TABLE OF CONTENTS After studying this chapter you should be able to:
understand the developer's role in developing timeshare resorts.
analyze the external factors that impact resort development.
evaluate project feasibility considerations.
critically discuss project design considerations.
Chapter 1 drew attention to the dramatic growth of the timeshare industry over the past thirty years within the United States and across the globe. The primary message was that the timeshare industry's growth has been pushed into the market in almost every instance, given the radically different nature of the timeshare product as having similarities with full home ownership while boasting recreational services commonly offered by traditional destination resorts. The Urban Land Institute and the American Hotel and Motel Association have reported a rich body of literature on resort development through textbooks, manu-scripts, and articles. There is a paucity of development literature, however, on timeshare resorts; however, the Urban Land Institute has produced a timeshare development textbook as well as ancillary material covering the basic resort development process. As such, the theoretical foundation concerning factors influencing resort development has been tested and proven time and time again by various condominium, hotel, resort, and timeshare developers, with the end being that the same basic models of resort development are identical in principle to that of timeshare resort development. The principles that underlie these sources are outlined in this chapter, which discusses site selection, land value issues, competitor characteristics, geographical market characteristics, consumer demand characteristics, and project financing strategies. However, before dealing with these...
