History of timeshare

TWENTY YEARS ago, Timeshare or vacation ownership, was a relatively unknown sector of tourism. Today, it is one of the fastest growing sectors of the global hospitality industry.

The American Resort Development Association (ARDA) defines timeshare as the right and joint ownership of a resort property shared with others. Each "owner' owns a 'period of time' and occupies a unit of accommodation on a regular basis for a number of years.

Timeshare is also known as 'vacation exchange', 'holiday ownership', 'multi-ownership' or 'group ownership'.

OWNERSHIP SALES

There are now more than 5,400 resorts in some 100 countries involved in timeshare. Annual vacation ownership sales are estimated to be more than US$9.4 billion. Three million households in the United States own 4.9 billion weeks at nearly 1,600 resorts.

According to ARDA's Consumer Guide to Vacation Ownership, Timeshare or vacation ownership is a concept which originated in the French Alps in the 1960s. "From its origin, the idea behind timesharing was to give people the ability to purchase their future vacation at current prices," the guide said. "It is firmly positioned as one of the most popular vacation options enjoyed by today's travellers.

"Consumers are embracing timesharing, making it one of the fastest growing sectors of the worldwide hospitality industry," the ARDA guide said. It also noted that timeshare has enjoyed a double-digit growth rate over the past two decades.

HOW TIMESHARE WORKS

With timeshare, or vacation ownership, consumers make a single purchase of furnished resort accommodations at a fraction of whole ownership costs and pay a yearly maintenance fee. The resort is divided into, and is sold as one-week periods called 'intervals'.

The accommodations' prices are set according to the size of the unit, resort amenities, location and time of the year. The purchaser owns the vacation accommodation for the amount of time he/she plans to use it, which is usually one or two weeks each year and has all the benefits of a vacation home, but without the year-long costs.

QUALITY IMPROVING

According to the ARDA, the quality of the product continues to improve as the top names in the hospitality business introduce innovative designs and concepts, to already high industry standards. Current major names involved in timeshare are Marriott's, Hyatt and Disney.

ARDA is a trade association based in Washington DC and represents the vacation ownership and resort development industries. It currently has approximately 1000 members which include companies with interest in vacation ownership resorts, lot sales, second homes and resort companies, land development, fractional ownership, company development and camp resorts.

­ Claudia Gardner