Timeshare, Technology, and Change

November 13th, 2009

Recently, I found myself reflecting on just how much technology has changed the timeshare resale market. Just a few years ago, the concept of buying timeshare online seemed like a techno-fantasy. At that time,  resale companies primarily focused on drawing buyers into their offices; a decidedly limited approach, relying on a combination of location and luck, to match buyers and sellers. The transition to a web-based timeshare aftermarket has been aided by the efforts of a few forward-thinking resale companies, but the real change has come from consumers. Thanks largely to public trust in Google search results, consumers have exponentially increased the number of searches for everything, including timeshares.

This change in timeshare buying habits has forced resale companies to either adapt, or go extinct. Certainly, many have gone the way of the ‘punch card’ machine, but the fittest have survived to meet the market’s demand for a robust, user-centered, online timeshare shopping experience. I can say that change certainly can be painful. When my company brought in web designers last year to advise us on modernizing our website, none of us were prepared for their assessment: Scrap everything and start fresh. A difficult pill to swallow in a recession, but by far the best decision we could have made.

Still, the change has come quickly, and many companies are sadly stuck in the ‘old-school’ mindset – insistently waiting for the buyers to come walking in, when the reality is that today’s timeshare buyer is more likely to shop timeshare resales on their iPhone while still on tour at the resort!

There’s a video on YouTube my middle-schooler showed me recently that I think, quite eloquently, captures the exponential nature of changing consumer habits, and the absolute necessity for technical excellence in timeshare marketing. Enjoy!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpEnFwiqdx8&hl=en_US&fs=1&]

Entry Filed under: Perceptions,Resale Market,Timeshare Tech