Timeshare Glossary

Timeshare Donations put together this Timeshare Glossary to help you become familiar with many of the common and sometimes confusing words and phrases used in the timeshare industry.

Accrued Weeks: The number of weeks that have accrued from the prior year and are now available for use in the current calendar year. Simply put, accrued means the number of timeshare weeks that you have banked from previous years that you can use his year.

Affiliated Resort: A developer or timeshare resort, that is partnered with or owns resorts in more than 1 location. This allows timeshare owners to use their week (or accrued weeks) at the affiliated resorts, commonly found with vacation clubs.

Amenities: Features that add comfort, convenience, and enjoyment all add to the value of the property. Outdoor pools, full service marinas, golf courses, shuttle service, full kitchens, free high speed internet, complimentary breakfast, etc. More amenities = higher value and desirability which makes it easy for you to trade or donate to charity.

Bank or Banked: When an owner decides to not use their allocated time for the current year they can “bank” their time with a timeshare exchange company to use at a later date.

Biennial: The time assigned to use your timeshare is on an every other year basis. Every 2 Years.

Current Market Value: Current or Fair market value is determined by recent sale prices of similar timeshares. One advantage when you donate a timeshare is that the size of the tax deduction is determined by the current market value of the timeshare, as opposed to the cost of the timeshare when it was purchased (Moreover, when you donate a timeshare instead of selling it outright, donors can avoid paying brokers' fees.)

Deeded Property: A deed is a legal document which is used to transfer from a person or entity ownership interest providing the title to your property to another. It is used anytime someone buys, sells, gifts or donate real estate. The deed is usually recorded in the county or country where the property exists. The owner may sell, rent, or donate timeshare to charity.

Developer: A company that owns the timeshare resort..

Exchange: Trading an interval week at one resort for an interval week at another resort or trading a specific week at the home resort for another week at the same resort. The exchange system allows an interval owner to trade their week with other interval owners thereby allowing each owner to travel and vacation throughout the world. Some resorts have internal exchanges with other resorts which are usually owned by the same company. An example of this would be Sunterra Resorts.

Exchange Company: A company or organization that accepts timeshare weeks on deposit from its interval owners/members to establish a pool of weeks from which other members may select the resort and vacation times of their choice. When a member deposits their week with an exchange company, the company compares the week the depositor is asking for with weeks deposited by other members and provides a suitable match based on availability and value. Factors affecting the exchange value are - the resorts' rating, the time division; i.e., prime time versus low time, the size of the unit desired, etc.

Fee Simple: The preferred type of real estate ownership. This type of interval ownership is the opposite of Right-to-Use or lease ownership and continues forever. The owner holds a deed in his/her name and the ownership of the property can be bequeathed to heirs.

Five Star Resort: Interval International uses the 5-Star designation for their finest resorts. It is equivalent to RCI's "Gold Crown Resort". These are timeshare resorts that offer only the highest level of accommodations and services. The properties offer a high degree of personal service. The resort locations can vary from the very exclusive locations of a suburban area, to the heart of downtown. The amenities often include - VCR's, CD stereos, garden tubs or Jacuzzis, in-room video library, heated pools and more. Fitness Centers and valet and/or garage parking are typically available. A concierge is also available to assist you.

Fixed Unit: A time period that is fixed for each calendar year, either by date or by calendar weeks; most in numerical sequence 1-52. With a week number, your actual start date may vary slightly from year to year. Unlike a floating unit, a interval owner who owns a fixed unit at a resort will always vacation in the same physical unit each year he/she vacations at that resort. This type of ownership is particularly important if you have purchased, for example, an oceanfront property with the ocean at your door step and are not willing to vacation in an ocean-view unit. A fixed unit property assures the owner that he/she will always have the exact location and the exact unit they have purchased.

Fixed Week: Referring to the interval calendar, the purchase of a fixed week property assures the owners that they will always have the same week each year; i.e., week 26. Alternatively, an owner of a floating week may choose another week within their time division or may elect to upgrade or downgrade to another time division to meet their annual vacation schedule. Upgrading to a higher time division usually incurs an additional cost.

Floating: Your time period is defined by a season and your week period is not fixed. You reserve your time period within the appropriate season annually. Most resorts have a High, Medium, and Low Season. Owners of a floating unit at a resort may not vacation in the same physical unit each year they vacation at their home resort. Interval owners may request a specific unit and, if available for that particular week, the resort normally will honor the request.

Floating Week: The purchaser of a floating week has the flexibility of scheduling their vacation interval with yearly variations in accordance with the resort's guidelines. Typically, resorts will accept requests for specific weeks by the interval owner as soon as the annual maintenance fees are paid. Therefore, the earlier the maintenance fees are paid the better the chance that the owner can pick a specific interval week.

Fractional: Multiple week ownership at the same resort--2 or more weeks of timeshare ownership for use in one calendar year.

Gold Crown Resort: RCI's highest rating for a resort. This is similar to Interval International's "Five star resort" designation.

Home Resort: The resort stated on your purchase agreement or deed that is provided by the company from which you purchased your timeshare interval.

Interval Week: An assigned period of time. Based on the interval calendar wherein the fifty-two weeks of the year are numbered sequentially: Week 01 through Week 52 or Week 53. A specific interval week is a seven-day period encompassing one of those fifty-two weeks.

Maintenance Fee: Maintenance fees are established and collected by the Homeowners Association or Resort Management Company to maintain the property, pay insurance, utilities, refurbishing and taxes. These fees vary from resort to resort and with the type and size of the unit purchased.

Odd or Even Year Usage: Timeshare ownership usage every other year--some odd-numbered, some even. The ownership of this type of interval is valued at one-half the value of a full ownership property since the use is restricted to one-half of the annual usage.

Points: Programs offered to interval owners by resorts that allow the owners choice and control over when and where they vacation or for how long or short they stay. Points are a symbolic unit of measure having no intrinsic value separate and apart from interval ownership.

Property Taxes: These may be included with the maintenance fees charged by the resort. Property taxes are regulated by the state in which the timeshare resort is located. Some states may not require property taxes to be paid on timeshare resorts, while others do.

Quartershare: 3-month interval ownership with rotating schedule.

Quit Claim Deed: Legal document used to release one person's right, title, or interest to another without providing a guarantee or warranty of title. (I Did Thos One)

Resort Ratings: A system of comparison of resort quality, amenities, and location. The two foremost rating systems are Resort Condominiums International (RCI), Interval International (II). RCI and II rate their affiliated resorts based upon predetermined criteria of exacting standards of quality and services provided by the resort as well as the availability of amenities at or near the resort. RCI uses the Gold Crown designation for their highest quality resorts and Resorts of International Distinction for second-level resorts. II designates their top resorts as 5-Star resorts.

Right To Use (RTU): Occupancy rights for a specified number of years, with no ownership interest in the property. Some states and some foreign countries do not allow deeded ownership of timeshares. Alternatively, a lease ownership or Right-To-Use ownership grants the right to use the property for a specified period of time; usually from 20 to 99 years. The resort developer or Management Company holds ownership of the physical property. However, during the right-to-use period, the owner may rent, transfer, or bequeath the remaining years of their right-to-use property.

Season: Designated season of the year denoting period of ownership for exchange or usage value.

Special Assessment: A fee over and above the annual maintenance fee assessed by the resort pro rata to interval owners. This fee is, when assessed, intended to defray expenses related to major repairs and refurbishing of resort equipment, facilities, and units

Timeshare: An ownership to a resort property or unit that is shared by others. Each owner has their own time period (typically one week) in which they can utilize the facilities, amenities, accommodations and all attributes associated with the resort. A timeshare is also known as a “second home”.

Trading Power: The value assigned to one’s timeshare when deposited with the owner’s exchange company and is related to the exchanging of the owner’s unit to use at another time or location.

Unit Size: Normally expressed as hotel unit, studio unit, and efficiency unit or by number of bedrooms. Hotel units, studio units, and efficiency units typically are a single room with sleeping accommodations and perhaps a small built in kitchen and sleep from two to four persons. One, two or three or more bedroom units are usually condominium style accommodations and feature a partial or full kitchen and other living areas.

Vacation Clubs: A type of ownership where an owner belongs to a club that includes several timeshare locations and is usually set up as a point based program. This allows an owner to do an internal exchange within the resort system they purchased to use at another location without paying exchange fees.