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.

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.

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.

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.