ICE Orchestrates a Unique Meeting of the Minds Among "The Powers at Sea"

PHOENIX (February 8, 2006) – Drawing on its resources as a pioneer in the integration of cruising into the timeshare industry, International Cruise & Excursion (ICE) brought together top-level timeshare and cruise executives from all over the world for a week-long summit, "The Powers at Sea," providing attendees with a rare opportunity to share ideas, discuss industry issues and examine the future of the timeshare and leisure industries.

Held January 22 through 29 onboard Windstar® Cruises' Wind Surf, which was chartered especially for the sold out event, "Powers at Sea" was attended by senior level executives from major cruise lines worldwide and top resort developers from the United States, Mexico, Europe and Australia including Accor Premier Vacation Club, Bluegreen Corporation, Breakaway Resorts, Club Intrawest, Club Leisure Group, Festiva Resorts, Grand Timber Development Company, ILX Resorts, Island One Resorts, Pueblo Bonito Hotels & Resorts, Regency Resorts, Resort Holiday Group, St. George's Club Bermuda and Westgate Resorts.

Also in attendance were representatives from major timeshare associations worldwide including the United States' American Resort Development Association (ARDA), Mexico's Fondo Nacional de Fomento al Turismo (FONATUR), the Australian Timeshare and Holiday Ownership Council (ATHOC) and the Organization for Timeshare in Europe (OTE).

In partnership with ICE, Levitin Group conducted its popular SHOWTIME workshop during the summit, teaching effective sales and leadership methods to timeshare management staff in attendance. Headquartered in Park City, Utah, the Levitin Group provides sales training programs, sales performance seminars, motivational audio and video workshops and strategic consulting services specific to the vacation ownership industry. All of Levitin's programs, including their programs developed specifically for start-up companies, have been developed by top performers in their fields. Shari Levitin Katz, president and CEO of Levitin, is recognized as one of the most insightful and talented entrepreneurs in vacation ownership.

The itinerary for "Powers at Sea" was carefully planned to provide a mix of both business and pleasure that gave participants frequent opportunities to network and share "best practices" for business success. The Wind Surf departed from Bridgetown, Barbados, and spent the next seven days visiting the Caribbean ports of Nevis, St. Martin, Basse Terre, Iles des Saintes and Saint. Lucia. During days at sea, attendees participated in conference programs that included relevant and topical sessions pertaining to the most pressing issues affecting the timeshare and leisure industries, plus leadership development, motivational topics and break-out sessions. Private one-on-one business development meetings took place throughout the week as well.

A discussion of hot topics for the timeshare industry such as Internet marketing, protecting consumer data, mixed use developments and non-equity clubs was led by Randy Conrads, chief executive officer of RedWeek.com; Shaun O'Neill senior vice president of Concord Servicing; Eric White corporate director of timeshare sales, Pueblo Bonito; and John Schopfer, managing partner of CLUBworks International.

Maurice Zarmati, vice president of worldwide sales for Carnival Cruise Lines, gave an overview of the state of the cruise industry.

In an interactive, thought-provoking timeshare forum that proved to be a particularly exciting session, participants drew on their collective experiences and expertise to design the ideal timeshare product of the future.

John and Marcia Rowley, co-founders of ICE, gave a sneak preview of some of the company's innovative products currently being developed for resort partners.

A discussion of the state of the timeshare industry revealed an overwhelming belief that the outlook for the industry is extremely positive worldwide. Supporting this position were Howard Nusbaum, president and chief executive officer of ARDA; John McCarthy, chief executive officer of FONATUR; Marty Kandel, a member of the board of directors of ATHOC and chief executive officer of Accor Premièr Vacation Club; and Ward Woods, chairman of OTE and developer of Regency Resorts.

Keynote speaker for the conference, Jim Madrid, founder and owner of Entelechy Training & Development, presented attendees with advice on developing strategies to enable their companies to achieve unprecedented productivity.

After spending the days in sessions or enjoying the tropical ports of call, attendees participated in nightly activities onboard the ship that included sponsor hosted cocktail receptions and live entertainment. One evening was dedicated to silent and live auctions for the benefit of Christel House, an international nonprofit organization founded by RCI co-founder Christel DeHaan and dedicated to assisting impoverished, abandoned and orphaned children. ICE, a Christel House Alliance Partner, conducts several fundraisers for the organization each year.

The silent auction was for 12 pieces of artwork designed by the children of Christel House, while the live auction included a wide range of items including management training, spa gifts, cases of wine, cruise vacations and resort vacations from Pueblo Bonito, Accor, Club Leisure, ILX, Sunterra, Ocean Manor, Club Intrawest, Westgate, Regency Resorts, Festiva, Breakaway and Grand Timber Lodge. The auctions raised a combined total of more than $100,000 for the children of Christel House.

Corporate sponsors for "The Powers at Sea" included Arizona Commercial Printing, Carnival Cruise Lines, Celebrity Cruises, Chicago Title Timeshare Development Division, Colombian Emeralds International, Concord Servicing Corporation, CSA Travel Protection, Holland America Line, Phoenix Media Group, Radisson Seven Seas Cruises® and Royal Caribbean International.