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Press Release: ARDA International Foundation
October 20, 2005
WASHINGTON, DC -- The annual PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) benchmark study of the financial performance of the timeshare
industry released yesterday by the ARDA International Foundation (AIF) underscores the ongoing, robust growth of
the multibillion dollar vacation ownership industry. The study, which focused on an industry subset of 47 companies
encompassing 280 timeshare resorts in active sales(1), showed sales of $5.6 billion in 2004 and supported other
recent studies on the full industry that also point to the dramatic strength in vacation ownership.(2)
Each year, PwC surveys a group of timeshare resort developers to take the industry's financial pulse--analyzing
industry trends and setting benchmarks on product pricing, sales, marketing costs, and financing, and other financial
indicators. This year's findings reveal a 15.4 percent year-over-year increase in net sales of timeshare resorts
in active sales, following sales of $4.9 billion in 2003, as reported by PwC. Approximately 89 percent of 2004
sales occurred in the U.S. Average net sales per active resort were $20 million last year.
"Timeshare continues its spectacular growth with no signs of slowing down," said Howard Nusbaum, president
and chief executive officer of ARDA. "The growth is occurring across the U.S. and around the globe with developments
by public and private companies."
Timeshare sales in many locations exhibit seasonal patterns, as popular vacation periods correspond to heightened
sales activity. Compared to 2003, net sales in 2004 were 25.2 percent higher in the first quarter, 18.5 percent
higher in the second quarter, 10.5 percent higher in the third quarter, and 10.1 percent higher in the fourth quarter.
"Despite four hurricanes that ravaged Florida and other critical timeshare markets in the third and fourth
quarter, last year's sales continued to exceed 2003 levels, demonstrating the strong resiliency of the vacation
ownership industry," explained Scott Berman, a PricewaterhouseCoopers partner.
The median price of a timeshare interval, or week, sold during 2004 was $15,134, reflecting an increase of 12.5
percent over 2003 prices. The increases reflect changes in timeshare week prices as well as any changes that may
have occurred in the types of units sold. Seventy percent of respondents reported that their company's average
price in 2004 was higher than in 2003, indicating that price increases were broad-based. Study respondents reported
financing approximately 71 percent of the dollar value of timeshare purchases.
The study participants included nine publicly traded companies, which accounted for 70 percent of net sales reported,
and 38 privately owned companies. Twenty companies were headquartered in the Southeastern U.S., including 15 Florida-based
companies; 12 in the Northeast and Midwest; and 11 in the Southwest and West. Approximately six percent of the
respondents were based in Canada, and approximately two percent were based in other international locations.
ARDA is the Washington D.C.-based professional association representing the vacation ownership and resort development
industries.
(1)Companies with resorts that reported 100 or more new sales during 2004.
(2)Timeshare sales climbed 21.4 percent during 2004 to $7.87 billion, according to a comprehensive industry study
conducted by American Economic Group (AEG) and released in August by AIF. As of January 1, 2005, there were a total
of 1,668 vacation ownership resorts operating in the U.S. The survey, composed of 466 timeshare resorts, also showed
increases in new owners, new resorts, and the number of units.
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Contact:
ARDA International Foundation
Lou Ann Burney, 202-207-1156
lburney@arda.org
or
Ellen Yui, 301-270-8571
ellenyui@yuico.com
Source: ARDA International Foundation