NEW RESEARCH FINDINGS PROVIDE SNAPSHOT OF FUTURE TIMESHARE PURCHASERS
Interval International Releases Latest Research Findings
Miami, FL, November 1, 2004– According to the newly released Future Timeshare Buyers: 2004 Market Profile, fully 14 percent of U.S. leisure travelers (which translates into approximately 13.4 million adults) are interested in purchasing some form of timeshare during the next two years. Interval International, a leading global vacation exchange company, distributed the study to attendees at the Sixth Annual Timeshare & Resort Investment Conference in Orlando, Florida.
Prepared from data collected for the YPB&R / Yankelovich Partners 2004 National Leisure Travel MONITORsm, the report is the latest in a series of studies that offers resort developers and marketers unique insights into the vacation habits, preferences and intentions of leisure travelers who are interested in owning vacation time.
"The study reveals that interest in purchasing timeshare remains strong and essentially unchanged in 2004," said Peter C. Yesawich, PhD., managing partner of Yesawich, Pepperdine, Brown & Russell. "Fourteen percent of the of active leisure travelers in America are interested in becoming vacation owners within the next two years, roughly the same percentage as those interested in playing golf on vacation."
Demographic Overview
The research demonstrates that the demographic profile of those interested in purchasing timeshare is increasingly diverse. Seventy-one percent are white, 15 percent are African-American and six percent are Hispanic. The next generation of owners is well educated: 38 percent have attended college for between one and three years and 33 percent have completed four years of college. The highest concentration of interest in purchasing is among GenXers (between 25 and 38 years of age), while 10 percent of matures (over 58 years of age) are interested in purchasing. Potential buyers are more likely to be married, but nearly three out of ten are single. This statistic provides incentive for developers to reconsider the traditional belief that only married couples should be invited to the sales table.
"What we are seeing is a broadening interest in the product across a spectrum of demographic categories," said Howard Bendell, director of market research and analysis for Interval International. "The interest of GenXers correlates well with the continuing maturation of vacation ownership. A portion of these leisure travelers are likely to be the children of timeshare's original owners and are well acquainted with the advantages of interval ownership."
Pleasure Travel Preferences
In addition, the study documents that prospective owners are experienced and enthusiastic travelers. On average, leisure travelers interested in purchasing timeshare report having taken nearly four overnight leisure trips of 75 miles or more from home during the past 12 months, and plan to travel at substantially the same rate in the upcoming year. Weekend escapes remain the most popular among this group, as more than six in 10 (64 percent) have taken one or more of these trips in the last 12 months. More than four in 10 (42 percent) have taken an extended trip of five nights or more and fully one-third (33 percent) have taken a weekday leisure trip. Spouses, or other adults without children, continue to be the most frequently cited traveling companions of choice among prospective timeshare purchasers - both as it relates to past vacations (67 percent) as well as for future leisure trips (69 percent).
Family oriented vacationing continues to be the most popular among prospective timeshare purchasers, as nearly one-half of all pleasure trips reported involved visiting friends or family in the last 12 months. Nearly as popular are naturalistic trips - cited by fully four in 10 pleasure travelers - such as trips to a beach/lake, camping/hiking/climbing, or fishing, followed by vacations to a theme park destination.
In terms of transportation, fully three-quarters (75 percent) of pleasure travelers interested in purchasing timeshare drove a personal automobile to their vacation destination on at least one occasion last year. Slightly more than half (51 percent) flew to their desired vacation area on a scheduled airline.
Reinforcing their high degree of interest in cruise-style vacations, fully one-third (33 percent) of leisure travelers interested in purchasing timeshare report having taken a cruise in the past. This group is also considerably more likely to take a cruise during the next two years than those not interested in purchasing timeshare.
Prospective owners are also more interested than their counterparts in staying at a condominium resort during the next two years (81 percent versus 49 percent).
Views on Timeshare
Nearly one out of every two pleasure travelers considers themselves to be knowledgeable about the main features of timesharing - representing an overall increase of almost 10 percent since 2003.
Prospective timeshare purchasers have a more positive opinion of the concept (47 percent versus 16 percent) and are more likely to report an intention to stay at a vacation ownership resort in the future (60 percent versus 17 percent).
They are also willing to pay a premium for resort accommodations that include a private bedroom, kitchen facilities, and a living area with sleeping accommodations.
Thirty percent are willing to pay an additional 20 percent or more for this type of lodging alternative. Twenty-five percent of this group is also willing to pay up to an additional 20 percent for unit accommodations that include two private bedrooms.
"These findings represent very good news for developers," said Bendell. "Clearly, timeshare has moved beyond the stage of an emerging vacation option - it is now widely accepted as one. This bodes very well for future growth as we enter the next phase of industry evolution."
About Interval International
Since 1976, Interval International has led the vacation ownership industry with its hallmarks of quality and innovation. Interval has a global network of more than 2,000 resorts in 75 countries, and serves its developer clients and over 1.6 million members - worldwide timeshare vacation owners - through 26 offices in 17 countries. Interval provides a variety of exchange services and year-round travel related benefits to enhance member vacation experiences. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, Interval International is an operating business of IAC, which also includes such well-known brands as Expedia, Inc., Hotels.com, and Ticketmaster.
