Someone had the idea that instead of staying in hotels every year for a vacation, why not sell someone a lease for the same location and the same time of the year, every year? Thus the idea of timesharing was born. We thought it would be interesting and helpful to give our readers a little history of the idea of timesharing.
- In the mid 60′s a French developer got the idea of leasing rooms in a hotel ski resort in the French Alps, and he began to sell them as timeshares.
- The first USA timeshare began in Kauai in the late 60′s Think like Hanalei Bay Resort area.
- The 70′s found the first main land timeshares in Florida.
- Most of the early timeshares were a 30 to 40 years lease. Some resorts still use a lease idea. The biggest is probably Disney.
- Around the mid 70′s the idea started to come into play for a deeded week in the same unit at the same time of the year.
- People soon found that they grew tired of the same place and the same time of the year, so in 1974 RCI came into play. They were an exchange company that would take your timeshare to trade to another timeshare at a different time or location. Of course a fee was involved.
Today we find that time-sharing has evolved into:
- Over 5,000 resorts world wide
- 45% are in the United States
- There are several exchange companies, the largest being RCI and II
- Many resorts have gone to a point system with more people wanting larger units or different times of the year, some requiring less or more points. You can also do part of a week and are not locked into a full week.
- You can use your points for other travel ideas like: cruises, rental cars, airfare, etc
Other developments:
- Some developers sell fractional time where you can purchase a quarter of a year or other lengths of the year. You can use it or trade it based on your wishes.
- Several timeshare companies have kiosks in resort cities that draw people in to timeshare presentations. Competition is heavy. Gifts or freebies are usually offered.
- Many people use their timeshare week to rent or let family or friends use their timeshares.
- Many people have grown tired of the timeshare idea so numerous ways to unload have come into play. Thus the resale market was born.
- Some timeshare companies, as well as RCI and II, have gotten into the rental business, using inventory that owners are not using.