It is essentially purchasing the right to a holiday one week every year at either a specific resort, or by making use of flexible options a variety of resort options. Your holiday accommodation is paid in advance, providing you and your family with quality holidays at today’s fixed, low rate.

Conventional holiday ownership (timeshare) ownership entails the payment of an upfront sum for a fully furnished accommodation plus yearly maintenance fees. Depending on the agreement, owners either own the rights to a specific, fixed week or the rights to a floating arrangement where you can visit for a week within a period each year.

Points Clubs are a newer variation of the timeshare  model. Instead of purchasing the rights to a specific unit, club members pay an upfront sum to purchase a number of points, which can be redeemed for different holidays each year. The number of points translate to different types of holidays based on the desirability of the resort’s location and the time of the year. In addition to the purchase of the points, maintenance fees still apply.

This is the annual fee used to cover the operating and maintenance costs of the property, thereby ensuring quality holidays. Bear in mind that maintenance fees will be subject to normal inflation rates, but not to any form of profit.

First consider your finances and your holiday lifestyle, and then find a product that matches your needs. Do you want to return to the same favourite holiday spot each year and build a legacy of holiday memories for your family, or do you prefer the flexibility of exploring new destinations? This will determine whether you purchase a fractional product or opt for the points-based system.

Through exchange companies, such as RCI, you can trade your week at your resort for another owner’s week at a different resort. Owners deposit their weeks with an exchange company and can then select from thousands of comparable weeks deposited by other owners within the exchange network.

Depending on your product purchased, there are a couple of options:

1. You can put it up for rent through your resort.
2. Give it to family or friends to enjoy.
3. Deposit your week with an exchange company so that you can use it during a different time and location.
4. Points based products can also be accumulated over a specified period of time.

Yes, subject to the cancellation terms and conditions of your signed agreement.

The resort is usually first built by the developer who owned the property and made all the decisions regarding the resort until almost all the unit-weeks were sold. Once the developer decided it was time to move on, a Body Corporate is formed with a Board of Directors who then have the decision-making power of the resort to ensure that it maintains its high standards of excellence.