Timeshare Industry Research Articles

Examining the effects of sales and marketing on performance: An exploratory study of the timeshare industry

The timeshare industry has relied heavily on costly traditional sales and marketing tactics that are extremely labor intensive and consume considerable time and resources. It remains controversial whether conventional sales and marketing strategies are effective in improving firm performance, presenting one of the greatest challenges the timeshare industry is facing. However, while limited research on timeshare is available, there is no scholastic literature discussing this important issue. This study aims to fill this research gap by developing an integrated model to analyze the interrelationships between capital investment, sales and marketing expenses, and performance in the timeshare industry. Findings of this study provide distinct empirical evidence emphasizing the importance of efficient timeshare sales and marketing strategies in contributing to healthy and sustainable growth.

Regulacja prawna timesharingu w Hiszpanii

Timeshare purchasing has become an increasingly popular method of holiday planning. Timesharing is generally described and understood by lay purchasers as the purchase of a week or more stay in a recreational or resort property. The purchaser of such a right is entitled to use, occupy and possess the property during those weeks and for the corresponding weeks in subsequent years. Notwithstanding this general understanding of timeshare right by lay purchasers, timesharing presents some unique and interesting problems. This legal and business problems arise because timesharing is a relatively new industry and focuses mainly on time. Timeshare right intends to convert time into a tangible marketable commodity – a commodity sold in fifty-two week slices. This form of holiday planning appeals both to developers and vacationers because of the steady demand for vacation housing and the flexibility offered by this institution. This flexibility can be achieved because purchasers of such a timeshare right may exchange blocks of time with other timeshare purchasers – not only within their own resort, but also with timeshare holiday makers from resorts in other areas and even countries. As the timeshare industry has developed, some particular problems have been identified. Deceptive sales practices, inept management, and a shortage of buyer protection instruments have destroyed the industry’s image and encouraged the public pressure for increased regulation in many European countries and on the European level. As a result, the European Parliament and the Council put forward Directive 94/47/EC of 26 October 1994 on the protection of purchasers in respect of certain aspects of contracts relating to the purchase of the right to use immovable properties on a timeshare basis. Directive 94/47 has been transposed in Spain with Law 42/98 of December 15, on timesharing rights on immovable goods for tourist use and taxation norms. The aim of this article is to present Spanish Law 42/98 of December 15, on timesharing rights on immovable goods for tourist use and taxation norms. The article begins with the reference to the scope of application, the description of the purchaser and the vendor, and the legislative techniques to introduce them. Next, there is a definition of the contracts falling into the scope of Law 42/98 and the basic assumptions of them (the length of time, the payment of a certain global price, a real property right or any other right relating to the use of one or more immovable properties for a specified or specifiable period of the year.) Spanish law differs on one essential point: it establishes two ways of creating the right: a right in rem, or as rent of a house for some seasons under some special conditions. The next part focuses on the consumer protection instruments. Firstly, they are information duties with the information document. The vendor must be required to provide any person asking for information with a document, which contains a general description of the immovable property along with at least brief and accurate information on certain details listed in Law 42/98. Secondly, there are also some obligatory items which the contract must include. Thirdly, reference is made to the requirements with regard to form and language of the information document and the contract, together with the sanctions for non-compliance of them. Fourthly, the right of withdrawal is discussed, that the contract must include information on the right to withdraw from the contract, on the withdrawal period and formal requirements for exercising this right. Fifthly, the issue of prohibition of advance payments before the end of the withdrawal period is addressed. The article also provides some information with regard to private international law. Finally, there is a comparison of the legal solutions adapted in Polish Law transposing directive 94/47 with the solutions offered by Spanish Law. The last part of the article gives an overview of the new directive 2008/122 replacing the directive 94/47 and explains how the new directive differs from the old one.

Buyer Remorse - Insights into controllable factors in the timeshare industry

Buyer Remorse - Insights into controllable factors in the timeshare industry

Informing timeshare exchange services on the drivers of customer-driven co-production

Abstract Given the continued growth of the timeshare segment and its unique characteristics as an owned leisure lodging product, adopting a service-dominant logic and developing opportunities for co-creation is highly relevant for companies that provide services to this industry. Specifically, the purpose of this study is to explore the drivers that lead to customer-driven co-production in timeshare exchange services, due to the popularity of this option among consumers owning timeshare. Our results indicate that interaction between timeshare owners as customers of the exchange company is a significant driver of customer-driven co-production. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to explore customer-driven co-production in the timeshare industry. Moreover, our findings are highly significant for timeshare exchange companies and point them to potential areas of improvement in their service processes that could lead to higher customer-driven co-production and, consequently, more valuable experiences.

An Examination of Organizational Commitment and Intention to Stay in the Timeshare Industry: Variations Across Generations in the Workplace

ABSTRACTThis study examines differences among individual generations’ organizational commitment and intention to stay in the timeshare industry. The timeshare segment is worthy of study due to expected growth and increase in worldwide lodging brands’ presence. Responses from more than 1,000 survey respondents reveal generational differences that highlight the variations in employee commitment and intention to stay. In addition to the contributions to literature for contemporary study among generational attitudes and behaviors, the implications may provide Human Resources practitioners insight into employee retention drivers relating to organizational commitment. Finally, this study adds to literature and practice by further clarifying generational differences.

Mobile application for the timeshare industry

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine consumer perceptions toward the adoption of mobile technology within the vacation ownership/timeshare segment of the hospitality industry. Despite the proliferation of mobile applications in the greater hospitality and tourism industry, few timeshare companies use this technology. However, customers have expressed strong intentions to use technology. Therefore, this study examines consumers’ attitudes toward and experiences with mobile applications and then through the use of a prototype, examines consumers’ intentions to use a mobile application. The relationships between attitude, experience and usefulness are explored in relation to intention to use. Design/methodology/approach – Consumers that owned timeshares in the Orlando area responded to an online survey invitation from their resort management company. The survey instrument gathered data related to consumers’ attitudes toward and experiences with technology using established measures. A total of 914 surveys were collected and the proposed model was analyzed using path analysis. Findings – Findings indicate that traditional technology adoption antecedents (experience, usefulness and attitude) explain timeshare owners’ intentions to use a mobile application. This is consistent with prior research. However, using established measures, the model explained consumers’ intentions to use the technology with greater certainty than what previous research has reported. Research limitations/implications – The most encouraging and noteworthy implications from the findings are threefold. First, timeshare owners are using mobile technology while traveling (mobile phones, tablets and laptops). The owners’ experiences with mobile devices exert a positive influence that moderates intention to use. In addition, the impact of technology experience on intent to use is mediated by perceived usefulness and attitudes toward the application. Though the sample size was large, limitations do exist, as those surveyed were all owners of a single timeshare resort based in Orlando, Florida. Originality/value – In studies reported to date, there is scarce empirical research regarding mobile application adoption for timeshare owners or information about the factors that drive usage, attitude and adoption. This study discusses important insights about mobile services for an industry that lacks research in information technology.

The making of the South African timeshare industry: spatial structure and development challenges

Abstract Research on the accommodation sector attracts only a small fraction of contemporary tourism scholarship relating to sub-Saharan Africa. This paper contributes to this expanding literature on segmentation and the accommodation sector in South Africa. Specifically, it examines the establishment and making of the timeshare industry as a distinctive form of accommodation within the national tourism economy. The timeshare industry in South Africa is the largest and most mature in sub-Saharan Africa and among the most important in the developing world. The analysis uses a longitudinal perspective in order to interpret the emerging spatial organisation and evolving structural issues that impacted upon the development of the timeshare industry in its formative years from 1978 to 2002. The study addresses a knowledge gap around the minimal pursuit of historical research within the existing international literature about timeshare.

The evolution and consolidation of the timeshare industry in a developing economy: The South African experience

The timeshare industry is one of most under-researched aspects of tourism accommodation. Within existing scholarship most writings pertain to industry development and challenges in the USA and Europe. This paper provides an examination of the evolution and consolidation of the timeshare industry in South Africa from the 1980s to the present-day. The South African timeshare industry is revealed as one of the most mature in the international timeshare economy. Historically, the industry confronted parallel challenges to those in developed countries in respect of adapting the product to local conditions and confronting a tarnished image from the impact of unscrupulous developers. Currently the South African timeshare sector faces different challenges including service management and consumer dissatisfaction, marginalization within the tourism economy, and the need to address the emerging Black middle class market.

Timeshare Industry Leadership and Human Resource Implications of Employee and Guest Satisfaction

Timeshare Industry Leadership and Human Resource Implications of Employee and Guest Satisfaction

The timeshare industry of Africa: a study in tourism geography

Abstract Within the broad spectrum of tourism accommodation the timeshare industry is a distinctive segment which has attracted only limited research work. This paper represents a contribution to tourism geography as it investigates the location of timeshare resorts in Africa and comparative position of African destinations in the global timeshare economy. The analysis shows the timeshare resort industry in South Africa is the most significant on the continent and is distinctive in its reliance upon domestic rather than international tourists. In terms of the distribution of resorts the key locational consideration in Africa parallels that found in other parts of the world, namely the positioning of resorts in areas of high natural amenity. In the African context this has meant clustering resorts in coastal beach areas and attractive mountain locations, as well as in the areas which afford opportunities for timeshare consumers to experience the African bush. Finally, of note in South Africa is the growth of large timeshare property developments at casino resorts, a development which parallels the experience of certain timeshare developments in the USA.

The Hospitality/Tourism Student’s Attitude toward the Timeshare Industry

TThe Hospitality/Tourism Student’s Attitude toward the Timeshare Industry Hospitality/tourism students were surveyed to determine their attitude toward the timeshare industry in order to assist timeshare human resource managers in their recruitment efforts. The study resulted in student responses in three different factor groupings based on their attitudes toward the industry. Results found that there were significant differences in student’s attitude towards timeshare industry and their sources of information for career choice, career choice factors, and their familiarity and experience with the segment.

Timeshare and vacation ownership executives’ analysis of the industry and the future

This study sought information from key executives involved in shaping the timeshare and vacation ownership industry in conducting a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats analysis for the industry. The vacation ownership and timeshare industry has emerged as a sector of the travel industry with signifi cant opportunities for growth and development. The fi ndings of this study indicate that there are opportunities in many markets, segments and product offerings. The vacation ownership industry must overcome weaknesses in marketing processes, taxation concerns and amenities. It faces threats in the availability of human and capital resources, natural disasters and legal and taxation concerns. Journal of Retail & Leisure Property (2010) 9, 37 - 54. doi: 10.1057/rlp.2009.21

Impacts of timeshare operation on publicly traded U.S. hotels’ firm value, risk and accounting performance

With 1615 timeshare resorts and 176,232 units in the U.S. in 2006 and making an economic impact of approximately $92 billion on the U.S. economy in 2005, the timeshare industry has proved as one of the fastest growing segments of the hospitality and travel industry. However, little research has investigated the impacts of timeshare operations on lodging firms’ financial issues. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of timeshare operation on lodging firm's financial value, risk and accounting performance. Findings suggest that the existence of an inverted U-shaped relationship between timeshare operation and lodging firm value; however timeshare operation shows a U-shaped relationship with ROE and no relationship with risk.

Managerial Expectations for New Hires

ABSTRACT The vacation ownership (timeshare) industry is the fastest growing segment in the hospitality industry. With this growth is the need to attain qualified managers and hospitality programs must ascertain the skills that are necessary to meet the demands of this market. The purpose of this study was to discover if there were any significant differences between traditional lodging managers and timeshare managers based upon a manager's knowledge, ability, and attitude related to their job duties. The study did discover some areas that were deemed more important to timeshare managers. These results could be used to help potential employees in the lodging industry discover what type of environment would best match their skill set.

Timeshare Exchange Fair (a)

This award-winning case series examines how optimization-based decision-making leads to a new business design for a timeshare exchange: an exchange fair. Students model a complex managerial problem as a linear program, identify the types of data needed, and use models to provide decision support. The series covers linear and integer programming, multiple-criteria decision-making, network flow problems, local search heuristics, and Pareto-optimality. The series demonstrates the advantages and difficulties involved in applying management science techniques to a real-life business environment. It teaches standard techniques of extracting relevant data from a mass of more- and less-relevant information and forces students to confront issues consultants face: How do you motivate management to even consider a management science approach? How do you build a “business case” demonstrating the shortcomings of the methodology already in place? The case provides background on the timeshare industry, exchanges, and the exchange fair, in which owners submit their existing intervals to a centralized pool, together with requests for the intervals they want to exchange; the exchange determines who gets which interval. Various aspects of a functioning exchange fair are presented, and, starting from a heuristic, the series effectively guides students toward the “better” optimization-based way of executing the exchange. This case series is a winner of the 2005 INFORMS case competition and received an honorable mention at the 2005 DSI case competition. (See also the B case, UVA-QA-0710 and the accompanying Excel spreadsheet, UVA-QA-0709X.) Suitable for both general MBA and executive education programs and as a basis for an exam or assignment, this series is also appropriate for specialized undergraduate and graduate programs in services management (e.g., tourism and hotel administration), logistics, and industrial and systems engineering. Excerpt UVA-QA-0709 Timeshare Exchange Fair (A) Timeshare Business Overview The value proposition of timeshare is rather simple: An individual or family purchases vacation time at a shared resort property and in so doing, guarantees quality vacations for a substantial part of their lifetimes—at effectively current prices. Timeshares originated in the early 1960s, when Alexander Nette of Germany and his friends each wanted to purchase an apartment in a ski resort in the French Alps, but could not individually afford the cost. He realized that if the group pooled its money and shared the apartment it could afford the purchase; then one person would use the apartment one week, the next person another week, and so on. Nette's idea led to the development of Hapimag Company (http://; accessed 7 August 2007), which is still a major player in the European timeshare industry. . . .

An economic analysis of a timeshare ownership

Timeshare vacation ownership, a purchase of the right to occupy accommodation or a facility for a defined period of time during a year over a specified number of years or perpetually, has over the past 30 years experienced a significant and sustained growth to become one of the most sought after products in the hospitality industry. The timeshare industry grew from $50m in 1975 to $10bn in 2006 fueling a significant increase in the industry capacity. This paper ascertains why timeshares have gained so much significance to hotel developers and to explore whether consumers should invest in timeshare vacation ownership. Two divergent factors combined to drive the popularity of timeshares ownership among hotel owners. First, the multiple sources of income namely contract sales, interest payments and maintenance and club membership fees. Secondly, timeshares are immune to economic performance.Timeshares are not suitable as investment properties because prices are inflated to cater for the expensive marketing programmes, which account for more than 43 per cent of the contract price. However, industry surveys suggest that the owners are generally satisfied. Consumers should not enter into timeshare vacation contracts for investment purposes but for buying a vacation in advance. Even then, it is better to purchase outright instead of financing the purchase.

Dimensions and correlates of consumer value: An application to the timeshare industry

The concept of consumer value has been hailed as the “very underpinning” of marketing, yet the concept has been subjected to limited empirical research, particularly in the hospitality industry. This study investigates the value that consumers derive from ownership of timeshare holiday products. A total of 785 people answered questions regarding their background, timeshare ownership, valuing of timeshare, and satisfaction with timeshare. Confirmatory factor analyses showed consumer value to be a multi-dimensional construct comprising opportunities for relaxation, gift-giving, status, quality, flexibility, fun, new experiences, and financial benefits. These value dimensions varied with other factors such as type of timeshare ownership (e.g., weeks, points).

Cultural tourism and the vacation ownership industry

Both cultural and heritage tourism and the timeshare industry have seen dramatic growth during the last decade. The purpose of this research project is to determine whether there is a link between cultural and heritage tourism and the timeshare industry. Vacation club owners who belong to an internationally recognised branded vacation club were surveyed to determine their interest in Orlando's cultural and heritage attractions. The results indicated a significant relationship with the Orlando vacation owner and their interest in Orlando's cultural and heritage tourism industry. The results of this survey will help developers better understand their owners. It will also provide developers with information that will help diversify the planned activities that they may offer the vacation club owners. The community's tourism marketers will be aided in support for this growing area of tourism in Orlando.

State of the timeshare industry in Aruba — A call for research

This case study is based on secondary data gathered concerning the state of the timeshare industry in Aruba. The major findings of this study indicate that there is a strong and growing consumer interest in timeshare ownership as a viable recreational alternative. This interest suggests that considerable empirical research is needed to understand the factors associated with sustaining the financial and economic impacts of the timeshare industry upon Aruba's economy.

Understanding Customer-Derived Value in the Timeshare Industry

The timeshare sector has grown substantially over the past decade in both size and product configuration. Focusing on the concept of customer-derived value, group interviews were conducted with owners of timeshare holiday products to assess the dimensions of customer value in timeshares. Twelve such dimensions of value emerged from the interviews, most notably knowledge enhancement. Six detractors of derived value were identified. With a better understanding of the sources of value for timeshare owners, managers can recruit new owners, develop products, and enhance the levels of satisfaction and loyalty among existing owners.