Positive signs for vacation ownership industry

More than 90 per cent of vacation ownership professionals expect that consumer interest in the timeshare market will be stronger or on par with the past year, according to Capital One’s seventh annual survey of vacation ownership professionals who attended the recent American Resort Development Association (ARDA) World 2018 conference in Las Vegas.

Tom Meyerer, managing director of Capital One, said: “Though vacation ownership professionals generally expressed optimism in the market this year, only 38 per cent of respondents expect consumer interest to increase in the coming year in comparison to 50 percent who expected the same for 2017.

“This outlook may reflect the industry’s keen awareness of growing competition in the hospitality market and the need to attract a new generation of travellers to vacation ownership.”

Nearly two-thirds of respondents (63 per cent) believe home-sharing services will generate the most consumer interest in the coming year, in line with the 66 per cent of respondents who thought the same in 2017.

Thirty per cent of respondents also thought competition from home-sharing services would be the greatest challenge for the vacation ownership industry in 2018, followed by the need to attract millennial consumers (22 per cent) and the shift to digital sales and marketing channels (18 per cent).

Howard Nusbaum, president and CEO of ARDA, explained: “Vacationers, including the new generation of owners, continue to want unique and customized vacation experiences, to spend time with all of their loved ones and to create memories that last a lifetime.

Howard Nusbaum

“Timeshare provides all of this plus an impressive value proposition. Our industry is committed to providing incredible vacation experiences delivered seamlessly well into the future.”

Understanding that millennials value experiences and access to technology, vacation ownership professionals believe that experiential tours and excursions (39 per cent) and WiFi and other technology amenities (25 per cent) would be most likely attract this generation to vacation ownership.

“We continue to see a dynamic environment across the broader industry, and we look forward to working with our clients so that they can bring a wide array of vacation options to consumers,” added Meyerer.

“Our team is well positioned to work with companies to reach their short- and long-term business goals through flexible financing options.”

Year over year, respondents continue to cite working capital (26 per cent) as the most important financing or financial product for their organisations in the year ahead. Respondents also noted construction/development loans (17 per cent), receivables (17 per cent) and inventory (17 per cent) will be important in 2018.