At Travel + Leisure Co., the International Legal and Compliance Team has done far more than keep pace with the company’s ambitious growth strategy – they have been the architects of it. Over the past 12 months, this team of 23 professionals has delivered outcomes that are reshaping the regulatory landscape of vacation ownership across the Asia Pacific and the Middle East, while simultaneously raising the bar for consumer protection, sales integrity, and corporate governance.
Scale, Scope, and Complexity
Based across Australia, Singapore, and the Philippines, the Legal and Compliance Team is responsible for regulatory and governance obligations spanning 14 countries, each with its own distinct legal framework around vacation ownership, consumer finance, data privacy, financial services licensing, workplace law, anti-money laundering, and sales regulation. They oversee compliance across seven vacation ownership clubs (including some legacy clubs), more than 100 properties, over 50 corporate entities, and a workforce of close to 6,000 people. The complexity is extraordinary. The team’s ability to navigate it, consistently and amidst constant evolution, is a genuine competitive advantage for the business.
Landmark Regulatory Wins
The past year has produced some of the team’s most significant legal and regulatory achievements to date. Foremost among them is the team’s constructive lobbying of authorities in Ras Al Khaimah, one of the United Arab Emirates’ most progressive emirates, to help draft an entirely new regulatory framework for vacation ownership operations. This is groundbreaking work, engaging directly with government to shape emerging legislation that protects consumers, while enabling a robust and commercially viable industry to flourish.
This work reflects a broader philosophy the team applies across all its jurisdictions: proactive engagement rather than passive compliance. The team regularly participates in working groups and consultations across Asia Pacific to advocate for ethical, effective regulation that balances consumer protection with commercial reality. In an industry that operates across such diverse legal environments, this approach is invaluable.
Structuring New Clubs and New Markets
The team has also been instrumental in the governance and compliance structuring of two new vacation clubs: Accor Vacation Club Asia Pacific – which launched in 2025 following the acquisition of the rights to develop and market Accor Vacation Club – and a second club yet to be publicly announced. For both, the team built compliance frameworks from the ground up, ensuring alignment with financial services, privacy, and consumer protection standards across emerging jurisdictions. These are not simple undertakings. They require an intimate understanding of both the business model and the regulatory environment in markets where vacation ownership is still finding its legislative footing.
Beyond the new clubs, the team completed contracts for 16 new properties that were added to the group’s clubs across Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and the United Arab Emirates, along with two additional hotel management openings, numerous Associate Resort agreements, and the company’s first property management contract in South Korea.
Transforming the Sales Process
One of the team’s most impactful contributions has been the development and rollout of the General Advice model, an industry-changing innovation that has transformed how Travel + Leisure Co. presents its products to prospective members. Where traditional timeshare sales relied on tailored, specific advice built around a client’s individual circumstances, the General Advice model provides a broader, more transparent overview, with a shorter and more consistent presentation format, better designed to align with evolving regulation.
The results have exceeded expectations. Post-presentation scores have improved from an average of 7.4 to 8.18, and sales revenue has grown year-on-year – up 8% in 2025 alone. The model has now been expanded to Accor Vacation Club sales sites, and sales sites in Asia. The team has also introduced audiovisual compliance technology across 21 sales sites, doubling the number of sales presentations assessed, while achieving cost reductions of more than 30%. Monthly and annual training is provided to all sales representatives across every site, with complaint trends monitored and addressed promptly.
Beyond the Brief
The Legal and Compliance team are involved in driving inclusion across the International region of Travel + Leisure Co. The Pride International Diversity Resource Group – which now has 400 members in 13 countries – is led by a member of the Legal and Compliance team and sponsored by the Executive heading the department. Multiple members of the team are part of the Women in Travel DRG, while one of the team is also a leader in the newly created Asians and Pacific Islanders in Travel DRG.
The team helped establish the company’s First Nations Working Group across Australia and New Zealand, and developed a Reconciliation Action Plan to advance employment pathways and cultural awareness. This is now part of the Asians and Pacific Islanders in Travel DRG.
The team’s Vice President serves as director of Wishes, the company’s philanthropic arm, which has raised more than US$520,000 for charitable causes.