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the lushly landscaped resort offers indoor and outdoor pools, a
sauna, a gym, tennis courts, a minimarket, and a restaurant serving
international cuisine.
Nearby is the famous Casino de Viña del Mar, which presents
sought-after entertainment year-round. Valparaíso, a UNESCO World
Heritage site and seaport, is a 30-minute drive from the resort; the ski
region of Portillo is a three-hour drive away.
Outlook for Chile
Sales were brisk from the start, with units purchased mainly by Chileans,
who make up 95 to 98 percent of owners. Chile has one of the strongest
economies in South America, with residents who vacation frequently and
love beach destinations in particular, Soza says. The resort is close to Viña
del Mar, which Soza describes as “the most important beach in Chile.”
“Since the 1990s, Chile has earned a reputation for being the best-
managed economy in Latin America,” according to a 2017 article in
Forbes. “Policymakers built up strong institutions, developed new
industries that helped foster more than two decades of impressive
growth,” the article reports. Though the writer notes that there is some
political unrest and a slight slowing of the economy, the Forbes article
is generally optimistic.
That optimism extends to the tourist industry. “In 2017, Chile’s per-
formance continues to be on the up,” according to a November 2017
analysis by ehotelier. As of August, 4.3 million international travelers
have visited Chile. That’s an 18.3-percent increase in relation to record-
breaking 2016.
Market Opportunities and Sales Strategies
The developer initially pursued the Argentinian market, but because of
economic and political difficulties there, Soza says they decided
to remain focused on the Chilean population. “We realized about
2 percent of our customers would be Argentinian and that most of our
sales would be local.”
Chile’s robust economy provides a healthy market to pursue,
according to Soza. Most of the population is concentrated in Santiago,
the capital city, which is 75 miles (120 kilometers) from the resort,
where fully 40 percent of Chileans live.
“It’s a small, but mostly affluent, market,” Soza says. With a
population of nearly 18 million, Chile is much smaller than Argentina
(population 43.85 million) and Brazil (population 207.7 million). “We are
concentrated on upper-middle-class Chilean buyers who live within
150 miles of the resort,” Toro explains. “Our estimation is that about
227,000 families will be potential buyers.”
The developer originally maintained several off-premises sales
offices, but gradually closed them to shift its attention to on-site sales.
“We realized that our closing rates were much higher at the resort, so
we closed our sales centers in the malls,” Soza says.
One off-premises site in Santiago remains, but the bulk of leads
comes from mini-vacs, including a private vacation program called
Romantic Break. Other marketing tools include social media, referrals,
telemarketing, and search engines such as and Expedia.
Something to Celebrate
Plans are in place for a formal celebration of Hippocampus Viña del
Mar Resort & Club’s 20th anniversary this spring, with cocktail parties
for the owners, employees, stakeholders, and elected officials from the
entire region.
But first, the principals would like to see their new additions
completed. They include a new outdoor swimming pool and facilities
building — with an event room and a spa — and 10 new units.
In late 2017, Soza anticipated that the projects will be completed in
spring 2018. He points out, “You can’t do any construction during the
high season,” which runs from December to March.
Past and Future
Once the anniversary milestone has passed, the developer will embark
on the next project. “Considering the inventory constraint, due to a
good sales level, we are planning to build a new resort in Chile,” Soza
confirms. Site selection — tricky and vital to the project’s success — is
scheduled to begin in the first half of 2018. Other details were still being
roughed out late last year.
“We could build further to the north, which has higher tempera-
tures year-round,” as it’s closer to the equator, Soza explains. “But it
has an even smaller market. If we build closer to Santiago, the market
is much larger.”
Whatever location is chosen, Interval will remain the exchange
partner of choice, Soza says. “Chileans are traveling around the world
a little more every year. We put exchange strategy into the main part
of our sales presentation, because our prospects are very interested
in taking advantage of great opportunities to exchange their points to
travel to other tourist destinations. Interval has been our partner since
the beginning and surely adds an important value to our product.”
“We couldn’t bemore pleasedwith our relationshipwith Hippocampus
Viña del Mar,” says Marcos Agostini, Interval’s executive vice presi-
dent of global sales and business development. “Juan Ignacio Soza
and partners have a long-established relationship with Interval and a
shared commitment to quality.”
RESORT PROFILEHIPPOCAMPUS VIÑA DEL MAR
RESORT & CLUB
43
Juan Ignacio Soza and his partners
pride themselves on their research
skills and ability — with a little
prescience thrown in — to read
the market. And for that, they can
hardly be blamed: Hippocampus
Viña del Mar Resort & Club
marked its 20-year anniversary in
November 2017, and is extending
the celebration well into 2018,
amid strong sales — and plans to
add a second property.
BY CATHERINE LACKNER
Expanding on a
Firm Foundation in Chile
Hippocampus Viña del Mar Resort & Club AN INTERVAL INTERNATIONAL SELECT RESORT®
Developer: Inmobiliaria Hippocampus Viña Del Mar S.A.
Location: Viña del Mar, Chile
Product: Points-based, right-to-use 11-year term
Units: 92 two-bedroom, two-bath lock-off units
Price: From US$7,000 to US$10,700, depending on season
Website:
FAST FACTS
Starting on the Right Foot
In 1995, when Soza — president and owner of Hippocampus Viña del Mar Resort
& Club — first contemplated building a resort, he and his partners visited timeshare
properties in the U.S. “We decided to build 100 two-bedroom lock-off units,” says
Soza. “We took from the industry that this configuration was to be the future.”
They also investigated what was then a new way of selling. “Very few developers
were using the points system at that time; it wasn’t too popular,” he says. “But we
thought it was the best system. Today, everybody is selling points, so we were right.”
They kicked off the project in 1995 with a revised total of 92 two-bedroom,
two-bath units, each approximately 915 square feet (85 square meters), arranged
in five buildings. True to the partners’ vision, each unit had a lock-off, raising the
total number to 184. The developers held a grand opening in November 1997, and
welcomed the first owners the following year. “It was one of the few resorts in Chile
at that time that was built to be a timeshare,” Soza says. Materials and finishes were
selected with an eye toward their resilience and ability to hold up over time.
“Even after 20 years, you don’t notice that the resort is that old,” says David Toro
Herrera, the resort’s general manager. “We took special care to ensure the quality
would be long-term.”
Each unit has an ocean view, Soza adds. “We don’t have a first and a second class
here; all rooms have the front view.” In addition to breathtaking Pacific Ocean vistas,
APRIL – JUNE 2018 VACATION INDUSTRY REVIEW