ARDA Announces Speakers for 2017 ARDA World in New Orleans, Louisiana

This year’s ARDA World Convention and Exposition will be in New Orleans, Louisiana, for the first time in convention history. It is expected to attract over 2,500 attendees representing 35 different countries from all facets of the vacation ownership industry. The annual convention will be held March 26-30, 2017, at The Hyatt Regency New Orleans.

This international event will provide an opportunity for leading professionals to come together to learn and share best practices and ideas. Five days of meetings, educational sessions, exhibitions and fun will give attendees the chance strengthen partnerships with current customers, while also seeking out new opportunities to expand business and increase a company’s visibility in the global marketplace.

This year’s Convention features an impressive line-up of speakers and entertainers—including keynote speaker, Josh Linkner (sponsored by RCI), an internationally recognized thought leader and top rated keynote speaker on innovation, creativity, reinvention and hyper-growth leadership, as well as a two-time New York Times bestselling author.

“We are especially excited about this year’s convention as we are headed to NOLA for the first time in our convention history,” said Howard Nusbaum, ARDA President and CEO. “This vibrant city is the perfect location for our event – and since we are in a new city we have some new, exciting events planned, as well as bringing back some of our fan favorites.”

New to the 2017 ARDA World Convention is the Marketplace which features meeting rooms, traditional trade show booths and new interactive kiosks—offering unprecedented networking and business development opportunities in the ARDA World Marketplace.

ARDA World will be bringing back one of its most popular events from last year, The Lion’s Den (sponsored by Vacatia). Based on the concept of Shark Tank, this general session will have seven of the hottest new digital travel companies pitch their products to our ‘Lions’, receive feedback and see who comes out the winner. The success from last year’s Lion’s Den makes this year’s session a can’t miss.

Additional highlights of this year’s ARDA World include the Meet the Leaders panel (sponsored by Baker & Hostetler LLP), the annual Awards Gala recognizing outstanding work in our industry, the Breakfast of Champions (sponsored by Hilton Grand Vacations) featuring keynote speaker Major Dan Rooney, a fighter pilot with three combat tours in Iraq, a PGA Golf Professional and the founder of the Folds Of Honor – he is an exceptional motivational speaker who has served as the motivational speaker for two U.S. Ryder Cup Teams. And of course Interval International’s Party with a Cause and RCI’s All Attendee Welcome Party, both of which will be bringing a little extra party to the city of New Orleans.

For the third year, ARDA World will feature a “Digital Zone” where attendees can engage in social media discussions, ask questions of the speakers and network with each other. ARDA World fans can follow @ARDAorg on Twitter and join the convention conversation using the hashtag #ARDAWorld.

Registration for ARDA World is still open, and limited sponsorships are still available. For more information about the 2017 ARDA World Convention, visit the ARDA World website.

The American Resort Development Association (ARDA) is the Washington D.C.-based professional association representing the vacation ownership and resort development industries. Established in 1969, ARDA today has almost 1,000 members ranging from privately held firms to publicly traded companies and international corporations with expertise in shared ownership interests in leisure real estate.

The ARDA International Foundation (AIF) is the timeshare industry’s leading source for market intelligence and career advancement resources. AIF, a 501(c) (3) organization, serves to enhance knowledge for the public and industry through its comprehensive timeshare research studies, and aims to enrich careers through ongoing training, learning and development. For more information, visit www.arda.org/foundation.