Why More People Don’t Buy Timeshare, Part 1

As “The Timeshare Crusader,” I’m very careful not to appear to have a bias for or against any timeshare company, any type of timeshare, any exchange company, etc.

However, there is one thing that I will admit to having a strong bias for and that is vacations–specifically, timeshare vacations. As many of my regular readers know, I used to be a timeshare salesperson and sales manager. And I truly believe and still believe in the product.

I’ve always been a very analytical person, so one of the things I never understood was the very small number of Americans who own a timeshare. Timeshare has been around for more than 35 years, and according to the latest statistics, less than 7% of Americans own a timeshare. It is clear, though, that more than 7% of Americans go on a regular vacation. So why the discrepancy? Why is it that so few Americans who could benefit from timeshares actually own them?

Here are three reasons:

Perception

Yes, it is true that the timeshare industry has left a bad impression in many consumers’ minds. The media are quick to point out the terrible investment potential of timeshares, while being very slow to point out annual hotel price inflation. However, the vast majority of timeshare owners report that they are very satisfied with their timeshare, and the media seem to miss that story altogether.

Selling Techniques

Anyone who has survived a three- or four-hour, high-pressure sales presentation knows how horrible they can be. After six years of working in sales and four years working for consumers, I still don’t understand why timeshare resorts continue to employ these high-pressure “you have to buy it today” techniques, when they clearly don’t work for the vast majority of consumers.

While a select number of timeshare companies seem to understand that today’s consumers don’t respond well to such techniques, the vast majority of them still rely on those techniques. And to its discredit, the primary market timeshare industry has managed to keep a lid on a legitimate secondary market for timeshares. My educated opinion is that the times are finally changing, and once consumers know that there are reliable sources to purchase timeshare from other than developers, and that there really is no such thing as a “used” timeshare, a lot of developers will be left scratching their heads while looking at empty sales rooms.

Lack of Advertising

Before I got started in timeshare, I was an advertising person . . . and a good one to boot. I was a media buyer/planner/copywriter for some of the Chicago area’s largest products and services.

And while my experience was in the “dark ages” (i.e. before the advent of Internet advertising), and we relied on radio, newspapers, television, magazines to get the word out, everything we did was telling the story of the product or service in question, and making a call to action about that product or service.

The timeshare industry, however, almost never uses the actual product in their advertisements. Instead, consumers are bribed with a discount vacation offer or free attraction tickets, and once they’ve bitten on the bribe, they are told that they must listen to a 90-minute timeshare presentation.

Consumers rightly feel that if timeshare is so good, why do developers feel the need to bribe people?  Why not simply advertise the timeshare for what it is and what it does?  Consumers are smart–smarter than many advertisers give them credit for. Consumers feel that the industry is hiding something and so are hesitant to buy the product. But they’re not hesitant to take the developers up on their bribe. That’s why each year, more than 3 million Americans go to one or more timeshare presentations and enjoy the free gifts, but less than 10% purchase the timeshare.

So what is an interested, perhaps confused, consumer to do? By all means, take the developers up on their offers. Eat their bagels, enjoy the discounted vacations, and have fun at the attractions or dinner shows. Ask questions. Find out for yourself the difference between fixed weeks, floating weeks, and points. Compare prices. Then educate yourself, work with a consultant, read books, talk to other owners, and make wise choices for yourself.  And if you find that the secondary market is the way to go, congratulations.

But hurry, because I feel the bagels, discounted vacations and attraction tickets are on their way out . . . along with the dinosaur sales managers, nosebleed price drops, and gold pinky rings.

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Lisa Ann Schreier, The Timeshare Crusader is the author of Surviving A Timeshare Presentation, and Timeshare Vacations For Dummies, and blogs for Holiday Group.

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