Caribbean timeshares most sought after - industry expert
Published:Sunday | January 22, 2012 | 12:00 AM
Avia Collinder, Business Writer
Robert Webb, the treasurer of timeshare trade association, the American Resort Development Association (ARDA), says the Caribbean is the most highly sought-after timeshare destination in the world, partly because of the relative scarcity of timeshare units in the region.
Promising trends in the growth of timeshare and vacation ownership, he says, should serve as a powerful economic development resource for many Caribbean destination markets, particularly Jamaica.
"ARDA believes Jamaica is uniquely positioned to further leverage the valuable economic development resource that the vacation ownership industry provides," said Webb via email to Sunday Business.
The timeshare spokesman is also senior hospitality partner at the US law firm of Baker Hostetler, founded in 1916.
Factors in Jamaica's favour, he says, include popularity of the 'Jamaica brand', proximity to the US mainland, and the country's rich natural resources and cultural diversity.
According to the 2011 State of the Vacation Timeshare Industry, a United States study performed by Ernst & Young and commissioned by ARDA , US timeshare sales volume in 2010 totalled US$6.4 billion.
international sales
ARDA is currently performing a similar study for 2011 international sales, which will include the Caribbean as a subset of the market, Webb said.
While the ongoing recession has made it necessary for the major US timeshare developers to shrink their businesses, primarily because secondary consumer credit sources are currently limited, Webb commented that "consumer demand for timeshare products remains very strong".
It is the expectation of industry insiders, he said, that the timeshare market will have experienced a slight amount of growth in 2011, relative to 2010 levels, but will see more robust business in 2012.
In relation to the development of the resort subsector in Caribbean islands, the lawyer notes that for the timeshare and vacation ownership industry to thrive, factors such as the existence of strong integrated consumer-marketing efforts shared between the public and private sectors, the existence of quality airlift and the perception of crime as an obstacle need to be addressed.
Other considerations are the existence of responsible labour laws; a qualified labour market in the destination that "understands the value of travel and tourism and provides high levels of service"; pre and post-secondary hospitality education in local schools; whether or not the government provide developer-friendly tax incentives and tax structures; and the "question of onerous duties or tariffs in existence which might place that serve as an obstacle to growth," the hospitality lawyer said.
Finally, Webb suggests, other needed support structures include a strong judicial system that can handle grievances; whether or not the costs of inputs - for example, food and utilities - are too expensive to operate a resort, and the existence of a political regime which is democratic and stable.
"Based on my many trips to Jamaica - representing Half Moon Resort in MoBay for many years - Jamaica easily satisfies most of these factors," said the ARDA executive.
"However, timesharing will not catch on in Jamaica without a focused, meaningful timeshare law that enables the product to flourish and that protects both developers and consumers."
Webb, who in May 2011, was an ARDA delegation member and presenter at the Jamaican Ministry of Tourism's annual Hospitality Outlook Forum at Half Moon, said he heard from many Jamaican hotel owners who were interested in the creation of a Jamaican timeshare law that would allow them to tap into this international demand for Caribbean timeshare experiences.
"My ARDA colleagues and I encouraged the Government to design a realistic timeshare law that would facilitate the conversion of hotel rooms into timeshare units, and we offered our assistance in helping to draft such a law. That offer still stands," Webb said.