Timeshare vs. Hotel

BY Barbara Correa Staff Writer

Does $18,000 for a week’s vacation for the rest of your life sound good?

That’s the average price paid last year for a time share. Despite that high barrier to entry, the time-share business is booming. But does it make financial sense to buy a piece of home away from home?

Well, in the example above, the cost would work out to about $600 for each week if you had the time share for 30 years.

Like a lot of consumers, I was always skeptical about the concept of paying upfront for a lifetime of guaranteed annual vacations at the same resort. The initial investment is a major turnoff, and the thought of always visiting the same place runs counter to many vacationers’ idea of what travel should be.

But spending a few nights at a relative’s poolside condo in Palm Springs last month convinced me that the time-share model can pay off. [read more]
Timeshare does make sense for over 4,000,000 US owners, a number that is increasing every year. But what makes most sense is buying your timeshare from the resale market. You’ll save from 60% to 80% below retail prices when you purchase from Holiday!

Timeshares and Fractionals: What’s the Difference?

The concept of a timeshare is well-known among second-home owners, but the concept of a fractional - or a private residence club - is demonstrably not. A study this year by the American Affluence Center reported only 33% of their respondents (who averaged a net-worth around $3 million) to be familiar with the more luxurious private residence club concept. So what are they and why compare them with timeshares? [read more]

Study: New U.S. Timeshare Sales Top $10 Billion in 2006

Sales climb 81% over five years; 4.4 million households own timeshare.
(Washington) Timeshare sales climbed 16 percent during 2006 to $10 billion over 2005 sales of $8.6 billion, according to a study of the U.S. vacation ownership industry conducted by Ernst & Young, LLP and released today by the ARDA International Foundation (AIF). The survey of 625 timeshare resorts throughout the country shows robust growth over a five-year period, with sales up 81 percent and average resort size growth of 32 percent.
As of January 1, 2007, there were 1,615 vacation ownership resorts operating in the U.S. There are a total of 4.4 million U.S. timeshare owners, up from 4.1 million in 2005, 3.87 million in 2005, 3.4 million in 2003, and three million in 2002.

“The steady, impressive growth in the timeshare sector is a direct indication of strong consumer satisfaction and demand, underscoring that vacation ownership is fast becoming the preferred travel choice of today and in the future,” said Howard Nusbaum, president and chief executive officer of ARDA. [more]

Holiday Resales Introduces ‘Timeshare Scoop’ Page

Holiday Resales is introducing a new “timeshare scoop” Web page that invites owners to submit personal stories about how timeshare has improved their vacations.

Seattle, WA (PRWEB) June 11, 2007 — Holiday Resales, one of America’s premier resale timeshare vendors, is introducing a new “timeshare scoop” Web page that invites owners to submit personal stories about how timeshare has added spice to their vacation lifestyles.

While recent independent studies show that 80% of owners are satisfied with timeshare, many non-owners remain skeptical, often due to a bad experience at a timeshare presentation, or from something negative they may have heard secondhand.

“The fact is, timeshare is a great vacation product,” said Holiday’s Marketing Director, Geoff Klein, “but it’s hard for people who don’t understand how it works to recognize its benefits. This page will help generate interest in how vacation ownership can improve the quality of our leisure time.”

Each month, Holiday will award a prize to the submission that best captures the excitement or benefits of timesharing.

“We’re looking for descriptive stories about how people have used their timeshares, where they most enjoy going, or how timesharing has helped to improve their vacations,” said Klein.

Other “scoop” ideas include great timeshare exchanges owners have made, tips on how to obtain the best exchanges, favorite golf or entertainment destinations, most memorable vacations, or creative ways owners have used their weeks, such as for anniversary or birthday gifts. Photos are encouraged.

Winners of the monthly “scoop” contest will receive a free RCI exchange week. Please visit Holiday’s new Timeshare Story Page at http://www.holidaygroup.com/timesharestory for more information.

About Holiday: Holiday’s online timeshare business connects thousands of vacation buyers with discount timeshares every year. Founded in 1992, Holiday was one of the first timeshare companies to host a comprehensive Web site. Holiday is headquartered in sunny Seattle. Visit http://www.holidaygroup.com for more information.

Should You Buy a Time-Share?

To judge the merits of time-shares, get familiar with the business. You should know that while many are deeded properties, others (especially outside the U.S.) are leases or right-to-use agreements, which don’t give you permanent real estate ownership. Also, vacation weeks come in three flavors: fixed (the same slot every year), floating (you can reserve different times in different years) and point-based. Under point-based systems, which are used by several of the giant hotel companies that operate time-shares, such as Disney, Marriott and Starwood, time-shares have specific values depending on the location of your resort and the time of year you stay. You can use the points to stay at any locale and sometimes for airline tickets or car rentals, too. Also key: The trade value of your property will be determined by whatever time-share exchange company is affiliated with your resort. That firm will handle transactions between your time-share and others around the globe, usually for a fee of about $160 per trade. The two largest are Resort Condominium International, owned by Wyndham Worldwide, and Interval International, owned by InterActiveCorp. For more details on ownership, use and trading, buy Schreier’s book and join the Timeshare Users Group, or TUG (www.tug2.net; $15 a year).
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