Tired of Eating Pizza on a Hotel Bed? Rent a Timeshare for a Better Vacation

[Timeshare News]

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WASHINGTON, July 7, 2010 As we enter the summer vacation season, families are looking for travel savings ideas everywhere and are prepared to jam their families into small hotel rooms if the deal is right. The American Resort Development Association (ARDA) has a solution for the budget-conscious, weary traveler: rent a timeshare villa for your next vacation.

Many vacationers dont yet realize that they can rent a week or two at a fabulous resort and stay in spacious accommodations with one or more bedrooms and bathrooms, a kitchen and a living room all the comforts of home, said Howard Nusbaum, ARDA president and CEO. While it may be the destination that gets them there, its the guarantee of high-quality accommodations that keeps them returning year after year.

According to PriceWaterhouseCoopers research on the state of the timeshare industry in 2009, nearly half of timeshare purchasers rented first. Among six million-plus timeshare owners, timeshares continue to enjoy an 85 percent satisfaction rate. Timeshare owners place value on having the space to truly rejuvenate a benefit that comes with a timeshare vacation, said Nusbaum. And, because of the pre-paid nature of the product, timeshare owners continue to travel despite historic lows in traditional hotel occupancy. For 2009, the timeshare industry reported an occupancy rating of nearly 80 percent.

We have created a rental engine for consumers to take advantage of the convenience of vacationing timeshare-style. The opportunity for consumers to spread-out with all the conveniences of home as well as enjoy a host of on-site activities and amenities has been very positive, said Don Harrill, president and CEO of Orange Lake Resorts, home to Holiday Inn Club Vacations. We have seen an increase in our rental activity and our guest surveys reflect high product satisfaction ratings. In addition, we have opened our channels to mini-vacation packages and specials and are beginning to use social media as a way to market directly to consumers, Harrill continued.

There are many ways for vacationers to ensure the right timeshare rental to meet their travel needs. Rentals can be found at aggregated sites such as www.redweek.com and www.tug2.net, as well as with many timeshare developers that may be offering rental packages. We have two to three thousand rentals on our site at any given time, said Brian Rogers, president of the Timeshare Users Group. We frequently encourage travelers to explore this vacation experience because renting provides the perfect try before you buy solution.

ARDAs consumer website, www.VacationBetter.org, is a resource for all timeshare information. Visit it to discover what youve been missing.




About ARDA:

The American Resort Development Association (ARDA) is the Washington D.C.-based professional association representing the vacation ownership and resort development industries. Established in 1969, ARDA today has over 1,000 members ranging from privately held firms to publicly traded companies and international corporations with expertise in shared ownership interests in leisure real estate. The membership also includes timeshare owner associations (HOAs), resort management companies, and owners through the ARDA Resort Owners Coalition (ARDA-ROC). For more information, visit www.arda.org or ARDAs consumer website at www.VacationBetter.org.

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