Time Shares Hit the Big City

Anyone who's ever traveled to the Caribbean or Mexico or Florida, or who's ever been the "lucky winner" of a getaway with all the bells and whistles, has likely encountered a time share. Typical response: No thanks.

But a new breed of shared dwellings is cropping up in more urbane locales across the world. The time share's latest home? New York City. It isn't technically the first time share New York City has seen (the Manhattan Club claimed that title 14 years ago), but the new West 57th Street by Hilton Club (yes, Hilton, as in hotels and socialite siblings) is the first one built to function exclusively as a time share. (The Manhattan Club is a hotel to time-share conversion.)

From the outside it looks like all of its other midtown Manhattan kin -- shiny glass facade, 28-stories high, doorman, fitness center visible from the street -- but the appeal of "vacation ownership" is what sets the Hilton Club apart. Regional residents, who regularly come in to the city to shop or see a Broadway show, are buying in as is the younger set, drawn in by amenities like iPod docking stations, Japanese soaking tubs and hardwood floors. Most of the owners live within 200 miles of the city, reported an article in The New York Times.


West 57th Street by Hilton Club features 161 units, each sold by the week and ranging from a $33,900 studio to a $125,000 penthouse. Each week is measured in points, which can be broken up into stays of as little as one night or traded for stays at other Hilton Grand Vacation properties. And the luxe factor certainly isn't hurting business with comparable units at the nearby Manhattan Club, said to feel more like a traditional hotel, only going for $29,500 to $50,000.

It's true that seaside destinations still reign when it comes to time shares, but the big city trend is definitely catching on with notable properties like the Custom House in Boston by Marriott Vacation Club and a Wyndham property slated to open near National Harbor in Washington, D.C. next month.