Timeshares: A Basic Introduction

A time share is an ingenious concept giving you the opportunity to own premier resort property without the exorbitant cost of year-round ownership. The use and costs of ownership are shared among the owners. Being a type of real estate ownership, time share ownership can be sold, deeded, leased, loaned, or licensed. The basic principle of the concept is that it gives you the exclusive right to vacation and enjoy ownership at a specific resort during a specific week each year for as long as you own it. This concept originated in Europe in the 1960's.

Ownership in a time share is most often sold by the week. These can be fixed, floating, or rotating. Fixed is the most common, and is just as described: a pre-determined week that does not change. For example, week 26 of each year normally includes the Fourth of July holiday. If you own that week fixed, you would have use of the time share unit that particular week every year. Floating means that you are not locked into a certain week each year. You would typically have your choice of week during a specific season. For instance the summer season generally is considered to be between weeks 22 through 36. Rotating is also exactly as described: this year you have week 11, next year week 12, the year after week 13, etc.

Time share weeks are priced according to a variety of factors. These include location of the unit, time of year, size of the unit, and resort amenities. By "locking in" at a particular purchase price, you are essentially guaranteeing a lifetime of luxury vacations and getaways at current prices. Time share resorts are typically far more luxurious than most hotels, offering a wider array of owner amenities and services. Most time share resorts are nestled in breath-taking settings with many offering fully-furnished kitchens, spacious living areas, TVs, VCRs, and accommodations for numerous family members and friends.

A daily schedule of on-site sporting, recreational, and social activities is regularly available. These activities are available for both adults and children. Many resorts offer skiing in the winter, swimming pools, indoor and outdoor tennis courts, horseback riding, championship golf courses, and numerous other on-site amenities. Most resorts are staffed with well-trained hospitality professionals whose only duty is to make your vacation as fun and stress-free as possible. Resort staff can provide you with time share information as well as a multitude of facts about the area surrounding the resort.

Another very appealing reason for owning one or more time shares is the exciting opportunity to exchange the resort week you own for a week at any of nearly 5,000 other resorts located in over 80 countries worldwide. You can do so by using a membership in a vacation exchange program. The largest of these programs is through Resort Condominiums International and Interval International. This flexibility is unparalleled in any other form of real estate ownership. You may choose to return to your home resort year after year, trade your week at your resort for a week at any of the thousands of affiliated resorts throughout the world, or alternate back and forth between the two! It is this kind of owner flexibility that has catapulted the time share industry from nothing more than a terrific idea 30 years ago into the multi-billion dollar industry that it is today. Global sales amount to $9 billion annually. To date, over 7 million families have purchased time shares.

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