Monday, November 21, 2005
Florida Tops Nation In Timeshare Developments
Florida's timeshare industry leads the nation, according to a study released Wednesday.
The state is the site of 366 timeshare developments with 27,700 units, said the study done by a consulting firm.
Timeshares are units at a vacation resort that are sold like real estate for a specific period of time each year, typically a week. Buyers share their unit with owners of other time periods the rest of the year. Units can usually be exchanged for stays at other timeshare resorts.
Florida accounted for 21 percent of the nation's timeshare inventory in 2002, the year studied by PricewaterhouseCoopers. The study was commissioned by the research arm of the American Resort Developers and Real Estate Association.
That far outpaces the second state on the list, South Carolina.
But visitors to Hawaii timeshares spent more than in Florida, and therefore support more jobs. The study attributed the presence of 59,300 jobs in Florida to timeshares, and said $2.3 billion was spent in 2002 directly by visitors.
On average, a party visiting a Florida timeshare includes 3.8 people who spend nearly $2,400 and 7.2 nights at the resort.
"Timeshare purchases, combined with other expenditures and owner and guest spending during vacation, generate tremendous income as well as a ripple effect through other parts of the state's economy and real estate," said Pricewaterhouse partner Scott Berman.
Visitors to timeshares in Hawaii spend an average of $5,056 per party. "Hawaii is a more expensive place to travel to," said Adam Schwartz, a spokesman for Fairfield Resorts, an Orlando-based timeshare firm that has four properties in South Florida.
The number of timeshare units in Florida is more than double runner-up South Carolina, which has 12,100 units. California is third with 11,900 units.
Other states included in the study were Arizona, Nevada and Virginia.
The state is the site of 366 timeshare developments with 27,700 units, said the study done by a consulting firm.
Timeshares are units at a vacation resort that are sold like real estate for a specific period of time each year, typically a week. Buyers share their unit with owners of other time periods the rest of the year. Units can usually be exchanged for stays at other timeshare resorts.
Florida accounted for 21 percent of the nation's timeshare inventory in 2002, the year studied by PricewaterhouseCoopers. The study was commissioned by the research arm of the American Resort Developers and Real Estate Association.
That far outpaces the second state on the list, South Carolina.
But visitors to Hawaii timeshares spent more than in Florida, and therefore support more jobs. The study attributed the presence of 59,300 jobs in Florida to timeshares, and said $2.3 billion was spent in 2002 directly by visitors.
On average, a party visiting a Florida timeshare includes 3.8 people who spend nearly $2,400 and 7.2 nights at the resort.
"Timeshare purchases, combined with other expenditures and owner and guest spending during vacation, generate tremendous income as well as a ripple effect through other parts of the state's economy and real estate," said Pricewaterhouse partner Scott Berman.
Visitors to timeshares in Hawaii spend an average of $5,056 per party. "Hawaii is a more expensive place to travel to," said Adam Schwartz, a spokesman for Fairfield Resorts, an Orlando-based timeshare firm that has four properties in South Florida.
The number of timeshare units in Florida is more than double runner-up South Carolina, which has 12,100 units. California is third with 11,900 units.
Other states included in the study were Arizona, Nevada and Virginia.
# posted by John @ 7:06 AM 
