Why Royal Dunes Owners Buy Multiple Weeks
Why owners keep adding weeks
Pattern we see all the time: someone buys one week at Royal Dunes, uses it for a couple years, then comes back to buy a second. Then a third. Sometimes more.
According to ARDA’s 2024 data, 71% of timeshare owners plan to add more weeks within two years. Over half of all timeshare sales go to existing owners, not first-time buyers. Something clicks once you experience ownership—you realize what else is possible.
Here’s why Royal Dunes owners keep adding weeks.
Rental income covers costs
Straightforward reason: rent out the weeks you don’t use.
The timeshare rental market hit $3 billion in 2023—up 12% from 2022, 20% above pre-pandemic levels (ARDA data). Average nightly rates: $242.
Hilton Head makes this easier. Over 2.9 million visitors came to the island in 2023, and 70% of them are repeat visitors according to the HHI Chamber of Commerce. Built-in demand = reliable rental market.
The math: One week covers your vacation. Additional weeks generate rental income that offsets your maintenance fees. Some owners structure it so rental weeks essentially pay for their personal week—free vacation.
89% of timeshare resorts now offer rental programs. 93% offer daily rentals. The infrastructure exists to help you monetize unused time without becoming a property manager.
One week isn’t enough
A week on Hilton Head barely scratches the surface. You unpack, start relaxing, find your rhythm—then you’re packing up.
ARDA research: timeshare owners averaged 11 days at resorts in 2023. Baby Boomers averaged 13. These aren’t quick trips—they’re actual extended stays.
With multiple weeks:
- You actually unwind instead of racing through activities
- You can play 10 different golf courses without rushing
- Day trips to Savannah, Charleston, Hunting Island become realistic
- Kids make pool friends who are still there the next day
- You experience different seasons—spring blooms, fall tranquility
Owners with back-to-back weeks describe a shift around day 8 or 9: work stress fully dissolves, sleep normalizes, the island becomes familiar. That’s when vacation turns into restoration.
Multi-generational travel needs space
Over 50% of parents now plan trips that include grandparents and kids (Family Travel Association). Nearly half of all family trips qualify as multi-generational. 74% who’ve done it would do it again.
Two-bedroom units (60% of timeshare inventory) work for nuclear families. Add grandparents, siblings with their kids, or close friends, and you run out of room fast.
Multiple weeks in adjacent units solve this. 59% of parents say grandparents ease financial stress. 48% of grandparents share costs. Multiple weeks across a family group creates coordination hotels can’t match.
72% of kids want grandparents on vacation. Give them summer weeks with Grandma and Grandpa at the beach, you’ve created memories that shape childhood.
RCI exchange creates worldwide options
Multiple weeks with RCI affiliation opens strategic options. RCI’s network: 3,600+ resorts in 100+ countries, 3.8 million members.
One week limits your choices. Multiple weeks create leverage:
- Combine deposits for higher trading power toward premium destinations
- Bank weeks up to two years ahead, building credit for big trips
- Book 1-21 nights instead of fixed 7-night blocks
- Access 600,000+ hotels and cruise options
Multi-week owners use Royal Dunes as home base, treat additional weeks as currency for worldwide travel. Keep one or two Hilton Head weeks personal, exchange others for Caribbean, Europe, ski trips. Flexibility compounds with each additional week.
Gift weeks to family
Timeshare weeks are transferable. Guest certificates let you gift stays to kids, parents, siblings, friends. You don’t travel—someone you love does.
Creates powerful options:
- Gift honeymoon weeks to newlyweds
- Send grandparents on anniversary trips
- Give adult kids time alone while you babysit
- Reward graduations, promotions, retirements
- Coordinate group travel by booking multiple weeks during the same period
Owners with multiple weeks often dedicate them for different purposes. One week: always theirs. One week: always available for family. One week: generates rental income.
ARDA’s 2024 report: over 90% of owners rate their experience good-to-excellent. 80% took a timeshare vacation in 2023. Average owner has visited their destination 7+ times. These aren’t regretted purchases sitting unused.
Maintenance fees beat hotel inflation
ARDA tracked this over five years ending 2021: timeshare maintenance fees rose 15%, comparable hotel stays rose 24%. That gap widens during peak seasons.
Summer 2022: seven-night hotel stays jumped from $1,569 to $1,720 in three months. Maintenance fees don’t spike seasonally.
Multiple weeks multiply the protection. Each week you own at current rates is protected from future hotel inflation. Owners who bought 5-10 years ago pay far below what visitors pay nightly now—and that gap grows yearly.
Why Hilton Head specifically
Not every destination justifies multi-week ownership. Hilton Head does.
Island occupancy: 84.5% (national average: 76.8%). Beach resorts maintain highest occupancy of any type: 87.1%.
Strong occupancy = consistent rental demand + strong trading power + appreciation protection + year-round appeal.
70% of Hilton Head visitors return. They’ve discovered what Royal Dunes owners know: this island delivers something other beaches don’t.
The typical progression
Most Royal Dunes owners don’t start planning multi-week ownership. They buy one week, love the ease of returning to somewhere that feels like home, gradually realize one week isn’t enough.
Pattern:
- Year 1-3: Use your week annually, rediscover island depth
- Year 3-5: Notice weeks that could generate income or extend stays
- Year 5+: Add weeks strategically—different seasons, family gifts, exchange
Current owners benefit from knowing the property, understanding programming, having relationships with staff. Adding weeks is simpler than the first purchase.
What it really means
Beyond practical benefits—rental income, cost protection, exchange flexibility—multiple weeks represent commitment to prioritizing vacation. Americans underutilize vacation time, deferring rest until retirement.
Multi-week timeshare owners solved that problem. They pre-committed to extended time away. Weeks exist on the calendar, owned and waiting. The decision shifts from “should we vacation this year?” to “what will we do during our weeks?”
That shift—vacation as given rather than luxury—might be the most valuable benefit. 80% of owners used their timeshare in 2023. These are annual realities, not theoretical vacations.
Royal Dunes owners who’ve added weeks describe a sense of freedom: knowing Hilton Head is always there, family can be accommodated, the beach is as much theirs as their backyard.
One week is a vacation. Multiple weeks become a lifestyle.
Curious about adding weeks? Contact our owner services to discuss options.