Would you like to own your own room in a luxury hotel and come there on vacation at a convenient time? Then you will be interested to know what a timeshare is, what its features are, and how it can be useful to a tourist.
The word itself timeshare arose back in the 70s of the last century, in Europe and America. Time- time, share- share, division. Accordingly, timeshare is time sharing. Its essence is simple. A company wishing to build a hotel did so at the expense of investors, who could be both individuals and companies. By investing in the construction, they became co-owners of one of the hotel or resort rooms.
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Reminds me of the system by which most apartments in new buildings are now sold, right? The only significant difference is that the number ownership time is divided into 52 periods, equal to the number of weeks in a year. In other words, you can buy ownership of the room for any week (or several) per year.
Timeshare Features
Traditionally, the minimum unit for purchase is one week. The maximum is not limited, you can buy at least the whole year. The cost of the fee depends on both the location of the room and the time of year. A week in the “high season” will cost more than in the “low season”.
You can select the holiday date immediately, or leave it “floating”, indicating only the season. In this case, you need to book a room in advance for the required dates. The rule here is “whoever got up (called) first gets the number.” Most numbers are sold using this system, with a floating date.
The concept of a timeshare has changed somewhat since its inception. Now, in order to become a participant in the program, it is not at all necessary to invest money and wait until the resort is built. On specialized sites, anyone can buy so-called points (or glasses), which are the internal currency. You can exchange them for a stay at any of the hotels included in the system. Moreover, in this case you can buy both weeks and individual days.
The purchased number is subject to almost the same rules as when owning any other real estate. It can be sold, rented, exchanged, and even inherited. All possibilities for this must be clearly stated in the contract. In addition, depending on the share, your right to participate in the management of the hotel, being a kind of shareholder, may also be indicated there. 
Timeshare in Russia
The history of timeshare development in Russia began in the “turbulent” 90s, when the main principle of doing business was “invest less, grab more.” The consequence of this was the dissatisfaction of people who, using the services of such would-be intermediaries, overpaid several times more than the real cost of the room.
Unfortunately, the principles of many companies have not changed, so getting involved with a timeshare in Russia is not only unprofitable, but sometimes even risky. When professional scammers got down to business, the timeshare turned into a kind of scam. Many people still think that this is some kind of sophisticated deception of money from the gullible public.
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Considering the complete lack of legislative regulation on this issue, it is not surprising that reviews of timeshares are mostly negative. However, this does not prevent it from developing quite dynamically in the West. Many analysts predict that over the next 10 years, this type of club recreation will take first place among other methods of organizing leisure time.
Introduction
Characteristics of services in the timeshare system in Russia and abroad
Conclusion
Introduction
The essence of a timeshare is that the property is not purchased as a whole, but specific club weeks, at a certain time of year, usually for lifelong use. This allows you to save on the overall price, as well as reduce property maintenance costs and tax payments.
The timeshare industry is over 40 years old. Its annual income is more than $9.46 billion per year. Global growth is projected to double over the next decade, driven by widespread growth in travel and tourism. Today there are 6.74 million timeshare households around the world. Of which, over one and a half million live in Europe. However, it is necessary to be aware of the broad contribution of timeshare to the European economy, in providing year-round tourism and employment.
The modern timeshare concept provides vacationers with a unique combination of security and choice. Security is realized due to the fact that you can purchase your favorite vacation for the future. The choice is ensured by the opportunity to exchange the purchased vacation, through international exchange companies, for another high-quality vacation around the world, or through timeshare points system clubs.
The popularity of redemptions has led to the emergence of a new product, often called vacation clubs, where consumers can purchase points instead of shares in a particular resort. These points act as resort currency. Every time travelers want to take advantage of their vacation, they select the desired apartment size, duration, location and pay with points for their choice.
1. Concept, content and legal regulation of timeshare
The active, sometimes even aggressive, activities of travel companies offering Russian consumers “tourist services under the timeshare system” have given rise to many conflict situations. Some of these conflicts resulted in litigation. Disputes about the legality of using aggressive marketing methods and the available means of legal protection of clients' interests have given rise to a natural interest in the legal nature of the relations that develop between participants in the timeshare system.
The word “timeshare” itself is a translation from the English “time-sharing,” which can be translated as “alternate use.”
Timeshares have become a popular form of holiday organization for the middle class in the West relatively recently - since the 1970s. Accordingly, the legal regulation of relations related to timeshare is at the stage of development. Typically, a timeshare is created by a development company, that is, an organization specializing in the implementation of complex real estate projects. Such a company, using borrowed funds, invests them in the construction or reconstruction of boarding houses. Timeshares are organized in traditional resort areas.
Then the development company creates a club - a non-profit organization that brings together participants who are co-owners of the property. The entrance (share) contribution of these first club members is actually used to pay for real estate, which is purchased by the club from a development company. The size of such a contribution is significantly lower than the full cost of the premises, since the same premises are transferred jointly to several owners, who operate it alternately in accordance with the club membership agreement. Each of them does not pay the full cost of the premises, but only approximately 1/50 of this cost for each week of annual vacation. Purchasing the right to use a premises costs more during the popular season, and less during the low season.
Often, the legal relations of the parties are formalized in such a way that buyers not only become members of the club, but also acquire a share in the ownership of real estate, i.e., they become co-owners of real estate.
To operate the common property, the club enters into an agreement with a management company that provides utilities, cleaning, routine and major repairs. For these services, the management company is paid a fee, the source of which is the annual contributions of club members.
In order to minimize tax payments, the real estate of the club and/or its members can be transferred into trust ownership of a trust company organized in an offshore zone with a favorable tax regime.
Finally, in order to attract consumers who are members of the club and exercise rights to the premises, a marketing company is organized, i.e. a specialized campaign to sell timeshare rights and club memberships to consumers. In order to ensure maximum coverage of the territory, the marketing campaign organizes an agent network of commission agents. In this case, such commission agent is CJSC Tropicana SPb.
The structure of the relationship between a timeshare club and its members is vaguely reminiscent of housing cooperatives and homeowners' associations known to Russian law. The main difference between these forms and timeshare is that members of housing cooperatives and homeowners' associations use their residential premises constantly throughout the year, and timeshare members only temporarily. The procedure for exercising the right of timeshare members to use residential premises is established by an agreement between the club and its members.
Since in Russia there is no specialized legislation regulating relations between consumers and professional participants in the timeshare market, to conduct a comparative legal analysis, we can focus on legislative acts adopted in Western countries.
An example here is European Union Directive No. 94/47/CE, adopted on October 24, 1994 and which came into force in May 1997. This supranational legal act regulates the relationship between consumers and professional participants in the timeshare market and is binding in all EU countries. The leitmotif of the directive is to protect the interests of the buyer from unfair actions of entrepreneurs specializing in the “timeshare” business. The provisions of the directive apply to contracts concluded for a period of more than three years and the duration of ownership of real estate for at least a week.
The document regulating the relationship between the seller and the buyer is a contract on the transfer of the right to use real estate “for the period of vacation” (timeshare). In this case, the buyer is often also given a share in the ownership of this property. The contract is drawn up in two languages - the language of the state where the buyer lives, and the language of the state where the property is located. The contract must set out in writing all the property conditions, methods and procedure for its termination, as well as the period during which the consumer has the right to terminate the contract unilaterally without specifying reasons (usually the first 10 days after signing).
It should be noted that since the real estate that is the subject of such a contract is usually located abroad, the rules of private international law must be taken into account when concluding and executing the contract. As a rule, the contract is concluded on the territory of the Russian Federation, the buyer is a resident of Russia, and the owner of the property is a foreign legal entity. Sometimes the substantive law applicable to the relations of the parties is determined in the contract itself by means of an appropriate clause. If the parties have not resolved this issue, then substantive law is determined based on the relevant conflict of laws rules of private international law. In the Russian Federation, conflict of laws rules are enshrined in Section. VII Fundamentals of civil legislation. According to Art. 166 Fundamentals, the rights and obligations of the parties in such transactions are determined by the law of the country where the party who is the seller is established, has his place of residence or has his main place of business. Thus, if the seller is a foreign legal entity and the contract does not contain a clause on the applicable law, the buyer may be surprised to find that in order to protect his rights he needs to turn not to familiar Russian laws (Civil Code, Law on Protection of Consumer Rights), but to foreign law. Therefore, including a substantive law clause in a contract is always advisable. The choice of Russian law is attractive insofar as this legal system is familiar to both the buyer and his lawyers. On the other hand, Russian legislation does not yet contain rules specifically aimed at protecting the rights of timeshare buyers. Therefore, by subjecting the contract to the substantive law of the European Union, the consumer will be able to obtain additional protection based on the beneficial provisions of European Union Directive No. 94/47/CE, which were described above.
It should be emphasized that even a special agreement of the parties cannot exclude the application of a special rule on the law applicable to the form of the transaction. This rule of private international law is reflected in Art. 165 Fundamentals of Civil Legislation (as well as in Article 1252, Chapter 70 of the draft part three of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). According to this principle of conflict of laws, the form of a transaction in relation to real estate must comply with the law of the location of the real estate. So the form of the contract must always comply with the laws of the state where the timeshare resort complex itself is located.
When drawing up a contract, you should take into account some other norms of Russian legislation that will apply to the relations of the parties, regardless of how the issue of applicable substantive law is resolved. This primarily applies to the norms of currency legislation.
Acquisition of any rights to real estate abroad (as well as acquisition of shares, shares, participation interests in foreign legal entities for foreign currency) in accordance with clause 10 of Art. 1 and paragraph 2 of Art. 5 of the Law of the Russian Federation “On Currency Regulation and Currency Control” is a currency transaction associated with the movement of capital. Such operations must be carried out in the manner established by the Central Bank of Russia.
The Central Bank of the Russian Federation (Bank of Russia) considers it necessary to once again draw the attention of enterprises and citizens considering the possibility of taking these actions to the requirements of the legislation of the Russian Federation in this area. So, in accordance with paragraph 10 of Art. 1 and paragraph 2 of Art. 5 of the Law of the Russian Federation “On Currency Regulation and Currency Control”, these operations relate to operations related to the movement of capital and must be carried out in the manner established by the Bank of Russia.
In order to limit the export of capital from the country, the Bank of Russia has established a licensing procedure for carrying out these operations.
2. Characteristics of services in the timeshare system in Russia and abroad
timeshare travel service
The concept of timeshare originated in Europe in the 1960s as an innovative way to expand travel choices. Instead of booking one or two weeks at the same resort year after year, or instead of purchasing a vacation property, timeshare offers travelers the opportunity to purchase ownership for one or more weeks each year for a significant limited or indefinite period of years. Thus, vacationing in a house has become a reality for millions of people for whom purchasing real estate was beyond their means.
Having bought time for vacation, you can use it yourself, let friends and relatives use it, or rent it out. But while there was complete flexibility in who enjoyed holidays, there was initially a lack of flexibility in when and where holidays could be taken. The needs of the owners led to the emergence and growth of exchange systems, and then, more recently, the points system. This allowed owners to exchange their timeshare weeks either for another week at their resort or for weeks at another resort within an exchange system that includes more than 5,400 resorts in more than 90 countries. Exchange companies often provide members with related services - air tickets, car rentals, insurance, etc. - at competitive prices.
In the 1960s, with the advent of timeshare, the right of periodic occupancy was established in relation to one specific accommodation facility, for example, a hotel room, which could be used during a certain period of each year. Then companies were established, the largest of which are the American companies RCI and Interval International, which provided services for the exchange of equivalent periodic residence rights in relation to different accommodation facilities (we are talking about a one-time replacement for a certain period of rest with a subsequent return to the original position). Then clubs appeared that provided their members with residence rights with characteristics that implied the choice of the user (the type of apartment was indicated and the general period during which the user could choose specific days for relaxation (for example, apartment T1 in the “high” season). Finally, clubs arose in in which the user acquired a certain number of points, credit points, which were the internal units of account of the club and, taking into account the quotes used by the club, could each time order the level of apartments, duration of accommodation and season within the limits of the number of units of account purchased.In the latter case, neither the characteristics of the funds were initially determined accommodation, nor the length of stay.The variety of timeshare modifications with the assignment of different names to them (club vacation, vacation ownership system) creates a misconception about the conceptual difference of these modifications from the previously emerged timeshare.
Historically determined differences in the content of the legal categories of the states where the majority of timeshare properties are located (primarily, differences between the legislation of the states of the Anglo-American and continental legal systems in relation to such a category as “property”, often used in relation to the right of periodic residence), do not contribute the formation of a universal concept of timeshare rights, equally suitable for states of the continental and common law systems. In common law states, timeshare purchasers are owners of the property when their right of periodic occupancy is based on the leasehold estate (lease) or is implied by their position as beneficiaries in establishing a trust for the timeshare property. In both cases, timeshare purchasers have a limited period of ownership of the timeshare property. Such a right, from the standpoint of the continental system of law, is not property.
Consequently, due to the differences between the continental and Anglo-American systems of law, the existence within each system of timeshare rights that are diverse in nature, it is quite difficult to reveal the concept of timeshare rights that are suitable for all states. In any case, when calling the right of periodic residence property, it is necessary to clarify in accordance with the legal order of which state it was established.
For the purpose of legislative regulation of timeshare legal relations, it is proposed to distinguish between different aspects of the phenomenon, which is now designated by the single concept of “timeshare”. To define a special type of business activity in the field of tourism, the concept of “timeshare activity” is most suitable. A method of operating accommodation facilities related to the tourism industry, in which operators (timeshare users) are granted the right to periodically reside in accommodation facilities (resort real estate), the right to use common areas and amenities of accommodation facilities during their stay in accordance with their intended purpose, it is preferable to call "timeshare operation". It is logical to call the subjective rights of users to resort real estate and hotel-type services in a vacation spot “timeshare rights.” If we mean contracts, as a result of which the purchasers receive rights to resort real estate and hotel-type services in a vacation spot, then it is more correct to talk about contracts for the acquisition of timeshare rights.
The Russian market is characterized by a pluralistic concept of regulation, which allows the existence of the right of periodic residence of various types. Among these types are the following:
the right of periodic residence within the framework of common shared ownership (the main advantage here is the absence of the risk of termination of the right of periodic residence due to the liquidation of the debtor);
the right of periodic residence as a new type of limited property right;
the right of periodic residence as an obligation. In this case, conditions are necessary that reduce the risk of impossibility of using the right for reasons beyond the control of the timeshare acquirer. Such conditions include the following: the owner of the property must be the obligated person to the timeshare purchaser; the periodic occupancy right must encumber the timeshare property; timeshare purchasers should be given the right to exercise control over the transactions of the organization that owns the timeshare property in order to prevent transactions that may violate their rights.
As a special type of existence of the obligatory right of periodic residence, a model is recommended in which the timeshare purchaser is a shareholder of the OJSC owner of the timeshare real estate. Here, obligatory timeshare rights will follow from the agreement concluded between the OJSC and each timeshare acquirer; however, additional stability will be given to the position of the timeshare acquirer by his status as a shareholder and the rights granted to the shareholder by the legislation on joint stock companies.
Periodic residence is provided only as an obligation arising from the conclusion of a contract for a club holiday between the buyer (consumer), on the one hand, and the holiday club or seller, on the other hand. There are no serious guarantees of the rights of timeshare purchasers in the bill, therefore, if this approach is maintained, there are great opportunities for abuse by unscrupulous businessmen, since the activities of the club are uncontrolled.
The variety of forms promotes competition, as a result of which the most viable models will remain on the market. At the same time, regulation of each model must include guarantees of the rights of timeshare purchasers.
Conclusion
In Russian literature, the concept of “timeshare” is used in different meanings. Timeshare is often called:
) one of the types of entrepreneurial activity in the field of tourism;
) subjective rights of users to resort real estate and hotel-type services in a vacation spot;
) the method of operating the resort property on a periodic basis among a limited number of users; 4) an agreement concluded between the timeshare acquirer and an organization that helps the acquirer obtain timeshare rights.
Also often used as timeshare are the concepts of “club vacation”, “vacation ownership”, “vacation ownership system”, which, on the one hand, try to distance themselves from timeshare (without offering clear criteria for such a division), and on the other hand, they use it as synonyms.
A number of reasons - objective and subjective - determine the existing uncertainty of the concept of timeshare: the desire of professional market participants to dissociate themselves from a name that is discredited in the eyes of consumers and the conscious introduction of its numerous synonyms; polysemy of the concept of timeshare.
The complex of timeshare operations is based on the principle of periodic residence and on this basis, all manifestations of the use of accommodation facilities on a periodic basis among a limited number of users, when the latter use the resort property for several days annually for a period of 3 years or more, should be considered as a timeshare .
List of used literature
1.Alexandrova A.Yu. International tourism. - M.: Aspect Press, 2009. - 463 p.
.Afonin G.I. Tourism in the system of leisure values // Bulletin of the Moscow State University of Culture and Arts. - 2007. - No. 2. - P. 119-121.
.Gavrilchak N.I. Strategic directions for the organization and development of international tourism. - St. Petersburg: Publishing house SPbGASE, 2009.
.Gavrilchak N.I., Vilensky A.E., Sharafanova E.E. Organizational aspects of the use of franchising in managing the development of recreational organizations. - St. Petersburg: Publishing house of St. Petersburg State University of Economics, 2009
.Zelenova E.V. Tourism as a type of sociocultural technologies // SOTIS - social technologies, research. - 2007. - No. 5. - P. 76-82.
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Russians are accustomed to the fact that they can only vacation according to the principle of package holidays. A package holiday is a system in which you buy a full tour including flights, meals, accommodation and transfers. And many do not even imagine that there may be any other form of leisure management. The seemingly ease of use actually costs large overpayments for vacations. If someone is developing a tour for you, he naturally wants money for it. You have to pay for this work, and we pay money for convenience. Yes it is. How much do you pay for this convenience? Have you ever asked yourself this question? And admit it to yourself honestly: the package holiday market can be called convenient, but it definitely cannot be called safe. Why?
You will receive the answer to this question on the TV screens of Russian channels. If companies that operated under the USSR go bankrupt, then what can we say about small travel agencies that are not even licensed in Russia. When it comes to Western operators, these are completely different organizations: they have their own hotels, their own aircraft fleet, a fleet of transfer vehicles, so they make a profit from their tourism infrastructure. As for the model of operation of the domestic tourism market for package holidays, it is a tandem of tour operators and banks.
Tour operators are trying to compensate for their costs through bank loans and from year to year they are increasingly getting into credit bondage. And what happens to them next, you have repeatedly seen on TV. As for the convenience of a package holiday, one more fact should be noted here. Package holidays were convenient once upon a time, but not anymore. It was convenient at a time when modern communications, such as the Internet, for example, were not yet so developed. With the help of a smartphone and a credit card, you are able to become a tour operator yourself, and you will not need to pay extra money to someone for what you can easily do yourself, and your partner will not be a domestic company, but a hotel with assets, because Collection companies are starting to arrive in the Russian tourist market. These are the companies that collect debts. Collector in this case from the word – collect, collect. These are various kinds of sites that offer hotel reservations or the purchase of air tickets. You've heard about them BOOKING, AIRBNB. Now this is still the lot of tourism gourmets who want to manage their holidays themselves and are taking their first steps from the package holiday market. Anyone who rejects the idea that a tour operator is safe, that this idea is absurd, will understand that the days of the package holiday market are becoming a thing of the past.
And against the backdrop of these two models, the collection market and the package holiday market, Timeshare is, indeed, an island of stability and reliability in the ocean of world tourism. And this island has remained modern since 1964, where BOOKING and AIRBNB took its first steps. Timeshare created the expressway back in 1974. The stability and reliability of this system is embedded in the principle of the economic model that forms the basis of Timeshare. Why is timeshare so good? It is a system that can satisfy the interests of all target audiences interested in tourism, those who do not want to make unnecessary moves when booking a vacation, and gourmets who want to travel to the farthest corners of the world.
There is a joke that a timeshare is a house on wheels. And if you read this phrase literally, then this is true. Because this is really a house, and we’ll tell you why it’s on wheels a little later, but for now let’s figure out why it’s a house. Imagine a summer house that you share with your relatives or friends and use it in turns at some time: for example, one week you use it, and the other week your friends use it. But the question is: who is the owner of this dacha if everyone takes turns relaxing in it? You may object: what difference does it make who is the owner if we have access to this dacha? The difference is that you can somehow come to the dacha, but it simply isn’t there, because the owner, for example, decided to demolish the house or sell it to someone else who will no longer have the desire to let you into this dacha, and then you will need to look for a new dacha.
And whether it will be good or not is still a question. But if you are the owner of a dacha, other problems arise: it needs to be maintained, cleaned, and repaired. Therefore, it causes a lot of trouble, but in reality we use it twice a week in the summer. The rest of the time she stands idle. How nice it would be if you owned the dacha only when you were on vacation, and the rest of the time it wouldn’t be yours. A magical version of ownership. And this magic is the basis of Timeshare. You are offered to buy not the dacha itself, but the time on it, say, two weeks a year - the property. Many people will think: what kind of property is this - it's a rental? And we will object; The rented premises cannot be sold, donated, bequeathed, and even less rented out: you rent it yourself, the property can only be used.
The timeshare system allows you to do this. The word Timeshare itself is English and is translated as time - time, share - share, that is, a share of time. You buy ownership of a piece of real estate for a share of time, and that share is usually one calendar week. In total, from a timeshare point of view, there are 52 weeks a year, and there are 53 technical weeks, when the resort administration carries out maintenance work on the premises. And you buy this share of time for a certain period: from 1 year to 79 years. For 79 years, you can use one week a year, or maybe two or more, or buy all 52 weeks a year and then your dacha will be yours all year round. The most important factor: you buy time as property, and you have the opportunity to dispose of this time as you wish: donate, bequeath, rent and receive money for it, sell and make a profit. If you rent this premises, you will not be able to do this. Think about it: you bought a timeshare, used it about five years ago, and then sold it. It turns out that the entire time you were resting on it, you were doing it for free.
Agree, it is illogical, after living in a hotel, to ask him for money back for his stay. In the timeshare economic model, this is possible. And most importantly: all those who share time with you in the apartments at the resort will take care of it, because all of them, like you, are owners, and a good owner always takes care of his property. There is another important factor - risks. We often see beautiful photographs of rooms on hotel brochures, but upon arrival we discover that everything is actually not so beautiful, and the quality of the rooms is not that high. A hotel is always a Russian roulette: we don’t know where we’ll end up: in a good hotel or not, whether there will be decent rooms there or not.
Owning a timeshare, you will always know where you are going and what the apartments look like, what quality they are, and there will be no surprises. They will also be of really good quality. At a hotel, you can pay $200 a night and put up with some inconvenience. But when you need to pay $20,000 for a timeshare interval, the buyer will not put up with the poor quality of the apartments. The price of a timeshare is the key to its quality. Some timeshare owners complain that European resorts are not as good as Asian or Middle Eastern resorts. But you remember in what years they were built. Where new timeshare resorts are now being built, for example in Dubai, palaces are already being built. However, European timeshares have more trading power.
Trading power is the “weight” of a certificate in the global timeshare market based on consumer demand. Trading power is a shorthand term that determines the value of each timeshare. Based on consumer demand, the trading power of a timeshare determines how successfully a given timeshare can be exchanged, leased, or sold on the secondary market. But the most important thing is that at timeshare resorts an apartment is not a hotel room, it is an apartment, a full-fledged apartment, it has a kitchen equipped with the latest technology, utility rooms, a bathroom and many bedrooms. This is not only convenient household infrastructure, compared to a hotel room it is space, a lot of space. That is, there is always a place where you can retire and drink tea. Many people worry: will they really need to cook it themselves? But first of all, maybe it's not so bad.
In addition to saving on food, you have the opportunity to eat whatever you want and the opportunity to cook for small children, which is basically impossible in a hotel room. And sometimes this can be a decisive factor for a family with small children. It's also a matter of choice. Of course, there are restaurants at the resort, and if you don’t want to cook yourself, you can get meals in restaurants, it’s a matter of choice. In a hotel you have no choice whether to cook or not. The apartments have this choice because they have a kitchen. But there are still skeptics who will say that going to the same place is not interesting, you want to see the world. And they will be right: that’s why tourism was given to people, to see the world. But, if you remember, at the very beginning we said: A timeshare is a house on wheels, it’s time to talk about these same wheels.
As for management fees, they come in several types:
The annual management fee, common in most clubs as a mandatory financial burden, you must pay annually whether you use a timeshare or not, and this is an important aspect. For failure to pay annual maintenance, membership may even be suspended. This is an analogue of a payment for utility bills, i.e. it is not even an analogue, it is a payment for utility bills.
For some, this may seem like a negative factor, bondage. But, if you use a timeshare, 300 euros per year is not that much money for real savings on vacation. If you carefully monitor your payments in the same way as you monitor your rent, there will be no problems.
For use, pay a management fee charged per year of use of the interval. This is a fairly new system for collecting management fees, it is certainly more interesting from an economic point of view, but it is not present in all resort systems, and is only now being gradually introduced at resorts.
For a point. There are timeshare systems in which there is a system of points, with the help of which you can form the housing stock you require. We'll talk about this later. Now it is important to know that there is such a fee, and if you own a points system, for each point you will have to pay a fee, and it is also annual.
Full timeshares themselves also have several forms of ownership. These forms regulate the frequency of access to the resort's guestrooms.
"Fixed"
At first, most developers sold "fixed" weekly slots, which meant that the owner occupied a specific apartment during a specific week, such as apartment #103, week 27. This is the simplest type of timeshare. It entitles you to a specific week and specific suite, usually at a specific resort, to which the owner returns again and again unless he exchanges with a resort-affiliated exchange company. This type of resort is called a “home resort.” The first advantage of a fixed timeshare is that if you know that you will use the home resort year after year on a specific week, it will always be available to you without having to make a reservation in advance.
Another advantage is that if you own a highly sought-after slot (race week in Florida, Carnival week in Venice, etc.), your timeshare will have the highest trading power. All that remains to be done is to place your Timeshare in the exchange pool and you will certainly get a great alternative. There is a misconception about fixed intervals. Some people think that if you buy such a product, you will have to go to the same place year after year. This is often not the case. But regardless of the product: fixed, floating or points, location remains the most important criterion that determines the trading strength of each specific timeshare.
"floating"
The product (or also called “flex”) allows owners to choose their week at the resort from year to year, but usually within a specific season. The owners annually reserve a time to arrive at the resort on the principle of “first come first”. At some resorts, the apartments remain unchanged, and only the dates of stay change; at others, both dates and rooms may “float”. This product is more flexible in terms of use. The floating product, like the fixed product, gives rights to one week per year, but the time of visiting the resort can be adjusted within one season. The downside to this product is that you have to book your week in advance to get what you want.
"Biennale" (every two years)
This ownership is not every year, but every other year. Basically, the cost of such a product is not 50%, but 60% of the cost of a traditional annual timeshare. 10% in this case covers the costs of management fees to development companies. Some resorts even offer ownership "every three years" ("triennial").
"Factional" ("fraction")
The product is the most expensive. The fractional product segment of the timeshare business is the fastest growing in the industry. "Factional" involves ownership for a period greater than one week per year. As a rule, this ownership is from 4 weeks per year to 3 months. 1/12, for example, entitles its owner to use the premises for one week in each of 12 months, or to use the premises for a three-week period in each of the 4 seasons. Other types of fractional product: 1/4, 1/8, 1/18. Also, a fractional product can allow owners to divide their interval into segments of 2, 3 or 4 days to form mini-vacations throughout the year. Most “urban timeshares” provide such opportunities to one degree or another. Due to the fact that the fractional product is serviced mainly by management companies, this implies impressive management fees, and often also considerable membership fees.
Considering that fractional product prices start at $100,000 and can exceed $500,000, and management fees can exceed $10,000 per year, it is difficult to compare it to a traditional timeshare. For the consumer who wants only the best, wants something special and has the money, fractional product offers the leisure concept of the future. Fractional resorts, condo hotels, hotel residences, and private residence clubs (PRCs) are seriously affecting two areas: the leisure industry and the real estate industry.
Condo hotels are becoming a popular alternative to traditional vacation rentals and essentially provide a second home for families. The consumer purchases a luxury apartment at a fixed price, pays monthly management fees for room maintenance and infrastructure, and uses it whenever he wants without the need for a reservation.
Hotel residences and PRCs, such as Trump International in Chicago and Hotel Mandarin Oriental in New York, can hardly be called a timeshare; they are second homes.
Condo hotels, hotel residences and private club residences are much more of a real estate investment than a traditional timeshare. They are positioned as an investment in vacations, not in real estate. Although the Fractional product allows for exchange, most owners prefer to purchase locations in which they want to stay permanently, unlike timeshare owners who consider the ability to exchange their vacation one of the main advantages of this system.
According to 2005 data, consumer satisfaction with a traditional timeshare product is 85%, satisfaction with a fractional one is estimated at 96%.
A fractional product can be with or without ownership of real estate.
Accommodation according to the fractional product can be either in timeshare apartments, equipped with great amenities, or in super-luxury rooms of upscale hotels, which are mainly located in large cities (urban timeshare).
As of 2004, there are 151 resorts in the world that offer fractionated products, with 132 resorts in the United States. This number does not include detached homes and small condominiums, which are also available on a fractional basis.
Almost 50% of fractional resorts are ski resorts, 30% of resorts are beach resorts, the remaining 20% are golf resorts and “urban timeshare”.
"Private Residence Club" (PRC).
This fractional product is in the “ultra-luxury” category. These resorts are located in the most desirable locations. This product often includes a personal vehicle, a personal chef, and 24-hour personal service. Consumers of the PRC product are wealthy people who do not try to save their money in any way.
Average cost of fractional product (2005):
Comparative table of traditional timeshare and fractional product for 2005:
| Traditional Timeshare | Fractional product |
| Average cost $13,500, average cost of management fees $500. | Starts at $100,000, management fees can exceed $10,000. |
| Division of property with 51 co-owners. | Division of ownership, usually with 11 co-owners. |
| More comfortable than a hotel room, with more space and a kitchen. | Luxury apartments, more reminiscent of a private home. |
| Proficiency in 1 or 2 week slots per year. | Possession from 4 weeks to 4 months a year. |
| More than 6,000 timeshare resorts around the world. | A limited number of resorts united on the basis of exclusivity. |
| Banks do not lend to Timeshare at mortgage rates, the consumer has to use credit programs that involve high interest rates, on average 16% per annum (USA)Banks do not lend to Timeshare at mortgage rates, the consumer has to use credit programs that involve high interest rates, on average 16% per annum (USA) | More and more banks are beginning to perceive the essence of the fractional product as a second home and provide attractive lending conditions. |
| A timeshare can increase in value over time. It is possible to sell your timeshare after 10 years for the same price you paid for it. | Much more attractive from the point of view of real estate investment than a timeshare, but still not as a main home. |
| Limited opportunities for sports activities, meals in several restaurants, transfers to attractions, shopping centers, etc. | Unlimited possibilities of available service. From pre-lubricating your skis to using private jets and yachts. |
| It is purchased, as a rule, taking into account the possibility of exchange for other locations and the opportunity to visit | It is purchased, as a rule, for use in a specific desired location. |
"Points"
Used as a “currency” to select accommodations at resorts. Some points programs are limited to use at one resort, while others allow you to select within a club or developer network through internal exchange programs.
The purpose of developing a points product is to allow the consumer greater flexibility in using a resort than with a traditional fixed week purchase. Points are used to pay for accommodation in accordance with the location of the resort, the size of the apartments and demand, which is based on days of the week and seasonality. For example, the owner of a certain number of points can choose either a studio that is in great demand for a three-day weekend dedicated to a holiday, or an apartment with three bedrooms for up to 2 weeks during “quiet” times, when there is no rush for accommodation , at the same cost. Many clubs use points, and some timeshare developers have developed points programs tied to the base value of a traditional fixed product.
In a points product, each week owned by someone is tied to a certain number of points. This number is determined based on criteria: type of apartment, resort rating, season, etc. In most cases, ownership of the resort facilities represented by the points product is held in trust by the developer, not the owner.
The biggest advantage of a points product is the ability to use it outside of the standard week. You can use 2-3 day intervals for rest. Points can sometimes be used to pay for airfare, car rentals, cruises, hotels, and even theme parks.
The biggest disadvantage is that the points product, unlike the classic timeshare, is most often not protected from inflation.
"Club"
Vacation club is a membership, but without ownership rights. It typically involves multiple locations and may include other leisure products and services. The clubs offer clients who expect to secure holidays at attractive prices in the future the opportunity to purchase and satisfy their tourism needs “in one window.”
For many consumers, the “Club” product is an alternative to hotel accommodation, but without the hassle and obligations, including financial ones, that owning a “classic” timeshare usually involves. And this is the main advantage that “clubs” use to sell their product, offering consumers accommodation in timeshare apartments, but without long-term obligations to pay management fees and many years of operation with all the encumbrances. Also, membership in the club is more affordable than the price of a timeshare certificate, which is many times higher for obvious reasons. Essentially, paying a one-time membership fee provides accommodation for one, two, three or four weeks a year at an attractive price. Typically, purchasing a membership gives you the opportunity to use the services of a travel agency that provides discounts on flights, hotel accommodations, cruises, package holidays and more for club members. Club membership extends to family members and can also be bequeathed.
Example: In 2005, in Florida, it was possible to purchase a “club” membership for 10 years with the opportunity to stay in a timeshare apartment:
For 4 weeks a year for $4,995.
For 2 weeks a year for $3,995.
For 1 week a year for $2,995.
In all cases, the annual membership fee is $149,
The average cost of a week's accommodation when purchasing a membership was $500, and the consumer also received discounts on other travel products.
Comparative table of economic costs for hotel accommodation when purchasing a club product for 10 years.
Annual inflation is set at 10%. The basis is the basic cost of hotel accommodation - $100 per day with an 8% tax. Using the example of a 2-week vacation in 2005 in Florida.
| Hotel/tax | "Club" holiday |
| Year 1 $1,400/$112 | $3 995/$1 000 |
| Year 2 $1,540/$123 | 0/$1 100 |
| Year 3 $1,694/$135 | 0/$1 210 |
| Year 4 $1,863/$149 | 0/$1 331 |
| Year 5 $2,049/$163 | 0/$1 464 |
| Year 6 $2,253/$180 | 0/$1 464 |
| Year 7 $2,478/$198 | 0/$1 771 |
| Year 8 $2,725/$218 | 0/$1 948 |
| Year 9 $2,997/$239 | 0/$2 143 |
| Year 10 $3,296/$263 | 0/$2 357 |
| Total: $22,295/$1,780 | $3 995/$15 934 |
| Total: $24,075 | $19 929 |
The next most important standard is the season. Depending on which season you choose, this is the time of year you can come to the resort, and this is very important. Because in the tourism industry, peak dates such as Christmas, for example, can cost twice as much. In a timeshare, this price does not change for the owner. There are other seasons - middle and low, there are three of them: “peak season”, “middle season”, “low season”. Moreover, summer in our understanding, namely June, July and August, does not form the “peak season” in all countries. In Thailand, Vietnam and India, the “peak season” is from December to March. There are places where the weather is favorable all year round: the Canary Islands (Tenerife) is a unique place in terms of climate. There the temperature is almost always the same all year round - within 25 degrees Celsius. Therefore, there is a “peak season” all year round. Finland, on the other hand, is famous for its winter resorts, which means that its “peak season” is in winter.
Often, “peak seasons” are tied to both transnational holidays: Christmas, New Year, and local national and religious holidays. The tourism business has solved this problem simply for itself: every tourist, leaving for a particular country, knows in advance what season he is traveling in, and accordingly pays for his tour at a price that corresponds to a particular season. A timeshare is deprived of such privileges; the concept of a timeshare is property, it is bought once. To solve such problems, a seasonal standardization system was introduced. Conventionally, they are divided into three main positions: “high”, “medium”, “low”. Moreover, if a club member’s certificate says “high season,” this does not mean that he can use his membership only during “peak seasons.” “High season” means using a timeshare all year round, regardless of the time of year or holidays. "Peak season" is generally any time of year that is not peak season. And the last one is the “low season” - this is the season of the most unpopular time of the year, when tourist activity in the resort region is very low, either due to weather conditions or for religious reasons. If we roughly translate this into the seasons of the Russian Federation, then we can roughly determine that the “low season” is winter. Exchange systems do not use the concept of “high”, “medium” and “low” seasons. They designate these periods with colors: “red”, “yellow”, “green”, “blue” and “white”. Although it is not uncommon for seasons in certificates to be designated precisely by classification: “high”, “medium” and “low” seasons. This generally refers to floating memberships that do not have a sequential number in the year. That is, the period for choosing a holiday date is limited only by the season, and not by week numbers.
Super High – (super high) RED
One of the most visited and expensive seasons is indicated in red. This means the possibility of visiting resorts all year round, but also during holidays and Christmas weeks. This is the highest tier of membership pricing and the highest priced season type.
High – (high) RED
The most visited and expensive season is indicated in red in the timeshare. This also means that the user can relax with his membership all year round, regardless of the seasons and other components that affect attendance: secular or religious holidays, features of the resorts (ski, golf clubs, etc.). High – (high) RED (red) - the opportunity to visit resorts all year round, including on holidays. And this is the highest tier of membership pricing and one of the highest priced season types.
Middle – (middle) YELLOW, WHITE (yellow, white).
If we roughly transfer this classification to the climate map of the Russian Federation, we can say that these are spring, autumn and winter, because summer is the most favorable season in Russia. In Timeshare it is presented in two colors: yellow and white. They are absolutely the same and no different, it’s just that some resorts designate their middle season with one color or another. But they exist legally and are described in certificates: Middle - (middle) YELLOW, WHITE - (yellow, white) (the ability to visit resorts at any time, except for the peak season and holiday weeks, conventional climatic designation: autumn, winter, spring) are designated by two colors - yellow and white, with no differences. And this is the average price level of membership, that is, the average price type of season.
Low – (low) BLUE (blue)
The lowest season with the minimum load of tourists in the region - visits during the peak season are excluded. If we conditionally transfer this classification to the climate map of the Russian Federation, we can say that these are autumn and winter, because summer is rather the most favorable season in Russia. In timeshares it is represented in blue. They are absolutely the same and no different, it’s just that some resorts designate their low season with one color or another. But they exist legally and are described in certificates. Low – (low) BLUE (blue), the opportunity to visit resorts during the lowest tourist activity, visits during the peak season are excluded, conventional climatic designation: autumn, winter is indicated in blue. And this is the lowest tier of membership pricing, the lowest priced season type.
The next important timeshare classifier is the type of apartment. Apartments in the timeshare system are not hotel rooms in the usual sense, but full-fledged apartments that have a lot: a kitchen equipped with household appliances, as well as all the other attributes of a home apartment; this, in essence, is the ideology of timeshare. In classic tourism, accommodation is paid for each person, and this does not suit a timeshare from the point of view that it is not a tour that is being sold, but property for a family, but a family can be two, four, or ten people. Therefore, in addition to the pricing policy, a number of Timeshare standards also include a restriction of users per period of time in the apartments. There is the following classification of apartments:
(Studio), “studio” (one-room apartment)– the room is a kitchen combined with a hall (similar to Russian one-room apartments, only without a wall between the kitchen and the room). In a timeshare, in addition to determining the type of premises, this also means that up to two people can live there at the same time during the holiday period. If the owner’s certificate says that his apartment type is T0 – (Studio), this means that only one to two people can use it. If three vacationers arrive using such a certificate, the third will either be denied accommodation or will be offered to pay for the accommodation of a third person.
T0 – (studio) “studio” (one-room apartment) - accommodation for only one to two people. And this is the lowest level of membership pricing, the cheapest type of apartment.
(One bedroom), “van bedroom” (two-room apartment)– the premises consist of a kitchen, a hall and one bedroom (similar to Russian two-room apartments). In a timeshare, in addition to defining the type of premises, this also means that from one to four people can live in the premises at the same time during the holiday period. If the owner’s certificate says that his apartment type is T1 – (One bedroom), this means that only one to four people can use it. If one or four vacationers arrive using such a certificate, they will easily be accommodated at the resort, but if there are already five of them, then the fifth person will either be denied accommodation or will be offered to pay for the accommodation of the fifth person.
T1 – (one bedroom) “van bedroom” (two-room apartment) - accommodates only one to four people. And this is the average level of membership pricing, the average priced type of apartment.
(Two bedrooms), “that bedroom” (three-room apartment)– the premises consist of a kitchen, a hall and two bedrooms (similar to Russian three-room apartments). In a timeshare, in addition to defining the type of premises, this also means that from one to six people can live in the premises at the same time during the holiday period. If the owner’s certificate says that his apartment type is T2 – (Two bedrooms), this means that only one to six people can travel there. If one or six vacationers arrive using such a certificate, they will easily be accommodated at the resort, but if there are already seven of them, then the seventh will either be denied accommodation or will be offered to pay for the accommodation of the seventh person.
(President) "president". The prefix “P”, as a rule, comes with the type of apartment and speaks about their quality and nothing more, and the types T1 and T0 cannot be with the prefix “P”. As a rule, only T2 apartments have this quality, so if the certificate says T2P, you should understand that these are apartments with the attributes of T2, but with improved comfort and quality of finishing. This does not affect the number of people - from one to six people can visit the resort at the same time.
R – (president) “president”. A prefix to the type of apartment of the highest price category with improved comfort. And this is the highest level of membership pricing, the highest priced type of apartment.
And the last classifier is the star rating of the resort, you have already encountered this more than once, so you will most likely know this. The classification of a hotel (resort) determines the place of a particular hotel in the hotel services market and makes it easier for clients and specialists to get an idea of the guaranteed range of services that can be provided by a hotel of a certain class. Hotels are classified based on their certification, which can be carried out both nationally and internationally.
The class of the resort is never described in the certificate, information about this can only be obtained in the charter of the resort, this attribute relates directly to the resort itself, and the level of the resort is never taken into account in the exchange. This is not an attribute on which the exchange is made, this attribute is only taken into account when pricing the membership itself.
The most common classification systems are:
A European classification system based on the French national classification system, which is based on the division of hotels into categories of one out of five stars. The star rating is directly proportional to the maximum level of comfort that the hotel is able to provide to its clients. This system is used in France, Austria, Hungary, Egypt, China, Russia, Brazil and a number of other countries:
Three star hotel.
This is the most common type of hotel. The room of such a hotel should have all the amenities: telephone, TV, possibly a minibar. The rooms are single and double, both with one large bed and with separate beds. There are triple rooms for parents with a child: usually a double room with an extra bed or a folding sofa. Hotel service in different countries of the world may differ significantly from each other. For example, in Europe, a three-star hotel has fewer services than a Greek three-star hotel. They have certain patterns: usually, the higher the comfort and the more additional services provided, the further the hotel is located from the center.
Four star hotel.
Hotels with a high level of service, designed for people whose earnings are average or above average by European standards. A four-star hotel is distinguished by an increased level of comfort and a convenient location; it can be located in the city center or on the first line of the beach. There must be a guarded parking lot. Large hotels have their own taxis and minibuses. This category includes many additional free services, the ability to use gyms, courts, and swimming pools, and various hotel shows, such as discos. In a four-star hotel, the room is furnished like an ordinary living room with standard household appliances: color TV with remote control, refrigerator, minibar, air conditioning, security system, mini-safe, and always a telephone with intercity access. Some hotels provide a heat press for ironing and have a remote light control system. In such hotels you can book both a standard single or double room, as well as rooms with an improved layout, which includes not only a bedroom, but also a living room or kitchen.
Five star hotel.
A small town with all the infrastructure necessary for life. The hotels have several restaurants (with European and national cuisine), bars, a nightclub and shops. As well as hairdressers and laundries, fitness and business centers, swimming pools and beauty salons. The rooms in them are very different: from single rooms with one bed to multi-room apartments. The most modest room in a five-star hotel is a single room with one double bed. Next come the doubles, they come in two varieties: with two beds or with one large bed. Higher in rank is the double room, which can be two floors, usually with a bedroom or bedrooms above. There are bunk rooms, including 2-3 bedrooms, a couple of living rooms and offices, and rooms for servants or security. For business people, some five-star hotels have business rooms with multi-line telephone, computer, fax and meeting room. Any room in a five-star hotel should have a full set of necessary cosmetics in the bathroom, slippers in front of the bed, a minibar, telephone, color TV, air conditioning and other luxuries that make life easier.
A letter classification system is used in Greece (although you can also see the usual stars on the facades of hotels.) According to this system, all hotels are divided into four categories: A, B, C, D. The highest category of hotels is designated de luxe and corresponds to the five-star level, hotels of category A – four-star level, B – three-star, C – two-star, D – one-star hotel level.
The category system is typical for Italy and Spain. In Italy, hotels are classified into three categories: the first category can be conditionally classified as four-star, the second - three-star, and the third - two-star.
The crown system is common in Great Britain. To go to standard stars, you need to subtract one from the total number of crowns, i.e. in comparison with the pan-European star, the crown is one unit higher:
Silver crown - SC.
Silver Crown resorts are resorts with an average optimal level of service. This is the average level of membership pricing, the average price level of the resort.
Bronze crown - BC
Bronze Crown resorts are lower tier resorts. This is the lowest tier of membership pricing, the lowest resort tier.
“The whole world is at your feet, kind-hearted customers. We have a great offer for you: you give us money, and we give you promises!” – this is what the slogan of timeshare companies, mercilessly “undressing” gullible citizens, should sometimes sound like. “Timeshare” is a special form of ownership of property on the territory of a club-type resort hotel on a contract basis, which gives the right to use the apartment annually for a certain period of time according to the contract (usually weeks).
Timeshares: an empty shell in a beautiful wrapper
Nevertheless, companies selling such “happiness” do not talk about the pitfalls - it is in their interests to find a buyer and sell the maximum set, so agents go to any lengths to lure them into their networks. For example, when a family arrives at a hotel on the island, they are always assigned a specially trained person who is always close to potential clients. During this communication, the “victims” are constantly in a certain euphoria from the agent’s colorful stories about the advantages of this island and vacation there. If the agent sees that there are adult children in the family, then another type of “processing” begins - conversations about official employment and further residence in this heavenly place on our planet.
“Forgotten” weeks in contracts, apartments for two instead of those promised for four, lack of feedback after signing a contract - this is all a reality that comes the moment you become a client.
So the fairy tales that were told to you during the “candy and bouquet” period very rarely coincide with the text of the contract. Our editors tried to find out about the “methods” of these companies: clients disappointed with “timeshare happiness” shared their stories.
Story No. 1
Olga
This didn't happen to me, but to my parents. They are rather just tourists who understand little, and I cannot establish constant control over them.
And this is not the first time this has happened to them. There was a case a long time ago when they tried to drag us into a similar matter. But then I was with my parents, and we managed to get away from it safely. We were caught in Salou, invited to a presentation, and then taken to inspect the apartment complex offered as part of a timeshare.
Then my parents went on vacation, some representative met them at Domodedovo airport, they talked, he took their contacts. Upon returning to Moscow, my parents were “called” and invited to come to the office at the VDNH metro station. There they talked to them again, and in the end they signed a contract for 180 thousand, for 5 weeks of accommodation for 2-3 years. It was the Club La Costa company.
During my last timeshare trip to Tenerife, another interesting story happened. One day we stopped in a village to have a seafood snack. A girl met us at the restaurant, she gave advice on dishes and at the same time asked whether we were traveling to the island on our own or through a package. We said that through a timeshare. She further suggested that we consider another offer if we use this type of service. I said no, it’s not necessary... But that didn’t stop her - she asked to at least go to the presentation, because then she would receive a “bonus” for it. As one would expect, my compassionate parents, of course, found time and the right moment, took 200 euros with them and went to this “wonderful” event.
There they were told everything in the brightest colors, and in the end they signed an agreement, more like some kind of certificate without a full two-way translation into Russian, until 2022 for 8 weeks for 3,000 euros.
They already made the down payment on the same day at the meeting itself, and then began to pay the balance. Payments could be made within a year and a half, and trips could begin only after 60% had been paid. By December everything had already been paid. And then it began...
Timeshare timeshare, lit. “time sharing” - joint ownership of real estate (condominium) in the tourism business, with the opportunity to use it for a certain time, in proportion to the monetary contribution. Typically referred to as “vacation ownership,” it is purchased for a term of 10 years to perpetual use. Traditionally, apartments are sold for 4 to 6 people. Usage time is measured in weeks time division, which are grouped into three colors"(red Red- season, the most expensive and prestigious, white White- off-season, and blue Blue- off-season) and reflect the dynamics of demand by season. The owner, or rather, the co-owner of the condominium (that is, joint ownership), can relax in the purchased apartments in “his own” weeks, or exchange the vacation spot for a similar one within the “color”. In addition, red changes to red, white and blue - at the request of the client, white only to white and blue, blue - only to blue, respectively. Additionally, it is possible to change regions. At the same time, a region that is super popular and prestigious changes to a less prestigious one with increasing vacation time.
In 1971 a global system has been created RCI - Resort Condominiums International, which provides co-ownership of properties at high-end resorts and “holiday sharing.” The system includes over 2,300 complexes located at resorts in 70 countries. At the end of 1992 timeshare owners in the system RCI there were about 3 million families. In 1996 RCI opened its representative office in Moscow, and is currently actively promoting timeshare services on the Russian tourist market.
Similar services are offered by the prestigious timeshare club system Interval International, which includes more than 1000 high-class hotels (usually at least 5 stars). The exchange rules state that you can exchange for RCI, but there is no going back. By depositing approximately 22,000 USD, anyone, regardless of citizenship, can become a co-owner - for one week annually for a period of 25 years - of a fashionable cottage in the Canary Islands or on the Florida coast, for example, in the famous place of Cypress Bay (Cypress Hartbourg) in Orlando. Unlike RCI- system L of a higher class, cottages are offered with an area of 160 sq.m. and better equipped; two bedrooms, hall, kitchen, color-video TV, as well as a host of other amenities and entertainment. At the same time, up to eight people can relax in the cottage (with some space) at no additional charge. You can choose any week throughout the year for your holiday by notifying us in advance. If a given resort is tired, the client can submit an application and easily exchange it for any other in the same system or system RCI, Clients receive discounts on air tickets of up to 20% or more.
Holiday rights - applied to TimeShare- temporary use rights or the right to grant third parties the right to use a cottage or villa specified in the certificate of ownership for a certain period (for example, 25 years). A feature of a classic timeshare is the presence of a certificate of ownership for a certain period of rest, and these rights are inherited, can be the subject of a pledge, assignment, loan security, etc. (all signs of property rights).
Selling a timeshare is quite a delicate matter, so companies involved in marketing and working with clients use tactics of working with an individual client, the so-called individual presentations. Of course, the information is not transmitted to the press, the main information is communicated to the client privately, all negotiations and agreements reached are strictly confidential. Some marketing companies use aggressive timeshare sales practices, which causes controversy and consumer complaints.
Spacebank - club trademark RCI for a bank of rest periods in which one week is reserved for each member owner RCI.
Two-for-One - club member right RCI exchange one week of holiday in the Canary Islands for two weeks of holiday in the USA or Canada or three weeks in Australia or New Zealand. Exchange rights also provide for the opportunity to “accumulate” vacation time; if the owner does not use vacation time this year, he can reserve two weeks of vacation for the next year.
Almost every country has national timeshare clubs.
Vacation ownership is a fast-growing sector of the global tourism business:
and it was developed in 81 countries;
a there are more than 4,500 resorts-tourist complexes operating in this system;
and the owners of the recreation system live in 174 countries;
a more than 3.14 million families in the world own a recreation system;
and sales were approximately $4.76 billion (1994).
Buyers in the vacation ownership system are individuals with a fairly high annual income and increased requirements for the quality and location of accommodation facilities. Leisure ownership system and its variations – timeshare, club holidays, hotel holidays represents one of the ways to pay for and use a high-quality accommodation facility for a certain period of time, which can optionally be exchanged for a holiday in another location (at 4,350 resorts worldwide or at 1,289 resorts in Europe). Owning a vacation is a tourism product that is maximally tailored to the needs of the buyer.
From research carried out by Ragatz Accociates in Europe, Asia and Australia, it follows that high socio-economic indicators of holiday ownership buyers are visible in many countries around the world. More than half of North American vacation owners are between 35 and 55 years old. Most owners (85%) are families, only 33% of them have children. The average annual income of owners is more than $60,000; they tend to have a prestigious education (54% of household heads graduated from college or university).
Thus, a typical timeshare owner in England is married, over 35 years old, and has no children in need of care. The reasons for purchasing a timeshare vary. According to research from Ragatz Accociates, it is estimated that approximately 72% of timeshare owners considered the ability to exchange a vacation spot one of the important reasons for purchasing a club vacation. Other reasons for buying a timeshare are confidence in the quality of the apartments provided (62%); the habit of vacationing at a given resort (58%) and saving money on future vacation expenses (56%).
Vacation ownership concept offers owners the right to use, for a certain period of time (season and interval) annually, a room, apartment or other type of housing, which, in turn, is part of a tourist complex (club) equipped to provide various services. The buyer pays a certain amount to acquire the right to own membership in a recreation club, and after that makes annual contributions: intended for the maintenance of the club property (local payments); for exchanging holidays in another club. The sales time period is usually based on weeks (intervals) and cannot, as a rule, exceed 51 weeks per year.
The time spent in apartments (modules) is divided in some cases into seasons - red, white and blue (season, off-season and off-season). Thus, the interval, module and season are purchased. Recently, club membership, valued in the form of points (credit points), has become widespread.
Accommodation facilities and module sizes vary:
a studio, luxury room (for 2 persons) - T-0;
a room with one bedroom and living room (for 4 persons) - T-2;
a room with two bedrooms and a living room (for 6 persons) - T-2;
a room with three bedrooms and a living room (for 8 persons) - T-3, etc.
Specially designed accommodation modules often include elements such as terraces, balconies, swimming pools, Jacuzzis, video systems, etc., as well as kitchens (full, partial, separate, etc.). The latter, as a rule, are equipped with a set of dishes, refrigerators, microwave ovens, food processors, washing machines, dishwashers, etc.
The average size of a resort (complex) is 50 rooms. Resorts located in areas of greatest interest to clients, vary on the: beach(Spain, Portugal), urban(London, Paris, Vienna), mountain(Austria), thematic recreation parks (USA: Orlando, Florida and California, northeast Spain). Resorts are affiliated with the system under special programs. The average price of a module ranges from $6,500 to $9.5. Thus, in Spain, the average two-bedroom unit costs approximately $7,500, but the average is $8,000 per season; $5,200 and $3,800 - in the off-season and off-season, respectively.
