Shared Ownership Services - Overview

The HVS Shared Ownership Services Division (HVS SOS) was established in 1998. Since that time, the division has rendered a variety of consulting and valuation services on a collective group of assets with an aggregative value in excess of over $1 billion.

HVS Shared Ownership Personnel Have:

• Written the book on Timeshare Valuation
• Been instrumental winning several ad valorem tax cases in the U.S. relative to the real property assessment and taxation of timeshare properties
• Valued the entire Hilton Grand Vacation Club Division of Hilton Worldwide when the Hilton organization was purchased by Blackstone
• Been actively involved as expert witnesses for timeshare companies seeking financial reorganization under U. S. Bankruptcy Laws
• Provided consulting and valuation services for over 70 Mixed-Use projects in the United States, Central America, South America, Mexico, and the Caribbean Basin.

The Division is headquartered in Miami, Florida, with an additional office located in Madrid, Spain. The Shared Ownership Division specializes in the following property types:

• Vacation ownership properties
• Fractional real estate
• Private residence clubs (PRC)
• Condo-hotel units
• Branded residences
• Hospitality driven mixed-use real estate

Shared Ownership Services Division personnel have completed hundreds of assignments involving the above property types in a wide variety of countries, including the United States, Mexico, the Caribbean Basin, Central America, South America, the United Kingdom, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. A more detailed list can be found here.

For new real estate projects, our consulting services are geared to help clients determine the optimal shared ownership product for the envisioned development and to assist them in analyzing the market and financial feasibility aspects of the deal. For existing projects, our consulting services are geared to help clients determine ways in which the value of their asset may be enhanced and/or optimized with a shared ownership project.

Our litigation support services assist clients involved in foreclosure or bankruptcy proceedings and other types of court litigation. An example of our work in this area can be found here.

Many of our division members are certified valuators. This background, experience, and professional certification provides additional credibility to third party investors, lenders, and judges reviewing our financial projections and/ or value opinions. Kathy Conroy MAI is a noted authority in timeshare valuation, having authored the book for the Appraisal Institute on valuing timeshare properties. John Lancet is a contributing author to the book “Resort Development” published by the Urban Land Institute in 2008.

Our Development Services are under the direction of Mark Earle, a 25 year industry veteran. They are designed to complement our consulting services and to assist clients in defining and executing development plans and maximizing asset values. This segment will also assist businesses in realizing larger scale expansion plans through key partnerships and alliances, acquisitions, conversions, and branding.

Our sales and marketing services are under the direction of Jim Whitteron, an industry veteran. Jim and his team provide strategic advice and sales and marketing solutions to HVS SOS clients, enabling them to build a realistic shared ownership real estate marketing budget, create an effective marketing plan and strategy, and recruit, train, and execute a successful sales operation. Our sales and marketing services are intended to be customized to the work scope needs of the client and to the project budget.

With mixed-use developments, our team of experts provides advice on the appropriate size, scale, and balance between the hotel component and the various real estate components, and conducts the over-arching feasibility and valuation studies needed in order for a mixed-use development to be viewed as one integrated development and operation. For proposed developments, our consulting work will often begin at the pre-development stage, working with land planners, lawyers, and architects in order to create the optimal product concept and market supported business model for a particular site.

HVS SOS provides the following services, as related to the above property types:

Consulting Services

• Product Positioning Studies
• Market Analysis – Sales Price & Sales Pace Conclusions
• Project Feasibility Studies
• Financial Projections and Cash Flow Modeling
• Development Strategies for Optimizing Mixed-Use Real Estate

Valuation Services

• Market Value of the Sellout of:
  • Timeshare Properties
  • Fractional/PRC Projects
  • Condo-Hotels
  • Branded Residences
• Mixed-Use Development Project Valuations
• Land Valuations
• Management Contracts/Company Valuations

Litigation Services

• Litigation support
• Expert witness testimony

Sales & Marketing Solutions

• Usage and Reservation System Plans
• Rental Program Advising
• Creation of Marketing Plans including
  • Lead Generation
  • Marketing Reporting
• Creation of Sales Plans including
  • Recruiting and training
  • Compensation systems
• Formation of Marketing & Sales Budgets

Development Services

• Project acquisition/disposition services
• Negotiating Branding Relationships
• Assistance in Securing Outside Marketing Contracts
• Owner Representation and Asset Management
• Pre-development assistance in the coordination of various required technical and professional services

Division Executives and Achievements

Kathy Conroy, MAI is the CEO/Director of the HVS Shared Ownership Services Division. Kathy authored the textbook published by the Appraisal Institute on Valuing Timeshare Properties, which established the guidelines for appraising this type of property. Under her direction, the Shared Ownership Division has been involved in a number of high profile valuations related to industry mergers and acquisitions, ad valorem tax appeals, and bankruptcy reorganization filings. The cash flow modeling developed under Kathy’s direction and utilized within the Shared Ownership Division allows for the separation of cash flows by the major business and profit centers present within various types of shared ownership real estate. She has completed hundreds of valuation and consulting assignments for lenders, investors, developers, and advisors throughout the world. Kathy has an extensive range of geographical experience and has appraised properties in over 30 U.S states and 30 countries, including 20 islands in the Caribbean Basin and 6 countries in Central and South America. Kathy has valued over 1 billion dollars of shared ownership real estate in her career. She is known as a creative thinker and problem solver.

Kathy has been a Member of the Appraisal Institute (MAI) since 1982. She is a frequent industry speaker and often serves as an expert witness.

John Lancet is a Director of Consulting and Valuation Services in the HVS SOS Division. He is a state certified general appraiser and has been actively involved in the Shared Ownership industry since 1993 when he served as the regional manager for Grupo Costamex- Royal Holiday Club. John has provided consulting and valuation services for all types of shared ownership properties collectively valued at over half a billion dollars, and located throughout the United States, the Caribbean Basin, Central America and Mexico.

Lancet is a contributing author to the Resort Development Handbook published by the Urban Land Institute. John is a sought after expert witness and has provided testimony in bankruptcy court for several large vacation ownership companies.

Philip has over 25 years’ experience in professional business advisory services and general management. He has worked with a wide range of both independently-managed and publicly-listed international companies. Following ten years’ with Price Waterhouse in London and Barcelona, since 1993 Philip has had comprehensive experience of all aspects of hotel and mixed-use resort development. As well as working as Finance Director for two resort development companies in Spain, he has held a number of senior positions, including Finance, Marketing and Business Development, reporting at Board level and managing and controlling projects and cross-functional international teams during the development, start up and operational phases of several businesses involved in the leisure real estate sector. In addition, as an independent consultant he has conducted a number of market research projects, product development plans, feasibility studies and valuations for hotel and resort development companies in the Europe, the Middle East and India.

Mark Earle is Managing Director of Resort Development Services at HVS, assisting developers with business growth and project strategy through alliances, acquisitions, conversions, partnering, or branding. Specialties include assembling key players for international projects and asset value maximization. Mark joined HVS in 2001 advising developers, investors, and owners of hospitality assets in work-outs, investment sales, and capital advisory. He is known as innovative problem solver and energetic match maker.

Mark’s creative development leadership includes senior positions with Marriott International, where he successfully tackled diverse assignments with emphasis on international and domestic full-service and luxury hotels, resorts, and fractional ownership. At Marriott International's Vacation Club and Ritz-Carlton Divisions, Mark developed resorts in the US, Caribbean and Mexico generating over $2 billion in total sales, including the award-winning landmark Custom House conversion in Boston and the first Ritz-Carlton Club resort projects. Earlier, he relocated to London where he spearheaded Marriott’s first 13 unit UK franchise. Domestically, Mark produced 26 newly developed hotels with 6,100 rooms - in addition to the rebranding and conversion of many others; and conducted comprehensive feasibility studies for 22 hotels totaling 6,850 rooms, including Marriott's pivotal Marquis Hotel in New York Times Square and Palm Springs' famous Desert Springs Resort.

Mark earned masters teaching and research fellowship from Cornell University and a BA from Ithaca College He is a regular conference speaker on development topics.

Jim Whitteron is the Director of Marketing and Sales Solutions for the HVS Shared Ownership Services Division.

Jim pioneered the Private Residence Club industry in 1992 with the development of the Deer Valley Club in Park City, Utah. Until the Deer Valley Club, a $200,000 fractional ownership was unimaginable. Private Residence Club developments went on to become the fasting growing segment of the vacation industry with hospitality brands such as Four Seasons and Ritz Carlton introducing their own projects.

The distinctive villa and common area design, the trademarked usage and reservations systems, the innovative and cost effective marketing and sales programs and the customized project documentation developed for the Deer Valley Club serves as the foundation for hundreds of Private Residence Clubs worldwide.

Following the development of the Deer Valley Club, Jim pioneered the first urban Private Residence Club (Phillips Club, NYC), the first Private Residence Club in Latin America (Club Quinta Real, MX) and the first Private Residence Club that included a fractional yacht club membership (Capella Pedregal, Cabo San Lucas) and a fractional golf membership (The Grand Del Mar, San Diego).

Jim and his team have provided marketing and sales management services and development advisory services for 26 projects in the United States, Caribbean, Mexico, South America, Central America and Europe. Notable projects include the Isle de France (St-Barth’s); Phillips Club (NYC); Capella Pedregal (Cabo San Lucas), Monteverdi (Val d'Orca, Italy), Craigsanquhar (St. Andrews, Scotland); The Grand Del Mar (San Diego); Red Frog Beach (Panama); Warm Springs Club (Sun Valley, ID) and Northstar Club (North Lake Tahoe). His projects collectively account for over $1 billion in fractional ownership sales.

As the result of the dramatic changes in the aspirations of the vacation home purchaser, offering a fractional ownership program has become an attractive option. Relying on their extensive experience and knowledge of the marketplace, the HVS Shared Ownership Services Division team can create a fractional ownership program that meets the needs of the post recession vacation home purchaser.