New Urban Timeshare Targets Corporate Market.

<FONT SIZE="+3"><B> New Urban Timeshare Targets Corporate Market</B>

By Glenn Carter

<I>New York </I>- Urban timeshare would seem to be an oxymoron, as timeshares have been long associated with out-of-town resorts.

But what is being billed as "the world's largest urban timeshare" is coming to New York and is being aimed squarely at the corporate travel market.

Scheduled to open by year end, The Manhattan Club is undergoing a $70 million renovation that will create two entities: the timeshare and a "price-value hotel."

Developer Bruce Eichner, president of T-Park Central LLC, is vertically splitting the 26-story building into separate operations, each with its own mechanical systems and service staffs. The timeshare side will have 360 one- and two-bedroom, two-bath units. The remaining half of the building, aimed at a business-leisure mix, will continue to operate as a hotel.

Sales at The Manhattan Club, which will be affiliated with Indianapolis-based RCI, a major timeshare "exchange network," will begin in May.

Owners of the timeshares must buy entire weeks for Christmas, New Year's and the U.S. Tennis Open in the fall. "It offers corporate travel managers stability, affordability and flexibility at a time when rooms are scarce and at a premium price," said senior vice president of marketing and sales Charles Zanowski.

"This is a controlled expense," he said. "You know in advance what your cost will be, so you're not susceptible to the kind of upward swings we have seen in New York."

Also of appeal to buyers and travelers alike, said Zanowski, are the hotel's central location, rooms that are much larger than a traditional hotel room (650 square feet) and an "extraordinary concierge service to satisfy the needs of business travelers."

But one travel manager, while not putting down the timesharing concept, said it did not suit her needs. "Because of the nature of the corporate requirements of my company, timeshare does not make sense," said Cherie Joy, corporate travel manager for Zeneca in New York. "But another manager might find it worth looking into."

"The concept of city timesharing is going to explode," said Ken Miller, president of Global Marketing Group in New York, a consultant on timeshares. "When you have 18 million people a year coming to New York for business, the potential is enormous."

Value For The Money

Asked why travel managers might consider a timeshare, Miller responded, "You have to run the numbers. If you are in the shoe business and have to come to the shoe convention every year at the same time, why not buy a unit? If you're spending $20,000 over a 10-year period, that comes to less than $300 a night for a nice suite. And after the 10 years, it's yours."

Zanowski said that "no one has done this before in New York, and the potential is extraordinary." The executive said there is at least one other urban timeshare, which is located in San Francisco and was developed by Carl Berry, who is project director for The Manhattan Club.

Miller suggests that corporate managers "use their negotiation skills. If you buy a block of 10 rooms for an annual meeting, have the timeshare property throw in the use of a meeting room for that week, which can really make the deal worthwhile."

Zanowski said that seven and 10-year financing programs will be available to buyers. He said that while urban timeshares are still relatively new, other operators, including brand-name timeshare operators like Marriott, are entering the market.

Zanowski said timeshares will be sold directly to corporations, as well as through broker networks and through advertising.

Unlike traditional timeshares, The Manhattan Club will be flexible, with owners able to reserve one day or more whenever they choose during each 12-month cycle. Based on availability, reservations will be accepted months in advance all the way to the day of arrival.