1. Op-ed Bryan D. Coy, RRP
SeasonOpeners—IsVacation
Ownership“America’sPastime”?
Like many Americans, I spent a great
number of hours in my childhood and
early teens immersed in baseball—reading
the box scores, listening or watching a
game on the radio or TV, and poring over
baseball cards. There was a point in the
early 1980’s when I could name the stats
on almost every player on the Houston
Astros roster, as well as most of the top 30
players in each league.
When unpacking some personal
items in my garage recently, I found an
old fantasy team worksheet I created when
I was 12 (unfortunately, this was about
the time Bill Gates began working out of
his garage, so my “strategy” and team
were executed long-hand). It struck me
that the successful development, sale, and
operation of a vacation ownership project
and club are very similar to developing and
operating a major league baseball team.
Both require an enormous investment
on the front-end, careful scouting and
application of limited player (marketing)
funds, strategic use of valuable players,
and steady management of the stars and
operation—plus, lots of statistics.
The Playing Field
Like vacation ownership, the origin of
baseball is not well defined, and the details
are often disputed; most references place
the genesis somewhere in Europe. In 1869,
the Cincinnati Red Stockings became
the first professional team in the United
States, and the three decades that followed
were tentative as the game became more
defined. By the early 1900’s, Americans
quickly embraced the sport that became
known as “America’s pastime.”
When Major League Baseball awards
a new franchise, the lucky winner is both
excited and probably terrified: “I just won
the opportunity to invest several hundred
million dollars in a project that I hope will
be so appealing that many fans [vacation
owners] will invest significant amounts of
money to be a part of it!”
The new owner has to carefully select
the right location, with enough appeal to
regularly draw thousands of fans. Once
selected, a world-class stadium must
be designed, approved, permitted, and
developed—millions of dollars invested for
the ballpark alone. Then, millions more
must be spent to scout, court, and sign a
full roster of players, with untold amounts
invested to market and advertise the new
venue, building such a buzz that even
“sunny day” fans want to come check it out
at least once. Statistics seem to proliferate
in vacation ownership just like baseball:
VPG—similar to batting average, slugging
percentage or times on base; tours—at
bats; sales—hits or homeruns. There are
many opportunities for anyone
employed at the resort or the resort’s
parent to achieve an RBI (runs batted in)
and set up the marketing or sales team.
Baseball awards the Golden Glove
annually to the top player in each position.
For vacation ownership, the Golden Glove
might also be earned and awarded to so
many members of the team in different
positions: the friendly and responsive
front desk; the housekeeping team that
spots a need before a request is made;
the facilities manager, who identifies
problems before they affect the guests; the
gracious sales person, who swallows the
disappointment of not making a sale and
treats the tour respectfully and warmly,
30 Developments May 2010

2. preserving goodwill for the next “pitch”
and dispelling widely held stories of
mistreatment. The “Relief Pitcher of the
Year” could go to the turnover manager
with the most consistent closes. The same
individual might also be referred to as your
designated hitter (DH)—does your team
have a DH with a great batting average?
What constitutes a
great batting average?
In baseball, the highest
batting average in a
single season is in the
.400 range. The highest
career average is .367,
held by Ty Cobb. Babe
Ruth is one of the most
revered homerun kings
of all time, yet he had a
lifetime average of only
.344! That means these
all-time greats struck
out, hit a fly ball, or were
thrown out more than 6
times out of 10! Yet, if they
played today, they would
certainly all have multi-
million dollar contracts
that kept them
contractually glued to their
teams for many years. Isn’t
that true for even the best
marketing and sales teams?
Show me a .400 closer,
and I’ll show you a wealthy
salesperson, an ecstatic VP
of sales, and a deliriously
beaming “front office.”
Team Talent
Every baseball team has a front office.
Their job is to run the business side of
things in a fashion that gives the “field”
managers (marketing, sales, and resort
operations) an opportunity to perform
at their best and not be hampered by
outside distractions like cash flow and
financing. They do everything they can
to maximize the “paid attendance,” while
attracting new fans—sometimes even with
discounted or complimentary tickets. A few
professional sports teams have attempted
to access Wall Street in the past with little
long-term success. Many team owners at
times are in the position where they have
more cash going out the gates to pay their
tour vendors (the players) than they have
coming in. A number of them have even
“financed” season tickets. Sound familiar?
The job of the field management
(the team manager, the batting coach, the
pitching coach, and the scouting team) is to
make sure that the front office is getting the
best return possible on their investment. In
baseball and in vacation ownership, every
player on the field is essential—if any one
of them is clearly asleep on the job, you
can bet the batter is going to smack one by
that team member quickly. Isn’t that the
same with marketing and selling an active
VO resort? All of your carefully invested
marketing and sales dollars can be thrown
away if the guest has a bad experience
with the resort staff.
Box Scores
How many “errors” has your team
committed? Any wild pitches or dropped
balls? How about stolen bases—are you
“taking bases” from your competitors,
or are they doing it to you? If the latter
is occurring, then your team is probably
losing games, seasons, and fans. Once that
happens, it takes a long time to regain the
loyalty and respect that you had established
in that fan/customer. They feel cheated
and won’t want to make another bad
investment of their money, their leisure
time, or their loyalty.
What about your “stadium”? The
facility has to be impressive when built and
first enjoyed, with all of the latest comforts,
appealing venues, and dining options. And
that shouldn’t stop once the first season
is sold out! If the structure and grounds
aren’t kept clean, clearly lit, maintained,
and improved, and if the employees aren’t
friendly, courteous, and efficient in serving
the fans, next season’s ticket sales are likely
to suffer.
Fortunately, like baseball, vacation
ownership is fun and fulfilling for everyone
when done well. The fans enjoy themselves
and look forward to their next visit, often
talking about it so much with their family
and friends that those folks join them
now and again. And often, these friends
have such a great time that they buy
season tickets for themselves. When those
customers enjoy themselves, they develop
an affinity and fierce loyalty for their team.
If the entire team delivers the experience,
then the fans often will forgive a few off
seasons by a few members on the field.
Your “stands” are full of excited fans.
They paid $8 for a beverage and $5 for a
hot dog, and they were happy to do it. Is
your team ready to deliver? D
Bryan Coy, RRP, is a recovering Certified Public
Accountant and Certified Management Accountant,
with more than a decade of experience in
vacation ownership and hospitality. His e-mail is
coybryan@yahoo.com.
May 2010 Developments 31