Marriott Vacations Sees Timeshare Strength on Torrid Leisure Travel Demand

Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corp‘s new CEO John Geller said on Thursday that the company’s fourth-quarter earnings underscored continued strength in leisure demand for its timeshare properties, package tours, and other offerings for travelers, despite talk of economic uncertainty.

In the fourth quarter, the company generated a net income of $88 million off of $1.19 billion in revenue. Revenue rose 8 percent year-over-year, thanks partly to the company’s lodging averaging nearly 90 percent occupancy.

The company said consolidated vacation ownership contract sales — a key metric in the sector — was $454 million in the quarter, up from $406 million a year earlier. Executives forecasted that the company would end 2023 with contract sales up between 5 percent and 9 percent.

Thursday was the first earnings call for John Geller as the company’s CEO, president and director.

“The past two months have felt a lot like when I joined the company just over 13 years ago, full of potential and possibility. Long term, I expect our timeshare and exchange business to remain the core of our business model while we look to add to our growth by diversifying into adjacent leisure-focused businesses where we can leverage our core capabilities. And finally, I want us to find new ways to unlock the power of data through advanced analytics to improve efficiency and drive top-line growth.”

—John Geller, CEO of Marriott Vacations

Marriott Vacations Worldwide’s international active members rose 21 percent year-over-year to 1.6 million.

But average revenue per member — another key performance metric — fell by 17 percent year-over-year.

In January, the company said that beginning this summer, it would rebrand all of its recently acquired Hyatt legacy Welk resorts as Hyatt Vacation Club.

Later this year, it plans to expand the vacation experiences available to Hyatt owners with a new exchange option called Beyond, allowing them to use their ownership for cruises, tours and hotel stays.

Earlier this month, the company acquired a parcel of land in Charleston, South Carolina, where it plans to develop a 50-unit Marriott branded resort, including a new on-site sales gallery by 2025.