The Timeshare Investment Reality

Timeshare investment is a topic that draws a lot of attention. The mainstream media is often quick to point out what a poor investment timeshares are. But were timeshares ever mean to be an investment?

Here’s what Dictionary.com has to say about the word “investment”:

in·vest·ment:

1. The action or process of investing money for profit or material result.
2. A thing that is worth buying because it may be profitable or useful in the future.
3. An act of devoting time, effort, or energy to a particular undertaking with the expectation of a worthwhile result.

Timeshare Investment is Not for Financial Return

A timeshare is not an investment for financial return. In a world that once assumed all real estate purchases yielded  profit when resold, the economic decline of recent years has served as a wakeup call that even some seemingly sound ‘investments’ such as the homes we buy don’t always return us a profit when resold. This simple fact alone  knocks definitions 1 and 2 off the list in terms of timeshares.

But what about definition number 3? Is a timeshare an investment in the sense that it brings you a worthwhile result? 

According to research  conducted by Ernst & Young LLP and published in the State of the Vacation Timeshare Industry Study 2011, there are more than 8 million timeshare owners in the United States, among whom there is a satisfaction rate of 85 percent.

Some of the reasons timeshare owners use and enjoy their timeshares include the facts that they find the accommodations spacious; they know what to expect from their resort (or one they exchange for) so vacation planning is easy; and they know that timeshare resorts typically offer amenities to entertain and engage family members of all ages.

But perhaps one of the most important ways that timeshares yield “worthwhile results” is that they create a pattern of vacation commitment. Both research and our instincts tell us that vacations are good for our mental and physical well-being, they recharge our creativity, help us build stronger bonds with family and friends, and allow us time to restore, recoup, and recharge. And when the commitment is made, and the vacation is paid for in advance, it’s amazing how motivated we become to take that much needed time off.

Vacations are, in fact, an investment in yourself. Whether you stay in a hotel room, a tent, or you buy or rent timeshare, you won’t see a financial return. There is no such thing as a timeshare investment. But the ways in which you will benefit by taking that vacation may turn out to be worth far more than the money you spend.