Interval International’s latest survey of its US members reveals almost a third of timeshare owners are thinking about upgrading or increasing their vacation ownership in the future

Fractional properties appeal to different buyers for different reasons. From entry level shares for a few weeks’ ownership a year for under £10,000, to quarter shares in five star converted-castle- in-Tuscany style residences, there’s a fractional to suit most pockets.

Before a buyer commits, understanding fractional ownership can be a new lesson for even the fairly seasoned overseas property buyer – it’s a sophisticated product, quite a simple concept, and ultimately a very unique model of home ownership -- so familiarity with this model is important.

A few months ago, Seasons Holidays announced that its Forest Hills fractional homes in Spain near Marbella had completely sold out. Part of its success was the number of Seasons’ timeshare owners keen to get a foot in the fractional door and buy from a company they were already happy with. Familiar with the resort and its amenities, they were delighted to have the opportunity to buy a share of the apartments on offer and own a slice of a property in a beautiful location in southern Spain at a price point they could afford.

Darren Ettridge, VP of Resort Sales and Services EMEA at Interval International says, “Given that our US members report a high level of satisfaction with their timeshare ownership, it makes sense they could be open to purchasing fractional offerings. In fact we’ve seen companies such as Seasons Holidays in the UK successfully upgrade existing timeshare owners to fractional ownership.”

Interval International’s US resident membership base reports high levels of household income, travels approximately 23 nights per year solely for leisure purposes, and takes about four leisure trips annually, according to Ettridge and all of the above are attributes sought by fractional and private residence club developers and marketers.

The survey revealed that the average US Interval timeshare owner earns $125,700 a year and 23% of members earn over $150,000 per annum. The most popular international destination for Interval’s American timeshare owners is the Caribbean, favoured by 59% of members, followed by Europe (37%), Canada (36%) and Mexico (33%).