Wyndham Destinations Asia Pacific – developer of the region’s leading timeshare club, Club Wyndham South Pacific – is ensuring thousands of pieces of quality used furniture find worthy homes instead of going to landfill. The initiative comes as the company launches Full Circle, the new identity of its promise to benefit the communities in which it operates through philanthropy, sustainability and inclusion.
Accommodation renewal is an ongoing commitment for a timeshare club determined to provide almost 60,000 vacation owners with fresh, modern apartments year after year, holiday after holiday. In 2018, more than AU$3.7 million was invested in refreshing apartments and common spaces across Club Wyndham South Pacific – and another full program is underway in 2019.
Wyndham Destinations Asia Pacific continually revitalises accommodation for club owners by following an exacting refurbishment program that ensures every room in the club’s 51 properties is renewed according to a regular schedule. With close to 2,000 rooms across Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Thailand, Indonesia, Europe, Japan and Hawaii in the USA, the company’s property development team transforms hundreds of rooms every year.
Every refurbishment incorporates a fresh design – typically with new furniture, flooring, wall coverings, window coverings and artwork for each room.
In 2019, Wyndham Destinations Asia Pacific has undertaken an ambitious initiative to gift and rehome as much of the replaced apartment furniture as possible. So far, a series of community partners have acquired more than eight tonnes of quality used furniture, including 238 beds, 160 dining tables, 382 bedside tables and 611 chairs from the refurbishments of club apartments.
Giving furniture a new life
“For years, Wyndham Destinations Asia Pacific has had a strong belief in supporting the communities in which it operates, particularly through sustainability and philanthropy,” said David Wray, Senior Vice President of Acquisitions, Procurement, Property Development and Technical Services.
“Furniture from our resorts is typically well-maintained by our vacation owners and our on-site teams. While we are committed to delivering on our promise of refreshed apartments for our owners, most of our furniture is suitable for many more years’ use. Rather than trying to rehome it ourselves, we are now providing charitable beneficiaries the opportunity to match good quality pieces of furniture with people who are grateful to receive them.”
Earlier in the year, more than 750 pieces of furniture from the refurbishment of Club Wyndham Cairns went to Lifeline. The charity is selling these through its local shop and the proceeds are going towards its provision of suicide prevention services and 24-hour crisis support.
The Property Development team is almost half-way through a staged refurbishment project at the 120-room Club Wyndham Sydney, local charity The Generous and The Grateful has accepted almost 400 pieces – or six tonnes – of furniture and has rehomed two-thirds. The charity provides furniture and appliances directly to people in need.
“Across Sydney, there are vulnerable people who have shelter but no furniture to make a home, or are missing a lounge suite or appliance that they cannot afford to purchase. Donations from businesses like Wyndham Destinations Asia Pacific are excellent because furniture from a timeshare apartment is perfectly suited for a home,” said Davida Sweeney, Chief Operating Officer, The Generous and The Grateful. “We look forward to working with Wyndham Destinations Asia Pacific in the future and we are actively looking out for businesses who are in similar market sectors.”
Earlier in the year, the club’s 21 apartments at Pokolbin Hill in the New South Wales Hunter Valley were refurbished. More than 200 pieces of furniture, including dining settings, outdoor dining settings, TVs and coffee tables were delivered to the St Vincent De Paul Society.
Furniture from 83 rooms at Ramada Resort by Wyndham Phillip Island being added into Club Wyndham South Pacific will also be made available to suitable charities when a refurbishment starts later in the year.
“The launch of Full Circle has provided new inspiration and is a timely expression of what we are trying to achieve with this project, which is to ensure quality furniture is not thrown away but instead goes to a new owner who has need of it. In this way, the community benefits through the whole process,” said Ben Perkins, Sustainability Manager at Wyndham Destinations.
What next?
Full Circle comes at a time when Wyndham Destinations Asia Pacific has just made a number of key changes, particularly in sustainability, designed to benefit the communities where it operates.
Over the last 12 months, the company has banned balloons, replaced plastic straws with paper straws and only provided them on request, removed polystyrene cups from its corporate headquarters on the Gold Coast, rolled out plant-based cutlery in many corporate and resort locations, started soft plastics recycling and much more.
“Finding charity partners who can rehome our high quality furniture so that it benefits people in need will become a much larger focus with our refurbishments in the future,” said Mr Perkins. “We are proud to be making the change and anticipate the day when it becomes common practice in the marketplace.”
.jpg){kind=tracking}
