The recent "Portrait of Affluent Travellers" study included results on the familiarity, ownership and interest in private residence clubs and fractional ownership. The study by YPartnership surveyed 800 affluent travellers and also includes details on awareness and interest in timeshare.

When asked about alternative vacation accommodations, more than half of affluent travelers are familiar with the concept of fixed-week timeshare ownership, and two in five have heard of floating-week timeshare ownership. One-third are familiar with the term “vacation ownership” and approximately one in four is familiar with “whole-ownership” vacation condominiums and “fractional ownership.” Only one in five is familiar with destination clubs and private resident clubs.

Among those who are familiar with the respective concepts, nearly one in five affluent leisure travelers has purchased a floating-week timeshare and one in six owns a vacation home. Among those familiar with fixed-week timeshares, one in eight owns one, and about one in ten has purchased an interest in a destination club or private residence club destination club ownership.

One in seven affluent leisure travelers expresses interest in vacation home ownership, followed by one in ten in a private residence club. Fewer than one in ten expresses interest in the other forms of alternative accommodations listed.

The YPartnership study was released earlier this year. A total of 800 respondents participated in this study, of which 794 were defined as affluent leisure travelers and 434 were defined as affluent business travelers. These affluent travelers participated in self-administered, 40-minute online interviews conducted during August of 2008.

• a minimum annual household income of $150,000;
• taken one or more overnight trips of at least 75 miles from home for business or leisure purposes during the previous 12 months; and
• stayed in a luxury hotel at least once during the previous 12 months.

If you are designing your usage plan for a fractional or PRC the good news is that folks are aware of both fixed and floating structures from the timeshare world. Clearly the real challenge for the fractional industry is to raise overall awareness.