Timeshare Users Group Advice - RCI Industry Facts and Figures 2 - Timeshare Purchasers, who they are and what they buy

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Your Location: Timeshare Users Group Advice: RCI Industry Facts & Figures - Timeshare Purchasers |updated: 1/29/08

TIMESHARE PURCHASERS:

WHO THEY ARE, WHY THEY BUY, 1998 Edition

This report, issued on the 20th anniversary of the first survey of resort timeshare owners in the United States, is the ninth such survey since 1978.

Notable growth has occurred in the resort timeshare industry during this period as outlined below.

Timesharing: Now and Then

	1978	1998
Annual U.S. Sales Volume	Less than $300 million	Nearly $3 billion
Number of U.S. Owners	Less than 100,000	More than 1.9 million
Number of U.S. Resorts	240	More than 1,200

Who They Are

Compared to all U.S. households, timeshare owners earn more (72.9 percent have incomes of more than $50,000, compared to only 34.3 percent for U.S. households); are older (75.3 percent are 45 years of age or more, compared to 52.1 percent); and are more educated (57.4 percent have a bachelor’s degree, compared to 24.5 percent).

In 1978, the median household income of timeshare owners was about $23,000. It is now more than $68,000.
Two-fifths (41.7 percent) of all current timeshare owners have household incomes of more than $75,000. Only 5.2 percent have incomes of less than $30,000, while 21.5 percent have incomes of more than $100,000.
The average age of timeshare owners is 54 years.
The majority (87.2 percent) of all timeshare owners is couples. 12.8 percent are single.
Only 34.8 percent of owners have children younger than 18 years of age living at home.

Why They Buy

The exchange opportunity remains the most frequently cited motivation for purchasing a timeshare interval (84.2 percent), followed by being able to save money on future vacation costs (59.5 percent) and simply liking the timeshare resort, the amenities, and/or the unit (52.2 percent).

Satisfaction rates with the exchange opportunity are very high. Some 78.6 percent of owners express satisfaction with their exchange company, and 83.1 percent express satisfaction with their most recent exchange.

One-half (50 percent) of those surveyed own at seashore or ocean beach areas, followed by golfing destinations at 28.9 percent, snow skiing destinations at 20.7 percent, and lake or large river destinations at 20.3 percent. A high 28.8 percent of owners own timesharing at more than one resort.

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