Editor's Letter - Wyndham Vacation Resorts
Editor's Letter - Wyndham Vacation Resorts
Editor's Letter - Wyndham Vacation Resorts
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vacation ownership<br />
Timeshare Owners <strong>Vacation</strong> More,Take Longer Trips<br />
Evidence suggests that the great American vacation is<br />
shrinking. A recent poll by a major online travel company<br />
reveals that Americans took 10 percent less vacation time in<br />
2003 than in 2002, and one in five felt guilty for taking a<br />
vacation from work. However, one segment of the population<br />
has found a way around the shrinking American vacation<br />
— timeshare owners.<br />
A study of 844 U.S. timeshare owners and non-owners<br />
was conducted between September and October 2003 by<br />
Ragatz Associates, the leading market research firm in the<br />
vacation ownership industry.The study revealed that 93 percent<br />
of timeshare owners in the United States have taken at<br />
least one pleasure trip during the past year involving one or<br />
more nights away from home, compared with 77 percent of<br />
non-owners. In addition, 53 percent of U.S. timeshare owners<br />
reported taking at least one pleasure trip during the past<br />
year involving seven or more nights away from home, compared<br />
with only 43 percent of non-timeshare owners.<br />
U.S. timeshare owners also report using more of their<br />
available vacation time.They use, on average, 17.3 days of<br />
paid vacation per year (84 percent) compared with only<br />
14.3 days for non-timeshare owners (77 percent). In addition,<br />
timeshare owners are more satisfied with their use of<br />
paid vacation time. Sixty-five percent reported being very<br />
satisfied with the amount of time they will use compared to<br />
56 percent of non-owners.<br />
“These findings suggest that U.S. timeshare owners take<br />
more vacations, and longer vacations,” said Steve Miner,<br />
director of research, Ragatz Associates. Miner speculated<br />
that one reason timeshare owners take longer vacations is<br />
the fact that they have already paid for their vacation<br />
accommodations.“Additionally, timeshare owners who<br />
belong to an exchange company are always encouraged to<br />
begin planning their next vacation, encouraging regular use<br />
of their vacation time,” Miner said.<br />
<strong>Vacation</strong> Time: How the<br />
United States Stacks Up<br />
Country<br />
<strong>Vacation</strong> Days<br />
Mandated by Law<br />
Sweden 25<br />
Spain 25<br />
France 25<br />
Germany 24<br />
Italy 20<br />
Switzerland 20<br />
United Kingdom 20<br />
Greece 20<br />
Japan 10<br />
Canada 10<br />
United States 0<br />
Sources: European Industrial Relations Observatory,<br />
World Tourism Organization; Los Angeles Times<br />
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