Marketing of Vacation Properties

Q: I am looking for information about the marketing and branding methods of Intrawest. I also need information about on how diversity (at either the intra-corporate level or between the firm and its customer base) affects Intrawest. Any information would be very helpful. Thank you.

A: For those readers who may not be aware of Intrawest, they are “a world leader in the development and management of experiential destination resorts” (from their website). Their Club Intrawest division essentially offers partial ownership (time shares) at their resort locations.

In regards to marketing, while we do not have specific experience working with Intrawest, we have worked with similar firms on direct marketing campaigns. Time share companies rely a great deal on outbound telemarketing and direct mail campaigns to generate leads and/or visits to their locations. For example, Marriott Vacations uses credit pre-screen services to pre-qualify people who are affluent enough, and have enough credit to purchase their properties. They’ll pre-approve people and extend a ridiculously great offer to incent the right consumers to visit a high-end resort, always at a very low price. The catch to the consumer–they are required to hear the timeshare sales pitch.

Other time share firms use outbound telemarketing to drive qualified prospects to visit their resort (and hear the sales pitch, of course).

For information on marketing specific to Intrawest, I found an article from DMN Directives, the newsletter of a Canadian leading direct marketing trade association that reviewed their direct and interactive marketing approach. From the article: “A combined direct mail, digital marketing campaign invited people to an online contest where they could win a weekend vacation at a beautiful mountain retreat in Quebec. It attracted high response and more than 7,500 sales leads into vacation real estate properties for Intrawest’s Playground International.” Check out the entire article for more details.

You’ve also asked about how diversity affects Intrawest. This is a bit tough to answer since we don’t have specific connections with Intrawest. Our research has shown, however, that employee diversity seems to be a key corporate initiative. This is evidenced by a recent hiring of a senior level Human Resources executive, who has extensive diversity program background and experience. You can check out the January, 2008 press release that talks about the hire.