Timeshare Ownership and Vacation

Ever Thought About Timeshare Ownership for Your Next Vacation?

Since the 1960’s when timeshares became popular in Europe the timeshare industry has been escalating worldwide. In the US alone over 3 million households use timeshare ownership and vacation as their preferred choice.

According to the American Resorts Development Association as per January 1, 2005 there were 1668 timeshare resorts. Big resort names such as Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt and Four Seasons are in the timeshare vacation business and adding to the success of timeshare ownership and resale.

Timeshares are much more than the standard hotel/motel rooms. They can be anything from 5-star timeshare resorts to cosy houseboats. In general they are spacious one to three bedroom fully furnished apartments located near beaches, major tourist attractions, theme parks, golf courses and ski slopes.  

Timeshares are a very popular vacation choice. Developers, real estate and timeshare companies are selling timeshares all over the world from North and South America to Europe, Australia and Asia.   

There are various timeshare agreements on offer e.g. fixed, floating and rotating weeks.  

Fixed week agreement  

This is the most basic timeshare unit. You own the deed to use a unit at a specified week each year.  

Floating time agreement  

The floating time agreement is a flexible arrangement.  The reservations are often on a first in first served basis.  Depending on the terms of the agreement some places may exclude the prime holiday weeks.  

Rotating time agreement  

To give all owners a fair opportunity for the best weeks some timeshare is sold on a rotating week basis.  This may mean for example that this year you may have week 18, then the following year your timeshare vacation period may be week 19.  

Right to use agreement  

This is a leasing contract. The right to use timeshare ownership is for the period stated in the leasing contract. As soon as the leasing contract ends so does the right to the property.  

Vacations Clubs  

Club members are able to choose from a variety of destinations. The booking of vacation time at any of the resorts units is based on availability.  

Point based programs  

Many of these programs are affiliate based. This gives timeshare owners the option to select a timeshare vacation at variety of places all over the world. Timeshare owners of these programs receive each year a number of points equal to their level of ownership, which they can use for travel.  

Vacations clubs and point based programs are run by timeshare exchange organisations.  

Timeshare rental allows many to own a property at a timeshare resort like a condominium or villa and become a member of a vacation club. You can browse through the Internet for ads on time share rentals around the world to find and make the perfect choice for your long postponed dream vacation. Also, you do not have to be a timeshare owner to rent a timeshare.  

The cost of a timeshare depends on the time, size of the unit and location. The majority of timeshare ownership is paid for in cash. Finance is usually only available for new timeshares ownerships sold by developers. In addition timeshare owners share maintenance and management fees. These fees vary from place to place. Make sure they are disclosed when you buy a unit.  

For everything there is to know on buying, selling, renting timeshares see the list of topics included in our eBook “Time Share Revealed”.