Aside from the millions of families the world over who’ve owned their vacations since the 1960’s there are a lot more people who really don’t look kindly on Vacation Ownership, but the fact of the matter is that timesharing is a viable aspect of one of the world’s largest industries: travel and tourism.
In Penasco, Mayan Palace folks aside, I’ve seen people try to market and sell their homes on a ‘fractional ownership’ basis (aka: timeshare) and there have been a couple of hotel and condo projects that have also attempted to ‘play’ in the estimated $10 Billion (dollar) global timeshare industry; but to the best of my knowledge most have not done so well…
There are reasons for their less than stellar performance but it usually boils down to an inadequate marketing budget, knowledge (aka: timeshare sales and marketing professionals), etc. and quite frankly, IMHO, ‘most’ of these people dabbling in the timeshare business look down on the industry in the first place and because they do they are doomed to fail.
Back during the 1980’s, when timesharing was spreading across the globe like an uncontrolled wild fire, there was an isolated area in Mexico where a few far-sighted folks either converted part of their property (like the Finisterra Hotel) or purpose-built a condo project (Club Cascadas) as timeshares, thus jumping right smack dab into the middle of the global timeshare frying pan.
Of course as most of us know today the ‘Cabo’ area now offers a plethora of beautiful 5-Star timeshare resorts all over both Capes. The fact of the matter is that, in large part, the timeshare developers, sales and marketing folks and those pesky buyers who spent billions of dollars/pesos buying those damn timeshares were instrumental in the transformation of a once truly dirty little ‘quaint fishing village’ into a world class travel destination.
So the next time you have something distasteful to say about those ‘timeshare sharks’ or the OPC’s pushing ‘a free dinner for two, a bottle of tequila, etc.’ to ‘trap’ people to attend a ‘high-pressure’ (LOL) sales presentation, don’t look down on them too much because they are ensuring that timeshare owners and their families and friends (aka: tourists and possible future home owners) will continue to visit our little slice of paradise and spend a lot of money in Puerto Penasco for generations to come!
Viva México!
Email me: El Gitano Penasco
