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Hotel Companies Accelerate Property Conversions To Vacation Ownership, NORTHWIND Supports Trend with Strong Condominium and Timeshare Owner Management Applications

Markham, Ontario, Canada (PRWEB) September 5, 2003 -

– NORTHWIND, a leading supplier of hospitality systems that enhance profitability and strengthen guest service for both independent hotels and multi-property operating companies, announced it is adding new Condominium Owner Management and Timeshare Owner Management modules to its robust Maestro suite of hospitality enterprise applications to serve the growing number of hotel companies converting properties to ownership units. The new modules will be released for worldwide installation in the fourth quarter of this year.

Calculating and tracking the revenue sharing between owners, as well as the accurate accounting of expenses and fees, is at the heart of any ownership system, but todayÂ’s complex condo and timeshare interval operations with multiple companies, associations and properties require considerably more. NORTHWINDÂ’s Condominium and Timeshare Owner Management systems are designed from the ground up to deliver the most versatile functionality and revenue tools for leisure operations of all sizes and descriptions.

“The trend of converting hotel properties to timeshare and condominium ownership units is increasing in many segments of our industry,” said Jacob Dehan, president of NORTHWIND. “A majority of the top hotel companies in North America are expanding their ownership divisions. The operators of these new ventures have different functionality needs than traditional hotels.

Ownership properties still require reservations, interfaces, housekeeping and CRM; but condominium and timeshare management is really about revenue sharing, not just adding up posted numbers. NORTHWIND has developed the most comprehensive and flexible ownership functionality in the industry by partnering with the experts in condo and interval management – the property operators themselves. Our Condominium Owner Management and Timeshare Owner Management applications are the result of that partnership.” Three leading companies with whom NORTHWIND partnered to develop its vacation ownership modules are profiled below.

Ownership Resort Harnesses Web Booking Engine for More Reservations

Grande Shores Ocean Resort, facing the sea in Myrtle Beach, has converted all its rooms to ownership units. “We are a property management company diversifying into condominiums,” said Chris Shroff, Grande Shores’ developer. “In the past, we acquired failing hotels and made them profitable; now we are in the condo industry developing properties, converting them to condos, selling units, and marketing their rental pool for owners so they earn income when they are not in-house.

We are also developing a second condo development called Avista Ocean Resort in North Myrtle Beach. We have multiple buildings, associations, and yield strategies, which is more functionality than most condo systems deliver, so we turned to NORTHWIND to tackle our requirements. They did a great job of listening, and their team is delivering the best functionality to run our ownershipÂ’s property management operation. The Internet is a critical part of resort marketing, so we will also use NORTHWINDÂ’s ResEze Web booking engine to allow guests and owners to check availability and reserve rooms any time of the day or night.

When ownership units are at stake, real-time availability is critical; with ResEze integrated into our property system our inventory is always current. NORTHWIND and Grande Shores worked together to design their new Condominium and Timeshare Owner Management modules for real world operations like ours; its functionality is the best we have seen.”

Revenue and Guest Service Functionality For Interval Owners

Calabogie Peaks Resort is a year-round destination that began as a skiing operation, added hotel, golf and spa, and then evolved into a timeshare real estate development. “Hotel guests are very different from timeshare owners, “ explained Jim Morash, Calabogie’s COO. “The challenges for our timeshare resort are providing financial management for our 1,500 owners while tracking their personal needs and generating revenue for them in our rental pool.

Accounting is very serious business with percentage ownerships; our owners expect us to provide the correct amount of rental pool income from their units monthly. All unit rental revenue is paid to owners using a formula based on the percentage of their possession in their timeshare agreement. Many hotel companies are branching out into vacation ownership because rental revenue is attractive, and they all need strong financial management for their owners integrated with their hotel system. Most timeshare management systems focus on tracking unit sales, leads, and contracts; the NORTHWIND Timeshare Owner Management system does the best job of actually running a property, managing our complex accounting, and handling our guests after they become owners.

It is very important that interval properties continue to provide the highest guest service for their owners; NORTHWIND excels at tracking guest preferences and ensuring our owners are well cared for.”

Taboo Resort Golf and Conference Center, Home Course for Masters Winner Mike Weir

The operators of the Taboo Resort and Conference Center had a pleasant surprise when Mike Weir became the first Canadian to win the Masters Golf Tournament at Augusta National last April. Taboo is WeirÂ’s home course, and with his Masters victory the destination resort became a golfing Mecca overnight. The timing couldnÂ’t have been better for Taboo Resort and Conference CenterÂ’s timeshare and condo sales.

“Taboo is running as a resort hotel, but we have a growing emphasis on ownership units,” said Taboo’s director of finance and administration, George Walinga. “To prepare for our ownership launch, we worked with NORTHWIND six months to establish system functionality guidelines for our demanding high profile operation. We are a unique, prestigious destination with four different condo, timeshare and interval setups and a full-service resort hotel. Owners at Taboo buy their units and reserve weeks for their own use. We have condo owners who rent out their units, and we offer interval ownerships where timeshare buyers can own a percentage of a unit and become part of the rental pool.

Since Taboo is breaking new ground in ownership operation, we are working with the government to comply with requirements for the sales and management of some of our units. NORTHWIND demonstrated their commitment to our operation by including our government reporting requirements in the Maestro Timeshare Owner Management application. Taboo will use both the Maestro Condo Owner Management and Timeshare Owner Management systems for our multiple operations.”

Taboo’s condominium and timeshare associations are set up as separate corporations with separate boards of directors, management agreements, rental pools, and maintenance fees, creating a demanding environment for any system. “NORTHWIND was the right choice for our operation because the system is flexible enough to meet all our requirements,” continued Walinga. “Another reason for our decision to use the NORTHWIND Condominium Owner Management and Timeshare Owner Management systems is our planned growth. The new Mike Weir Golf Academy and our aggressive build-out plan over the next 10 to 15 years demands we have an ownership management system that will expand to easily include the additional corporations, associations and rental pools coming online. NORTHWIND is working with us and delivering everything we need.”

About NORTHWIND

NORTHWIND (http://www.maestropms.com), known in the hospitality industry for its service and state-of-the-art technology, is widely respected for providing hotels, guests, and corporate management companies with flexible software solutions.

Based in Markham, Ontario, Canada, with a network of dealers and offices worldwide, NORTHWIND is a leading supplier of software for hotel owners and operators who need to manage their enterprise in a real time environment for maximum operational control and profitability. Designed to handle any size hotel, resort, meeting/conference center, multi-property and for the enterprise, NORTHWIND’s Maestro solution offers the most productive working environment, which includes the following suite of products: PMS, Sales & Catering, Club/Spa Management, Corporate Reservations Office, Multi-Property Management, Condominium Owner Management & Timeshare Owner Management, Yield Management, GDS Connectivity and ResEze (Internet Reservations). This comprehensive multi-platform (Windows 9X/NT/2000/XP, Unix/Linux, Terminal Server & Web Enabled) suite is recognized as the solution of choice for progressive and demanding organizations. NORTHWIND is a total solution provider that offers leading-edge technologies, and unparalleled training and support.

NORTHWIND will be demonstrating its systems at the Historic Hotels of America 2003 Annual Meeting in St. Louis, MO, October 22-24, 2003 and IH/M&RS Show in New York City, NY, November 8th-11th, 2003.

For More Information on The NORTHWIND Condominium Owner Management and Timeshare Owner Management Applications Contact:

NORTHWIND

60 Renfrew Drive, Suite #235

Markham, ON L3R 0E1

Phone: (905) 940-1923 ext – 229

1-888-NORTH88 (667-8488)

Fax: (905) 940-1925

Email:info@maestropms.com

http://www.maestropms.com

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