The results of the Timeshare Board Members Association’s TBMA 2022 Insights survey show the complexity of timeshare resort concerns and priorities.
This qualitative survey was recently sent to the TBMA membership, resulting in hundreds of comments from timeshare resort board members and resort managers, from coast to coast and beyond.
We are sharing Insights survey results as a five-part blog series, each with a different set of topics from the survey. The first topic in the Insights survey asked for top-level concerns and comments regarding timeshare owner trends and engagement; a selection of responses follows, identified by the state of the resort’s location.
Owner trends and engagement
As timeshare owners age, keeping them engaged has become an increasingly critical priority for all timeshare resorts, in tandem with the development of strategies and plans for addressing delinquencies, defaults, and deedbacks. Many resorts have created family-member programs and are updating their properties and marketing to appeal to a younger generation of travelers.
Survey respondents reported delinquency rates ranging from eight to 40 percent; one resort reported a rise in delinquencies from 10 percent in 2010 to 38 percent in 2021, which indicates an alarming trend for the property.
California: “We are drowning in deedbacks and need to monetize that inventory. Timeshare association board members should be careful about bulk buyers taking control of the board.”
Colorado: “Deedbacks are a daily occurrence and really causing problems for the resort. The timeshare owners’ association encourages deedbacks, as the board members prefer that over the expense of foreclosure, but so many owners take advantage of a simple deedback program.”
Hawaii: “We have a program for units that are no longer collecting maintenance fees to rent available days, and this program has improved each year. This has significantly improved our overall revenue.”
North Carolina: “We totally redesigned our website to include an owners-only message board on which questions may be posed to management. Additionally, there are sections in which owners are kept apprised of on-going projects on which owners may post units for sale or rent. We have a Facebook page for owners to share their thoughts. We also publish a monthly electronic newsletter.”
Wisconsin: “We predicted deedbacks would be an issue long before it was, but it still remains an issue in light of an aging ownership and negative advertising against timeshares.”
Another resort in Wisconsin offered this alternative to deedbacks: “We offer a graceful exit program which for 5.5 years’ maintenance fees, paid upfront, lets the owner exit gracefully after exercising all of their rights and privileges during those five years. Delinquencies and defaults are aggressively pursued by a third-party collection agency. We typically end up with a deed and 40-50 percent of what’s owed us.”
Several resorts reported that the negative effects of timeshare exit company scams seem to be diminishing over time. Proactively keeping owners engaged, finding solutions that help keep delinquency rates low, and developing practical family-member, deedback, and other programs to offset owners who are transitioning out of timeshare—all are essential to maintaining the long-term health of resorts.
| Survey Feedback and Upcoming TBMA Insights meetings – TBMA appreciates the participation of our association members in this survey, and their invaluable feedback is now the platform for two TBMA 2022 Insights meetings: • August 2, 2022, in Providence, RI. • October 24, 2022, in Las Vegas, NV. Timeshare board members and onsite resort managers are invited to register for these one-day forum discussions and networking events on the tbmassoc.org website. Have you had a change of members on your board? Please send the names and complete contact information to: staff@tbmassoc.org (include the name of your resort and location.) |
Photo Courtesy of Roberto Nickson on Unsplash