What’s So Special about Timeshare at The Village at Steamboat?

In Tuesday’s The Timeshare Authority blog, (Where Timeshare Sales Lead the Real Estate Market) we looked at the strong timeshare sales numbers from The Village at Steamboat, a Colorado timeshare condo being sold under the brands WorldMark by Wyndham and Wyndham Vacation Resorts. Wyndham timeshare has sold more than 650 Village at Steamboat timeshare units so far in 2010—and that’s robust timeshare sales performance, especially in view of the current economy.

So what makes these timeshares so popular?

1. Brand loyalty matters. Many consumers have a high comfort level when buying the Wyndham brand either as new timeshare or as a Wyndham timeshare resale. If they know and like Wyndham’s hotel properties then they expect to enjoy a Wyndham timeshare. World¬Mark by Wyndham Vice President of Sales Mountain Region Ray Mason indicates that Wyndham is very aware of the power of brand loyalty, and describes Wyndham timeshare properties as being “more appealing” than they were 10 years ago.
2. Location…location…location! Consumers might be able to afford a privately owned lakeside condo or cabin in many locations. But purchasing private property (sole ownership) of a vacation home just near the ski slopes at Steamboat Springs or any other popular ski resort is out of the question for many consumers. Even very wealthy individuals find the price points on such resort property (if it even becomes available to buy) is just too high to afford. If they are going to have vacation ownership at a destination this pricey, they have to buy timeshare or a fractional in order to afford it.

   Rich Folk, executive vice president of sales and marketing for WorldMark by Wyndham, describes Steamboat by saying, “People can’t go there and pay less (to vacation) than they can with us.”

3. And again, location… location… location. Many of the timeshare sales at The Village at Steamboat have been initiated at Wyndham locations other the Steamboat property. Yet the simple fact that the resort has a primo property location where there is a high volume of visitors who are skiers, take ski vacations, and presently have the money to already be vacationing in Steamboat Springs—well, that’s clearly exposure to your target market.
4. Attention to customer service pays off. According to Folk, Wyndham timeshare management prepared for the recessionary economy by focusing its marking efforts on an affluent consumer—people whom they believed who have discretionary income to buy timeshare, even during tough times. To go with this approach, The Village at Steamboat ramped up its attention level on all the little details that make a big difference in the appeal and desirability of a timeshare resort, such as touching up the paint in each timeshare unit after every vacation usage.

Four simple details that add up to a big success story for Wyndham timeshare and The Villages at Steamboat.