Press Release
August 17, 2001
MIAMI, FL -- Vacation ownership suits the needs and lifestyle of today's leisure travelers according to The 2001
National Leisure Travel Monitor, co-authored by Yesawich, Pepperdine & Brown and Yankelovich Partners, and
sponsored in part by Interval International. Nearly half of the respondents - 47% - have stayed in condominium
resorts and six in 10 want to.
The study also shows that purchase interest has been fairly consistent over the past four years with some movement
up and down in the 14-17% range. To put this in perspective, the number interested in timeshare purchase is roughly
equal to the number of respondents who said they planned to rent a car.
In the United States (US), just over 3.2 million households now own timeshare, which translates to a penetration
rate of only about five percent. Further, nine out of 10 of Interval's US members stated they were satisfied with
their vacation ownership interest, according to Interval's last demographic profile, conducted by Simmons Market
Research Bureau.
While it's well known that timeshare owners are predisposed to additional purchases, there is obviously an upper
limit on how many weeks a family will buy. Most consumers have some constraint on their vacation time, if not
their financial ability and appetite to purchase more timeshare.
"Although the saturation point is not known, obviously the 95% of US households that don't own timeshare represent
the future of our industry," said Craig M. Nash, chairman and chief executive officer of Interval International.
"As an industry, we need to identify the appropriate way to target these potential purchasers."
Looking at the perception figures from TRAVEL MONITOR, nearly a quarter of those aware of either timeshare or vacation
ownership have a positive opinion of the product. This has been fairly consistent the past few years. Assuming
the opportunity to sway the 38% with neutral opinions, the potential market represents the majority (61%) of pleasure
travelers, defined as those with positive or neutral opinions.
In addition, increases in awareness and understanding of the timeshare product show that the industry is making
progress in getting its message to more consumers. Both the terms timeshare and vacation ownership were recognized
by more people than ever before. In addition, almost half of respondents - 46% - said they feel they are knowledgeable
about the main features of timesharing. This is a nine-point increase over the prior year.
"Increasing numbers of consumers have toured a timeshare resort and have experienced the high quality of today's
product," said Nash. "The average timeshare owner views at least two properties prior to making their
purchase. Today's consumers understand the concept and that is very good for our industry."
Interval International is celebrating its 25th year in the vacation ownership industry. The company's reputation
for superior products and the highest levels of quality, service and value has attracted leading developers to
its network, which now includes nearly 1,900 resorts in more than 75 countries. Interval serves its developer
clients and consumer members through 29 offices in 20 countries.
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CONTACT: Rhonda Victor Sibilia
305-666-1861, ext. 7267 rsibilia@interval-intl.com
Interval International, 6262 Sunset Drive, Miami, FL 33143 U.S.A. www.intervalworld.com www.resortdeveloper.com