The country’s timeshare industry has recovered quickly after the pandemic, and you may be surprised by who helped it bounce back.
Jason Gamel, the president and CEO of the American Resort Development Association, said local occupancy is currently at 93% — the same as at the beginning of 2020 before hitting a low of 35% during the pandemic.
After economic downturns or disasters, Gamel said the timeshare industry tends to bounce back the fastest.
"One of the biggest reasons is really that prepaid nature of the product. When somebody owns it, they're going to use it," Gamel said. "This is not something that they just can cancel like a hotel room. They're invested in their vacations, and they're excited about coming back to places like Hawaiʻi."
The majority of today’s timeshare owners nationally, 57%, are not senior citizens or boomers. They’re Millennials and Gen Z.
Gamel said that's largely attributed to the fact that younger generations grew up with timeshares.
"They had an understanding of what it was like, and the benefits compared to staying in a hotel room. They like it and decided either to buy themselves or maybe they inherit it from their parents," Gamel said.
"One thing that I believe that appeals to a younger generation, especially when the younger generation has kids — all that space, the extra bedrooms, the kitchen, the professional management," he told The Conversation. "You've got so many things that people find comforting when they're on vacation and don't want to have to think about."
Gamel said the timeshare industry started seeing more purchases from the younger generations around 2016.
He said another reason for the youth movement is the extra experiences that timeshares offer that other rentals donʻt — like sports and culinary activities.
This interview aired on The Conversation on Feb. 21, 2023. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1.
