ARDA

A Texas-based timeshare resales brokerage, that is a division of Stroman Realty, Inc., has released an interesting study on timeshare resales buying trends for transactions handled within their company. The study looked at timeshare sales based on the size of the timeshare unit, the location, and other factors that influence a consumer’s decision to buy timeshare. It also reported on trends that affect timeshare resales across the industry, such as why people resell timeshare or what marketing media best reaches potential timeshare buyers.

Like the research Sell My Timeshare NOW released earlier this year, both studies found that people don’t typically resell timeshare because they are unhappy with it, but more often because it no longer suits their lifestyle, needs, or the way they vacation.

One observation that came from this timeshare resales study is this, “As consumer internet usage has increased, the Timeshare Resale Industry has benefited significantly from the use of the Internet to advertise units for sale. This is because timeshare owners/sellers have never been able to use signage to help with their marketing due to resort restrictions. Since about 1995, the Internet has created an interactive growing conduit for timeshare property information utilized by buyers, wholesalers, brokers, and sellers. The Internet is the single largest factor that has improved the market for timeshare resales.”

Above all else, the study, like research developed for ARDA and research by timeshare developers, reinforces the idea that timeshare sales – both of new timeshare and timeshare resales – are on a very positive upward trend, and that consumer’s confidence in the timeshare or vacation ownership industry increases every year.

In other words, it is a good time to buy timeshare. And it is a good time to sell timeshare. Whatever your needs, at this point in your life, find a reliable, highly rated company to assist you and then move forward confidently with your timeshare transaction.

I am thrilled to be part of the 2008 ARDA Convention & Exposition. When this, the largest event for the timeshare and resort industry, meets in Las Vegas in April, I will be one of the presenters of a program titled: SEM, SEO, SMO & SOS! A Website Traffic Rescue.

Paul Savage of Savage Direct Marketing, Marc Saxe of Resort Opportunities, and Greg Anton of Avitech will be my fellow presenters. Together, we are spreading the message that if your business has a website, then you absolutely must know what these acronyms mean, and how to make them work for you.

One of the many exciting things about the ARDA convention is that it involves people from all areas of the timeshare and resort industry, including management, resort operations, development, and marketing. Every one of these people’s livelihoods is directly affected by the decisions their company makes, or fails to make, about maintaining a strong web presence. And search engine marketing, social media optimization, and search engine optimization, are only the beginning of the important internet marketing strategies businesses must utilize for reaching and serving clients via the world wide web.

What the Internet Can Mean for Timeshare Sales and Timeshare Resales

Sell My Timeshare NOW knows and understands just how critical the internet is to business today. It has been less than five years since we started our timeshare resales and timeshare rentals advertising and marketing company with three people working from home computers. Today, we employ over 100 people in our Dover, New Hampshire office and have satellite offices across the US. Our website, www.sellmytimesharenow.com, attracts more than 1.7 million visitors each month. These are people who are looking to buy timeshare, sell timeshare, or rent timeshare. In a very short time, our timeshare company has grown to be a leader in the industry today.

Some of our website visitors show up because they have entered our company’s web address in their web browser. Yet, thousands and thousands of other potential timeshare buyers or timeshare sellers come to us because they type terms such as, “buy timeshare,” or “Florida timeshare” into their search engine and consistently, the search engine lists Sell My Timeshare NOW, at or near the top of the list. In 2007, we presented our clients who want to sell timeshare or rent timeshare with more than $247 million in offers to buy or rent. The internet is a powerful tool, and it’s a message I never get tired of teaching; I can’t wait for the upcoming ARDA Convention & Exposition.

Links to Sell My Timeshare NOW’s most recent press release:

• Timeshare Internet Advertising Trailblazer to Speak at National Convention

The 2008 ARDA Convention & Exposition will be held next month, April 6-10, at the Venetian Resort Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. This is the top event in the resort and timeshare industry and it will draw some 5000 attendees from more than 40 countries worldwide.

Speakers at the ARDA Convention

Each year the ARDA Convention & Exposition offers resort and timeshare professionals the most up-to-date information on services and new directions within the industry. For the 2008 convention, Rick Barrera will be the keynote speaker. Barrera is a nationally recognized speaker, marketing consultant and acclaimed author. He is probably best known for his unique approach to brand building and holistic customer service. Barrera’s strategies can be seen in use today by such business giants as Google, Hummer, and Tivo.

In tomorrow’s Timeshare Owners Blog, I will be sharing information about a few of the ARDA Convention’s other speakers and panelists, including the panel on which I will be presenting. Here is also a link to Sell My Timeshare NOW‘s most recent press release about the ARDA Convention.

Entertainment at the ARDA Convention

As if just being in Las Vegas isn’t entertaining enough, the ARDA Convention includes a performance by Terry Fator. If you are not familiar with this multi-talented entertainer, then the idea of watching a ventriloquist may not seem too exciting.

Think again. Terry Fator, winner of last year’s American’s Got Talent competition on NBC, is one of the single most entertaining, genuinely talented performers today.

I have attached a YouTube video of Fator during his first televised appearance on the, America’s Got Talent competition. Once you watch this first video, you may want to go back and view the many others available on Fator’s website or on YouTube – he is guaranteed to brighten your day.

At Sell My Timeshare NOW, we recently completed a study on the reasons motivating people to sell timeshare they currently own. Looking closely at the key indicators, we concluded that the slow US economy does not figure as prominently among the reasons people sell timeshare as you might expect.

Our research involved nearly 1000 timeshare owners, all of whom had expressed a desire to sell timeshare they currently own as deeded property, right to use property, or vacation club membership weeks. We ran the survey for more than four months, and our demographic included a cross section of timeshare owners.

Why Timeshare Owners Decide to Sell Timeshare

On March 5, Sell My Timeshare NOW issued a press release on the findings of our timeshare owner survey. Our research revealed that 28.5 percent of the timeshare owners surveyed say: they just don’t use their timeshare anymore. Another 21.4 percent say they have experienced a change in their family situation, such as a divorce or their children no longer vacation with them, which motivates them to sell timeshare. In other words, lifestyle changes account for the reason almost half of all timeshare sellers decide to sell timeshare weeks or vacation club memberships.

Happy Timeshare Owners

While we all hear the grumblings of unhappy timeshare owners, maybe that’s a case of the “squeaky wheel” getting the attention…the majority of timeshare owners seem to just be busy planning and enjoying timeshare vacations.

Statistics from ARDA (the American Resort Development Association) have consistently shown a high rate of satisfaction among timeshare owners. Nearly 85 percent of all timeshare owners ARDA surveyed say they are satisfied with their timeshare purchase. Our study, at Sell My Timeshare NOW, expands on this information, showing that among people who are ready to sell timeshare, less than one percent are doing so because they do not like the resort or the amenities. Additionally only 4.6 percent sell timeshare because they feel it is too difficult to exchange timeshare for other dates or other locations.

Click here, to read the media release on the Sell My Timeshare NOW study or here to go to the Sell My Timeshare website and learn more about the opportunities in timeshare resales and timeshare rentals.