The Bahamas remains virgin territory when it comes to shared ownership (as timeshare is increasingly becoming known), and as a destination with the potential to see booming business in that market, Neil Kolton, director of resort sales and marketing for Interval International, said he was concerned about the ability of the destination to consistently deliver value for money.
"It's a competitive landscape out there," Kolton told Guardian Business. "It's all about value."
Kolton spoke at the 16th Shared Ownership Investment Conference, held in Miami Beach
"The Bahamas is a very unique market in that [it] has so many different types of product offerings and so many different types of destinations it can offer," he said.
"There's no other destination that can offer such a broad range of types of locations and products and types of experiences."
In addition to that range of potential experiences, the ability to pre-clear customs, the presence of a "reasonable" volume of airlift and good infrastructure give the destination a broad appeal to a large segment of the leisure traveling population.
Kolton noted that the shared ownership properties in The Bahamas continue to generate robust sales - hundreds of millions, he said.
"It is a market that is definitely under-served. If you look at Nassau, just about every timeshare resort in Nassau is sold out, or mostly sold out. There's a definite opportunity for developing more product," he said.
Still, despite a generally positive view of the destination, Kolton admitted there are some challenges, particularly in terms of delivery of value for money in some of the older properties.
Some timeshare properties in The Bahamas have had challenges maintaining, upgrading and renovating on an ongoing basis, he said.
"How much of a negative impact does that have on someone who takes their precious vacation week or two once a year that they get, spend a heck of a lot of money to get to the island and the property's rundown, in disrepair, they're not getting the vacation experience or the hospitality or the level of service that they expected, right? They're never going to come back to that destination."
He added that in an information age, the speed with which information is disseminated -- through social media, email and other Internet applications -- should be taken into account along with bad word of mouth.
"That's something that can really tarnish the brand," Kolton said, referring to older properties that are poorly maintained and do not give value for money. "That's my main concern for The Bahamas."
Kolton's company, Interval International, operates membership programs for vacationers and provides value-added services to its developer clients worldwide.
Interval has an exchange network of nearly 2,900 resorts in more than 80 nations.
Through offices in 16 countries, Interval offers high-quality products and benefits to resort clients and about 2 million families who are enrolled in various membership programs.
Interval provides its members -- vacation owners from around the world -- with comprehensive exchange services and a variety of other exciting benefits that offer value and convenience at home and on the road.
Interval-associated properties in The Bahamas include the Island Seas Resort (GB), the Freeport Resort and Club (GB), the Ocean Reef Resort and Yacht Club (GB), the Paradise Island Beach Club (PI) and the Harborside Resort at Atlantis (PI).

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