Baby Boomers, Empty Nesters Lead In Timeshare Vacation Ownership

The American Resort Development Association (ARDA) International Foundation has released preliminary results of the new 2006 Timeshare Resort Owners: Who They Are Why They Buy study. The study of 938 recent timeshare buyers was conducted by Ragatz Associates and will be officially released in August.

Of recent buyers, only 18.5 percent are under 40, whereas 30.4 percent are 60 and over (and 8.8 percent are 70 and over), according to the study. Another 23.0 percent are in their 40’s, and 28.1 percent are in their 50’s. By comparison, among all owners, 9.3 percent are under 40, 40.2 percent are 60 or over (15.5 percent are 70 or over), 21.0 percent are in their 40’s, and 29.5 percent are in their 50’s.

Only 31.4 percent of recent buyers have children under 18 years of age living at home. For all owners, this proportion is even lower at 24.9 percent. This figure is down from 36.4 percent for those purchasing in 1996 and 34.3 percent of those purchasing in 2002, in accord with the aging baby boom generation.

The study showed a dramatic increase in the number of single females as recent buyers with the proportion of single females increasing from 8 percent in 1996 to 12.7 percent in 2005, a 58.5% increase. At the same time, the percentage of single male buyers has remained fairly consistent, with 4.1 comprising new buyers in 1996 compared with 4.3 percent in 2005. Overall, nearly one in five new buyers is single (17%).

The study also showed timeshare owners are:
• 83.0 percent are couples, whereas 17.0 percent are singles;
• 31.4 percent have children under 18 living at home; and,
• 41.5 percent are in their 40’s or younger, whereas 30.4 percent are in their 60’s or over.

“With the profile of the average timeshare buyer becoming increasingly diverse across population segments, this study underscores the flexibility and value of vacation ownership products for a broad range of consumers and lifestyles,” said Howard C. Nusbaum, ARDA’s president and CEO. “This study will be of great interest to those in the industry in terms of how timeshare is marketed and to whom. The owner base is shifting in accordance with the general population with an increasing number of empty nest couples and single women.”

Findings are based on two surveys conducted of resort timeshare consumers, including:
Consumers who purchased timeshare during 2005, or “recent buyers:” This survey involved mailing and e-mailing 10,000 questionnaires to a random sample of recent buyers who purchased in the U.S. in 2005, with names and addresses being obtained from RCI. A total of 938 responses were obtained for a response rate of 9.4 percent. This provides a 95 percent confidence interval of +3.2 percent for results overall.

Consumers who purchased their timeshare prior to 2005, or “all owners:” This survey involved mailing and e-mailing 10,000 questionnaires to a random sample of RCI members who have owned their timeshare in the U.S. for at least one year. A total of 1,547 responses were obtained for an overall response rate of 15.5 percent. This provides a 95 percent confidence interval of + 2.5 percent for results overall.

The American Resort Development Association is the Washington D.C.-based professional association representing the vacation ownership and resort development industries. Established in 1969, ARDA today has nearly 1,000 members ranging from privately held firms to publicly traded companies and international corporations with expertise in shared ownership interests in leisure real estate. The membership also includes timeshare owner associations (HOAs), resort management companies, and owners through the ARDA Resort Owners Coalition (ARDA-ROC).

The ARDA International Foundation (AIF) conducts research and develops education programming for the timeshare industry. The Foundation’s mission is to “support, conduct, and disseminate research and technical studies that will enhance and improve knowledge for the public and the industry, and develop educational resources that will optimize value, operations, acceptance, and service for the timeshare industry and the public.”