{"id":598,"date":"2012-01-25T15:31:00","date_gmt":"2012-01-25T15:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog-1199783855.us-west-2.elb.amazonaws.com\/blog\/2012\/01\/25\/timeshare-industry-says-wellness-trend-is-here-to-stay-in-2012\/"},"modified":"2012-01-25T15:31:00","modified_gmt":"2012-01-25T15:31:00","slug":"timeshare-industry-says-wellness-trend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog-origin.redweek.com\/blog\/2012\/01\/25\/timeshare-industry-says-wellness-trend\/","title":{"rendered":"Timeshare Industry Says Wellness Trend Is Here To Stay in 2012"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>Is the resolve to become more mindful of one\u2019s health just a passing New Year\u2019s Resolution? Not according to the American Resort Development Association (ARDA), who says the wellness trend is here to stay throughout the year as consumers want their vacations to reflect a healthier lifestyle.<\/p>\n

While the timeshare industry has long advocated the healthful benefits of regular time away to rejuvenate and relax, resort developers continue to expand their vacation products with more options and access to healthful programs and activities.<\/p>\n

\u201cHealth and wellness amenities are growing in popularity among timeshare owners and resorts are now using these programs to attract new timeshare consumers unfamiliar that such vacation products exist,\u201d says Howard Nusbaum, president and CEO of ARDA.<\/p>\n

Many timeshare resorts have expanded their offerings to include health and wellness components such as fitness programs, enhanced spa services, cuisine packages, weight-loss regimens and concierge services to customize a specific healthy vacation experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt makes good business sense to offer wellness programs at our resorts, for they complement the active lifestyles of our owners and guests,\u201d said Ed Kinney, vice president, corporate affairs and communications, Marriott Vacations Worldwide. \u201cSince 1984, we\u2019ve been committed to offering relevant activities for all ages that balance our owners\u2019 desires for relaxation and fun with staying active and maintaining a healthy lifestyle during their vacation.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/a>For example, The Wellness Center at Marriott\u2019s Desert Springs Villas<\/a> (see photos) offers classes ranging from yoga and Tai Chi to water fitness and shoulder and back strengthening. Timeshare rentals here start at just $73\/night.<\/p>\n

Timeshare exchange companies RCI<\/a> and Interval International enable owners to experience new resorts and vacations through access to their resort member network, particularly access to international resorts where wellness programs have been offered for a while.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany of our clients\u2019 properties in the Americas and the Caribbean have fitness centers and full-service spas,\u201d said David Gilbert, executive vice president of Interval International<\/a> resort sales and marketing, Americas, \u201cand those with restaurants are presenting healthier menu options. <\/p>\n

This increased consciousness of wellness is reflected in Interval\u2019s most recent U.S. member profile. Reporting on their preferred vacation activities, nearly half of those surveyed include working out and exercising while close to 40 percent cite spa services.<\/p>\n

\u201cTimeshare developers are always innovating to meet the changing demands of consumers and to offer products to make vacations more memorable,\u201d added Nusbaum. \u201cThat is why our owners have repeatedly given the products an 85 percent satisfaction rating for the past five years, recognizing the value of an annual vacation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Source: ARDA<\/p>\n

Photo Credits: marriott.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Is the resolve to become more mindful of one\u2019s health just a passing New Year\u2019s Resolution? Not according to the American Resort Development Association (ARDA), who says the wellness trend is here to stay throughout the year as consumers want their vacations to reflect a healthier lifestyle. While the timeshare industry has long advocated the…","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-598","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog-origin.redweek.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/598","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog-origin.redweek.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog-origin.redweek.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog-origin.redweek.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog-origin.redweek.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=598"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog-origin.redweek.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/598\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog-origin.redweek.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=598"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog-origin.redweek.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=598"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog-origin.redweek.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=598"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog-origin.redweek.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=598"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}