Battling against a stigma is a real challenge for an industry such as timeshares and vacation clubs. The real frustration is when people don’t fully understand the concepts behind this trade and would rather think of it as one of those scams who take advantage of people. This article aims to help you learn more about timeshare and the vacation opportunities you may derive from it.

Timeshares and Vacation Clubs

Timeshare and vacation clubs refers to a variety of different forms, destinations, price ranges, and time-slots under one umbrella. It is pictured as purchasing a vacation home that you may share with other owners or shareholders. This idea brings more opportunities and choices to timeshare members.

Since the 1980s

Since timeshare hit the world market in the late 1980s, families and their friends have long been sharing vacation homes in terms of time and cost sharing. The secondary homes were managed by the timeshare trade and streamlined them so that unrelated parties can share more vacation homes, with more people and better transaction policies. Coordination of timeslots and organized payments became part of timeshares and vacation clubs.

Timeshare and vacation club timeslots

At first, there were weekly allotments provided by resorts and developers for timeshares and vacation clubs. They would divide their inventories and sell the weekly slots to specific suites. The fixed week is ideal for those who want to stay in their property for a specified week each year and this is possible as long as your membership is active. The next time slot system is the floating week. The floating weeks allow members to choose a week within particular seasons, which is more flexible than the fixed week. This system was later even improved with the point membership. Points give more freedom since you may choose when to stay and how long you want to stay in your property (not limited to seven-night stays).

International timeshares and vacation clubs

Timeshare and vacation club members are constantly looking for more flexible plans for their holiday homes. With the partnership with international companies, this becomes possible. Two of the most famous of these companies are RCI and Interval International. Through these companies, members may swap their timeshare in order to access other vacation destinations around the globe.

Regulations for timeshare and vacation clubs

When timeshare and vacation club companies started in the 80s and 90s, there were instances of frauds, high-pressured sales, and even unacceptable transactions. The lack of regulations resulted to these negative outcomes. Now, stricter regulations help timeshare industry gain better reputation as these challenges were faced with policies such as cooling off periods and greater transparency.

Types of Timeshares and vacation clubs

• Fixed – Timeshare owners gain access of their secondary homes for a specific week each year. This was the first form of timeshare commercially available. Later, other forms of membership were provided.
• Floating – To reserve a week during a particular season in a year depending on your needs is what floating week timeshare provides.
• Points – Other timeshare owners purchase points. These can be used to reserve different suites from your home resort or related properties. More flexibility is available as you are not restricted by the seven-day limitation. Points-based timeshare owners may spend shorter or longer times at their properties.
• Fractional – There are others that offer the purchase of weeks, months, or one whole season for a lifetime, including the deeds to the property just like any real estate purchase.