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The A to Z of Talking Timeshare Confidently
If you are new to the hospitality and leisure industry that is called Timeshare, you can often come across a variety of terms and sales statements that are used in timesharing, which can leave you quiet unsure.
To help you understand the language of timeshare a little better, we have compiled the following Glossary of Terms, which will hopefully enlighten you or simply just reconfirm your assumptions. We have included the most common terms used in the UK, Europe, as well as America, and also jargon used by sales people.
PLEASE NOTE: Some of the following are original to The Timeshare Beat, some have been sent to us by our clients and some are so prevalent on the internet at large that we have no way of knowing where they originated, so if we have stepped on any toes, please let us know.
A Glossary of Timeshare Terms and Acronyms
A
Accelerated Use: A right-to-use program that allows the member to accelerate usage of the time purchased. For instance: you have a 10-year right to use one week per year at a resort offering accelerated use. Instead of using one week every year, you may choose to use 2 weeks every year for 5 years or 5 weeks per year for 2 years. (subject to availability.)
Accrued Weeks: Weeks that you "banked" from the prior year which are available know so we can provide proper credit where it is due.
Affiliated Resort: A resort, resort group, vacation club, vacation plan or other legal entity with which RCI has a contractual agreement to offer the RCI Weeks Exchange Program.
AIRDA (the All India Resort Developers Association): The trade association in India for the timeshare industry.
Amber week: See season.
Amenities: Features that add to the value of the property such as swimming pools, tennis courts, golf courses, spas, boating, fitness room, laundry facilities, etc. Generally speaking, the more amenities a resort offers the greater the increase in value and desirability of the property.
B
Banking: Depositing a week of timeshare into an exchange company's "bank". If you do not use a week in a particular year, you are generally allowed to bank it and use it at a later time. See Accrued Weeks, Block Banking and Space Banking.
Be-back: Salesperson's term for prospective purchasers who avoid buying by saying that they will ‘be back’. Salespeople sometimes refer to them as "riding the be-back bus" and in other less flattering terms.
Beneficiary: The one who benefits by recourse in law to compel the Trustees to act in accordance with the terms set out in the Trust Deed.
Biennial: Use of a fixed week every other year (‘EOY’). Owners are referred to as ‘Odd’ or ‘Even’ year owners. See Odd or Even Year Usage
Block (or Bulk) Banking: The depositing, usually by the resort management, of a large number of weeks into the exchange company "bank" at the earliest time possible.
Blue week: see Season
Bonus Time: Vacation Time that is less highly demanded by RCI Subscribing Members than White Time or Red Time. (See: Seasonal Designations). Use of your resort in addition to your regular allocated time on a space available basis. A Developer Bonus Week (DBW) is available to members who own at participating resort. These bonus weeks are issued directly from the resort, often issued as a signing bonus upon the purchase of a timeshare interval. Sometimes owners can purchase bonus weeks from the resort as unsold developer-owned weeks.
Bonus Week 2: A second type of bonus week is one issued by an exchange company. Owners of high-demand resort weeks receive them as incentives to deposit their timeshare week.
C
Camping Membership: A membership to a resort or resort community catering to campers, some of which are affiliated with national organizations providing camping locations for members in many states and other countries.
Cancellation fee: Fee charged to RCI Weeks Members who cancel confirmed exchanges pursuant to the "Canceling a Confirmation" section of the RCI Weeks Disclosure Guide.
C.A.R.E.: Cooperative Association of Resort Exchangers. A trade association established in 1985 comprised of resort developers, independent exchange companies, management companies, travel clubs and resort service companies.
Check-In Date: The assigned date and day of week the interval week begins; usually Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. The check-in day begins the seven-day interval week. For example, if the interval week begins on Monday, the week ends on the following Monday. The interval owner (or renter) need not always check in on the specific check-in day; however, late check-in does not extend the interval week beyond the scheduled checkout day.
Check-In Time: The assigned hour an interval week begins; usually 3:00 PM, 4:00 PM, or occasionally 5:00 PM prevailing time. The interval owner need not check in at the precise time; however, late check in does not extend the interval week beyond the assigned check out time. Checkout time is normally 10:00 AM or 11:00 AM prevailing time on the seventh day following check-in. [Example: check-in on Saturday at 4:00 PM and check-out on the following Saturday at 10:00 AM].
Closing Costs: Those costs associated with the closing process, usually including: deed preparation or transfer of equity for right-to-use properties, recording costs, escrow fee, and administrative fees.
Club: Consumers join to obtain all aspects of their vacation needs, including travel as well as lodging for a finite term. It may or may not be tied to real estate ownership, provides the use of accommodations in multiple locations and may offer other benefits.
Club/Trust Membership: Year-round usage of resort facilities with purchase, on a space available basis. This is the most generally used system of timeshare ‘ownership’ in the United Kingdom and is growing in popularity everywhere else. Owners belong to a Club; their accommodation unit (and sometimes the leisure facilities) is held by Trustees who license a ‘Right-to-Use’ to ‘Owners’. Sometimes club membership is backed by a deed of ownership, sometimes it is not. (The escritura system in Spain is a deeded system, but deeded timeshare ownership is not legal in the UK and some other countries.)
Comment card: This card is sent to RCI Members to obtain feedback about the vacation experience they had while staying at their host resorts. A resort's Comment Card scores play a role in determining the Trading Power for owners at that resort.
Constitution: The collection of inter-related legal documents establishing the relationship between timeshare owner, developer, trustee and Management Company. Effectively the rules by which the resort is run.
Confirmed exchange: The Vacation Week and unit that you agree to accept from RCI in exchange for the Week you deposited into RCI's SPACEBANK® system.
Cooling Off Period: The time given to a purchaser following signing of a purchase agreement, during which they may cancel without penalty. In the UK the cooling off period is 14 days, elsewhere in Europe it is 10 days, in Mexico it is 5 days. In the USA the period varies from state to state. See Rescission
Cost: The cost of a timeshare depends largely on location, the unit size and season.
D
Deed: A legal document providing title to your property; gives you your ownership rights. See Fee Simple. (The escritura system in Spain is a deeded system, but deeded timeshare ownership is not legal in the UK and some other countries. See Club/Trust Membership.)
Deeded Agreements: Agreement to purchase timeshare, which is a lifetime ownership represented by a deed.
Deeded Property: True property ownership with deed recorded in the county where the property exists. This type of property has the same rights of ownership accorded to it as other deeded real estate. The owner may sell, rent, bequeath, or give away the property
Depositor: An RCI Weeks Member who deposits Vacation Time into the RCI SPACEBANK® system.
Developer's Price: The developer's current or market price for a timeshare interval. Full retail price. Includes the developer's costs, marketing etc.
DOS: Director of Sales: The head sales manager, in charge of managing the sales process and all of the timeshare sales reps in a sales room. The actual duties will vary depending on the hierarchy at specific resorts or companies.
E
Endless Vacation® magazine: RCI's official member magazine, published six times a year. RCI benefits are obtained only via a subscription to the Endless Vacation® magazine. Use of the term "membership" is intended to denote subscription to Endless Vacation® magazine.
End-user Finance: Provision of a loan to enable an owner to purchase a timeshare. Some finance agreements are personal loans (without security) while others are loans secured by the timeshare week or, occasionally, by a mortgage on the principle residence.
Escritura: The Spanish term for the deeding and registering of a ‘Deed of Title’. Similar to registration of the Land Registry in England and Wales.
Escrow: A special secured account used to hold funds from the buyer and the seller related to closing of purchase and/or sale of a property. Documents, real estate, money, or securities deposited with a neutral third party (the escrow agent) to be delivered upon fulfillment of certain conditions, as established in a written agreement. Also, an account held by the lender into which a homeowner pays money for taxes and insurance. see also bulk sales escrow, closing statement, servicer.
Exchange: The process by which RCI Weeks Members receive comparable vacation exchanges. 2ndly The process of 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.
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.
Exchange Confirmation: The written notice informing you that your RCI Weeks vacation has been confirmed and that resort accommodations have been reserved for your use.
Exchange Fee: The exchange service fee that is payable to RCI upon making your exchange request.
Exchange Request: A request of resort or region choices from which RCI attempts to locate a resort unit, which has comparable Trading Power.
Exit Program: Usually, a reduced cost package/trial program offered to a customer who is on the point of walking away. This serves two purposes: it rescues something for the salesman and entices you to use the resort's facilities in the hope that they will get another crack at selling you.
Extra Week: Every seven years there is an extra week, week 53, which is generally reserved for the use of the Developer/Founder Member or without obligation of either party is offered to the week 52 owners for usage at the cost of the usual maintenance fee.
F
Factoring Fee (‘Factorial’): The Scottish term for the Management Company profit mark-up included in the Management Agreement.
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.
Fiduciary: An individual, corporation or association holding assets for another party, often with the legal authority and duty to make decisions regarding financial matters on behalf of the other party.
Fixed Time: This is the timeshare ownership system that a resort developer may use to permanently assign the unit and/or Week during each year of your vacation ownership.
Fixed Unit: A time period that is fixed for each calendar year, 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 timeshare 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 doorstep 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 52 or week 35, etc. Alternatively, an owner of a floating week may choose another week within their season allocation. A floating week owner may also elect to upgrade or downgrade to another season allocation to meet their annual vacation schedule. Upgrading to a higher time division usually incurs an additional cost.
Floating Time/Flex Time: This is the timeshare ownership system for resort developers who give ownership flexibility through a variable unit and/or Week assignment during each year of your vacation ownership.
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 might not vacation in the same physical unit each year. Interval owners may request a specific unit and if it's available for that particular week the resort normally will honor the request.
•
Floating week based on fixed rotation - a type of timeshare ownership in which specific weeks rotate among owners from year to year on a fixed schedule. Common with fractional ownership interests/private residence clubs.
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Floating week based on ownership rotation - a type of ownership in which the owner purchases week(s) and works out the appropriate vacation time with the other owners on a rotating basis each year.
Floating Week/Time (also called "flex" time): 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.
Fly-Buy: A mini-vacation package where the resort pays all or most of the holiday costs of a prospective purchaser in return for that prospect attending a sales presentation. See Mini Vac.
Fractional: Multiple week ownership at the same resort (2 or more weeks of timeshare)
Fractional Ownership: The selling of resort real estate in intervals of more than one week and less than whole ownership.
Full Kitchen: Kitchen facilities that include a standard refrigerator, sink, and a conventional oven.
G
Grantor: The person from whom a grant is made or a trust is set up
Guest Certificate: A certificate issued by the resort's affiliated exchange company authorising a nominated guest to use an exchange instead of the owners. An RCI Member benefit that enables you to give an exchange confirmation to non-member friends or family members age 21 or older, for an additional fee. Some restrictions may apply.
H
Hacienda: The Mexican and Spanish Tax Office.
Heat Merchant: A sales person who is willing to tell even the most outrageous of lies in order to make a sale. Beware!!!!
HOA/POA (Home Owners Association/Property Owners Association): When a resort is sold out or approaching sell out its ownership is generally turned over to an HOA or POA consisting of the timeshare owners of the resort, with an elected board to administer the rules and regulations. Sometimes a sold out resort will hire an outside management company to operate the resort, collect maintenance fees, etc.; sometimes the developer maintains management rights.
Holiday Club/Vacation Club: A "club" which provides a number of weeks holiday, usually in timeshare apartments. These Clubs are generally not covered by the laws regulating the sale of timeshare and are often not able to fulfill their promises.
Holiday Ownership: Another term for Timeshare.
Home Resort: The resort at which you own your Vacation Week or a resort at which you are assigned a Week to deposit for the purpose of exchange.
Home Resort Group: A group of RCI-affiliated resorts, which are under common ownership, control or contractual arrangement with the RCI Weeks Member's Home Resort.
Hospitality Award: The Hospitality Award is a newly created award, which is given to resorts that have consistently achieved high remarks in the areas of check-in/check-out and hospitality by RCI members. The Hospitality Award can be recognized by the icon with the gold box with a pyramid of people inside.
Host Resort: The resort to which you travel on a vacation exchange.
I
Instant Exchange: An RCI vacation exchange that is confirmed two to 45 days in advance.
Internal Exchange: That exchange which occurs when the Vacation Week owned by an RCI Weeks Member is exchanged for a Week in the same Home Resort or same Home Resort Group.
Interval: 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.
Interval Calendar: An annual calendar depicting the fifty-two or fifty-three weeks of each calendar year showing starting days of Friday to Friday, Saturday to Saturday, and Sunday to Sunday, check in dates.
II (Interval International): The second largest exchange company in the world.
In-House Reps: Sales staff employed to sell to existing owners who are staying at the resort. See IPC
IPC (Internal Personal Contacts): Sales staff employed to sell to existing owners who are staying at the resort. See In-House
IVA: Abbreviation for Spanish (in Spain) or Portuguese (in Portugal) Value Added Tax.
L
Lease/Leasehold: Some states and some foreign countries do not allow deeded ownership of timeshares. Alternatively, a lease ownership or Right-To-Use (RTU) ownership grants the leasor the right to use the property for a specified period of time; usually from 20 to 99 years. Ownership of the physical property is held by the resort developer or Management Company. Most properties in Hawaii, for instance, are leasehold properties. The same is true in Mexico.
Levy: In a points club, the annual charge to members to pay for administration of the club in addition to any management charge or supplementary management charge made for actual use of a week. Also a one-time charge made to owners by an Owners Club or Management Company to pay for major or unexpected costs. See Special Assessment
Linked Agreement: In the UK and Europe a is method of getting around the law banning the taking of deposits. The Timeshare Purchase Agreement, in which no deposit is shown, is linked with another (which might be a holiday voucher [aka: a "cert"] or some other holiday scheme) which is, in reality, the deposit. The two agreements appear to be separate, but in reality they are linked.
Lockout/Lock-off Unit: Typically, a unit which has the capability of being divided to create two separate but complete sections. If an owner buys a lockout unit, he can divide the unit and either stay in one half of the unit and rent the other half or rent both halves to different parties.
Lug: At Any time, obtaining a "premium" or higher price for a timeshare week than the developer is currently asking.
M
Maintenance Fee: Fees or assessments that you pay directly to your Home Resort for its maintenance, repairs, insurance, etc. (Please refer to your ownership documents.) Maintenance fees are established and collected by the Home Owners 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. The cost of resort operation is spread among owners. This fee must also build up reserves to pay for non-recurring costs like furniture, appliances etc. that need periodic replacement and other capital costs as normal physical deterioration occurs. Note: During the active sales period, maintenance fees may be temporarily subsidized by the developer as a marketing tool. When the HOA takes over, fees may rise to unsubsidized levels.
Management Company: The company contracted, usually by the Owners Club/HOA, to carry out all the day-to-day management of the resort. Very often owned or controlled by the developer. See HOA/POA
Management Fees: The fees, usually paid annually, by each owner or points club member to cover the costs of running the resort on a day-to-day basis.
Marketing Company: A separate company from the developer responsible for marketing. Sometimes a developer will manage the on-site marketing and employ a separate Marketing Company to manage off-site marketing
Maximum Occupancy: The maximum number of persons an resort unit will accommodate; usually from 2 to 10 persons. Maximum occupancy is typically expressed in conjunction with "private occupancy" referring to the number of persons the unit will sleep privately and the number of bedrooms within the unit. Configurations of units vary from resort to resort.
Mini-kitchen: Kitchen facilities that feature the basic appliances found in a full kitchen, although they may be smaller than standard size.
Mini Vac: A mini-vacation package where the resort pays all or most of the holiday costs of a prospective purchaser in return for that prospect attending a sales presentation. See Fly-Buy.
Mooch: A term used by timeshare sales people to describe prospective buyers who are attending a sales presentation only for the gift, with no intention of even considering a purchase. This is one of the more flattering terms (relatively speaking). There are other industry terms for such people, but they are mostly unprintable. A professional mooch is someone who makes a regular practice of doing this.
N
Nosebleed drop: A sales term for quickly dropping the initial stated price a precipitous amount without much haggling in between.
NQ (Not Qualified): A term for prospects who do not fit the qualifications profile outlined by a resort or marketing company trying to make a sale.
O
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.
OPC (Off Premises Contact; Outside Public Contact): a marketing term used to describe people who approach potential buyers on the street and offer an incentive, such as a gift or tickets to a local attraction, to visit a timeshare project or sales booth to find out more about purchasing options.
OTE (Organistaion for Timeshare in Europe): The European equivalent of ARDA, but more consumer oriented.
Owner Referrals: Resorts that are in active sales often have special vacation promos that they offer through their current owners. The owners are encouraged to submit referrals and will receive various incentives from the resort for their leads.
Owner Relations: Staff here will also assist with any queries the time sharer may have. However beware that this may also be an active Sales/ Resales Office situated onsite within the resort of ownership.
P
Partial Kitchen: Kitchen facilities that do not feature all of the basic appliances found in a full kitchen.
Points: A symbolic measurement related to a timeshare ownership that is used to establish value for seasons, unit sizes, and resort locations. Points are used by developers for both internal and external exchange.
Private Occupancy: The number of guests a unit will accommodate, allowing for two adults per separate sleeping area with a private bathroom.
The Project Director: PD, who is, at least theoretically, in charge of running all the other departments at a timeshare resort. The actual duties will vary depending on the hierarchy at specific resorts or companies.
Points: Programs offered to interval owners by resorts which 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.
Points Clubs: A timeshare system where ‘owners’ hold points which entitle them to use a period (varying from a few days to a few weeks) every year from a choice of resorts. Sometimes points are backed by an actual deed, sometimes they are not.
Property Bonds: A system similar to Points clubs for owning shares or bonds in a company owning properties
Protector: Person appointed under the Trust Deed with whom the Trustees can consult when administering the Trust, and in particular cases from whom the Trustees must seek consent before carrying out certain transactions. The role of Protector is one of some responsibility and therefore he is usually a person in whom the Settlor has complete confidence.
Q
Qualified prospect: Consumers who fit the profile that the developer and/or marketer considers are most likely to buy timeshare.
Quartershare: 3-month interval ownership, with a rotating schedule.
Rescission: A period of time granted by company policy and state statutes during which a person has the right to cancel a purchase contract for a timeshare without incurring a penalty. The person also receives a complete and full refund of his deposit. Rescission periods vary from state to state. See Cooling-off period.
R
RCI (Resort Condominiums International): The largest exchange organisation in the world, owned by Cendant Corp.
RCI Gold Crown Resort®: RCI's resort recognition program honors resorts that consistently offer superior vacation experiences. The Gold Crown award requires resorts to meet more stringent standards in these areas. Additionally, Gold Crown resorts are rated highly in the areas of resort amenities, unit amenities, and guest services. Although the Gold Crown distinction is a higher award, owners at Resorts of International Distinction or even standard resorts can still trade into properties with the designation.
RCI Guide: Your personal ambassador to the world of vacation opportunities with RCI Points. Each RCI Guide is a well-trained, service professional whose goal is to help coach you through the vacation planning process.
RCI Points: RCI Points is a points-based program that offers participants the flexibility of using points for shorter vacations, as well as travel-related products, including airfare, cruises, car rental, and hotel reservations. Many vacation clubs may also offer a points or credits based program but participate in the RCI Weeks program instead, not RCI Points.
RCI Travel: RCI's full-service travel agency that operates exclusively for RCI Members.
RCI Weeks: The timeshare exchange program owned and operated by RCI, that allows members of RCI to exchange their Vacation Time via the RCI SPACEBANK® system. RCI Weeks is the traditional week-for-week timeshare exchange program.
Red Time: Vacation Time that is most highly demanded by RCI Members. (See: Seasonal Designations)
Resort Affiliation Agreement: The written contract governing the relationship between RCI and an Affiliated Resort.
Resort Information Sheets: Information that is sent to you upon confirmation of your vacation exchange to a host resort. These information sheets include important details such as directions to the resort, resort amenities, unit amenities, and area attractions you may wish to visit while on vacation there.
Resort of International Distinction: RCI's resort recognition program honors resorts that consistently offer superior vacation experiences. The Resort of International Distinction award (RID) requires resorts to meet established standards, based on member comment card ratings, in the areas of unit housekeeping, unit maintenance, resort maintenance, hospitality, and check-in/check-out procedures.
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.
Recourse Agreement: An agreement between a Finance Company and a Developer where the Developer pays off any outstanding debt if a purchaser financed by the Finance Company defaults on a Finance Agreement.
Red week: see Season - If there’s one mistake people make it’s this one: Many first-time purchasers purchase a red week thinking that they can now exchange for any red week in the system. WRONG. In addition to the color of the week you own (let’s cut to the chase, buy red time and forget the rest), there’s another factor that makes the system fair. You not only will exchange red for red, but also the location you own will determine the location you get. Own a nice red week, but it’s in the middle of nowhere? Don’t expect to be getting London or the Caribbean. The best locations get the best locations. Otherwise, why would anyone in their right mind spend the bigger bucks for the really nice places when they could buy something of lesser quality and exchange into the better ones?
Repossession: The removal of rights to use by a Club (or Management Company) for breach of the Constitution (usually non-payment of Management Fees) and the sale of those rights to recover any debt. Deeded property cannot normally be repossessed.
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 lessor 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.
S
Sales & Advertising Consultant: An individual or firm authorised and empowered to sell on behalf of a developer or private Timeshare Owner. The Consultancy assumes no financial risk in the transaction, as a developer would. The Consultancy is covered by the laws regulating the sale of timeshare. The Consultancy is a trusted body who, in the interim of a sale being achieved, can be entrusted to lawfully hold certificates and ownership documentation temporarily, with signed permission of the vendor.
Sales Inspection Visit (‘SIV’): Developer term for prospective purchasers to stay at a resort for a few days, for a low cost, on condition they attend a sales presentation.
Seasonal Designations: The seasonal periods into which deposited Vacation Time is divided, based upon demand. Red Time = high demand, White Time = medium demand, Blue Time = low demand.
Season: as per the opinion of Exchange Companies: Symbolizes the division of the weeks in a year into popular (Red), shoulder (White for RCI or Amber for II) and off peak (Blue for RCI or Green for II) for the calculation of trading power in exchanges. Each resort may have different seasons depending on the geographic position etc.
Settlor: The person setting up the Trust (the "Settlor") transfers the legal title of any interest he might have in any property to named Trustees.
Sinking Fund: A portion of the Management Fee specifically dedicated to ensuring that the main structure, furniture and fittings of accommodation units (and sometimes leisure facilities
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, is intended to defray expenses related to major repairs and refurbishing of resort equipment, facilities, and units
Special Performance Incentive Fund ('SPIFF'): An industry term for a bonus, usually given in addition to a general commission, paid to a salesperson after making a sale.
Space banking: Depositing a week of owned timeshare with an exchange company. See Banking SPACEBANK® system, RCI: The inventory of Vacation Time from which RCI Weeks Exchange Requests and other demand needs are confirmed.
Start Date: The day/date on which Vacation Time begins.
Subscription Fee: The annual fee for subscribing to Endless Vacation® magazine, which includes all of your RCI exchange privileges and benefits. Your subscription fee must be paid through the dates of any deposit you wish to make or any vacation exchange you wish to request.
T
TATOC (common usage): The Association of Timeshare Owners Committees
Timeshare: Essentially, it is a right to use occupancy agreement between the purchaser and a Resort - a right, shared with others, to occupy accommodation is usually referred to as a unit for a period of time (usually a week) on a regular basis for a number of years. Sometimes referred to as ‘Holiday Ownership’, ‘Multi Ownership’ or ‘Group Ownership’ . Timeshare is a great way to secure a good, if not excellent, standard of annual holiday accommodation. Timesharing can be in a single building, an apartment block or a boat.
Timeshare 2nd interpretation:
An item of economic value owned by an individual or corporation, that could be converted to cash. This includes ownership of fixed time in a fixed timeshare resort, ownership of points in a holiday points club, ownership of floating time in a holiday club.
Time Division: A system of establishing the value of an interval week typically based upon season. For example: a week 3 (Mid January) purchased at a New England beach resort would not hold the same value as a mid-summer week at the same resort due to the fact that the season in January is not conducive to vacationing on the beach. Time divisions are expressed as high time or red time meaning prime time, white time or medium time meaning medium desirability, or blue time or low time meaning the least desirable time. Some resorts such as Hawaiian resorts consider all weeks as prime time since their tropical climate permits pleasant vacations throughout the calendar year. Additionally, many resorts offer year-round activities, often referred to as four season resorts, in which the owner may participate in a variety of seasonal activities. Other factors that affect the interval week's desirability would be holidays and special local events.
Trading Power: The value assigned to deposited Vacation Time and to the related exchange request. Trading Power is the basis upon which the system searches on the RCI SPACEBANK® system for comparable Vacation Time. The value assigned to your Vacation Time is based on these factors: supply and demand, RCI Comment Card scores for your Home Resort, your unit type, the seasonal designation of your Vacation Time, and how early you deposited it in the RCI SPACEBANK® system.
Travel Dates: The starting and ending dates of a vacation exchange but in actual fact this means the check-in check-out dates.
Trustees: A bank, trust company or a group of individuals who hold timeshare accommodation (and sometimes leisure facilities) ‘in trust’ on behalf of the owners and grant owners a ‘right –to-use’ through a licence (‘Ownership Certificate’). Trustees provide security for owners in the event that a developer fails financially. Some trustees may have added responsibilities such as ensuring the continuity of the Owners Club - - What If there was Financial Failure of the Trustee? Ask the trustees. Normally client bank accounts are recognised as such by their bankers, who sign an Acknowledgement of Trust. This means that, in the event of bankruptcy, the funds in the client accounts could not be set against their debts.
Trust Deed: The Trust is created in the form of a legal document known as a trust deed. The Trustees hold the property and carry out any obligations imposed by the terms of the Deed. They administer the property for the benefit of such persons (the "Beneficiaries") as are named in the Trust Deed.
Trustor:
Individual who sets up a trust
U
Unit Type: The basic configuration of a resort unit, such as "studio," "1-bedroom," "2-bedroom," etc.
Unit Size: (Thinking more along the lines of maximum sleeping capacity). 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.
V
Vacation Owner: A person (including a corporate participant) that has purchased Vacation Time.
Vacation Time: Recurring week(s), or parts thereof, purchased or deposited into the RCI SPACEBANK® system, whether owned as a real estate interest or as a right to use interest.
VPG: Value per Guest (Also called the room- or personal- efficiency) -- This measures how efficiently a sales force is doing. You take the dollar volume of your sales and divide it by the total number of guests you toured, and it tells you your VPG. The higher the VPG, the better you are doing. For instance: say that in a week's time you have 7 tours. You sell one of them a deal for $12,000. Divide 12,000 by 7 and you get 1,714.29. Your VPG is 1714. (Dollar volume divided by number of
guests= VPG)
W
Week Number: see Calendar
Week 53: An Extra Week exists! Almost all Calendars contain only 52 weeks of use in a year - but roughly very seven years there is an extra week, week 53 which is generally reserved for the use of the Developer/Founder Member or without obligation of either party is offered to the week 52 owner for usage at the cost of the usual maintenance fee.
White Time: Vacation Time that is less highly demanded by RCI Members than Red Time
White week: see Season
Why Own a Timeshare?
With holiday ownership, consumers have the opportunity to purchase condominium-style accommodations at quality resorts offering an array of amenities
in popular domestic and international destinations. Millions of owners have found timeshare's spacious floor plans and home-like amenities very attractive when compared with traditional hotel rooms. Timeshare amenities rival those of top-rated resort properties and may include children's activities, swimming pools, tennis, Jacuzzi, golf and bicycles as well as spa and exercise facilities. Other features may include boating, skiing, restaurants and equestrian facilities on-site or nearby.
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