Romantic Travel Terms: Time Share

Time Share (also known as vacation exchange, vacation ownership)

Definition: A vacation property (hotel room/condo/villa/house) that is jointly-owned by anywhere from several to many owners. It is then occupied by those owners according to a set schedule, usually for 1 week blocks throughout the year.

Time share sales are big in all the poplular vacation places, such as Florida, Mexico and the Caribbean. You'll find them in all locales, from ski resorts to beachfronts.

Whether or not a timeshare purchase is right for you depends on factors too numerous to cover here. One big one is: What is your individual "vacation personality"? If you enjoy holidaying in one set place for a week at a time without travelling, timeshare ownership might be worth investigating.

On the other hand, if you are the adventurous type that likes to have active holdays on the move, restricting yourself to one location for a week or so at a time might be frustrating.

Also, examine very closely the fine print of any contract for:

• Maintenance fees
• Ownership fees
• Other processing fees
• Penalties of any sort

Unfortunately, it's been our experience over the last 15 years or so in the travel industry that time shares have a rather bad reputation for gimmicks, questionable tactics, and some very high-pressure sales pitches. If you've ever been invited to a 90 minute "presentation" of a vacation ownership property, you'll know exactly what we're talking about.

Until the time share industry starts to clean up it's act a bit with more of a mature and above-board ethical approach, it will continue to be viewed with a healthy amount of scepticism.

However, there are reputable resale companies that sell timeshare, and you can research them safely online, from the comfort of your home and avoid the high pressure tactics and gimmicks at the resort.

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