Dictionary
definitions of commonly-encountered timeshare terms and phrases
unique to the timeshare industry. Use our glossary as a
reference tool to better understand timeshare terminology.
Accelerated Use
Accelerated
use refers to a program that permits someone to use their
purchased time in increasingly larger increments.
Accrued
weeks
Any unused
weeks from the previous year that have been banked and are
available for use this year.
Ad
Valorem
A legal term
which translates to "according to value". This refers to
assessment of property tax.
Anniversary Date
The day on
which earned points accumulate, once per year. This applies in
the case of timeshare resorts offering a points system.
Appraisal
For real
estate, an estimation of the worth of a given property,
expressed as market value.
Appreciation
When applied
to real-estate, the term "appreciation" means that the property
has accrued value over time.
ARDA
(American Resort Development Association)
Based in
Washington, D.C., this is the foremost trade association
representing the timeshare ownership and property development
industries. ARDA advocates on behalf of resort owners and
developers and also lobbies for the industry. ARDA was first
known as the American Land Development Association, originally
founded in 1969. Today, ARDA is comprised of nearly one thousand
small companies and large conglomerates from all over the world.
Banking
Banking, when
referring to timeshares, is the option to put away unused weeks,
or points, to be used later.
Biennial
Usage of a
timeshare week occurring every other year.
Bulk
Banking/Block Banking
Banking a
large amount of timeshare weeks with an exchange company as soon
as possible.
Bonus
Time
Bonus Time is
time spent at your resort that falls outside of your allocated
week.
Bonus
Weeks
Extra weeks
offered as incentives to buyers.
Closing
Costs
Closing Costs
are expenses incurred during the sale-closing process.
Club/trust membership
Club/Trust
Membership refers specific resort programs which allow for
year-round usage of resort facilities.
Constitution
A document
that establishes guidelines as to how the resort is run.
Cooling-off period
The
Cooling-Off Period refers to the number of days within which a
buyer may rescind his or her purchase of a timeshare property
without incurring penalties.
Depreciation
Depreciation
refers to the reduction of the value of real-estate or other
property.
End-user
finance
When a loan is
provided to enable a buyer to purchase timeshare property.
Escritura
In Spanish,
the registration and deeding process for a Deed of Title.
Escrow
Escrow is an
account specifically set up to hold and transfer funds between a
buyer and seller.
Exchange
Exchange
refers to the option to trade one timeshare week for another
timeshare week.
Exchange
company
Exchange
Companies are third-party organizations that exist to facilitate
the exchange of banked timeshare weeks.
Fee
Simple
A type of
timeshare ownership wherein the owner holds a deed in his/her
name. Fee Simple is considered to be the opposite of
right-to-use or lease ownership. This type of ownership
continues forever; the ownership of the property can even be
bequeathed to heirs.
Fixed
Unit
A Fixed Unit
means that the owner has rights to the same physical unit every
year.
Fixed
Week
A Fixed Week
is a specific week during the calendar year that is usually
identified by a number.
Floating
Week
A floating
week may be used any time during the calendar year based on a
resort's availability.
Fractional Ownership
Fractional
Ownership is a specific type of deeded vacation property
ownership wherein usage and ownership are based on the division
of property into shares.
Gold
Crown Resort
RCI's
highest rating for a resort. Similar to
I.I.'s
criteria for "five-star resort".
Guest
Certificate
A Guest
Certificate is documentation which authorizes a guest to use a
timeshare exchange in lieu of the owners.
Holiday
Club/Vacation Club
A Holiday Club
or Vacation Club is an organization or program which provides a
number of timeshare weeks to members.
Holiday
Ownership
Synonymous
with vacation ownership, another term for timeshare.
Interval
International, the second largest exchange company in the world.
Instant
exchange
An exchange of
timeshare intervals on short notice through RCI.
Internal
Exchange
Internal
Exchange refers to exchange of a week of vacation ownership
within a particular resort network.
Interval
With respect
to timeshares, the term Interval refers to a unit of usage time.
Lease
A Lease is an
arrangement that allows for property usage in localities where
deeded ownership of vacation properties is not permitted by law.
Levy
Among members
of a points club, the term levy refers to administrative fees
incurred by individual members. Levies can also encompass any
charges the resort management may impose for use of a particular
week.
Linked
Agreement
A Linked
Agreement is actually two agreements appearing to be separate
which are, in fact, linked.
Lockout,
a.k.a. lock-off unit
A Lockout or
Lock-off is a unit that can be divided into two or more separate
sections.
Maintenance fee
A Maintenance
Fee is a regular charge levied by the management company of a
particular resort or the home owners association responsible for
the upkeep of the property.
Management company
The Management
Company is a company responsible for running the resort on a
day-to-day basis.
Odd- or
even-year usage
Odd or Even
Year Usage is vacation property ownership where the owner can
use his or her property every other year.
OTE (Organisation
for Timeshare in Europe)
The
Organization for Timeshare in Europe is a trade association in
Europe composed of resort owners and developers.
Points
Points are a
unit of measurement used by exchange companies and timeshare
owners to establish value for seasons, sizes of resorts, and
resort locations.
Quartershare
Three-month
interval ownership with a rotating schedule.
RCI
RCI (Resort
Condominiums International) is the largest timeshare exchange
company in the world.
Red Week
The term "Red
Week" refers to the peak season at a resort during which
timeshare properties are at their most desirable.
Resale
A Resale
timeshare is a vacation property being advertised for sale after
it was originally purchased from the resort developer.
Rescission
A Rescission
is a grace period allowed by law and/or company policy during
which a timeshare buyer has the right to cancel a purchase
agreement without penalties.
Right to
use (RTU)
Right to Use
refers to a lease agreement granting use of a timeshare property
for a specific period of time.
Season
Seasons are
designated time periods throughout the year denoting usage value
and/or period of ownership.
A fraction of
a resort's management fee that is allocated specifically to
ensure that the facilities and furnishings are kept in "like
new" condition.
Space
Banking
Space Banking
occurs when a timeshare owners deposits a timeshare week into an
exchange company's "bank" or inventory in order for the option
to trade for another week.
Special
Assessment
In addition to
a yearly maintenance fee, sometimes this additional charge is
billed to timeshare owners from a management company. This
charge is intended to cover expenses related to major repairs
and refurbishment endeavors.
Timeshare
Timeshare is
the concept of purchasing a recurring increment of time at a
resort, condominium, apartment or other facility.
Time
Division
Time Division
is a way of classifying interval weeks according to their value.
Time division breaks all the weeks in a given year down into
three distinct categories: high demand, medium demand and low
demand.
Trading
Power
Trading Power
refers to the relative value of an interval week when trading
for a different property through a timeshare exchange company.
Trustees
Trustees of a
resort property exist primarily as a kind of insurance policy,
in order to provide a secure backing in case a resort developer
does not succeed financially.
Vacation
Ownership
Synonymous
with "timeshare"
Week
Fifty-Three
Week
Fifty-Three is generally reserved for the exclusive use of the
resort developer or other important member or Trustee.
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