Tis the season to be jolly, celebrate the holidays, and buy presents for loved ones. As you dust off your decorations and get your tree set up, the stress of Christmas shopping might be looming over your head. This year give the gift of a trip rather than physical material gifts. Statistically, they most likely won’t return it.
Holiday Gift Trends
According to Survey Monkey’s data, 79% of recipients return at least some gifts. So in order to help gift-givers this holiday season, they asked over 500 people what was their best present ever. The survey determined that 67% prefer an experience over a physical gift. Among the top-listed gifts were vacations, with almost 60 people indicating that a trip was their best present. Destinations varied from Disneyland to Brazil to everything in between.
Top Holiday Travel Destination Types
A study by PWC found that 47% of all consumers plan to travel this holiday. The amount of air travel is expected to pick up again this year. As 46% of travelers are planning to fly. That’s up from 40% in 2021 and 33% in 2020. Depending on the destination, many people will combine air and road travel to get to their destination.
When you think of where to gift a vacation, a place might immediately come to mind. Whether your Mom has always dreamt of going to Aruba or your best friend’s favorite band is playing in concert a state away, both are great ideas catering to their wants. For those of you who think gifting a trip is a good option but aren’t sure where taking a look at the trends might help guide you in the right direction.
Among global consumers interested in traveling this holiday season, 41% want to visit beaches, and 32% plan to visit city centers, according to American Express Travel’s latest Amex Trendex report. Yet, when you look at U.S. travelers precisely, 35% plan to go to the beach, 29% to the mountains, 27% to city centers, 27% to travel locally, and 10% to the desert. In addition, 39% agree they are inspired to travel to a location based on a movie or tv show they’ve watched recently.
Save Money with a Timeshare
Another critical trend American Express Travel found through their survey was that across seven countries, 52% of those polled said they were forced to cancel their holiday plan last year due to COVID-19. Although this year’s consumers are eager to make up for lost time and are planning to travel, purchase gifts, and do other holiday activities, record-level inflation and rising costs are affecting almost every aspect of their lives. This means they’re more likely to focus on saving money wherever they can. In addition to spending their money on things that truly matter.
The cost of vacations over a lifetime is significantly less with timeshares than with hotels or vacation rentals because timeshares offer a variety of amenities and spacious units.
In hopes of providing maximum comfort, units at timeshare resorts have more space than a traditional hotel. This includes private bedrooms and fully-equipped kitchens. In addition to paying less, timeshare owners have access to extra amenities. These amenities could include housekeeping, concierge, spas, pools, fitness centers, and on-site activities. A timeshare unit is typically bigger than an apartment, at 1030 square feet, according to ARDA. In addition, 61% of the units are two bedrooms.
What is a Timeshare?
Buying a timeshare might be the perfect solution if you are looking for an alternative to purchasing a second vacation home. Timeshares give families the security of having a second destination to visit without buying a house that they will only use for a small part of the year. Originally, timeshares were fixed weeks. Today, the industry includes floating weeks, fractional ownership, points-based, and biennial periods. They ultimately allow owners the flexibility to travel to different resorts and for various lengths of time.
In the United States, there are over 1500 timeshare resorts with over 270,000 units. There are timeshare resorts worldwide operated by companies like Marriott, Hilton, Wyndham, and even Disney. So their owners can travel to almost any destination, especially with exchange memberships.
Timeshare owners can additionally trade their weeks or points for thousands of other resorts and hotels through vacation exchange platforms like RCI and Interval International. Timeshares offer savings over a lifetime of vacations, flexibility, and hundreds of vacation options, which is why 87% of all timeshare owners rate their experience as excellent, very good, or good.
Gift a Trip by Buying or Renting a Timeshare this Holiday Season
It is possible to reduce travel expenses by renting a timeshare. When you think about a timeshare, your mind may picture a resort in a beach town. However, nowadays, you can find a timeshare rental just about anywhere your heart desires. This includes major cities like New York City and Boston. Not to mention, renting a timeshare allows you to try it before you buy.
Whether your family already takes a yearly trip for the holidays or you rent a timeshare this year as a gift to your loved one, and it is a significant success, you might want to buy a timeshare. When you buy a timeshare, you beat inflation by essentially purchasing a lifetime’s worth of vacations at today’s rate. Not to mention, you can save even more money by looking at the timeshare resale market. This holiday season, gift a trip for less by buying or renting a timeshare.
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