What is Time Share?
1) Time –Share Hotels:
The timeshare concept is very simple. A person enjoys ownership by buying a week or weeks for a fixed number of years or for his lifetime in a luxury holiday resort or home. The owner only pays for his share for the upkeep and development of the property he owns. High quality of furnishing and amenities are made very affordable because the developmental cost is shared among all the owners.
The term “timeshare” was coined in the United Kingdom in the early 1960s, expanding on a vacation system that became popular after World War II.[1] Vacation home sharing, also known as holiday home sharing, involved four European families that would purchase a vacation cottage jointly, each having exclusive use of the property for one of the four seasons. They rotated seasons each year, so each family enjoyed the prime seasons equally. This concept was mostly used by related families because joint ownership requires trust and no property manager was involved. However, few families vacation for an entire season at a time; so the vacation home sharing properties were often vacant for long periods.
The first timeshare in the United States was started in 1974 by Caribbean International Corporation (CIC), based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It offered what it called a 25-year vacation license rather than ownership. The company owned two other resorts the vacation license holder could alternate their vacation weeks with: one in St. Croix and one in St. Thomas; both in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Virgin Islands properties began their timeshare sales in 1973.
for more info log in: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeshare
Timeshare, also known as Vacation Ownership, offers the opportunity to own condominium-style accommodations at quality resorts in popular domestic and international destinations. Timeshare accommodations typically offer spacious floor plans and home-like amenities when compared with traditional hotels, and may include kitchens, laundry facilities, living room space and multiple bedrooms. Today, there are more than 7 million timeshare owners!
Timeshare ownership entails payment of an upfront sum plus yearly maintenance fees. The timeshare business is divided into 52 weeks and each week is a unit. The price of the week depends upon the season for which on is buying a slot. For different location resorts the period for peak or lean season may differ depending upon the demand and supply. In hills the summer season may be peak season
whereas at beaches it may not be the lean season. The season are usually described with the colour codes and a resorts any use the different colour codes to describe peak, lean season. The following are the colour codes for describing the season’s popularity. The most common time share in India is Mahindra and Mahindra, Nanda Tourist Corporation, Sterling Holiday’s Resorts, Avelon Resorts etc.
Purple: Peak Season
Red: Best Season, Vacation Time
White: Mid Season
Blue: Off Season
Advantage
1) Long-term savings over hotels : The basic timeshare concept is simple: you pay a onetime purchase fee that entitles you to a week every year (or sometimes every other year) at a resort. Instead of renting your vacations, you now own them.
2) Home-like accommodations Most timeshare units have floor plans that closely resemble two bedroom, two bathroom condos or apartments, usually with an additional sleeper sofa in the living room. Timeshare unit sizes vary from studios to four bedrooms, allowing plenty of room for families.
3) Real property ownership If you buy a “deeded” timeshare, you are buying real property. You can give it away, will it to your heirs, rent it, sell it, and so on.
4) Ability to exchange Exchange is consistently a top reason people buy into timeshare. When you own a timeshare, you have the ability to exchange for another resort.
5) Guaranteed vacations: When buying a timeshare, you’re making a significant upfront investment and may be more motivated to take valuable time with your family annually. If you buy an annual fixed
week, you are guaranteed that same week each year at a resort you are familiar with, and don’t have the hassle of vacation planning year after year. It is a fact that timeshare owners are more likely to use their vacations than those who don’t own. A lifestyle decision to build memories with your family and friends.
6) Flexibility: If unexpected circumstances arise, or you simply cannot take your vacation one year,
timeshares afford other options. You can bank your timeshare with one of the timeshare exchange companies.
7) Less maintenance:
a. Pay only for the time you use: If you only plan to use a few weeks a year, why keep an expensive vacation home vacant during the time you’re not there? Timeshare is most frequently sold in one week intervals, but there are more options now than ever before, like “fractional,” allowing you some flexibility if you prefer longer vacations.
b. Lower upfront costs: While vacation homes can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, timeshares are much more reasonable.
c. Lower maintenance costs on an annual basis: With a timeshare, you are literally sharing time with other travellers. As such, the maintenance fees are also shared and obviously will be much less than keeping a vacation home year-round.
d. Already decorated and furnished: Timeshares come fully furnished, saving you thousands of dollars on the furnishings and decor you would need to purchase for a vacation home. They also have almost all of the cooking utensils, plates, glasses, cups, and silverware needed for a normal home-like vacation.
Disadvantage.
1. Identifying the customer.
2. Designing timeshare according to the customer requirement.
3. Costly Advertising.
CLASSIFICATION OF TIMESHARE
1) Fixed Timeshare: This kind of timeshare is only for a particular week or days of the year. For example, week 26 normally includes the Fourth of July holiday, week 51, Christmas and so on. If an owner owned Week 26 at a resort he or she could use that week every year.
2) Floating Timeshare: Sometimes units are sold as floating weeks. The ownership will be specific on how many weeks the owner owns and from which weeks the owner may select for the owner’s stay. An example of this may be a floating summer week where the owner may request any week during the summer season, generally weeks 22 through 36. Fixed and floating timeshare arrangements can either be deeded or non-deeded (also known as right-to-use). Deeded timeshares are considered real property that can be sold or passed on to the next generation. Non-deeded or right-to-use timeshares function more like leases, where an owner can use the unit for a specified number of years.
3) Rotating/Flex week ownership: Some are sold as rotating weeks, commonly referred to as flex weeks. In an attempt to give all owners a chance for the best weeks, the weeks are rotated forward or backward through the calendar, so in year 1 the owner may have use of week 25, then week 26 in year 2, and then week 27 in year 3. This method gives each owner a fair opportunity for prime week.
4) Lock off or Lockout: These units allow vacation owners to occupy a portion of the unit and offer the remaining space for rental or exchange. These units typically consist of two bedrooms and two baths or three bedrooms or 3 baths.
5) Split Weeks: These are popular with consumer who prefer shorter vacation , as the owner may split use of the interval into two separate visits to the resorts, such as one three- night and one four-night stay at two different times of the year. Reservation are usually granted on first-come, first served basis and are based on availability.
TYPES OF ACCOMMODATION AND THEIR SIZE:
These properties tend to be apartment-style units ranging in size from studio units (with room for two to three and four bedroom units. These larger units can comfortably house large families. Units normally include fully equipped kitchens with a dining area, dishwasher, televisions, DVD players, and more. It is not uncommon to have washers and dryers either in the unit or easily accessible on the resort. Kitchens are equipped to the size of the unit, so that a unit that sleeps four should have at least four glasses, plates, forks, knives, spoons, and bowls so that all four guests can sit and eat at once.
Units are usually listed by how many the unit will sleep and how many the unit will sleep privately.
- Sleeps 2/2 would normally be a one bedroom or studio
- Sleeps 6/4 would normally be a two bedroom with a sleeper sofa
Sleep privately refers to the number of guests who will not have to walk through another guest’s sleeping area to use a restroom. These resorts tend to be strict on the number of guests per unit. Unit size can affect demand at a given resort where a two-bedroom unit may be in higher demand than a one-bedroom unit at the same resort. The same does not hold true comparing resorts in different locations. A one-bedroom unit in a desirable location may still be in higher demand than a resort with less demand. An example of this may be a one bedroom at a desirable beach resort compared to a two-bedroom unit at a resort located inland from the same beach.
The following are the types of accommodation available for the timeshare guest:
1) Apartments
2) Castles
3) Ski lodges
4) Bungalows
5) Condos
6) Vilas
7) Camp sites
8) Cottages
9) Restored Farmhouse
10) Private Residence Clubs
11) Second Homes
Timeshare has the following type of accommodation:
- Studio: For 3 adults or 2 adults +2 children
- One Bed Apartment: For 4 adults and consists of Drawings room, Dining Room, Bed Room, balcony and Kitchen
- Double Bed Apartment: For 6 adults