Tuesday, July 12, 2011

What The Timeshare Industry Can Learn From The Travel Industry-Part 2

Other details from Yesawich's study showed that 50% of respondents said that they had no preference between a legacy and low-cost 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 the price is what matters. If a consumer can purchase a timeshare from the developer for $20,000 or a similar product on the legitimate resale market for $5,000 or $6,000...why wouldn't they? Especially when the developer charging $20,000 doesn't clearly demonstrate the publicize the rationale for the price difference. Maybe there is a clear-cut reason for "why." If so, the timeshare developers have yet to tell their story in a convincing manner.

If they did, perhaps people would be willing to pay the price difference. A 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 the people who may be interested in purchsing a timeshare is that more and more of them are traveling with their children (43% reported one or more trips with their children over the past 12 months in 2009 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 annually with their grandchildren.

As more and more family and extended families travel, there should be more demand for timeshare units which generally provide more space and amenities than hotels.

For too long, the traditional timeshare industry has thought like and acted like a maverick, often to their 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 There is no sense clinging to outdated marketing and communication tools for these services. There is no need to try and reinvent the wheel. The travel industry changes as consumers demand changes. If the timeshare industry doesn't adapt to these demanded changes, I predict that the traditonal timeshare market will go the way of the travel agents.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have not heard a single good thing about timeshares. All I keep hearing about is timeshare cure ripoffs. I hear timeshares are impossible to get rid of and its a total rip off. Is there anything good about timeshares?

Lisa Ann Schreier, The Timeshare Crusader said...

There is a LOT good about timeshares. However, they are NOT for everyone. Unfortunately, the industry has not done a great job of getting the word out, instead relying on outdated marketing and sales techniques.

As you said, there are a lot of really bad timeshare cure/relief companies out there that are not only putting false information out there, but doing grave financial damage to owners and resorts alike.

Your comment about "impossible to get rid of" deserves more space that I can give you here, however, I'd like you to think about how much you could sell your box of hotel receipts for assuming you rent a hotel each year.

Timeshares should be purchased to use, not to sell or make money off of, or anything else. It's critical to understand the different types of timeshare as well as the different ways to purchase a timeshare.

If we can assist, drop us a note. Thanks for reading and thanks for your comment.