ResortQuest going global

FORT WALTON BEACH - ResortQuest is going global, and in a big way.

When its deal with European giant Interhome becomes official at the end of this month, ResortQuest will be part of what is being billed as the largest vacation rental management network in the world.

It will be linked with a company that claims 30,000 holiday homes, apartments and chalets in 21 countries.

Interhome, which is based in Zurich, Switzerland, counted 500,000 guests in 2007, and the new partnership will mean that many people could have access to ResortQuest's 16,000 vacation rental properties in 54 resort destinations.

Right now, 1 euro is worth about 1 1/2 U.S. dollars.

"Even without the dollar exchange, we're a good vacation rental market for Europe," said Park Brady, ResortQuest's senior vice president and chief operating officer.

His company is counting on the Panama City-Bay County International Airport to provide relatively easy access to Northwest Florida when it opens in a few years.

"This is the first global alliance for the vacation rental industry," said Cheryl Spezia, vice president of marketing for all of ResortQuest's operations.

The potential impact of the partnership wasn't lost on Debbie Bodenstine of the Economic Development Council of Okaloosa County. She was one of several dozen business and community leaders on hand for the announcement.

"Always getting fresh eyes on this area can bring new business," Bodenstine said. "Europeans are not familiar with our area. So if we can show more people what we have here, it's good for everybody."

Spezia met Interhome representatives at a vacation home rental show in Atlanta in April. Meetings that followed resulted in the partnership.

"I don't think we realized how much we had in common," Spezia said. "What they do is exactly what we do."

That includes services that range from reservation networks to local offices and on-site staff.

Interhome publishes catalogs in 11 languages and rang up more than $200 million in income last year.

Meanwhile, ResortQuest's Gulf Coast network runs from Gulf Shores, Ala., to Panama City Beach. Its 2,900 units in the region are projected to generate $46 million in revenue this year.