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August 13, 2008 | View PDF Version

Washington, DC (August 13, 2008) – Honoring the long tradition of connecting far-flung families during the summer months, the American Resort Development Association (ARDA) offers “how-to” travel options to help make family reunions fun, affordable and stress-free. ‘Take Time for Togetherness’ is an ARDA initiative that provides suggested reunion activities, location ideas and success tips through vacation ownership products.

Family reunions continue to grow in importance and according to a recent Orbitz study, 50 percent of respondents said their favorite group to travel with is their extended family. And although the survey respondents wanted to be together for activities and meals, when asked about preferred sleeping arrangements, most said they wanted privacy.

“Today’s family reunions look very different than the outdoor picnics and sleeping on your grandmother’s couch of yesterday. Families now want to make the most of traveling long distances to visit relatives,” said Howard Nusbaum, ARDA president and CEO. “From spacious accommodations to activities for everyone, many travelers are turning to timeshare products as vacation options for family reunions. Timeshare continues to provide an experience for large families to be together, yet retain space for themselves.”

‘Take Time for Togetherness’ provides travelers with event planning tips including managing invitations, selecting a location, ice-breaker games, decorations and ways to stay in touch all year long. The helpful hints are available by request now, and on a new consumer website by ARDA called www.vacationbetter.org that will go live mid-September.

“Every year for the past thirteen years, I’ve received the best holiday gift a person could hope for — three generations of my family coming together for a week during the Christmas season,” said Susan Humme, a Bluegreen owner. “I feel so lucky that all of us have been able to get together at MountainLoft in the Great Smoky Mountains and enjoy family time together year after year. It really makes the most wonderful time of the year even more special,” she added.

Everyone deserves not only a vacation, but a better vacation – especially when it’s a family reunion. 

About ARDA
The American Resort Development Association is the Washington D.C.-based professional association representing the vacation ownership and resort development industries. Established in 1969, ARDA today has over 1,000 members ranging from privately held firms to publicly traded companies and international corporations with expertise in shared ownership interests in leisure real estate. The membership also includes timeshare owner associations (HOAs), resort management companies, and owners through the ARDA Resort Owners Coalition (ARDA-ROC).