RCI HONORED FOR INNOVATION AT GNEX 2011
World’s largest vacation exchange company wins best-in-class awards across three categories at inaugural timeshare and fractional ownership industry event
PARSIPPANY, N.J. (May 31, 2011) – RCI, the global leader in vacation exchange and part of the Wyndham Worldwide family of brands (NYSE: WYN), received three best-in-class awards for excellence in the categories of innovation, technology and media at the inaugural Global Networking Expo (GNEX 2011) Awards Gala Dinner organized by Perspective magazine earlier this month.
The GNEX 2011 Best Innovation Award, RCI’s most prestigious accolade of the evening, was given in recognition of the enhancements the company made to its RCI® Weeks exchange program, expertly designed to give subscribing members greater control, convenience and flexibility over their timeshare vacation experiences.
“Innovation is the cornerstone of our business and allows us to continually challenge the status quo with new ideas like the recent enhancements to our RCI Weeks’ program,” said Gordon Gurnik, president, RCI. “In the last two months alone, our team’s spirit of originality has fetched a number of awards, and we are extremely grateful for this type of recognition. The encouragement and support we’ve received along the way from our affiliates has been invaluable, and we look forward to continuing to work together on new and creative ways to give their owners and our members vacations of a lifetime.”
Through the new RCI Weeks Enhancements program, Weeks members are able to compare the trading power value of their deposited week to the value of the exchange vacations they are interested in and can also combine their deposited weeks, gaining greater access to vacations that have a higher exchange trading power. RCI now also provides its RCI Weeks members with a “Deposit Credit” if the trading power value of the exchange vacation they have booked is less then that of the deposited week they used for the exchange. This first-of-its-kind measure for the industry aims to increase transparency between RCI and its members.
In the categories of technology and media, RCI was honored for the creation of two vacation-enhancing initiatives: RCI®SnapBook.com and RCI® TV respectively. RCI SnapBook is an application for the iPhone® and iPod touch® that maximizes a vacation, both during and after the time of travel, with the ability to capture and share real-time vacation photos, videos, audio clips, and notes with friends and family in an online scrapbook. RCI TV targets the planning stages of a vacation with a dedicated channel of high-definition videos for subscribing members to peruse online or via a mobile application when researching affiliated resorts and destinations in RCI’s network. For prospective owners, the tailored programming highlights the benefits of owning or vacationing in a timeshare resort.
The web-based television network, which had 1.2 million viewers in 2010, is narrated by the “RCI Guy” through a network of channels including: An Inside Look, What You Need to Know, Ask the RCI Guy, Resort Showcase, All Inclusive Resorts and Destination Reviews. In 2011, RCI continues to innovate on behalf of its affiliates with the development of RCI Presenter, a tool that now comes free with participation in the RCI TV channel. This touch screen sales system works to help agents elicit excitement about RCI, exchange and the prospects of their resorts through creative interactive on-screen applications covering a wide variety of topics.
Held at Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas, GNEX 2011 was a gathering of timeshare and fractional ownership industry professionals. Of the 34 awards given at the event’s Awards Gala Dinner, 12 were accepted by RCI and its affiliates; three of the four awards in the worldwide category went to RCI.
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About RCI
RCI is the worldwide leader in vacation exchange with over 4,000 affiliated resorts in approximately 100 countries. RCI pioneered the concept of vacation exchange in 1974, offering members increased flexibility and versatility with their vacation ownership experience. Today, through RCI® Weeks, the traditional week-for-week exchange system, and RCI Points®, the industry’s first global points-based exchange system, RCI provides flexible vacation options to its 3.8 million RCI subscribing members each year. RCI is part of Wyndham Exchange & Rentals and the Wyndham Worldwide family of brands (NYSE: WYN). For additional information visit our media center or rciaffiliates.com.
CONTACT:
Steven Alessandrini
(973) 753-8278
Steven.alessandrini@rci.com