Timeshare Trends Blog

Orlando is the new corporate headquarters of Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation, the first large publicly traded company focused almost exclusively on selling timeshares. Marriott was the hotel industry’s timeshare pioneer being the first hotel brand to enter the timeshare business, in 1984, ending an era in which timeshares had largely been the province of independent operators and the target of consumer criticism. Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation is a spin-off of Marriott and the new operations will have little effect on its 2,650 timeshare employees in Orlando and 10,000 worldwide, and it should be a fairly seamless transition for customers of it vacation ownership resorts. There are currently 64 Marriott resorts with 400,000 owners and revenue reaching $1.6 billion in 2010 with a reported profit of $67 million

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Timeshare division of Marriott International has hurt earnings. According to the Orlando Sentinel, Marriott International lost $466 million in the recent quarter on hefty impairment charges from its Orlando-based timeshare business, which declined drastically in the recession as vacationers cut back spending.

Marriott lost $1.31 a share for the period ending September 11 compared with a profit of $94 million or 25 cents a share a year earlier. In the recent quarter, adjusted timeshare contract sales declined 42% to $176 million, compared with $49 million in the prior year quarter.

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Marriott’s Shadow Ridge resort in Palm Desert, California, has completed phase 7 of a 14-phase development plan. Phase 7 construction at the timeshare resort included two buildings and 73 two-bedroom Marriott timeshare villas. Currently, 19 buildings have been completed, housing 523 timeshare villas of the planned 972 timeshare villas. Phase I development of this California timeshare property began in 1999, when a timeshare sales office and maintenance facility were started.

Today the property includes a clubhouse, restaurant, spa, registration center, 2000 square foot pool with bar, grill and children’s beach, along with the timeshare units. The golf amenities are considered outstanding and include a golf pro shop with swing studio, lockers, club fitting, and golf admin center, which adds to the pleasure of play and practice at the on site Marriott’s Shadow Ridge Golf Club and the Faldo Golf Institute by Marriott. Phase 8 at the 300-acre resort is scheduled to begin in 2010

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