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Recently, I spent some time flipping through back
issues of Vacation Industry Review. This exercise
made plain that some topics are perennial: the
increasing role of technology, that change is a con-
stant, our need to resolve the resale conundrum. In
particular, I focused on the columns from 2008 and
2009, and what a significant sea change was sparked
by events that occurred nearly a decade ago.
In the January – March 2008 issue, I wrote,
“We’re in for an interesting year.” Did I get that right!
By 2009, I was reflecting on the worldwide finan-
cial crisis that earned the well-deserved appellation,
The Great Recession. As resilient as the industry
has always been to economic downturns, we can’t
deny that this one put us to the test like no other.
Happily, almost 10 years later, we can say with
confidence that vacation ownership has emerged
with new determination and vigor. Here are some of
the vital signs:
A Winning Streak
The U.S. timeshare industry experienced its seventh
consecutive year of growth in 2016. That’s accord-
ing to the State of the Vacation Timeshare Industry:
United States Study 2017 Edition. From a plunge to
US$6.3 billion in sales revenue in 2009, we wrapped
up 2016 at a robust US$9.2 billion. Worldwide, the
industry enjoyed US$19.7 billion in sales in 2015,
an increase of 11.5 percent over 2014, as reported
in the 2016 Worldwide Shared Vacation Ownership
Report. Today, there are nearly 5,400 shared vaca-
tion ownership resorts in 121 countries.
How did we get to this undeniably sunnier spot?
In a nutshell, the industry adapted. In the April –
June 2010 issue of Vacation Industry Review, I
noted that the economic debacle was a wake-up
call, a challenge to examine our approaches, to
develop services and products that better meet
the changing demands of vacationers, to seek
ways to operate more efficiently. Indeed, many of
us heeded that call.
Reshaping the Timeshare Terrain
There were other changes: A wave of consolida-
tions, reorganizations, spinoffs, and IPOs — ILG
among them — helped reshape the timeshare
terrain further. ILG was formed after Interval
International® separated from its parent company,
IAC, in 2008. The new public entity subsequently
acquired a number of companies; among them,
Hyatt Vacation Ownership in 2014 and Vistana™
Signature Experiences in 2016.
Following ILG, three other industry leaders
became stand-alone, publicly traded companies,
including Marriott Vacations Worldwide and Hilton
Grand Vacations, while most recently Wyndham
Resorts announced the separation of its time-
share and hotel businesses. This movement is a
good thing — it sends a clear message that vaca-
tion ownership is a solid and credible industry,
recognized and lauded by Wall Street, and bol-
stering interest among investors.
Welcome New Development
Not only are sales revenues and other metrics telling
a positive story, the growing number of new builds
further buttresses optimism. One of the outcomes
of the continued consolidations and reorgs has
been an unshackling of capital constraints, which
has stimulated new development. In the U.S., more
than 2,600 new vacation ownership units were
built from 2014 to 2016. And the 2016 Worldwide
Shared Vacation Ownership Report indicates that,
globally, the industry was on track to add 91 new
resorts by the end of 2017.
Vistana Signature Experiences opened two
new resorts in 2017: The Westin Nanea Ocean
Villas on Maui, Hawaii, and The Westin Los Cabos
Resort Villas & Spa in Los Cabos, Mexico. The
Hyatt Residence Club Maui, Ka’anapali Beach
opened at the end of 2014. Other branded hos-
pitality companies and independent developers
in the U.S., Caribbean, South America, and other
places are also adding resorts, turning the world
timeshare map into a blossoming of new vaca-
tion opportunities.
All the Stronger
On another note, as we go to press, those in the
Caribbean and areas of the southeastern U.S. and
Texas are in the early stages of hurricane recovery.
Although we in the Greater Miami area are grate-
ful that the damage — though significant — was
not as severe as anticipated, the loss of life and
property here and in other regions cannot be
understated. Times of crisis tend to bring out the
best in people, however, and I am heartened by
the many examples — including among our ILG
staff — of kindness, compassion, and sacrifice
in helping others under the most stressful con-
ditions. And there’s no doubt in my mind that
those in our industry affected by such disasters
will recover, rebuild, and be all the stronger for the
challenges we’ve experienced.
4
VIEWPOINT
BY
Craig M. Nash
CHAIRMAN,
PRESIDENT, AND CEO
ILG
Vital Signs
OCTOBER – DECEMBER 2017 VACATION INDUSTRY REVIEW
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