SEATTLE - Marriott and Disney resorts captured 16 of the top 25 rankings in RedWeek.com's annual report on the most popular timeshare rental resorts. A relatively new entrant, meanwhile, the Playa Linda Beach Resort in Palm Beach, Aruba, jumped four spots to #11 in 2017 after climbing four spots (from #19) in 2016.
Disney's Beach Club Villas (Lake Buena Vista, Florida) finished first in RedWeek's Top 25 Timeshare Rental Resorts, followed by Marriott's Aruba Surf Club (Palm Beach, Aruba) and Disney's Boardwalk Villas (also Lake Buena Vista). Marriott-branded resorts won five of the top 10 rental resort slots and 11 of the top 25. Disney's new Bay Lake Tower at the Contemporary Resort joined the rental popularity list for the first time at #25 and expanded Disney's overall presence to five resorts.
"All of these resorts offer ideal vacations for timeshare families," said Gary Prado, vice president of business development for RedWeek.com. "While the resale market continues to evolve, RedWeek's do-it-yourself and full-service rental programs provide owners with an excellent way to recoup their maintenance fees when they are unable to use their time. Our Top 25 rentals report, moreover, shows that there is strong consumer demand for vacations at quality branded resorts."
Now in its 10th year of publication, RedWeek's Top 25 includes six independent resorts and one timeshare each from Westin, Wyndham and Hilton. One third of the Top 25 resorts are located in Florida, followed by Hawaii (28 percent), Aruba (16 percent), South Carolina (8) and California, Mexico, Bahamas and New York (with 4 percent each). The rankings are calculated from rental demand statistics from RedWeek's 2.3 million subscribers.
When RedWeek launched the resort rental survey, back in 2008, New York's Manhattan Club was the #1 most popular timeshare rental. This year, the Club ranks ninth. One major resort missing from this year's Top 25 is the Westin St. John, Virgin Grand Villas, which finished in the Top 25 consistently in prior years.
Here is the 2017 list:
- Disney's Beach Club Villas – Lake Buena Vista, Florida
- Marriott's Aruba Surf Club – Palm Beach, Aruba
- Disney's BoardWalk Villas – Lake Buena Vista, Florida
- Harborside Resort at Atlantis – Paradise Island, Bahamas
- Marriott's Maui Ocean Club – Lahaina, Hawaii
- Marriott's Aruba Ocean Club – Palm Beach, Aruba
- Marriott's Ko Olina Beach Club – Kapolei, Hawaii
- Marriott's Newport Coast Villas – Newport Coast, California
- The Manhattan Club – New York, New York
- Costa Linda Beach Club – Oranjestad, Aruba
- Playa Linda Beach Resort – Palm Beach, Aruba
- Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney's Wilderness Lodge – Lake Buena Vista, Florida
