Thirty percent of Interval's members took a cruise within the past three years, compared with just seven percent of the general population. Responding to its members' affinity for cruising, Interval has introduced cruise exchange as an Interval Preferred benefit. Over 40 percent of Interval members attend plays, concerts, and public performances while on vacation. Those members can take advantage of the new Interval Preferred ticketing service for performances at Shubert Theatres in 62 locations across the U.S. Close to half of Interval's members visited a day spa or overnight resort spa in the last two years, averaging 4.7 visits to day spas and 2.4 visits to overnight resort spas. Interval provides coupons to all of its members, offering discounts and other special purchasing opportunities for travel and leisure-related goods and services, including airline travel, car rental, telecommunication services and luggage products.
Preferred members receive extra coupon savings.
Interval Travel also offers all members access to unpublished, below-market car rental rates. The enriched Interval Preferred, unveiled in the fall of 1999, includes cruise exchange, an expanded hotel discount program, an in-hotel discount dining benefit, a theatre ticketing service, assistance in locating and making reservations for spa services, and other benefits. Data for Interval's 1999 Simmons Proprietary Research Study were collected by mailing an eight-page questionnaire to 2,500 Interval International members that were selected randomly from the active domestic member list. The study yielded a 50 percent response rate. A total of 1,256 questionnaires were tabulated.