An Overview of Vacation Timeshare Rentals: Benefits and Drawbacks for Hosts and Property Managers

Vacation timeshare rentals can be a new opportunity for hosts looking to expand their business. It’s a unique type of rental that can help hosts to increase their rental income, diversify their rental portfolio, and compete with hotels.

To help you determine if investing in a timeshare unit makes sense for your business, here’s a quick overview of the main pros and cons. This type of accommodation can pose some challenges and drawbacks for both hosts and property managers, but with the following tips it’s possible to incorporate them into your vacation rental company successfully.

What Are They?

Timeshare rentals are properties that are owned by multiple individuals or families. Each purchases a share of the property and divides up the time they can spend at the property each year. When timeshare owners aren’t using their designated time, they can choose to rent out their share to guests looking for a vacation rental.

Main Benefits of Timeshare Rentals

Extra amenities

Timeshare rentals are designed with convenience in mind. This means that you’ll most likely also get access to other luxury resort amenities that you generally associate with a hotel stay. These can include access to a swimming pool, a concierge service, on-site restaurant and spas, as well as round-the-clock security and housekeeping.

Combine these amenities with features like private balconies, multiple bedrooms, and full kitchens, and guests will experience the best of both worlds.

Less maintenance required

Since the timeshare rental is typically well-maintained and can come with extra services like on-site maintenance and cleaning, you’ll have less work.

Main Disadvantages of Timeshare Rentals

Limited availability

One of the biggest drawbacks of timeshare rentals is the limited availability of the property. Since each owner has a designated time to use the property, there may be limited availability to rent it out to vacationers, especially during peak vacation season when you can charge more.

Less flexibility

This disadvantage ties in with the previous point about limited availability. In addition to not being able to access and rent out the property all year round, you’ll also be restricted to specific times. If your own social and work calendar is quite full, this makes it difficult to enjoy your timeshare for personal vacations from time to time.

If it’s your plan from the beginning to rent it out, it can be difficult to secure rental agreements for during the peak season, limiting your revenue potential. There’s also a real risk that when you have the timeshare, you can’t find guests for that week. In this worst-case scenario, you’ll have to consider offering generous last-minute deals and take the financial knock.

3 Key Considerations for Investing in Timeshare Rentals

First, make sure that you have a clear understanding of the agreements and responsibilities involved with timeshare ownership. Once you’ve read up on the fine print and you understand all the Ts and Cs, also keep the following three key factors in mind before you make a financial commitment.

1. Location

Just like with other types of property investments, location will still play a huge role. Not all areas have timeshare resorts. This means that your search will be much more restricted.

To help you get started with your property search, here are examples of the most popular timeshare destinations in North America:

• Orlando, Florida
• Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
• Las Vegas, Nevada
• Hawaii
• Los Cabos, Mexico

You can also consider a vacation club brand or timeshare resort like one of the following popular choices:

• Disney Vacation Club
• Marriott Vacation Club

Hilton Grand Vacations Club

• Wyndham
• Galveston Seaside Resort
• Daytona Beach Regency

2. Marketplaces

In addition to the well-known vacation rental websites like Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com, you’ll also need to look at other types of online marketplaces like RedWeek.

RedWeek is regarded as the biggest online marketplace for timeshare rentals. As it boasts more than two million registered users, you’ll be able to reach a wide audience of interested renters. Another benefit is that niche marketplaces like this will be able to help you navigate the complexities of timeshare ownership and management.

3. Length of stay

Unlike vacation rentals on platforms like Airbnb which are typically rented out for only a weekend, most timeshare rentals are weekly rentals. This means that you’ll need to make sure that your timeshare rental is furnished in such a way that it accommodates longer stays.

As your timeshare rental will be available during the week and there’s a good chance that it will be available to you during an odd time of the year, it’s a good idea to target digital nomads and business travelers. Increasingly more travelers are embracing remote work policies and might also want to mix work with pleasure.

To make your timeshare rental more attractive to them and ensure a comfortable booking, see where you can add a dedicated workspace. Also, if the resort doesn’t have free Wi-Fi, eat this cost and include internet access in your price.

Market Your Timeshares for Rent With a Direct Booking Website

Timeshare rentals offer a unique opportunity to hosts looking for low-maintenance accommodations that they can rent out to increase their income potential. Vacationers love it because they know the quality of accommodation is guaranteed.

There are online marketplaces specifically offering timeshares for rent where you can advertise your property. However, these timeshares are often heavily discounted.

As you’ll only be able to use the property for a designated period each year, you’ll want to maximize the rate that you can charge. The solution — build a direct booking website. This way, you’ll have more control over the pricing and offer your guests a personalized, exclusive vacation experience that makes timeshares so popular.

With a tool like iGMS, you can build your own website without any prior experience. The process can be as hassle-free as looking after a timeshare vacation unit. On top of its easy-to-use, drag-and-drop website builder, it also offers several other features to automate many of your routine tasks such as:

• Managing multiple accounts and listings on the top OTAs from a single interface.
• Synchronizing reservations across multiple platforms to eliminate double bookings.
• Organizing messages into a single feed with a unified inbox.
• Improving communication with automated templates and triggered messaging.
• Creating and coordinating cleaning tasks with live tracking to completion.
• Creating your own direct booking website.
• Processing payments securely via integration with Stripe.
• Creating essential reports on your business results within minutes.