The Old-School Boomer Vacation Habit Younger Generations Are Taking Over

It's no secret that younger generations highly prioritize travel. Millennials have long been credited with creating the so-called "experience economy", and Gen Z has been following in their footsteps ever since. According to a 2024 report from McKinsey & Company, 66% of individuals surveyed said their interest in travel increased after the pandemic. They also found that millennials and Gen Zers took roughly five trips in 2023 alone, and these two generations said they spend nearly a third of their income on travel. While those born between 1981 and 2012 have been out-traveling their elders, they are now taking the reins on another older travel trend: buying timeshares.

Some younger Gen Xers and older Millennials may recall sitting in on painful timeshare presentations with their parents in exchange for discounted attraction tickets to theme parks like Disney World (a practice that still exists today). But younger folks don't seem deaf to the appeal of timeshares. According to the 2026 United States Owners Report conducted by the American Resort Development Association, Millennials and Gen Z now own 58% of all timeshares and make up 76% of the most recent purchases. Moreover, Gen Z in particular appear to be enamored with them. In fact, 92% state their ownership experience has been a positive one, and they love ownership so much that 94% of those surveyed said they would absolutely buy their timeshare again. Talk about no regrets.

Overall, the data is pretty fascinating, especially given the hostility of Gen Zers toward all things Boomer. Then again, trends do tend to cycle back around over time. While interest in timeshares may have cooled a bit with Gen X and Boomers, Millennials and especially Zoomers are definitely on track to bring the trend back to its heyday.

Timeshares got their start in the 1960s in Europe and spread to the U.S. the following decade. They used to involve paying a large sum (plus maintenance fees) for a set number of days or weeks to spend in a certain hotel room, condo, or other accommodation. But the practice has since evolved. So how does a timeshare work today? While old timeshare purchasing methods still exist, many timeshare programs now offer ownership opportunities through points systems. Loyalty programs, while less popular with Gen Z than with previous generations, can be a big hit with Gen Z, so it was a wise move for timeshares to shift in this direction.

Club Wyndham, for example, offers various tiers of ownership that allow participants to have access to "home resorts" as well as access to the brand's portfolio of other properties. Marriott Vacation Clubs also lets timeshare owners accrue club points to be used at a variety of other resorts the world over. This flexibility is especially appealing to Zoomer travelers who prefer many small trips rather than one big vacation to a single destination.

What else is drawing in Millennials and Gen Zers? Amenities, of course. Many younger timeshare owners love that their timeshares include food and beverage, as well as on-site activities. Marriott Vacation Clubs offer a wide range depending on the location, from hula lessons in Hawai'i to sport fishing in Los Cabos, plus resort pools, yoga classes, family-friendly entertainment, and more across other properties. Many Zoomers report traveling to decompress from stress and burnout, and amenities like these make it easy to do exactly that.

While Gen Z on the whole are technically wealthier than previous generations at their age, they are also struggling with unemployment and underemployment. It's a bit surprising, then, that many are still willing to shell out for the cost of a timeshare, which can average about $23,940 in up-front costs, not to mention $1,000 or more in annual maintenance fees. Boomers living on fixed incomes might not want to keep up with those annual fees, something that younger generations may want to consider in the long run.

Some Millennials and Zoomers also see buying a timeshare as an investment, especially at a time when owning a home feels nearly impossible — according to Pew Research Center, among adults under 40, roughly 9 out of 10 say it's harder to buy a home now than it was for previous generations. But the truth is that timeshares tend to depreciate, meaning it can become harder in the future to sell them and get anywhere near what you paid. That said, getting some money back is better than the zero dollars you would get back from all your hotel and Airbnb rentals. And some, like the Disney Vacation Club, are said to be worth it given the theme parks' consistent popularity (though that might be the exception).

No one knows what the future holds for timeshares, but for now, younger generations are buying them up. More importantly, they're actually using them. In 2023, 80% of timeshare owners took a vacation. Two years later, that usage number rose to 94%, possibly even making it a better investment than a seldom-used gym membership. As one timeshare owner told USA Today, "I think it's just a shift in priorities. And for us, making memories while traveling is worth the sacrifice in other places of our budget."