What the Timeshare Industry Can Learn From The Travel Industry

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Last year, I wrote a piece about what the timeshare industry can learn from the cruise industry. Today I’m reporting on how the traditional timeshare industry is going to have to learn from the travel industry if it wants to thrive in the coming years.

According to Peter Yesawich, chairman and CEO of Ypartnership, the two biggest influences on American travelers are technology and social values.

Yesawich reports that 61% of active travelers use the Internet and ONLY the Internet for their travel research, and just 7% use travel agencies exclusively.

So what can the traditional timeshare industry learn from this? There is a dearth of information about traditional timeshares on the Internet. We all seem to forget that the Internet does not operate without people. Someone is–well, many people, are responsible for getting the information onto the Internet. The traditional timeshare industry has done little in this regard. The vast majority of timeshare-related information on the Internet is from sources OTHER than the timeshare resorts.

Yesawich also reported that 1 out of 5 American travelers actively visit one or more travel blog sites, and 1 out of 3 of them have written a travel review online. Those blogs and reviews are where Americans are getting their travel information.

You can equate a traditional travel agent to a timeshare developer. While you can purchase your travel needs directly from a travel agent, fewer and fewer people are doing that. Just like fewer and fewer people are relying on the information they obtain at a timeshare presentation to then make the purchase.

Consumers are also price driven. It should come as no surprise to anyone that 87% of travelers reported that the ability to check the lowest prices is THE MOST IMPORTANT FEATURE of a travel Web site.

Consumers also look for ease of purchasing, with 74% of travelers saying that this was a key feature in travel sites.

Can a consumer compare prices online with traditional timeshare resorts? Of course not. The prices seem to be not only a closely guarded “secret,” but vary immensely depending on how many times the consumer says “No” during a timeshare presentation.

Can a consumer easily purchase a timeshare online from a resort? We know the answer to this is “No.” I don’t know any resort that lets consumers purchase online.

Hotels and motels and other non-timeshare travel services have been forced to become price transparent . . . as has just about every other product or service available to consumers. Yet still, the timeshare industry won’t budge on this because it clings to the concept that timeshares are not a sought-after product.

Perhaps this is so because they won’t let it be sought after. Consumer research study after study continues to point to the fact that consumers want to buy things, as opposed to being sold things

Other details from Yesawich’s study showed that 50% of respondent said that they had no preference between a legacy and low-fair air carrier. Consumers care more about the price of the air ticket than the carrier.

Translate this to the timeshare industry and it becomes obvious that price is what matters. If a consumer can purchase a timeshare from a developer for $20,000 or a similar product on the resale market for $5,000 or $6,000, why wouldn’t they purchase resale? Especially when the developer charging $20,000 doesn’t clearly demonstrate and publicize the rationalization for the price difference. Maybe there is a clear-cut reason “why.” If so, the timeshare developers have yet to tell their story in a convincing manner.

If they did explain the reason, perhaps people would be more willing to pay the higher price. Another study showed that 38% of Internet users would be willing to pay more for customized products. This clearly demonstrates that there is a subsection of the traveling public that will pay more if you give them exactly what they want.

The good news for the timeshare-owning public, and people who may be interested in purchasing a timeshare, is that more and more people are traveling with their children: 43% reported one or more trips with their children over the past 12 months vs. only 26% back in 2000.

Grandparents also report taking more vacations with grandchildren than before, with 28% of them taking at least one vacation with their grandchildren.

As more and more family and extended families travel, there should be more demand for generally larger timeshare units.

For too long, the traditional timeshare industry has thought acted like a maverick, often to its detriment. A timeshare is an alternative to a hotel or motel. Period. It’s a travel service. Period. There is no sense clinging to outdated marketing and communications tools. There is no need to try and re-invent the wheel. The travel industry changes as consumers demand those changes. If the timeshare industry doesn’t adapt to these demanded changes, I predict that it will go the way of the travel agents–people will still purchase timeshares, but not from the developer.

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Lisa Ann Schreier, “The Timeshare Crusader,” is the founder of the consumer consulting company Timeshare Insights. A timeshare thought leader, Lisa is the author of both Surviving A Timeshare Presentation and Timeshare Vacations For Dummies, and is also a frequent blogger and speaker. She can be reached at lisa@timehareinsights.com.

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