Timeshare Secrets Exposed

The timeshare industry has its own list of terms and keywords that you need to become familiar with if you want to understand what the heck they’re saying! Many of the words in the vocabulary are intuitively obvious but sometimes it’s worth reviewing because you want to fully understand what’s going on.

Amenities: These are the features that add value to a resort or unit. Resort amenities include things like a pool, tennis courts, basketball courts, restaurants, BBQ grills, or beach access. Unit amenities include things like a washer & dryer, whirlpool/jacuzzi bathtub, and even some, what you may consider standard items, like a hair dryer.

Accrued Weeks: The number of weeks you save in the timeshare system’s bank.

Affiliated Resort: These are resorts that are included in an exchange company’s directory of available resorts and these have agreements in place that allow for the exchanging of weeks. One of the marketing angles some companies play is to show you how many affiliated resorts are available in their directory, thus opening up the number of places you can use your timeshare weeks at.

Banking: When you “bank” time, you are saving your timeshare weeks into an exchange company’s “space bank” for use at a later time or different place.

Biennial: This means every two years (as opposed to twice a year) and can also been known as EOY or Every Other Year.

Check In Dates: These are the dates you are allowed to check in and generally are set at Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays but will vary from resort to resort.

Check In Time: The earliest time you can check into your timeshare, usually around 3 PM, much like typical hotels.

Close of Escrow: When everything is finally settled, much like a close of escrow in a typical housing purchase.

Closing Costs: Again, a term from the housing industry, but closing costs with timeshares are usually the preparation of documents, providing escrow, and registering ownership of the timeshare with a resort. These are usually in addition to the purchase price of the timeshare, much like with housing purchases, and usually under a thousand dollars, unlike with housing purchases!

Deed: The legal document indicating ownership of the timeshare and recorded with an official government bureau.

Deeded Property: Fee simple property where ownership is perpetual, it only changes on sale or conversion.

Deposit: The official term for putting time into an exchange company’s “space bank.” Some people say “Bank” but the official term is deposit, much like depositing into a checking account.

Developer: The firm that initially builds and sells the timeshare property.

Developer’s Price: Full retail price of a timeshare and the first one given, usually the highest and no one pays developer’s price (if you did, sorry, but you were the only one who didn’t wait 10 minutes for them to “offer a deal.”).

Escrow: The secure account that holds all the money as the paperwork is being processed.

Exchange: The act of trading time in one timeshare resort for time in another timeshare resort.

Exchange Company: A company that handles and facilitates the trading of time in one resort to another resort. Typically affiliated resort timeshare owners will deposit time into a space bank and then request time in another timeshare, to be fulfilled based on demand and availability.

Exchange Fee: A fee charged for performing the exchange and paid to the exchange company.

Fee Simple: Perpetual ownership, this is the most common form of land ownership in the US.

Fixed Week: Owning a fixed week means you own that specific week each year every single year, guarantees your reservation each year but restricts your own flexibility.

Fixed Unit: Owning a fixed unit means you own a specific unit on the property and are guaranteed that you will get that particular unit during your use period.

Floating Week: The opposite of fixed week, floating week means you can use your week anytime during the year based on availability.

Floating Unit: The opposed of fixed unit, floating unit means you can use any unit in the unit category during the year based on availability.

Fractional: This refers to a type of ownership and refers to a period of time. Typically timeshares are for a week, but fractionals are for periods longer than a week and may be a month, if not months.

Home Owners Association (HOA): The owners group at the resort, you become a member of an HOA when you buy into a timeshare and are granted voting rights with regards to how the resort is managed.

Kitchen Types: A one or two bedroom unit will usually have a full kitchen but some places have mini or partial kitchens, it is dangerous to assume a full kitchen in all cases.

Lease Hold: The other type of ownership, vs. fee simple, and this type of ownership will expire after a period of time with options to extend. Usually lease holds are for periods of 50 years or more.

Lock Off: Refers to a unit that can be segregated by locking doors. Owners still own the entire unit but can separate the rooms for additional privacy.

Maintenance Fee: The annual fee charged by the home owners association for maintenance of the unit and the property and is all inclusive. This fee includes the cost of taxes, maid service, utilities, and will vary from resort to resort and from unit to unit.

Maximum Private Occupancy: This is calculated based on two adults per bedroom that will have a private bedroom and bath area; this is not how many people the room can legally accommodate.

Mixed Use: A mixed use resort means there is a mix of timeshare units and wholly owned condominium units.

Odd and Even Year: If you own an odd year timeshare, you have rights to use it in odd years (2009, 2011, etc.). If you own an even year timeshare, you have rights to use it in even years (2008, 2010, etc.).

Points: An accounting system that increases the flexibility of use for timeshare owners. Developers assign points to an owner according to the value of the time share, which is determined by factors such as seasons, location, size, desirability, etc. A point given by one developer does not equal a point in another!

Property Taxes: Much like home ownership, property taxes need to be paid and are included in your maintenance fee.

Right to Use Property: Some developers sell only the “right to use” the property, not the property itself. It’s a subtle distinction but an important one that is used by many points programs, lease properties, and vacation clubs.

Season: This doesn’t refer to Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter, but rather demand seasons of Peak, Shoulder, and Off-Peak. Peak refers to the heavy demand periods, off-peak refers to the lowest demand period, and the shoulders are the other two seasons. This varies from location to location. Sometimes they are referred to as Red Time (peak), Blue Time (shoulder), and White Time (off-peak).

Timesharing: The shared use of a common property by more than one individual.

Trading Power: The exchange value of a resort, location or unit. The higher the demand, the higher the trading power and the better terms you can get through an exchange company.

Vacation Club: A right to use program that offers vacations in a family of resorts, such as the Disney Vacation Club for the Disney resorts and theme parks.

Unit Type: The unit type refers often to whether it’s a studio, one-, two-, three- or more bedroom unit and the location, whether it’s garden facing, ocean view, pool side, ground floor, penthouse, etc.

Terms will be added as they are identified.