The American Affluence Research Center has published it Spring 2009 report "The Affluent Market for Vacation Homes". The report looks at full and fractional ownership and destination club memberships.

The main findings from the report are:

• About 6 in 10 of the affluent market indicate no familiarity with either the private residence club or destination club concepts, despite the growth in the numbers, the marketing expenditures, and the media exposure of companies offering these concepts. This represents little or no change in the level of concept familiarity over the past two years. Just over one- third (37%) indicated familiarity with the private residence club concept, with 3 in 10 indicating familiarity with the destination club concept. This represents some modest improvement from the 2007 study for both.
• Concept familiarity is highest among the higher income and net worth groups. For the private residence club concept, familiarity is about 45% among both the $200K+ income and $1.5M+ net worth segments. For the destination club concept, familiarity is about 40% among the same 2 segments. This is a good point to bear in mind when planning your demographic targeting for your marketing.
• Among those indicating familiarity with the private residence club concept, 72% did not name a brand or company with which they are familiar. The other quarter named a hotel-affiliated brand most frequently, with Ritz-Carlton and Marriott the most commonly mentioned. Some brands/companies not participating in the business were incorrectly named, thus indicating some confusion about the concept.
• Among those indicating familiarity with the destination club concept, 82% did not name a brand with which they are familiar. As some brands/companies were named incorrectly, this indicates some confusion about the concept. Exclusive Resorts was the most frequently and correctly named brand, but by fewer than one in five of those naming a brand.
• Among those indicating familiarity with the private residence club concept in the current survey, 12% did not check any of the listed brands (compared to one in five in 2007) as ones they had heard of. Those checking one or more brands averaged 2.9 brands, with 4 of the hotel-affiliated brands checked most frequently.
• Among those indicating familiarity with the destination club concept, over half did check at least one of the listed brands as one they had heard of. This was a slight improvement over the 2007 survey. Those checking one or more brands averaged 1.6 brands, with Exclusive Resorts checked by almost two-thirds of the respondents. This is relatively consistent with Spring 2007 results. Ultimate Escapes did not have the recognition of its predecessor Private Escapes.
• Over 28% of the sample reported full ownership of a second home with just over half (56%) of the homes used throughout the year and just under half (44%) used primarily on a seasonal basis. An additional total of 15% reported partial access to a vacation home, primarily through a time share, but also through private residence and destination clubs.
• As might be expected, the ownership for wholly-owned second homes was most prevalent among the $6M+ net worth group (64%) and the $1.5M to $6M segment (34%). Vacation home ownership was also higher among age 60+ and those with an income of $200K+. Time share ownership was most prevalent among those with an income of $200K+ and those with a net worth of $1M to $1.5M.
• The value of the second home generally increased with increases in income, net worth, and the value of the primary residence. The second home at an average value of $781,000 is typically valued at about two-thirds that of the primary residence ($1.2 million).
• Second homes used year-round apparently fell by "only"11% in average value, compared to the values reported in the 2007 survey, while those used seasonally declined by 35% in average value.
• Only 4.1% of the respondents indicated serious consideration of the acquisition of a wholly-owned second home versus 9.8% in 2007. The 2009 figure compares to the 2.3% who indicated plans to do so in Table 12. Intent to consider a time share or a private residence or destination club totals less than 1% and is essentially unchanged from 2007.

The data in this report was drawn from the Spring 2009 Survey of Affluent Americans, the fifteenth in an ongoing series of twice-yearly research studies of the most affluent 10% of U.S. households. This report is based on the responses of 640 men and women from households with an average income of $290,000, an average net worth of $3.1 million, and average investable assets of $1.4 million. The average age is 56 and 58% are males.

The full report splits out concept familiarity, brand familiarity, brand awareness, current ownership, and distance to vacation residence by the following demographic splits:

• Age ranges (under 50, 50-59, 60+)
• Gender
• Income levels (above and below $200k)
• Net Worth ($800k-$1.5m, $1.5m-$6m, $6m+)

The report also covers purchase interest in the next 12 months and extrapolates this out to a potential number of buyers. As you might expect in the current climate these numbers are lower than the 2007 survey results.