Vacation Ownership Brings Variety to Meet Every Traveler’s Need

The American Resort Development Association (ARDA) have got something for everybody this summer. Consumers can expect for tips and different options for their vacation ownership.

Vacation ownership can be enjoyed and one way how to do it is for consumers to make a one-time purchase of a share of furnished resort accommodations, choosing from a wide range of products designed to suit any lifestyle. Vacation ownership is also referred to as timesharing. Because of this, vacation owners get spacious accommodations, various on-site amenities and services, and the glory of having a flexible travel options through vacation exchange. It’s worth trading either all or a portion of your time to an ownership such as this one because there are thousands of resorts across the globe where consumers can enjoy.

The two basic forms of resort ownership are a) a right to use and deeded interest in real estate and b) non-deeded, interest. It’s not only the names of these two basic forms that vary; it’s also the requirement under state law. In other words, some requires under state law, while others for marketing purposes. Most of shared ownership resorts today convey a use right backed by a deeded interest in real property — by whatever name it may be called. Most of the time, deeded real estate interests are also referred to as “timeshare estates” under state law, and non-deeded interests are “timeshare uses” or “timeshare licenses” officially, but can also be called simply as “memberships.”

Timeshares.

Whether or not traditional timeshares regardless are backed by a deed, buyers are still allowed to purchase an increment of time. Usually, it is good for one week, in a condominium or apartment type of furnished accommodation. The unit type and season for a timeshare owner can have either a fixed week or floating time arrangement. More than two-thirds of timeshare interests today are deeded.

Fractional/private residence club.

Accommodations of this type is usually in increments of more than two weeks up to three months (a quarter share). An ownership like this is always deeded (almost always) but is actually more affordable for a second home. A second home will need maintenance while this type of ownership has an advantage because owners usually enjoy a high level of service as part of the product. This product segment is considered the luxury tier of shared ownership.

Vacation club.

This would refer to a company or related group of resorts in several locations and which offers consumers vacation accommodations. If, for example, a consumer purchases an interest in a “vacation club,” similar to other vacation ownership interest, it can be deeded or not. If it is deeded, the consumer will have a priority right of use and is usually said to own a “home” resort. But if it is not deeded, the consumer could still have a home resort. “Membership” is also possible for the owner which entitles him or her to use any of the club’s component resorts. Use of multiple resorts for vacation clubs is highly flexible for the owner. But the availability will be subject to advance reservation priorities and rules. Some well-known timeshare companies market their properties as a vacation club that provides their consumers with both a deeded interest in real property and multi-site flexibility.

Exchange.

An exchange company means that there should be an existing timeshare owners to trade their timeshare interests for comparable accommodations and travel-related services. Affiliation between most resorts and exchange company are common and these resort companies offers internal exchange mechanism. It means that owners are allowed to exchange to resorts within their resort group. If an exchange is mandatory or long-term in an internal resort, it is usually considered to be a vacation club. Fractional and private residence club resorts may offer exchange opportunities for their owners as well. Some exchange companies have a special program for these kinds of resorts.

Points.

Another aspect of vacation ownership is called points. It allows consumers to use their vacation product in a highly flexible fashion. Numeric representation of the relative management value use of the timeshare or fractional interest purchased is best represented through points. Again, it can still either be an interest that is deeded or not. There are a few companies that offer “pure points” without the sale of an underlying specific timeshare interest. By purchasing points in any of their formats, the consumer can use points to reserve different combinations of accommodation sizes, locations and seasons. A variety of travel services depending on the rules of the timeshare company may also be acquired. Points are like tickets–which can be used or reserved.

Vacation ownership is highly regulated.

The various products described above must comply with strict standards set forth in state timeshare laws as well as several federal laws before being offered to consumers. For nearly 40 years, ARDA members have worked with federal and state governments to support consumer protection legislation. As a result, purchasers have a five- to seven-day rescission period in most states that allows them time to cancel a purchase contract for any reason and get their money back. Further, most state timeshare laws require truth in advertising, protect purchasers’ timeshares from the developer’s debt, and assure that purchasers receive detailed information about the timeshare plan they are buying, including the type of timeshare interest, how to use
the product, management and budget information and much more. State timeshare laws usually apply whether the vacation product is called a timeshare, fractional, private residence club, vacation club or points product.

Know what you are buying. ARDA and its member companies urge consumers
to know what vacation product they are purchasing by reading the contract
carefully and asking questions about their vacation purchase. For more
information and consumer tips, please visit ARDA at http://www.arda.org.

The American Resort Development Association is the Washington D.C.-based professional association representing the vacation ownership and resort development industries. Established in 1969, ARDA today has over 1,000 members ranging from privately held firms to publicly traded
companies and international corporations with expertise in shared ownership interests in leisure real estate. The membership also includes timeshare owner associations (HOAs), resort management companies, and owners through the ARDA Resort Owners Coalition (ARDA-ROC).

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