Is Digital Marketing Working for Timeshare?

A Crowded Digital Stage

Walk into any marketing conference these days and you’ll hear words like “AI-driven personalization,” “influencer engagement,” and “immersive brand storytelling.” It all sounds so futuristic that you half expect R2-D2 to roll out and hand you a QR code for a sales tour.

But here’s the question on everyone’s mind in the vacation ownership space: are all these digital tactics actually working?

Spoiler alert: yes—and also no.

Content is Still King—Now Wearing AI Glasses

Remember when simply stuffing “cheap family vacation Orlando” into a blog post 20 times got you ranked on Google? Those days are gone.

Now, content must be useful, authentic, and—thanks to AI—lightning fast to produce. Resorts are blending AI tools with human storytelling to create posts, videos, and reels that answer the exact questions travelers are typing into search bars. Readers can smell a soulless robo-post faster than you can say “timeshare exit company.”

“The heart is the place where sales are made. There’s no hack, cheat or trick to selling more; no easy way around it. You have to make it personal.” — Shari Levitin, author and sales trainer

Personalization: Netflix-Style Marketing

Sending the same email to every lead is the digital version of handing out steak coupons at a vegan festival.

Marketers now rely on data-driven personalization. If you’ve been Googling “Cancun vacations,” don’t be surprised when a resort ad featuring Cancun beaches slides into your Instagram feed.

How to make this happen is tricky, but not impossible. To get there, marketers are investing in smarter CRMs, customer journey mapping, and even geofencing tools. The idea is to track behaviors—searches, clicks, past reservations—and build profiles that let resorts send the right offer at the right time. For example, if someone just booked a ski trip, the system might automatically suggest a warm-weather getaway for their next vacation cycle. Layer in A/B testing and machine learning, and suddenly your emails stop feeling like spam and start feeling like a personal invitation.

Social Media Becomes the Front Desk

What started as “something the intern does” is now center stage. Resorts use social platforms for:

• Snackable reels of property tours
• Owner/Member and staff interviews
• Guest “takeovers” where members post their vacations

Even LinkedIn — yes, the land of résumés — has become a hotbed for resort credibility among HOA boards and executives. For instance, Disha Shukla, Chief Customer Officer at the digital marketing agency INSIDEA, advises hospitality brands to use LinkedIn not for flashy travel photos, but as a forum for B2B trust building and professional reputation. She points out that many hospitality purchase decisions are made by travel managers, vendor partners, and corporate retreat coordinators — people who are actively using LinkedIn to vet and connect with vendors. (INSIDEA)

Influencers & Authentic Vacation Stories

The age of mega-celeb travel influencers is fading out in favor of real vacationer stories, especially those who stay via RCI exchanges or similar vacation ownership platforms. RCI itself highlights member stories under the hashtag #myRCI on its website and social channels, such as:

“My wife and I invited my in-laws and 3-year-old nephew on a spring vacation … It was truly a beautiful experience for our whole family!” — Verne T., RCI Member since 2000 rci.com

These genuine stories—families sharing what surprised them, what worked, what disappointed them—offer far more credibility than highly polished paid posts. When a vacationer you can imagine actually staying a week at a resort and saying, “That kitchen layout made it feel like home” or “The beachfront view was exactly what we hoped for,” it builds trust.

Some resort marketers are partnering with “real guest ambassadors”—owners or exchangers with social followings in parenting, outdoor travel, or family lifestyle niches—to tell those authentic stories. The goal isn’t perfect staging; it’s emotional resonance: “We stayed four nights in Cancun via RCI exchange, and honestly felt more relaxed than at a luxury all-inclusive hotel.”

Reviews: The New Word of Mouth

TripAdvisor, Google Reviews, Yelp—these aren’t afterthoughts anymore. Resorts now treat reviews like gold, actively monitoring, responding, and showcasing them in marketing.

As one executive told me: “A five-star review is worth more than a five-figure ad campaign.”

So how do you get more of them? Savvy marketers are:

• Making the ask at checkout — a friendly reminder from the front desk or a follow-up email with a direct link makes it simple.
• Incentivizing feedback — not by buying reviews (bad idea), but by entering guests into a monthly prize drawing or offering loyalty points for completed surveys.
• Training staff to listen — if a guest gushes about their stay, staff can say, “We’d love it if you shared that on Google Reviews.”
• Leveraging QR codes — posting them in lobbies, restaurants, and activity centers so guests can leave a review before they even leave the property.
• Celebrating reviewers — showcasing glowing feedback on social media or in newsletters, which nudges other guests to share their own.

The key isn’t trickery—it’s about capturing authentic guest enthusiasm while the experience is still fresh.

CustomerCount CEO Bob Kobek offers insights accumulated after 25 years as an online customer and employee feedback management, voice of the customer, and survey solutions specialist. He says, “To ensure real traction make certain to reply to every review, good, bad, or indifferent. Typically, it is the responsibility of the property manager to manage that task, which can be problematic. The replies must be consistent with your brand messaging and interpretation of the review needs to determine the sentiment not just the perceived correlation.

“Important: Don’t be the ‘dog that caught the car’. Pushing reviews then not replying puts your reputation in peril. Lastly, don’t forget the grandparent of all reviews, the Better Business Bureau. Be mindful of your status with that group.”

Lights, Camera, Conversion: Video Reigns

Video is no longer optional:

• Drone footage shows off properties.
• Virtual tours replace brochures.
• Livestream Q&As humanize the sales process.

Even AR (augmented reality) is sneaking in, letting prospects “see” the view from their condo before stepping foot on property.

Through our own Resort Trades Learning Center YouTube activity, we’ve found that more and more timeshare industry insiders welcome the opportunity to be interviewed. A recent example is our interview with ARDA Chairman-elect and Westgate COO Jared Saft. It was an opportunity to introduce him to the timeshare community in a relaxed, informal, (not to mention free) conversation.

The Catch: Cost and Clutter

All this comes with challenges. Paid ads can chew up budgets, and consumers are developing “banner blindness.” Standing out requires creativity, authenticity, and constant reinvention. Resort Trades’ freelance writer and owner/operator of Waterwheel Marketing, Kelley Ellert is on a mission to introduce her clients to innovative ways to capture attention. In her article, “Marketing Strategy Over Spending,” she explains her approach:

“After 20 years in marketing, I’ve seen some giant waste. Money just flying out the window on marketing campaigns that nobody planned, measured, or understood. I’ve watched resort operators throw $10,000 a month at Facebook ads because “everyone’s doing it” without knowing if a single booking came from those efforts.

But I’ve also seen $100 on Meta generate thousands in sales when the campaign was built with strategy and measured properly. I’ve watched small resort operators outperform massive management companies because they understood their audience and spoke to them authentically across the right channels.

“The difference isn’t budget size. It’s whether you’re spending strategically or just spending.”

So, Is It Working?

Yes—when done well. Digital marketing is helping vacation ownership brands reach more people, more quickly, and in more engaging ways than ever before.
But it’s not a one-and-done effort. As one marketing director quipped: “Our best strategy is still the same as it’s always been: make people feel welcome. We just happen to be doing it on Instagram now.”

The Bottom Line: digital marketing isn’t a magic wand—it’s a marathon. For timeshare, the winners will be those who stay authentic in a digital world that’s changing by the day.

Sharon Scott Wilson, RRP, is co-owner and publisher for Resort Trades Media Group. Subscribe for free to the weekly ResortTrades.com/eMagazine or email Marla@TheTrades.com to receive the print edition by mail. Current and past issues are posted on ResortTrades.com/past-issues.