RCI

Published by Go Timeshare on 08/06/2009

RCI-affiliated resort, The Regency Country Club, offers both timeshare and fractional products. Located on Tenerife, this resort is distinguished by its exotic Balinese-theme styling and furnishings.

The RCI World of Choice

RCI Exchange Company With more than 4,000 affiliated resorts in approximately 100 countries, RCI offers its members the greatest choice of exciting holiday options in the world of international holiday exchange today. RCI celebrates its 35th anniversary this year and its absolute commitment to enhancing its member experience through innovation grows stronger with each year that passes.

The horizons of RCI’s holiday world broaden each year as the company continually welcomes new and exciting destinations into its exchange network and it now has 3.8 million subscribing members.

Since its foundation in 1974, RCI’s unwavering commitment to customer satisfaction and significant investment in technology continues to shape the exchange industry. A pioneer in weeks exchange, RCI launched the world’s first global points-based exchange system – the RCI Points® exchange programme – in 2000. Visit www.rci.com and you will see that RCI is still leading the way in the world of holiday exchange by affiliating resorts in some of the world’s most exciting destinations. RCI makes the whole experience of holiday planning much simpler and a whole lot more fun with cutting edge innovations such as the launch of its enhanced online search facility and RCI TV.

Launched in the US and the UK initially, with other regions to follow, RCI TV is a dynamic and entertaining way to learn more about RCI’s services online, as well as viewing video footage showcasing some of the great places in its exchange network. Designed to transform your precious time into the most memorable of times shared with your family and friends, RCI TV will help open up a world of possibilities.

35 years of innovative holidaying with RCI

Group RCI celebrates its 35th anniversary this year and, as the market leader in the vacation exchange business, it has a fantastic story to tell.

Milestones in the evolution of Group RCI

1974 – RCI is established in Virginia, US, with one resort and 453 members
1977 – First European office opens in London
1979 – RCI Travel, a full-service travel agency opens in Indianapolis
1985 – RCI affiliates its 1000th resort
1995 – RCI welcomes its two millionth RCI member family
2000 – RCI Points exchange programme is launched and is the world’s first global points-based exchange programme
2002 – RCI introduces The Registry Collection programme, the first luxury exchange programme for the emerging fractional market
2008 – Enhanced Search capability launched on www.rci.com
2009 – RCI has more than 3.8 million subscribing members
2009 – RCI TV goes live on www.rci.com providing members with a fun and dynamic way to learn more about the world of RCI

The RCI story is one of more than three decades of exciting innovation during which the company has introduced a range of new products to deliver a greater variety of accommodations and holiday choices to its members.

The story began in 1974. As Richard Nixon was resigning in the wake of the Watergate scandal and the pocket calculator went on sale for the first time, RCI founders, Christel and John De Haan were working away in their Indianapolis home setting up the world’s first timeshare exchange company.

And in the 35 years since that time, RCI has come just as far as computing technology has come from the pocket calculator. Today RCI is part of the Wyndham Worldwide Group, one of the world's largest hospitality companies with operations spanning six continents and a leisure property portfolio embracing many world-renowned brands. RCI now boasts more than 3.8 million member families and more than 4,000 affiliated resorts worldwide.

RCI Guides around the world, who share a genuine passion for travel, are on call for our members to ensure their holiday, from the planning stage to coming home, is the best it can be. From exploring destination options and helping with the booking process to making travel arrangements, RCI Guides are there to make the planning a pleasurable part of the journey. Working from 20 call centres across the world, RCI Guides serve customers in more than 30 languages.

Listening to its members is a priority for RCI and feedback shows they want ‘home from home’, quality accommodations. RCI works with developers to ensure consistently high standards of accommodation, using local resort inspections and both a postal and online member feedback comment card system. The RCI Gold Crown® and the RCI Silver Crown® designations have now become internationally recognised bench marks for quality in timeshare accommodation.

Delivering many kinds of holidays and as much variety as possible is also important to RCI because the company knows it’s important to its members. Traditional timeshare is the heart of the holiday exchange system and RCI continues to work with some of Europe’s most exciting developers to bring great new experiences to its members. This year the company has affiliated almost a dozen new resorts across Europe and Africa, including the Salutaris Thermal Resort and Kartas Thermal & Spa resorts in Turkey, the Legacy Private Residences in South Africa, Residence Puigmal in France and two water-borne accommodations in the Hilperton and Anderton marinas in the UK.

Jonathan Back, MD RCI EMEA Throughout its 35-year history, RCI has led the way in innovation, shaping the industry and holiday experience.

Following recent significant investment in IT, RCI delivered an Enhanced Search capability on its member website, www.rci.com. This new way of searching uses Google maps, instantly showing availability and allowing members to add specific holiday search criteria. RCI members now start their search with a global mapped view of all accessible inventory and are able to filter down, using a wide range of search criteria, to explore the facilities and destinations that interest them. As well as being more fun, this new technology makes the whole search experience more transparent, allowing members to select their holiday up to 18 months in advance. After generating positive feedback, it is now being rolled out across Europe in multiple languages.

The RCI Points® exchange programme became one of the fastest-growing points clubs in the world after its launch more than eight years ago. It offers maximum flexibility for owners’ changing needs. While special benefits such as RCI Late Deals and Extra Holidays offer members great holidays at preferential prices – without having to exchange a week.

The Registry Collection® exchange programme (TRC) is a luxury accommodation and property exchange platform that has attracted 30,000 members since its launch seven years ago. The programme includes more than 160 luxurious properties which are either accessible for exchange or under development.

Characteristic of TRC properties is their high level of service. This year The Registry Collection programme has welcomed nine new affiliates in Europe – two in Portugal and, most recently, The Provence Club, a new luxury resort brand representing France’s upscale Les Maisons de Baumanière hotel portfolio and brand.

“I know the strength of the RCI brand, the diversity of our product range and our unrivalled experience in sending millions of families on holiday will be more important than ever to our members during these challenging times,” said Jonathan Back, managing director of RCI Europe, Middle East, Africa and India. “Harnessing the passion and dedication of staff throughout our organisation, RCI will continue to work with its developers to make every vacation special for its members, giving them a lifetime of the most wonderful holiday experiences and memories. This has been our goal for more than three decades and it will be our focus for the next 35 years.”