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A Brief History
How timeshare became the amazing product it is today
Over the last 35 years Timeshare has become one of the fastest growing sectors of the holiday industry
Value for money, amazing choice and unlimited freedom make it the perfect holiday system for people from all walks of life.
- Mainstream product
- Incredible growth
- 6.7 million owners
The number of Timeshare owners has, for almost a decade, increased at an average of 16% per year as more and more families are discovering the benefits of Timeshare holidays.
Timeshare has been around for 35 years and has evolved from being a fringe product to being a mainstream option for holidaymakers around the globe. Here is a brief history of the product detailing how it became a system that has attracted the likes of Resort Properties, Disney, Hilton, Marriott and a whole host of major players from the wider hospitality industry.
Contents
Many people think Timeshare is a recent concept, but in fact the product dates back to the 1960's when the developers of a French ski resort decided they could sell out their units quickly and efficiently on a week by week basis. In other words, owners would buy just the time that they needed rather than buying the property outright.
Initially people bought the right to use a fixed week in a particular apartment and in a specific resort for a designated period of time. Whilst the accommodation was most often of a superior quality and standard, it didn't offer holiday makers much flexibility and limited their holiday experiences.
Timeshare grew slowly in popularity over the following years, but because Timeshare owners were restricted to only visiting their own resorts, many thought it was quite limited in its usefulness as a holiday product.
In 1974, RCI was created to give Timeshare owners the flexibility to exchange their Timeshare for other destinations and for different time periods in the year. This concept opened up a huge world of flexibility and enabled Timeshare owners to enjoy the same quality of accommodation in resorts all around the globe. Timeshare was now becoming a very significant part of the mainstream holiday industry.
RCI is now the largest Timeshare exchange company in the world, with many offices spread globally, helping holiday makers to get the maximum benefit from their Timeshare ownership. With the ability to exchange this ownership to thousands of resorts worldwide, no one can say that Timeshare holidays provide less flexibility than packaged holidays.
In fact, the Timeshare concept is the fastest growing segment of the worldwide travel industry. The number of Timeshare owners has, for almost a decade, increased at an average of 16% per year as more and more families are discovering the benefits of Timeshare holidays.
Today, more than 6.7 million households, from more than 270 nations, own and enjoy Timeshare holidays at over 5,500 resorts in nearly 100 countries around the world.
Today's Timeshare owner now has an enormous choice of holiday types including skiing resorts, sun and beach resorts, activity based resorts, theme park resorts and much, much more.
Timeshare is increasingly becoming more and more important for the future of holiday makers, contributing more than €10 billion a year to the European economy alone. There are over 100,000 employees working in the Timeshare industry helping to make holiday dreams come true.
Timeshare has become so established and popular that many of the best known companies in the travel industry now are involved. The Marriott, Hyatt, Ramada, Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean Cruise Line, Four Seasons, Westin Sheraton, Ritz-Carlton and many more now offer Timeshare accommodation at some of their best hotels and resorts across the world.
Disney, a company renowned for its high integrity, family values and dedication to quality of service is also now offering Timeshare accommodation.
In fact, Timeshare has gained such popularity, and the quality is so superb, that the former Prime Minister of the UK, Tony Blair, stayed at the Radisson Golden Sands Resort and Spa in Malta, rather than use traditional hotel accommodation.
Even HRH Queen Elizabeth II visited the Golden Sands Resort and Spa when it hosted the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in 2005.
Timeshare offers excellent quality and value for money for a simple reason; Timeshare owners are the actual owners of their resorts. Most resorts therefore have owners' committees who approve budgets for maintenance, upgrades and facilities in order to preserve the value of their holiday investment. If you buy into a quality resort you can rest assured you will continue to enjoy high quality holidays for years to come.
The RCI system even offers an independent grading system for resorts. To win the coveted "Gold Crown" status, visitors must submit their feedback to RCI, and the Gold Crown is only awarded to a select few resorts that are proven to provide a consistently high-quality holiday experience as well as excellent service.
In fact, a recent European survey revealed that 87% of owners are satisfied with their Timeshare ownership, and 96% rated their Timeshare experience as being superior to other self-catering holidays. This survey was based on a detailed questionnaire completed by 33,000 owners in 12 different countries, proving that Timeshare holidays truly benefit the owners.
With more than 6.7 million customers it is not surprising to find that several consumer protection associations have sprung up around the industry. The Timeshare Association (TATOC) is one of the main bodies that exist to provide impartial advice to the public. Their mission is: "to safeguard and enhance the timeshare holiday experience for existing and prospective users and to be the voice of owners."
TATOC operates a consumer help line as well as providing a wealth of online information about Timeshare.
The Resort Development Organisation (RDO) on the other hand is the recognised trade body for developers and other companies involved in the industry. Members must adhere to a strict code of ethics which assures the highest integrity and strong protection of customer rights.
Over the last 20 years, Timeshare and Fractional Ownership have developed to encompass a range of products including second homes, luxury cars, yachts and even private jets.
This concept means that rather than having to own something outright you are able to buy just the amount of time you require the use of a particular product.
For fans of supercars for example, buying into a system where you can experience a different vehicle every week, rather than the same Ferrari or Aston Martin every time you take to the road this system makes a lot of sense.
For businessmen who want the luxury of privacy but don't want the expense of owning their own private jet, Fractional Ownership means they can buy exactly the amount of time they need for their business purposes without committing to full time ownership of a costly asset.
As a Timeshare owner you can go on bustling city breaks, there are timeshare resorts specialising in being pet friendly, you can travel to some of the premier hotels of the world, stay at a castle in Scotland, experience sun drenched beaches, snow capped mountains, travel to places of historical interest such as Tuscany, experience cosy cottage culture in the UK or travel to the four corners of the globe.
Timeshare holidays truly can give you memories to last a lifetime.
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