Fixed, Floating, rotating and Open-Use WeeksAllocating weeks to time-sharers for their holidays can be done in several ways. The following are used most frequently:
The most basic and common timeshare unit that is most regularly sold to consumers is a fixed week. You are entitled to use the same period/week every year, and are guaranteed occupancy without making a reservation. The price of the week will depend on supply and demand - a week purchased in high season will demand a premium. Weeks commonly run from Friday to Friday, or Saturday to Saturday. You will pay a premium for high season weeks.
Sometimes a timeshare is sold in units known as floating weeks. Under this arrangement, you would purchase a timeshare within a season or a price range instead of a fixed week. You would then have rights to occupancy within the season you paid for, based on availability. This is a first come-first served basis, so reserve early! One of the drawbacks of purchasing a floating week timeshare is that very often there is a lot of competition for popular holiday weeks such as Christmas, school breaks and summer holidays.
Some timeshare units are sold as rotating weeks. This helps the distribution of the weeks over the year be fair to each time share owner. For instance one year the owner might have use of week 25 and then the following year week 26 and the year after that 27. This method of distributing weeks is fairer but it is not very flexible in terms of scheduling. If you do not have a lot of flexibility in your holiday schedule, you may want to avoid this type of timeshare.
Another method is the open-use concept. Here you buy a fixed amount of timeshare which can be used anytime during the year based on availability. All weeks are the same price, so competition could be fierce if you choose to vacation in high season. It is very important to reserve well in advance. To be fair to all timeshare owners, the developer may place restrictions on how many times you can book the 'best' weeks.
Timeshare Ownership and Points
|
|
