Tuesday, July 08, 2008

Timeshare Thrives in Economic Slump

Across the country resort developers are putting new projects on hold and trying to figure out how to salvage sales of projects already under construction. But a timeshare developer from Florida, David Siegel, CEO of Westgate Resorts, is setting record sales in what others would consider a down market.“If I did not read the paper I would think our economy is booming,” said Siegel. “Our occupancy is up and sales continue to surpass the records we set in 2007 when we exceeded $1.1 billion in revenue.”

The past 30 year history of the timeshare industry is ripe with examples of how resilient this business is during periods of economic or domestic uncertainly, and Westgate has consistently led the industry in growth each year. In fact, after the September 11th attacks virtually crashed the tourism market in destinations like Orlando and Las Vegas, the timeshare industry showed solid improvements in both occupancy rates and sales.

Many industry experts credit timeshare for buoying the local tourism-related businesses in a period when hotel occupancy rates dipped below 20% at these destinations.“Gas prices are at an inflation-adjusted high and food prices have skyrocketed. But people still want to vacation; they’re just looking for someone to make it affordable,” explains Siegel. “The fact that we can offer them five-star luxury at a price they can afford is the thing that sets us apart.”


Larry Hayden

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