Is the timeshare industry ready for one-legged tours?

[EDITOR’S NOTE: Dennis Serpone, President of the Singles Marketing Group, suggests now – after the stress of isolation forced upon so many by COVID-19 – might be the ideal time to start pursuing single people.]

COVID-19 has taught us that people need to be with people

People need social contact especially when you’re single. The experience of the last 20-odd months dealing with the pandemic lockdown, the social mandates, and the distrust of who’s not vaccinated has significantly changed our careers and lifestyle. As we readjust, I’m realizing that in general food is food and vacations are vacations…we NEED both to survive.

However, we tend to gravitate to the restaurant that offers us an ‘experience’. It might be great food, great entertainment, or that super personable server…. But it’s that competitive advantage that my other choices don’t offer that brings me back.

Timeshare industry must expand vision

The vacation industry is similar in a way to the ‘sea’ of restaurants vying for my attention. Our population is made up of three distinct groups – families with children, young unmarried adults, and those who retired. Interestingly, the timeshare industry focuses on the family buyer/user, mostly ignoring singles. The all-inclusive Caribbean resorts, Sandals, and Breezes do market to both couples and singles.

“Desperate times call for desperate measures” as the saying goes. The timeshare and vacation club industries need to broaden their field of vision to recognize an untapped market…singles.

Thirteen or so years ago, timeshare sales were over $10 billion with thousands upon thousands of new buyers eating up inventory and new developments constantly being introduced on the shore, in the mountains, in the cities, overseas…just about everywhere.

How quickly the market has changed. With all of the consolidation in the market, competition for the buyer has never been so severe.

Timeshare has appealed to affluent buyer, as well as mid-and lower-tier

For the affluent buyer, timesharing was an opportunity to buy into a luxury resort and bond with his family. ”The family that plays together, stays together…Disney World, water parks, skiing, snorkeling, river tours, etc.”

It was the mid-tier family buyer who was responsible for the bulk of the billions of dollars of sales and the double-digit growth that the industry saw back then.

The lower tier market is made up of the average family buyer who sees the value in buying, has been caught up in the emotion of vacation ownership, but who is also knowledgeable enough to seek out the cheaper ‘resale’ that has most of the bells and whistles at a significantly cheaper price.

Timeshare challenges continue to grow

With existing owners dumping their units as a direct result of the ever-growing, onerous, annual maintenance fees, special assessments, and taxes, the timeshare industry is seeing the glow of timesharing dimming quickly. With everyone Googling everything they buy first when someone is interested enough in the concept of vacation ownership, timeshare resales raise its ugly head.

With the rising cost of developing a new resort, the cost of employees if you can find (and keep) them, the overall cost of operating, let alone the incredibly high cost of marketing to get a new buyer to your salespeople, what is an operator to do?

The answer is simple…but it’s going to be a change of focus.

Millions of college kids go to Spring Break every year. The bars are full of young people almost every night of the week and billions of dollars are being made by the numerous online dating sites that proliferate throughout the entire globe. Every country, except maybe North Korea and Afghanistan, has vibrant online members seeking love and affection, with the goal of not being single forever.

RCI invited me to the ARDA convention in Orlando, I think in 2007, with over 4.500 enthusiastic attendees, to see where ‘singles timesharing’ could fit in. What I saw was the industry building for ‘the ‘family’ specifically. That model doesn’t work for singles. However, with a couple of minor adjustments, a whole new customer base can reignite the vacation ownership market. “If you build it, they will come.”

Singles have money to spend. Singles have less financial responsibility. Singles will spend whatever it takes to have a good time socializing with other singles in the same age group. The best part of accommodating this group is that you don’t need to build a resort especially for them.

The Concept: A singles vacation club membership

Singles are drawn to activities with other singles: golf, tennis, hiking, dancing, cocktail parties. A singles vacation club membership where age-appropriate singles can visit each year and meet other singles can be the future of timesharing.

Each month the resort operator blocks off a week of available inventory for singles 25-to-40 year-olds. The operator likewise blocks off a week of available inventory for singles aged 55-to-70.

Your Activity Director becomes the daily focal point of everyone’s socializing.

As the concept of ‘singles week’ sells out, you move to block out another week. The disruption to your family vacationing is minimal.

The next phase of vacation ownership is at your doorstep. Open the door.

About the Author: For 20 years I ran the largest single professional group in New England…the Single Executives Club. At some point, I realized that there were no dedicated singles resorts in the country. I then collaborated with RCI and a timeshare resort headquartered in Newport, RI, to create a fully dedicated singles timeshare resort in the Caribbean. It didn’t materialize.