Interval International, a prominent worldwide provider of vacation services and an operating business of Interval Leisure Group, revealed that its UK members travel extensively, find holiday ownership satisfying, own an average of 1.9 weeks of shared ownership time or its equivalent, and report average household incomes of approximately £70,050 per year. And, more than one-quarter report ownership of a second home – apart from their holiday ownership.

These findings are from Interval International’s 2011 UK Membership Profile, which was developed from a sample of UK-resident vacation owners maintaining an active membership with Interval. The online study was undertaken to provide insights for use in the development of services and benefits to be offered to Interval members and may also be useful to resort developers and prospective industry entrants in designing their products and developing their marketing strategies.

Interval’s UK members spend approximately 28 nights away from home travelling solely for leisure purposes. Additionally, these study respondents indicate a penchant to travel across the European continent during the course of the next two years, boding well for future holiday ownership purchases. Further afield, they have a strong desire to visit the USA and Canada, the Caribbean, and Australia and New Zealand.

“As going on holiday remains a high priority for our members, developers can look forward to welcoming more vacation owners to their resorts,” said Darren Ettridge, Interval’s senior vice president of resort sales and business development. “That and the fact that our UK membership base continues to be interested in owning more vacation time should encourage resort sales and marketing professionals to take heed of this potential purchasing group.”

Respondents desiring to purchase additional vacation time remain most interested in the two-bedroom configuration, with more than half (57 percent) citing a preference for that unit type. Purchase price, the luxury of the unit, and the annual maintenance fee commitment represent the three most influential factors in the decision making process.

Other notable findings from the 2011 UK Membership Profile include:
- Approximately 83 percent of Interval’s UK members report satisfaction with their timeshare ownership.
- Nearly eight out of 10 acquired their timeshare interests from resort project developers and management companies.
- An estimated 61 percent of leisure travel nights are spent travelling across the UK and Ireland and the European continent.
- The average length of a leisure holiday within Europe is estimated to be 7.5 nights.
- Almost half of Interval’s UK members would be interested in taking a cruise during the next two years.
- UK members prefer relatively less-strenuous activities on holiday with sightseeing, swimming, shopping, spending time in a spa and watching plays and concerts rating highly.