Major Hospitality Brands Are Getting Into Vacation Ownership Segment

MIAMI? Much like the hotel industry 20 years ago, timeshare is enjoying the entry of major brands, which is not only driving product credibility, but also sales. This is largely due to the fact that consumers feel more at ease buying a vacation ownership unit if they are familiar with the hospitality brands. According to the vacation ownership study called the National Leisure Travel Monitor conducted by Yesawich, Pepperdine & Brown/Yankelovich Partners, seven out of every 10 leisure travelers claim preference in staying at branded locations. For business travel, eight out of 10 travelers prefer a branded location. Further supporting the brand power theory is the VO2000 study, conducted by Interval International. This report has suggested that brands will become a prevalent part of the overall lodging industry. There are several advantages when dealing with brands in the vacation ownership industry. Time is a big factor when seeking out a vacation ownership product. Many consumers have limited time to invest in selecting a location and feel much more comfortable making a fairly quick decision when a brand is involved. Brands represent convenience and reliability and choosing a branded product helps a consumer understand what they are getting. One of the worst scenarios for consumers is getting to their vacation ownership unit and not finding all that they had expected? a big disappointment. Brands help eliminate the element of being surprised. When considering a purchase in the area of vacation ownership, brand name was rated ?very or extremely important? by nearly half the respondents of the National Leisure Travel Monitor. Rating brand as extremely important were 7% of possible consumers. In a huge jump, 33% rated the significance of brand as very important. Some 39% of respondents were indifferent to the significance of brand and 21% responded that brand was ?very or extremely unimportant.? According to an RCI Consulting study, 25% of sales last year were made by major hotel companies who have also had a big influence on the growth of the industry. Established lodging brands that are among the vacation ownership companies include Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt and Carlson. Marriott?s Vacation Club International is currently establishing resorts in southeastern and southwestern vacation destinations. All resorts have a high priority on recreational amenities that cater to families seeking to relax. Hilton Grand Vacations Club will soon be in the market upon the slated August opening of its Las Vegas resort. Meanwhile, Hyatt?s Vacation Club portfolio is growing. The company is adding vacation ownership resorts both at locations where Hyatt hotels exist and new destination locations. The Hyatt Mountain Lodge, open since November 1998, features 50 vacation ownership units. Hyatt has another resort under development in Lake Tahoe that will be complete in September. Carlson?s venture into vacation ownership began last year with the announcement of a partnership agreement with Tempus Resorts International. Under the 20-year agreement Carlson created a vacation club and Tempus Resorts will develop vacation ownership resorts affiliated with Carlson brands.