Timeshare Owner/Buyer Survey

My name is Dave Marshall, and I work for a timeshare resale company. Our marketing strategies are based on owner demographics that you can find on the ARDA (American Resort Development Association) website; click here to see the demographics on the ARDA website.  According to the latest ARDA survey on timeshare owners, the owners are:

 

• Baby boomers (born 1946-1964) make up 55.2% of all timeshare owners; individuals born 1925-1945 (the Silent Generation) account for 22.9%.

• 78.1% are either married or have a domestic partner.

• 23.6% have a child under age 18 living at home.

• The average age of timeshare owners is 52.6.

• The median income is $72,900 among owners.

The first statistic above seems right: I speak with people who are about 46 to 85 years of age. There are some outliers, but very few; some people in their 30s and some in their 90s. The second statistic also sounds about right; most of the people I speak with are married. Most of the people I speak with have adult children, but the third statistic sounds plausible. The average age of people I speak with is higher then 52.6; about 65. The median income is probably close to $73K, but that's a grossly misleading figure when taken by itself.

I deal with two types of people; those who want to sell their timeshare and those who would like to buy. As you might expect, sellers make less money then buyers. There are many reasons that people have for wanting to sell their timeshares, but having over extended themselves financially, is probably the most common reason. Say you make $52,000/year (a good income in these economically shaky times); you're one of the 15% of timeshare owners who is disatisfied with your timeshare. There is probably nothing wrong with your timeshare, but you look at it like an albatross hanging from your neck. You want to sell your timeshare. Who can come up with $600 every year to pay the maintenance fee for a timeshare you rarely get to use in the first place?

Say you make $100,000/year. $600/year is pretty cheap when you consider you get to stay in a resort every year that would cost $2,000 if you booked a week in a comparable hotel. ...and you take a 1 week vacation every year, so you're going to get your money's worth. You're one of the 85% of timeshare owners who's happy with you're purchase. ...but you're only 60 years old. What about when you turn 65 and decide to retire? You're worried about outliving your savings and don't vacation nearly as often as you used too; maybe a good time to unload your timeshare.

Buy and sell conditions can change like I stated above, but they're not as clear cut as I outlined, and I think those "average" statistics are misleading. I'd like to get better demographic information so I can take a look at public records and say, "I need to call this guy because there is a 98% he'll buy a timeshare from me (or there is a 98% chance he'll sell his, or rent, etc).". I already do something like this, but I'd like to refine the process. 

What's in it for you? My short term goal is to be able to give you immediate feedback after taking a survey, where I can tell you if you should sell your timeshare, rent it out, buy another week, etc. It's my hope that this website can improve your life. 

Click here to take my survey. Click here to return to my home page.