St. Maarten timeshare is good,
but needs branding, upgrades
By Alita Singh
TRINIDAD--St. Maarten remains in high demand from timeshare owners, but as a mature destination, some properties need upgrading. Branding is also becoming increasingly important in the competitive vacation market, according to Interval International Caribbean Region Manager for Resort Sales and Service Neil Kolton.
Historically, the island has done “an incredible job” in providing memorable vacation experiences and good consumer protection, he said in an interview with The Daily Herald during the 12th annual Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Investment Conference (CHTIC).
The three-day conference that ended Thursday was held in Trinidad’s Hyatt Regency and is organised annually by the Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA) and Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO).
The high repeat-visitor rate is also testimony that there is “clearly a strong satisfaction with the experience,” Kolton added.
Based on these and other factors, a high repeat-visitor number has been yielded year after year, a trend that is forecast to continue even with the economic slump in the United States, the primary source market for timeshare owners.
Oyster Bay Beach Resort is an excellent example of the success of St. Maarten properties in the vacation ownership market, Kolton pointed out. The resort has a high yield of repeat visitors with multi-week ownership and maintains a steady 90 per cent or more occupancy even during the low season months.
Further, validation of the resort’s success and that of the island in general is the fact that timeshare owners rarely trade their stays to go elsewhere. Their commitment to the island has now extended from multi-week ownership to whole ownership. Some 50 per cent of the pre-sale of Oyster Bay’s new full-ownership venture, The Lighthouse, has been scooped up by timeshare owners, Kolton said.
Need for Upgrades
The biggest hurdle facing the industry is the older properties that are in acute need of upgrades to keep up with market expectations and increasing competition locally from new properties and regionally as the industry grows and expands.
Dated product is a challenge for vacation exchange networks like Interval International. While there is continued demand for a destination like St. Maarten, which is one of top five timeshare spots, the eagerness of first time visitors is often dampened when confronted with old properties.
According to Kolton, with interest in the destination high, what some timeshare owners are willing to trade down is nothing comparable to having their unit available, just to have a chance to experience the island. However, despite being fine with moving, they are hardly ever satisfied with the choice after and often leave with the impression the timeshare offerings are not up to par.
Fractional Ownership
While older properties need upgrades, the addition of new inventory such as the 84-unit Pelican Marina Residences and the renovated ones such as Flamingo Beach Resort are keeping the island and its product buoyant.
Pelican Marina Residences offers buyers a more upscale product and amenities via fractional ownership in keeping up with this owner-driven timeshare industry trend. More than ever, timeshare owners want to stay in a destination longer, but don’t want to invest in a villa or condo; instead they are choosing fractional ownership that gives them the option of higher quality properties.
Fractional ownership offers the buyer a percentage share in the property while timeshare gives the right of use of a unit.
Branding
Travellers are more brand conscious when choosing their vacation or contemplating buying into a property, whether timeshare or fractional ownership. St. Maarten faces another hurdle in the industry because there are only a few branded timeshare and traditional resort properties.
Kolton said branding was important for the higher-standard and -quality visitors St. Maarten wants to attract. Branding brings recognised and personalised service that visitors want, as well as well-maintained properties. The latter will help in crossing the hurdle of dated properties.
“Average is not going to work anymore. The whole experience has to be a memorable one,” he said.
Industry growth
Intense marketing and promotion by Jamaica and Barbados have prompted increased demand by timeshare owners who want exchanges in these destinations. Inventory is not yet readily available, but is being pursued by Interval International.
To satisfy the demand, units are being rented at present, for timeshare owners to have the experience demanded.
Asked if the opening up of new destinations and demand from timeshare owners to explore new places in the Caribbean are trends St. Maarten needs to worry about, Kolton said the timeshare industry was still growing and could sustain new markets.
The number of Interval members with timeshare in the Caribbean (132,000) grew by more than three per cent in 2007 compared to the previous year. Members in the Caribbean who reside in the region also grew by nearly five per cent last year compared to 2006.
Nearly 56,000 vacations to the Caribbean were confirmed by Interval for January to August 2007, an increase of more than three per cent over the same period of 2006. Source markets for these vacation bookings included California, Michigan, New York, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela.
Based on research done by Simmons Marketing Research Bureau in 2006, the Caribbean ranked as the top international destination of choice for Interval International members. Nearly 70 per cent of the network’s US members were interested in visiting the region in preceding two years.
