Hawaii timeshare sales No. 4 in nation
One-third of all U.S. timeshare buyers seek resorts in beach areas
Hawaii's timeshare industry, the fourth largest in the nation, kept pace with growth in the U.S. timeshare industry, according to a study released yesterday by Ernst & Young LLP.
Timeshare sales nationwide climbed 9 percent during 2005 to $8.6 billion over 2004 sales of $7.87 billion, according to the study, which surveyed 596 timeshare resorts throughout the country. According to the study, the timeshare industry also boasted increases in new owners, higher prices, and occupancy rates that far exceeded U.S. hotels.
While Florida still had three times as many timeshare resorts as any other states, Hawaii continued to rank in the top 10 of all states, according to the study. The top 10 timeshare resort states accounted for nearly two-thirds of timeshare resorts in the country, with Florida accounting for 378 resorts, or 23.6 percent.
California jumped over South Carolina into second place with 123 resorts, but South Carolina followed closely with 117 properties. Hawaii, which has 92 resorts, rounded out the top 10 states along with Colorado, Nevada, North Carolina, Texas Missouri and Arizona.
According to the study, Hawaii and other seaside locations were seen as the most favorable destinations by timeshare buyers, one-third of whom sought resorts in beach communities.
Timeshare has become essential to travel lodging in Hawaii and elsewhere, said Chad Jensen, chairman of the Hawaii branch of the American Resort Development Association.
"Clearly, the travel consumers of today are asking for more options in how they spend their vacation. Timeshare is meeting an important segment of that demand, and it's being done in a way that complements, not harms, the other aspects of travel lodging," Jensen said.
According to the 2005 Visitor Plant Inventory report from the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, the number of timeshare units in Hawaii increased more than 15 percent during the same period as the Ernst & Young study.
DBEDT recorded 6,839 timeshare units in Hawaii in 2005. More than a quarter, or 2,090 timeshare units, were on Kauai, 1,720 units were on Maui, 1,592 units were on the Big Island, 1,422 units were on Oahu, and 15 units were on Molokai.
"According to the data, there has been a shift in conventional hotel rooms to condo/hotel and timeshare units, but for the most part the room inventory is stable," said State Tourism Liaison Marsha Wienert.
Compared with 2004, Oahu timeshare units increased 25.9 percent, Maui's timeshare units rose 22.5 percent, Kauai's timeshare units increased 4 percent and the Big Island's timeshare units increased by 19 percent, according to the latest data available from DBEDT.
