April 27, 2017 – According to the newly released 2016 U.S. Shared Vacation Ownership Consolidated Owners Report from the ARDA International Foundation (AIF), the timeshare industry remains healthy, showing that owners have become increasingly engaged with their timeshare and the timeshare lifestyle. In fact, there are currently about 9.2 million households in America that own a timeshare, with the average length of ownership being nine years.
“There are countless reasons we continue to attract new buyers, but ultimately it breaks down to three core benefits,” says Howard Nusbaum, president and CEO of ARDA. “These owners love the location of their resort, they appreciate the value proposition that owning a timeshare provides and they know it will help ensure that they will take vacation every year.”
Timeshare owners in the U.S. are ethnically diverse with 60% being White, 20% being African-American, and 14% Asian-American. They are also highly educated, with about 63% having at least a four-year college degree. The median household income for timeshare owners is $81,311, much higher than the median household income of $54K for the U.S. on average.
Fifty-three percent of owners spent $10,000 or more on their timeshare. And when it came to buying a timeshare resort, nearly half of timeshare owners indicate that WiFi (48%) and restaurants (46%) matter the most to them in terms of convenience items at a timeshare resort.
Once purchased, owners love their properties, in fact seven out of 10 owners would recommend timeshare ownership based upon their experience. And not only did they love their properties, they loved how easy their buying experience was. Over seven of 10 recent purchasers (71%) found their buying experience to be excellent or good.
“This is a lifestyle that appeals to a wide demographic,” continues Nusbaum. “Our buyers are happy with their purchases and they want to share that enthusiasm.”
Owners are devout vacationers, and on average, timeshare owners took more than three vacations in 2015. Nearly 60% of timeshare owners either used their timeshare personally or banked/deposited their timeshare in 2015 for later use. A large majority (77%) of timeshare owners took a vacation at a timeshare resort during 2015, a very promising sign.
This positive feedback reflects the growth the industry is experiencing and should help propel the timeshare industry through the next few years. In fact, nearly half (48%) of all current timeshare owners plan to buy or upgrade a timeshare over the next two years.
The report was conducted by Leger and commissioned by the ARDA International Foundation. For more details, see ARDA’s infographic and for a copy of the full study, visit http://www.arda.org/foundation.
