🧩 It’s Time to Rethink Guest Incentives

How Resorts Can Catch Up to the Modern Traveler

The resort industry has never been short on creativity. For decades, we’ve built excitement, loyalty, and memories through incentives that motivated guests and owners alike. But somewhere along the way, the guest changed faster than our systems did.

Modern Traveler

Today’s traveler books a room, hails a ride, and checks into a flight from the palm of their hand. Yet when it comes to guest premiums, we’re still chasing signatures, spreadsheets, and sticky notes.

This isn’t a technology problem — it’s a timing problem. The industry is overdue for an evolution in how it organizes and delivers incentives.

1️⃣ The Blind Spot We’ve Learned to Live With

Ask almost anyone in resort operations about premium fulfillment and you’ll hear the same thing: “We’ve got a system… it works.” What that usually means is: “We make it work.”

The Blind Spot

Sales teams improvise. Marketing improvises. Guests wait. And what was once an exciting perk can become a frustration before check-out.

Industry data underlines that the vacation-ownership sector is stabilizing but still evolving for example, American Resort Development Association (ARDA) reports total U.S. timeshare sales volume of about $10.6 billion in 2023. arda.org+2arda.org+2 If the business is performing at that scale, the guest-experience gaps are no longer tolerable.

2️⃣ The Guest Has Changed

Tomorrow’s timeshare buyer doesn’t think in terms of paper certificates or redemption desks. They think in experiences, delivered seamlessly.

They want transparency — to see what they’ve earned, what’s available, and how to use it without a sales rep hunting through folders. They don’t want more incentives; they want clarity and trust.

This expectation doesn’t make the old way wrong. It just means it’s time to evolve. This industry was built on relationships — on handshakes and promises kept. Modern tools should protect that trust, not replace it.

Supporting data? According to the most recent ARDA “State of the Vacation Timeshare Industry” report, there are approximately 196,000 units in the U.S. timeshare market across around 1,497 resorts.  With this many touch-points, the risk of a mismanaged guest incentive experience is multiplied.

3️⃣ Building the Bridge

The path forward isn’t about going “paperless.” It’s about giving your team and your guests confidence.

• Start with visibility — knowing what’s promised, delivered, and outstanding in real time.

• In markets like Florida and the Carolinas, where resort operations move at full speed year-round, visibility into guest incentives isn’t a luxury — it’s survival.

• Then focus on consistency — fulfillment should feel the same whether it’s handled by a veteran rep or the newest hire.

• Finally, make data a teammate, not a burden — use it to remove the manual steps that steal time from your guests.

When resorts treat incentives as part of the guest experience, not just a sales tool, the results speak for themselves: faster follow-up, better reviews, stronger owner retention.

In the age of digital transformation, studies show that those who track and refine incentive management often see improved operational efficiencies. (See for example, industry pieces on managing ROI in incentive programs.) iTicket Solutions

🏁 A Call to Leadership

The industry has reinvented itself before — from paper tours to digital marketing to online bookings. Guest incentives are simply the next chapter.

The question isn’t whether premiums and rewards still matter. From Orlando to Myrtle Beach, resorts operate year-round under constant demand. Visibility and consistency in guest incentives aren’t nice-to-haves — they’re survival tools. It’s whether we’ll deliver them in a way that meets the expectations of the modern traveler.

The resorts that start that conversation now will lead the next generation of guest experience.

Bryan Griffin

iTicket Solutions (Building modern tools for timeless guest experiences.)