Michael Qu, Managing Partner of Law View Partners, is invited to the Alternative Ownership Conference Hotels and Resorts—Asia Pacific held in Singapore on 16~17 this March. Michael was invited as legal expert to discuss the topic of “What Do We Mean By Project Governance”, jointly with experts from timeshare management company, hotel architecture and lawyers from other jurisdiction.
Starting with the introduction of Condominium Law in China, Michael shared his opinion that business of vacation ownership in China is just taking shape in recent years. Many developers acquire big piece of land in tourist destination to develop mixed-use project, or, convert their non-performing property into condominium hotel or shared ownership property, finding they have a big market to catch and the timeshare business has a good chance to help them make profit. However, many haven’t realized the necessary of project governance, neither do they have an existing and seasoned team that can help to properly advise on the product type, design long-term operational strategy, project viable budget over the years, and set up a deliverable project governance mechanism. In absence of the regulatory guideline in the shared ownership industry, Michael advised developer should work with international advisers to carefully set up a mechanism that provides adequate control to ensure its brand standards are maintained, but at the same time provides a degree of owner control.
The timeshare business has been rapidly developed in China, and many international hotel brands and exchange companies, such as Hilton Grand Vacations, Anantara, Wyndham, RCI, Interval International, etc., who also attended the AOCAP Conference, are very actively tapping into the Chinese market—some have been so far very successful. As one of the few law firms who are familiar with timeshare business, we have in recent years advised clients to study market entry feasibility, design legal structure for timeshare, draft all legal documentations, etc. for hotel brands, developers and investors. Law View Partners is also working closely with trustee, consulting company and international timeshare association to help client find “one-shop” solution for their business.