Mountain Spirit Resort & Spa

This article is from China Daily, June 25th, 2010.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2010-06/25/content_10017346.htm

BEIJING – Chinese tour groups are expected to soon be able to visit Canada on tourist visas, as the two countries are expected to sign final agreements on Thursday (Canadian time) during the G20 Summit in Canada.

A memorandum of understanding on enabling Chinese tour groups to visit Canada was expected to be signed on Thursday Canadian time, marking “an important moment in the bilateral history of tourism cooperation”, Shao Qiwei, head of the National Tourism Administration of China, said at a meeting with his Canadian counterparts in Ottawa on Wednesday.

China granted Approved Destination Status (ADS) to Canada last December, but it usually takes a few months to draft implementation details.

The ADS makes it easier for Chinese to visit Canada on tourist visas instead of business visas and allows the Canadian tourism industry to actively market travel opportunities in China.

The Conference Board of Canada estimated that, after the ADS takes effect, the number of Chinese tourists to Canada would rise by up to 50 percent every year before 2015.

In 2008, 159,000 Chinese visited Canada, up 5.3 percent from the previous year, with each Chinese tourist spending 1,648 Canadian dollars ($1,600) on average, statistics provided by the Canadian Embassy in China said.

Canada has the advantage of “strong human infrastructure”, said George Smitherman, Ontario’s former deputy premier, who is now running for mayor of Toronto.

Chinese are Canada’s third largest ethnic group. About 400,000 people in Toronto alone trace their roots to the country.

“These people with the language skills and cultural awareness are our secret weapons,” Smitherman said.

But to understand Chinese tourists’ needs is still a challenge facing Canadian tourism destination management.

Frank Kinsella, mayor of the township of Leeds and the Thousand Islands, and some 30 Canadians attended the 2010 Zhengzhou International Mayor’s Forum on Tourism in mid-June to understand “what different cultures want”.

He said the town, a tourist attraction for 140 years, offers myriad walking trails and canoeing routes.

“But I was told (by Chinese counterparts) that some of the things we have are not appealing to the Chinese,” he said.

“We need to do the mind switching and to think like Chinese.” He said he hoped a local casino could get Chinese tourists to stay longer.

Visa issues are another problem for the local tourism industry.

Bobby Cai, president of the Toronto-based Canada-China Tourism Association, said the country’s refusal rate for visas for Chinese had at one point exceeded 35 percent, surpassing even the United States’.

Shao Qiwei has urged the Canadian side to further simplify the visa process for Chinese tour groups, in addition to adding signs in Chinese and Chinese TV channels.

In anticipation of the increased travel demand, both countries expanded capacity this month.

Air Canada, the flag carrier of Canada, which reduced its total capacity by 14 percent last year because of falling travel demand, said it would resume double daily services to Beijing and Shanghai in June. It also planned to open a route to Guangzhou in 2013.

Air China and China Eastern Airlines have also added flights between the two countries.

I arrived at the office at Mountain Spirit Resort this morning. There were some golfers hanging around the surface parking area. Nothing unusual, we’re across the road from a top golf course. But why were they all right outside my office door – to see the buck with the massive rack lying down enjoying some shade! It may not be an unusual sight when you live and work here but the guests definitely get a kick from it!

Next time I’ll have my camera!

The BC Real Estate Boards monthly stats are out and so far this year is definitely looking positive for the Kootenays region. To save you reading the entire report, here’s a snapshot.

JULY 2010 YEAR TO DATE / year on year comparison for the Kootenays:

• Total dollar volume of sales is up 17.4%
  
• Unit sales are up 14.5%
• Average unit price increased by 2.5%

We haven’t increased our prices (yet!).

You can download the entire report by clicking here.

Paul Sullivan of the New York Times writes: “EVERYONE needs a place to live, but no one needs a second home. So choosing which vacation home to buy and where should be enjoyable. Still, people routinely buy second homes that end up being less than they expected, or worse.” Interestingly, as you read his comments you’ll realise that fractional ownership at Mountain Spirit Resort, Kimberley, BC, Canada is a solution that really offers a stress-free vacation home:

Paul continues “I speak from experience here. My wife and I own a condominium in Naples, Fla.”

“Milton F. Pedraza, chief executive of the Luxury Institute, an organization that does research on wealthy consumers said one common cause of second-home misery was that owners failed to factor in how much time and money were needed to maintain a place from hundreds, if not thousands, of miles away.”

“Adults buying second homes should ask equally tough questions — of themselves. Why, after all, do you want a second home? What are you going to use it for? Do you have any idea how much it is really going to cost?” – At Mountain Spirit Resort, the costs of ownership are very transparent. With quarter ownership the costs are shared between four owners (and you don’t even have to meet them).

Beyond the ups and downs of the real estate market, Mr. Pedraza said most buyers underestimated the maintenance costs of a second home.“Think of the 20 to 25 suppliers who come to your house for air-conditioning, heating, landscaping, the pool man, the plumber — now you’ve got to procure those same suppliers for another property,” he said. “If you have the money and it doesn’t mean anything to you from an investment point of view and you can hire the staff, then fine.” As a fractional owner at Mountain Spirit Resort, you don’t have to deal with the a/c, heating, landscaping, pool or plumbing. Our staff on site look after it all for you.

“Deb Howard, a realtor in Lake Tahoe and chairwoman of the National Association of Realtors’ resort and second home committee, said many people looked at the properties as a place for the family to gather and as something to leave to the children. But they still need to consider the carrying costs of the property.” Another reason why quarter ownership makes sense at Mountain Spirit Resort. A quarter of the cost and a fantastic place to reconnect with the family and truly relax.

Ms. Howard says her first question to buyers is always what kind of lifestyle they expect to have. But her second is whether they need to rent the home to cover the costs. “Sometimes it’s not the right decision,” Ms. Howard said. “You’re not going to use it enough. Or it’s not going to meet your financial goals.” Not only are the costs quartered, Mountain Spirit Resort also offers an optional rental program to all owners which makes it easier to manage the costs in owning a vacation property.

Paul says it’s less relaxing. What persuades people to buy a second home is usually a vacation. A second home, they think, will keep the party going with the added benefit of having a place of their own. “They only see the benefits — sitting by the pool, having a piña colada, driving into the driveway and leaving the Rolls Royce there,” Mr. Pedraza said. “They never figure the gate is going to be broken and they will need an electrician.” At Mountain Spirit Resort, we have an on-site Maintenance Manager who fixes the gate if it is broken, and you don’t even need to know about when it is broken! Mountain Spirit Resort makes vacation ownership relaxing for you!

Enthusiasm for a place can also lead to a hasty purchase. Barry Peele, an International Realtor in Beverly Hills, said a client recently bought a waterfront home in Miami only to find out after the closing that the dock would not accommodate his yacht. Suddenly, the convenience of walking out to his boat — the original attraction — was gone. At Mountain Spirit Resort we guide you through the purchasing process with no haste. We even come out and stay first and experience all the amenities the area has to offer. By the way, we don’t have a dock but we are truly ski-in ski-out and our underground parkade has enough vertical clearance to allow you to drive in with an SUV, with a ski box on top – a pretty common requirement in ski resorts but rarely available!

And then there is the pressure to use the place. “People have high expectations of their usage,” said Brian Sharples, chief executive of HomeAway, which runs several vacation rental Web sites. “The industry average is 30 days of use per year.” As a fractional quarter share owner at Mountain Spirit Resort, you have about 13 weeks a year to enjoy your suite. If you do use just 4 weeks, you can place your suite in the rental pool for the other 9 weeks and our rental manager does all the work for you!

When people realize how infrequently they are using their second homes, they often turn to Web sites to rent them. Mr. Sharples, who has a second home in Aspen, Colo., said the income could defray some of the costs, from taxes to maintenance. But renting out any home can be stressful, and you may not make enough money to justify the hassle. Renting out is hassel-free at Mountain Spirit Resort. You don’t need to post your rental on a website. Our Rental Manager, Bellstar, does everything for you, including managing the maintenance, housekeeping, 24/7 front desk, marketing, reservations etc.

Paul thinks it’s time consuming. He comments: Since people do not use their second homes regularly, they cannot just walk in as if it were their primary residence. At a minimum, they have to open up the house when they arrive, make sure everything still works and close it down when they leave. As a fractional owner at Mountain Spirit Resort, this is definitely not the case. The suite is checked regularly and prepared prior to your arrival, so the lights are on, the music is playing and the ambiance is just right to start relaxing! You don’t even have to clean when you leave!

Paul finishes saying: “These are luxury problems, of course. The recession has shown the stress that houses can put on anyone. But before you plunge into a second home, ask why you are doing it. In the end, staying in a hotel could be a lot more relaxing.” I agree, with Mountain Spirit Resort you own in a condo-hotel which provides the solutions to Paul’s problems!

I found this article and thought it was spot on in terms of describing the benefits of fractional ownership at Mountain Spirit Resort in Kimberley. This chap is called Bob Wood and is a regular contributor to Regular Forever Young. Bob found it easy to write on the pros and cons of fractional ownership of a recreation property – he’s an owner himself. Here’s his article:

I’m sitting on the side deck of our comfortable, modern two-bedroom, Muskoka-style cottage ready to attack a mystery novel, sipping a glass of chardonnay. My only worry on this day is whether I’ve applied a suitable amount of sun block. While April 13 may seem a little early to be soaking up cottage-country rays, the warmth of the afternoon sun is trapped on the porch, making a liar of the thermometer and tricking me into thinking that we’ve skipped spring and jumped straight into summer.

And as I look around, it’s all mine – sort of. We get to enjoy spring, the other three seasons and a bonus summer week with the five-week fractional-ownership package we purchased a few years back at the Bayview Wildwood Resort’s Cottages at Port Stanton development.

Started in 2003, the Cottages at Port Stanton bills itself as the closest fractional ownership project to Toronto – a 90-minute drive. With “unbeatable views” of Sparrow Lake and the surrounding rugged Canadian Shield countryside, we have been able to appreciate “the joys of lakeside living” pretty much as advertised since April 2004.

Is fractional ownership for you? Before we bought into Port Stanton, my wife and I, now both in our 50s, hadn’t really given the idea much thought. I suppose fractional ownership seemed like something intended for other people – with lots of money.

Up until about six years ago our vacation experience was split between “car camping” at various provincial parks and booking inexpensive hotel accommodation. Then, the need to escape the day-to-day grind of work and, additionally, take a break from caring for aging parents began to get to us and so we decided to spoil ourselves with a three-day/two-night package at a family resort north of Orillia known as the Wild Echo Bay Lodge.

Looking across Sparrow Lake on a snowy Friday night, we detected some building activity and decided to check into it. We were thinking at the time it was a timeshare and we expected the stereotypical hard sell associated with those places – but instead got the soft sell. And we were sold. The Cottages at Port Stanton rose on the site where Wild Echo Bay Lodge used to be.

We soon learned the difference between timeshares and fractional ownership. These units were the latter.

It turns out, the idea of sharing resources to purchase a vacation property has been around for years. As far as formalizing such arrangements in a commercial form, timesharing preceded fractional ownership. The first timeshares were apparently offered at a ski resort based in the French Alps in the sixties.

The fractional-property industry in North American didn’t really get going until the early 1990s, beginning at ski resorts in Colorado and other Rocky Mountains states.

So what’s the difference?

A timeshare is a right to the use of a property. Timeshares can be resold to another party as time, not as traditional real estate. On the other hand, fractional ownership (generally defined as a percentage share of an asset) can be resold, as fractional ownership conveys title of land.

As far as usage of the property, there are different schemes – fixed periods, floating dates and blends of both. A fractional share gives the owners certain privileges, such as a number of days or weeks when they can use the property.

For me, fractional ownership works just great. Here’s how:

• Disciplined me to take holidays

According to a Decima Harris research poll done last year, nearly one-quarter of employed Canadians report not taking all of their vacation days. This translates into 34-million unused days in Canada overall, representing about $6.03-billion in labour donated to employers. I am not inclined to work for free.

• Gets me away from the phone

We jump when the phone rings, which is probably a good thing.

• A break with no maintenance

Unlike traditional cottage owners, we’ve got no chores to do when we get there.

• A place for everything

Everything in our luxury, furnished cottage is always where it is supposed to be – not something that can be said about my permanent residence.

• The price is right

It seems cheaper than other types of vacationing. I leave it to financial gurus to prove me wrong but our maintenance fees for a week run in the $500 range for a two-bedroom. We originally paid about $44,000 for 50 years’ use of the property.

• Love that natural living. We can get closer to nature than our regular suburban existence.

I haven’t found any negatives yet and as I sip my wine and contemplate the good life, I don’t think I will find any.

Fractionals: a growth industry

Not so long ago, if you wanted a weekend or summer getaway, you bought a cottage and with it the costs of upkeep, or rented at a resort – hoping you could get a decent slot in the season you wanted. The idea of buying “part” of a cottage – one where someone else shouldered the responsibility of maintenance – was unheard of.

Today, however, fractional ownership is a rapidly growing industry, says Sue Nickason, a marketing consultant working with three such communities, including the new Cottages at Windermere House.

Fractional-ownership developments are springing up throughout Muskoka as well as other “cottage country” regions, like Haliburton, the Kawarthas, the lake region north of Kingston, and Georgian Bay. Nickason says the priorities for most are lakes, golf and ski opportunities. Most also like to be within three hours of their home base, although she sees buyers coming from as far away as Alberta and even England.

Read the article here: http://www.foreveryoungnews.com/leisureandlifestyle/article/16069

Kimberley might be known for awesome skiing and world class golf. It’s also a very cultural little city, with lots of local art, theatre and music. Last weekend saw “Arts on the Edge” in Kimberley. We currently have the Art Walk throughout Kimberley and up here in the Alpine Resort, showcasing fine works from local artists. What really took my breath away recently was the “Soprano in the Platzl” series performed by Tanya Siega.

How spoiled we are to have an extremely talented opera singer in our community. Tanya has launched the Soprano in the Platzl this summer and is performing in the Platzl bandstand every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 12pm for about an hour. Seats are provided so you can sit back, relax and get the goose bumps from the amazing sound of her voice. She sings a variety of classic areas interspersed with stories from the people who settled in Kimberley from diverse cultural backgrounds. Having the background orchestral music played through speakers is the icing on the cake.

Don’t miss this touching performance. Running July 13 to September 2, 2010.

You can also join the “Soprano in the Platzl” facebook page here.