Timeshare is almost 50 years old, but contrary to popular belief it all started in Switzerland, not the US. It’s an industry that continues to evolve, GoTimeshare's Fiona Klonarides reports.
Hotel or timeshare resort - which is better? With more families choosing timeshare as their preferred holiday option, these are five main reasons it makes sense to buy timeshare.
The aim of a trustee system is to give complete legal security to the purchaser in respect of the rights of occupancy they have acquired in timeshare or fractional accommodation. This is usually achieved through the transfer of the legal ownership of the said accommodation from the developer entity to the Trustee, by using a non-trading owning company solely controlled by the Trustee or its nominees, hence protecting the consumers’ rights against the possible demise of the developer. The trust structure is also normally established by combining local property law with English trust law, providing maximum protection to the purchasers.
The industry trade body for vacation ownership, RDO (Resort Development Organisation) has launched a website providing information and advice on fractional ownership.
Extremely successful in the US, fractional ownership is increasingly popular in Europe and over 90 properties are now available under fractional schemes in countries such as Portugal, Italy, the Canary Islands, France, Austria and the UK.
The new site, www.GoFractional.org, has been designed for all those with an interest in this emerging market and is an ideal compliment to its sister site, www.GoTimeshare.org, where you can find out all you need to know about timeshare.
With regular updates, factsheets, features and informative articles about the new and exciting developments not only in Europe but all around the world, this site is set to become a regular place to go to for all fractional property development news.
A comprehensive study into timeshare, carried out by The Christel DeHaan Tourism and Travel Research Institute at the Nottingham University Business School is released by RDO.
A time will eventually come when you will decide to dispose of you timeshare or points, perhaps because you or your family are too elderly or infirm to travel or your personal circumstances have changed. Here are the steps that you might consider in selling your timeshare.
Perhaps a friend has recommended their resort to you, you’ve been invited to a presentation or have received an offer of a few days’ accommodation at a resort - you’ll now be looking for some background information about timeshare before you go ahead. It is an extremely popular way of taking holidays and today around one and a half million families in Europe own timeshare.
If you need any timeshare help, advice or information on how to buy or sell timeshare or require assistance with a timeshare or holiday club matter, the following two organisations provide a free of charge timeshare consumer advice service to members of the public:
The Organisation for Timeshare in Europe (OTE) increased spending on its Enforcement Project in Spain last year to €130,000. This project has logged a series of key successes over the past year.
RDO is the pan-European trade association representing the timeshare and fractional industry as well as all other vacation ownership concepts such as private residence clubs, condo hotels and destination clubs.
The Timeshare Association (Timeshare Owners and Committees) Ltd is a limited company that was formed in 1989 predominately as a networking group for members of timeshare owners committees. Its original objectives are more relevant today than before.
The term 'fractional ownership' is not very familiar to most people here in Europe. Fractional ownership has been well-known in the US for 20 years, and is spreading rapidly as a means for people to buy a slice of luxury for their holidays.
Timeshare has evolved from a rigid system in which a buyer buys a right to a fixed time period in a dedicated apartment or villa in a resort to the ultimate in flexibility, which is Points. Here we explain how they work.
A new independent fund, established by The Organisation for Timeshare in Europe (renamed RDO, Resort Development Organisation in March 2009) to help timeshare owners protect their resorts from local or national legislation or disputes that may impact negatively on their resort.
Timeshare offers a superb holiday choice for thousands and we provide tips to ensure that you are as well informed as possible when considering a timeshare purchase.
Timeshare is a form of holiday ownership - you buy the right to spend a week or more at a holiday property for a minimum of 3 years. You can either buy at a fixed time of year at a certain resort or you may wish to consider buying ‘points’ which you can trade in to take mini breaks at a variety of destinations, giving you extra flexibility on your holiday options.
