More First-Time Buyers – and 3 Other Takeaways From the Largest Timeshare Companies
Timeshares are holding up, but only with more help from first-time buyers and loyalty perks.
The three largest timeshare companies, Hilton Grand Vacations (HGV), Travel and Leisure, and Marriott Vacations Worldwide, have reported first-quarter earnings. Together, they brought in nearly $2.85 billion in revenue.
Here are four things we learned from their results:
1. More Spend at Hilton and T+L, More Tours at Marriott
Hilton Grand Vacations and Travel and Leisure said average spending per guest rose in the first quarter, even as fewer people took sales tours.
For Hilton, that measure - called volume per guest – jumped 15% to more than $4,100, while tour volume fell 4%. Travel and Leisure's volume per guest rose 6% to $3,212, with tours down 1%.
However, Travel and Leisure CFO Mike Hug said the company saw signs of recovery later in the quarter. "We saw year-over-year tour growth in March, and we expect that will continue into the second quarter," said Hug.
Marriott Vacations took the opposite path. It increased tours by 1% to nearly 98,000, while volume per guest fell 4%, to $3,979.
"Half of the decline [was] due to a higher mix of first-time buyer sales, while owner sales declined year-over-year," said CFO Jason Marino.
2. First-Time Buyers Are Filling the Gap
As repeat timeshare owner activity softens, first-time buyers make up more of the sales base.
Marriott said first-time buyer sales grew 6%. CEO John Geller said that shift "is good for the long-term health of the system, though it negatively impacted our reported [volume per guest] this quarter."
Hilton said 25% of its sales came from new buyers. That was helped by a new resort in Hawaii, opening in 2026, and the rollout of its Max membership program to owners from Bluegreen Vacations, which Hilton acquired in January 2024.
"Our Max members have our highest satisfaction scores across every ownership tenure," said CEO Mark Wang. "We're now over 215,000 Max members with Bluegreen contributing nearly 13,000 members."
Travel and Leisure, which was acquired by Wyndham Destinations in 2021, said 7% of new owner tours came through its Wyndham partnership.
CEO Michael Brown said 65% of new buyers were Gen X, Millennials, or Gen Z, a sign the product is reaching a younger market.
3. Demand is Holding Steady
While Travel and Leisure said owners are waiting longer to commit, with the average booking window falling from 130 to 116 days, Brown said demand hasn't dropped. "We saw an acceleration of resort bookings as the quarter progressed," Brown said.
Hilton and Marriott didn't report changes in booking windows, but both also said demand remains stable. Hilton said bookings for the next six months are ahead of last year.
"While we're cognizant of the broader environment and news flow, we haven't yet seen any material shifts in our four demand indicators,' Wang said.
Marriott said resort occupancy topped 90% in the quarter, and 35% of its 265,000 tour packages had already been activated for this year. "We are seeing owner arrivals improving as we progress through the year," Geller said.
4. Loyalty, Apps, and Brand Extensions Are Doing More Work
With in-person tours under pressure, timeshare companies are leaning on digital tools and brand partnerships to keep moving.
Travel and Leisure said the Club Wyndham app now accounts for 71% of search-to-book conversions, up 22% compared to the website.
"The Club Wyndham app has now been downloaded by nearly 100,000 owners, or approximately 20% of our Club Wyndham owner base," said Brown. "This is up from 40,000 downloads when we last reported."
Hilton opened new sales locations at Bass Pro Shops and Great Wolf Lodges and is expanding its Max program. "We believe these initiatives can support our EBITDA [earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization] and cash flow goals regardless of the macro environment," said Wang.
Marriott will soon let owners use points to book nearly all 9,000 Marriott hotels. "All these initiatives are helping drive higher owner and guest satisfaction while lowering our costs," said Geller.
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