Isle time-share footprint grows

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Hawaii's time-share industry kept growing during the severe visitor industry downturn, according to data released yesterday by American Resort Development Association (ARDA), a national time-share trade association.

The statewide occupancy rate for time-share units averaged 90.8 percent in 2009 as compared to 66.5 percent at Hawaii hotels, said Joseph Toy, president and chief executive officer of Hospitality Advisors LLC, the firm contracted by ARDA to conduct its most recent Hawaii timeshare study.

"The vacation ownership industry continues to grow in importance to our state's economy, with timeshare owners providing a stable base of visitors to our islands," Toy said.

Last year, at least 13 percent of the Hawaii's visitor accommodations were time shares, Toy said, and the percentage is growing. In 2009, $138.7 million in capital expenditures went to time-share development and another $64.3 million was spent this year. There are currently about 8,600 time-share units in Hawaii with another 4,881 units or so in the pipeline, he said.

Hawaii's time-share growth has been good for Hawaii and for the industry, said Howard Nusbaum, ARDA president and chief executive officer, who spoke yesterday at a time-share luncheon in Hawaii.

"The contribution of the time-share industry on local economies goes beyond the resort footprint," Nusbaum said. "In addition to sales and corporate operations, development of new resorts and renovation projects, it also includes the impact of expenditures from vacationers during time-share stays."

Hawaii's time-share industry rented 558,209 total room nights and generated $118 million in total rental revenue last year, he said. The industry also remitted $67.2 million in tax revenues to the state of Hawaii in 2009, Nusbaum said.

Hawaii was one of the best performing time-share markets in the nation last year, Nusbaum said. "You are one of the very few U.S. destinations that were growing last year," he said.

The global financial crisis halted several planned time-share projects on the mainland, but several companies -- including Starwood, Hilton and Disney -- continued expanding their time shares in the isles.

The industry nationwide generated $69 billion of economic output and 465,800 full- and part-time jobs, Nusbaum said.