Hotel & Motel Management - June 2, 2008 - (Page 54)

54 Timeshare CONSUMER AWARENESS H&MM June 2, 2008 | HotelMotel.com www.HotelMotel.com/digital_edition Timeshare misconceptions still prevalent IN THE details Consumer knowledge limited Forty-nine percent of frequent travelers have a negative opinion of timesharing. ARDA is working to help the industry understand consumers’ perceptions and change them. Timeshare has changed Flexible vacations key Web sites educate By Christine Blank CONTRIBUTING EDITOR ON time Interval International renewed its master afﬁliation with Hyatt Vacation Ownership. The multiyear agreement extends the relationship ﬁrst established in 1994 and includes 13 existing resorts, as well as properties developed during the term of the agreement. Interval International, through its afﬁliate Worldwide Vacation & Travel, introduced the Dream Vacation Week certiﬁcate program, an incentive that resort developers can use to generate tours of their resorts or to enhance the value proposition of their non-buyer programs. The marketing premium allows consumers to experience a seven-night stay at more than 50 destinations worldwide and can be redeemed at www. dreamvacationweek.com. Interval International also completed its beta launch for VacationSource.com, a lead generation Web site that aggregates and sells developer-sponsored vacation packages. Wyndham Vacation Ownership launched SmarterVacations.com, a Web site where consumers can ﬁnd special discounted travel products such as hotel rooms, attractions tickets and vacation packages. St. Regis Residence Club, part of Starwood Vacation Ownership, was rated the top luxury fractional club in the U.S. by the independent Luxury Institute’s 2008 Luxury Brand Status Index, a survey of high net-worth individuals. Marriott Vacation Club International announced the phase eight opening of Marriott’s Newport Coast (Calif.) Villas. Compiled by Heather Gunter, hgunter@questex.com Grande Villas at World Golf Village in St. Augustine, Fla., a vacation residence with one- and two-bedroom villas, overlooks the 17th and 18th holes of the Slammer & Squire golf course. T he American Resort Development Assn. recog- survey of 800 frequent travelers, nizes that consumers are 49 percent had a negative opinion confused about what timeshare of timesharing. Ypartnership also is and the value it provides. surveyed attendees at the ARDA As a result, ARDA invested Convention & Expo and found about $500,000 to research con- they have widely varying views sumers’ views and set up a public on the industry compared to conrelations initiative. sumers. The attendees thought “We need to educate stake- that travelers don’t like the aggresholders: the consumer media, reg- sive sales process of the timeshare ulators, chambers of commerce industry, but that is not consumand others about what timeshare ers’ top concern. is and is not,” said Howard NusOf travelers who have a negabaum, president and c.e.o. of tive opinion of timeshare, 17 perARDA. cent said it was because “it is not a “When you look at consum- good value,” 15 percent said it is ers’ knowledge of the business, it too expensive, and 11 percent said is extremely limited,” said Peter there is no ﬂexibility in the weeks Yesawich, chairman and they stay at the property, c.e.o. of Ypartnership. the study found. To that end, new In reality, the indusYpartnership consumtry offers ﬂoating weeks er research presented at and points-based ownerARDA’s annual conship, which allows travvention in Las Vegas in elers to purchase points April will help direct futhat can be spent at variture consumer outreach able times and at multiple campaigns. destinations. Yesawich In Ypartnership’s YPARTNERSHIP About 54 percent of think it is affordable and ﬂexible. And some didn’t realize that we had changed,” Nusbaum said. The industry needs to talk more about its ﬂexible vacations, such as exchanges and ﬂoating weeks, according to Yesawich. “Floating weeks are very popular in the business, but when you look at consumers’ knowledge, it is extremely limited,” he said. Only 22 percent of the travelers who are negative about timeshare know what ﬂoating weeks are, and only 12 percent said they are aware of what “fractional ownership” means. “The industry has been talkthe attendees at the ARDA con- ing to itself. The key challenge is ference said “pushy sales” was the to get that message to the consumtop reason so many travelers are er marketplace,” Yesawich said. negative about timeshare. TwenTo educate consumers and ty-four percent believe consumers the media, ARDA plans to set up are concerned about “poor resale a Web site, possibly by late sumvalue,” and 24 percent thought mer, that will explain timeshare consumer negativity is ownership, fractional inbecause there are “too terest products, pointsmany fees and frequent based ownership, private increases” in fees. residence clubs and other In reality, some confacets of the business. sumers are staying away “We would like to from timeshare because recolor the word ‘timethey don’t think it is a share.’ Its meaning from good value, and they be30 years ago and today lieve they will have to Nusbaum is different,” Nusbaum stay at the property dur- ARDA said. ing one set week. Ideally, travelers would “There is a huge information become knowledgeable about the gap there,” Yesawich said. “For industry and its offerings before years, the industry has labored un- they toured a property. der the belief that people who were “We want to get consumnegative were negative because of ers tour-ready, so the developsales practices and maintenance er doesn’t have to explain what fees. That is not the case.” timeshare is, just why they should “The reason why some fre- choose [that property],” Nusquent travelers are not attracted to baum said. our product is because they don’t hmm@questex.com BLUEGREEN CORP. Nusbaum: Double-digit growth hard to keep By Christine Blank CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Las Vegas–The timeshare industry will continue its growth during this economic recession and real-estate slump, Howard Nusbaum, president and c.e.o. of the American Resort Development Assn., said at the group’s April convention in Las Vegas. “Because we are a use product and the value comes from use, we are not tied into the housing market,” Nusbaum said. In fact, timeshare property buyers may ﬁnd some “compelling deals” because of the real-estate bust or change the focus of their original property plan. “Because capital is harder to get, there are failed condo-hotel projects or wholly owned condo or hotel projects. Because their timing is bad, they may become a timeshare or fractional property,” he said. At the same time, the doubledigit annual growth the industry has enjoyed for 20 years will be “hard to maintain,” Nusbaum said. The higher cost of fuel may make it more difﬁcult to get prospects to properties to tour them. “A lot of consumers aren’t feeling conﬁdent. … It may be harder to get them in the door,” he said. As a result, the industry needs to stay on top of ﬁnding more cost-effective forms of marketing and better sources of distribution. “That means strategic partnerships: ﬁnding someone to share a customer with you,” Nusbaum said. “That may not even be a hospitality brand; maybe it is season ticket holders for a certain sports team.” hmm@questex.com http://HotelMotel.com http://www.HotelMotel.com/digital_edition http://www.dreamvacationweek.com http://www.dreamvacationweek.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Hotel & Motel Management - June 2, 2008

Hotel & Motel Management - June 2, 2008 Contents State Programs Help Define Green Hotels AmericInn Boosts its American Presence Questex, The Bench to Host Russia Event Perspective Letter to the Editor Legally Speaking Guest Column Marketing Matters Consultant's Corner Satisfaction Trends On Finance Travel Trends Cornell Insights Energy Star Update Maintenance Doctor Management Trends Trends & Stats Finding Financing Challenges Developers Credit Crunch Still Tops List of Lawyers' Concerns Mixed-use Funding Bleak, Panelists Say Luxury Landscape Keeps Pushing Higher PTACs Events Casegoods Seating Energy Controls and Sensors Pest Control Electronic Locks Transactions Supplier News Timeshare Misconceptions Still Prevalent Awards People Ad/Edit Index Marketplace Classifieds Checking Out

Hotel & Motel Management - June 2, 2008

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