Timeshare Purchases are on the Rise? Why?

Could it be that an increase in the worldwide travel market might benefit timeshare owners? Possibly. The most recent issue of the Harvard Business Review hints that, due to a boom in tourism, now is a great time to purchase a timeshare. Here’s a bit about the researchers and their reasoning.

Paul F. Nunes, who is a researcher with the Accenture Institute, wrote the article along with Accenture’s Mark Spelman. They noted that the United Nations is predicting that the number of tourist visits around the world each year will double and reach an estimated 1.6 million by 2020. In the years between now and then, especially during summer’s peak travel time, hotel room availability will become harder and harder to find. In the United States, popular tourist spots such as Florida and California will especially feel the crunch. The result: Something the writer / researchers call a “tourism time bomb.” According to this scenario, hotels, motels and even bed and breakfasts will not be able to keep up with the demand for rooms. Probably scalpers will enter, trying to sell hotel rooms at ridiculously high rates. This will leave vacationers in a dilemma. They can either spend way too much for a hotel room, which will essentially benefit them only once–during that vacation–or they can look for other accommodations. And perhaps those other accommodations can balance out the high cost with the benefit of being used again and again in the future.

Enter: The Timeshare owner. These are the people who can potentially provide these travelers with an alternative to the high-priced hotel rooms. Those who bought their timeshares before this boom will especially benefit, because they got them at such low rates, and they keep them at that locked-in price. People who are looking for an alternative to hotel rooms, which will be priced higher than they should be, will look favorably at the idea of being part owner of a timeshare for their vacation needs. As a result, timeshare sellers should be able to sell at a very good price. As just one example, Florida timeshare condos might look really good for the huge tourist crowds who visit the Sunshine State.

For some time, skeptics have told people it’s a bad idea to purchase a timeshare in order to re-sell at a profit. Typically, it’s been very hard for timeshare owners to sell at a profit. If, however, Mr. Nunes and Mr. Spelman are correct, the coming tourism explosion could give many of these timeshare sellers the opportunity to make some money off of their investment.