Wyndham Worldwide (WYN)

 

Through our vacation exchange business, RCI, we have relationships with over 4,000 vacation ownership resorts in approximately 100 countries. Our primary vacation exchange business consists of the operation of worldwide exchange programs for owners of intervals. In addition, our vacation exchange business provides consulting services for the development of tourism-oriented real estate, loyalty programs, in-house travel agency services, and third-party vacation club services.

 

We operate our vacation exchange business, RCI, through three worldwide exchange programs that have a member base of vacation owners who are generally well-traveled and who want flexibility and variety in their travel plans each year. Our vacation exchange business’ three exchange programs, which serve owners of intervals at affiliated resorts, are RCI Weeks, RCI Points and The Registry Collection. Participants in these exchange programs pay annual membership dues. For additional fees, such participants are entitled to exchange intervals for intervals at other properties affiliated with our vacation exchange business. In addition, certain participants may exchange intervals for other leisure-related products and services. We refer to participants in these three exchange programs as “members.” In addition, the Endless Vacation^® magazine is the official travel publication of our RCI Weeks and RCI Points exchange programs, and certain members can obtain the benefits of participation in our RCI Weeks and RCI Points exchange programs only through a subscription to Endless Vacation magazine. The use of the terms “member” or “membership” with respect to either the RCI Weeks or RCI Points exchange program is intended to denote subscription to Endless Vacation magazine.

 

The RCI Weeks exchange program is the world’s largest vacation ownership exchange network and generally provides members with flexibility to trade week-long intervals in units at their resorts for week-long intervals in comparable units at the same resorts or at comparable resorts.

 

The RCI Points exchange program, launched in 2000, is a global points-based exchange network, which allocates points to intervals that members cede to the exchange program. Under the RCI Points exchange program, members may redeem their points for the use of vacation properties in the exchange program or for other products and services which may change from time to time, such as airfare, car rentals, cruises, hotels and other accommodations. When points are redeemed for these other products and services, our vacation exchange business can recoup the expense of providing these other products and services by renting the vacation properties for which the members could have redeemed their points.

 

We believe that The Registry Collection exchange program is the industry’s first and largest global exchange network of luxury vacation accommodations. The luxury vacation accommodations in The Registry Collection’s network include higher-end vacation ownership resorts, fractional ownership resorts, condo-hotels and yachts. The Registry Collection allows members to exchange their intervals for the use of other vacation properties within the network or for other products and services, such as airfare, car rentals, cruises, hotels and other accommodations. The members of The Registry Collection exchange program often own greater than two-week intervals at affiliated resorts.

 

We acquire substantially all members of our exchange programs indirectly. In substantially all cases, an affiliated resort developer buys the initial term of an RCI membership on behalf of the consumer when the consumer purchases a vacation interval. This initial term is generally either 1 or 2 years and entitles the vacation ownership interval purchaser to receive periodicals published by RCI and to use the applicable exchange program for an additional fee. The vacation ownership interval purchaser generally pays for membership renewals and any applicable exchange fees for transactions.

 

Our vacation exchange business also provides consulting services for the development of tourism-oriented real estate, loyalty programs, in-house and outsourced travel agency services, and third-party vacation club services. Our third-party vacation club business consists of private label exchange clubs that RCI operates and manages for certain of its larger affiliates. Approximately 96% of the third-party vacation club members are points-based.

 

Our vacation exchange business operates in North America, Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean, Southern Africa, the Asia Pacific region and the Middle East and tailors its strategies and operating plans for each of the geographical environments where RCI has or seeks to develop a substantial member base.

 

Through our vacation exchange business, RCI, we have relationships with over 4,000 vacation ownership resorts in approximately 100 countries. Historically, our vacation exchange business consisted of the operation of worldwide exchange programs for owners of intervals. Today, our vacation exchange business also provides consulting services for the development of tourism-oriented real estate, loyalty programs, in-house and outsourced travel agency services, and third-party vacation club services.

 

We operate our vacation exchange business, RCI, through three worldwide exchange programs that have a member base of vacation owners who are generally well-traveled and who want flexibility and variety in their travel plans each year. Our vacation exchange business’ three exchange programs, which serve owners of intervals at affiliated resorts, are RCI Weeks, RCI Points and The Registry Collection. Participants in these exchange programs