Earlier this year TUG created a Survey for the Timeshare industry that contained dozens of questions created with input from owners and experts to create a fun and educational glance at how owners perceived the industry today! With approximately 850 participants, this survey provided some fantastic and informative results that are all available right here for free along with our analysis and commentary regarding each individual question below!
For those who wish to view the complete pdf file of the answers, it is available for download here:
2022 TUG Timeshare Survey Results!
This question was an obvious number 1 to establish the audience for this survey! Folks who skipped the question or answered no were not asked a number of follow-up questions relating to ownership etc.!
Positive Spin: Vast majority of survey participants own Timeshares!
Negative Spin: Only 2% of survey participants were able to avoid buying a Timeshare!
TUG Analysis: Timeshare owners were the intended audience of this survey, thus its not surprising that 98% of the survey participants answered this way!
An equally obvious follow-up to Q1 above to establish what method of purchase was used when buying a Timeshare!
Positive Spin: 50% of Timeshare Owners bought their Timeshare on the Resale Market!
Negative Spin: 50% of Timeshare Owners paid full Retail Price for a Timeshare!
TUG Analysis: This being a near 50/50 Tie was actually pretty surprising to us, although likely should not have been as TUG members themselves are far more likely to know about the resale market compared to the average Timeshare owner so we consider this a win (along with every future owner who discovers and buys on the resale market)! It would certainly be fascinating if this survey were taken say, 10 or 20 years ago to see the difference in this question alone!
Timeshare owners can own multiple Timeshares? Say it isnt so!
Positive Spin: 2 out of every 3 owners were so pleased with Timeshares, they bought more!
Negative Spin: 32% of Timeshare owners feel one is enough!
TUG Analysis: This was actually one of the more surprising results from the entire survey! Not that we are surprised that owners had multiple Timeshares in their portfolio, but we dont feel that anyone could have predicted such a large majority in this category!
As a parley to the earlier question, we would theorize that a large % of owners bought their first Timeshare while on vacation at the resort (Retail), and then picked up a 2nd (or 3rd) Timeshare on the resale market after discovering that little secret thru TUG!
New owners vs Long Term owners!
Positive Spin: Most Timeshare owners have enjoyed a Decade or more of Ownership!
Negative Spin: Only 1 in 10 new Timeshare owners know about TUG!
TUG Analysis: This is a tough one! On one hand, the results show that Timesharing is a product that can be enjoyed for many, many years! On the other it also shows that the average new Timeshare owner is not likely to be aware of TUG or other such resources that would be of great benefit to a new owner, or even better being able to find said resources before buying their first Timeshare! The industry has done its best to hide the resale market (and instruction manuals for that matter) from the average Timeshare buyer/owner even with the vast knowledge of the internet at everyone's fingertips!
One of the most common reasons folks join TUG in the first place!
Positive Spin: 3 out of every 4 Owners are happy with Timeshare Ownership!
Negative Spin: 25% of all owners are actively looking to Sell their Timeshare!
TUG Analysis: Another bet we would have lost! On average, roughly half the folks who join TUG are looking to sell a Timeshare! It can be argued that for long term TUG members they obviously must be content with their ownership and that would explain these results!
Actively looking to buy a Timeshare? Not very many it seems!
Positive Spin: More than 100 survey participants want to buy a Timeshare!
Negative Spin: The Vast majority of participants are not in the market for a Timeshare!
TUG Analysis: This seems fairly in line with what we would imagine most in the industry expect from a question like this! Timeshares are simply not a product someone wakes up one morning and decides they want to buy! We would also guesstimate that a large % of these yes answers are existing owners looking to purchase another Timeshare vs their first Timeshare!
Similar question to the one above, but we wanted to cover anyone who tried to sell in the past!
Positive Spin: 3 out of every 4 Owners have never tried to sell a Timeshare!
Negative Spin: 27% have made an effort to Sell their Timeshare!
TUG Analysis: Same as with Question 5!
Its hard to throw a rock without hitting some sort of Timeshare resale or exit company these days, thankfully it appears the majority of our owners know better than to get involved!
Positive Spin: 78% of owners have avoided contact with Timeshare resale/exit companies!
Negative Spin: 22% of owners have engaged the help of a Timeshare resale / exit company!!
TUG Analysis: While we would hope the number of participants who have been in contact with a resale or exit company would be zero, we know its simply just not a realistic expectation given how well these outfits market their schemes to desperate owners! In a recent article we read "exit companies do a better job of marketing a Timeshares flaws than the Timeshare industry does in marketing its benefits". I think this quote hit the nail on the head for sure! We are very thankful that anyone that finds TUG is FAR less likely to fall for either pitch!
Another result we hope to one day bring down to 0%!
Positive Spin: Vast majority of owners who are approached by Timeshare Resale or Exit companies avoid them!
Negative Spin: Nearly 25% of owners chose to utilize the services of a Timeshare exit or resale company!
TUG Analysis: This question only got approximately 200 responses because it was only asked of those responders who indicated they had been in contact with such a company but it still shows a remarkably large number of people who engaged said businesses despite the TUG mantra of never paying large upfront fees!
Proving again that engaging resale or exit companies is a terrible use of your money!
Positive Spin: The vast majority of owners know better than to engage Timeshare Resale or Exit Companies!
Negative Spin: Timeshare Resale/Exit companies are twice as likely to fail than to succeed in helping you with your Timeshare!
TUG Analysis: We would hypothesize that of that small number of owners who claimed were able to get help, the majority of them were owners of resorts that had official deedback or surrender programs!
It is almost a guarantee that an owner trying to sell or rent a Timeshare will be approached by a scammer!
Positive Spin: More than 90% of Owners are able to avoid becoming Timeshare Scam Victims!
Negative Spin: Roughly 1 in 10 Timeshare owners is the victim of a Timeshare Resale or Rental Scam!
TUG Analysis: We were actually quite pleased to see the results of this particular question, and are very thankful that our readers are able to identify and avoid the vast majority of the scams that litter this industry! We also hope to one day get that number down to zero!
Sobering note: even at 9%, more than 70 people in this survey alone indicated they were victims!
While you may not always get help, contacting your resort first usually cant hurt!
Positive Spin: Hard to find a positive spin on this result!
Negative Spin: Vast Majority of Timeshare owners do not reach out to their resort for help in selling!
TUG Analysis: This is a tough one! While we would never make the claim that resorts are overly "helpful" to owners who are looking for help selling or ending their ownership. It still never hurts to ask and its always free to call or email! We feel that many owners may be directed to official deedback or surrender programs if there was an obvious phone number or contact email that they could use to reach out to someone that can actually provide knowledgeable support or help with even the most basic of questions!
If the industry truly wants to combat upfront fee scammers, this is a slam dunk no brainer item to focus on improving!
Silver lining for the industry for sure with these results!
Positive Spin: Nearly half of the owners who contacted their resort received help with Selling their Timeshare!
Negative Spin: Only Half the owners that contacted their resort received help with Selling!
TUG Analysis: A solid and obvious follow-up question to the previous one, and one that at least provides SOME help to SOME owners when they call and ask for assistance with selling! Even if this metric at 50% shows that there is help out there when you ask for it from your resort or developer, however just with the previous question this area needs a TON of improvement if anyone is to ever take the industry seriously in its claim to want to take on exit companies!
Yet another area the Industry needs to improve on by leaps and bounds!
Positive Spin: Hard to find a positive spin on this result!
Negative Spin: 90% of Timeshare owners do not feel that it is simple or easy to sell/exit a Timeshare!
TUG Analysis: Can probably file this one under "as expected" for sure! I am actually somewhat surprised at the 10% that considered it easy, perhaps they were all Disney owners!
There are plenty of happy and satisfied Timeshare owners in the world!
Positive Spin: 8 out of 10 timeshare owners believe they made a good purchase!
Negative Spin: 1 in 6 owners feel they made a mistake when buying a Timeshare!
TUG Analysis: This statistic is the one we most likely expect to pop up in news stories and or media quotes relating to this article! It oddly enough echoes a very similar result touted by ARDA and the industry many years ago claiming an overwhelming number of owners were happy/satisfied with their Timeshare ownership! Looks like even a decade or more later, there is still some truth to that claim! *Note: this also incorporates resale purchases as well, as you will note the disparity with the next result.
Oh to go back and get a do-over for your Sales Presentation!
Positive Spin: 50% of Timeshare owners that bought retail would do so again if they had a do-over!
Negative Spin: Every other owner who bought a Retail Timeshare would choose to go back and reverse that decision if they could do it over again!
TUG Analysis: Another shocker (in our opinion anyway)! We would absolutely have never guessed this result would be a near 50/50 split in folks who would go back and sit thru their original sales presentation again! However the fact that HALF successful retail sales are considered mistakes by their owners is still a very troubling statistic.
Timeshare owners do love to plan ahead!
Positive Spin: Timeshare owners make a point to plan vacations more than 6months out!
Negative Spin: Timeshare ownership is not a good choice for owners who prefer to take last minute vacations!
TUG Analysis: Add this to the "thats kinda what we figured" list! Timeshare owners in general plan ahead with the vast majority planning future vacations out 6 months or more!
What do you feel is the average per night cost of a room on vacation these days?
Positive Spin: Timeshares are an absolute Bargain compared to what owners consider the average per night cost of Vacation Lodging!
Negative Spin: 1 in 3 consider the average cost per night to be in excess of $250 bucks!
TUG Analysis: Given we consider "bargains" to be in the $100 or so per might or so range, this result was not overly surprising!
Still one of the most fascinating Secrets in this entire Industry!
Positive Spin: 1 in 3 owners was aware of the option to buy a Resale Timeshare!
Negative Spin: The overwhelming majority of new Timeshare buyers have no idea the resale market even exists!
TUG Analysis: We honestly would have put this % a good bit higher to be honest! It is still fascinating (and sickening) that now in 2022, with unlimited data and research available in everyones pocket and or at their fingertips, that so many are still unaware about the Timeshare Resale market and Resale prices! No other industry that we can think of has such a grey cloud surrounding its "new vs used" product, and this has carried on for decades!
What good is a Timeshare if you dont actually use it?
Positive Spin: Vast majority of Timeshare owners actively take one or more vacations a year!
Negative Spin: 3% of Timeshare owners NEVER use their Timeshare!
TUG Analysis: This was actually an extremely positive result showing the bulk of Timeshare owners actually do take vacations at least once a year, and with a very large % taking MULTIPLE vacations each year with their Timeshare ownership!
Exchanging is one of the most touted features of Timeshare Ownership, but is it still a viable option?
Positive Spin: 2 out of every 3 Timeshare Owners successfully Trades their Timeshare!
Negative Spin: 1 in 3 Timeshare Owners does not successfully Exchange!
TUG Analysis: This is a fairly nebulous stat that would have been hard to estimate at the start for sure! With the growth of "point based" Timeshare systems we certainly expect this number has more to do with that vs simply trading within RCI or II!
Another unexpectedly high statistic!
Positive Spin: Timeshare Exchanging is easy for most owners!
Negative Spin: 1 in 3 owners finds it difficult to exchange a Timeshare!
TUG Analysis: Very much the same analysis as the previous question, with nearly every major Timeshare developer rolling out a points based exchange system in the last 10 years or so, folks are simply no longer limited to RCI or II!
Even in 2022, Timeshare Sales Presentations remain under a dark cloud of misrepresentation!
Positive Spin: We Struggle to find a positive spin on this one!
Negative Spin: More than HALF of all Timeshare owners feel misled during their sales presentation!
TUG Analysis: This is another thorn in the side of the industry and figure we expect to make the rounds as a talking point! With all the talk about "cleaning up" the industry when it comes to retail sales practices and misleading statements (or outright lies) it certainly appears that PLENTY of it still goes on while the powers that be continue to turn a blind eye to its occurrence all the while publicly denouncing the practice.
TUG will continue to preach and encourage owner education as the only tried and true way to protect consumers from the decades of experience these sales offices have gleaned to perfection to make pitches to potential buyers that still clearly remain full of half truths and or intentionally misleading talking points to convince owners to purchase!
Is the term Timeshare Owner a negative today?
Positive Spin: Most Timeshare owners are happy to tell others they own a Timeshare!
Negative Spin: 1 in 7 is embarrassed to tell someone they own a Timeshare!
TUG Analysis: This is another instance where we felt the numbers would be a bit closer! Seeing Timeshare articles in the media almost always result in a comments section full of "what kind of sucker still buys a timeshare" or similar etc. However it is clear from this question and a few of the others above that there are PLENTY of happy Timeshare owners out there that feel they made an excellent purchase!
More options to Exchange these days!
Positive Spin: Resort Developer/Points based Exchange companies are becoming more popular!
Negative Spin: RCI and II still dominate the Timeshare Exchange market!
TUG Analysis: Its almost a 3 way split between RCI, Interval, and "Resort/points/independent" which is a great thing in our opinion! We fully expect with the merging and consolidation that has been taking place over the past few years among the large resort systems, the incorporation of these resorts within their own individual exchange systems should indeed pose a very real challenge to the decades long vise grip that RCI and II have had on the exchange market!
Is that going to be a good thing? or a bad thing for the average owner? Remains to be seen but in most cases competition breeds innovation and growth and all owners are excited to see both!
Existing owners are a viable option for buying another Timeshare!
Positive Spin: 1 out of every 4 Timeshare owners is in the market for another Timeshare!
Negative Spin: 3 out of 4 Timeshare owners would not choose to buy additional weeks/points where they own!
TUG Analysis: This is fairly straightforward for sure! It has always been known that a happy existing owner at a resort/system is indeed more likely to buy another Timeshare (or more points) to add to their portfolio! Its also a reason why "owner updates" still exist!
In a Rating of 1 (lest value) to 10 (most value)!
Positive Spin: Most timeshares find great value from their Timeshare Ownership!
Negative Spin: 1 in 5 feel their ownership provides a poor value!
TUG Analysis: This chart is a pretty good representation on how owners feel about the value of their Timeshare ownership! It also incorporates resale and retail transactions but overall it shows there is value in owning a Timeshare! a multi billion dollar a year industry couldnt support itself if that were not the case!
No surprise here, TUG leads the way!
Positive Spin: Almost half of all Timeshare owners rely on TUG for help and advice on their ownership!
Negative Spin: Only 1 in 5 get ownership help from their resort or developer!
TUG Analysis: While we certainly wish that 40% mark was higher, we are of course pleased that the bulk of owners come to TUG for help and advice! This is yet another area where the industry falls short in helping its own customers.
Maybe deedback programs are more common knowledge than we thought!
Positive Spin: 8 out of 10 Timeshare owners are aware of existing deedback/surrender programs!
Negative Spin: 2 out of 10 Timeshare owners have no idea that some resorts offer deedback/surrender programs!
TUG Analysis: We would have lost this bet for sure, perhaps its due to TUG promoting just about every major deedback program the industry provides on social media over and over and thus anyone who knows about TUG is far more likely to know about deedbacks?
Another more depressing thought is that if deedbacks are such common knowledge, why do exit scammers still exist? Likely because many deedback programs only offer solutions for a small % of owners who are looking to exit? As an example DRI wont even accept deedbacks from resale buyers (which we find utterly absurd). Its almost like the industry is happy to adopt the deedback concept, but is also willing to look the other way when deedback programs dont address the actual elephant in the room for many owners!
Buy to use, or buy to exchange! The two most common reason one buys a Timeshare!
Positive Spin: Almost all Timeshare owners bought their timeshare due to the option to Exchange to other locations!
Negative Spin: Only 1 in 6 Timeshare owners bought a timeshare to visit their home resort!
TUG Analysis: Actually a bit of a surprise to us here for sure in the analysis that only 18% of Timeshare owners bought their timeshare to "use", while the remainder purchased at least partially for the purposes of Exchanging or trading for other locations!
The other "best kept secret" In the industry!
Positive Spin: 1 in 3 owners actively rents out their unused Timeshare or Points to offset Maintenance Fees!
Negative Spin: The vast majority of owners do NOT rent out their unused or vacant Timeshare or points!
TUG Analysis: This was expected, if not still very disappointing. While many owners know of legitimate rental outlets, the industry has never adopted or promoted a timeshare rental market (outside of the exchange companies renting deposits, and outside the resorts themselves running their own internal rental programs). It is really no surprise that both your average consumer is unaware that Timeshare Rentals by owners are a real thing, and that most owners do not choose to offer their unused Timeshare or points for rent!
A gift, or a shared expense?
Positive Spin: Most owners invite guests to join them on vacation free of Charge!
Negative Spin: You have a 18% chance of being expected to pay your share as a guest!
TUG Analysis: Another hard one to predict, and while we can see both sides it was rather surprising to us anyway that 1 in 5 owners did expect guests to pay their share when joining them on vacation at a Timeshare!
Traditionally, this topic is not well explained during the sales pitch (gee wonder why?)!
Positive Spin: Half of Timeshare Salesfolk properly explain the expectation of increasing Maintenance Fees!
Negative Spin: You have a 50/50 shot at your salesperson not warning you about Timeshare Maintenance fee increases!
TUG Analysis: Another situation where the industry itself is absolutely to blame that this practice continues on such a staggering scale. Its essentially a coin flip to decide if maintenance fee increases would even be discussed during your sales presentation and that is completely inexcusable in this day and age!
We suppose that pretending it doesnt still happen has worked for resort developers for decades, why would they bother changing now?
A very common "strategy" used in sales presentations to this day!
Positive Spin: Most owners realize a Timeshare is NOT considered an Investment!
Negative Spin: 1 in 10 owners thinks a Timeshare IS an Investment!
TUG Analysis: This one gives us a rather healthy sigh of relief as it is fairly common to see reports where a sales presentation implied that Timeshares tend to appreciate in value and thus could be considered an investment.
So very thankful that most owners realize this is very far from the truth. Although perhaps the question should have been worded to inquire if they knew this from the start, or learned well after their purchase!
Ending your Timeshare ownership is something 100% of owners eventually have to address!
Positive Spin: 1 in 3 owners has a plan when it comes time to end/exit their Timeshare!
Negative Spin: 2 out of 3 owners have no current plan to end/exit their Timeshare!
TUG Analysis: While we suppose 33% is a healthy number and one likely padded by the proliferation of deedback programs in the last 5 or so years. Its also a higher one that we would have expected and still shows that the vast majority of owners simply do not even think about what happens when its time to no longer own said Timeshare anymore.
Worth the free gift or Waste of Time!
Positive Spin: Nearly half of all owners continue to attend Timeshare Sales Presentations/Owner Updates!
Negative Spin: More than half of all owners no longer attend Sales Presentations/Owner Updates!
TUG Analysis: A pretty stark divide here with a roughly 50/50 split! Folks just want the free gift? dont think they can say no? actually curious and or hoping that attending will result in a nugget of useful information to benefit their ownership?
If there was a question in this list with the answer of "Duh", this would be it!
Positive Spin: Do we even have to say it?
Negative Spin: This survey clearly has a +/- 4% margin of error!
TUG Analysis: Nothing earth shattering or surprising about this one folks!
Are Timeshare owners well rounded vacationers? or one trick ponies?
Positive Spin: It is clear that Timeshare Vacations are used to supplement other forms of Vacation Travel!
Negative Spin: nearly half of all Timeshare owners also still stay in hotels as well!
TUG Analysis: Not actually sure what sort of analysis we can draw from this result to be honest other than a somewhat interesting cross section of the most popular forms of Vacation Travel today!
Coke vs Pepsi!
Positive Spin: Both Timeshare Points and Timeshare Weeks are still equally popular among owners!
Negative Spin: Timeshare Points have become more popular than traditional Timeshare Weeks!
TUG Analysis: You would really have to break out the spin to try to spin the results here in one direction or the other with an almost 50/50 split in the popularity of both of the most common Timeshare ownerships in existence today! While it is true that weeks are far less common to be sold today vs points (especially in retail sales), one simply cannot deny they are still a popular option for Timeshare owners!
A fascinating question would be knowing when points actually began to approach, and then eclipse weeks in terms of popularity within the past decade or so! Points are most certainly the direction the industry is heading!
It is often argued that owning a Timeshare "forces" you to take vacations, any truth to that?
Positive Spin: The Vast Majority of Timeshare owners take more vacations as a result of their ownership!
Negative Spin: Some Timeshare owners actually take fewer vacations after buying a Timeshare!
TUG Analysis: We believe there is absolute truth in the marketing of Timesharing actually causing you to take more vacations than you otherwise normally would! Salesfolks actually are capable of telling the truth after all!
Another common marketing tactic used to tout the benefits of ownership!
Positive Spin: Most Timeshare owners feel they save money on vacations!
Negative Spin: 20% of owners feel like they do not save any money on vacation with their Timeshare!
TUG Analysis: Another seemingly accurate marketing tagline that is still regularly pitched today as a benefit to Timeshare ownership! Especially when you include resale buyers in the mix!
The first of the "word cloud" free form responses!
TUG Analysis: I think most everyone would have bet on Hawaii being the frontrunner here! These word cloud free-form responses are wonderful visual references, but sadly since the survey includes each individual word well, individually...it doesnt make for a terribly good survey result! Either way we still wanted to add them into the results page!
Free Time isnt Free!
TUG Analysis: It is pretty fascinating how just a large jumble of words can say so much! We read this as "not having enough free time", and would imagine we all wish we had more of it!
Obvious answer is obvious!
TUG Analysis: Pretty hard to think of another complaint that would have topped this list!
Obvious answer is obvious!
TUG Analysis: We have long argued that the true value of Timesharing is in using the product to take amazing vacations! Glad to see most owners agree!
Solid responses, and we have to admit "dont" gave us a laugh!
TUG Analysis: Again we are amazed how a seemingly random jumble of words can say so much!
TUG Analysis: We are happy to admit the fact the most popular response was "nothing" was truly a pleasant surprise!
TUG Analysis: Location Location Location!
This survey has been a wonderful glimpse into the minds of hundreds of Timeshare owners! With the questions both created by, and answered by owners we feel this survey is one of a kind and will provide some fascinating reading for all!
It is our hope that the results of this survey are spread far and wide and also discussed in other groups or by mainstream media outlets as there are a good number of very significant industry issues that some of these questions both focused on and we hope are brought to light if not perhaps addressed by the industry itself! While we wont hold our breath that the survey or even a part of it will go viral and become the spark that actually inspires some of the long overdue changes in the Timeshare Industry, it never hurts to continue to try!
For those who wish to participate in the live discussion of this survey with your opinions or feedback, please be sure to visit the TUG forum topic here: Discuss the TUG 2022 Timeshare Survey Results
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