What Is The Average Age Of a Timeshare Owner?
The stereotypical timeshare owner in most people’s mind is the quintessential ‘empty nester’, looking for somewhere warm to go for the winter months and join the flocks of snow birders in resort-centric towns closer to the equator. The face of timeshare owners has changed dramatically since the 90s, and you may be surprised to learn that this stereotype doesn’t hold up in the 2020s.
The fact is, every year the average age of timeshare owners drops. In 2020 the average age of timeshare owners was 44 years, and in 2022, the average age of owners was 39 years old. Not exactly retirees. The majority of today’s timeshare owners have young children and are using their diverse options of timeshare destinations for family vacations. (1,2)
The timeshare demographic is changing rapidly, and this is largely due to the evolution of the timeshare itself. Larger timeshare companies offer families the option to vacation somewhere new every year. By participating in a ‘club’ like setup, larger timeshares such as Marriott and Hilton offer their members luxurious vacation destinations around the world.
The Evolution Of The Timeshare Has Given Birth To A Younger Clientele
The demographic of timeshare owners has changed as timeshares have evolved into the membership ‘point system’. Earlier in the evolution of timeshares you owned a specific part of a building in one location. Now owners can essentially join a club, choose from many locations and times of the year, provided they only vacation at club owned resorts.
The points system has attracted a generally well educated person with 23 % having graduate degrees, and 72 % as college graduates. (1) These younger, well educated folks, are also averaging an income of $90,000 a year, according to timeshares.com.
In addition to owners of timeshares being younger, they are for the most part all parents. 79 % of timeshare owners today are parents. This means that most timeshares are used and owned by young families looking to vacation away from their busy lives.
Why Are So Many Young Families Timeshare Owners?
Two parents working full time and busy schedules means that these families need to carve out time to spend with each other. Unlike a fly by your seat road trip, traveling to a resort and timeshare that you have already paid for keeps a lot of the unknowns off the agenda.
Busy young families are looking to travel to a variety of places around the world within their chosen club such as Hyatt, Wyndham, Marriott, or Hilton to enjoy all inclusive vacations with the family. This means that while you may vacation in Hawaii one year, you could also choose to vacation at a European ski resort another without spending too much time on sorting out the details of the trip.
Most of the planning is just about making time in their schedules. These young families can book a vacation from their bought and paid points to wherever they want to go and whenever they have time to do it.
It appears that there is a direct correlation between the flexibility of the points system and the younger demographic choosing to become timeshare owners.
Sources cited:
- https://www.timeshare.com/us/en/resources/timeshare-ownership/timeshare-owners-surprising-qualities
- https://www.hiltongrandvacations.com/en/plan-your-vacation/benefits-of-timeshare/are-there-benefits-to-buying-a-timeshare-in-this-day-and-age
- https://www.arda.org/news-communications/timeshare-industry-basics/us-timeshare-industry-numbers
