Renting Timeshares

To understand the dynamics of the industry let’s look briefly at a typical timeshare project built ten years ago, say on the Island of Maui. This Hawaiian jewel of the Pacific wasn’t as popular as it is today and good beachfront development land was freely available. Construction and approval costs were also considerably less than they are now.

A developer could purchase the land, get the necessary regulatory approvals and build a 200-unit beachfront resort, with pools, tennis courts, clubhouse and landscaped common grounds for under $100,000 per unit ten years ago. Let’s say our developer wanted to make a mark-up of 50%----we’re being generous---- and his marketing costs were $50,000 per unit. And they can be. Haven’t you ever wondered how they can give the generous incentives they do when you buy a new timeshare unit?

Anyhow that’s a total cost of $200,000 per condominium. Including the generous profit margin and high costs for a marketing program.

Now our developer sells each unit as 50 separate timeshare weeks, to 50 individual buyers. Each buyer pays $4,000 for his Timeshare week and the development is handed over to the new owners who take their annual vacations on the fabled island of Maui. For life. For that once-only $4,000 cost. That, in essence, is how Timeshare works.

It is not surprising that circumstances will prevent our owner from taking his scheduled vacation on occasion. Often, these decisions are made at the last minute and that means there are genuine bargains available. The family doesn’t want to sell the property and really, if they could cover expenses and make a little profit they’d be satisfied.

That’s how you and your family can spend a week of pampered luxury for under a thousand dollars. By renting somebody’s unused timeshare property at any one of a thousand or more resorts.