ARDA Meets Industry Needs: Reimagined Programs Put Members First

This month on November 8-10, the American Resort Development Association will once again be hosting a fall meeting in Washington, D.C., but this year it has a new name, the Leadership & Policy Forum. It’s still the place for ARDA committees to meet for association and industry business , but it will also provide new avenues for learning, networking and leadership. Among the top-name speakers are top Wall Street analysts on how they view our industry, FBI agents discussing how they are combatting timeshare scams, and Julia Pollak, chief economist at ZipRecruiter. Wrapping up the event will be Michael Steele, the former chair of the Republican National Committee and an MSNBC political analyst.

“At ARDA, we’re always looking for ways to better serve our members as the industry grows and changes,” said Catherine Lacey, senior vice president member experience and events. “We look at each of our events to make them relevant and meaningful for participants, ones that they really don’t want to miss.”

The ARDA Spring Conference, which will be held April 14-17 at the Bellagio in Las Vegas is definitely one of those can’t-miss events. While the list of speakers and schedule is yet to be released, last year’s event hosted more than 1,200 attendees from over 250 companies and about 20 countries. The stellar line up of inspiring speakers and industry experts included innovation expert Lisa Bodell, Everest climber Allison Levine, celebrity chef Jeff Henderson, and founder of Stax Suneera Madhani, along with CEOs and other leaders from our own industry.

A highlight of the conference is the ARDY Awards ceremony, and the nomination guide for 2024 will be distributed soon via email. You can also find it on ARDA’s website, arda.org, under the Events and Awards menu. Nominations will be due on February 5, 2024.

In addition to its general membership meetings, ARDA hosts a variety of events to serve its diverse membership. ARDA-WIN’s goal is to advocate, educate, and connect WIN members by fostering personal and professional growth through networking, education, and philanthropy, and they usually meet on the fourth Wednesday of the month in Orlando. WIN supports industry professionals in their effort to be the best they can be as well as attracting and cultivating leaders of tomorrow in the vacation ownership industry.

The group recently hosted its annual fundraiser for Pinktober in Orlando, and the next event on their calendar is the 2024 Winter WIN Conference at the Hilton Orlando on January 24.

Related: What Happens at the ARDA Fall Conference?

Another recent event was ARDA Hawaii Golf Tournament on October 13, which this year continued to support Hawaii Pacific University with a $20,000 scholarship but also dedicated funding to the Maui Cares fund to mitigate the devastating impacts of the wildfires on Maui. “This is a time for us to come together as an industry, and we are doing exactly that,” said Sarah Conroy, ARDA’s senior director of marketing and communications.

A new event for 2024 is the ARDA University of Florida Legal Symposium to be held June 13-14 at the Ritz-Carlton, Grande Lakes, in Orlando, which provides an opportunity for general counsels and other legal professionals to come together to discuss industry issues in a setting dedicated to their specific needs.

One event that many are eagerly awaiting is the 2024 ARDAVenture meeting on July 30-August 1 at the Lodge at Torrey Pines in La Jolla, California. The craftsman-themed Lodge overlooks the world-renowned Torrey Pines Golf Course with spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean. Nearby activities include golf (choices include the North Course and South Course – sites of the 2008 and 2021 U.S. Opens and each year’s PGA Farmers Insurance Open), hiking at Torey Pines Reserve, whale-watching, relaxing at the spa, or exploring the town of La Jolla. And if the program at the 2023 event is any indication, attendees will experience the all the best this legendary destination has to offer.

“The ARDAVenture retreat was a great opportunity for more than 100 top executives from around our industry to network and brainstorm for several days in an informal setting,” said Jared Saft, chief business officer, Westgate Resorts, in a recent Developments article. “As an industry that’s committed to providing experiential vacations, opportunities like this are a great reminder of the importance of travel toward making lasting connections.”

“It was a wonderful experience!” said Shaun O’Neill, president, Concord Servicing. “ARDA always provides great content but experiencing it at a first-class property along with activities that allow for building new relationships was a big plus.”

Some events, such as ARDAVenture are restricted to ARDA’s VIP members, including Chairman’s League and Trustee members. These VIP members, through their partnership, leadership, professional expertise, and financial support, drive ARDA’s mission. At the 2023 ARDAVenture meeting in Colorado Springs, they participated in roundtable discussions on the future of ARDA, the terms timeshare and vacation ownership, ARDA’s branding and other issues central to ARDA’s mission.

In recognition of their support, VIP members receive several perks, including complimentary registration for many ARDA events (the Fall Leadership & Policy Forum, Spring Conference, ARDAVenture, and the ARDA Win Conference), access to VIP-only lounges and exclusive registration areas at conferences, and professional head shots that are used in the digital VIP Membership Directory.

Ready to join the fun? To obtain your VIP membership, please connect with ARDA at membership@arda.org.

Get the Word Out

In addition to meetings, ARDA has reimagined how it covers industry news. Breaking news is now included in email news updates, posted in the Industry News and Information section of ARDA’s website, and promoted on ARDA’s social media channels. If you have news to share, please email news@arda.org .Be sure to follow ARDA on Facebook, LinkedIn and X.