Welcome to the Fractional Trade weekly update, your essential source for key news and views in the world of fractional real estate. We bring you all the important stories from the fractional, PRC and destination club sectors – from the developers and clubs themselves, and from all the service providers who make the industry tick.

Fractional Summit Europe 2012 - Bigger and Better
Europe's premier b2b fractional real estate conference will be even bigger and better for 2012. Fractional Summit Europe has been evolving every year, and now in its fifth year, the 2012 event will feature a new format. The Fractional 101 sessions - which offer a comprehensive introduction to planning, launching, selling and operating a fractional ownership project - will take place in a separate breakout room. The sessions in the main hall have a more operations-based focus aimed at established developers, and we will be bringing in speakers from outside the industry to offer their perspective on how fractional real estate professionals can learn from and adapt best practice from other sectors to their own businesses.

We will also be bringing in plenty of fresh faces to ensure the Summit remains the "must attend" event for the fractional ownership sector in Europe and beyond. New speakers confirmed recently include Professor Mark Sharp, chief executive of the AIPP; Marc Finney, director of Colliers International; Govinda Singh, managing consultant of PKF UK, and there will be a raft of top quality panellists announced over the coming weeks.

In terms of content, the agenda has been update and refreshed to ensure it stays relevant and informative. It includes sessions on the following topics:

• Trends in residential resort development
• Recruiting, retaining and developing your staff
• Resort management
• Developer and buyer financing
• Constructing an HOA budget
• And many more

Fractional Summit Europe is taking place at the Marriott Grosvenor Square, London on February 27 and 28 2012. Don't miss out - click here to book your tickets.

Rewarding the finest fractionals - the 2011 Fractional Life Awards
• Have you got  the finest fractional development around?
• Are you proud of your product?
• Then why not enter the 2012 Fractional Life Awards?

Launched in 2009, the Fractional Life Awards are a great way to achieve a marketing boost for your development or company. You can use the award winners' logo on all your marketing collateral to show prospective buyers and employees that you are the best in the business, and have been endorsed by the world's leading fractional ownership brand.

A Fractional Life Award is a sought-after seal of approval for fractional developers and clubs, and the prestige of winning – or being a finalist – will benefit you and your company in numerous ways.

The awards will be presented in front of several hundred leading industry professionals at the Fractional Summit 2012, which is being held at the Marriott London, Grosvenor Square on February 27 and 28. In 2012 it could be you.

The categories are:
• Best fractional development EMEA
• Best fractional development US, Canada, Mexico and Caribbean
• Best fractional development Asia
• Best Private Residence Club
• Best Destination Club
• Award for Innovation and Excellence
• Services to the Industry Award
• Readers' Choice Award

To find out more, to download the awards brochure and to enter, click here.

As winter begins to exert its icy grip on us here in the UK, and the Christmas break is just around the corner, at Fractional Trade it's time to both reflect on the year that is coming to an end, and look forward to 2012 and all it may have in store.

I will reflect on 2011 further in next week's newsletter, but first I want to get you, the fractional industry, involved in one of the first landmarks of the year - the Fractional Life Top 20 industry innovators.

Each year we honour the people who we think have had the most impact on our industry during the previous year, and ask them for their predictions about what the next 12 months will bring.

So get your thinking caps on and send me your nominations. Who do you think are the industry's greatest innovators? Who is breaking new ground? Who is defying economic conditions to succeed? Please send me your suggestions at the email address below, along with a couple of lines on why you think they should be included - I look forward to hearing from you.

George Sell

Fractional Trade Editor
george@fractionaltrade.com