The timeshare industry seems to have the media—or at least The New York Times—in its back pocket. Just this week, two very flattering stories on vacation ownership appeared in the national editions of The Times. Last Monday, in a special section on how retiring Baby Boomers are investing their money was a piece extolling timeshare as a great second-home alternative for retirees. It included a number of testimonials by Boomers who've been turned on to the timeshare concept.
And in the Escapes section of today's Times is another long story touting fractionals as a smart bet for Boomers and Gen Xers thinking about second home ownership. Unlike stories on timeshare of a decade ago, neither of these stories included tales of consumers getting ripped off or even becoming unsatisfied with the timeshare experience and product.
Much of the credit for this positive press goes to ARDA and its dynamic paid and volunteer leadership. However, the real difference has been the industry itself, which has cleaned up its once-shady marketing practices and embraced major hotel brand companies into the vacation ownership industry fold.
Times sure have changed.