According to an article in Hotels magazine, many timeshare executives and members of the American Resorts Development Association are pleased with sales figures during tight economy.
A wide range of timeshare executives are quoted in the piece including Disney Vacation Club president Jim Lewis. Comments include "[w]e've had the best summer on record" (Don Harrill, Holiday Inn Club Vacations) and "[o]ur closing rates this year are identical to those last year" (David Palmer, Diamond Resorts International.)
DVC's Lewis is quoted as saying:
"At Disney, we have confidence in vacation ownership. In fact, we're enlarging our footprint outside of the Orlando area by the opening of our newest resort in California and developing one in Hawaii."
According to the article, many developers made a conscious decision to accept lower sales (via higher relative prices) in order to maintain cash flow in a tight credit market.
Meanwhile, data for the 2nd Quarter 2009 reveals that 90% of existing timeshare owners are current on their monthly payments--a small increase over the prior quarter--while the industry continues to benefit from greater sales efficiencies.
Article: Hotelsmag.com
