timeshare, the quality of the resorts and flexibility of the product has increased tremendously. These major brands have established quality reputations and are now bringing consumers who may never have considered purchasing vacation ownership into the timeshare industry.

How healthy is the timeshare industry?
The timeshare industry has a bright outlook. We are experiencing high levels of owner satisfaction and strong growth trends. Combine this with the low consumer penetration rate and the industry has solid potential for continued growth.

As you mentioned earlier, your company now has a recognizable brand name with Wyndham. How does Wyndham Vacation Ownership work with its sister brands Wyndham Hotel Group and Group RCI?
It comes down to having a solid relationship with people throughout the company and a strong leadership team that recognizes the need of each of Wyndham’s business units to maintain and expand its successful business practices.

After spinning off from Cendant Corporation in 2006, Wyndham Worldwide established a team of dedicated individuals who were skilled at generating results for their business units and were successful at combining the knowledge base within the divisions into one of the world’s largest hospitality companies.

To date, Wyndham Hotel Group encompasses nearly 6,500 franchised hotels and more than 539,000 hotel rooms worldwide, Group RCI offers its more than 3.4 million members access to more than 60,000 vacation properties in approximately 100 countries and Wyndham Vacation Ownership has a network of approximately 150 vacation ownership resorts serving more than 800,000 owners throughout North America, the Caribbean and the South Pacific. As Wyndham Worldwide, we truly offer individual consumers and business-to-business customers a broad suite of hospitality products and services across various accommodation alternatives and price ranges.

Where do you see vacation ownership in the future?
As more consumers learn about the benefits of vacation ownership, the industry will branch out into new areas. At Wyndham Vacation Ownership, development of resorts in urban areas is one of the newest areas for growth.

Cities such as Washington D.C., San Francisco, Anaheim and New Orleans lend themselves well to timeshare. We know our owners want to visit these destinations and experience the cities’ nightlife, museums, restaurants, shopping and more. It is a much different experience than visiting a beach resort. We want to provide them with the opportunity to visit these urban areas and stay at the quality resorts they have come to expect from us.

With the addition of major hospitality brands to the industry, mixed-use properties will move to the forefront of resort development. We are currently experiencing this ourselves with our Wyndham Bonnet Creek Resort in Orlando. This resort’s popularity has been increasing and we continue to add timeshare units and will add the Wyndham Lake Buena Vista Hotel and Spa at Bonnet Creek in 2009. Having a hotel resort and vacation ownership resort co-exist allows guests and owners to share amenities and further expand their vacation options.

Our potential as a company and as an industry is limitless. I’m looking forward to what will happen over the next 25 years.

This article featured exclusively in the Perspective Magazine and is copyrighted by Perspective International Ltd. Reproduction in part or in full is strictly prohibited.