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Timeshare Management: The Key Issues
of Hospitality Managers
This page intentionally left blank
Timeshare Management: The Key
Issues of Hospitality Managers

Tammie J. Kaufmann
Conrad Lashley
Lisa Ann Schreier

AMSTERDAM $ BOSTON $ HEIDELBERG $ LONDON $ NEW YORK $ OXFORD $ PARIS $ SAN DIEGO $
SAN FRANCISCO $ SINGAPORE $SYDNEY $ TOKYO
Butterworth-Heinemann is an imprint of Elsevier
Butterworth-Heinemann is an imprint of Elsevier
Linacre House, Jordan Hill, Oxford OX2 8DP, UK
30 Corporate Drive, Suite 400, Burlington, MA 01803, USA
First edition 2009
Copyright Ó 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any
form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the
prior written permission of the publisher.
Permissions may be sought directly from Elsevier’s Science & Technology Rights Department in
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material
Notice
No responsibility is assumed by the publisher for any injury and/or damage to persons or
property as a matter of products liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any use or operation of
any methods, products, instructions or ideas contained in the material herein.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress
ISBN: 978-0-75-068599-3
Printed and bound in the United Kingdom
09 10 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

For information on all Butterwoth-Heinemann

publications visit our website at books.elsevier.com
Contents

CHAPTER 1 Vacation ownership resort development: an overview

An introduction of vacation ownership and its history
Introduction ................................................................................ 1
Timeshare Evolving...................................................................... 2
The Evolving Timeshare Service.................................................... 5
Evolving Legal Approaches ........................................................... 6
Exchange Services....................................................................... 7
Resale ........................................................................................ 9
Resort Management................................................................... 10
Movements and Developments.................................................... 11
Summary .................................................................................. 14

CHAPTER 2 The Vacation Owner

An overview of the demographics of vacation owners and
comparisons to the traditional hotel guest
Introduction .............................................................................. 15
Timeshare Locations.................................................................. 16
Timeshare Market Segmentation................................................. 20
Summary .................................................................................. 28

CHAPTER 3 The Community

A look at to the impact vacation ownership resorts have
on the community
Introduction .............................................................................. 29
Impacts of the Vacation Ownership Industry ................................ 30
Timeshare Owner Impact and Visitor Behaviour ............................ 32
Employment Impact of the Timeshare Industry ............................ 38
Summary .................................................................................. 41

v
vi Contents

CHAPTER 4 Marketing Vacation Ownership Resorts

Evaluate the proper application of marketing theory in the
vacation ownership industry
Introduction .............................................................................. 43
The Marketing Mix..................................................................... 44
Marketing Timeshare ................................................................. 45
Vacation Ownership Marketing Practices...................................... 48
Owner Referral Program ............................................................. 53
Summary .................................................................................. 57

CHAPTER 5 Sales
Evaluate current sales practices
Introduction .............................................................................. 59
The 12-Step Sales Process......................................................... 60
Summary .................................................................................. 71

CHAPTER 6 The Sales Process: Later Stages

Introduction .............................................................................. 73
Presentation and Uncovering of Problems.................................... 74
Property Viewing........................................................................ 79
Summary .................................................................................. 87

CHAPTER 7 Points vs. Weeks

Explain the difference between points and weeks. Examine
both and how they are used effectively
Introduction .............................................................................. 89
Fixed Timeshare Weeks.............................................................. 90
Home Resorts ........................................................................... 94
Summary ................................................................................ 102

CHAPTER 8 The Role of the Exchange company

Share information about exchange companies and their
role in the vacation ownership industry
Introduction ............................................................................ 103
History of the Exchange Companies .......................................... 104
Resorts Condominium International .......................................... 104
How Do RCI Points Work? ........................................................ 109
Interval International ............................................................... 109
Boutique Exchange Companies ................................................. 114
Summary ................................................................................ 117
 Contents vii

CHAPTER 9 Financing in the Timeshare Industry

Explain types of financing involved in developing vacation
ownership resorts Explain types of financing consumer’s employ
when purchasing and the resorts involvement
Introduction ............................................................................ 119
Developer Financing ................................................................ 120
Consumer Financing ................................................................ 124
Summary ................................................................................ 126

CHAPTER 10 Service Quality Mangement

Application of service theory to the vacation ownership industry
Introduction ............................................................................ 127
Timeshare Service Quality ........................................................ 130
Service Quality Management Systems ....................................... 133
Quality Management and Timeshare Operations ......................... 137
Total Quality Unit Management ................................................ 138
Hospitableness........................................................................ 141
Summary ................................................................................ 143

CHAPTER 11 Human Resources

Explanation of unique issues and career opportunities within
vacation ownership
Introduction ............................................................................ 145
Hospitality and Hospitableness................................................. 147
Emotional Dimensions of Hospitality and Tourism Service........... 150
Empowering Service Excellence ................................................ 153
Managing as Though People Matter........................................... 157
Summary ................................................................................ 165

CHAPTER 12 Condominium Hotels

Introduction of the concept of condominium hotels: reasons
behind the growth and comparisons to traditional vacation
ownership properties
Introduction ............................................................................ 167
Condominium Hotels ............................................................... 168
Growth in Foreign Interest and Brands....................................... 172
Financing Condominium Hotels ................................................ 176
Summary ................................................................................ 181
Appendix ................................................................................ 181
viii Contents

CHAPTER 13 Vacation ownership expansion

Explore the growth of vacation ownership into other segments
Introduction ............................................................................ 185
Fractionals.............................................................................. 186
Summary ................................................................................ 192
Acknowledgments

I would like to thank my family that supported my dreams (Alan, Celeste,

Jeff, Julie, Pam, John, Austin, Smylie, Francie, Luckie, and Sarah). I would
like to thank my graduate school advisor, Pamela Weaver that molded me
kicking and screaming into an academic. I would not be here without her
guidance. I would like to thank my chosen family in Orlando that coaxed me
along this journey and made me feel that I could accomplish this goal and
distracted me when I needed to get away from writing (Kimberly, Randy,
Dave, Denver, Duncan, Rose and Bill Jackson, and fortunately for me this list
is too long to include everyone). Finally, thank you Conrad and Lisa Ann you
have been a terrific team.
Tammie Kaufman

Writing this book has truly been a collaborative effort. Thanks to both
Conrad and Tammie for allowing me to contribute and to Sarah, Sunita and
everyone at Elsevier for seeing the need for this textbook and their assistance
in getting in published. I’d also like to thank those individuals within the
timeshare industry who encouraged me to learn and be a catalyst for positive
change. On a personal note, thanks to my family and friends for putting up
with yet another timeshare endeavour. Finally, to the students and other
readers of this textbook may it educate and enlighten you and open up
a world of possibilities for you.
Lisa Ann Schreier

ix
This page intentionally left blank
FOREWORD

After working through the foreword you should:

 Understand timeshare service
 Recognise the similarities and differences faced by the timeshare sector
 Understand the structure of this book and the approach taken to the
study of timeshare services
Understanding Timeshare
Timeshare is a relatively recent business format supporting hospitality and
tourism services. Put simply, timeshare formats allow customers to access
the right to accommodation within and between countries. The timeshare
owner buys accommodation of a certain quality for a given period of time.
There are a number of different schemes but the most simple and original
format involves the timeshare owner buying the right to stay in particular
lodge or apartment in the same resort for a fixed week each year. Rather than
buying the lodge or apartment, the timeshare owner buys a part of it which
allows them to use the unit for an agreed amount of time each year.
In many ways, the timeshare approach recognises the fears and uncertainties
involved in travel, particularly when undertaken internationally. Timeshare
enables travellers to return regularly to a place they know and love, and to
a property that represents their home away from home. For some it involves
holidaying in an area or country from which they originate, but now live
permanently elsewhere. For others, timeshare is simply establishing a home
from home in a location that is attractive to the owner. Whilst this ‘home
from home’ set of motives are still important for many owners, there has
been, over recent years, a growing interest more flexible packages which
either do not tie the buyer into a particular location, or are linked to extensive
exchange networks which allow owners in one location to swap their weeks
to another resort, within countries and across international borders.
As a new business format, the popular image of timeshare has had its ups and
downs. In some cases, rogue traders using high pressure selling techniques
have created a bad media image of timeshare sales. Complaints from buyers,
or would be buyers, about misleading information, and sales presentations
that used bullying tactics helped to create an early impression that timeshare
was somehow based on a scam or dodgy at best. In response to some of
these early concerns, industry in the USA and Europe have set up trade xi
xii Foreword

associations which lay down some minimal trading standards to which

member companies have to adhere. One important recommendation has
been to a minimum ‘cooling off’ period during which ‘would be buyers’ are
able to formally withdraw from a previously signed agreement. In some cases,
individual US states, and the European Union have imposed minimum
cooling off periods. In addition to these organisational and legislative
attempts to provide more consumer protection, many of the larger hotel
companies have now entered the timeshare market. Firms like Marriott,
Hilton and De Vere now own considerable portfolios of timeshare properties.
Frequently they will develop new sites and resorts with a mixture of hotel and
timeshare properties. These firms have pressed for more professional oper-
ating standards, as dissatisfied timeshare customers would reflect badly on
their hotel operations.
This book aims to provide an introduction to the study of timeshare business
operations. It is written with both students and industry practitioners in
mind, and focuses on the practical aspects of the timeshare business. The text
starts with an overview of the timeshare business, origins and growth as well
as developments and trends. It shows that timeshare properties are located in
around 100 countries. Ownership is also global, but very much concentrated
in just three countries. The USA, Germany and the United Kingdom between
are home to over 60 per cent of the world’s timeshare owners. The commu-
nication chapter follows these chapters which establish ownerships patterns
and trends, shows how the patterns of ownership vary and change over time.
The next three chapters explore the marketing of timeshare and changes in
the approach to marketing timeshare followed by a detail discussion of sales
presentations to interested clients. The next three chapters explore some of
the practical mechanics in various formats that timeshare can take, together
with the role of exchange companies and financing arrangements used by
different organisations. Service quality management and the management of
human resources, as essential elements of the customer offer, are the subject
of the next two chapters. The last two chapters explore variations in the
accommodation sector by discussing the development of condominium
hotels and other developments in the timeshare model.
As an introductory study in timeshare the book is written in a simple style
with some references and academic structures, but these are kept to
a minimum. The book is also written in a way that encourages the reader to
be actively involved in the reading process. Case studies and concrete
examples are provided throughout the book. The use of reflective practise
sections also invite the reader to stop and think about the implications of
what has just been discussed. Key learning points aim to reinforce learning
taking place. The book, therefore, introduces the topic of timeshare, but it
also aims to introduce the reader to academic study and style.
The dominant learning style of readers is also one important consideration
by the authors. Prior research shows that many of the readers are likely to
 Foreword xiii

have a learning style which is know as Activist according the work of Honey
and Mumford (1983). Without wishing to run through the whole model it is
worth reiterating that Activist learners learn best by doing and feeling, and
talking with others. They rely more on intuition than on analysis. They need
to see the practical application of knowledge. They enjoy here and now
activities, such as business games, teamwork tasks and role-plays. They are
particularly keen to learn by ‘doing’, and typically find theoretical approaches
difficult. They are attracted to ‘people’ industries and like active involve-
ment. They work well with others. They will try new ideas. They like variety
and excitement. However, they experience difficulties that many experienced
educators will recognise. They rarely plan their actions. They rush into
answers, and in examination situations may run out of time because they
spend too much time on the early questions. They tend not to put effort into
topics are not of interest and they often leave things to the last minute.
For the purposes of this book, and for future activities, we suggest that the
process of learning needs to move through the stages outline on Kolb’s
model. Active experience need to be followed by reflection including the
critical evaluation of the experience ; and consideration of how these expe-
riences inform or adapt theoretical understanding; and how this might
inform future actions, hence, the approach taken in the book. We wish to
encourage effective learning by ensuring that the reading process actively
engages reflections and critical thinking. We hope, therefore, that the book is
instructive and enjoyable,
Conrad Lashley,
Tammie Kaufman,
Lisa Ann Schreier
This page intentionally left blank
 CHAPTER 1

Vacation Ownership Resort

Development: An Overview

After working through this chapter, you should be able to

- Understand the concept of timeshare offer
- Understand that the operations cover a variety of facilities and services
- Recognize that timeshare offers have evolved and changed over time
- Understand that new entrants into the market have increased the
professionalism of the sector

INTRODUCTION CONTENTS
The timeshare industry is one of the newest and fastest growing sectors of Introduction
the international hospitality and tourism experience. Although known as
Timeshare Evolving
vacation ownership in some quarters, timeshare is the most widely used term
to describe the purchase of time periods in locations of choice. The original The Evolving
model involved buying set weeks in a given accommodation in a specific Timeshare Service
resort, though this model has now been adapted and amended. Evolving Legal
The timeshare industry first emerged significantly in Europe in the Approaches
1960s. One of the earliest examples emerged in a skiing resort in France. The
Exchange Services
skiers were wanting to ensure guaranteed accommodation for skiing. Prop-
erty owners found that they could sell their rights to have access to the same Resale
accommodation across the year. Very soon, various US resorts began to sell Resort Management
timeshare weeks in their resorts. Since the 1970s, timeshare has evolved
through different international resort locations and resort types, number of Movements and
resorts, number of owners and variations in the nature of the timeshare offer.
Developments

Timeshare Management
Summary
Copyright Ó 2009 by Elsevier Inc. All rights of reproduction in any form reserved. 1
2 C H A P T ER 1 : Vacation Ownership Resort Development: An Overview

TIMESHARE EVOLVING
Timeshare evolved as a form of second home ownership with limited rights
of access, and also relieved the timeshare owner of the full annual costs of
maintaining the property because it is shared with other owners over the
year. The term ‘timeshare’ includes ‘time’ and ‘share’ indicating that the
approach, in principle, involves sharing time in a given space. Consumer
motives and segmentation are discussed more fully in Chapter 2, but since
their introduction in skiing villages in France and in Switzerland, time share
can be found for a range of resorts across the globe. Table 1.1 lists the
different types of resorts in which various forms of timeshare offers are
found. Each resort offers a number of different benefits which are likely to
appeal to differing lifestyles.
In fact, the first timeshare operation was begun in the 1950s in Europe by
a Swiss company known as Hapimag. They sold shares in their hotel and
used the proceeds to buy holiday accommodation across Europe. The
‘shareholders’ had the right to use these properties on a regular basis.
- The benefits to the shareholder are that they can get regular access
to properties which they know and trust.
- They are aware of the quality and service standards, as well as the
location.
- The hotelier is able to raise capital with which to expand.
- The hotelier overcomes problems relating to accommodation – the
space is sold even if the individual timeshare does not materialise that
year.

Table 1.1 Timeshare Resort Types

Resort Type

Seaside/ocean
Regional
Golf
Snow/ski
Lake/river
Urban
Theme park
Casino/gambling
Other

Source: Ernst & Young, 2006:15

 Timeshare Evolving 3

In the 1970s, US property developers were going through a crisis and were
looking for innovative ways to sell properties. The fact that they were selling
properties in a way that opened up property purchase to a larger number of
people meant that there were more buyers. They had to increase and change
marketing and sales activities, because they were now selling the same
apartment 52 times each week of the year. Most importantly, they released
the capital value of the property for further property development.

Key point 1.1

Timeshare evolved in the latter part of the twentieth century to provide a form of
holiday resort ownership based on the purchase of time periods.

At a similar time, timeshare owners in the US began to swap and

exchange visits to different resorts, first on an informal basis, but later this
resulted in the formation of Resort Condominiums International (RCI) as an
organization devoted to enabling exchanges. Later, Interval International (II)
was created also enabling exchanges of weeks and resorts among timeshare
owners.

Reflective practice 1.1

a] Consider what the strengths and weaknesses of owning a timeshare property
might be.
b] Consider the strengths and weaknesses from the resort developer’s perspective.

Independently of these developments in the USA, timeshare began to

develop in the UK, France, Italy and in Scandinavia. Initially, the majority of
sales were to British citizens buying properties in their favourite resort
destinations in Spain. Europe is now the second largest timeshare market in
the world after the USA. Table 1.2 provides an overview of estimates of the
world market based on the number of resorts.
The point to note here is that these figures are taken for slightly different
time periods, as it is difficult to get hold of accurate up-to-date figures for
global timeshare resorts, and even the European figures are somewhat out of
date. However, they do show that the majority of timeshare resorts are
located in the USA and Europe, and that most timeshare owners are located
in the same two continents. Using these figures, 70 per cent of timeshare
resorts are located in the USA or in Europe and the OTE (2002: 9) states that
some 74 percent are resident in the two continents.
4 C H A P T ER 1 : Vacation Ownership Resort Development: An Overview

Table 1.2 Estimates of the Number of Timeshare Resorts

Global Number of Resorts Resorts Based in the USA Resorts Based in Europe

4325 1604 1452

Source: see Chapter 2, Table 2.1

In the early stages, most timeshare development companies were inde-

pendents, and sales techniques were not always ethical. High pressure
selling, and some instances of fraudulent selling meant that the industry
developed a dodgy reputation. However, this began to change when some of
the larger property development and international hotel chains began to
enter the market. Table 1.3 lists some of the recent entrants into the time-
share market in Europe.
As more corporate players have entered the field, there has been an
increasing concern to tidy up the trading practices of timeshare operators.
Sales techniques in particular have been a major focus. Allowing a cooling-off
period between the sales presentation and acceptance and final confirmation
has been a particular concern in many countries. The OTE’s Code of Ethics
requires all members to build in a period between signing a contract to
purchasing a timeshare interval, and the agreement becoming binding;
typically in the EU this is about 10 days. In the USA, this is called ‘Rescission
rights’, that is, the right to withdraw from a signed contract within a fixed
period.
Both the American Resort Development Association and the Organiza-
tion Timeshare Europe have developed codes of practice binding on mem-
bers. Apart from the requirements for ‘rescission periods’ or cooling-off

Table 1.3 Recent Entrants into the Timeshare Market

Timeshare Companies Main Business Country of Origin

Barratt Group Property developer Britain

Metro Group Supplies and property Germany
Club Mediterrannee Resorts France
Berlusconi Group Conglomerate Italy
Sol Hotel Group Hotels France
Hilton Hotels Britain/USA
De Vere Group Hotels UK
Disney Resorts USA
TUI Resorts Britain
 The Evolving Timeshare Service 5

period most of these codes tread a line between trying not to stifle genuine
entrepreneurial activity and protecting potential owners from high pressure
or dishonest selling. In principle, they offer a code of conduct which sets
baseline standards to protect reputable firms from the antics of some rogue
traders but which do not restrict free enterprise. Hence, they are almost
exclusively concerned with the protection of potential timeshare owners
and rarely consider other interest groups such as employees, or the local
communities in which resorts are located (Upchurch & Lashley, 2007).

Key point 1.2

As timeshare has grown, trade bodies have developed to represent the sector and these
bodies have developed codes of practice protecting consumer interests which are
binding on their members.

THE EVOLVING TIMESHARE SERVICE

In the early stages, time share owners bought a fixed week in a fixed property
unit (fully appointed luxury apartment, villa, cottage or suite) for a fixed
week(s) in high, medium, or low season bands in a given resort. This is
described in Table 1.4 as ‘Fixed unit/fixed interval’.
Over the years, more flexibility has been built into the offer to consumers.
- The ‘Fixed unit/float interval’ involves purchase of a time period
in a fixed unit, but this might float with regard to week(s) taken,
though these are likely to be taken at high, medium or low season.
- In some cases, timeshare owners buy a set period of time but are not tied
into availing themselves of that period in the same unit, or in the same
resort. These are referred to as a ‘Float unit/fixed interval’ in the table.

Table 1.4 Variations in the Timeshare Arrangement

Fixed unit/fixed interval
Fixed unit/float interval
Float unit/fixed interval
Fixed unit/float season
Float unit/float season
Points

Source: Ernst & Young, 2006:15

6 C H A P T ER 1 : Vacation Ownership Resort Development: An Overview

- A small number of timeshare relationships (see Chapter 2) involve

having access to a fixed unit in different seasons. Typically, the
purchase of a high season week may result in access to several weeks in
the low season – referred to as a ‘Fixed unit/float season’ in Table 1.4.
- One of the more flexible arrangements for owners involves a ‘Float
unit/float season’ whereby the arrangement allows timeshare owners
to vary between units, resorts and seasons.
- Finally, the ultimately flexible offer allows for the consumer to buy
enough ‘points’ to meet vacation needs. Disney was one of the first to
introduce the vacation club based on the purchase of points. This allows
the timeshare owner to purchase enough points to vary the
accommodation size in bedrooms or in seasons, or number of weeks
used.

Reflective practice 1.2

a] Consider the strengths and weaknesses of each of the above arrangements from the
timeshare consumer’s perspective.
b] How might these arrangements suit the needs of different kinds of timeshare
consumers?
c] Consider the strengths and weaknesses from the resort developer’s perspective.

Key point 1.3

The timeshare offer to consumers has evolved over time as some consumers have
asked for more flexibility in the timeshare experience.

EVOLVING LEGAL APPROACHES

Given the somewhat unusual nature of the timeshare unit purchaser and
the resort owner, a number of models for handling the legal relationship
have emerged. The three most common types of conveyance are (a) deeded
interests, (b) right to use, and (c) leasehold agreements.
1] Under a deeded interest method of conveyance, the purchaser
receives a title for the real property that is being purchased from the
timeshare developer. The unit owner, in effect, buys the right to use
 Exchange Services 7

that unit (apartment, etc.) in perpetuity. Like any bought object, it is

the owner’s rights to use it in perpetuity, sell it on and pocket the
proceeds and leave it to others as part of the estate, when the owner
dies. In effect, the resort developer sells the ownership of various time
periods for each unit.
2] The right-to-use type of conveyance is not associated with deeding
of the underlying real property to the purchaser; instead, the
individual is given contractual rights to use the timeshare facilities for
a specified period of time. Usually, this would involve the interval
purchased, say one week, but for time periods limited in the
agreement, say 25 years.
3] A leasehold agreement is similar to a right-to-use contract in that the
purchaser holds a leasehold interest or other interest of less than a full
ownership interest. In practical terms, this means that the purchaser
has the right to inhabit the timeshare unit for a specified period of
time, and at the termination of the lease, the property reverts to the
timeshare developer. Typically, the time period concerned is shorter
than with a right-to-use agreement.
Irrespective of the precise legal nature of the agreement, in effect the time-
share consumer is usually known as the owner. Any given developer can
build and sell an individual unit for 51 or 52 weeks out of a year, depending
on whether a week is held out for general maintenance purposes. Timeshare
offers are unique in both the hospitality and tourism sector and the property
ownership sector. In hotels, and in the accommodation sector, individuals
pay to use the unit for a specific time period, but this does not imply
ownership nor does it enable the guest to claim user rights over the same
time period.

Key point 1.4

A timeshare owner’s legal rights to the property vary according to the nature of the contract
established at the point of the initial sale. Not all agreements allow the owner to sell or
bequeath the property to heirs.

EXCHANGE SERVICES
Whilst there are clearly different motives for owning a timeshare interval
(see Chapter 2) many owners are attracted to timeshare ownership because
8 C H A P T ER 1 : Vacation Ownership Resort Development: An Overview

there are opportunities to exchange their interval at one of a number of

national or international resorts. Paradoxically, timeshare owners are buying
the right to access another home, but many do not want to be tied down to
just one location. That said, there are many who like the idea of returning to
the same location in the same week each year. However, for many, the
exchange allows the purchaser of one vacational period in a given resort for
the use of a vacant accommodation owned by someone at another time and/
or in another resort.
In most cases, a resort when developed becomes affiliated with one of the
major exchange companies which organizes the exchange transactions for
resort owners. In most resorts, this opportunity to exchange the bought
location and time period for another location or time period is the funda-
mental aspect of the offer. In fact, most developers will pay for the first year of
a two-year membership of the exchange company.
Two major organizations dominate the global vacation (timeshare)
exchange business:
- II is based in Miami, FL, and
- RCI has headquarters offices in Carmel, IN, and Parsippany, NJ.
RCI is the bigger organization with more affiliated resorts, consumers
serviced, a larger stock of weeks, as well as a larger number of confirmed
exchanges (ARDA, 2002). Collectively, these two exchange companies
service almost 6000 resorts with over four million members worldwide
(ARDA, 2002:181).
The exchange system allows timeshare owners to potentially trade their
interval for a similar interval in another resort within the exchange
organization’s books. Vacant units are not automatically made available to
exchange; the owner must formally put them in the company’s list of week
available. The exchange companies base their charges on entering the
registry. Charges are only made when there is take-up of that unit and that
week at that resort. The transaction fee (in addition to a membership fee) is
only charged when the exchange service is performed. Under a point
system, the interval is put into a programme which allows the member
(typically club members) to exchange the points purchased in a number of
ways.
These exchange organizations do not own resorts. II and RCI affiliate
resorts apply to be members into an exchange network. Given that the ability
to exchange the interval is a potential added benefit for many would-be
timeshare buyers, resort developers sign up their resorts to one or, in a few
cases, both of the exchange agencies. In addition, resort managers
 Resale 9

automatically enrol all buyers in one or in some cases both of the exchange
agencies.

Key point 1.5

Recognizing that many timeshare owners are interested in exchanging their timeshare
experiences, II and RCI have developed as the major international timeshare exchange
agencies.

RESALE
The issue of resale has been something of a complicated matter, and highly
dependent on the legal format of the timeshare arrangement, as discussed
earlier. Under the deed of covenant or fee simple arrangement, the owner has
the right to sell the ownership like any purchased property. Under the right-
to-use arrangement or vacation club (points), no such right may exist. The
initial contract of agreement should clarify the position about resale. Under
most codes of conduct, the sales person is required to clarify these resale
rights, or limitations. ARDA (2002:196) suggests the following as to why
timeshare (vacation) owners may want to sell.
1] Lifestyle change: death, retirement, change in family circumstances,
illness, retirement, change of residential location, children growing
up and moving away.
2] Owner’s death: This may be necessary to liquidate the owner’s assets.
3] Maintenance fee and other assessments: Owners believe that these
ongoing costs of maintaining access to the timeshare property are too
high and beyond their current financial resources.
4] Dissatisfaction with the product: It may be that the purchase and/or
the resort has not lived up to expectations.
5] Profit making: Where the owners can see the growing popularity of
the resort is increasing the market value of the properties in the resort,
they may decide to liquidate the value of the unit and take the profit.
Clearly the most important barrier to resale is the level of demand for
ownership of properties in the resort. Alongside the level of maintenance of
the property this will impact on the perceived value of the unit in comparison
10 C H A P T ER 1 : Vacation Ownership Resort Development: An Overview

to the purchase price. A well-maintained property in a highly sought after

resort will maintain if not increase its resale value and the number of
potential buyers.

Key point 1.6

The right to resell the property is a function of the initial agreement. Where the right exists,
timeshare owners have the same rights to transfer ownership as with any other property.

RESORT MANAGEMENT
The resort developer usually handles the early stages of the resort develop-
ment, whilst the property is still being developed and the selling process is in
the initial phase. After these initial contacts with the resort sales and
marketing team, the owner’s main contacts are with the resort’s property
management company. There are three basic formats:
1] The resort developer can manage the resort properties with
a contractual agreement with the resorts ‘timeshare owners
association’.
2] The timeshare owners association may contract an outside firm to
manage the resort and maintain the properties.
3] The timeshare owners may decide to manage the property internally.
Whichever of these formats is employed, the key focus of the actions is to
ensure that individual properties are kept to their original standard and that
wider resort facilities are both maintained and developed in line with the
resort owner’s expectations and needs. Within the unit, the maintenance
budget will be used to keep the décor up to the standard, equipment serviced
and replaced, as well as maintain all furnishings. Given the potential change
in owners though sales, and the need to attract existing owners to use the
resort as well as attract them from other resorts that are exchanging into the
resort, the development and enhancement of facilities is highly important.
The responsibilities of the timeshare maintenance organization are likely
to include the following:
- The operation of the resort: This would include employing personnel
responsible for hospitality services, housekeeping, recreation and
leisure activities, food and beverage facilities, shops, etc. In other
words, this ensures that the property functions as a resort.
 Movements and Developments 11

- Maintenance and upkeep of the property: This would be a programme

of planned maintenance of the individual units as well as of the resort.
This ensures that individual units are in full working order before each
interval.
In addition, the association undertakes all the budgeting and financial
management necessary to ensure that the resort continues to be maintained
and developed along the lines agreed upon with the timeshare owners.
Typically, the association is controlled collectively by the timeshare owners,
and an annual general meeting of timeshare owners helps set the agenda for
the forthcoming year, reviews the activities of the previous year, generally
holds the management team top account.

Key point 1.6

After the early stages of development, management of the resort usually passes on to
some third party. There are a variety of arrangements, but the management is typically
independent of the resort development, most frequently a body managed by the
timeshare owners as a group.

MOVEMENTS AND DEVELOPMENTS

The timeshare product, as represented by the property built and sold on to
the timeshare owner, has been through significant evolution and change.
Increasing demand from consumers has been, without doubt, a major in-
fluence on designers and resort developers. Would-be owners have been
increasing their expectations of the quality of the final fit and the configu-
ration of the accommodation in each unit. That said, the developers them-
selves, have been instrumental in increasing the quality and luxury of fit as a
means of securing a competitive advantage. In addition, the various regula-
tory bodies in the form of trade bodies, and national and local governments
have had a hand in influencing resort development design.

Property design demands

In the 1970s, many resorts were built around a two bedroom, two bathroom
format. Typically, resort developers were dealing in family formats, and
campus style resort settings. Later, these changed into more luxurious suites,
and the industry began to look to other segments for the design of accom-
modation. Golfers, for example, will be happy with accommodation which
12 C H A P T ER 1 : Vacation Ownership Resort Development: An Overview

requires two couples, though they often require twin beds, so as to maximize
flexibility. Accommodation packages for some market segments are now
including three and four bedroom properties, though the nature of the
resort and the occasionality most used will have an impact on the way the
accommodation is configured. The growth in the number of residential units
coincides with the size of the individual unit from less than 100 square feet to
over 2000 square feet per unit per villa.
The standard configuration for these early campus style structures was
the two to three level condo style structures with surrounding onsite recre-
ational activities. The campus style of timeshare resorts in the 21st century
has gravitated towards townhouses and single-family units with individual
pools. So customers are more interested in owning a property that symbol-
ically represents a second home.
The scale of development has changed considerably over the years. In the
1970s, a resort would typically be considered to be developed if it has about
50 units. Nowadays, resorts may have as many as 900–1000 units. In some
cases, they may contain properties built for timeshare ownership, as well as
a luxury hotel. The economies of scale allow more facilities and services to be
offered to both timeshare and hotel guests. So larger resorts, attracting larger
footfall will offer more choices in restaurant and bar facilities, as well as
a greater range of leisure resources.
In addition to this multi-unit site, developers may aim to stage the
financing and construction of units. Typically, they would be built in phases,
and the next phase of construction does not commence until 50 per cent of
the timeshare property capacity has been sold. Apart from the obvious
advantage of building the next of buildings with capital raised from the sale of
the earlier properties, the sale of units was slower than the time taken to
build them. Sometimes, the configuration of properties constructed assumes
that some properties will be sold for long-term use and these might be con-
structed first. Typically, property let out for a short-term and for timeshare
would be constructed later.
Properties built for overseas consumers may be larger as many who tend
to stay for three to four weeks will require more space for luggage and
personal effects. For example, as many visitors to some of the US beach
resorts live overseas, individual units are bigger.
Bearing in mind the need to both attract timeshare owners and keep
owners art the resort, rather than exchanging their week at the resort for
another resort, resort developers have an interest in creating resort amenities
which leave a lasting impression. Amenities vary according to the type of
resort, the land available and the profile of the typical customer. These might
include all the facilities of a leisure club – indoor and outdoor swimming
 Movements and Developments 13

pools, gymnasium, sauna and steam-room facilities, massage and beauty

therapy facilities, as well as horse riding and pony trekking, boating and
marina facilities, on-site shopping, various gourmet dining facilities, theatre
and club facilities in addition to guided tours and transport facilities to local
attractions.

Evolving industry standards

Whilst the growth of consumer demand enforced an important increase in
expectations of property size, finish and design, the entry of some of the
major branded hotel and resort companies into the resort development
market had an impact. Companies such as Marriott, DeVere, Hilton, Hyatt
and Disney increased property quality because they had vested interest in
protecting their name and improving the quality service experience of their
visitors. Their experiences of the benefits of standardization and trading
credibility meant that they became vociferous advocates for improving
standards.
Perhaps more importantly, however, the two major exchange agencies,
RCI and II, began rating resorts as a way of better informing their customers
wishing to use their exchange services. These systems classify resorts based
on particulars such as ease of guest flow, presence of private sleeping areas,
bathrooms that are accessible without walking through the bedroom; kitchen
amenities are specified based on the size of the unit, and other amenities are
specified as mandatory (e.g., partial or full kitchen, with a coffeemaker, small
refrigerator, microwave, oven, and a four-burner stove. In addition, wet bars,
larger televisions, or VCRs, depending on the unit and market.
The important point is that these point rating systems give customers
a means to evaluate the resorts they might be considering as exchange
locations; also it influences the potential selling price of the intervals being
sold at different resorts. Resort developers and resort maintenance associa-
tions now have material interest in keeping the quality rating at a high level,
as this has an impact on initial purchase rates, as well as on the interest from
would-be exchange clients.

Key point 1.7

Over recent decades, the size and quality of timeshare units have evolved and the size of
resorts has increased. These changes are driven by consumers, the involvement and
named hospitality industry brands as well as by the rating of resorts according to their
facilities and services on offer.
14 C H A P T ER 1 : Vacation Ownership Resort Development: An Overview

SUMMARY
Timeshare, or vacation, ownership involves an emerging array of different
products and services. Traditionally, timeshare meant the purchase of the
ownership of a unit for an agreed interval. In other words, this means buying
the apartment, or villa, for a period of time, typically sold in set weeks over
the year. A timeshare owner bought the right to use the same unit for the
same period each year. Over the last few decades, an increasing number of
timeshare owners have wanted to exchange access to their property for access
to other properties. This resulted in the emergence of organizations such as
the RCI and II specializing in the organization of exchanges. Subsequently,
this has resulted in increasingly flexible arrangements where the owner could
change either weeks, or units, or even both. The most flexible arrangement is
in vacation clubs where owners buy points which can be translated into
different kinds of properties and time slots.
Apart from changes in the design of individual units and resorts, the
timeshare sector has been influenced by a number of actors and agencies.
The emergence of the RCI and II has greatly aided the exchange of intervals
and time slots giving owners more choice in their timeshare experience.
These two organizations have been instrumental in enhancing the quality of
timeshare products and services and through their ranking of resorts
according to the quality provided. In addition, the increasing involvement of
major hospitality accommodation providers has increased demands to
improve the trading standards in the sector. This in turn has resulted in the
American Resort Development Association and Organization Timeshare
Europe being two leading trade associations for the sector.
 CHAPTER 2

The Vacation Owner

After working through this chapter, you should be able to

- understand different techniques for segmenting timeshare customers
- identify current timeshare customer profiles
- discuss models for understanding customer behaviour
- identify the various motives for timeshare ownership

INTRODUCTION
CONTENTS
Although timeshare ownership is a global phenomenon with owners origi-
nating from every inhabited continent, ownership is not evenly spread Introduction
through the world’s population. Timeshare owners originate more frequently Timeshare Locations
from a narrow range of countries. They have a limited demographic profile
Timeshare Market
with different age and social class profiles than the population as a whole. Segmentation
They do not have a single motive for purchasing timeshare experiences. It is
important to understand the profiles and motives of those making timeshare Summary
purchases so that promotional and sales efforts can be better and more
effectively focused on.
This chapter explores some of the dominant characteristics of those who
are owners of timeshare packages, and it puts forward two dominant tech-
niques. The first describes timeshare consumers via their demographic
profile, their age, position in life, family profile and national origins. The
second considers the occasionality being connected when making
Timeshare Management
Copyright Ó 2009 by Elsevier Inc. All rights of reproduction in any form reserved. 15
16 C H A P T ER 2 : The Vacation Owner

a timeshare related purchase. Occasionality is concerned with reasons as to

why purchasers buy into timeshare. In effect, the same consumers may buy
into different timeshare packages because these packages deliver different
timeshare benefits.

TIMESHARE LOCATIONS
Timeshare resorts are predominantly located in major vacation resorts. Table
2.1 gives the latest figures for locations of timeshare resorts, at the time of
writing, in Europe and the USA. These data show that timeshare resorts are
highly concentrated in both regions. In the USA, Florida has the largest
number of resorts – over 25 per cent of the nation’s resorts are in that state. In
Europe, Spain has 35 per cent of all of Europe’s timeshare resorts. Although
to date international data are difficult to come by, ARDA’s (2003) study
suggested that there were 4325 resorts worldwide, and that timeshare resorts
located in Europe and in the USA accounted for 70 per cent of all timeshare
resorts. Between them, Spain in Europe and Florida in the USA account for
over 20 per cent of the timeshare resorts.

Table 2.1 European and US Timeshare Resort Profile

Aggregate Resort Profile Key European Locations* US State Profile**

Location Frequency Location Frequency Location Frequency

Worldwide 4325 Europe 1452 USA 1604

Spain 512 Florida 378
Italy 186
France 142 California 123
UK 139 South Carolina 117
Portugal 124 Hawaii 92
Austria 55
Greece 45 Colorado 77
Turkey 38 North Carolina 55
Germany 38 Nevada 60
Switzerland 37 Missouri 49
Finland 31 Texas 54
Malta 23 All others 553

Source: *Organization Timeshare Europe (2001), The European Timeshare Industry in 2001, London
**Ernst & Young (2006), State of the Vacation Timeshare Industry: US study, ARDA International Foundation
 Timeshare Locations 17

Key learning point 2.1

Timeshare resorts are primarily located in certain geographical areas. The USA and
Europe account for over 70 per cent of all timeshare resorts, with Florida and Spain being
major locations.

Although mainly located in Europe and in the USA, timeshare resorts are
found in 81 countries (OTE, 2001), in Asia, Australia/Oceania, Africa, the
Caribbean, Central America, the Middle East, South America and other parts
of North America (Upchurch & Lashley, 2006). In fact, international time-
share resort sales were reported to be equivalent to $9.4 billion in 2002.
The total number of timeshare units per resort has grown over the years
as timeshare products have evolved. In the USA, the average number of units
(apartments, etc.) was 27 per resort in 1975; by 1990, the figure had grown to
56 units per resort, and by 2006, it was 96 per resort (Ernst & Young, 2006).
In Europe, the average number of units was 57 per resort, but this ranges
from 249 per resort in the Netherlands and nine per resort in Ireland (OTE,
2001).

Types of resorts
Timeshare resorts can be seen to be located in a number of different settings.
Seaside or ocean resorts are the most popular (Ernst & Young, 2006), fol-
lowed by regional resorts, and golf resorts. Table 2.2 lists the locations by
types of resorts as reported in the latest US study (Ernst & Young, 2006). The

Table 2.2 US resort’s Primary Characteristics

Resort Type Percentage of Resorts Responding

Seaside/ocean 31.9
Regional 13.7
Golf 10.2
Snow/ski 9.3
Lake/river 9.0
Urban 6.0
Theme park 5.3
Casino/gambling 2.1
Other 12.5
Total 100

Source: Ernst & Young (2006:15)

18 C H A P T ER 2 : The Vacation Owner

survey asked timeshare resort manager respondents to identify the primary

characteristics of their timeshare resorts.
The OTE report (2001) shows that European countries differ in the way
they offer the setting for resort locations. Spain, for example, has the largest
number of resorts, 512 at the time of the study. Of these, 90.7 per cent were
in beach locations, whereas the UK with 129 resorts had only 16.8 in beach
locations and 50.4 per cent resorts in rural locations. Not surprisingly,
Switzerland had no beach resorts, but it had 45.2 per cent ski resorts, and the
remaining 37 resorts were located on mountains or in lake areas.

Key learning point 2.2

Timeshare varies across different countries in regard to where key locations are found.

Timeshare products
The traditional service marketing literature suggests offers to service
consumers. The seven ‘P’s represent the benefits to customers that flow from
a service offer. These are listed in Table 2.3.
Each timeshare resort develops an offer to customers related to these
seven P’s. Product: In timeshare, the nature of the actual accommodation
units in the form of the apartment or lodge constitutes the core element of
the product that is being purchased by the customer. Price: The timeshare
price consists of a number of elements – the purchase of the time in the unit,
the additional service charges, and additional prices of leisure facilities, meals
in restaurants, green fees, etc. The price level is assumed to communicate
service quality. Place: Even though many timeshare owners use the services
of exchange companies, there are many whose purchase is solely linked to
a key location. Promotion: This is useful for focusing on media likely to be

Table 2.3 The Service Marketing Mix as Applied to Timeshare

Product
Price
Place
Promotion
People
Processes
Premises
 Timeshare Locations 19

Table 2.4 Resort Use Plan

Percentage of Resorts
Responding

Fixed unit/fixed interval 39.0

Fixed unit/float interval 6.2
Float unit/fixed interval 2.3
Fixed unit/float season 0.8
Float unit/float season 21.0
Points 30.7
Total 100

Source: Ernst & Young (2006:15)

used by the key market segments of customers. People: The interaction of

various personnel with customers is also part of the offer to customers and
shapes their evaluation of resort operators. Processes: The availability of
flexibility arrangements for changing weeks within the primary resort and
the ease with which it is possible to exchange the arrangement with another
similar resort are also important features of the timeshare marketing mix.
Premises: The overall décor, property configuration in the form of bedrooms,
en-suite facilities, living space, quality of fixtures and fittings have to be
consistent with the brand. All service offers to customers, including a range
of timeshare offers, can be analysed according to this seven P model.

Reflective practice 2.1

[a] Compare two businesses offering a similar product or service but offering differing
marketing mixes to their customers, for example, two hotels, two restaurants or
two bars.
[b] Think about how different timeshare resorts might vary in the marketing mix offered
to customers – try and compare a beach location with a golf location.

Over the years, timeshare offers to customers have evolved, and now
timeshare customers have a number of ways of engaging with the timeshare
experience. These timeshare plans which are outlined in the Ernst & Young
report (2006) are listed in Table 2.4. The traditional and original model is the
most popular. That is where the timeshare owner buys a set time period
within a set property unit. This is closely followed by the point system in
which timeshare customers buy a set number of points and redeems these
against properties and times of the year, as they see fit.
20 C H A P T ER 2 : The Vacation Owner

Table 2.5 Affiliations/Exchange Programs

Percentage of Resorts
Responding

Interval international and/or RCI 93.6

ICE 22.5
Self-administered 9.9
Other 4.9

Source: Ernst & Young (2006:15)

Those who have fixed units or fixed resorts have often required assistance
in finding alternative locations, or in letting out their unit if they are unable
to visit that week or interval, or they cannot visit the resort for some reason.
Most timeshare resorts involve the work of specialist firms that organize
swaps or find people interested in taking on units for a desired period.
There are in effect two major organizations, RCI and Interval International,
which most respondents identified in the Ernst & Young study (2006) as
being indicated by 93.6% of respondents. Table 2.5 highlights the exchange
organizations with their potential share of the market as indicated by re-
spondents in the survey. Multiple responses were allowed because some
respondents would be with a number of different exchange organizations.
ICE specialize in cruise exchange programmes, whilst just under 10 per cent
of resorts handle the exchange programme themselves.

Key learning point 2.3

Most timeshare owners affiliate with one or other of the big exchange programmes so as to
enable exchanges.

TIMESHARE MARKET SEGMENTATION

Much sales promotion is often directed at potential customers who are
unsuitable and unlikely to purchase timeshare products. In fact, timeshare
owners represent a narrow sector of the total population. Their age profile,
position in life, family relationship, and country of origin are all features
where the timeshare owner differs from the core population. There is a need
to draw a clear picture of what timeshare owners are like and to think about
offering sales and promotional activities in a way that is most appealing.
There are two principle ways to describe customers: The first describes
them via their demographic profile, that is, describing timeshare owners
 Timeshare Market Segmentation 21

according to socio-economic position, age, sex, family life cycle stage, and
where appropriate country of origin. The second method segments
customers according to occasionality, that is, looking at the motives for
making a purchase decision. The same customer may make very different
purchase decisions on the basis of different assessment of needs.

Demographic segmentation
The demographic profile of an individual or a household is developed by
asking a certain number of questions which are summarized in Table 2.6.
The socio-economic profile is concerned with a combination of economic
and social factors relating to the type of work done, the social class, and the
economic standing. To some extent, these issues overlap, but not always
completely. Life-cycle position relates to the stage in a person or a house-
hold’s life. The model assumes a series of stages in their typical lives. Each
stage represents a series of features, including freedom, family structure
and likely constraints. Gender is concerned with the sex of the purchaser
or purchase decision maker. Gender can cause individuals to respond to
different sales messages or features of the marketing mix in different ways.
Geographical features, relate typically to the type of housing and area in
which an individual or household reside. These features describe whether an
area consists of privately owned homes, or rented properties, or of new or old
housing, and provide an insight into resources available to the purchaser.
Lifestyle features relate to the individual or households drives and aspi-
rations. These might shape their concerns when making a purchase or
prioritize some features of the marketing mix over others. Finally, personality
features in terms of extroversion/introversion can be influential in shaping
consumption priorities and sales messages which are most appealing.
Globally, there are estimated to be 10.7 million timeshare properties.
Ernst and Young’s report claims that there were 4.1 million US households
that are timeshare owners. According to the OTE report, it is difficult to
accurately calculate the number of owners in Europe, but they estimate 1.4
million in Europe (OTE, 2001; Table 2.7). They estimate that 48 per cent of
all timeshare owners are based in the USA, and 31 per cent live in Europe.
Within Europe, the UK and Germany account for over 50 per cent of all
European timeshare ownership (TRI Consulting, 2002).
Interval Internationals Membership profile (Simmons, 2006) shows that
the average US timeshare owner member is around 50 years of age, is
married and lives in a three-person household. They appear to be one and
a half times more likely to be married than the general US adult populations
and one and a half times as likely to fall into the 45–64 year age group.
22 C H A P T ER 2 : The Vacation Owner

Table 2.6 Demographic Characteristics

Income and status groups
A Professional – doctors, senior managers
B Intermediate – middle managers, teachers
Socio-economic group C1 White collar – clerical staff, administrative staff
C2 Skilled manual – artisans, engineers
D Unskilled – routine job holders, service providers/product manufacturers
E Low income – unemployed, pensioners
People in different stages of life
Bachelor stage
Newly married – no children
Full nest I (child under 6)
Full nest II (child over 6)
Life cycle position
Full nest III (dependent older children)
Empty nest I (no children family head working)
Empty nest II (family head retired)
Solitary survivor (working)
Solitary survivor (retired)
Male
Female
Gender
Gay men
Gay women

A classification of residential networks (ACORN)

Geographical Divides people according to the area in which they live: 17 groups and 54 neighbourhood
types
Based on educational, income, occupation, social contact, and individual preferences, e.g.
– environmentally aware
Life style
– health conscious
– materialistic

Extrovert–introvert
Personality Stable–unstable
Tough minded–tender minded

A European study (OTE, 2001) shows that a very high proportion of time-
share owners have no children in their family. This incidence does vary by
country, but as a rule, between half and three quarters of timeshare owners do
not have children. Table 2.8 reports on the profile of Interval International
owners.
The average income for the Interval International customers at $139,800
is reckoned to be more than double that of the average US household. Thirty
 Timeshare Market Segmentation 23

Table 2.7 Analysis of European Timeshare Ownership by Current Residence of the Owner
Country of Residence Number of Owners (000’s) Percentage of all Owners

UK 441.8 31.6
Germany 282.6 20.6
France 103.0 7.3
Italy 93.2 6.7
Spain 67.4 4.8
Finland 57.8 4.1
Austria 33.3 2.4
Switzerland 32.2 2.1
Netherlands

Source: Adapted from OTE Report (2001:50)

Table 2.8 Age, Gender, Marital Status, and Household Size in the Interval International Study
Interval 2003 (%) Interval 2006 (%) US Population 2006 (%)

Marital status
Single (never married) 5.1 5.6 23.4
Married 83.7 80.0 57.8
Separated/divorced 8.2 9.7 12.4
Widowed 3.0 4.7 6.4
Household size
1 13.3 10.2 14.1
2 45.8 49.5 38.8
3–4 33.2 29.9 34.2
5 or more 7.7 10.4 12.9

Mean 2.7 2.7 2.8

Median 2.0 2.0 –

Source: Simmons (2006)

five per cent of members earn between $50,000 and $100,000, and 25 per
cent report incomes in excess of $150,000. In addition, Interval’s members
are three times more likely to reckon that they have household incomes in
excess of $250,000.
The American Resort Association report that timeshare owners tend to be
within a specific age band and have a higher than average income. The largest
owner age group is within the 35–55 year old age band, and almost 80% have
an income over $50,000 (ARDA, 2002). Of these, 64% have a college degree
and 31% have a post-graduate degree, demonstrating a profile that suggests
24 C H A P T ER 2 : The Vacation Owner

a more qualified, and therefore a more professional profile amongst owners.

Certainly, timeshare owners are more likely to be from the professional and
managerial socio-economic groups. Of US timeshare owners, 85% are
married with children, confirming the ‘Full-nest’ category in various stages.
European timeshare owners typically have no children at home and most
likely have an ‘empty nest’ (TRI, 2001), a picture further supported by the age
of timeshare owners in Europe. Most of the new owners are between 40 and
60 years (TRI, 2001:52), and this age group makes up 40–50% of all owners.
Although the majority of owners can be described as middle aged, married
and from the higher socio-economic groups, ARDA (2002) suggest that there
are significant ownership segments amongst single person households, and
retirees.
In Europe, the profile has some interesting variations when compared
within European ownership and in comparison with US timeshare
ownership. Table 2.9 shows that amongst the two key ownership countries –
Germany and the UK – most owners are couples without children living at
home.
The OTE study confirmed that European timeshare owners were more
likely to have taken on multiple ownerships. Nearly 80 per cent of all
European owners had taken on multiple ownership. The average for all
countries was 1.75 weeks per owner. A very high proportion of European
timeshare owners had no children living at home. There are some national
variations, but between one half and three quarters of the timeshare owning
households from individual countries have no children at home. They say,
‘Broadly speaking timeshare has not established itself as a family pursuit’
(OTE, 2001:52). In most cases, between 45 and 50 per cent of new timeshare
owners are aged between 40 and 60 years. They also report that in the UK,

Table 2.9 Number in Each Owning Family in the Top Five of European Timeshare Owning Nations
Number of Children in UK (%) Germany (%) France (%) Italy (%) Spain (%)
Household

None 70.3 67.9 56.7 50.7 43.3

One 13.3 16.5 18.9 27.3 29.6
Two 12.7 121.8 16.9 18.8 24.1
Three 2.9 2.2 5.3 18.8 24.1
Four 0.6 0.3 1.5 2.8 2.7
Five 0.1 0 0.4 0.1 0.1
Six 0.1 0 0.3 0 0

Source: Adapted from OTE Report (2001:50)

 Timeshare Market Segmentation 25

France and Sweden, over 20 per cent of new timeshare owners are aged
between 60 and 70 years.

Key learning point 2.4

Although there are some national variations, most timeshare owners are drawn from
a narrow band of the global population.

Reflective practice 2.2

[a] Using the features outlined in Table 2.6, describe the demographic profile of most
timeshare owners.
[b] Contrast and compare US owners with European owners.

Segmentation by occasionality
Increasingly, hospitality and tourism retailers are defining and developing
their brands around the occasions that customers use their type of business.
To some extent, this breaks out of the somewhat constrained way of seg-
menting customers by the demographic characteristics outlined in Table 2.6.
In recent years, it has been recognized that the same customer may visit the
same premises for different reasons and at different times of the week.
Crucially, the customer’s definition of what makes the visit a success will be
different. The critical success factors by which the customer evaluates the
quality of the visit will differ. For example, the same customer may go to
restaurants for several different eat-out occasions. Customers might be
eating to refuel whilst working or shopping; because they can’t be bothered to
cook and eat out as a replacement; to celebrate a special occasion to mark
a birthday or an anniversary; or for a family meal out (Lashley & Lincoln,
2002).
Although the occasions are different for the timeshare sector, the concept
can be harnessed by timeshare operators. The key benefit is that it helps the
operator to think more clearly about why the customer is making this
particular timeshare purchase, the features that will be expected for an
evaluation of success and the benefits being sought There exist potential
conflicts with other customers when there are contradictory occasions. This
latter point is crucial because some accessions may involve conflictual
differences between customers making purchase decisions for different
occasions.
26 C H A P T ER 2 : The Vacation Owner

Home from home occasions

The home from home occasion chiefly concerns having a base that is
perceived as their space and their ‘second home’. Customers buy into
timeshare because they have a need for a sense of permanence and belonging
to a specific location. They are most likely to visit the resort and their unit
regularly at the time of the week purchased.
Critical success factors largely concern relationships with staff at the
resort and other resort owners. Social functions and opportunities to meet
other guests are therefore also important critical success factors. Being
recognized by resort staff and being treated as a valued customer, even
a friend, by resort personnel are also critical to success.
These timeshare owners are less likely to swap their weeks or visits to
another resort. They enjoy the familiarity, and like to get to know the place
they are visiting. Sometimes, these timeshare owners will buy a timeshare
property in areas which are of personal significance and are near the home
origins of a parent, for example.

Swapper occasions
In direct contrast to the home from home occasion, some timeshare owners
buy into a property never really intending to stay there. For them, the
purchase is more akin to club membership that gives access to vacations in
similar properties around the globe. Their property represents a currency
through which they can purchase regular holidays with a greater sense of
security.
Critical success factors include transparency and equivalence. All
involved in the exchange process want to ensure that potential exchanges are
clearly identified and that the process allows for consideration of the relative
value of the week being given up by the owner and value of the property
selected to exchange into.
The flexibility offered by these exchange systems has been a major factor
in expanding the timeshare market because this opens up opportunities for
more traditional tourist visits for those who do not want to be tied to
a specific site every year. Points Clubs, whereby the consumer buys into
a scheme, rather than a specific property allow this type of customer to have
access to multiple destinations. Points clubs are natural and logical exten-
sions of the ‘swappers’ need.

Activity occasions
Here the timeshare purchase is linked to some particular activity that is
attractive to specific market segments. The activity might be associated with
say golf, whereby customers want to have access to a good quality golf course.
 Timeshare Market Segmentation 27

Other activities might relate to walking holiday activities, cultural, or

gaming/gambling and sporting activities say as in skiing or sailing or surfing
activities.
Here the opportunity to use the course, or to have access to the specific
features, such as walking, at times convenient to the owner, and at a
reasonable charge are critical success factors.
Family holidays can be contradictory occasions because these may
involve guests and service packages to guests that are not compatible with
those who are interested chiefly in activity vacations.

Family holiday occasions

Timeshare purchase is concerned with providing a venue for family holidays.
The week or weeks purchased are often consistent with school holidays, in
some cases for the main holiday, in other cases, the timeshare purchase is
associated with a second or third holiday. A timeshare property is one that
contains attractions for the whole family.
Critical success factors relate to the extent that the property and the resort
matches the needs of all the family members. Given the long-term nature of
the timeshare relationship, it is likely that the venue will need to develop
activities to match the various stages of the Full-nest outlined in Table 2.6.
This occasionality model is useful because it suggests that the reasons for
purchasing a timeshare property vary, and that each decision to purchase
involves some expectations of the benefits of the purchase and the factors
critical to success. The occasionality model also suggests that motives and
needs can vary, even for the same purchaser. Resort operators need to be
aware of these changing needs.
Operators need to understand the impact on guest satisfaction of other
guest occasions. Complimentary occasions occur when guests are sharing
the same resort for different forms of occasionality, but this is compatible.
Home from home customers and activity occasion guests might be an
example, though the type of activity might be an issue. Contradictory occa-
sions contradict this where different resort owners visit for occasions which
conflict each other. This can happen between family holiday occasions and
between activity occasion guests.

Key learning point 2.5

Occasionality suggests that timeshare owners may be buying timeshare properties for
a cluster of different reasons which may cause clashes with other guests if reasons and
motives are not compatible.
28 C H A P T ER 2 : The Vacation Owner

SUMMARY
This chapter attempts to provide some appreciation and tools to be able
to understand both customers and their motives for buying into times-
hare properties, and suggests how timeshare can be marketed effectively. In
the best cases, timeshare brands have clearly defined qualities that are
communicated to customers. In part, it is a managerial duty to ensure that
customer expectations are at least met, if not exceeded when they stay in the
resort. In these circumstances, understanding the nature of the service offer
made by the brand and the critical factors needed for success are essential,
because this gives work focus and objectives.
Further, the chapter has shown that those buying timeshare properties
represent a quite tight range of potential customers. Individuals are largely
drawn from the higher socio-economic groups; they are in an older age band
and are in the later stages of a typical life cycle position. They are largely
residents from the USA, UK and Germany with beaches being their most
popular choices. That said, ownership spans many national and timeshare
properties that can be found worldwide. Finally, timeshare ownership is often
taken on for a narrow range of occasions some of which can be compli-
mentary and others may be contradictory.
 CHAPTER 3

The Community

After working through this chapter, you should be able to

- understand the fiscal impact of the timeshare industry
- discuss the different components that create the fiscal impact of
the timeshare industry (sales, construction, operations, owner
expenditures, and employment)
- identify the areas of spending that the timeshare industry most likely
affects
- debate the legitimacy of timeshare development in a community

INTRODUCTION CONTENTS

The vacation ownership industry has clearly impacted the community where Introduction
their resorts are housed. Because it is such a young industry comparable to the Impacts of the
traditional lodging segment, there continues to be a pressing need to educate Vacation Ownership
the public and local, state, and federal decision makers on the economic Industry
rewards that vacation ownership resorts bring to their communities.
Timeshare Owner
This chapter will focus on recent economic indicators that show the
Impact and Visitor
pattern of positive gain in all areas related to tourism profit. This chapter will Behaviour
also give the reader a better understanding of vacation owners : their travel
patterns and activities pursued while on vacation to get an overall picture of Employment Impact of
the type of visitor that is drawn to vacation ownership resorts. the Timeshare Industry

Timeshare Management
Summary
Copyright Ó 2009 by Elsevier Inc. All rights of reproduction in any form reserved. 29
30 C H A P T ER 3 : The Community

IMPACTS OF THE VACATION OWNERSHIP INDUSTRY

It is important to remember that the vacation ownership industry is multi-
faceted. Similar to the lodging industry, the impacts are direct (the money for
construction, the actual purchase of the product, employment at the actual
resort, and taxes) and indirect (businesses needed to support the resort,
employment opportunities created by the need, money spent at the businesses
by vacation owners and guests, and the taxes on the money that is collected).
The impacts of the vacation ownership industry have been tracked from
2002 to 2005 (see Table 3.1). In every category, there has been an upward
trend indicating a reliable positive impact based on the presence of vacation
ownership resorts in a community.
The direct output impacts include jobs that were created by the need to
build and employ the resort during the building/sales process and once
construction is completed. The money spent at the resort by owners and
guests is seen in the direct vacation expenditure impacts.
The indirect output impacts that result from the presence of vacation
ownership resorts in a community are twofold: they include purchases by
owners and guests in the community (e.g. money spent on souvenirs and at
a grocery store) and they include employees and the income that is created by
businesses needed to support the resorts (e.g. landscaping services and
housekeeping contract services; see Table 3.2).
The final impact that communities benefit from as a result of vacation
ownership resorts would be the taxes brought into the community (see Table 3.3).

Table 3.1 Direct Impacts of the Vacation Ownership Industry

Direct impact 2002 2005

Direct output impacts $17.2 billion of purchases $22.6 billion of purchases

Direct resort impacts 102 900 jobs and $3.0 billion of 133 400 jobs and $4.5 billion of salaries,
salaries, wages, and related income wages, and related income
Direct resort construction 10 900 jobs and $490 million of 20 800 jobs and $960 million of salaries,
impacts salaries, wages, and related income wages, and related income
Direct vacation expenditure 108 800 jobs and $2.6 billion of 99 700 jobs and $3 billion of salaries, wages,
impacts salaries, wages, and related income and related income
Total direct impact $17.2 billion of output $22.6 billion of output
222 500 jobs 253 800 jobs
$6.0 billion of income $8.5 billion of income

Source: Price Waterhouse Cooper (2006) Economic impact of the timeshare industry on the US economy, ARDA International
Foundation
 Impacts of the Vacation Ownership Industry 31

Table 3.2 Indirect Impacts of the Vacation Ownership Industry

Indirect Impact 2002 2005

Indirect output impacts $27.1 billion of purchases $39.2 billion of purchases

Indirect employment and 253 600 jobs, $10.2 billion of salaries, 311 500 jobs, $13.0 billion of
income impacts wages, and related income wages, and related income
Total indirect impact $27.1 billion of output $39.2 billion of output
253 600 jobs 311 500 jobs
$10.2 billion of income $13.0 billion of income

Source: Price Waterhouse Cooper (2006) Economic impact of the timeshare industry on the US Economy, ARDA International
Foundation

Table 3.3 Fiscal Impacts of the Vacation Ownership Industry

Fiscal Impact 2002 2005

Timeshare property and occupancy taxes $380 million $510 million

Timeshare employee taxes $780 million $968 million
Taxes on activities in other industries $5.3 billion $7.0 billion
Total fiscal input $6.4 billion tax revenue $8.5 billion tax revenue

Source: Price Waterhouse Cooper (2006) Economic impact of the timeshare industry on the US Economy, ARDA International
Foundation

Based on the fact that these resorts are owned by those who live outside of
the community, property taxes are collected for services such as schools
that are never used by the owners. Also, it is still a rental property, and
occupancy taxes are collected on the nightly rentals if the rooms are not
being currently occupied by owners or exchangers. The employee taxes and
taxes collected on activities pursued are both the positive result of an
industry that sparks the economy by creating the need for employment
and bringing in outside dollars to the community.

Key learning point 3.1

Timeshare resort operations contribute directly and indirectly to the local economy
and contribute significantly to the tax base.
32 C H A P T ER 3 : The Community

CASE STUDY
Donna Taylor is vice president of development of a timeshare They do not want a timeshare resort located on the vacant
company. She has found a wonderful location for the compa- acreage. Instead they want a signature hotel resort that
ny’s new timeshare resort development. It meets her compa- can be the centrepiece of the destination. They believe
ny’s needs of being the ideal location based on its proximity that a hotel will attract more visitors and provide more jobs.
to popular attractions and restaurants. It also includes a large Now Donna has to convince the leaders of the community
amount of acreage that she has been looking for in this that the timeshare resort will be a worthwhile venture and it
destination. will provide just as many opportunities as a signature hotel
She was quite thrilled to find the acreage for sale at a price resort. She now has to work on a presentation that will
that was well within the company’s budget when she came convince the community to be supportive of the timeshare
up against the disapproval of the leaders of the community. resort development.

Reflective practice
[1] Read the case study and comment on why the community would prefer a signature
hotel resort instead of a timeshare resort.
[2] What areas of impact will lend support to Donna’s argument that a timeshare resort
would be beneficial to the community?
[3] What would be the argument that would support what a timeshare resort could
provide that a signature hotel resort could not?
[4] Timeshares have a less than favourable reputation in many circles. What could
Donna present that would help quell their fears and biases?

TIMESHARE OWNER IMPACT AND VISITOR BEHAVIOUR

Economic impact has been broken down to more clearly understand how and
where the money is being spent (see Table 3.4). The only category that has
seen a decline between 2002 and 2005 is the spending per timeshare trip.
However, this is looking at the entire timeshare resort, all guests including
renters. Further down, the same question has been posed to timeshare
owners, and this number has increased by 9.2% during the same time period.
Another item of note is the average length of stay. In today’s time of shorter
vacations, the average length of stay continues to be longer than the tradi-
tional tourism market and continues to increase.
Every segment shows a pattern of increase from the size of the party to the
number of extra nights spent in the resort area (see Table 3.5). During a time
where the average tourist is more likely to take long weekend trips instead of
 Timeshare Owner Impact and Visitor Behaviour 33

Table 3.4 Resort Statistics

2002 2005 Change Percent Change

Number of timeshare units at year-end 132 000 154 439 22 439 17.0
Timeshare vacationers
Number of timeshare trips (millions) 5.1 5.7 0.5 10.2
Average visitor party
Number of people 3.6 3.8 0.2 6.1
Number of nights in resort area 7.6 8.1 0.5 5.9
Spending per timeshare trip $1784 $1768 $16 0.9

Source: Price Waterhouse Cooper (2006) Economic impact of the timeshare industry on the US Economy, ARDA International
Foundation

Table 3.5 Visitor Party Characteristics

2002 2005 Change Percent Change

Number of people in visitor party

Adults 2.9 3.0 0.1 3.5
Children (18 years and younger) 0.7 0.8 0.1 17.2
Total 3.6 3.8 0.2 6.1

Number of nights in resort area

Timeshare resort (including timeshare bonus time or rental) 6.8 7.0 0.2 3.1
Other accommodations (including hotel, motel; RV; B&B; 0.8 1.0 0.2 30.0
campsite, friends and family)
Total 7.6 8.1 0.5 5.9

Number of units occupied by visitor party

Number of units (reflects the fact that a single travelling party 1.1 1.2 0.0 4.4
may occupy more than one unit at a time)

Source: Price Waterhouse Cooper (2006) Economic impact of the timeshare industry on the US economy, ARDA International
Foundation

week long trips, the timeshare guest proves to be a reliable tourist that is
more likely to spend more money in the host community based on the size of
the travelling party and the length of stay.
Interval International is one of the two largest vacation ownership
exchange companies in the world (the other is Resort Condominiums
International; see Chapter 8: The Role of Exchange Companies); its
membership profile indicates the high level of income of the timeshare owner
(see Table 3.6). Therefore, a rational assumption would be that the higher the
34 C H A P T ER 3 : The Community

Table 3.6 Interval International Members Annual Income in 2006

Total Household Income Percentage

$74 999 and under 26.6

$75 000–$249 999 64.2
$250 000 and over 9.2
Mean $139 800
Median $108 200

Source: Simmons (2006) Interval International membership profile

income of the timeshare owner, the higher the discretionary income that the
owner has to spend in the local community.
The Interval International member is also more likely to spend more than
a week at a destination when their travel involves timeshare (see Table 3.7).
They are also more likely to spend nights at hotel/motels. This is a group of
people that take an active part in their travels. They are more likely to stay at
their timeshare or hotel/motel than with friends or relatives. Based on their
lodging preferences alone, the timeshare owner puts more money into the
local economy that they visit.
Ragatz Associates (2006) determined that 90.5% of the available nights at
timeshare resorts were used in some way by the owner (see Table 3.8). These
results indicate a high occupancy rate in line with the occupancy rate of
ARDA (2004), which reported the industry average of 85.6% for that year.
This high occupancy is what makes timeshare such an ideal contributor to
any community that wants to include tourism as part of their economic mix.
The higher the occupancy, the greater the amount of money brought into the
community by visitors. The greater need for year round employees reduces
the seasonality which is the bane of existence of tourism’s economy.

Table 3.7 Interval International Member Travel Behaviour – 2006

Type of Accommodation Percentage of US Members Average Leisure Average Length
Travelling for Leisure Travel Nights of Stay

Hotel/motel 69.7 11.7 4.9

Timeshare 74.6 12.2 8.8
Other condo/vacation home 24.1 16.5 9.5
Villa/apartment 6.1 11.6 11.5
Friends/relatives 51.1 11.2 6.1
Other 3.2 17.0 10.2

Source: Simmons (2006) Interval International membership profile

 Timeshare Owner Impact and Visitor Behaviour 35

Table 3.8 How Used was Timeshare(s) During the Past 12 Months
(Average Percent of Available Nights)
Characteristic Percent of all Owners

Used personally 35.8

Exchanged/space banked 47.4
Given away 2.9
Rented 4.4
Left unused (vacant) 9.5
Total 100

Source: Ragatz Associates (2006) Resort timeshare consumers: who they are, why they buy

The purchases of timeshares have skyrocketed (see Table 3.9). The

number of weeks that are available have not kept pace, but this is based on
the number of units sold in the preconstruction stage. The maintenance fees
that are collected as well as the money by the timeshare company have
increased and this makes sense due to inflation and the trend in timeshare
resorts in providing a more luxurious experience for its owners and guests.
The upward pattern of the purchase price and maintenance fees paid
coincide typically, because as the number of timeshare weeks owned increases,
the amount of maintenance fees to be paid increases (see Table 3.10). Both
have experienced double-digit increases reiterating the financial stability of
the industry.
Ragatz Associates (2006) surveyed timeshare owners to get a better
understanding as to specifically where they were spending their money while
on vacation. In Table 3.11, these expenditures are given as per visitor party
and not how much was spent per travelling group. The money is distributed

Table 3.9 Purchase and Maintenance Fee Impact

2002 2005 Change Percent Change

Purchase of timeshares
Purchases of timeshares (in millions, excludes resales) $5500 $8600 $3112 56.6

Expenditures on maintenance fees

Number of unit weeks available (in millions) 6.8 7.9 1.1 15.8
Average maintenance fee per unit week $442 $496 $54 12.2
Total owner and timeshare company expenditures on $3010 $3910 $900 29.9
maintenance fees (in millions)

Source: Price Waterhouse Cooper (2006) Economic impact of the timeshare industry on the US economy, ARDA International
Foundation
Another Random Scribd Document
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The Project Gutenberg eBook of Captain Midas
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Title: Captain Midas

Author: Alfred Coppel

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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CAPTAIN MIDAS

***
CAPTAIN MIDAS
 By ALFRED COPPEL, JR.

The captain of the Martian Maid stared avidly at

the torn derelict floating against the velvet void.
Here was treasure beyond his wildest dreams! How
could he know his dreams should have been nightmares?

[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from

Planet Stories Fall 1949.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
Gold! A magic word, even today, isn't it? Lust and gold ... they go
hand in hand. Like the horsemen of the Apocalypse. And, of course,
there's another word needed to make up the trilogy. You don't get
any thing for nothing. So add this: Cost. Or you might call it pain,
sorrow, agony. Call it what you like. It's what you pay for great
treasure....
These things were true when fabled Jason sailed the Argo beyond
Colchis seeking the Fleece. They were true when men sailed the
southern oceans in wooden ships. And the conquest of space hasn't
changed us a bit. We're still a greedy lot....
I'm a queer one to be saying these things, but then, who has more
right? Look at me. My hair is gray and my face ... my face is a mask.
The flesh hangs on my bones like a yellow cloth on a rickety frame. I
am old, old. And I wait here on my hospital cot—wait for the weight
of years I never lived to drag me under and let me forget the awful
things my eyes have seen.
I'm poor, too, or else I wouldn't be here in this place of dying for old
spacemen. I haven't a dime except for the pittance the Holcomb
Foundation calls a spaceman's pension. Yet I had millions in my
hands. Treasure beyond your wildest dreams! Cursed treasure....
You smile. You are thinking that I'm just an old man, beached
earthside, spinning tall tales to impress the youngsters. Maybe,
thinking about the kind of spacemen my generation produced, you
have the idea that if ever we'd so much as laid a hand on anything
of value out in space we'd not let go until Hell froze over! Well,
you're right about that. We didn't seek the spaceways for the
advancement of civilization or any of that Foundation bushwah, you
can be certain of that. We did it for us ... for Number One. That's the
kind of men we were, and we were proud of it. We hung onto what
we found because the risks were high and we were entitled to keep
what we could out there. But there are strange things in the sky.
Things that don't respond to all of our neat little Laws and Theories.
There are things that are no part of the world of men, thick with
danger—and horror.

If you doubt that—and I can see you do—just look at me. I suppose
you've never heard of the Martian Maid, and so you don't know the
story of what happened to her crew or her skipper. I can give you
this much of an answer. I was her skipper. And her crew? They ride
high in the sky ... dust by this time. And all because they were men,
and men are greedy and hasty and full of an unreasoning,
unthinking love for gold. They ride a golden ship that they paid for
with all the years of their lives. It's all theirs now. Bought and paid
for.
It wasn't too long ago that I lifted the Maid off Solis Lacus on that
last flight. Not many of you will remember her class of ship, so many
advances have been made in the last few years. The Maid was two
hundred feet from tip to tail, and as sleek a spacer as ever came out
of the Foundation Yards. Chemical fueled, she was nothing at all like
the spherical hyperdrives we see today. She was armed, too. The
Foundation still thought of space as a possible stamping ground for
alien creatures though no evidence of any extra-terrestrial life had
ever been found ... then.
My crew was a rough bunch, like all those early crews. I remember
them so well. Lean, hungry men with hell in their eyes and a great
lust for high pay and hard living. Spinelli, Shelley, Cohn, Marvin,
Zaleski. There wasn't a man on board who wouldn't have traded his
immortal soul for a few solar dollars, and I don't claim that I was
any different. That's the kind of men that opened up the spaceways,
too. Don't believe all this talk about the noble pioneering spirit of
man. That's tripe. There never has been such a thing as a noble
pioneer. Not in space or anywhere else. It is the malcontent and the
adventuring mercenary that pushes the frontier outward.
I didn't know, that night as I stood in the valve of the Maid,
watching the loading cranes pull away, that I was starting out on my
last flight. I don't think any of the others could have guessed, either.
It was the sort of night that you only see on Mars. The sort of night
that makes a spaceman wonder why in hell he wants to leave the
relative security of the Earth-Mars-Venus Triangle to go jetting across
the belt into deep space and the drab desolation of the outer
System.
I stood there, watching the lights of Canalopolis in the distance. For
just a moment I was ... well, touched. It looked beautiful and unreal
under the racing moons. The lights of the gin mills and houses made
a sparkling filigree pattern on the dark waters of the ancient canal,
and the moons cast their shifting shadows across the silted banks. I
was too far away to see the space-fevered bums and smell the
shanties, and for a little while I felt the wonder of standing on the
soil of a world that man had made his own with his rapacity and his
sheer guts and gimme.
I thought of our half empty cargo hold and the sweet payload we
would pick up on Callisto. And I counted the extra cash my packets
of snow would bring from those lonely men up there on the barren
moonlets of the outer Systems. There were plenty of cargoes carried
on the Maid that the Holcomb Foundation snoopers never heard
about, you can be sure of that.
In those days the asteroid belt was the primary danger and menace
to astrogation. For a long while it held men back from deep space,
but as fuels improved a few ships were sent out over the top. A few
million miles up out of the ecliptic plane brings you to a region of
space that's pretty thinly strewn with asteroids, and that's the way
we used to make the flight between the outer systems and the EMV
Triangle. It took a long while for hyperdrives to be developed and of
course atomics never panned out because of the weight problem.
So that's the orbit the Maid took on that last trip of mine. High and
clear into the supra-solar void. And out there in that primeval
blackness is where we found the derelict.
I didn't realize it was a derelict when Spinelli first reported it from
the forward scope position. I assumed it was a Foundation ship. The
Holcomb Foundation was founded for the purpose of developing
spaceflight, and as the years went by it took on the whole
responsibility for the building and dispatching of space ships. Never
in history had there been any real evidence of extra-terrestrial
intelligent life, and when the EMV Triangle proved barren, we all just
assumed that the Universe was man's own particular oyster. That
kind of unreasoning arrogance is as hard to explain as it is to
correct.
There were plenty of ships being lost in space, and immediately that
Spinelli's report from up forward got noised about the Maid every
one of us started mentally counting up his share of the salvage
money. All this before we were within ten thousand miles of the
hulk!
All spaceships look pretty much alike, but as I sat at the telescope I
saw that there was something different about this one. At such a
distance I couldn't get too much detail in our small three inch glass,
but I could see that the hulk was big—bigger than any ship I'd ever
seen before. I had the radar fixed on her and then I retired with my
slide rule to Control. It wasn't long before I discovered that the
derelict ship was on a near collision course, but there was something
about its orbit that was strange. I called Cohn, the Metering Officer,
and showed him my figures.
"Mister Cohn," I said, chart in hand, "do these figures look right to
you?"
Cohn's dark eyes lit up as they always did when he worked with
figures. It didn't take him long to check me. "The math is quite
correct, Captain," he said. I could see that he hadn't missed the
inference of those figures on the chart.
"Assemble the ship's company, Mister Cohn," I ordered.
The assembly horn sounded throughout the Maid and I could feel
the tug of the automatics taking over as the crew left their stations.
Soon they were assembled in Control.
"You have all heard about Mister Spinelli's find," I said, "I have
computed the orbit and inspected the object through the glass. It
seems to be a spacer ... either abandoned or in distress...."
Reaching into the book rack above my desk I took down a copy of
the Foundation's Space Regulations and opened it to the section
concerning salvage.
"Sections XVIII, Paragraph 8 of the Code Regulating Interplanetary
Astrogation and Commerce," I read, "Any vessel or part of vessel
found in an abandoned or totally disabled condition in any region of
space not subject to the sovereignty of any planet of the Earth-
Venus-Mars Triangle shall be considered to be the property of the
crew of the vessel locating said abandoned or disabled vessel except
in such cases as the ownership of said abandoned or disabled vessel
may be readily ascertained...." I looked up and closed the book.
"Simply stated, that means that if that thing ahead of us is a derelict
we are entitled to claim it as salvage."
"Unless it already belongs to someone?" asked Spinelli.
"That's correct Mister Spinelli, but I don't think there is much danger
of that," I replied quietly. "My figures show that hulk out there came
in from the direction of Coma Berenices...."
There was a long silence before Zaleski shifted his two hundred
pounds uneasily and gave a form to the muted fear inside me. "You
think ... you think it came from the stars, Captain?"
"Maybe even from beyond the stars," Cohn said in a low voice.
Looking at that circle of faces I saw the beginnings of greed. The
first impact of the Metering Officer's words wore off quickly and soon
every man of my crew was thinking that anything from the stars
would be worth money ... lots of money.
Spinelli said, "Do we look her over, Captain?"
They all looked at me, waiting for my answer. I knew it would be
worth plenty, and money hunger was like a fever inside me.
"Certainly we look it over, Mister Spinelli," I said sharply. "Certainly!"

The first thing about the derelict that struck us as we drew near was
her size. No ship ever built in the Foundation Yards had ever
attained such gargantuan proportions. She must have stretched a
full thousand feet from bow to stern, a sleek torpedo shape of
somehow unspeakable alienness. Against the backdrop of the Milky
Way, she gleamed fitfully in the light of the faraway sun, the metal
of her flanks grained with something like tiny, glittering whorls. It
was as though the stuff were somehow unstable ... seeking balance
... maybe even alive in some strange and alien way.
It was readily apparent to all of us that she had never been built for
inter-planetary flight. She was a starship. Origin unknown. An aura
of mystery surrounded her like a shroud, protecting the world that
gave her birth mutely but effectively. The distance she must have
come was unthinkable. And the time it had taken...? Aeons.
Millennia. For she was drifting, dead in space, slowly spinning end
over end as she swung about Sol in a hyperbolic orbit that would
soon take her out and away again into the inter-stellar deeps.
Something had wounded her ... perhaps ten million years ago ...
perhaps yesterday. She was gashed deeply from stem to stern with a
jagged rip that bared her mangled innards. A wandering asteroid? A
meteor? We would never know. It gave me an uncomfortable feeling
of things beyond the ken of men as I looked at her through the port.
I would never know what killed her, or where she was going, or
whence she came. Yet she was mine. It made me feel like an
upstart. And it made me afraid ... but of what?
We should have reported her to the nearest EMV base, but that
would have meant that we'd lose her. Scientists would be sent out.
Men better equipped than we to investigate the first extrasolar
artifact found by men. But I didn't report her. She was ours. She was
money in the bank. Let the scientists take over after we'd put a prize
crew aboard and brought her into Callisto for salvage.... That's the
way I had things figured.
The Maid hove to about a hundred yards from her and hung there,
dwarfed by the mighty glistening ship. I called for volunteers and we
prepared a boarding party. I was thinking that her drives alone
would be worth millions. Cohn took charge and he and three of the
men suited up and crossed to her.
In an hour they were back, disappointment largely written on their
faces.
"There's nothing left of her, Captain," Cohn reported, "Whatever hit
her tore up the innards so badly we couldn't even find the drives.
She's a mess inside. Nothing left but the hull and a few storage
compartments that are still unbroken."
She was never built to carry humanoids he told us, and there was
nothing that could give us a hint of where she had come from. The
hull alone was left.
He dropped two chunks of metal on my desk. "I brought back some
samples of her pressure hull," he said, "The whole thing is made of
this stuff...."
"We'll still take her in," I said, hiding my disappointment. "The
carcass will be worth money in Callisto. Have Mister Marvin and
Zaleski assemble a spare pulse-jet. We'll jury-rig her and bring her
down under her own power. You take charge of provisioning her.
Check those compartments you found and install oxy-generators
aboard. When it's done report to me in my quarters."
I picked up the two samples of gleaming metal and called for a
metallurgical testing kit. "I'm going to try and find out if this stuff is
worth anything...."
The metal was heavy—too heavy, it seemed to me, for spaceship
construction. But then, who was to say what conditions existed on
that distant world where this metal was made?
Under the bright fluorescent over my work-table, the chunks of
metal torn from a random bulkhead of the starship gleamed like pale
silver; those strange little whorls that I had noticed on the outer hull
were there too, like tiny magnetic lines of force, making the surface
of the metal seem to dance. I held the stuff in my bare hand. It had
a yellowish tinge, and it was heavier....
Even as I watched, the metal grew yellower, and the hand that held
it grew bone weary, little tongues of fatigue licking up my forearm.
Suddenly terrified, I dropped the chunk as though it were white hot.
It struck the table with a dull thud and lay there, a rich yellow lump
of metallic lustre.
For a long while I just sat and stared. Then I began testing, trying
all the while to quiet the trembling of my hands. I weighed it on a
balance. I tested it with acids. It had changed unquestionably. It was
no longer the same as when I had carried it into my quarters. The
whorls of force were gone. It was no longer alive with a questing
vibrancy ... it was inert, stable. From somewhere, somehow, it had
drawn the energy necessary for transmutation. The unknown metal
—the stuff of which that whole mammoth spaceship from the stars
was built—was now....
Gold!
I scarcely dared believe it, but there it was staring at me from my
table-top. Gold!
I searched my mind for an explanation. Contra-terrene matter,
perhaps, from some distant island universe where matter reacted
differently ... drawing energy from somewhere, the energy it needed
to find stability in its new environment. Stability as a terrene element
—wonderfully, miraculously gold!
And outside, in the void beyond the Maid's ports there were tons of
this metal that could be turned into treasure. My laughter must have
been a wild sound in those moments of discovery....

A slight sound behind me made me spin around in my chair. Framed

in the doorway was the heavy figure of my Third Officer, Spinelli. His
black eyes were fastened hungrily on the lump of yellow metal on
the table. He needed no explanation to tell him what it was, and it
seemed to me that his very soul reached out for the stuff, so sharp
and clear was the meaning of the expression on his heavy face.
"Mister Spinelli!" I snapped, "In the future knock before entering my
quarters!"
Reluctantly his eyes left the lump of gold and met mine. "From the
derelict, Captain?" There was an imperceptible pause between the
last two words.
I ignored his question and made a mental note to keep a close hand
on the rein with him. Spinelli was big and dangerous.
"Speak your piece, Mister," I ordered sharply.
"Mister Cohn reports the derelict ready to take aboard the prize crew
... sir," he said slowly. "I'd like to volunteer for that detail."
I might have let him go under ordinary circumstances, for he was a
first class spaceman and the handling of a jury-rigged hulk would
need good men. But the gold-hunger I had seen in his eyes warned
me to beware. I shook my head. "You will stay on board the Maid
with me, Spinelli. Cohn and Zaleski will handle the starship."
Stark suspicion leaped into his eyes. I could see the wheels turning
slowly in his mind. Somehow, he was thinking, I was planning to
cheat him of his rightful share of the derelict treasure ship.
"We will say nothing to the rest of the crew about the gold, Mister
Spinelli," I said deliberately, "Or you'll go to Callisto in irons. Is that
clear?"
"Aye, sir," murmured Spinelli. The black expression had left his face
and there was a faintly scornful smile playing about his mouth as he
turned away. I began wondering then what he had in mind. It wasn't
like him to let it go at that.
Suddenly I became conscious of being very tired. My mind wasn't
functioning quite clearly. And my arm and hand ached painfully. I
rubbed the fingers to get some life back into them, still wondering
about Spinelli.
Spinelli talked. I saw him murmuring something to big Zaleski, and
after that there was tension in the air. Distrust.
For a few moments I pondered the advisability of making good my
threat to clap Spinelli into irons, but I decided against it. In the first
place I couldn't prove he had told Zaleski about the gold and in the
second place I needed Spinelli to help run the Maid.
I felt that the Third Officer and Zaleski were planning something,
and I was just as sure that Spinelli was watching Zaleski to see to it
that there was no double-cross.
I figured that I could handle the Third Officer alone so I assigned
the rest, Marvin and Chelly, to accompany Cohn and Zaleski onto the
hulk. That way Zaleski would be outnumbered if he tried to skip with
the treasure ship. But, of course, I couldn't risk telling them that
they were to be handling a vessel practically made of gold.
I was in agony. I didn't want to let anyone get out of my sight with
that starship, and at the same time I couldn't leave the Maid. Finally
I had to let Cohn take command of the prize crew, but not before I
had set the radar finder on the Maid's prow squarely on the derelict.

Together, Spinelli and I watched the Maid's crew vanish into the maw
of the alien ship and get her under way. There was a flicker of bluish
fire from her jury-rigged tubes astern, and then she was vanishing in
a great arc toward the bright gleam of Jupiter, far below us. The
Maid followed under a steady one G of acceleration with most of her
controls on automatic.
Boats of the Martian Maid's class, you may remember, carried a six
inch supersonic projector abaft the astrogation turret. These were
nasty weapons for use against organic life only. They would reduce a
man to jelly at fifty thousand yards. Let it be said to my credit that it
wasn't I who thought of hooking the gun into the radar finder and
keeping it aimed dead at the derelict. That was Spinelli's insurance
against Zaleski.
When I discovered it I felt the rage mount in me. He was willing to
blast every one of his shipmates into pulp should the hulk vary from
the orbit we'd laid out for her. He wasn't letting anything come
between him and that mountain of gold.
Then I began thinking about it. Suppose now, just suppose, that
Zaleski told the rest of the crew about the gold. It wouldn't be too
hard for the derelict to break away from the Maid, and there were
plenty of places in the EMV Triangle where a renegade crew with a
thousand tons of gold would be welcomed with open arms and no
questions asked. Suspicion began to eat at me. Could Zaleski and
Cohn have dreamed up a little switch to keep the treasure ship for
themselves? It hadn't seemed likely before, but now—
The gun-pointer remained as it was.
As the days passed and we reached turn-over with the hulk still well
within visual range, I noticed a definite decrease in the number of
messages from Cohn. The Aldis Lamps no longer blinked back at the
Maid eight or ten times a day, and I began to really regret not
having taken the time to equip the starship with UHF radio
communicators.
Each night I slept with a hunk of yellow gold under my bunk, and
ridiculously I fondled the stuff and dreamed of all the things I would
have when the starship was cut up and sold.
My weariness grew. It became almost chronic, and I soon wondered
if I hadn't picked up a touch of space-radiation fever. The flesh of my
hands seemed paler than it had been. My arms felt heavy. I
determined to report myself to the Foundation medics on Callisto.
There's no telling what can happen to a man in space....
Two days past turn-over the messages from the derelict came
through garbled. Spinelli cursed and said that he couldn't read their
signal. Taking the Aldis from him I tried to raise them and failed.
Two hours later I was still failing and Spinelli's black eyes glittered
with an animal suspicion.
"They're faking!"
"Like hell they are!" I snapped irritably, "Something's gone wrong...."
"Zaleski's gone wrong, that's what!"
I turned to face him, fury snapping inside of me. "Then you did
disobey my orders. You told him about the gold!"
"Sure I did," he sneered. "Did you expect me to shut up and let you
land the ship yourself and claim Captain's share? I found her, and
she's mine!"
I fought to control my temper and said: "Let's see what's going on in
her before deciding who gets what, Mister Spinelli."
Spinelli bit his thick lips and did not reply. His eyes were fixed on the
image of the starship on the viewplate.
A light blinked erratically within the dark cut of its wounded side.
"Get this down, Spinelli!"
The habit of taking orders was still in him, and he muttered: "Aye ...
sir."
The light was winking out a message, but feebly, as though the hand
that held the lamp were shaking and the mind conceiving the words
were failing.
"CONTROL ... LOST ... CAN'T ... NO ... STRENGTH ... LEFT ... SHIP
... WALLS ... ALL ... ALL GOLD ... GOLD ... SOMETHING ...
HAPPENING ... CAN'T ... UNDERSTAND ... WHA...." The light
stopped flashing, abruptly, in mid-word.
"What the hell?" demanded Spinelli thickly.
"Order them to heave to, Mister," I ordered.
He clicked the Aldis at them. The only response was a wild swerve in
the star-ship's course. She left the orbit we had set for her as
though the hands that guided her had fallen away from the control.
Spinelli dropped the Aldis and rushed to the control panel to make
the corrections in the Maid's course that were needed to keep the
hulk in sight.
"Those skunks! Double crossing rats!" he breathed furiously. "They
won't shake loose that easy!" His hands started down for the firing
console of the supersonic rifle.
I caught the movement from the corner of my eye.
"Spinelli!"
My shout hung in the still air of the control room as I knocked him
away from the panel.
"Get to your quarters!" I cracked.
He didn't say a thing, but his big shoulders hunched angrily and he
moved across the deck toward me, his hands opening and closing
spasmodically. His eyes were wild with rage and avarice.
"You'll hang for mutiny, Spinelli!" I said.

He spat out a foul name and leaped for me. I side-stepped his
charge and brought my joined fists down hard on the back of his
neck. He stumbled against the bulkhead and his eyes were glazed.
He charged again, roaring. I stepped aside and smashed him in the
mouth with my right fist, then crossing with an open-handed left to
the throat. He staggered, spun and came for me again. I sank a
hard left into his stomach and nailed him on the point of the jaw
with a right from my shoe-tops. He straightened up and sprawled
heavily to the deck, still trying to get at me. I aimed a hard kick at
his temple and let it go. My metal shod boot caught him squarely
and he rolled over on his face and lay still.

I nailed him with a right from my shoe-tops.

Breathing heavily, I rolled him back face up. His eyes were open,
glassy with an implacable hate. I knelt at his side and listened for his
breathing. There was none. I knew then that I had killed him. I felt
sick inside, and dizzy.
I wasn't myself as I turned away from Spinelli's body there on the
steel deck. Some of the greed died out of me, and my exertions had
increased my sense of fatigue to an almost numbing weariness. My
arms ached terribly and my hands felt as though they had been
sucked dry of their substance. Like a man in a nightmare, I held
them up before my face and looked at them. They were wrinkled
and grey, with the veins standing out a sickly purple. And I could see
that my arms were taking on that same aged look.
I was suddenly fully aware of my fear. Nothing fought against the
flood of terror that welled through me. I was terrified of that yellow
gold in my cabin, and of that ship of devil's metal out there in space
that held my shipmates. There was something unnatural about that
contra-terrene thing ... something obscene.
I located the hulk in the radar finder and swung the Maid after it,
piling on acceleration until my vision flickered. We caught her, the
Maid and I. But we couldn't stop her short of using the rifle on her,
and I couldn't bring myself to add to my depravity by killing the rest
of my men. It would have been better if I had!
I laid the Maid alongside the thousand foot hull of the derelict and
set the controls on automatic. It was dangerous, but I was beyond
caring. Then I was struggling to get myself into a pressure suit with
my wrinkled, failing hands.... Then I was outside, headed for that
dark hole.
I sank down into the stillness of her interior, my helmet light casting
long, fey shadows across the littered decks. Decks that had a
yellowish cast ... decks that no longer danced with tiny questing
force-whorls....
As I approached the airlock of the compartment set aside as living
quarters for the prize crew, the saffron of the walls deepened. Crazy
little thoughts began spinning around in my brain. Words out of the
distant past loomed up with a new and suddenly terrifying
perspective ... alchemy ... transmutation ... energy. I'm a spaceman,
not a scientist. But in those moments I think I was discovering what
had happened to my crew and why the walls were turning into
yellow metal.
The lock was closed, but I swung it open and let the pressure in the
chamber rise. I couldn't wait for it to reach fourteen pounds ... at
eleven, I swung the inner door and stumbled eagerly through. The
brilliant light, reflected from gleaming walls blinded me for a
moment.
And then I saw them! They huddled, almost naked in a corner,
skeletal things with skull-like faces that leered at me with the
vacuous obscenity of old age. Even their voices were raw and
cracked with the rusty decay of years. They babbled stupidly,
caressing the walls with claw-like hands. They were old, old!
I understood then. I knew what my wrinkled aged hands meant.
That devil-metal from beyond the stars had drawn the energy it
needed from ... us!
My laughter was a crazy shriek inside my helmet. I looked wildly at
the gleaming walls that had sucked the youth and strength from
these men. The walls were stable, at rest. They were purest gold ...
gold ... gold!
I ran from that place still screaming with the horror of it. My hands
burned like fire! Age was in them, creeping like molten lead through
my veins, ghastly and sure....
I reached the Maid and threw every scrap of that alien metal into
space as I streaked madly away from that golden terror in the sky
and its load of ancient evil....
On Callisto I was relieved of my command. The Admiralty Court
acquitted me of the charges of negligence, but the Foundation
refused me another ship. It was my ... illness. It spread from my
hands, as you can see. Slowly, very slowly. So what remains for me?
A hospital cot and a spaceman's pension. Those tons of gold in the
sky are cursed, like most great treasures. Somewhere, out in the
deeps between the stars, the dust of my crew guards that golden
derelict. It belongs to them now ... all of it.
But the price we pay for treasure is this. Look at me. I look eighty!
I'm thirty two. And the bitterest part of the story is that people laugh
at me when I tell what happened. They laugh and call me my
nickname. Have you heard it?
It's ... Captain Midas.
 *** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CAPTAIN MIDAS
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