Rising Hotel Rates Make Hawaii Timeshares a Great Deal January 22, 2012
Posted by Bryan Connelly in : Bluegreen Resorts, Hawaii timeshare, Marriott Timeshares, Sunterra/Diamond Resorts, Wyndham Timeshares , add a commentLast year’s figures for Hawaii’s hotel rates and occupancy levels demonstrate once again the value of Hawaii timeshare.
According to an article in the Pacific Business News, occupancy levels for Hawaii hotels are holding steady at around 73%, which is way up from what it was a few years ago in the midst of the recession. Those higher visitor levels are driving increases in hotel rates, with the average room rate now at $192 a night, up 8.7% from this time last year.
Multiplied out over seven nights, that’s $1,344 a week for the average cost of a hotel room. And who knows what you’d get for an average hotel room in Hawaii. With occupancy rates climbing, it’ll get even harder to book a hotel room at a decent rate.
By now, you’ve probably figured out where I’m going with this.
Hotel rates will continue to escalate as resorts look to recoup the lost revenue of the last few years. Most will give you a basic room with a bed, hopefully a coffee maker, maybe a bar fridge. At the average price, don’t expect much more.
On the other hand, Hawaii timeshare rentals can provide a one-bedroom unit with full kitchen and the resort perks you enjoy from upscale establishments. If you don’t believe me, check the BuyaTimeshare.com website by clicking here.
You’ll find Marriott timeshare rentals on Kauai for as little as $850 for the week! Other brand names such as Wyndham timeshare, Bluegreen and Diamond have timeshare units for rent for under $1,000 a week.
Even units at one of the most renowned resorts in the world, the Westin Ka’anapali Ocean Resort Villas, are renting for about $200 a night.
I bring all this up because timeshare rentals continue to be the best vacation value in the world. When you consider what you get for the money, especially compared to a hotel, it’s a no-brainer. But less than 10% of the public rents a unit for vacations, so we need to get the word out about the best kept secret in the hospitality sector.
Again, don’t take my word for it. Check out our website for yourself by clicking here.
Hawaii Timeshare Tax Is Saved By The Bell – For Now May 21, 2011
Posted by John Stephens in : ARDA, Hawaii timeshare, News & Events , add a commentHawaii timeshare owners have dodged a legislative bullet during this year’s state legislative session as controversial language that would have increased taxes on timeshare owners by 300% was removed from bills recently passed by the Hawaii Senate and House of Representatives.
Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie had stated earlier this year his desire to increase the amount of taxes levied on Hawaii timeshare owners in an attempt to help close a budget shortfall faced by the state. However, an outcry of protest from timeshare owners, developers, resort managers and other members of the hospitality industry led to legislators removing the language from bills which passed just prior to the close of the 2011 session.
While this is good news for the timeshare industry from a state-wide perspective, industry observers are concerned that the state has kicked the can down to the local level through language included in those bills that could motivate action on a county level to raise taxes.
According to the American Resort Development Association, the legislation “did include one particular tax related item that might have an indirect effect on timeshare owners on a county level. The legislature placed a cap on the overall amount of transient accommodation tax revenues that are normally shared with the counties. This means that local governments could have an additional incentive to raise revenues, particularly property tax revenues.”
Talk has surfaced in the Maui County Council about raising the tax rate for owners in their jurisdiction, as I blogged about last month. During a May 6 hearing, representatives of the timeshare industry voiced their concerns to the Council about their proposal, according to a report in the Maui News.
“We believe time shares pay their fair share of taxes,” said Jason Gamel of the American Resort Development Association, who added that there appeared to be “no rationale” as to why timeshares were separated from hotels in the property tax system in 2005. Gamel said the county appeared to set a higher rate for philosophical reasons, according to the report.
During the hearing, Council Member Don Couch disagreed with the statements, noting that county officials in 2005 said they wanted to increase property tax rates for timeshares because they pay less in hotel-room taxes than traditional hotels. He noted that finance officials at the time said the rate should be set at $21 in order to balance out the loss of revenue to the county but that they wanted to go with a lower rate because they judged it would be more fair. The current rate is $14 and the proposed increase would raise the rate to $15.45 per $1,000 of assessed value.
This issue is certain to be contested by the industry should it pass, as I’m sure that local officials in other counties and municipalities in Hawaii are watching this closely to see if they can also get away with increasing rates.
The statement by Couch shows once again the misconception that elected officials often have about timeshare, mistakenly using an apples-to-oranges comparison to hotels that does not fully consider the ownership aspect of timeshare.
Or, perhaps those officials are conveniently overlooking (and taking for granted) the fact that timeshare owners pay property taxes in their maintenance fees and, unlike hotel occupants who pay accommodation taxes only when they visit, timeshare owners can’t say no to this payment by not visiting the island.
I’m just sayin’….
This issue is scheduled to come to a head at a special County Council meeting on Monday, May 23 when the Council gathers to vote on setting property tax rates for the 2012 fiscal year.
The good news for people looking to buy timeshare or rent timeshare is that using sites such as BuyaTimeshare.com on the secondary market can give you the best possible opportunity to get a great deal on your next Hawaii vacation.
Hawaii timeshare from branded resorts such as Diamond Resorts, Hilton Grand Vacations, Marriott timeshare, Bluegreen timeshare and Wyndham timeshare can be seen on the BuyaTimeshare.com website by clicking here.
Solid Timeshare Buyer and Rental Offers for the First Quarter of 2011 April 26, 2011
Posted by John Stephens in : General, Hawaii timeshare, News & Events, Ritz Carlton , add a commentAnother solid number of timeshare buyer and rental offers were placed through the BuyaTimeshare.com website during the first quarter of 2011, indicating an upturn in the secondary market and proving once again that buyers and renters are using our services.
We provided $24,981,836 in qualified offers during the first three months of this year to owners who advertised their timeshare for sale or rent on our website. Over 3,000 confirmed offers were sent through BuyaTimeshare.com as legitimate offers to advertisers, which is ahead of the offer activity for last year and a solid indication that more people are looking to buy timeshare and rent timeshare in 2011.
Because BuyaTimeshare.com is a “for sale by owner” website, offers placed on properties advertised on our site are passed through to the owner of the property. However, because of technical advances to our website, we can automatically validate those offers and make it possible for the company to substantiate these offers in order to prove that activity is taking place on the secondary market.
“Our software and proprietary algorithm allows us to track offers to make sure they are true offers from legitimate buyers and renters,” said Wesley Kogelman, president and CEO, BuyaTimeshare.com. “We want to make sure those offers get into the inboxes of prospective buyers and renters because without them, we don’t have a business.”
Our average buyer offer of $18,599 was just below the $20,000 average price of a new timeshare interval, showing excellent value for people looking to sell timeshare and demonstrating that valuable inventory does exist on the secondary market.
Of the total offers, rental activity was considerable with the BuyaTimeshare.com website generating $1,937,182 to rent timeshare across 1,853 offers. That average $1,045 rental price would generate excellent income for owners looking to offset maintenance fees.
“Our resale model is clearly working for our advertisers as well as buyers and renters,” said Kogelman. “When owners can sell and rent their property, then our site is working not only for their benefit but for the benefit of those buyers and renters looking for value in our inventory as well.”
The inventory comes from some of the most desirable timeshare resorts in the world such as Westin Ka’anapali Ocean Resort Villas in Hawaii and Ritz Carlton Club Aspen Highlands in Colorado. You can find this inventory and much more on the BuyaTimeshare.com website by clicking here.
Update on Proposed Timeshare Tax Increase in Maui April 21, 2011
Posted by John Stephens in : Hawaii timeshare, News & Events , add a commentDemocracy is a wonderful thing. Especially when it works in favor of ordinary people.
Earlier in the week, I blogged about a proposed property tax increase being discussed by the Maui County Council which would have raised property taxes for Hawaii timeshare owners on the island by 40%. Well, it seems that the Council, specifically Mayor Alan Arakawa, had second thoughts about such a hike.
Not that my blog had anything to do with it, although I’m beginning to wonder since the last time I blogged about a controversial piece of legislation in Florida, it was changed soon after.
Coincidence? You bet it was.
According to a report in the Maui News, Mayor Alan Arakawa is now calling for a smaller property tax increase for timeshare owners than he originally proposed after being deluged by complaints from owners and timeshare property managers on the island.
“Their intent is to say we’re trying to jack their prices up,” he said. “Our entire purpose is to keep it revenue neutral, the same as last year.”
He’s been pushing that line from the beginning, but the original numbers painted a much different picture.
Under the revised plan, Maui timeshare properties would pay $15.45 per $1,000 of assessed value under Arakawa’s new proposal. That’s still an increase over the $14 that timeshare owners pay now but far less than the $19.60 he originally proposed in his draft budget.
This time around, he finally has the reasonable numbers to support his argument.
Based on the certified property values for 2012, the county would collect $24.83 million from timeshares under the proposed rate. That’s about 0.2 percent less than the $24.87 million the county expects to collect in 2011. Basically revenue neutral.
My beef with the Mayor is that he rolled out the same “revenue neutral” line when he originally proposed the $19.60 amount, which is clearly not the case according to the figures mentioned above in the Maui News article. Under that original $19.60 tax rate, the county would have generated an extra $10 million in revenue for the Council, far above any “revenue neutral” scenario.
Look, I’m glad that he listened to timeshare owners and business leaders who pointed out the folly in his argument. But is he really that slow not to have seen this coming? Or, perhaps he is clever enough to have proposed the higher rate and take the heat knowing it would be easier to sell the smaller increase as a counter proposal. Isn’t that usually the way tax increases are sold to the public?
So good news for Maui timeshare owners, which is also good news for people looking to buy timeshare in Maui as well. There are several great deals on Maui timeshare for sale on the BuyaTimeshare.com website at resorts such as Westin Ka’anapali Ocean Resort Villas and Marriott Maui Ocean Club. You can find those deals by clicking here.
Timeshare Tax Increase Proposed in Maui April 18, 2011
Posted by John Stephens in : Hawaii timeshare, Marriott Timeshares, Sunterra/Diamond Resorts , add a commentTalk of a hike in property taxes for Hawaii timeshare owners has made its way to the local government level on the Hawaiian island of Maui, as the Maui County Council considers a proposed rate hike.
According to a report in the Maui News, a plan offered by Mayor Alan Arakawa would raise the property tax rate for timeshare owners from $14 per $1,000 of assessed value to $19.60, a whopping 40% increase. The plan is part of the County Council’s fiscal 2012 budget review process.
As expected, the proposal has met with stiff resistance from timeshare owners and the timeshare industry in Maui, which is one of the most sought-after timeshare locations in the world.
“My BlackBerry is almost dysfunctional with all the emails I’m getting from timeshare people,” said Council Member Gladys Baisa.
Mayor Arakawa has stated that taxpayers should not actually pay more money under his plan. Instead, the proposed rate increases are designed to be “revenue neutral” and balance out declines in property values, he said, so that the amount of tax revenue actually collected by the county would remain the same as last year.
“Some people will try to play semantic words and say, ‘You’re raising the taxes,’” he said. “We’re not raising the taxes.”
Unless timeshare property values have decreased 40% in Maui since last year to balance out the increase, I can’t buy into that argument. Sorry.
This argument usually hinges on accommodation taxes, which are paid by hotel guests, and the perceived lack of accommodation tax that timeshare pays into local government coffers. The thought is that higher property taxes for timeshare can balance out the supposed revenue discrepancy. But this argument comes unhinged because timeshare is not the same as hotel accommodation due to the nature of the real estate ownership model. It’s apples vs. oranges and local governments have tried for years to confuse the issue as a way to get more money out of the industry. They should be happy that occupancy rates for timeshare have run about 20% higher than hotels, which means more money being spent in the local community and funding the jobs that those resorts create.
Timeshare owners are an easy target because, while they technically own property, they are not considered constituents and elected officials know they can try and ride their backs for more revenue. But the real opposition officials run into comes from the industry itself, which is in a position to fund reelection campaigns and knows that higher taxes are not good for business.
“I’m before you today to voice our concern over the proposed property tax increases for timeshares,” said Gregg Lundberg of the Westin Ka’anapali Ocean Resort Villas.
He noted that Maui timeshare units pay the highest property tax rate in the state, and said higher tax bills could discourage potential visitors from buying Maui timeshare units, or lead to more units being foreclosed.
He called the proposed rate increase “unfair.”
“Timeshare properties are good employers, are good for the community and pay their fair share of taxes,” he said.
Couldn’t have said it better myself.
Maui is home to some wonderful timeshare properties such as Marriott Maui Ocean Club, Westin Ka’anapali Ocean Resort Villas and Diamond Resorts Ka’anapali Beach Club. Timeshare resale weeks at these, and more, resorts on Maui can be seen on the BuyaTimeshare.com website by clicking here.
Hawaii Timeshare Tax Bill Passed Out of Committee March 8, 2011
Posted by John Stephens in : ARDA, Hawaii timeshare, News & Events , add a commentIf you’ve been reading this blog for the last couple of months, you know that we’ve been following a legislative issue in Hawaii regarding a potential tax increase for Hawaii timeshare owners.
According to the American Resort Development Association’s Resort Owners’ Coalition (ARDA-ROC), legislation has been introduced in the state House of Representatives and the state Senate which would increase the accommodation tax rate from 7.25% to 9.25% and increase the amount subject to the tax from 50% to 150% of the daily maintenance fee.
The House version of the legislation, HB809, was recently passed out of the Tourism Committee on a 9-0 vote, with the unanimous vote troubling considering the controversial nature of tax issues in the current economic climate.
I understand that many times these bills don’t even get to the voting stage unless the committee chairman knows he or she has the votes needed to pass, which is often why the votes are unanimous. All of the real wheeling and dealing has already been done behind closed doors by the time the bill comes up for “debate” in committee.
However, this issue is not clear cut by any means.
This vote seems to be more of a “pass the buck” procedure, which can happen if legislators feel that the bill could be voted down in another committee. That chance should come up in the next few days as the House Finance Committee is next on the hit parade to take up the measure.
Industry leaders are against the bill, which Governor Neil Abercrombie called for to help close the estimated $700million state budget deficit. In a recent meeting called by Rep. Tom Brower, Mufi Hannemann, Hawaii Hotel and Lodging Association president, said the Legislature needs to approach the issue carefully because Hawaii is positioned well with the timeshare industry and timeshare is a significant growth opportunity for the state.
“We’re very concerned about this initiative,” Hannemann said.
Lowell Kalapa of the Tax Foundation of Hawaii also sounded alarm bells, saying that timeshare and multi-use resorts are currently the only developments able to get financing for new construction or renovation projects. Kalapa said that “(timeshare) adds to the stability of the market in a time of crisis,” adding that timeshare owners maintained their visits to Hawaii much more than other tourists in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
“I would think in a down economy the last thing you want to do is raise taxes,” said Kalapa.
Which is exactly the same message that business leaders across various industries have been saying to elected officials throughout the country for the past two years. Let’s hope that the members of the Finance Committee can look to common sense and give timeshare owners a break from any tax hikes.
The debate hasn’t affected demand for Hawaii timeshare, as offers continue to pour in from people looking to buy and rent Hawaii timeshare. There are outstanding deals available on the BuyaTimeshare.com website and you can click here for more information.
BuyaTimeshare.com Releases Its First Annual Buyers Choice List for 2011 February 15, 2011
Posted by John Stephens in : Hawaii timeshare, Marriott Timeshares, News & Events, Timeshare Resale , add a commentHave you ever wondered which timeshare resorts are the most popular and where they are located?
Well, you don’t have to wonder any longer. We’ve announced our first annual Top 20 Buyer’s Choice List, which consists of the twenty most requested timeshare destinations, as determined by the number of offers submitted for these resorts by prospective buyers through the BuyaTimeshare.com website in 2010.
This is an objective, independent list compiled by our IT department based on requests from the people who are the most qualified to judge these resorts, prospective buyers.
“This is an exceptional list of world-class resorts that anyone on vacation would love to experience,” said Wesley Kogelman, president and CEO, BuyaTimeshare.com. “These properties prove what we’ve known since we started in this business 10 years ago, that timeshare resorts offer the best possible value for a vacation.”
“The buyers who put in offers to buy timeshare at these resorts were looking for great value that can only come from buying direct from another owner on the resale market,” added Kogelman.
As you will see below, Marriott timeshare properties dominated the list, taking 11 of the top 20 positions and clearly showing that the Marriott name is the brand of choice among people looking to buy timeshare.
Hawaii and Orlando, Florida, were tied for the most popular destination, with four properties from each location making the list. Three Aruba resorts were ranked, followed by two each from Las Vegas and southern California.
WorldMark by Wyndham came in at number one, but WorldMark is a brand made up of multiple destinations so it is almost a given that it would be at or near the top of the rankings and nearly impossible to separate for the purpose of creating this list.
Below is the Buyer’s Choice List for 2011:
1) WorldMark by Wyndham (Multiple Destinations)
2) Marriott’s Aruba Surf Club (Aruba, Caribbean)
3) Marriott’s Aruba Ocean Club (Aruba, Caribbean)
4) Marriott’s OceanWatch Villas at Grande Dunes (Myrtle Beach, South Carolina)
5) Marriott’s Newport Coast Villas (Newport Coast, California)
6) Marriott’s Maui Ocean Club (Maui, Hawaii)
7) Manhattan Club (New York, New York)
8) Sheraton’s Vistana Resort (Orlando, Florida)
9) Marriott’s Grande Vista (Orlando, Florida)
10) Planet Hollywood Towers by Westgate Resorts (Las Vegas, Nevada)
11) Marriott’s Ko Olina Beach Club (Oahu, Hawaii)
12) La Cabana Beach & Racquet Club (Aruba, Caribbean)
13) Marriott’s Grand Chateau (Las Vegas, Nevada)
14) Marriott’s Ocean Pointe at Palm Beach Shores (Palm Beach Shores, Florida)
15) Harborside Resort at Atlantis (Bahamas, Caribbean)
16) Westgate Lakes Resort and Spa (Orlando, Florida)
17) Westin Ka’anapali Ocean Resort Villas North (Maui, Hawaii)
18) Holiday Inn Club Vacations at Orange Lake Resort (Orlando, Florida)
19) Marriott’s Kauai Beach Club (Kauai, Hawaii)
20) Marriott’s Shadow Ridge (Palm Desert, California)
You can see the latest timeshare weeks for sale for each of these resorts by going to the BuyaTimeshare.com website. Once at the homepage, you’ll find the search box at the upper left corner of the page. Just enter the name of the resort, click on the search button and the great deals and bargains for that resort will appear for your review.
Reaction to Proposed Timeshare Tax Increase in Hawaii February 4, 2011
Posted by John Stephens in : ARDA, Hawaii timeshare, News & Events , 1 comment so farLast week, I blogged about the Governor of Hawaii’s call to increase taxes on timeshare in the Aloha State. More information has since surfaced regarding the proposal and it didn’t take long for reaction from the industry – in full force against the idea of any additional taxes on timeshare.
According to the American Resort Development Association’s Resort Owners’ Coalition (ARDA-ROC), legislation has been introduced in the state House of Representatives and the state Senate which would increase the accommodation tax rate from 7.25% to 9.25% and increase the amount subject to the tax from 50% to 150% of the daily maintenance fee.
To put this into perspective, ARDA-ROC uses the following example that “under current law, a timeshare owner with a $1000 maintenance fee pays a TAT (transient accommodation tax) of $36.20. Under the new legislation, the TAT payment for the same owner would be $138.70. For an owner with a $2,000 maintenance fee, the TAT would go from $72.50 to $277.50.”
“Enough is enough,” said ARDA-ROC Chairman, Ken McKelvey. “We have a responsibility to the more than 1 million timeshare owners who contribute to ROC and the hundreds of Home Owners’ Associations (HOAs) who volunteer and financially support ARDA-ROC for this very reason – to make sure that ’the tax the visitor rather than voter’ mentality doesn’t overtake the rights of timeshare owners.”
This is not only a feeble attempt to help close the $700million state budget deficit, but it’s just a bad business decision. Since when is it a good idea to make a tourism-related product more expensive during an economic downturn?
Oh yeah, I forgot. The economists tell us we’re no longer in a recession. I guess that settles it, then.
ARDA has been fighting against increases to the accommodation tax since its inception in 1998 and has a battle on its hands this time.
The ARDA-ROC Executive Committee has requested that ARDA staff and legal counsel make recommendations of a course of action to fight this legislation and says it will pursue all options to fight this proposal, including litigation.
We applaud the efforts of our industry trade association to fight against these tax increases and ask Hawaii timeshare owners to lobby the state legislators in their resort’s districts to vote against these proposals. You can find information at www.ardaroc.org about how to get involved in the debate.
If you own Hawaii timeshare, don’t be discouraged about these proposals since they have been successfully defeated for a number of years now. Hawaii timeshare is still one of the most sought-after vacation ownership products in the world, with a number of great deals available on the BuyaTimeshare.com website. Click here for more information.
Governor of Hawaii Calls For Tax Increase on Timeshares January 27, 2011
Posted by John Stephens in : Hawaii timeshare, News & Events , add a commentSometimes, you just shake your head.
At a time when Hawaii’s timeshare and tourism industry is just starting to emerge from the devastating effects of the recession, the newly-elected Governor of Hawaii goes and sucks all the air out of the tourism sails during his recent State of the State address.
According to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Gov. Neil Abercrombie is calling for additional taxes on timeshares and cuts to the marketing budget of the Hawaii Tourism Authority to help reduce a projected two-year budget deficit of $700 million.
Tourism isn’t the only area to face the budget axe, as the Governor is looking to cut programs across the board in areas such as welfare, health care and public worker labor costs.
Problem is – none of these areas actually produce revenue like tourism – which is the lifeblood of the state.
The newspaper reports that “Abercrombie plans to propose taking about $10 million of the Hawaii Tourism Authority’s $44 million marketing budget and diverting it to basic government services, environmental protection, public facility improvement and advancing culture and arts. He also plans to ask the state Legislature to increase the transient accommodations tax paid by those staying in time shares by 2 percentage points to 9.25 percent.”
With the effects of the recession wreaking havoc on municipal budgets across the country, I suppose it was only a matter of time before such high level talk surfaced. Tax increase discussions on timeshares have been underway on committee level in South Carolina for months, even though state legislators there give the idea virtually no chance of passage in the 2011 session.
Visitor numbers have been up significantly in Hawaii in 2010, with total visitor arrivals up 8.6% for the first 11 months of the year as people return to one of the top tourist destinations in the country. Arrivals were up 18.2% in November alone, but now, the good work that’s gone into attracting visitors back to the Aloha State could be undone.
“We could see lost jobs, reduced hours, less private infrastructure reinvestment and ultimately fewer collected taxes to fill state coffers,” said Keith Vieira, senior vice president/director of marketing for Starwood Hotels & Resorts in Hawaii and French Polynesia.
Timeshare owners and people looking to buy timeshare have known for years that Hawaii has some of the best resorts in the world. Disney’s new Aulani Resort in Ko Olina is due to open later this year and resorts such as the Westin Ka’anapali are traditionally some of the most sought-after properties in the world.
Don’t let the talk of narrow-minded political leaders keep you from enjoying the spectacular destination that is Hawaii. Even if the talk of transient accommodation tax increases becomes reality, it makes buying Hawaii timeshare an even better option. You can check out the Hawaii timeshare for sale on the BuyaTimeshare.com website by clicking here.
Hawaii Timeshare protests are causing headaches for Hilton December 23, 2010
Posted by John Stephens in : Hawaii timeshare, Hilton Grand Vacation , add a commentMost of the time, the thought of taking a vacation at a Hawaii timeshare conjures up visions of relaxing on fantastic beaches, soaking up the sun or perhaps catching an “awesome” wave. Side note: remember when it was only the surfers that used words like “awesome”? But that’s a topic for another blog.
Visitors to Hawaii who are planning to stay at a timeshare are now being met with a new type of welcome. According to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, members of a local hotel workers union, Unite Here Local 5, are handing out anti-timeshare flyers at the Honolulu Airport and the Ala Moana Center in protest against Hilton regarding a labor dispute with the Hilton Hawaiian Village resort.
Negotiations have been underway since May, when the previous labor contract expired. Hilton has reportedly offered higher wages and full benefits to the workers, but the union has said the offer doesn’t meet their needs and is looking for more jobs and better job security from the company.
So far, Hilton has not commented on the situation, and can you blame them? In the current economic climate, for Hilton to offer better wages and full benefits when the majority of the hospitality industry has seen both reduced over the last two years seems to be fair, to say the least.
While Hawaii’s hotel occupancy rate stands at a solid 71.2% statewide and visitor numbers were up 14% in October year over year, keep in mind that 2009 was the bottom of the barrel for tourism and the numbers had nowhere to go but up. Room revenue is still down 20% from 2006 levels and it’s the revenue that pays the bills or, in this case, wages. The point is, while the union may be looking at the improving visitor numbers and translating that into leverage for their side, the money doesn’t appear to be there, yet.
Timeshare occupancy rates have held steady at about 80% nationally, which speaks to the strength of the product and the loyalty of owners to continue taking their vacations in the midst of the recession. It is the timeshare industry that has almost single-handedly kept the hospitality industry afloat in Hawaii when the bottom fell out over the last couple of years. Hawaii is a notoriously pro-union state, and we don’t pretend to know all the inside details of the negotiations. But, hopefully, these parties can get together to work out their differences without involving the very visitors that are paying all of their wages.
Meanwhile, smart timeshare buyers continue to look at the bargains available in Hawaii and you can find some great deals on Hawaii timeshare by clicking here and reviewing the products advertised on Buyatimeshare.com.